The Mischievous Hare and the Two Kings | A Tarok Folktale

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Once upon a time, there lived two kings, namely, King Tanwu and King Rafi. Both kings were friends and shared the same border. They lived happily as neighbours until King Tanwu's kingdom was hit by famine. There was no rain and because of this, there were not enough food for the people and they did not know where to get food. They became so hungry that they decided to eat leaves and roots of trees. Things that were not normally eaten became food items because of the sever famine in the land. It was a very difficult time and people were lean and hungry.

In those days, Izum, the Hare lived with human beings. So when the famine came, the Hare too was affected. He had to go far away into the bush to look for food.

“How do I solve this my problem?” he asked himself one day. As a clever animal, Izum thought seriously about his problem. He was not going to sit down complaining and pitying himself. He would do something to solve his problem. An idea came to him and he decided to act on it at once. The next day, Izum , the Hare dressed very well and went to see King Rafi. On reaching the King’s palace, he knocked at the gate and a servant came out to receive him.

“I want to see the king personally,” he announced. The servant took Izum to the king and after exchange of greetings, Izum declared:

“I have come your majesty for a very important reason. I have knowledge of what will happen to you in the future and it is only proper that I tell you about it now. This knowledge was revealed to me in a dream. I can very well decide to shut my mouth and keep the news to myself, but that would be wicked of me to keep from you such news of great importance to you and your kingdom.”

King Rafi was filled with anxiety and wanted Izum to quickly give him the news.

“Your majesty,” said the Hare, “it will surprise you to know that King Tanwu is preparing for war against you and your kingdom. I thought to myself at you have done nothing to provoke war from King Tanwu but he had fully prepared for the war and in a matter of days, his warriors will invade your kingdom. It wouldn’t be proper for me to have this secret knowledge and not tell you about it. This is why I have come to you, King Rafi.”

King Rafi was grateful to the Hare for the information and he told him that he would be prepared for the attack. The king told Izum that if all people were like him, the world would have been a better place. The king also told the Hare to go back home and that with the help of God, no one would conquer his kingdom. The Hare the told the king that he would go home but before he did so, it was proper that his majesty gave him his favourite food, eloap as well as a cow and some money. The king not only gave the Hare what he asked for but also gave him a lot more. Slaves were provided to carry everything king Rafi gave Izum. The Hare was very happy and when he returned home, he sent for the members of his family and all his friends to come and share with him the gifts from the king. The food items were so much that he could not eat them alone. However, within one week, the food was finished and with the threat of hunger before him, Izum once more became worried. This time, he decided to go and see King Tanwu. On arrival at King Tanwu’s palace, he sought audience with the king. On meeting the king, he said:

“Your majesty, I have a very important news for you. Your fellow king and friend, King Rafi, is planning evil against you. When I was returning from the market few days ago, I heard the citizens of King Rafi's kingdom discussing how they would fight you and your subjects. Then I said to myself, why should King Rafi have such an evil plan? After all two of you are known to be friends and it is also clear that you have done nothing to provoke him. I could have kept this information to myself but it would not be good for me to hide from you information that will help you and your subjects. This is why I have come to your palace, your majesty.”

King Tanwu was shocked by the information. He quickly recovered, thanked him declaring that if all the people were as honest and faithful as the Hare, the world would be a much better place to live in. The Hare made move to go but the king told him not to go away yet because he was going to authorise that food items be given to him to take away to his house. The king asked his servants to bring out plenty of food for the Hare to take home. Again, slaves were provided to help the Hare carry the food home. He was very happy because he had too much food to eat. The Hare ate the food and became fat and healthy again.

Meanwhile King Tanwu had summoned his advisers and told them what Izum had told him and should not be taken lightly. There was need for action by the king and all his subjects. People were told of the impending war and were advised to get ready. Some of the King’s subjects carried knives and axes. After King Tanwu saw these weapons, he told his subjects to go home and to come back the following day ready for war. They were to move into King Rafi’s kingdom ready to fight him.

Early the next day, all King Tanwu’s advisers and district heads were on the back of their horses ready to go to war. The king himself rode on the back of a white horse. His horse was very clean and specially decorated. The king led his subjects to fight. As they rode, they started singing a war song:

Wara kina di gum
Dakum na di gum
Wara kina di gum
Di gum, gum gum

As they proceeded to the war, the legs of the horses moved in unison and produced the following rhythmic sound:

Kacha bam,
Kacha bam,
Kacha bam,
Kacha bam,

As the horses galloped to war, much noise was produced by the horses and the many more people who followed on foot. When King Tanwu and his men arrived at the border of King Rafi’s kingdom, they stopped. They gathered together and made much noise which attracted the attention of the citizens of King Rafi’s kingdom.

That day, King Tanwu’s men remained at the border singing and dancing. When King Rafi’s subjects heard the noise, the became curious and gathered at the palace of their king to be told what was happening. They were told that Tanwu and his men had declared war on them. The king told them to prepare to go to war immediately and defend their land. War finally broke out and both sides fought fiercely. Some of King Tanwu’s warriors and advisers went back to him to give a report of the war. King Tanwu was sleeping because he was very tired and they could not see him because it was their custom never to wake their king from sleep. Not knowing what to do, they decided to sing and dance in the hope that their singing and dancing would wake up the king. They sang and danced to the music of the following song:

Ponzhi won ga kul
Mmabu ka nra nda
Ponzhi won ga kul
Mmabu ka nra nda
Ponzhi won ga kul
Mmabu ka nra nda mbin
(The king should wake up.
He is sleeping while his people are fighting.)

The king was in deep sleep and could not wake up. The kept on singing until gradually the king began to move in his bed. They sang louder and louder and at last the king woke up. Meanwhile, the war was raging and many people were being killed. King Tanwu got to the war front and found that his people were winning. Indeed, only few people in King Rafi’s kingdom were left and they ran and hid themselves. So the war ended with King Tanwu as the winner.

It was much later that both kings realised what the Hare had done. They started looking for the Hare but he had run into the bush where he stayed ever after.

As a result of the war, each of these kingdoms decided to choose a special day as their market day. King Tanwu chose Saturday as the market day for his people because the war began on a Saturday. King Rafi chose Friday as the market day for his people because it was on a Friday that the Hare lied to him that King Tanwu was preparing to fight him. Friday also had to be a constant reminder of what happened between him and the Hare. King Rafi reasoned that if he had acted quickly, perhaps King Tanwu and his men would not have defeated him and his subjects. So the choice of Friday as a market day was made to also remind him of what the Hare told him and the mistake he made.

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