Hechakuppa A Kirati Folktale Retold by: Saran Rai The orphan Hechakuppa was raised by his two elder sisters, Tayama and Khiyama. Seeing that they had no parents, a demoness named Chaklungdhima from Chaklungdhi devoured all the grain from their fields and granary, leaving them starving. To feed their younger brother, Tayama and Khiyama brought wild roots, tubers, and edible plants from the forest, such as khokli sakki (wild yam) and giththa bhyakur (a type of root). When Chaklungdhima discovered this, she sank the khokli sakki deep into the underworld and sprinkled poison ( khakpa ) on the giththa bhyakur , making it bitter and inedible. Then the sisters began feeding Hechakuppa the sap of wild fruits ( aiselu ), but he couldn’t survive on that alone. One day, the sisters placed a clay pot ( buchukuluk ) over the fire to cook food and went to the forest to find more. Hechakuppa waited eagerly, thinking the food was cooking. After a long wait, disappointed and weak with hun...