Tales by Tsewang Norzom: Tale of the Balu and the Mysterious Village Wall


Collection Information

Part of
Digital Archive of Cultural Heritage (view collection record)

General Information

Title:
Tales by Tsewang Norzom: Tale of the Balu and the Mysterious Village Wall
Created:
2018
Language:
Ladakhi
Physical Description:
1 audio file
Form/Genre:

Content

Summary:
Tsewang Norzom comes from a family famous for a legend associated with a mysterious wall surrounding the village. (No other village in the Zanskar valley is surrounded by such a wall). According to legend, this wall is believed to have been built by a Balu, a small human-like supernatural creature (or ‘dwarf’) possessing magical powers. The grandmother of Tsewang Norzom caught the Balu and took his cap and stick so he couldn’t escape. He had to follow her orders, which included building the wall around the village. This story is known to everybody in the village and even in other villages, though not in such detailed form as her account. There is even a stone in the field next to the village with footprints. Villagers say this is the footprint of the Balu, when he was carrying the stones for building the wall and took a rest at this spot. Tsewang Norzom, aged eighty-three, is a farmer’s wife in the village of Kumik. She is the oldest person in her village and was suggested as someone who still remembers old tales. She learnt the tales from other people as a child. She can still recall the times when people were still coming and asking her to recite the tales.

Context

Note:
This item is available in the <a href="https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/osa:68d07bf0-7b4e-4188-afc5-4e15396d88c3" target='_new'>Digital Repository</a>.
Source:
HU OSA 437-1-20 Oral Tradition of Zanskar (HU OSA 437-1-20)
Associated Names:
Norzom, Tsewang (Narrator)
Part of Series:
HU OSA 437-1-20 Oral Tradition of Zanskar

Coverage

Additional Places:

Access and Use

Rights Statement:
Rights Reserved - Free Access
Archival ID:
HU OSA 437-1-20:17/1
Suggested Citation:
"Tales by Tsewang Norzom: Tale of the Balu and the Mysterious Village Wall", 2018. HU OSA 437-1-20:17/1; HU OSA 437-1-20 Oral Tradition of Zanskar; Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest.
Permanent URI:
http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:68d07bf0-7b4e-4188-afc5-4e15396d88c3
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