By H H Mohrmen
Many articles and few books have been published on one of the famous festivals of the Pnar people of Jaintia hills, but so far none has been able to deal at length and do an in-depth on the subject than the book recently launched, entitled, “An Insight into Behdeiñkhlam.” The book written by Dawmanchuh Lamar an agronomist who is also a writer par-excellence has been able not only to give the readers in-depth knowledge about the festival, but book also helped them understand the foundation from which the festival originated and its meaning and relevance to the followers of Niamtre the indigenous faith of the Pnar people. The book not only gives us an insight into the famous festivals of the Pnar people of Meghalaya, but it also gives us a glimpse into the genesis of the KhasiPnar peopel as per the Hynniewtrep Hynniew skum stories. It also tells us the story of the beginning of human settlements in the place we now call Jowai. It maybe mentioned that almost all old human settlements or villages in the Jaintia hills district have their own narratives of how human settlements began in the area and stories about the first clan that dwelt in the area and this intricately links with the Niamtre of the area. The book also depicts the true picture about the fact that Behdeiñkhlam festival is not just a festival without any foundation but it draws its origin and legitimacy from this creation story and also the narrative of the origin of Jowai as we know it now. Jowai according to legend was first occupied by the four deities or sisters who are believed to be partly human and partly deities. They are known as ka Wet, ka Doh, Bon and ka Tein and obeisance is still being paid to the four sisters particularly during Behdeiñkhlam. In fact Behdeiñkhlam festival begins and ends every year at the house of the Langdoh, one of the descendant of the four deity’s. In fact most of the public rituals in the festival other than those performed by the daloi of the eleka Jowai, are performed by members of the four clans also known as ‘ki soo kpoh khaddar wyrnai.’ In other words the original clan of Jowai has a major role to play in the functioning of the Behdeiñkhlam or even the tradition Niamtre religion. The book opens our eyes to the rich and profound tradition of the Pnars the close links that it has to the Niamtre, the creation story of the hynniewtrep hynniewskum and the origin narrative of the Jowai and the elaka as such. It may also be important to note that this perhaps is the first time that the detailed creation story according to the Pnar version was put in black and white. The hynniewtrep hynniewskum story according to the Pnar people is much more detailed and elaborate than the common story that we hear and read now. Again this part of the creation story which is missing in the common hynniewtrep hynniewskum narrative is that part which has to do with the institution of the Behdeiñkhlam festival as ordained by the Creator. Since this book also portrays the legitimacy of the festival beginning from the Pnar’s own creation story, it also depicts the whys and wherefores of the festival in connection with the creation story and even the theology of the Pnar people particularly of those in the eleka Jowai. It also gives us some idea of the belief system of the Pnar people particularly those in the elaka Jowai and describes in details the different gods, deities and demigods in the Pnar pantheon of gods. Because the book also speaks about the different gods, deities and demigods worshipped by the Pnar of raid Jowai in particular, the book also give us a glimpse into the theology of the Niamtre religion of the Pnar people who live in the Raid Jowai. In the Pnar context although people worship the Supreme God, but it is believed that U Trekirot also has deputies in the form of gods, demigods and nature spirits or divinities as the author of the book aptly put it. The gods, demigods and nature spirits or divinities also share certain duties and perform those duties in accordance with the will of the Supreme Power, because they are subordinate to the Almighty. Lamar emphasizes in the book, that the deities as such do not have absolute power because they are subordinate to Him in all matters and they exist only according to His will. In the book the author has made it crystal clear that for one to understand Behdeiñkhlam festival one also needs to know the two important aspects and that is the creation story of the Khasi-Pnar and the story of the first dwellers of the place we now call Jowai. The first settlers known as the Doh, ka Wet, ka Tein and ka Bon were four sisters who in their sojourn in search of a place to settle down in, reached the place in the midst of rain and thunder storm and decided to settle in Jowai. The reason is because the foundation of the festival and the Niamtre in particular is based on the ‘hukum’ or ordination of the Creator. One cannot deny that the book was able to do justice to the subject as difficult as Behdeiñkhlam, because the writer is a practitioner of Niamtre religion and by being somebody who is from inside the religion, he was able to capture the spirit of the festival which somebody who is not an insider would not be able to do. The spirit of the festival can only be captured by somebody who practices it or experiences it. So Lamar has been able to do so and describes it vividly in the book. This is the first time a book on such an important subject is published and now available in the public domain. This will greatly help those who seek to know more about the traditional wisdom and knowledge in general and the Niamtre in particular. There is still a lot more information and knowledge available which is waiting to be documented and put into writing. One hopes that many more such books will be available in the future. Although Behdeiñkhlam is being celebrated by different Raid in Jaintia hills, but the book only deals on that aspect of the festival as celebrated by the people who live in the raid Jowai. Behdeiñkhlam is being celebrated by different Raids like the Tuber, the Mukhla, the Muthlong, the Ialong and others and there is some variation in the way the different raids celebrate their respective Behdeiñkhlam. Because the focus of the book is on the Behdeiñkhlam as celebrated by the people who live in the villages under the elaka Jowai, therefore there is so much to be done to document the other festivals of the other raids as well. There is a need to document and write on the other festivals like the Pastieh of the Shangpung and the Raliang and also that of the Ialong. The author Dawmanchuh Lamar is an agronomist working in the Agriculture department of Meghalaya, and before this book he had earlier published a book on rice cultivation in Jaintia hills District. In the book he also appreciates the traditional knowledge that is still being practiced by the farmers in the area. Hence we can say that he is an agroecologist who makes use of the traditional knowledge of cultivation along with the modern scientific knowledge. But more importantly he is the main person behind the collection and documentation of the more than 120 species of rice used by the farmers in Jaintia hills. He is one of the few officers who is willing to works beyond the 10 to 5 official schedule.