H.K. Singh’s “Unitarian Christianity” an Indigenous Connection (On the occassion of his 100 Death Anniversary 13, November 1923 - 2023)

Hajom Kissor Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri, the founder of the Unitarian movement in Khasi and Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong District of Assam remains a lesser-known personality in the contemporary society of the North East. The fact is though HK Singh started the Unitarian movement in the hills 132 years ago, being a non-proselytizing religion, the Church remains a small minority, hence the popularity of its founder has not increased as it should. HK Singh was born on 15 June 1865 and started a formal worship of the Unitarian Church at Jowai on September 18, 1887.

He was converted to Christianity probably on the same day with his younger brother, u Nissor Singh who is famous for writing the first ever Khasi dictionary in the year 1885 ¹. He grew up in the era of the advent of Christianity. Later in his life, he witnessed the resurgence of the Khasi Traditional religion. Perhaps these events have shaped his thoughts and philosophy. 

The Unitarian Church that H.K. Singh established is unique in its own right. Maintaining its liberal outlook; the church in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills took roots in the soil of the land and adopted some of the thoughts and philosophy of the region. Its claim of being an indigenous religion is based not only on the fact that it was not started by any foreign missionary in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but it has also not received foreign assistance when it was first started. It is also unique because this liberal Christian denomination which was started by a Khasi absorbed and adopted the basic tenets of the Khasi traditional thoughts and philosophy. Hence the theology of the religion he started is original in that he blended the essence of the two faith traditions and formed his philosophy. 

H.K. Singh though a disciplined diary keeper who made regular entries on his day-to-day life, was also a prolific writer of letters. Unfortunately, he does not have any essay, dissertation, or sermon to his credit. His only work that reflects his thoughts and beliefs is the hymns that he composed for the Unitarian Hymn Book. If H.K. Singh ever had any theological discourses with his followers, they were not preserved for posterity, neither did he enter in his diary his thoughts and philosophy. Fortunately, H.K. Singh composed many hymns in the Unitarian hymnal and these hymns represent his thoughts and philosophy in the myriad themes under the sun.

His concept of the oneness of God was based both on the traditional beliefs ² and that of the Bible. He went further indigenizing the concept of God by using the Khasi word “Phi” (you) to address the almighty which is commonly used to address those in a position much higher and more respectable instead of the Khasi word “Me” (Thou). HK Singh’s use “Phi” to address the almighty was sometimes misunderstood in the plural sense of the term. Hence he was thought to worship many gods. His replacing of the Khasi word “Me” with “Phi” to address the Almighty is in itself a landmark because it is a polite term to use in the Khasi Pnar context. 

H.K. Singh’s concept of God is a synthesis of the “Yahweh” of the Old Testament, the father in heaven of Jesus and the ultimate God the Creator of the Khasi tradition. 

U Blei Nongthaw Nongbuh is not the only name that the Khasi Pnar uses to call God. They also have another name for God and that is ‘U Trai kynrad.’ Whether ‘U Trai Kynrad’ is a Khasi translation of the English ‘Lord’ which is again derived from the Greek word “Kyrios” is a debatable matter. Certainly in the Christian context; the using of the word ‘U Trai’ connotes the New Testament concept of the Lord which many times refers to the second person in the holy trinity which means Jesus Christ. This is what Christian churches assume and would like others to believe that the name Trai that Khasi gives to their God has a Christian origin and hence a Christian meaning.

U Trai is not a post-Khasi-Christian period invention. In the Khasi parlance, the term has been in use since time immemorial. Apart from using the name God, the Khasi also use the word Kynrad or U Trai Kynrad in paying obeisance to God Almighty. Incidentally, the word Trai in Khasi also has the same meaning as that of the English Lord, which means owner, foundation, foothold, etc. Kynrad is the personification of God 

In the context of the Pnar or the indigenous people of Jaintia Hills, they use two terms when referring to God. God the creator, ‘U Blai” is similar to Yahweh and God the Father and U Blei Nongbuh Nongthaw in Khasi. In the Pnar of Jaintia pantheon of gods, the creator, the molder, and the keeper is a female deity known as ‘ka syiem wabuh ka syiem wathoo.’ The Pnar has another term they use for God and that is “U Tre Kirot” which is equivalent to Lord. The word “Tre” in the Pnar parlance literarily means Owner, Lord, foundation, foothold, or roots. “Kirot” means Caring and Compassionate and the other meaning of Kirot is bountiful and perfect. Tre Kirot hence literarily means bountiful Lord the caring and compassionate one.

The War Jaintia, which is a sub-tribe of the Khasi people who live on the southern slopes of Jaintia Hills, speaks a Khasi language that is quite different from the other dialects used by the other Khasi sub-tribe. Scholars believe that the Amwi dialect spoken by the people of War Jaintia is the foundation of the whole Khasi language. In the War Jaintia dialect, there is only one word for God and that is “Prai”. There is no other word equivalent to Lord in the war Jaintia, but just “Prai u ae thia” which means “U Blei Nongthaw” in Khasi, and its English translation is God the Creator. Whether ‘Prai’ means both God and Lord is another question, but based on the evidence used by the War Jaintia people, ‘Prai’ which is incidentally similar to both ‘Trai and Blai” in the Pnar language, connotes the same meaning³.

It is obvious from the hymns that he composed; Hajom Kissor Singh’s concept of God is that of a traditional Khasi Pnar concept, God the Creator who is both God and Lord at the same time. Like the traditional concept, he does not differentiate one from the other, but his concept of God is much more than the God our forefather understands. 

In his Statement of belief, H.K. Singh in stanza 2 ⁴ of hymn number 1 in the Khasi Unitarian hymnbook describes his idea of God as /The living God is one only God/ He is our real father-mother/He is filled with love and compassion/ And forgive those who repent/ (U Blei Ba im U long Blei Tang Ma-U-Hi/ U long u Kpa-ka-Kmie ba shisha jong ngi/ U long Uba dap da jingieid jingisnei/.) 

By ascribing God as being both a “Father and Mother” entity; HK Singh went a step further than the traditional concept of God’s male gender ⁵. His God is genderless. This is the uniqueness of Khasi Unitarian theology although generally God is referred to as a male even in the Khasi matrilineal society, God is beyond gender. Although Khasi Pnar tends to use the prefix ‘U’ before the word God, which represents the male gender of God, Khasi Pnar has no image of God, and their concept of God is more of a spirit that pervades. Perhaps this idea is borrowed from the Pnar tradition where the “ka Syiem waboo” is one of the important deities in the h” Singh’s concept of God beyond gender and more of a formless spirit in nature is a step ahead of the traditional Khasi concept of God.

HK Singh further elaborates his idea of God in hymn number 66 ⁶ when he said/ Sing God’s praise; Lord of heaven and earth/ His wisdom unfathomable/ All creation on earth and in heaven/ Is living proof of his greatness overall / Sing God’s praise, Lord of stars and moon/ He is filled with glory, righteousness and lights/ All things that we see/ He made thus to teach us/. Sing God’s praise, he is our mother and father/Giver of spiritual light, He blesses us too/ He is loving, forgiving and wishes that/ We love our neighbors, do good and live courteously/. Sing God’s praise, Lord of lords, King of kings/ Lord of life and death Lord of the spirit/ Lord of times is also Lord of seasons/ Peace be unto us who worship him eternally/. (To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki bneng bad khyndew/ Ia jingstad bakhraw jong U ym lah ban thew/ Ki jingthaw baroh ha pyrthei ne ha bneng/ Ki pynpaw ia ka Burom jong U kylleng/ To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki khlur bad ki bnai/ Ha u dap tang burom, ka Hok bad jingshisha/ Kiei kiei baroh kiba ngi iohi-i/ U la buh khnang ban ai jinghikai ia ngi/ To rwai ia U Blei, Pa Mei long Ma U hi/ U ai jingshai mynsiem, U Kyrkhu ia ngi/ U ieit, U map ei kumjuh U kwah ia ngi/ Ban ieit ia ki lok, ban lehbha leh tipsngi/ To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki trai, Syiem ki syiem/ Trai ka jingim jingiap, Trai jong ki mynsiem/Trai jong ki por U long Trai ruh ki aiom/ Suk ia ngi long ban ai nguh ia U junom/) In the hymn number 5 ⁷, HK Singh says: One God/ One truth/ One true religion/. (Uwei U Blei, kawei ka hok/ Kawei ka niam shisha/ Ieit ia Blei, ieit ia ki lok/ Kylleng ngin ia pyrta/) In the second paragraph of hymn no 24 ⁸ of the Unitarian hymnal, he says, One God, one church/ One people, one mission/ Love God love friends/ Live a blessed life/. The Khasi version of the hymn says: (/Uwei U Blei, kawei ka Seng, kawe ka kam/ Ieit ia U Blei bad ia ki lok/ Ka jingim kan syrtok/)

In Hymn number 63 ⁹ he further said / Praise the Lord vociferously / Our Creator / Caregiver, Keeper and Benefactor/ He is the greatest Lord/ With God’s support/ Heaven and earth last forever / by divine love and grace/ He showed us the way of life /He bestowed wisdom on us/ Lights, Spiritual consolation too/ Understanding and overall progress/ And sow love inside us /That we may attain perfection/ Peace in him we’ll find/ In love we’ll flourish forever/ We’ll all live in peace with God/. (To rwai jamsawa I’U Trai/ Jong ngi baroh U Nongthaw/Nongsumar, Nongri, Nongai/ Long jong ngi U Trai bakhraw/Da jingkyrshan jong U Blei/ Ki neh ki bneng bad khyndew/Da jingieit da jingaiei/ Lad jingim ia ngi U kdew/ Jingstad ia ngi U la ai/ Jingshai, jingtngen mynsiem ruh/Jingsngewthuh jingroi kyrhai/ Bad jingieit ha ngi la buh/ Kumta jingjanai ngin poi/Ka jinghun ha U ngin ioh/ Ha jingieid junom ngin roi/ Ngin im suk ha U baroh/.) 

Hymn number 74 ¹⁰ when translated says /Sing sweet praise for God/ Spirit filled with joy/ We only trust his benevolence / That flows and fill forever / In his benevolent, / We live and were blessed/ Only he can quench the thirst/ Of a dry and eager soul. / There is no other like God/ In heaven and earth/ Fill with love and forgiveness/ For us to give and fill. /Let us sing to the Lord/ Kneeling we’ll pray/ Our souls will be enlightened/ with perfect peace/. (Rwai iaroh thiang I’U Blei/ Da ka mynsiem ba thesei/ Ngi shaniah tang ha jingisnei/ Jong u ba tuid bashlei/ Ha jingisnei jong U/ Ngi ioh im ioh kyrkhu/ Tang Ma U hi ba lah ban pynjah sliang/ Ia mynsiem ngi ba rkhiang/ Kum U Blei ym don shuh/ Ha bneng ha khyndew ruh/ Ba dap da jingieit jingmap-ei/ Ia ngi ban ai bashlei/ To ngin rwai ha U Trai/ Da dem khohsiew duwai/ Mynsiem jong ngi kin ioh jingshai/ Bad jingsuk hun janai/.) 

In stanza 1 of hymn number 127 ¹¹ he says, /Oh God who is eternally wise / Creator and everlasting provider/ Heaven and earth cannot/ encompass all your riches/. (Ko Blei ba stad bymjukut/ Nongthaw, Nongai bym jukut/ Ki bneng bad pyrthei kim lah/ Ban kynthup jong phi ka spah/) 

The two original readings H.K. Singh wrote are reading number 10 and 11 in the Khasi Unitarian Hymnbook ¹², both these readings were dated 1891 and reading number 10 is another piece that describes his concept of God. “…who is our creator and our foundation and sources of everything else; Who is eternal, Everlasting, Perfect in all respect, Who loves us most, Who is eternally good, the Wisest, who is present around us and inside us and who pervades everywhere and permeates in everything”. (… Uba long U Nongthaw bad Tynrai jong ngi bad jong kiei kiei baroh; U Bymjukut, U Baiaineh, U Bajanai ha kiei kiei baroh; U Baieijtam, U Babhatam, U Bastadtam, U Badap hapoh bad habar jong ngi, ha kylleng bad ha kiei kiei baroh.) 

Two Khasi stalwarts Radhon Singh Berry and Job Solomon were contemporaries of HK Singh. They were also known for their contribution to the literary world of the nascent Khasi language. RS Berry and Job Solomon also immensely contributed to the growth of the Unitarian movement by composing hymns for the Church. Radhon Singh Berry of Seng Khasi who composed more than 30 hymns in the Unitarian hymnbook later became Unitarian and Job Solomon remained in his faith till he breathed his last. Both these men of letters emphasized in the hymns they composed in the Unitarian hymnbook the truth that Khasi Unitarian’s God is God in the traditional Khasi Pnar context.

R.S. Berry in the hymn number 40 stanza 3 ¹³, says: /This is not a foreign God / God of our own he is/ He created you the way you are/ Now he come to awake you/. The Khasi version says: (Une Um long U Blei nongwei/ U Blei la jong U dei/ U ba thaw ia phi ka long briew/ Mynta U wan kyrsiew/) Then Job Solomon in the hymn number 7 ¹⁴ he again stress on the idea in the stanza 5 which says, /This is our God/ God of our ancestors too/ God of the Pnars and the Khasi/ He is also Lord of the Lords/. (Une U long U Blei jong ngi/ Blei ruh ki Ba-hyndai/ U Blei ki Pnar bad ki Khasi/ Uba U Trai ki trai/). 

The concept of God in the Khasi Unitarian context is a unique concept of a Universal and formless God, it is not God in the Judeo-Christian context -the father in heaven, God in an ‘anthromorphical’ form, or God in human image. The Khasi God is God in spirit and all-pervading God. Hence Unitarianism in the Khasi Jaintia hills is an indigenous religion precisely because it sprang up from its soil. 

H.K. Singh has to his credit composed 63 hymns in the Khasi hymn book of the Unitarian Union North East India. This is by no means a small feat ¹⁵. H.K. Singh’s contribution which the Khasi literary world failed to notice is that, apart from composing the 63 hymns, translated several English hymns and responsive readings in the Khasi hymn book of the Unitarian Church. H.K. Singh has also served as a member of the committee along with his brother Nissor Singh to co-produce the first English Khasi dictionary ¹⁶. Later along with Babu Jeebon Roy, he helped R.S. Berry with the famous book on Khasi Etiquette ¹⁷. Again H.K. Singh major contributions are the hymns he composed; the hymns are also illustrations of his thoughts and philosophy on various aspects. 

H.K. Singh is vehemently against superstitious belief which was prevalent among the natives then. He was against the belief in ghosts and nature deities like the gods of rivers and mountains. The hymns he composed that illustrate this are the second stanza of hymn number 5, paragraphs 3 of hymn no 7, and paragraphs 1 of hymn no 35 ¹⁸. Stanza 2 of hymn number 5 ¹⁹, says; /We are joyful to preach the holy church of God/ It is the power that liberate us from worship ghost and demons/. (Ngi sngewbha ban ialap ia ka/Dhorom bakhuid U Blei/ ka long ka bor ban pynduh ia/ jingmane ksuid ne khrei/). In stanza three of the hymn number 7 ²⁰, H.K.Singh says /False worshiping and superstition/God, bring all that to an end/ (Jingmane bieit bad jingngeit bieit/ Baroh pyndam a Blei/.) Lastly in the first stanza of the hymn number 61 ²¹ he said, /Thou has liberate us from darkness/ we thank thee Lord/ from the bondage of superstitious belief/ we thank thee Lord/ from the demons of the houses and the hills/ we thank thee Lord. (Phi la pynlait na jingdum/ ngi ainguh Trai/ Na ka jingngeit beit bakhum/ ngi ainguh Trai/ na ki suid iing bad suid lum/ ngi ainguh Trai/.) 

It may be mentioned that in the Khasi Jaintia thoughts and understanding; there is only one word for the two English words the spirit and the soul -“ka mynsiem.” So when one says “Mynsiem” it could either mean the soul or the spirit. To the Khasi Pnar the human soul is the same with the all-pervading spirit. The Khasi does not differentiate between the two. To the Khasi, ‘ka mynsiem’ is that which connects one soul to another and that which encompasses the entire universe and also that which transcends all creation. The universe and the entire creation are linked by the spirit or filled with the spirit. H.K. Singh’s concept of the everlasting life of the soul also bears the truth that his thought was inspired by the indigenous Khasi thoughts and philosophy of life after death. The Khasi concept of life after death is that the soul departed from the body will go eat bettlenuts in the corridor of God’s house, so traditionally the Khasi too, believe that the soul lives eternally. The immortality of the soul also proves that the spirit even transcends the realm of mortality. The Khasi Pnar believe that during conception, the mother conceives only the body that which is mortal, the soul or the spirit was divinely instilled in the body in the womb. The Khasi Unitarians believe that the spirit in the human body which was divinely placed in the mother’s womb lives and grows in the human body and on its death return back to God who is the everlasting source of all spirits ²².

Salvation to the Khasis is by deeds and character. The Khasis lay great emphasis on the other cardinal principle of life which is known as ‘Kamai ia ka hok’ to earn righteousness. In the Khasi way of life, one’s entire life is governed by this principle alone. There are two schools of thought about salvation, one thinks that he who does not earn righteousness in his life will go to the nurok ka ksew, or the Khasi hell, and the other thinks that whatever wrong one does in his life will befall on his descendant. One who lives in the path of righteousness shall go to eat bettlenuts in the corridor of God’s dwelling. In the Christian context, it is the challenge that Jesus calls upon everyone to bear one’s cross and to do the will of God. Unitarian also shares a similar belief that salvation is by one’s deeds and character and not by faith alone. ²³ Stanza 2 of hymn number 251 ²⁴ says: /He who has given one’s soul/ To serve the Lord ceaselessly/ Those who have to spend their lives/ To help fellow human without regret/ Blessings they will receive/ Before the Lord of honour/. (Kiba la aiti la mynsiem/ Ban shakri i’U Trai khlem pud/ Kiba la pynlut la jingim/ Ban iarap briew khlem bynnud/ Jingkyrkhu katno kin ioh/ Ha khmat Trai ka burom/). The last four lines of the last paragraph of this same hymn say: /While living in this world/ How we may serve/ The Lord God/ The keeper of our soul/. (Katba dang im ha pyrthei/ Katno dei ngin iai shakri/ Ia U Trai Kynrad U Blei/ Ba ri ia mynsiem jong ngi/). 

His idea of an afterlife is that the spirit departed will return to the Kingdom of the Spirit. There is no concept of the saved and the damned, hence salvation is universal according to HK Singh’s thoughts and philosophy. One can conclude that HK Singh’s thoughts and philosophy are original and though he started Unitarianism in the region he did not merely copy the theology of other Unitarian groups in different parts of the World, but rather developed his understanding of it and propagated the same among his folks.

Hymn number 1 ²⁵ which is the statement of faith of the Unitarians in the hills is a testimony of his belief in immortality or the everlasting life of the spirit. Stanza number 4 of the hymn says: /God has created us to be immortal/to have everlasting life and to grow forever/ (U Blei ula thaw ban ym iap shuh/ hynrei ban im junom bad nangiairoi ruh/) This also resembles the Khasi understanding of the soul and the body which is like a bird and the cage. 

H.K. Singh concept of life after death is that the spirit departed from the soul will journey to the Kingdom of the Spirits. He described the Kingdom of the Spirit in the hymn number 248 ²⁶ and if we would freely translate the stanza number 2 of the hymn it would thus read: “We cannot compare the Kingdom of the spirit with this earthly shelter.” / If for this earthly body/ God has provided so much/ which will be buried under the ground/ tomorrow or in the future/ so much so the Kingdom of the Spirit/. (Haba ia ka met khyndew/ U Blei u ai katne/ Kaban leit shapoh ramew/ Lashai la shisngi ne/) ²⁷. 

In the third stanza of the same hymn, the poet sings: /In the Kingdom of the Spirit/ there will be no more trouble/ There are only wellsprings of life/which surge eternally/ (Hangta ha Ri ka Mynsiem/ Ym don jingjynjar shuh/ don ki um ka jingpynim/ Kiba kyrsoi khlem duh/) Furthermore in the next stanza of the hymn he says / In the land of the Spirit/ In love we will grow forever/ (Hangta ha ri ka mynsiem/ha ieit ngin roi junom/) The last two lines of the last stanza of this hymn, he said: /Those who have departed before us/ We will meet again in joy/we will be cleansed and continue to love/ we will live in perfect peace/ (Kiba laleit myshuwa/ ngin ia shem lang kyrhai/ ngin nangkhuid nangieid hangta/ ngin ia im suk janai/) ²⁸.  

In conclusion, this paper deals only with the three subjects that manifest in H.K. Singh’s hymns. Other than his concept of God and the afterlife and his disagreement with superstitions which is prevalent in his contemporary society, his other hymns deal with many other subjects. From the above deliberation; we can conclude that HK Singh by blending the essence of the two faith traditions he was then exposed to, was able to start his religion. He is indeed in his own right a religious reformer par excellence. It was also to his advantage that the new religion he started was liberal in its outlook and approach; hence it was open to accommodate new thoughts and philosophy. Being a founder of a liberal religion, HK Singh understood that it is only natural for the religion to adopt and absorb all the good thoughts and teachings from other traditions. Before any religious tradition even thinks of the idea of ‘Inculturation,’ he has already done it, In fact ‘Inculturation,’ is only natural for a progressive church like Unitarian. In his efforts to maintain the liberal outlook of the church he coined the motto “To Nangroi” which literarily translates to ‘keep on progressing’ that the church is not to remain idle but to move on with the changing times. 

Reference :

1. Syiem R.S., Ka Jingim u Nissor Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri, Ka Thiar ki Nongthoh Khasi. 

2. Singh H.K., to Jabez T. Sunderland, in the Unitarian, April 1891, p 172, 

3. Mohrmen H.H. http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2009/10/concept-of-god-in-khasi-unitarian_27.html

4. Singh H.K., Ki Jor Tynrai ka Niam U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India. 1982 edition p.1

5. Mohrmen H.H., http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2009/10/concept-of-god-in-khasi-unitarian_27.html

6. Singh H.K. To Rwai ia U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 51-52

7. Singh H.K. Uwei U Blei, Kawei ka Niam, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 4

8. Singh H.K., Rwai ia ka Niam U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 19

9. Singh H.K., Ki Jingai U Blei ia ngi, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.50

10. Singh H.K., Rwai iaroh thiang ia U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 59-60.

11. Singh H.K., Ka jingshlei ka jingaiei U Blei Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 119-120

12. Jingpule 10 bad 11, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 5-6. 

13. Berry R.S., Ka Jingkhot sha Jingiaseng, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 37

14. Solomon J., Ha ri lum jong ngi la nangroi, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.5. 

15. Mohrmen H.H, Hajom Kissor Singh: U Riewkhraw ba ka jaitbynriew ka leh klet, Mawphor September 15, 2007.

16. Singh Nissor., Preface of the Dictionary 

17. Berry R.S., Ka Jingsneng Tymmen, Ka Lamphrang December 1902.

18. Mohrmen H.H, Hajom Kissor Singh: U Riewkhraw ba ka jaitbynriew ka leh klet, Mawphor September 15, 2007.

19. Singh H.K., Uwei U Blei, Kawei ka Niam, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 4. 

20. Singh H.K., Ka Jingrwai Anniversary, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 7

21. Singh H.K., Ai nguh bala ioh lait, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 30.

22. Mohrmen H.H. http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2010/09/core-belief-of-unitarians-in-khasi-and.html. 

23. Ibid. 

24. Singh H.K., Ka jingleitnoh ki baieit ia U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 237-238. 

25. Singh H.K., Ki Jor Tynrai ka Niam U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.1

26. Singh H.K., Ka ri ka Mynsiem, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p 216-217.

27. Ibid. 

28. Ibid. 

H.K.Singh : Man of the Prefaces ( On the occassion of his 100 Death Anniversary November 13, 1923-2023)

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of u Hajom Kissor Singh Nongbri who died on November 13, 1923, at Puriang. Not much about him except that he was only known as the founder of the Unitarian Church in the Khasi Jaintia and Karbi Anglong district of Assam. His contribution to the nascent Khasi literature then is not being appreciated. Hajom Kissor Singh’s literary contribution to the emerging Khasi literature and the knowledge about the tribe can be found in almost all important publications published then.  

The Khasis by PR Gurdon

One cannot study the people who live in the Khasi and Jaintia areas without flipping through the pages of PR Gurdon’s book The Khasis. The Khasis is like a main door for outsiders who want to study the Khasis’, and Gurdon’s books are in fact like a bible for those who study Khasi culture and history. In the preface to the book “The Khasis by PR Gurdon”, Gurdon the author mentioned Hajom Kissor Singh, and his brother Nissor Singh on the preface of this book. Gurdon a foreigner rely on the natives who can speak English to help him in his work, and of the nine Khasi names mentioned in the preface as people who had helped Gurdon to come up with the book, the names of the brothers u Hajom Kissor and his brother u Nissor Singh finds mentioned. 

His Contribution to LP and UP School Education 

Born to Boor Singh Malngiang and ka Bida Nongbri on the 15 June in 1865 at Saitsopen, Sohra, H.K. Singh studied up to Matriculation. His love for education was obvious when in his initiative and while still working in the DC’s office in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundred; he started an Upper Primary School in Jowai called Unitarian Free School which caters to the needs of the students in Jowai. H. K. Singh was also a signatory of the petition sent by the school administrators in Jaintia Hills in which it was pleaded with the Government to allow Khasi Pnar students to appear for their Upper Primary School examination in their mother tongue. Unlike Assamese and Bengalis students, Khasi Pnar students had to appear for their examination in English language while the former wrote their exam in Assamese and Bengali respectively. Under the leadership of u Hajom Kissor Singh, a petition was sent to the government requesting that the Khasi Pnar be allowed to write their Upper Primary school exam in Khasi. 

In a letter to the Director of Public Instruction, Assam (Through the Sub Inspector of Schools, Jaiñtia Hills) dated Jowai, the 8th of February 1902 the administrators of the three schools in Jaiñtia Hills pleaded that the Khasi Pnar students be allowed to write their exams in Khasi. The application was signed by Hajom Kissor Singh Manager, Unitarian Free School, u Soso Tham Headmaster Shangpung U.P. School, and Samuel Challam officiating Headmaster Jowai. Before the three gentlemen intervened, students in the Khasi and Jaintia appeared for their Upper Primary School Scholarship and Pass Examination in English as students of other communities were allowed to appear for their examination in their lingua franca.  

In response to the petition of the three heads of school, the Director of Public Instruction, Assam W. Booth in his letter to the Sub-Inspector of Schools, Jaintia hills, Jowai number 7327 dated Shillong the 21st October wrote: ‘About your Memo. No. 17, dated the 8th February 1902, from the manager, Unitarian Free School, Jowai, and the Headmaster of Jowai Middle English School and the Shangpung Upper Primary School, I have the honour to say that I agree with the applicants on all points stated in their application, the Children must be taught in their own vernacular to the end of the Upper Primary standard.’    

His contribution to the Text Book Committee

The government in the early 1900s constituted a Textbook Committee and in this connection, U Khasi Mynta wrote that it was surprising that the Committee members only comprised of the DPI of Schools, the Deputy Commissioner, and J.C. Evans. Earlier Khasi u Babu Jeebon Roy was made a member of the Committee but after his demise, the government has not appointed any native to the Committee. The report in U Khasi Mynta requested the Governor to consider the request to appoint a member from the local community to the committee. Later U Khasi Mynta in its September 1903 edition reported that the DPI had made some corrections and nominated Hajom Kissor Singh as a member of the Textbook Committee along with Dr. Roberts. H.K. Singh not only replaced Babu Jeebon Roi and became the native member of the Textbook Committee which was responsible for selecting textbooks for use in the school in the region, but he also played a very important role in the government’s effort to bring out the first English Khasi dictionary. 

In the Preface of the First English Khasi Dictionary 

The first English Khasi Dictionary was published for the first time in the year 1920 and it took the committee about 11 years to complete the arduous task. In the preface of the Dictionary the then Deputy Commissioner of Khasi and Jaintia Hills A.W. Dentith wrote about the story of how the project was started till the dictionary saw the light of day. Dentith remarked that according to office letter Number 4445C Dated 30th March 1907, the government constituted a committee to work on the project of coming up with the first-ever English Khasi Dictionary which comprised Mr. F.E. Jackson, Mr. L.O. Clark, and Mr. B.C. Allen members representing the Deputy Commissioner and the other three members were Rai Sahip Dohory Ropmay, u Hajom Kissor Singh and u Nissor Singh the author of the dictionary. The importance of the project can be seen from the fact that the government was involved in it and has also made all effort to see the dictionary see the light of day.      

In the later part of the project, a committee to revise the manuscript was constituted with Rev. Walter Firminges, Rev. C.L. Stephens, Rev. J.C. Evans, and Khan Sahib Amjad Ali as members. The preface also mentioned that the author Nissor Singh read the part of the manuscript sent to him from the Printing Press and was able to proofread only from alphabet A to O. Unfortunately Nissor Singh died on February 20, 1918, while serving as the Inspector of School in Tura, in the Garo region. A.W. Dentith in the preface concluded that the proof of the remaining letters from P to Z was read by his brother Hajom Kissor Singh. H.K. Singh not only completed the unfinished task that his brother had left, but he also wrote the keys to pronunciation and the list of abbreviations in the dictionary. Hajom Kissor Singh is therefore instrumental in bringing out the first English Khasi dictionary.      

On the Preface of the Jingsneng Tymmen

Ki JIngsneng Tymmen is a collection of old saying which elders use to inculcate good manners to the young ones and it was one of the important publications of the time. H.K. Singh also contributed to the project of bringing out ka Jingsneng Tymmen and he along with Babu Jeebon Roy wrote the introduction to the book. The relationship between H.K. Singh and R.S. Berry grew deeper and stronger and the latter ultimately converted to Unitarianism. Any study of R.S. Berry’s work will remain complete if his contribution to the Unitarian Church is not taken into consideration. Radhon Sing Berry composed 35 hymns in the Unitarian hymnal and has also written the chapter “ki Kpieng Ksiar ban deng” which was once part of the Unitarian hymnbook.  

His major literary contribution 

H.K. Singh also composed 72 hymns for the Unitarian Church hymnal and he has also translated many hymns published in the hymn book and this is not a small feat by any means. When H.K. Singh sent the first Khasi Unitarian hymnal to u Khasi Mynta, the journal reported that it had nothing to say about the book, because it is already known that it is a book of worship but added that it appreciated the beauty of the Khasi language used in the book. Perhaps H.K. Singh’s hymn should also be appreciated for the language and the grammar used in the hymns. His translation of English hymns both by foreign and native composers is commendable   

The only prose that H.K. Singh wrote was a piece about his journey from Jowai to Jaintiapur and the sub-title of the write-up is ‘The Journey, the Forest and the People.’ Again the journey was part of his assignment to address the grievances of the people in Jaintiapur. At that point, in time Jowai and Jaintiapur were part of the same subdivision under the then-British Empire. This piece was included as a chapter in the Mawpun Jingtip which was one of the prescribed textbooks of the Meghalaya Board of School Education.    

U H.K. Singh may not have written his book but he had immensely contributed to the development of the Khasi literature which was still in its nascent stage then.  

An able Administrator

H.K. Singh was also an able administrator, U Khasi Mynta in its November 1905 issue; observed that it is important to have a native appointed as the Head Clerk in the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the courts in Jowai and Shillong because local people know the culture, tradition and religion of the Khasi, moreover they can understand, read and write better in Khasi than the non-native head clerk. Having a native officer in the office will also help the government communicate better with the Syiem, the Wahadar, the Sordar, the Dalloi, etc. Perhaps it was also due to the lack of qualified Khasi candidates to take the job that no Khasi was appointed to the post till then. The Newspaper appreciated Major Gurdon for appointing Hajom Kissor Singh to replace Babu Radhanath who was transferred for posting in the plain area and hoped that H.K. Singh would be able to do justice to his work and bring pride to the community.   

The government also appointed H.K.Singh as the Dewan (Prime Minister) of Khyrim state for some time to help the Syiem of the Hima. S.E. Rita in his order dated 23-9-1902 stated that Hajom Kissor Singh was recalled before the expiration of leave and appointed temporarily as Dewan of Khynrim State by Chief Commissioner of Assam in a letter No. 156 confd dated 15-9-1902, 4219 on condition that the Khyrim State bear the cost of his pay at Rs. 150 P.M. and pensionary contribution as calculated under the rules in force. 

These are some of the contributions that this man has made to the development of the Khasi literature and the Khasi Pnar Community in general. On his 100th anniversary, we remember him for his contributions not only to the progress and development of the Unitarian church in the region but to the society at large.

Reimaging Black Clay Pots of Larnai West Jaintia Hills

The two objects shared in this post were made of the same clay. The only difference is that the two items were made by different people, living in two different places using a different techniques. The pots are, the usual black clay pots from a village in West Jañtia hills commonly known as “kchu larnai” or Larnai pots. Although the tradition of making the black clay pots started at Larnai but people who were originally from Larnai and moved to Tyrchang village also make clay pots. But it is the other items that have an interesting story to tell.

Along with Willhelmost Shylla and Olary Nongtdu we have done a comprehensive study about the pottery activity in the two villages and the people who continue with the tradition. But to emphasis the importance of the pots and this activity, it is always appropriate to start by asking the uninitiated if they had ever tried “pu tharo or tpu señ”. How you ever tried the famous rice cake of the region? The fact is one cannot make “pu tharo” without “kchu larnai or khiew ranei”.

To cut the chase, it was in one of the annual visits organized by Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong for its scholars that a very unusual incident happened. On that particular visit when the visitors reached Tyrchang and saw people making clay pots, one of the guests requested me to ask the artisans if they would sell him a kilogram of their clay. Kong Matilda Shylla one of the potters laughing said they only sell pots and not clay. She also said that she cannot estimate the cost of a kilogram of clay. Gideon persisted and said to me that he does not mind how much they charge for a kilogram of clay but wishes that he can take home the clay. Kong Shylla then finally said, “ok give me Rs 35 for a kg of the black clay.” The clay was then packed in a plastic bag and we left the village.

A few months later, when I visited Dr. Glenn Kharkongor, the chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, at his office, he asked me if I remember the guy who bought a kilogram of clay from the potters in Tyrchang. I said ‘yes I distinctly remember the incident because ordinarily, visitors to the villages would only buy pots from the artisans, but it was the first and the only time that a visitor would buy clay instead. Dr. Glenn then handed to me two small plastic boxes and when I look inside I saw two beautiful black pendants. He told me that Gideon made several pendants with the clay that he purchased and these are some of the items he made with the clay. When Dr. Glenn told me the price of the pendant, I realized that the price of one small pendant is much more costly that the price of a “weñ” a pot, and a cover used for baking “pu tharo”. One can make about fifteen pendants with the same amount of clay the potter use for making a “weñ”.      

Coming back to the study we made, the other findings of the studies was the clay which can only be found in the area around Sung valley is limited resources, and it can exhaust anytime. The need of the hour is to make the maximum profit from the available clay and making pendants and other items are ideas that one can explore. Another finding of the study is the fact that young people of the two villages are not interested in continuing with the activity. We have suggested involving them in adding value to the traditional products by painting the pots with local motifs or any image for that matter, but the youths are not interested.

Many times it was the people from outside who make us realised the true value of what we do. In this case, Gideon has opened up our eyes and our minds, that to help artisans earn more money from their clay, the need of the hour is to reinvent their activity.  Surely the new way of using the clay will also attract the young people in the village to engage in the activity. We have approached the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society if we can bring Gideon to the village and help train the potters in the two villages to make pendants, bracelets, or even necklaces from the clay.

Semasi: A Village which Rediscover itself after mining ban

Semasi village which is under the Sumer Patorship of East Jaintia hills district has been in the news for about a decade till the NGT ordered an interim ban on coal mining in the state, but for all the wrong reason.  Semasi’s next door neighbour is Mynthning village which has been on the news for land dispute case which has reached the Supreme Court and it is also a stone throw away from Briwar which was famous for land grabbing cases which involves coal mine owners from other parts of East Jaintia hills, bureaucrats, politicians and even surrendered HNLC militants. Also since Jalaphet is still few kilometres away from these two conflict zones, Semasi was the nearest medium size village to these two mining hotspots.

Recent visit to this village is special because it happened three decades after my first trip to the area in 1987. My first visit was as a young high school grad when i took a temporary job of an enumerator to enrol new voters for the 1988 legislative Assembly election and i was assigned the villages in this area. Then the area was peaceful and the main livelihood activity of the people was farming and i remember when i reached Kseh the headman (in a jiffy) went to catch some fishes from Kupli river to treat me. There were still lots of fishes in the river Manar too and because i visited the area during winter i did not realized that the river is also good for white water rafting.

Although then mining has already begin in the Rymbai and Wapung area and Ladrymbai has already developed as a hub of business activity in the area, the villages from Jalaphet to the Ryngkoh khahnar  was occupied by farmers and in some villages local beer is available in abundance because almost every house has a unit for making ale. But now that has change, ‘the problem started when rich coal mine owners from Khliehriat, Ladrymbai, Sutnga and Wapung’ came to buy land in the area and that too at a throw away price said ma Gripbymon Dkhar. They turned our traditional land holding system topsy-turvy and overnight every community land was converted to private land and registered to enable the land owner s to sell the land to the coal mine owners for a song.

For about three decades Semasi became a thriving mining village with a small weekly market till April when NGT imposed the interim ban on mining in the state. But two years and ten months after the ban; the village wear different look. In my recent visit; i asked P. Manar one of the leaders in the village ‘what is his opinion about the interim ban on coal mining?’ and his answer was both quick and candid that ‘it was both a blessing and a curse.’ When i asked him to explain, he said it was a curse because like bolt from the blue; their livelihood was abruptly taken away from the people and it is a blessing because people started doing farming again but more importantly people are able to sleep peacefully every night and they enjoy hassle free day every day. Manar also added that during the heyday of coal mining migrant labourers from all over the places stayed in the area and they do not even know their antecedents, but now they have all disappeared.

We use to live in fear every day; and we spend sleepless nights fearing violence and conflict which can erupt anytime because of land grabbing cases he said. To understand how tense the situation was; i will just share with you the story of a visit to the area made by the journalist Sambhav Kumar who was then working on a story on mining in North East for Down to Earth. After working on the story for two days; Sambhav told me that he want to follow the land grabbing case at Mynthning and Semasi. I told him that it is very risky preposition and advised him to proceed to the area only if police give him protection because the stake is very high and every criminal element in the state were involved in land grabbing in both Semasi, Mynthning and Briwar area. Sure enough a gypsy full of police accompanied him to the area and he was able to complete his story which was carried by the magazine magazine (for which he won and international award).  

It is now almost three year after the ban and Semasi village is rediscovering itself again and this is all because of the resilience spirit in the people and one of them is a young man Amnesty Salahe. Because he was studying in Jowai; Amnesty was deputed for training by DCIC (District Commerce and Industries Centre) Jowai under the Apiculture mission of IBDLP (Integrated Basin Development & Livelihood Program) at COLKS in April 2016. On his return because he realized that this could be a new livelihood option for the people; he shared his newly-acquired knowledge with his fellow villagers and he started buying all the bees colonies from the villagers and his neighbourhoods. 

His best student was his father Gripbymmom Dkhar and the father –son partnership develops the trade and now they have a well equipped unit to add value to the honey with a brand of their own. They had spent fifty thousand rupees in buying 15 colonies of bees and all the equipments needed for a honey producing unit and they have a plan to expand the business.   

After the training Amnesty got his brother his cousin sister and their neighbours registered with Khliehriat EFC and they were also send for training on beekeeping and on their returned, they all started bees keeping but the story of his cousin sister is interesting.

His cousin’s father Jelwis Paslein of Semasi who was involved in coal business also got interested in the activity and he immediately acquired bee colonies at the rate of one thousand rupees per colony. He had even sent people to Assam to buy bee colonies and now he had more than 42 boxes of bees which he kept at three different locations in the Patorship.

Last winter; Jelwis produced 24 kilo gram of honey from 12 boxes and he hoped that he will harvest more this coming May-June season. Because he can afford it; Jelwis bee boxes are different because he also made steel stand to put the boxes and he spend more than eight thousand for each box. His future plan is to make a shed where he can keep the bee boxes to protect them from insects and vagaries of the nature. He planned to expand the business so; Jelwis has already ordered his contact in Assam to acquire more bee colonies for him.

Collectively all the seven household in Seamasi village who are actively involved in the activity have among them around 80 beehives. Jelwis Paslein said that he is willing to wait even for five years to reach breakeven point; but his only concern is a market to sell his products if and when they produce tons of honey from the area.  

Honey is one livelihood activity that the people are involved; farmers have started using their paddy fields for planting rice, and also start farming ginger and other vegetables in the area. Farmers who have land are also planting varieties of fruits trees in their orchards. The mining ban also compelled them to start tilling their land again and find that it is from these fields and gardens that they can harvest everlasting gold. Two and half years after the ban people in Semasi village rediscover themselves and realized that farming is the foundation of their lives. Also few villagers in Semasi also know that Krem Tyngheng located in the village which is 7,752 metres long (as on March 2006) is the seventh longest cave in India. 

Of the spiritual and temporal

Much space on the editorial page of this paper was dedicated to the debate on the role of the church vis-a-vis the problem the state is facing. A section of the laity questioned the role of the church in the society especially in this trying time. The question asked was should the church remain adamant and remain a mere spectator to all that is going on in the state? Or is the role of the Church confine to the four walls of the buildings only?

We have seen articles and letter to the editors which only make obvious that people are not happy with the prevailing situation. Some are of the opinion that the church should not involve in earthly issues and it should only engage with spiritual matters, while others think otherwise and wish that the church should involve in issues which are crucial for the society.

In the Hynniewtrep traditional context even though the Kings or the Dalois are the head of the faith, their role in the day to day religious life of the people is very limited. Niamtre or Niam Khasi was not started as organized religion because religion in the Khasi Pnar context is more of family affairs. It was only in the late eighteen hundred that the followers of the Niam Khasi organized themselves under the banner of the Seng Khasi and followers of Niamtre in Jowai organised Sein Raij only after the country gain its independence. In the traditional religion every rites of passages of any member of the family is conducted by the Kni who is the head of the clan. And because it is not an organize religion, the place of worship in the Hynniewtrep traditional religion is the hearth and the home of the clan.

The Hynniewtrep traditional religion may not have organized body like the other faith groups, yet the Khasi Pnar are govern by their own set of value system. The three cardinal principles of the Hynniewtrep people are ka Tipbriew tip Blei, Kamai iaka Hok and Tipkur tipkha and the entire value system of the tribe rest on these tri-principles. The three cardinal principles of Khasi Pnar value system is all about striking a right relationship. The first principle is about having a right relationship with the creator and the other two principles are about having a right relationship with fellow human beings. Therefore in the Hyniewtrep religious context; ka Niam or religion is a way of life and it is about how one is to live in the World- by living a righteous life, by trying to have a right relationship with God and having a good and cordial relationship with fellow human beings.

The traditional Hynniewtrep religion not only stresses on how one live in the world, but the ten commandments of the Jews too are like compass which guide Jews to live a righteous life. Rabbi Hillel of the Jews was once asked by some pagans to recite the whole of Jewish teachings while standing on one leg, the pagans said that they would convert to his religion if he can do so. Hillel obliged and stood on one leg and said, “Do not unto others as you would not have done unto you. (Or the other version is, do unto others as you would want others to do to you) That is the Torah and the rest is commentary” he quipped. This is the simple teaching of the entire Torah or as known to the Christian -the Old Testament. According to Rabbi Hillel the basic teaching of the Torah is to do good to others and nothing else. It was also recorded in the two gospels that Jesus too said something similar when people ask him which is the most important commandment. In his response Jesus said something like the Lord your God is one, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and the second commandment is to love your neighbours as you love yourself there are no commandment greater than these. These two great religious figures also square down their teaching to one simple idea and said something similar to what the Hynniewtrep religion teaches, that the important aspect of all religious teaching is for a person to strike a right relationship with God and with fellow human beings and maybe even with our fellow creation.

 Karen Amstrong one of the scholars in the study of the three Abrahamic religion wrote in her book The Spiral Stairways that “The one and only test of valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more emphatic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete act of loving kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was a bad theology” In the same book Karen also added that “Compassion was the litmus test for the prophets of Israel, for Rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-tzu, the Buddha or the sages of Upanishads”

The teachings of major religions of the world too stress on the need of the individual to strike a right relationship in life. We must try to have a right relationship with God or the creative spirit and with our fellow creations. We must also set our relationship with our fellow human and the entire creations on the foundation of compassion. Many a times I find it difficult to have a perfect relationship with God or with others and very often I failed in my efforts to even have a good relationship with near and dear ones. I may fail once twice or may be hundred times but for me; trying to make this relationship work is a spiritual act.

The other moot question is what is really required of each and every one of us? Prophet Micah has sums it beautifully when he said “What shall I bring when I come before the Lord, when I bow before God of high? Am I to come before him with whole-offerings, with yearling calves? Will the Lord be pleased with thousand rivers of oils? Shall I offer my eldest son for my wrong doing, my child for the sin I have committed? The Lord has told you mortals what is good, and what is that the Lord requires of you: only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk humbly with your God.” (REB Micah 6:6-8).  Karen Amstrong again in the same book said that “What is vital to all the traditions, however is that we have a duty to make the best of the only things that remains to us-ourselves- our task now is to mend our broken world; if religion cannot do that, it is worthless. What our world need now is not belief, not certainty, but compassionate action and practically expressed respect for sacred value of all human being even our enemy.” 

For some people religion is something which has to do with the spirit only and it must not involve in anything materialistic, but religion is not something that happened only once a week or in the four corner of the church only, - it is a way of life. Religion is not something that only stare heaven ward but that which look on the ground too, religion is how I act and live in this world; in short it is the continuous act of trying to strike a good relationship with God and with everything around me no matter how many times I failed. 

Folktales are Stories to give Meaning to Natural Phenomenon

In almost every Khasi Pnar folktales there are elements in the stories which have some connection with nature in it and in almost every tale; nature is a part of the story. In most cases folktales are stories which our ancestors tries to explain the uniqueness of certain part of the nature. One of the very prominent examples was the story of the Shillong peak. Our ancestors were amazed by the majestic Shillong peak, so they weaved a story around the peak. We have scores of stories like this and in fact in the Khasi Pnar context, all folktales were created because people tried to understand and then define the phenomenon which prevailed around them and that which fascinated them. The story of the Krem Lamet krem latang was partly to try to give meaning why the rooster crow every morning before the sunrises, again in the same myth, the story have it that the grand council sent the hornbill (ryngkoh-kit-knor) to woo the sun back. Instead the sun hit hornbill on his beak with a tiny wooden Stool (lyngknot) because he too was trying to seduce this beautiful damsel. Hence the hornbill beak was dented and disfigured as it is now because of this incident of it being hit by the sun so the story goes. 

In the Khasi Pnar culture all the hills, the rivers, the caves and the unique stone formation some way or the other have a story to tell. These are just two examples that we have in the Khasi Pnar own Genesis story, but my paper deals with similar stories from Jaintia Hills District some of which are common and some of these folktales are still in oral traditions and perhaps this is the first time that the tales has been documented.

Lets us start by embarking on an imaginary journey from Shillong to Jowai, and the first village on the Jaintia hills District side of the border is “Mookyndur” obviously the village derived its name from a rock (moo) which was rests in an peculiar position (kyndur). But there is another stone situated on the right side of the road and on the left side of the office of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, the stone is known as “Moo Kule” and it being left unattended and neglected by the present generation. The name of the stone when translated to English literarily means “Horse stone” and this is precisely the reason why this story has a connection to the subject matter of this paper. The legends have it that there was once a tiny kingdom in between the Jaintia kingdom and the Khyriem syiemship and the name of the small country was “ka hima Malngiang” but unfortunately not much is being heard about this kingdom in the folktales of the area except for the event when this kingdom was ruled by a king whose name is u Mailong Raja. Small though his kingdom may be, Mailong Raja was the only King who dared to challenge the might of the then great Jaintia Monarch. The legend has it that Mailong Raja has a unique supernatural power that he cannot be killed, so the great Jaintia king was at his wits end when he cannot defeat Mailong Raja. It was said that the Jaintia King has once captured Mailong Raja and severed his head from his body and asked his men to throw the heads towards the west and the body on the opposite direction far from one another, hoping that by doing so he will be able to do away with Mailong Raja once and for all. It was at Mookyndur that the Jaintia king’s men were able to capture Mailong Raja and mysteriously the horse on which he rides when he was captured turned to a stone. Hence the stone at Mookyndur was called Mookule but that was not the end of the story because Mailong Raja mysteriously was able to come back to life and resurface again in his beloved Malngiang kingdom.  

Then we continue on our journey to Ummulong and on reaching Ummulong we take left and travel to Nartiang and this village is one of the very the few village which still has cultures and traditions. Before entering the famous Nartiang Monolith Park, there is a huge stone slap to the left of the road and the story tells us that the flat stone is the one that Mar Phalangki used as his knup to protect himself from the torrential rain. The story has it that it was raining cats and dogs and Mar Phalangki who married a woman in Raliang was prepared to leave Raliang for Nartiang his birth palce. He was looking for something to protect himself from the rain when he saw a small hut close by and went to ask the owner of the house if he can borrow her knup. The old woman who lives in the hut all by herself look at him and said “how can a giant like you ask for a knup from me? You see that stone slap over there, go take that stone and use it to protect yourself from rain.” Mar Phalangki too took the stone and put it over his head and walked towards Nartiang, it is believed that the stone slap remain where it is since Mar Phalangki put it.

In the famous Monolith Park, the many monoliths have their one common story to tell, but it is the largest and the tallest monolith of them all which has a story unique of its own.  The largest and the tallest monolith in the park and perhaps in the entire Khasi Pnar is again believed to be put up by u Mar Phalangki. The giant tried to erect the monolith several times but failed to do so, finally they decided to seek gods’ intervention by performing egg divination. The sign from the egg divination implies that the gods require human head; human has to be sacrificed for the stone to stand tall was the clear message from the gods. It was a market day and people were gathered to watch the show of strength and finally Mar Phalangki came up with the idea to appease the gods. He dropped a lime and tobacco container made of gold (khnown locally as dabi) making it appear like it was not purposely done. Without any suspicion; one of the spectator immediately went down the pit dug to put the monolith to collect the golden container. Mar Phalangki instantly lifted the huge monolith and put it on the pit over the man’s body and a human was sacrificed and the stone stand tall as it is till now.

From Nartiang one can move further and take right to travel to Barato, here too there are stones which have stories to tell. Stone images of the two oxen tilling at Pynthor Latuba are those made popular by the tragic love story of u Miat Rynsut and the beautiful princess ka Latympang.  On the way from Barato to Saba and Mukroh there is another location where there are stones which looks like goats and cattle believed to belong to the Princess which freezes and turned to stones like the two oxen when the tragic story draw to a close.

In Jowai there are many stones and monolith with stories to tell, the foremost of all are the “soo duar soo luti,” or the four guardian angels of the town which are situated in all the four directions of the town. These are Moo-ralong, Moo-khai, Moo-tong and Moo-sniang. Legends have it that whenever enemies marched to attack on the village,  like faithful sentinels the guardian angels shouted to alert villager and enable them prepare for the imminent danger.

From Jowai if one travel south and on reaching Amlarem one can either take left to travel further to Syndai or one can take right and travel to Nongtalang. If we chose the latter option in Nongtalang in a locality knows as Khlachympa, there is another huge stone slap. The huge flat stone have a similar story to that of u Mar Phalangki of Nartiang that a certain giant was without any protection when rain started pouring down heavily in plain where he was, so he took the flat stone and used it to protect himself from rain. On reaching Nongtalang the rainfall too subsides and he has no use of the stone and put it down where it is till now. The parallel story of Mar Phalangki belongs to another giant in the War Jaintia folklore whose name is Bir Nongpoh. Adjacent to the stone slap, there is another huge stone called in local parlance “shmia dhurai” which is believed to be one of the three stone Bir Nongpoh plan to use as trivet for his hearth. In Nongtalang there is a huge stone near the Amtyrngui River, the shape of the stone is very distinct and it looks like it has been chopped right in the middle with a huge sword. The legend has it that certain ghost which dwelled in the stone caused undue harassment to the people by causing them sickness.  The people complained to the Thunder god and the god strike the stone right in the middle and cut it into halves, but the two pieces of the stone mysteriously joined together again. The Thunder god strike again once more to rid the ghost from the stone and before the stone could joined together again, another stone was placed right in the middle to prevent the two pieces from uniting with each other. Since then the stone is called in a local War Jaintia dialect as “Shmia Psha” ‘shmia’ means stone and ‘psha’ is Thunder.

If one would take left and travel towards Syndai, in Pdengchakap village there is a place quite far from the village where the people of the village believed that it was the place where the legendary “Iew luri lura” was held in the days of the yore. On the huge rock there are marks which looks like animals footprints believe to belong to the animals who rudely stomped their feet on the Dogs fermented beans as legend have it. Then in Syndai near the cave at the Pubon River there is a sculpture of an elephant which the local believe to be the image of earthquake and this sculpture too has its own story.  

So much about stones and rocks but there are also stories about hills, mountain range, river and lakes and one of the famous lake that has a story to tell is the Thadlaskein lake dug by Sajar Nangi and his followers by using just the edge of their bows. In Jowai the river Myntdu is also believed to be another guardian angel of the people of Jowai and Myntdu itself has lot of story to tell as every portion of the river has a name and every name has a meaning or a story to tell. Kupli too has its own story and Lum Iakor Sing from where the river and two other rivers, ka Lukha and ka Lynju shared their source of origin has its own story. Kupli is not just a river but ka Iawbei of the Passah clan, as it is believed that the Passah clan and the Shadap Passah share their divined origin from the Kupli. It is our common Khasi Pnar belief that the rivers are not mere rivers but they too have a persona. It is also said that the Lukha River which was formed by the two tributaries ka Lunar and the ka Lynju were sisters and only when the two meet at a confluence and river is called ka Lukha.

The Lukha flow by the foothills of Lum Bah-Boo Bah-kong of the Narpuh Reserved Forest and Lum Bah-boo Bah-kong too has its own story. Bah-boo bah-kong in Pnar parlance literarily means one who carries both his elder and younger sister in law.

In a way the folktales were created by people out of sheer curiosity to give meaning to what is happening around them. Amazed by both natural and manmade phenomenon, people ask question why is it so? And the answer to the question came in a form of story. The folktales are our ancestors’ ways of answering the myriad questions that puzzled their curious minds; it is their efforts to answer and give meaning to whys, the whats, hows that bewildered them during their time.  The entire natural or manmade phenomenons have names and stories, it is therefore the call of the day for all of us to protect and preserve the natural phenomenon because they not only link us with the past but more importantly they connect us with the ways of the nature which are both unique and profound.  

The outcome of the ILP imbroglio

A friend who is a professor in the University and a co-speaker at the brainstorming session on ILP organized by the Political department of the North Eastern Hills University, while criticizing the Chief Minister for spending much of his time in Delhi to convince the central government for more fund to the state than Shillong when the state was burning; said that it has only reminded him of the nursery rhymes that his daughter was reading. The professor came up with his own rendition of the old rhymes which goes like this “Chief Minister saap, Chief Minister Saap, where have you been? I’ve been to Delhi to meet the Queen. Chief Minister Saap, Chief Minister Saap what did you there? I went to beg for 3000 crore but nothing come by. Why did the Chief Minister choose to rush to Delhi than trying to solve the burning issue in the state? Why is it so important to meet the personnel of the finance ministry than to address the issue at hand when every day the state is losing crores of money due to bandh and road blocks called by the NGO? Is this a good economic sense? Isn’t this a classic case of penny wise pound foolish?   

Of late there is a tendency among the chief minister to outdo each other in trying to bring more funds from the Central government to the state exchequer. This subtle competition among the Chief Minister to try and prove that they are better Chief Minister than their predecessor by bringing more money for the state is but a competition for a wrong goal because it is a case of missing the boat for a ship. There should be a healthy competition among the Chief Minister to bring peace, progress and development in the state, not just bringing money from the centre. But now it look like the Chief Minister who can bring more money to the state from the central government’s kitty is considered to be a good leader.         

The question is; is the role of the Chief Minister of the state merely to bring more funds to the state from the Finance Commission? May we ask when will this begging bowl syndrome end? As a citizen of the state we are sorry that even after 40 years of its existence the state still depends on the financial support from the central government. Are we not ashamed of being perpetual beggars from the central government?

A large part of our revenue went down the drain because we failed to check the leakage in revenue collection in the transport check gate or even in the Land Custom and many loopholes. Is there any effort to stop these leakages of resources? This column has exposed the leakage of revenue especially in the Dawki-Tamabil land custom where till now overloaded trucks exported coal and limestone from this port to Bangladesh. The state can save crores of rupees if this is check, but the government chooses to turn its nelson’s eye to what is going on.

We need a chief minister who can make the best use of his time and energy in making Meghalaya a state which can sustain itself without any outside support. The state needs a leader who can take this state to a new height, a state which can stand on its own feet. Meghalaya need to strive to be a state which can at least be in the middle rank of the development list in the country and most importantly a state that we can all be proud of.

The way how the Chief Minister tackle the ILP issue left much to be desired, in fact the chief minister’s problem solving style has only helped make the list of people who dislike him longer. Not that he is in the competition to be the most liked person in the state, but Chief Minister’s handling or mishandling of the entire ILP issue will certainly back fire on the Congress especially in the ensuing MP elections. One thing that is obvious is the fact that the Congress has already lost a large chunk of young voters; this will be a huge problem for the party. The chief minister’s mishandling of ILP has alienated it from the young people and the party will find it difficult or maybe even impossible to woe the young crowd to its fold again.  

The only hope for the Congress is if the regional parties failed to come with a consensus candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat in the next MP election. If the regional parties can unite and come up with a consensus candidate who can unite all the regional parties’ voters; then the Congress will find it difficult or may be even impossible to fight a united regional force.

Taking leave from my professor friend’s book, I realize that if the regional partied unite then it will a repetition of another nursery rhyme which we loved to sing when we were kids and the same nursery rhyme are still being taught to our  children now. Talking about nursery rhymes; I sometimes wonder why can’t they teach our kids new rhymes. But I now realized that these rhymes that kids still love sing, like all the holy books remain relevant to every generations we only need to bring it to the present context to understand its message. So I came up with my own version of another nursery rhyme which is relevant to context and the same goes like this: “CM (say CEM) and Cong went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, CM fell down and broke his crown and Cong came tumbling after.” The Chief Minister mishandling of the issue will certainly cost the Congress party dearly and the first casualty will be the Shillong parliamentary seat. The seat or rather any seat will be very important for the Congress in the next general election because it looks like it is going to be a tough fight for the party in the entire nation.

If Congress falls then Dr. Mukul Sangma will also fall, there is no power in the world that can save him from the axe to remove him from the chief minister hot seat. And it is true; if the Congress loses the Shillong parliamentary seat it is nothing but the failure of the government to handle the ILP issue. Precious lives were lost to the ILP issue and the government cannot simply wash its hands on any of the unfortunate incidents because as the saying goes it takes two to tango. The state is equally responsible for all that has happened during the last 3 months, it has failed in its duty to protect life and properties both private and government. And we are in a situation that people does not feel safe or secure to live in their own state anymore, is this not the failure of the state?

Perhaps by now we can at least agree that the timeless nursery rhymes are not mere rhymes that we love to sing by rote but they do have some profound meaning to pass on and that is why we keep on singing these little rhymes through every generation. We started with a nursery rhyme so it is very apt that we also end this write up with another nursery rhyme. And here in my own rendition of another nursery rhyme which I think is relevant to the situation that we are in and it goes like this… “Chief Minister Saap; Chief Minister Saap; sat on the wall. Chief Minister saap; Chief Minister saap; had a great fall. All the queen’s horses and all the queen’s men could not put Chief Minister Saap together again.”  That will be a sad day not only for Dr. Mukul Sangma but for all the people who admire him. We don’t want this to happen to our Chief Minister, we still hope that Dr. Mukul Sangma; the young dynamic Chief minister that we have; will be able to complete his term and see that all his mission and programs were successfully implemented.