Ten MSW second semester students of St Edmund’s College return from a rural camp to tell the tale of a village trying hard to stick to traditional beliefs and customs
RANGTHONG IS a village situated in Meghalaya’s South West Khasi Hills district, about 90km from Shillong. A scenic village surrounded by hills of deeper green shade, enough to soothe the eyes.
Besides its aesthetic beauty, the village proudly flaunts detailed records of its history. Obidant S Sad, secretary of the shnong of Mawthanrew-Mawlyngngad, Rangthong, unfolded the village’s history. History was passed on orally in the form of folklore from generation to generation.
Towards the 15th century, small independent territories in the surrounding area – Nongbah, Photjaud and Nongnamlang conglomerated to form Rangthong. The conglomeration followed a a feud. The three territories formed an alliance to fend off a threat of encroachment from a neighboring territory.
In preparation for the feud, a grand council was held and an ingenious war strategy was adopted. Deep trenches were dug to provide protection, camouflage and leverage for archers and bowmen. The code of war entailed declaring as winner the faction that would capture and behead one or more captives in a single raid. But the code was dishonored. One night, soldiers from the neighboring territory infiltrated the village and took captive five civilians, two of them females. The hostages however managed to escape. In retaliation, soldiers from the alliance captured and executed one civilian from the neighboring faction. The feud ended with the alliance emerging victorious.
The defeated were angry and sought another challenge. It was agreed upon; a deep pit was dug and its floor was covered with blades protruding upward. Two representatives were nominated from the warring sides to carry out the challenge of leaping across the pit successfully to be declared winner. The alliance emerged victorious and, as per the wishes of the gods, conglomerated to form ‘Rangthong’. The name Rangthong is derived from the word, ‘rangiathong’; ‘rang’ meaning ‘brave warrior’ and ‘thong’ meaning ‘a bet’.
Religion of the people of Rangthong is the same as other Khasi tribes. Ancestor worship forms an essential part in the religion; the people consider ‘Thawlang’ or the ‘first father’ and ‘Iawbei’ or the ‘first mother’ of the clan as the creators whom they worship. ‘U Suidnia’ is another deity. Religious practices included offering of sacrifices, observing certain days as holy and the holding of feasts.
Before the initiation of any venture the villagers seek the consent of God. Animism is also prevalent among the villagers; ‘Kohkutthawmaw’ is a spirit believed to live on the pinnacle of Kutthawmaw, the highest peak in and around Rangthong. ‘Koh’ meaning ‘elderly male’, ‘kut’ meaning ‘fort’ or ‘throne’, ‘thaw’ meaning ‘make’ or ‘create’ , and ‘maw’ meaning ‘strong’ or ‘firm’. This translates into ‘the throne of God is on top of the Kutthawmaw Hill’. Once every year, a blood sacrifice of a white chicken is offered to honor the spirit and seek its blessing. The ‘Kohkutthawmaw’ is believed to be a sentinel spirit frightening wrong doers and protecting the villagers from evil and danger.
The people of the time lived modest and rustic lives in mutual respect, the people of the village ate what they sowed; the main food source of the region included potatoes, corn, tapioca and other vegetables. Their diet consisted of meat from poultry and husbandry.
With the passage of time, vegetation of Rangthong deteriorated due to the depletion of soil fertility which in turn made the people overly dependent on external food sources. Consequently, the agrarian life style evanesced behind the occupational pattern of a daily wage laborer.
In 1968, there was a massive rise in prices of essential commodities owing to the inadequacies of raw material subsequently, reflected in low agricultural productivity bringing about mass poverty. The people could no longer afford necessities and were forced to survive on a sub-standard diet of wild banana plants, pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves and other wild edibles; meat became a luxury which many could no longer afford.
In 1972, the Bangladesh war broke out which turned out to be beneficial for the economy of Rangthong. There was a minor inflow of wealth into the rural economy earned through the aid provided by them to the Government of India in the rehabilitation of Bangladeshi refugees. Border huts improved and people were employed as porters, nevertheless, they still had to depend on external food sources.
In a few years, all the legends, practices and the essence of detailed rustic life will be lost to the modernity and eventually only scraps of its history will be mentioned in passing. Rangthong is only one of the many villages in Meghalaya full of memory and life, which, modernity unconsciously threatens to overshadow.
(Betsynora Lyngdoh Mawlong, Meba Warjri, Larisa Kharkhongor, Wasaka Khonglamet, Priya Limbu, Iusphullin Marweiñ, Banrilang and Sandarisa Warjri, Ellies Yanthan and Jonathan Marbaniang compiled this story)
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