Mythological Themes in the Tales of Chhurbura: A Preliminary Study

Chhurbura is a prominent character in Mizo folk narratives. There are several fascinating tales associated with Chhurbura’s adventures and misadventures. He belongs to the class of ‘Trickster Characters’ and his stories are present in most folk narratives of the Zo people. This paper attempts to look at the themes pertaining to mythology in Chhurbura’s tales through the lens of different definitions of myth described by scholars and thinkers all over the world. Basing the arguments around the idea of mythology and the possibility of mythologising Chhurbura and his tales, this paper aims at a qualitative analysis of different tales of Chhurbura, namely, ‘Myth of Creation’, ‘Chhura Catches Crabs with his Mother-in-law’, ‘Chhura’s Magic Horn’, ‘Wonderful Flight in Air’, ‘Travel to Mawngping Village’, and ‘Chhura Joins his Captors to Cut the Tree’. This paper attempts to give new perspectives to the comprehension of Chhurbura’s tales and to breathe new life to this timeless character and his adventures.