Khastakhumār and Bībīnagār or Xasteh Xomār is an Afghan folktale. Both titles refer to tales about a poor maiden who marries a youth in snakeskin, loses him due to her breaking his trust, and goes after him at his mother's home, where she is forced to perform hard tasks for her.
The tale belongs to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, wherein a human princess marries a supernatural husband, loses him, and goes on a quest to find him. It is also distantly related to the Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, in that the heroine is forced to perform difficult tasks for a witch or her mother-in-law. According to scholarship, other variants are known in Afghanistan.
Summary First version A version of the tale, titled Khastakhumār and Bībīnagār, was collected by professor Hafizullah Baghban in 1967, from a fifty-year-old farmer named Yar Muhammad.Dorson, Richard M. Folktales told around the world. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. 1978. p. 231. . In this tale, an old kharkash ('thorn-seller', 'thorn-gatherer'), while gathering thorn bushes to sell, meets a black snake who asks for the man's youngest daughter's hand in marriage. He marries the maiden as a snake, but takes off his snake skin (his jild, a cover or disguise) and appears as a man in their bridal bed. The wife's two stepsisters, seeing the man and becoming jealous, convince her to ask about burning his jild skin. He questions his wife's interest in the matter, but answers her: it can be burned with garlic and onion skins. The stepsisters burn the jild, the man becomes a green pigeon and tells his wife she must wear down seven pairs of iron clothes, seven pairs of iron shoes and seven canes, all the way to the west, then she'll find him, and vanishes.
She begins her wanderings, and passes by a caravan of camels, a flock of sheep, a herd of cows, and a herd of donkeys - all belonging to her husband Khastakhumar. She arrives at a spring and asks for a drink of water, but a woman (concubine) says she is in a hurry and refuses her plight. Bibinagar curses the water the other is carrying to become pus and blood, which she gives to her master. The third time, the servant returns to fetch water, gives it to Bibinagar, and returns to her master. When the concubine pours down the water on her master's hands, a ring drops out of the jug that the master recognizes as Bibinagar's. Khastakhumar takes her in as a servant in his mother's house. His mother tries to get rid of her, by setting her to go to her sister to ask for khamīrturūsh (a sourdough ball used to prepare bread).
Before she goes, Khastakhumar intercepts her and teaches her to reach his aunt: she is to compliment a river of pus by saying it contains butter; compliment a river of blood by saying it contains juice; compliment a crooked tree; open his aunt's shut gate and shut her open one; and give the correct fodder to animals (bone to a dog and a straw to a donkey). The woman visits the witch, gets the khamirturush and escapes. The aunt commands the dog, the donkey, the gates, the tree and the rivers of pus and blood to stop Bibinagar, but the human woman leaves unscathed.
Next, Khastakhumar's mother forces Bibinagar to hold candles during Khastakhumar's marriage to his aunt's daughter: Khastakhumar's mother wraps cotton around her fingers and lights them up. Suffering their burning, Bibinagar cries out to Khastakhumar her fingers are burning, and he, in return, says his heart and soul are the ones that are burning. After his wedding to his cousin, Khastakhumar asks Bibinagar to boil water. His new wife takes the boiled water to the tushnuk (a sort of washroom), pours it on her head and dies.
The couple prepares to escape from Khastakhumar's family and takes with them a dozen needles, water in a sheepskin, a dozen juwāldūz (large sewing needles), salt and glass. As his family pursues them, the couple try to hinder the chase by throwing objects behind them: first the juwaldaz (which spread into large needles), then the needles, the salt, the glass (which turns the ground into glass) and finally the water to create a river between them. At the other side of the river, Khastakhumar's family asks how they crossed the stream. Bibinagar explains she crossed by pocketing some rocks and jumping. His family follows the false instructions and sink to the bottom. The couple wait until black blood foams at the river surface to confirm his family's demise. After they ascertain their victory, they go back to his father-in-law's house and remarry.Dorson, Richard M. Folktales told around the world. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. 1978. pp. 231-237. .
Second version A second version of the tale was collected by American folklorist Margaret Mills from a woman named MZ, in the Dari language, titled Xasteh Xomār.Mills, Margaret A. Cupid and Psyche in Afghanistan: An international Tale in Cultural Context Occasional Paper (Asia Society. Afghanistan Council), No. 14, Spring/1978. p. 1. In her version, a poor, old thorn-gatherer, while in the fields, lifts a stone and finds a hidden cache of flour. Thinking it is a divine blessing, he takes some and brings it home. When he returns, he sees a snake on top of the trapdoor, who explains it is the owner of the flour and demands one of the man's daughters in return. He tells the situation to his three daughters, but only the youngest accepts to be delivered to the snake.
She sits on a camel to be taken to her snake husband. A handsome man greets her and takes her to an underground palace. He explains that he wears a snake skin, but is otherwise human. He gives her free rein on all his properties.
Some time later, her sisters want to visit her, and her elder gets curious about the snake skin. She prompts the youngest to ask her husband about it later that night. She does and is reproached by her husband, warning her that if the skin is burnt, it may lead to disgrace for both of them. He says her question is foolish, but answers that it can be burnt with onion and garlic skins.
The girl naïvely tells her sisters about it the next time they visit. Her sisters heat up the oven and throw the snakeskin inside, just as Xasteh Xomar appears to try to stop them. As the skin burns, the grand palace and everything within it vanish, leaving only the girls, and a betrayed Xasteh Xomar. He tells his wife that, if she ever wants to see him again, she must head westwards, wearing seven pairs of iron shoes and seven iron canes, but warns her that his own family is entirely made of divs that may devour her.
Later, the girl goes after him with the needed garments. She passes by a herd of camels, a herd of cows, a herd of sheep and a herd of goats - all the bride price of Bibi Negar. She finally stops by her husband's place. While she rests, she sees a servant girl come out of the building to fetch some water. She begs the girl to drink some, but the servant refuses and tells her the water is for her master. The girl curses the water to become blood, then pus, and by the third time the servant goes to the fountain, she finally gives the girl a drink of water. She discreetly lets her ring inside the jug. When the servant takes the jug to Xasteh Xomar, he recognizes the ring and brings the girl home.
Xasteh Xomar is happy to see his human wife, but reminds her of the warning about his family. So he turns her into a needle to hide her presence from the divs. However, his div mother notices the human smell on him and wants her son to reveal the human he is hiding. Xasteh Xomar makes her promise not to harm his human wife (who he passes off as a servant). The div mother still forces her to do chores for them: to sweep the floor and sprinkle water over it; to take a black mat and wash it white, and to wash it back to black. Xasteh Xomār invokes magic help in the name of prophet Solomon and helps his wife in her tasks.
Thirdly, the div mother sends the girl to go to her sister's house and bring a comb, a mirror and scissors. Xasteh Xomar advises her to compliment everything on its way, no matter if ugly or repulsive; to give the correct food for the dog and the camel; to get the objects and run away as fast as she can. She does as instructed and returns to the div mother's house with the requested items.
Finally, the div mother prepares the wedding of Xasteh Xomar with his cousin, Bibi Negar. His div mother wraps cotton around the human girl's fingers, butters them with ghee, lights the improvised candles and forces her to illuminate the wedding procession. Xasteh Xomar's human wife cries out that her fingers are burning, but Xasteh Xomar himself is also suffering with his mother's ploy. When the ceremony ends, Xasteh Xomar insists that the servant girl sleeps by the door, in case he and his new wife need something.
That night, Xasteh Xomar heats up a cauldron of cooking fat, takes his new wife and dumps her inside the cooking pot. He at last awakens his human wife, takes some objects from the house and both escape.
The next morning, his div family notices that he has not awakened yet, nor has his bride. They notice that the bride Bibi Negar has been cooked like a meal, and decide to go after the runaway couple. His aunt and mother follow them in a cloud of smoke. Xasteh Xomar notices their approach and throws objects to deter them, invoking the name of prophet Solomon to work the magic: the needles create a field of needles to prickle their feet; the salt to cripple them. The last object creates a sea (derīyā in the original text, meaning 'gulfs', 'wide lakes' and 'seas' in the Herati dialect).Mills, Margaret A. Cupid and Psyche in Afghanistan: An international Tale in Cultural Context Occasional Paper (Asia Society. Afghanistan Council), No. 14, Spring/1978. p. 21 (note nr. 1). Xasteh Xomar deceives his family by saying that he crossed the lake by carrying a mountain on each shoulder and a millstone around their neck. His relatives repeat the action and sink to the bottom of the lake, never to return.
Xasteh Xomar and his human wife return to their palace.Mills, Margaret A. Cupid and Psyche in Afghanistan: An international Tale in Cultural Context Occasional Paper (Asia Society. Afghanistan Council), No. 14, Spring/1978. pp. 4-22.
Analysis Tale type Scholars relate the story to the ancient Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and PsycheDorson, Richard M. Folktales told around the world. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. 1978. p. 230. .Mills, Margaret A. Cupid and Psyche in Afghanistan: An international Tale in Cultural Context Occasional Paper (Asia Society. Afghanistan Council), No. 14, Spring/1978. pp. 1, 23. and classify both versions as type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband", in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index.Dorson, Richard M. Folktales told around the world. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. 1978. p. 230. .Ashliman, D. L. A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System. Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature, vol. 11. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. pp. 86-87. . In this type, the heroine marries an enchanted animal who is a prince in disguise, loses him due to her own actions, and goes on an arduous quest to get him back. In both Afghan tales, the heroine must wear down seven pairs of iron shoes and walk with an iron cane.Bamford, Karen. "Quest for the Vanished Husband/Lover, Motifs H1385.4 and H1385.5". In: Jane Garry and Hasan El-Shamy (eds.). Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. A Handbook. Armonk / London: M.E. Sharpe, 2005. p. 253.
In his monograph about Cupid and Psyche (AaTh 425) and related types, Swedish scholar believed that his type A (Cupid and Psyche) appeared to be "the main tale type of Aa 425" in Persia and in India.Swahn, Jan Öjvind. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche. Lund, C.W.K. Gleerup. 1955. p. 252.