PALAK PUK
22.200000,92.883300
Description
The waters of the 600 m wide lake Pala (note 1) are believed to issue from a fabulous cave associated with a fabulous snake. ETYMOLOGY: Pala lake is called Palak Dil in Mizo and Pala Tipang in Lakher. SITUATION: Lake Pala lies in an alluvial plain of recent (Quaternary) alluvium (note 2) and 130 km along the road south-west of Saiha, the district headquarters, or some 5 km from Pahu village near Tongklong village. CULTURAL HISTORY - cave legend: »Formerly the lake Pala was a village with 300 houses. In the middle of the village was a huge stone, and underneath the stone a cave in which dwelt a large snake, which, every night, seized one of the village children and ate it. The villagers were in despair at the depredations committed by the snake, so they made a strong hook, tied it on to a rope, impaled a dog on the hook and threw it to the snake, which swallowed the dog and with it the fish hook. The villagers then tried to pull out the snake, but with all their efforts they could not do so, and only succeeded in pulling out enough of the snake to go five times round the rock at the mouth of the hole, and then, as they could not pull out any more of the snake, they cut off the part they had pulled out, and the snake's tail and the rest of it's body fell back into the deep cave with a fearful noise. From that night water began pouring out from the snake's hole and covered the hole village and formed the present Pala lake« (PARRY, N E 1932: 561-562). GOSH & GOSH (1998a) add nothing but copyist's mistakes to Parry's note.
NOTE 1: The oval shaped lake has a maximum diameter of »660 yards« or 600 m (ENCYCLOPAEDIA … 1994: 141; CHATTERJI 1979: 47-48, one photograph). NOTE 2: »The Palak lake is supposed to have come into existence as a result of a big earthquake that shook the area long back and caused the annihilation of a big village which caved in far into the earth and gave place to the emergence of the lake. It is believed that the village still exists at the bottom of the lake providing save and easy living place to the demons who are supposed to guard the lake« (CHATTERJI 1979: 47-48).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15.7 | LUNGPUK | ||
| 31.9 | Ruabuk Caves | ||
| 35.8 | MILU PUK, Mampui | ||
| 47.4 | MILU PUK, Mamte | ||
| 62.8 | RAMTHANGHAKA CAVE | ||
| 64.0 | PUK MOI | ||
| 64.9 | BAK PUK, South Lungrang 2 | ||
| 65.2 | BAK PUK, South Lungrang | ||
| 65.5 | KANGFIMRAM PUK |