By Raphael Warjri
In 1997, I took up an assignment from Dr Helen Giri, while she was the Head of the Centre for Creative Arts, NEHU for the visual documentation of some of the freedom fighters of Meghalaya. For the information on u Syiem Bormanik of Hima Shyllong and u Tirot Sing Syiem of Hima Nongkhlaw, I was under the direct supervision of Dr Helen Giri. For the others, u Sngap Sing Syiem of Hima Maharam and Kiang Nangbah of Jaiñtia I independently took charge of the documentation process. In Jowai I was asked to meet Ma R Tokin Rymbai, Ma S Quotient Sumer, Ma Lakhon Shullai and a few more people of Jowai. Earlier, Dr Soumen Sen, as Head of the Centre for Creative Arts, NEHU had engaged my services for the video documentation of Behdeiñkhlam, where I had the opportunity to meet Mr Kistobin Rymbai and RT Rymbai. On the sidelines, I expressed my curiosity about the features of u Woh Kiang Nangbah, for which they have provided me with certain valuable information.
In one of the functions of the Khasi Authors’ Society, the then President, Mr Webster Davies Jyrwa engaged my services for photography. At that time I gathered more information about Kiang Nangbah from Mr RT Rymbai and Donbok T Laloo on the warrior costumes. Again, while I was assisting Gautam Bora for his TV programme on the eminent personalities of the region, and later I was asked by Doordarshan Kendra Shillong to make a programme on U Woh Kiang Nangbah, I had collected certain information on the matter. In this regard, on several occasions we had conversations with Messrs RT Rymbai, Dr Hamlet B Ngapkynta, P Ripple Kyndiah, Dr Radhon Sing Lyngdoh, Laborious Manik Syiem and Ms Sitimon Sawian after which I gained much more knowledge. Most of these background inputs have eased my effort for the assignment given by Prof Helen Giri for the Centre for Creative Arts, NEHU. Furthermore, in the ongoing process of acquiring knowledge about Kiang Nangbah, I came across few friends like the Doloi of Jowai, Messrs Comet Rymbai, Kambel Shullai, Hamdon Lamare, Shining Star Laloo, H H Mohrmen, Jop Pariat, K P Phawa, Shovan Lamare, Gayous Star Shullai and Sonny L Khyriem. On one occasion Mr Toki Blah approached me for a portrait of u Kiang Niangbah for the commemorative stamp. I apprised him about our efforts and painted the portrait of Kiang Nangbah accordingly. However, it never materialised and instead something else appeared in the philatelic collection of India.
It never occurred to me that I would get another opportunity to create the artist’s impression of the great hero,U Kiang Nangbah, if not for the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU). I have been engaged in some sculptural assignments with the past and the present leaders of the KSU particularly Samuel B Jyrwa, Danny Khyriem and Auguster Jyrwa. I recalled the making of the bust statues of Bull N Lyngdoh and Wickliffe Syiem, along with artists like Benedict S Hynñiewta and Pynshngaiñ Langpen. We were passionately involved with the work and not just for making the pictorial appearance of the personalities. At the end of the day, when the work was done, we ensured that it was not another image making process but that we created a character. We could not acquire sufficient pictures of Bull N Lyngdoh and being a person who had seen him from close quarters, while I was also a KSU activist since 1979 onwards, I sketched from memory the different postures of Bull Lyngdoh and Benedict with his faint memory of the man, created a character of the image befitting his personality.
Although, Wickliffe Syiem was never seen by any of us, Pynshngaiñ used the best of his ability to bring out his personality. Kiang Nangbah was another challenge, a historic figure without any visual reference whatsoever. Nevertheless, the little memory of my research for imagery and the history itself has enabled me to create the better than the best figure. According to the oral narrative that I gathered, Kiang Nangbah was of moderate height and medium build. He had a sharp nose and swollen upper eyelids, high cheekbones and broad cleft. He sported a thin moustache with longer hairline at the corner of the lips and a short graceful hair behind his neck. He always wore a bright white turban and a dhoti up to the ankle and loved to hang around Ïawmusiang in the late afternoon particularly on market days. Kiang was an introvert and hardly was in the company of friends. Initially, he was not very sociable until the British interfered with the local administration. It was then that Kiang began to confront them and his contact with the society became more frequent. He was firm on his stand and never retreated till he was chosen as leader to wage a war against the British.
Oral narratives say that ever since Kiang Nangbah was a young boy he would offend the white people and shatter their arrogance. The dominance of British supremacy over the Hynñiewtrep land by imposing tax, disarmament of people during religious ceremony and sheer disregard of the sacred sites have pushed the indigenous people to revolt against foreign rule. This was the Jayantia Rebellion. During the movement against colonial regime, the Pnar people searched for a leader and Kiang Nangbah emerged as the undisputed choice resolved by a secular council at Madiah Kmai Blai, believed to have been sanctioned with divine oracle at Syntu Ksiar. He led the rebellion with valour and challenged the might of the British putting them into an ordeal. After that they resorted to deception by using someone from among the community. They succeeded in capturing Kiang Nangbah, denounced his fight for the rights of his people and ultimately executed him cruelly by hanging him from a scaffold on 30th December 1862 thereby hoping to scuttle the rebellion. At the death knell, Kiang refused to pledge allegiance to sovereign rule and uttered his last prophetic words to his people:
‘If my head turns eastward, you shall attain freedom within a hundred years; if it turns westward, you will remain in slavery’.
Kiang Nangbah was hanged and his head slowly turned eastwards. His manifested prophecy is the resounding message for the future generation to guard their sacred freedom
Regarding the warfare costumes and armour, the warriors of that period wore animal hide as protective armour tied with a loomed waist band and the headgear was derived out of the hump of the bull, while the dhoti was always raised right up to the thighs. The feet and hand was always bare and a wrist band was worn in the arms to protect from the flight of arrows or defend from the enemy during armed combat. The firm contact of the bare hand with the sword or the spear is essential and the blood stain of enemies in the fingers provided a momentum to fight with greater vigour. The more than life sized statue of Kiang Nangbah is being conceptualised to relate with the spirit of sacrifice and a pledge to fight for freedom. The structure is being thought after with suitable and authentic posture and the self taught sculptor, Burt Reynolds Nongrum was attentive to details of anatomy and the realistic figure of the great warrior. I took careful initiative, observation, supervision and at times shaping the finer details of the art work to enable a suitable image worthy of the stature and personality of U Woh Kiang Nangbah. We are not making just the pictorial appearance, but have created the inherent character of this great personality.
After so much of effort, it is not aesthetically feasible for such a monument to be surrounded by commercial signage. I was travelling to the destination at Barik where the monument was installed and on the way I met a Khasi lady who profusely denounced the crusade flags of certain corporate firms surrounding the old Legislative Assembly building. During the process of finishing touches at the site another Khasi lady was complaining to the people who were engaged in the erection of the monument. Her complaint was that she was initially approved to put up the commercial signage and that the other group from the same community (para Khasi) has interrupted her business enterprise to facilitate the removal of the signage. Though I refrained from commenting in spite of their different view points on the matter, there is one thing common about these two women. It seems that both ladies are not familiar with Kiang Nangbah and his singular achievements and this is true of many others. Therefore, it is more than appropriate to erect some more monuments of local distinguished personalities for posterity.