By Airpeace Rani
While reading the editorial note ‘Superstition in 21st Century Meghalaya’ and the special article ‘Some Truths about u Nongshohnoh’ (ST 25/04/2013), what strikes my mind the most is the word ‘superstition’. We know that ‘superstition’ is any belief which cannot be scientifically proven. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as ‘a belief or practice resulting from ignorance and fear of the unknown’. Superstition is like a taboo especially among scholars and researchers because it is considered a negative or sarcastic term. If the connotation of superstition is applied academically, one may say that all beliefs including religious beliefs in the world are superstitious because at no point of time will science be able to prove either the existence or the non-existence of God(s) and satan. Hence it may be considered that because science cannot answer some of the metaphysical questions related to mankind such as the mystery of the origin of life, earth and its end etc., that religion comes into play. Science says that there is a cause behind everything in the solar system and religion calls that cause/force as God or the creator. Science and religion are two distinct entities which at times converge but can in many cases contradict.
In between these two distinct entities there is another realm known as philosophy. Philosophy is neither science nor religion; it neither condemns nor justifies the two. Its main purpose is to reason out logically the role and significance of science and religion in people’s life. It can at least suggest if not predict the consequences of the beliefs and practices of mankind. It tries to answer the ‘why’ part of the question when science reaches its limit and religion fails to convince. Besides science, life also runs on the basis of philosophy and that’s why every religion has its own philosophy. But there are people who don’t believe in the philosophy of religion and nor do they believe in God. These people are called atheists. Among the group of atheists, scientists and philosophers are in majority. However, it may be noted that almost all atheists irrespective of their profession appear to be guided by their radical philosophy. Atheism is itself a sort of philosophy. Scientists become atheists not because of science since it cannot prove either the existence or the non-existence of God. They are guided by philosophy. It may also be noted that many atheists never condemn other people’s faith or belief in God. They are people who think that they are capable of leading a good life by their own rationality. They don’t feel the need for religious principles and doctrines to guide their lives. They see religious practices and rituals as illogical and a waste of time and money. Many of them tend to accept the principles of humanism. They normally don’t give much importance to customs, traditions and cultures but this is not to say that they are against other people observing them. They are at best guided by ethics and laws and are considered as the realists. Neither do they believe in satan or evil spirits and superstition has no place for them. They are however different from those who do not believe in God or religion just for the sake of living a life of whatever they like.
However, there is one area which confuses scientists, philosophers and atheists alike and that is the existence of mystery and supernatural elements. Even today Christians speak about miracles happening like the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the sick getting healed instantly after prayer despite being denied healing by medical science. I am also told that sometimes the egg is not broken even after being thrown against a hard surface with the strength of a man among the Khasi indigenous faith when their prayer is not accepted by God. There might be many more mysteries such as these which neither science nor philosophy has the answer to.
The Khasis like many indigenous people globally have their own beliefs. These beliefs were basically teachings woven in stories in the form of myths, legends and folklores created and manufactured by our forefathers/mothers in the times of yore. Khasis are very rich in stories, fables and folklores. Almost every village, hills, rivers, forests, falls, clans etc has a story behind. We are thankful to our ancestors for giving us such beautiful stories as teachings. These teachings were taught and passed through generations and became established practices. That how beliefs are implanted. For instance, the Khasis have many moral teachings (jingsneng tymmen) inculcated in the young minds through belief. They say, ‘don’t cut fingernails at night because your mother will die prematurely, don’t sweep the room at night else you lose the blessings of God, don’t rob or speak bad words else you will be eaten by tigers etc’. To science, these exhortations appear foolish but to philosophy they are common sense. The first two exhortations were taught during the era when pine tinder was used as the source of light and nail cutter was unknown then. How can people cut their nails at night in darkness and without a nail cutter? How will they sweep the room in semi-darkness? In order to inculcate in the young about speaking good words, they implanted a belief that if they spoke bad words they would be eaten by tigers. Whether tigers have ever eaten a human being who spoke bad words is debatable. Whatever the case, beliefs have been implanted with certain objectives behind.
The belief on u Thlen and Menshohnoh among the Khasis may be considered a superstition so long as the existence of the same cannot be authenticated by concrete facts and evidences. Like gods, evil spirits and satan, the concept of U Thlen is also abstract. Whereas the worshipers and ministers of God are visible and tangible, U Thlen is not. Many religious beliefs and practices can lead to good behaviour and consequences if one follows them seriously, but there are some that may go counter to humanitarian principles. Human sacrifices for pleasing the gods or for economic prosperity are not acceptable. It may be noted that the belief in U Thlen is not part of Khasi religion. If belief in U Thlen results in the killing of humans it is a punishable offence. Therefore, if there is really such a practice, it is highly condemnable. As law governs only external actions, if there is indeed a Nongshohnoh, he or she should be arrested and punished by law but with concrete evidences. There are people who allege that U Nongshohnoh, Nongaibih and Nongaiksuid can invoke evil spirits and cause harm to them, hence they should be killed or ostracized. If that is the case, why don’t the accusers make use of the service of the Holy Spirit to fight against such evil spirits? Don’t we believe that good should triumph over evil? Why should they resort to physical force or pass judgment on mere suspicion? It is said that if one wants to clean the spider web, one must kill the spider as cleaning the web only will not help. Therefore, if we are to fight against evil we should tackle its source and not only its carriers. Physical retaliation is applicable only if there is a physical attack from such evil doers and that too only in self-defence.
A question arises whether there is any philosophy behind the belief inn U Nongshohnoh, Ka Bih, Ka Lasam etc. This defies easy answers but we can draw some hypothesis. Those who believe that U Thlen and Nongshohnoh are superstitions hypothesize that the belief is based on the philosophy of jealousy. They say that if someone prospers out of his/her hard work, the antagonists will just label call him/her as u/ka Nongshohnoh. If this tag is given to anyone supported with few inferred evidences, then his/her career will diminish in no time since no one in the village would associate with such a person, to the extent that none will even dare to marry his/her daughters and sons. Similar is the case with Ka Bih. However, Ka Bih is related mainly to those selling food items. If any shop-owner is alleged to have Ka Bih then no one will dare to buy anything from that person. That’s how business is brought down. To some the idea of U Nongshohnoh is to instill fear among children and women so that they won’t go to unsafe places alone without the supervision of men. It is also to ensure that they return home before dark. The real danger is not from the Nongshohnoh but from wild animals and robbers or other enemies. People may go against moral rules and laws, but it’s difficult for them to go against fear. Therefore, the fear of U Nongshohnoh automatically disappears when people go in groups and when men are part of the group. From the ancient past it is believed that the Khasis were guided by the philosophy of Tip Briew, Tip Blei, Tip Kur Tip Kha and Kamai Ia Ka Hok. The concept of amassing wealth through U Thlen is absolutely against such a philosophy. Then why did such a practice develop at all? Personally, I don’t take these hypotheses as final but I would say superstition among the Khasis is an area which needs in-depth academic exploration with special reference to incidents that have occurred. Religion and beliefs are fine as long as they don’t harm anyone and can have positive repercussion on people’s lives. Law should intervene when it is otherwise.
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