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Bonbibi, is a legendary lady of the forest, dubbed as a guardian spirit of the forests and venerated by both the Hindu and the Muslim residents of the Sundarbans (the largest mangrove forest in the world spread across Southern Bangladesh and West Bengal in eastern India north of Bay of Bengal and home to the Bengal Tigers).[1] She is called upon mostly by the honey-collectors and the woodcutters before entering the forest for protection against the attacks from the tigers. It is believed that the demon king, Dakkhin Rai (or Dakshin Rai; meaning Lord of the South), an arch-enemy of Bonbibi actually appears in the disguise of a tiger and attacks human beings.
- ^ Sufia Uddin (2011). "Beyond National Borders and Religious Boundaries: Muslim and Hindu Veneration of Bonbibi". In Mathew N. Schmalz; Peter Gottschalk (eds.). Engaging South Asian Religions: Boundaries, Appropriations, and Resistances. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 61–82. ISBN 978-1-4384-3323-3.