Different cultures have
their tradition of how they perform the last rites of the deceased member of
the community. In the Hynñew Trep society, too, different sub-tribes have their
rites of passage and these could vary from one place to another. People have
their way of disposing of the body of the dead, some cremated their dead while
others bury them, but when it comes to the culture related to the dead, the
people in the Khasi Jañtia hills follow a tradition that is unique to the area.
An opportunity
to strengthen the family bond
Amongst the people in the
Khasi and Jañtia region, the demise of a person is not only considered a very
unfortunate incident, but it is also an opportunity for the near and dear ones
and the community to extend their moral and physical support to the bereaved
family. Bereavement is an occasion for family and friends to show solidarity
with the family and most importantly it demonstrates the continuation of the
underlining value system of the common good or well-being of all. Perhaps our
society is the only society where when a person died, the body is kept lying in
state for two days and the reason is to enable family members and friends to
pay their last respect to the departed soul.
The passing away of a
member of the family is a special time and friends and relatives must visit the
bereaved family. It is about reinvigorating the relationship of the ‘kur the
kha’ family both from the mother's and the father's side. It is also a time for
the ‘Paramarjan marpa’ friends and neighbours to strengthen their bond of
friendship by sharing their time and resources in sympathy for the bereaved
family.
The death of any member of
the community is being shared and respected by society and in fact, the
deceased person received much more hounour on one’s demise than while one is
still alive. Perhaps there is no other community that gives more honour to the
deceased person than the tribal society. Therefore irrespective of how one
lives, it is an honour to die in a tribal society. The honour given to the dead
is one aspect of the society which is unique but it is also about revitalizing
both the family and the community’s relationship. It is an example that
demonstrated the relationship in which not only the family but even the
community share and care for each other.
In the Hynñew Trep
culture, at the center of all the practice relating to the demised of the
person is the important principle of the common good. It is the value which
believes in the well-being of one is good for everybody which is an intrinsic
part of the culture of the people.
The last rite
is not the end
The last rite of a person
is as much about the deceased person, as it is a special occasion for the kith
and kin that are still alive. When somebody died in the family, all the kith
and kin must be informed not only that they can pay their last respect to the
departed soul, but it can also be an opportunity to rekindle the relationship.
The visit during bereavement is also an opportunity to introduce relatives to
one another. In the Khasi Pnar tradition, the last rite of a person is more than
just an occasion for sending off the dead person to the next life. The last
rites of a person also comprise of ritual ‘ka siang ka pha or the siang ka
phur’ which is an offering of food to the departed members of the family who
dwells in the realm of the spirit. In Jañtia Hills in some cases, the last
rites of the deceased do not end with the person being cremated. The final rite
of the deceased person is complete and the departed soul can finally rest in
peace only when all the rituals are completed.
Cremation is
not the end of a person’s last rites
Traditional cremation is
done in a special way that ensures that the charred bones of the deceased
person remain and the same are to be collected for keeping in the clan’s
ossuary. In the Pnar and War cremation practices, care is taken that not
everything turns to ashes since the charred bones are to be kept in the
ossuary. Amongst the Pnar there is the tradition called ‘rah chyieñ or booh
chyieñ’ and amongst the War Jañtia, it is called ‘lum shyiang’ a tradition in
which the charred bones of the dead person are kept in the clan’s ossuary. The
final rite of the deceased is completed only when the charred bones are finally
laid to rest in the clan’s ossuary.
Defiling nature
is a taboo
In the Hynñew Trep
traditional belief system, the hills, the forest, and the rivers are not just
part of nature, but they are deities that people pay obeisance to. People
seldom bury but rather cremated their dead because they believe that burying
the dead is defiling nature which is the dwelling place of the nature god. ‘Ki
rynkaw ki basa’ are not only important deities in the Hynñew Trep people’s
pantheon of gods but they are also territorial deities. The ‘ryngkaw and the
basa’ keep and look after their domain and care for those who live within their
domain. A person or a family is always connected to their respective ‘ryngkaw’
or the deity whose realm is the place from where the clan originated.
People also avoid carrying
the dead bodies from one place to another or crossing the realm of one deity to
another because this amount to defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’. If
defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’ is unavoidable and the body has to be
carried across, the ‘ryngkaw’ has to be appeased later. Hence people always
carry the charred bones instead which is not the same as carrying a dead body.
Family preferred to be cremated their relative at the place they died and
instead carry the charred bones later to the clan’s ossuary which is located
within the domain of their respective 'ryngkaw.'
Therefore when a person
died in far of places or in the ‘ryngkaw para’ or the domain of foreign
‘ryngkaw’, their body or at least their charred bones have to be taken to the
ossuary located within the realm of their ‘ryngkaw’ of origin. The charred
bones have to be taken to the realm of their deities or the ‘ryngkaw’ they
belong to. The final rest of the person has to be under the realm of the
deities to which they originally belong.
When cremation
is performed twice
The traditional practice
in the War Jaiñtia area which is different even from the rites practiced in the
other places is the practice when the dead is cremated twice. The last rite of
a person is re-enacted and the cremation was performed again after the real
cremation was done a year ago. In the ‘rah chyieñ’ amongst the Pnar although it
is only the charred bones that are being carried and kept lying in state at the
respective family’s ‘ïung blai’, the custom and mode are somber similar to when
the dead body is present.
‘Rah chyieñ or lum
shyiang’ is always performed a year after the real cremation happened, but
unlike the ‘rah chyieñ’ of the Pnar in the tradition followed by residents of
Nongtalang the entire cremation ceremony was carried out. As always real
cremation was conducted immediately after the demised of the person but because
it was done in the domain of the foreign ‘ryngkaw para’ it was conducted
without proper rituals. A year later even in the absence of the dead body, a
‘krong’ was made and the same was carried to the cremation ground and friends
and family marched in a procession similar to when the real cremation happens.
At the cremation ground even if there is no dead body, all the rituals due for
a dead person are performed and after all the rituals are performed the charred
bones are kept in the ossuary and a standing is erected in the case of a male
and a flat stone is laid in the case of a female person. Although there is no
dead body because the deceased was cremated a year ago, or even if the ceremony
is performed a year or more after the person’s demised, the cremation is
conducted as if it is a real cremation.
Perhaps it is the only
place where the cremation ceremony of a person is performed twice one
immediately after the person dies and another a year later in a tradition
called ‘tai shyiang’.
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