By H H Mohrmen
Food crops are not mere plants that help feeds one’s hunger. In the context of indigenous peoples although all crops and plants are equally important, yet there is one crop that is central to their lives. This special connection that people have with crops and plants is an indication that food also has a spiritual essence in the life of the indigenous people of the world. More importantly almost all the indigenous communities have certain crops that are unique or those which are considered to be a fundamental part of their lives.
The other important lesson that one learned from the recently concluded ITM 2015 is that every indigenous peoples’ group have their own crops that they are deeply associated with. For example, for the Maya community it is maize that they had lived with for more than five thousand years. Maize is the essential part of their lives and their stories revolve around this crop whereas different African communities weave their stories around certain tubers and for the herder community in the different parts of the world, their animals form an important part of their lives.
At the ITM 2015, an untiring fighter for Native American rights, economist and activist Dr. Winona La Duke spoke of the battle that the Anishinaabeg have won in protecting their ancestral wild rice from genetic manipulation. While sharing the story with those who attended the plenary session, Dr Winona La Duke held in her hand some of these grains she considered sacred and narrated the story about the fight to protect the crop and the land or rather the lake where the rice grows. She mentioned about the amazing ability of the seed to wait patiently at the bottom of a lake until the conditions are just right, and only then will it rise to the surface and grow once more, providing life for the Anishinaabeg who protect the waters where it grows. For the Anishinaabeg this wild rice is not just crop that feeds them but it is something more than food that sustains their lives, because it also defines the people in more ways than one.
Perhaps, amongst the Khasi-Pnar people rice fits that category of a crop which the community has a special connection with because it not only feeds our hunger but we also use it for different purposes. In fact as we all know lives of the Khasi-Pnar community revolves around rice. Toki Blah reminded us of the primary lesson we were taught when we were kids which is not to waste rice and even if we happen to drop morsels of rice from our plate, we are taught to collect the precious food.
Among the Pnar people rice is considered to be the king of food and is also called ‘U Syiem Sakho’ and perhaps this is the only community that grows more than 120 varieties of rice in different parts of the district. Mere presence of the large varieties of rice indicate that we have been living with this crop for thousands of years and we have been able to collect the largest varieties available. One pertinent question that needs asking is how come such a huge variety of rice cames into the custody of the Khasi-Pnar people? Where did this large variety of rice that we have in our custody come from? Having more than 120 varieties of rice is not only a record but perhaps the truth could very well be that we were the first people to start farming rice and experiment with different varieties of rice. The fact that the community has a rich agrarian culture is also an indication that the people have been doing farming a long time ago and they have been living and experimenting with the crops since time immemorial.
Khaw/khoo is not only a staple food of the Khasi-Pnar but they also create different food items from rice. In fact most of our snacks are rice–based. Take for example pumaloi/tpu-langdong, putharo/tpuwasein, and in Jaintia hills we have many more snacks made of rice like tpupynche, tpusuwe/tpusuwa, tpuniawhali, tpu-nai, tpu-myngkruid/twewpuri, tpurusi, tpu iala, tpudoh, tpujngiar, tpupnah, tputadong, shira/khooner, handoo etc. These are some of the common traditional snacks that are made of rice and are still available in the markets of Jaintia hills. The other reason to buy these snacks is also because they are still traditionally packed in biodegradable ‘lamet’ or plantain leaves.
One of the common drinks that the Khasi-Pnar use is rice beer (kyiad)and it remains so till the Brits introduced distilleries. In some cases rice beer is still being used till today. Rice is also used in many rituals in the traditional indigenous religion. It is used in egg divination without which the ritual cannot be performed and it also forms a major part of the ritual in the dead person’s last rites.
People still practice the tradition that whenever a person dies in the family, they would keep doors ajar for three consecutive nights and also keep some rice in the pot so that the spirit of the dead can come and consume the rice. Elders in the community would always remind us that in the evening after we have had our dinner we should never wash the rice pot and care is taken to see that it contains some rice and should never be kept empty. The reason that we should keep some boiled rice in the pots in the evening is because we believe that the spirit will come and consume the food.
The concept of ‘khaw rneng or khoo rneiñ is one tradition that proves how profoundly connected the people are with rice. It is a tradition among the Khasi-Pnar people that before embarking on a journey, the mother, grandmother, wife or sister would take a little bit of rice, put it in a small pack and hand it to the person before he or she starts the journey so as to ward off any evil. In the preparation for the ITM while we were discussing about some of the track meetings which has food as one the theme, we reminded ourselves about the concept of Khawrneng/khoornein. A member of the Committee, Phrang Roy, who is perhaps the person who had travelled the most in the group, with a smile on his face pointed to his wallet and said, “I still have Khawrneng my mother gave me and I carry it with me everywhere I go”. While bah PR shared the story with the group, my brain started to play tricks and I thought to myself perhaps that must be one Khawrneng that had travelled the most. But on a serious note, I realized how Khawrneng which is part of the tradition to wish a traveler a safe journey, also bonds the traveler spiritually with his mother. After the enlightened experience, before I embarked on my recent journey I decided to visit my mother and now I have with me khoornein with my mother’s blessings. I am sure that even if my mother passes away the khoornein which she gave will be the everlasting bond that will connect me with her even when she is no more.
Khawrneng/khoornein is not only a tradition to wish a traveler a bon voyage, but it has deeper meaning than just to wish people save journey. Khawrneng is also associated with the lifespan of the person. It is believed that before a man or a woman is born he or she already carries the spiritual share of rice which is bequeathed with the share of khawrneng/khoornein when the person dies. When a person dies we say that the person has exhausted his/her share of khaw-rneng. And if a person dies young it is commonly believed that he or she had not carried enough rice to last her a life time.
Many people I know would not consider that they had a meal or that the meal is complete if rice is not part of the meal. Lunch or dinner for the Khasi-Pnar will only be complete if rice is part of the menu. Hence the Khasi-Pnar people’s relationship with rice is unique. It is clear therefore that rice is not merely food for us but an intrinsic part of our culture and psyche and that rice defines who we are.