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. 

Traditions and Modernity: Beyond Superstition

The recent infamous attacked on a family alleged to be “the keeper of u thlen” (nongri-thlen) at Mawlymbnang in the East Khasi Hills District, again brought to light the dichotomy between traditions and modernity that exist in the Khasi Pnar way of life. I don’t think it is a clash at all but the truth is that the mystery exists and the society is caught between traditions and modernity. The truth is what has happened in Mawlymbnang is the reflection of what is happening in the society, it is the manifestation of a society entangled in a tribal culture and tradition and the modern way of life.

U Thlen, the Taro, ka Bih etc has been part of Khasi Pnar beliefs system which has been inculcated in the mind of the people from one generation to another. We grew up believing Nongshohnoh exist when our parents in an effort to make us stay put at home; would tell us of the Menshohnoh who is lurking around the locality to catch us. We were given strict instruction not to partake food share by certain family in the society because they keep Taro, ka Kymbad, ka Bih etc.  My grandfather died when I was one year old, I was told that Dr. Norman Tunnel of the Welsh Presbyterian Hospital, Jowai diagnosed that the cause of his dead is due to cancer, but friends and relatives believed that he died from ‘Kymbad’ (ka Bih) the symptom of which is similar to cancer. In this case it is obvious that the Khasi Pnar did know about cancer and maybe cancer in the mouth, throat and the many part of stomach is known as Kymbad/ka Bih in the local parlance. The only problem is that the sickness is believed to be the curse of certain family and the family was blamed for causing the same.

In the Khasi Pnar Society, family of patient who suffers from a chronic ailment is often advised to take both allopathic and traditional shamanist treatment. It is often concluded as (ioh dei ba leh ki briew) it could be the spell of someone’s evil eye, or the curse of some evil person, so it is important to take necessary precaution by consulting a local shaman as well as taking allopathic medicines. People are in a dilemma and because it is a matter of life and dead; they neither have full faith in the allopathic medicine nor in the traditional treatment. There are many cases of patient with orthopedic problem who would simultaneously consult a qualified orthopedics as well as a local herbal medicine practitioner to save them from the predicament.      

In matter of bad health people always take the help of both world of medicine, in fact frail as any human, the Khasi Pnar too; consult any available healing system be it ayurvedic, homeopathic etc to get themselves cure. I know belief is personal matter; it is within an individual right to choose what to believe and not to believe hence it comes as no surprise to know that even practicing Christians sometimes perform sacrifice if that is what it takes to cure the person. My take on the issue is not to denounce this incident or any such incidents as superstitious act, because it is too complex an issue to understand. But would rather like the educate Khasi Pnar to look at the wisdom behind these legends and beliefs and interpret them in the new light.

Rather than looking at the traditions and beliefs as superstitious we can examine these issues in a much broader sense with deeper insight and try to understand and see the relevance this Khasi Pnar wisdom in the modern day context. I am not condoning the violence and madness that has happened in Mawlymbnang and other villages, such act of vandalism need to be condemned in the strongest term, but my call is to try and understand these legends and folktales in the light the modern world and to see its relevance in our world today. We also know that there are folk beliefs which have positive impact in our life if we only have time to study them carefully. On a closer look; we sometimes realized the profound wisdom of our ancestor even in those act that we initially denounced as superstitious.  

We have barely crossed this year’s halfway mark yet; I consider 2013 a spiritually fulfilled year because I was able to fulfill my long cherished dream. I was able to visit the two sacred groves and probably the biggest sacred forest in the Khasi Jaintia, the Raij Tuber Sacred forest in Chohchrieh village and the two sacred forests in Raij Chyrmang, the Khloo Langdoh in Chyrmang and Ka Khap-yaba in Iongnoh village.  In my visit to the Khap-yaba sacred forest very recently; I was not only amazed at the sheer size of the forest but was equally surprise at the fact that the forest was really free from any human interference. The forest was thick and green and there were no sign of human activity anywhere. The reason is because the people who live in the vicinity of the forest believe that the goddess Khap-yaba is very powerful and it punishes those who trespasses its territory and transgress its domain. We were told that the local seldom wander to the forest and if they have to do so, they would always pay obeisance to the goddess Khap-yaba. I then realized why it was very difficult to convince the two young men to take us to Khap-yaba, and when we reach near the forest, they told us that they would not go any further and even refused to point their fingers towards the forest. Before that we also passed through the hut of an old lady and when we told her of our intention to visit the forest, she read us the do’s and don’ts and advised us to ask forgiveness for trespassing into the goddess territory. Sacred forests are considered sacred because it is believe to be the dwelling place of the gods and goddesses, on a cursory look; some would consider this superstitious but it is this belief system that has help keep our sacred forest. In the tradition of keeping sacred forest, we can see the wisdom of our ancestors, their profound understanding of how the nature work and the need to protect and preserve it.      

In the same way let us examine other Khasi Pnar traditions and legends and try to interpret its relevance in our day to day life. The ‘keepers of thlen’ are those, whose greed has overtaken their sane self, they are those people who would do anything to garner more wealth. They would exploit people even force them to do odd job and pay them a very small return for doing so. They would go to any extend to exploit both human and nature for their own selfish gain- these are the modern day Nong-ri-thlen, because their only concern is to get money and more money. The ‘Nongshohnoh’ are those who work for the Nongri Thlen and would go to any extend to serve their master even if it means taking somebody’s life for money.

The keepers of ‘ka Taro’ are those who are envious of others. Their hearts is full with envy and are incessantly jealous of their friends, neighbor and relatives’ success, beauty and wealth. They would secretly wish to possess their friends and neighbours unique character albeit with evil design. And when they were not able to achieve those qualities, they would curse their friends and neighbours.  

The ‘Badon bih’ are mean, close-fisted people they are so stingy that they would reluctantly part anything with others. Even if they would have to provide food to others, they would do so with grudge and would even curse those with whom they share their food.   

Culture and traditions are not something that we can just wish away, the legends, the belief systems was imbibed in our psyche for generations, it will take time if not impossible to rid off the same from the person. The way to the future for the Khasi Pnar Society is that we take the best of both world and move forward. The Khasi-Pnar tradition and modern way of life can go hand in hand; the two can co-exist albeit with new interpretation of the legends and traditions. Then only we’ll realize that u Nongri thlen, u Nongshohnoh, ka Taro, ka bih et al are alive in every age, caste and creed and the Khasi-Pnar wisdom is ever-relevant; it lives beyond race and time.   

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