There were once seven suns in the creation. Therefore, the globe was very hot. One and all were upset because of the heat from the seven suns.
One day, the seven Munda brothers conversed, “The earth is so hot because of the seven suns. If we kill the suns, the earth will be cool and calm.”
So, they shot their arrows at the suns and killed six of them. The seventh sun escaped the arrow of the seventh brother and hid behind the hill.
Now the entire world was caught in the darkness of nightfall. The animals and birds in the forest held a meeting and decided to get back the light. They explored for light. But where would they get the light without the sun? They were troubled.
The bunny rabbit snooped on the meeting and heard of the worries of the animals and the birds. He said, “There is a sun still living, hiding behind the hill, afraid of the human beings. If you call him, he may come back.”
Tiger, the king of the forest, called the sun. But the sun did not turn up. Other birds and animals tried calling him. But the sun did not listen to them.
The rooster hesitatingly asked, “May I call once?”
The birds and animals giggled at the rooster. Tiger, the king, said, “Let him try once. Maybe, the sun will come in response to his call.”
Facing the hill that the sun had taken shelter behind, the rooster called out loud, “Kok re Kak!”
The sun seemed to peek out from the other side of the hill. Encouraged, the rooster called again, “Kok re Kak!”
This time the sun looked up a little more. The rooster called a third time, “Kok re Kak!”
Now the sun arose from behind the hill into the sky. The sky and earth burst with light and everyone rejoiced.
The Munda brothers too repented their mistake and began respecting the sun.
(This is a Munda oral tale collected from the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra, a folklorist who has authored several books on the oral traditions of the tribes of Odisha has translated it into English.)
Source: http://talkingmyths.com/
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