It has been a matter of great privilege and honor to have been posted to the North East as a Priest of 5 small parishes of the Mar Thoma Church. When I received the news of my First assignment I have to be honest that my first reaction was “Why the North East?” Like an average Indian I had stereotypes that simplified the entire N-E. It makes life more convenient. Images fed by the media, general perceptions about North East are that of insurgency, instability, militancy and general tumult. Some friends opined that since morality is very low among the people of the N-E, I must take special care and be cautious. When I was in college I believed with great conviction that sex and drugs is the only preoccupation in the N-E. Packing people into neat compartments of label gives power over them and gives the one who labels a sense of superiority. At the other extreme end of the spectrum is the advertisement of N-E being an exotic travelers’ paradise, a place to be. There are people who have asked me “How is the snow out there. God, I love the North East and it’s my dream to be there. It’s so beautiful”. But as one of my friend rightly warned, “For God’s sake do not be a tourist but a pilgrim out there”. That line has been my watchword in the 3 months and more that I have been here. With my naïve interest in history and culture I have constantly tried to learn the land and the traditions of the people in the limited ways that I know. To begin with I would like to delve on some things that I explored around Shillong as this was where I first celebrated Holy Communion at the Shillong Mar Thoma Parish that rents All Saints Cathedral of the C.N.I. for Sunday worship.
General Introduction
Let me not give you mundane facts like Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, a state that came to existence on 21st Jan 1972. 3 hills are integral to Meghalaya and they are Khasi hills, Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills. Shillong is situated on the Khasi hills and the language spoken out here is Khasi which is a dialect and uses English alphabets but instead of 26 alphabets , Khasi has 22. Dr. Kakati argues that Khasis are the first inhabitants of the North East. This is contested but it is said that Khasis first settled near a Hill called Ka Mei- Kha which Scholars attribute is the present day Kamakhya Hill found in Guwahati.
Matrilineal Social System of the Khasis
Kakati contends that the Khasi Matrilineal system of revering mothers was the reason for goddess worship to be introduced and that is how Kamakhya temple was dedicated to Kamakhya Devi. Talking about matrilineal system, one thing that strikes when one enters Shillong is the evident ethos of the Khasi women who are out in the market and shops as enterprising entrepreneurs. To understand this one needs to understand that a man marries a Khasi woman and enters into her family. Woman possesses authority over all property. The lineage is traced through the woman. The house of the woman is called ‘ka iing seng’ which is inherited by her youngest daughter. Youngest daughter is called ‘Ka nongri iing’. The youngest daughter along with her rights is responsible to protect her aging parents and the dependent members of her family. The birth of a girl child calls for huge festivities. This may look like the ideal for a feminist imagination, where a social structure has challenged the moorings of patriarchy. But one notices that with the homogenization process so rampant in today’s globalized world one cannot miss the emergence of patriarchy in different shades in the life and ethos of Shillong and especially the Khasi tribe.
Myth of the Khasis
When I was travelling through Shillong, I asked one of my church members if the Khasi Tribe had a myth to explain their life and culture. None had an answer. Understanding the myth of a tribe or a set of people helps us to know the character of a place and the self understanding of the people. I tried hard but did not succeed. Finally it dawned to me that The Don Bosco Centre for Indegenious Cultures, which is a Museum that brings the entire history, geography, culture, tradition, rituals and habitats of the entire North East under one roof. The classification and research out here is impeccable. And finally in Gallery No. 2 of the Museum, I got the answer for the question that I was searching for. Indeed the Khasis had a myth to explain the creation, origin and purpose of the world and their tribe. The Khasis traditionally believed in one sovereign God , the Creator whom they called as U-Blei Nongthaw. U-Blei created a beautiful world. He initially created 16 families of human beings that lived with God in Heaven. These 16 families used to visit the World from time to time by means of a Golden ladder ‘jingkieng ksiar’ that was situated on top of Lumsohpetbneng (Lum= Hill, Sohpet= navel, Bneng= heaven), the hill that connected heaven and the earth like an unborn child is joined to the mother through an umbilical cord. This hill is at a 25 kms north of Shillong. After every visit to the World, the 16 families returned back to heaven, for that was their home. From here on there are conflicting accounts. It is said that the 16 families would descend on earth, every morning to labour all day, cultivate and reap profit of the land and then in the evening would return in the evening by the ladder. This routine continued. One day, one of the men did not like the idea of staying in the abode; along with God and wanted to reap the profits of living on the earth. So he started to plot a plan and started to chop off the ladder little by little. On one particular day, 9 families remained in heaven while seven families descended on earth for work. On this day when the 7 families were working, this ambitious man brought fruition to his plan by ultimately felling the ladder to the ground. Therefore the 7 families became the first inhabitants of the world. They are the khasis. They occupied the Centre point of the Earth- Ri Shnong Pdeng Pyrthei- as crowned rulers over all other creations, the animal world, the plant kingdom and they were given nine seeds by U-Blei to sow, toil, sweat and reap. The number 7 in Khasi is hynniew and so the official name of Khasis is Hynniew- trep or Hynniew skum which means seven huts or seven families respectively.
Religious Concepts
Finally let us understand the Khasi understanding of God and their religiosity. The Khasis believe in God who is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. They are monotheistic in belief and therefore consider it a sacrilege to symbolize him in any shape or form. God’s Three commandments are as follows.
1) Kamai ia ka Hok- which literally means “earn righteousness”. This was the commandment of God given to the Seven families who inhabited the earth. This compels a strong sense of ethics.
2) Iip Briew- Tip Blei- this literally means “know man- know God”. The import of this command is the Man can only Know God when he understands his fellow men. So a strong sense of emphasis is given to human relations rather than a mystical understanding of God devoid of relations.
3) Tip Khur Tip Kha- this means “know ones maternal relations and paternal relations”. The kur is the clan that traces its descent from the First Ancestress, “Ka Iawbei”. So mother is central to the structure of functioning as the children take her surname/ clan name. Kha which literally means “to give birth” is the paternal relations. Father and maternal uncles are important components of Khasi social structure. Honouring paternal relations are very integral to the Khasi ethos.
The Khasis according to the Don Bosco Museum and literature specify that they are originally animists and have ancestor worship. But this is not true. Neither do they have a formal place of Worship, as they believe the U- Blei, the Creator of all fills the Heaven and the Earth. They have a strong belief that every inch of ground is sacred, so there is no necessity of a Sacred Place as such. Sincerity and purity of heart is the most important aspect of prayer. Every day is a day of prayer so one special day is not ordained for worship. The idea of afterlife in the khasis is linked to the myth of 16 original families. When one finally dies, the Khasis believe that the soul soars and flies to be one with the Khyndai Trep (the nine huts or families who lived in heaven) as the longing of the seven families on earth was always to join the 9 families and be one with them in heaven. They understand body as the rotten cage and therefore cremate their dead ones.
After my basic knowledge of the Khasi tribe I am humbled by the various shades and cultural heritages of this tribe. But it has challenged my arrogance and sense of worldview and more I understand different cultures and traditions I am devoid of the comforts of ‘certainty’ and the utter discomfort and insecurity of the knowledge that I know nothing.
P.S. My research is thanks to Don Bosco Centre for Indegenious Cultures, books on the North East and my conversations with my co-travellers in many of my journeys. it is inadequate and has many flaws. The only motivating factor is to cater curiosity.
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