By Toki Blah
More than four weeks have passed since the curtains went down on the International Terra Madre (ITM) at Mawphlang on the evening of the 7th Nov 2015. The first such International event for this Hill State where more than 600 foreign delegates participated! A lot of water since has passed under the Mawlai bridge together with a lot of words, opinions, comments written and spoken about the event itself. From the point of view of the foreign delegates, the consensus was one of general satisfaction. Most of them came to confabulate on the issue of Indigenous Partnerships for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty. For the first time in the history of International meets all 600 foreign delegates, comprising of experts on food production, matriliny and indigenous cultures went out on a field visit and interacted with villagers of Meghalaya. They apparently returned highly impressed with whatever indigenous demeanour they encountered.
On the other hand going by what has appeared on print and the local social media network, it would appear that there exists a general feeling of resentment that the ITM on its concluding day had not been able to meet expectations of the local people. Apparently there were two major expectations from the locals. The pleasant anticipation of driving at leisure to Mawphlang, enjoy oneself at the festival and then return at an equally leisure manner back home. Traffic conditions on the entire Shillong – Mawphlang stretch that day, were so horrible; so chaotic; so unmanageable that this hope was dashed to pieces the moment it was born. Motorists to the festival got stuck for hours without food, drink or the ability to relieve themselves. Mass indignation on this count is justified. The second expectation of many was to enjoy international food and cuisine at the ITM. Mouth watering Italian pastas, Irish stews, Tiramisu et al were definitely on the anticipated menu. How this expectation came about is unclear. It, however, was simply not there and local food too, whatever there was, soon disappeared. Many went home hungry and this must have really hurt. Thus the 2nd count of disappointment and chagrin is also understandable.
Before one begins to delve into what really happened that day at Mawphlang, one has to first understand two basic issues. Firstly the 7th was simply the finale to a weeklong event of seminars, workshops and panel discussions, of International standard at an international level, about the whole ideology of Indigenous Partnerships for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty; the fundamental relationship between indigenous people and their food systems and the imperative but oft forgotten impact that food has on the culture and value systems of indigenous people like us. The extravagant display of cultural dances and songs on the 7th Nov at Mawphlang was choreographed to showcase that sense of wellbeing, contentment and community cohesion that, indigenous people the world over display, over their relationship with the food they grow. During sowing time and harvesting time, indigenous tribes the world over, often burst into an overindulgence of exuberance usually expressed through dance and song. Spring and Autumn festivities linked to successful agriculture is a trademark of all mountain people. Ka Behdeinkhlam and Shad Nongkrem and other similar dances symbolise the Hynniewtrep portrayal of the above. Sadly it’s something the critics of the ITM, most of whom are urban indigenous people themselves, chose to ignore and forget.
The second basic issue one should keep in mind while discussing about the ITM and its programme is a paradox of sorts. No doubt the event was launched from the slow food platform but the term slow food is not so much about decorous eating of food; chewing/cooking it slowly or otherwise. ITM and its slow food movement is, instead, about indigenous food systems. It’s about refocusing attention on how indigenous people sow the grains that feed them; how the food (usually grain of different variety depending on the continent, locale and terrain it is grown) is harvested; how seeds for the next sowing season are selected, stored and preserved; and eventually how this food itself is cooked. The concern of our ancestors over each activity mentioned above formed the core of what we now call our culture and our tradition. Specific value systems relating to food developed out of it. An indigenous person’s world view has always been influenced by his environment and the type of food he grows, for it ultimately decides the very survival of his clan and the tribe itself. Food is therefore revered. Food is essentially the DNA of our identity as indigenous people. That exactly is what the ITM is all about. It’s not about international dishes or their availability at Mawphlang on the 7th of November 2015. Instead it was all about sensible indigenous partnerships to bring about a healthier paradigm in holistic food production.
One has already made mention of the two major expectations that the ITM generated. These expectations were however strictly focused on the events of the 7th at Mawphlang. One feels sorry for those who braved the elements to reach Mawphlang on the 7th only to find that their expectations were nowhere to be found. For their dashed gastro-colic hopes let us attempt to illustrate a culturally satisfying aspect of the ITM that took place during the first 3 days at NEHU. First were the blessings bestowed upon the event by U Kynsaimanik Syiem, an elder of the Hima Khyrim, when he inaugurated the opening ceremony on the 3rd. (The Syiem of Khyrim was unable to attend because the ITM coincided with the Pomblang Festival at Smit). Illustrative of how an egalitarian indigenous society traditionally turns to its wise elders for guidance on any auspicious occasion.
Something else also happened in one of the Thematic Panel discussions. It was a discussion on Food Sovereignty. Bah HH Mohrmen and I were panellists to that particular discussion. Others included international experts on indigenous food systems; experts on indigenous belief systems and indigenous participants from other parts of the world. When the Khasi Pnar reverence for rice was narrated; how it is taboo for Khasis to do anything that lowers the eminence and dignity of cooked rice (lehbein, leh khlem akor ia u sohkhaw ja); how grains of rice are carried by Khasi travellers to protect themselves from evil, the audience was visibly enthralled by this cultural veneration given by our community to the principal food grain cultivated on these hills. It’s so illustrative of the indigenous respect given to the food systems that sustain us as a people. Our beliefs, culture and tradition so intertwined with our food habits and Terra Madre (Mother Earth) is central to it all!
Speaking of the Earth, the foremost concern of every thinking person today is how to save it. The Earth as we know it may not survive for long unless mankind can come about with workable and sensible solutions on how to overcome his own agents of destruction- Climate Change and Global Warming. One of the greatest challenges in coming up with feasible and practical solutions to the problem, is mankind’s belief that Climate Change is something new; something unique which in turn demands novel undiscovered solutions. But is this so? Is Climate Change something mankind has never encountered before? The Khasis as an ancient indigenous people believe otherwise. They feel they already possess a practical traditional answer on carbon sequestering; on how to minimise Global warming; on how to save this planet from Climate Change. It has been done before; no reason why it should not happen again. The answer lies in the concept and idea behind our sacred groves. How our ancestors came about this answer lies perhaps somewhere in the folklore about the Diengiei tree. It’s a story and in it the universal answer that the world is looking for. What better way to tell it to the world than orally through an International festival on Indigenous Partnerships for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty held in the Mawphlang Sacred Grove of the Khasi Hills!