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Grouping | South Asian folk mythology |
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Other name(s) |
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Country | India |
Region | Karnataka |
Details | English: "Come tomorrow" |
Nale Ba or Naale Baa (Kannada: ನಾಳೆ ಬಾ, lit. "Come Tomorrow") is a popular folk legend which features prominently in areas across Karnataka, India.[1][2] "Naale Baa" has been found written on the doors and walls of the towns and villages for certain years.[3][4] People write this on walls to prevent the entry of a malevolent spirit into their homes. It is believed that malevolent spirits or witches roam at night and take away children. In some variations, people used to believe that a witch or a malevolent spirit roam around the houses and calls the names of the persons, If a person replies, he or she is said to die by vomiting blood. In some other variations of the myth, the spirit is believed to be a bridal ghost who roams around the town in search of her husband. She is known to take away the man of the house who is often the sole earning member of the family, therefore bringing bad luck to the entire household. There are also similar legends in states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Naale Baa was an urban legend that went viral during the 1990s in Karnataka.[1] The myth is "a witch roams the streets in the night and knocks the door. The witch apparently speaks in voices of your kin so you would be deceived to open the door. If you open it then you will die." So the residents came up with a smart idea of writing "Naale Baa" outside the doors and the walls of their house. So when the ghost reads it and it goes back to come again the next day and the cycle repeats.[5]