The Legend of the Goat

The legend of the goat reflects the M'nong people's experience and understanding of the characteristics of this animal. (Illustrative image)

The M'nong people traditionally say that day and night, the Forest God always watches over the land and forests under his control. One day, on his way, the Forest God met a goat and asked:

- Why are the eyebrows sunken, the toenails curled, the eyes bulging, the chin covered in beard, and the horns twisted as if someone were turning them?

The goat replied:

"Oh, Forest Spirit! When the animals fought against Bong Brang Ya, they all competed to forge weapons, but I had no iron to forge weapons. So I went to the blacksmith's shop to ask him to operate the bellows, hoping he would help me make some kind of weapon. I diligently worked the bellows all day for the blacksmith. The animals brought iron to be forged one after another, and then left. I thought that the blacksmith would eventually help me make a weapon, so I confidently operated the bellows. Unexpectedly, the blacksmith finished his work and left, leaving the blacksmith and me alone with no one to help me operate the bellows. I was bitterly disappointed because I had no weapon. So I came up with the idea of ​​using the blacksmith's tongs to make horns on my head. That's why my horns are so ugly now." Just think, because I had to operate the bellows for people all day long, my thighs atrophied, my toenails turned inward, and because I was so tired, I sweated so much that the sweat collected under my chin, making it very smelly, and I didn't have time to wipe it clean, so a beard grew there, making it look ugly now.

I worked for a blacksmith, having to watch the forging process intently, which caused my eyes to bulge. Despite my hardship, no one took pity on me or forged a weapon for me. I don't know if it was because they were ill-intentioned or too busy to fight, but no one paid any attention to helping me.

Hearing this, the Forest spirit said:

- How terrible! The animals have forgotten the goat's kindness. Alright! Now I will grant you a long life without dying of plague or being eaten by any wild beast, but you must heed my advice: you must eat one hundred kinds of leaves every day, but you must not eat the leaves and fruits of the wild eggplant. If you mistakenly eat these, your entire herd will be devoured. You must remember my words and pass them on to your descendants.

From then on, goats ate every kind of leaf, including very bitter leaves used as medicine, except for the leaves of the *Cà Lông* plant, which they dared not touch. If a goat accidentally ate the leaves of the *Cà Lông* plant, that goat would be attacked by a tiger, and the entire herd would be attacked by tigers until they were all wiped out. But the goats followed the Forest God's instructions and were never eaten by wild animals. The M'nông people of the past also disliked eating goat meat for this reason; they raised goats only for their blood to offer to the Rice God or to appease evil spirits so they wouldn't harm the villagers.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/su-tich-con-de-147090.html