By Barnes Mawrie
IN the light of the present heated debates on tradition and culture, I feel obliged to join the bandwagon and express my views and opinion. There are a lot of voices of the so called “progressives” who are trying to play down the importance of tradition. They seem to suggest that we should treat tradition and culture like we do our clothes, namely, buy new clothes and throw away the old ones. That kind of attitude would spell doom for our people. Those who are familiar with the Jewish people will agree that their strength lies not merely on their economy, but on their fidelity to their tradition. This has always been a saving factor in their life. It has always kept their identity intact in the face of changes and turmoil. Every Jew knows the history of his people, is familiar with the laws, customs and tradition of the people. This has also kept this race of people close to each other in spite of the numerous exiles, exodus and dispersion of the tribes. For that matter, a Jew in New York or a Jew in Aizawl will be equally knowledgeable and faithful to his/her tradition and customs.
To understand how important tradition is to us, we should look at the policy of the present BJP Government which is trying to revive the Hindu-rashtra. There is a deliberate attempt by the Government today to rewrite the history of India focusing on the past glorious history almost like what Mussolini did in Italy. So we are not surprised when Sushma Swaraj, our External Affairs Minister, said that Bhagavad Gita should be recognized as the scripture of the entire country, meaning to say that it should be read in all Indian homes, schools and colleges. What is Hindutva all about, if it is not about bringing back the tradition of the past? Mahatma Gandhi has shown us the value of our tradition. It is he who said, “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”
Change is unavoidable and positive change must be welcomed. However, for the sake of change and innovation we should not sacrifice our culture and tradition. This is what Gandhiji meant in the above quote. There is need to understand the thin line between tradition and change. If we happen to encroach into the another’s territory that would lead to the downfall of a people. A healthy nation is one that knows how to preserve its tradition and culture (past) and adapts itself to modernity (present). The Japanese people are an example of a nation that has kept the balance between tradition and modernity. I am afraid many of our Khasi people in the craze for the “new” (new ideologies, new fashion, new lifestyle, new thinking etc) are gradually digging the ground beneath their feet. I am shocked to see how some writers are even condemning our age-old convictions like the theory of divine origin. Let them understand that such theories are not concocted for science to disprove them but they are meant to provide a psycho-spiritual boost to the people concerned. These same authors with the same breath should have condemned the Bible or the Rig-Veda because they also speak about the divine origin of certain races and groups of people.
In my opinion, preserving tradition is like strengthening the foundation before you can build a multi-storied building on it. To accept changes and modernity without primary respect for one’s own tradition would be the most self-destructive action a person could commit. There are certain elements of our tradition which should be protected at all costs. Those are the things that have worked for centuries and so they will continue to be relevant. After all human behaviour is repetitive. We the Khasi people have some such valuable traditional institutions and practices. In the area of Morals and Ethics we have the golden rule “kamai ia ka hok”, in the area of social life we have other golden rules “tipbriew-tipblei”, “tipkur-tipkha” and “tipburom-tipakor”. In the area of socio-political administration we have the institutions of durbar-shnong, durbar-raid, durbar-kur and durbar-hima. In the area of cultural expressions, we have our dignified dress code, our meaningful dances, melodious music etc. Are these institutions and practices bad, irrelevant or non pragmatic? The answer is evidently negative. These are elements of our tradition and culture which have sustained us for centuries past and they have given us a sense of identity and uniqueness in the world in which we live. Tradition reflects the “collective wisdom of centuries”. So who is there so wise as to say that this is irrelevant and should be discarded?
I am surprised how some people consider the issuing of NOC by the village durbar as non-traditional or as illegal. Perhaps those individuals have not studied Khasi history and culture in depth. Otherwise they would have realized that since ‘time immemorial’ the village durbar has always had a say with regard to new comers to the village or anything being done in it. How do we explain that persons with tainted records like the nongshohnoh or nongai-ksuid who have been expelled from their villages are rejected admission in other villages? Who would do that if not the village durbar? Is this not implementing NOC? Perhaps we think of NOC only in terms of paper documents and we fail to realize that NOC was always done verbally in the past since we belong to an oral tradition. So to say that issuing NOC is a recent practice of the village durbar is factually incorrect. Finally, I see that many suggestions are coming from individuals about reforming the institution of rangbah-shnong. In my opinion, there is already a constitutional body, the District Council which is empowered to supervise this traditional institution. Besides, what is needed is not administrative reformation but moral reawakening in individuals. The rangbah-shnong cannot behave like dictators or monarchs. They should take decisions in a unanimous manner in consultation with the durbar. It is the durbar and not the rangbah-shnong which has absolute authority. The latter only carries out what has been decided by the durbar. The absolute behaviour of some rangbah-shnong today is in fact an abuse of power or a disrespect for the traditional institution itself. It is here that the District Council should act against such erring rangbah-shnong who are posing a threat to the integrity of such an ancient and viable tradition. Corrective measures are needed in some cases but the institution must be respected and preserved at all cost.