Marrying a "Chudiyal" or a Woman Evil Spirit

A She Evil Spirit

Chudiyal in Indian folklore is an evil spirit who can take the form of a beautiful woman. The Chudiyal is part of Hindu mythology and denotes a woman evil spirit who has been denied entry into the spirit world for some terrible crime like child murder or killing of husband. Such spirits are destined to roam the human world and frequently meet men, who are their target. Such spirits will even marry a man and then at the appropriate time kill him. In the villages of India there are many tales of such woman spirits marrying men. Most people who relate these tales swear an oath that they are true. Perhaps there is an element of truth in it as the spirit world has not yet been explored by man and science.

The first time I heard the tale of a Chudiyal was when I was very young. I had gone to my village and my uncle related a bizarre tale. He said that there was a lonely bachelor in the village, who wanted to marry. One day while walking along one of the mountain paths he espied a most lovely and enticing lady crying. She told the man that she had been banished from home by her father and had no place to go. Smitten by her beauty, the man brought the woman home and married her. But a peculiar aspect of his life began to make the man wonder. The woman asked for no firewood and this intrigued him greatly. One day he decided to decipher the mystery and came home early. He peeped through the window and saw the woman having her leg aflame and using it for firewood by thrusting it in place of a log inside the Chula or stove.

This frightened the man greatly and when he came home and the woman lay down with him, he began to perspire with fear. There was a lamp some distance away and the lady asked him to smother the flame. He just lay and wondered what to do. The woman laughed and suddenly elongated her leg and with a swish of her feet extinguished the flame. Seeing this man ran out of the house saying a Chudiyal had entered his house. All the villagers collected and a soothsayer was called. He told the gathering that the lady inside the house was a Chudiyal and she would kill the man. Reciting mantras the soothsayer went inside the house and by extrasensory powers and mantras ousted the Chudiyal who ran away naked from the house into the woods.

Tales of Chudiuyal’s abound in India and one wonders whether there is an element of truth in them. Maybe some authentic research is called for

Poetry from the Past : Poetess Sapho from Lesbos and Lesbanism

The Word Lesbian

Bust of Sappho

Lesbian is a word that is common now. It denotes love of a sexual nature between women. There was a time when being a Lesbian wad thought to be an aberration. But now people understand that sexual love between two women is normal though deviant.

The word Lesbian is many century’s years old. It is connected with the Greek poetess Sappho. She lived on the island of Lesbos around 610-570 BC. The word Lesbian is based on the island of name Lesbos where Sappho lived.

Sappho The Greek Poetess

A painting of Sappho by eroticist Eduard-Henri Avr

Sappho wrote passionate poetry about love and women. She believed that loving another woman in a sexual way was a normal affair. Her poetry is lovely and passionate. The word Lesbian thus is a tribute to the poetess Sappho who wrote passionate verses eulogizing women. I am thankful that Sappho wrote these verses, for life is now that much more interesting. Hats off to the master poetess. It is sad, but most of Sappho’s verses were burned by Christians in 380 AD. However, a few of her works have survived the carnage.

Opinion about Sappho

Sappho and Alcaeus by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. On vie

Opinion
It is worth quoting the 3rd-century philosopher Maximus of Tyre. He .wrote that Sappho was "small and dark" and that her relationships to her female friends were similar to those of Socrates (with men):
As per him this love of the Lesbian woman is nothing but the Socratic art of love. She (Sappho) practiced love with women, he with boys. For they said they loved many and were captivated by all things beautiful.
I will end this small paragraph by quoting from one of her verses. She wrote, “Some say that the fairest thing upon the dark earth is a host of horsemen, and some say a host of foot soldiers, and others again a fleet of ships, but for me, it is my beloved.”

Last Word

Bust in Instabul Museum

An example of Sappho’s poetry is worth a read
“And if she flees, soon will she follow,
and if she does not take gifts, she will give,
if she does not love, she will love
despite herself"
Come to me now, the harsh worry
Let loose, what my heart wants to be
Done, do it!, and you yourself be
My battle-ally”.