The Mythology of the Temple of the Butterfly

The Guru delightedly led Marjory into the darkness of the inner sanctum where a sandalwood fire crackled in the centre of a circular room. No other light penetrated and the painted walls flickered in the firelight like the theatre of some strange world. There were devils and gods depicted in a jungle filled with monkeys and birds. With the gentle touch of a child the Guru paraded Marjory about these scenes, explaining the story in his own tongue, though it needed no commentary.
During the following weeks Tristan carefully copied these wall paintings and later published a beautifully illustrated book of the temple called ‘The Peacock Feather – the Mythology of The Temple of the Butterfly'.
Here is the story:
A tail feather of a peacock is plucked by a turban clad blue skinned God who rests above the world on a cloud cushion. His name is Raja. He coats the feather with honey stolen from an angry swarm of bees for he wishes to entice the God of lightning to strike the feather. The power of the lightning will bring the feather to life and foretell the future.
A great storm rises as the God of Lightning seeks out the feather with lashing rain and lightning striking the land - one jagged flash catches the feather held aloft by Raja. The enchanted eye of the feather blinks.
A monkey who was sheltering from the storm in a ancient tree follows Raja to his palace where the feather is placed in a position of honour in a silver vase. While Raja celebrates his new found wisdom the monkey slips into the palace and steals the feather, which cries out to the God alerting him to the kidnap.
His face red with anger, steam issuing from his teeth Raja summons all manner of devils and servants to pursue the monkey. But they are neither clever nor fast enough to follow the little monkey as it swings and climbs high in the canopy of the trees. The further behind the pursuers fall the angrier Raja becomes. He casts each pursuer who fails into a stream and damns them to be turned to water until the last chaser falls as a droplet into what is now a  huge river which washes down through the jungle to a great sea where whales and dolphins thrive.
The monkey takes a large leaf from one of the trees and drops it into the river. Gently lowering itself onto the boat the monkey and the feather float along until nightfall hoping to reach the sea and escape the wrath Raja. However the God bewitches some stones, calling them together so they form a crocodile. As the monkey sleeps using the feather as a blanket the crocodile rises from the water upending the boat. The bedraggled monkey holds the feather up out of the water and as they pass some overhanging branches plunges head down using its tail to pull them to safety.
Both monkey and feather emerge soaked but alive and cower high in the crock of the tree. At the base of the tree Raja instructs men to climb upwards while they are urged on by a crowd of women who sing and dance to encourage them to success. The feather realises without the monkey it might have died in the river or in the jaws of the crocodile and whispers a prayer to the tree, requesting its protection. Monstrous green ants emerge from the bark and with huge nipping pincers attack the climbers, making them fall to earth with bone splitting force.
High above in the sunlit canopy birds crested with wild plumage of multi coloured feathers sing a lullaby of joy to the sun and soon the monkey falls asleep, Its head resting on the feather its tail curled tight around the tree trunk. A chameleon emerges from its disguise on the branch and using its long sticky tongue gently slips the feather from the sleeping monkeys grasp.
This chameleon is working for the lightning God who believes it was his power which brought the feather life and he should enjoy the benefit of its wisdom. Raja now at war with his fellow deity summons a wind which swirls about the chameleon blowing it off the tree and flinging it this way and that until finally its sticky tongue can no longer hold the prize. The feather swirls into the sky where it is swept along in the midst of a huge flock of blue butterflies.
The feather pleads for their help and they carry it along on their journey. But its weight is too great for the delicate butterflies and they fall lower in the sky steadily downwards until the feather dips into the river and is torn from the butterflies grasp.
The monkey and chameleon reappear together to save the feather, they struggle to pull it from the river for it is now swollen and heavy. The crocodile’s eyes and nose emerge from the water. Now desperate the monkey and chameleon call on the butterflies and birds for help and united they gather enough strength to rip the feather out from the river but the force of their efforts send it flying like a sharp sword into the jungle. It plummets into the side of a tree and disappears within.
Raja takes a knife and peels back the bark from the tree and reveals a white skinned woman in Indian garments with huge  peacock feather eyes. She offers herself to him but only if he will protect those that protected her. He agrees declaring that the monkey, chameleon, birds and butterflies are to be honoured as Children of Raja and no man or woman must harm them lest they seek the wrath of Raja and his crocodile of stone. 

(Taken from The Extraordinary Obituary of Marjory Threadgold)