A History of Assam c11.6

c11.6

Like many other races the Ahoms have traditions of a flood. It is said that once upon a time there was intense heat from the sun, which dried up all the water on the face of the earth, and many people and animals died of thirst. At length the intense heat caused the earth to crack, and an immense volume of boiling water burst out and killed all remaining living things, save an old man named Thāolipling and a cow, who took refuge in a boat made of stone. As the waters rose, this boat was carried to the summit of a high mountain called Ipā far away to the north-east. The old man and the cow stayed on this mountain. The water gradually subsided, leaving the bodies of the dead men and animals to decay. From them such an evil smell arose that it reached the abode of the Gods, who sent fire down from heaven to burn them. The heat caused by the conflagration was so intense, that the old man, unable to endure it, killed the cow and took refuge inside its body. There he found the seed of a pumpkin. After the fire had passed by, he planted this seed, and a tree grew up, which threw out four branches towards the four points of the compass. The northern branch was killed by the cold, the southern branch fell into the fire and was burnt, the western branch was destroyed by the remains of the flood, and only the eastern branch survived.