Mizo Myths

by Cherrie Lalnunziri Chhangte

This book of fifteen mythological tales from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram includes a creation myth and a voyage to the Land of the Dead. There are also many supernatural love one between a weretigress and a human hunter, another between a man and a Phungpuinu (a very ugly sort of goblin), and one in which the King of the Lasi, or hidden folk, takes the beautiful human woman Chawngtinleri to be his bride. Meet Hmuichukchuriduninu, the bird-beaked child-eating witch of the forest; Rulpui, the demonic love child of a python and a farmer's daughter; and Sichangneii, a woman from the sky, whose wings are stolen from her by her husband in a Mizo parallel to the famous story of the selkie.

Genres: Short Stories

124 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[Preethi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant set of short folk tales from Mizoram. Definitely a must read.

[Manasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first book from the state of Mizoram and I was super excited about it. I loved the little stories and all the mythical creatures. I felt I could draw parallels within a few of these stories and some of the fairy tales from other regions.

I understand that these are quick short tales, however, I would have loved to see them developed a little more. Some sections felt like we were just breezing through them without soaking them up completely. But overall a good read!

[G.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these wonderful stories has renewed my intent in comparative mythologies. Will I write a formal paper, comparing and contrasting Mizo tales with those of the Irish and Norse mythologies, or those of the nłeʔkepmx? I don't know. Perhaps I will look for similarities, and take a more unifying approach to their study.

[liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very cool, though this selection seems mainly about romantic couples? Is that indicative of Mizo folktales in general or of this selection? They seemed more folktales than myths

[Satyanit · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has recently moved to Mizoram from the mainland, this was a fun read. I think an illustrated version of this for each story would be so cool!