Oral tradition East Indian folktale
What happened to the tails that humans were once so proud to have?
Story
Once there was a time when all humans had tails and were very proud of those tails. One day the Great Creator, visited the market which was busy with people jostling and pushing and somebody stepped on his tail. He tripped and fell, and the crowd laughed at him. In his anger he did something that changed the human race forever…
Why we chose it
When Humans Had Tails was one of the stories in The Story Museum’s original audio stories collection. These stories are particularly suitable for learning to retell.
Where it came from
This is a Saora folk tale from Odisha (formerly Orissa) in East India.
Where it went next
The story was recorded and written down by the anthropologist Verrier Elwin in 1961. The book, When the World Was Young: Folk-tales from India’s Hills and Forests, contains many other Indian myths and legends.
Associated stories
There are several myths in different cultures of ancient humans having tails, including stories of Cornishmen and Kentish men. In Japanese legend, Kitsune are shape-shifting foxes which, in some stories, keep their tails while they are in human form.
Oral tradition East Indian folktale