Yenakha Paotapi

**Yenakha Paotapi** or **Yenakha Paodabi Saijin Polibi** () is an old demoness (hingchabi). Stories often show her as an evil spirit. She stays around the eaves of roofs in Meitei mythology and folklore. Her story is from Antique Kangleipak (Ancient Manipur). The stories say she interferes everywhere.

## Etymology 
The Meitei name "Yenakha Paotaapi" (ꯌꯦꯅꯈꯥ ꯄꯥꯎꯇꯥꯄꯤ) or "Yenakha Paotaabi" (ꯌꯦꯅꯈꯥ ꯄꯥꯎꯇꯥꯕꯤ) is made up of two words "Yenakha" (ye.nə.kʰa, ꯌꯦꯅꯈꯥ) and "Paotaapi" (ꯄꯥꯎꯇꯥꯄꯤ) or "Paotaabi" (ꯄꯥꯎꯇꯥꯕꯤ). In Meitei, "Yenakha" (ye.nə.kʰa, ꯌꯦꯅꯈꯥ) means *either side of the house*. The word "Paotaabi" (ꯄꯥꯎꯇꯥꯕꯤ) can be fragmented into "Pao" ("ꯄꯥꯎ"), "Ta" ("ꯇꯥ") (or *Da, "ꯗꯥ"*) and "Bi" ("ꯕꯤ"). "Pao" ("ꯄꯥꯎ") means information, message or news. In Meitei, "Ta" ("ꯇꯥ") has many meanings. Its meanings may be either (1) *to inhabit* or *to dwell*, (2) *to arrive at a stage*, (3) *to fall* or *to reduce*, (4) *to turn over*, (5) *to listen* or *to hear*. Here, in case of "Paotaabi", *"Pao"* means *to listen* or *to hear*. "Pi" ("ꯄꯤ") or "Bi" ("ꯕꯤ") is a suffix to denote feminine gender.

## Mythology 
There are many legends of Yenakha Paotaapi. 
### Yenakha Paotaapi and a couple 
Once there was a childless couple. They would play a game together.  They would make riddles.  Whoever lost the riddle game would give the winner a Shareng fish (Wallago attu, helicopter catfish). The husband made a riddle like this: 
"A man with four hands
With a rucksack by his side, 
Is dancing round and round.
Rolling around cheerful is another man in front. Then, the husband told her the answer: 
"The answer is what you do many times. You use a four spoked wheel and when you rotate it, the yarn ball rotates in the front.
There was a huge quarrel and then a fight between the two identical women. The husband was unable to solve the problem. So, all of them went to the King to judge their matter. After hearing the whole story, the king said to the two women, 

"As both of you are firm on your stands, let the great God show us the truth."

Then, as per a new plan devised by the King, a priest (maiba) got blessings from the Lainingthou (Great God) and put a hollow bamboo pipe on a banana leaf. Then, the king told the two women that only the real woman would be able to pass through the narrow bamboo pipe.  The king and asked the two to try to go through the pipe to prove their real identity.  But this was a trick. The demoness, not realizing, immediately transformed.  She shrunk until she could fit into the hollow bamboo pipe. Then, the king immediately made his men close both the ends of the bamboo pipe. Thus, Yenakha Paodabi, was trapped. He tried to burn the bamboo pipe, but Yenakha Paodabi requested him to let her go.  The king released her. From that day onwards, Yenakha Paodabi never interfered again with the couple's life. The brother and the sister ran away from the place. Yenakha Paotabi finished eating the small boy. Then, she looked for the rest of the children. She found them missing. So she started following the children. The brother and the sister hid themselves at a nearby house (*"a house at far away place found after running"* in another version of the story). Later, the two siblings found their real mother. They ran towards her joyfully calling "mother". But the mother said they were not hers. She had told her new husband that she did not have any children.  But he became suspicious when the children called her "mother". So he asked her if she was hiding something from him. The mother brought a Shuk (stick of rice grinder). She said that the child who could throw this Shuk in front of the front yard of the house was her true child. According to her, the one who could not do it was not her true child. The daughter (sister) mentioned God Lainingthou's name. She closed her eyes filled with tears. She threw the Shuk. The Shuk fell ahead of the front yard. The brother failed. It was because he was not strong. According to the mother's words, the sister was accepted but the little boy was rejected. The sister cried at her mother's rejection of her younger brother. The sister took out some food to feed her little brother. Her mother scolded her.

## Related pages 
* Imoinu (Emoinu) - Meitei goddess of wealth
* Ireima (Ereima) - Meitei goddess of water 
* Leimarel (Leimalel) - Meitei goddess of earth
* Ngaleima - Meitei goddess of fish
* Panthoibi - Meitei goddess of civilization, love and warfare
* Phouoibi (Phouleima) - Meitei goddess of agricultural crops
* Thumleima - Meitei goddess of salt
## References