By Fabian Lyngdoh
There are two sources of power among human beings: the mystical power of the word, and the power of scientific knowledge. We will discuss the power of the word according to Khasi thought. Many writers have said that the Khasi language has already contained in itself ‘ka hukum ka kular’ (mission and covenant). I am compelled to point out that this is an exaggeration. To say that the Khasi language already contains the mission and the covenant, or that it is ‘ka ktien shong-sbai shong-blei’ (a language that is charged with the power of God), is only an emotional and sentimental expression which may resonate with poetic literature, but not in philosophical discourse. The words have their effective meanings somewhere between the speaker and the hearer. If a language already contains ‘ka hukum ka kular’, then a covenant can be instituted even when it is spoken by a parrot or a moina. But the Khasi elders had understood that no covenant is created when the Khasi language is spoken by the birds, or when spoken by little children, or by people who do not know the meanings of the words.
The Khasis say that the words spoken can institute a covenant because they believe in the existence of spiritual beings who can stand witness to what is spoken. The other reason is because the Khasis in the past, are a people who hold fast to covenants (kiba bat jutang) and who never speak out of turn, and do not allow others to do the same. It is here that the concept of ‘ia said nia’ (to argue against) has its meaning. When a person speaks in a dorbar, he establishes his argument of truth called ‘ka siang nia’, which means to lay down his reason or principle. The opposing member would in retaliation establish his alternative argument of truth which is called ‘ka said nia’, which means to wash away or remove the validity of the argument that the first speaker had established. If ‘ka siang nia’ of the first speaker cannot be invalidated by ‘ka said nia’ of the opposing speaker, then the argument of the first speaker stands as a resolution or ‘ka jubanlak’ of the covenant arrived at in the dorbar.
Khasi elders used to say that with the power of his words, man is the master over the earth and all the creatures in it, and the forces of nature would obey his command and direction. But this does not mean that nature would ordinarily obey the verbal command of every individual. It is the human spirit which can command nature, and not an ordinary individual. By himself, a human individual does not have ka sot to command nature, but it is only ‘ka longkur’ which comprises the ‘material human’ in the visible form of the living members of the kur, and the ‘spiritual human’ in the invisible realm of the departed members, which is authorized to directly exercise spiritual power through ka sot of the kur religion. It is only in a desperate situations and on righteous reason that any individual can acquire authority over nature by directly appealing to the mercy of ka Hok.
The idea that ‘Ka Lei Synshar’ (attribute of God) has given to man the word or language by which to command nature refers only to the general covenant by which man would have the cause, the reason, or the ground to institute religion and to establish man’s status above all creatures. In daily living, the Khasis do not directly make use of this covenant, but they interact with nature or command its powers through the intervention of the spirits of the departed members of the kur, or through other spiritual beings with personal names. If a man faces a turbulent river, which is humanly impossible to cross he may seek spiritual assistance through these words: “Ko Lei Synshar, as you have given to u khunbynriew (human race) the word by which to rule nature and all creatures in it, look here, I establish my argument of truth through the word.” Then he would continue, “Ko Iawbei! Ko Suidnia! Support me, calm down the water that I may safely swim across. Listen to my word, and I shall duly acknowledge at the altar” (To da sngap ïa ka nia ho, nga ruh ngan buh hi ka nguh ka dem). Man would be able to command an elephant or a tiger to obey him through the intervention of the spirits of the dead. In the community religion, or in the kur religion, people can move heavy stones or perform remarkable feats by invoking the spirits of their ancestors.
A long time ago, a man from Raid Nongtluh named U Phanram Matong , killed U Dit Lyngdoh from Raid Thaïang on mere suspicion and a war ensued between the two Raids. U Der Malai, the Nongtluh warrior, fraudulently cut off the right thumb of U Chikhir Lyngdoh the Thaïang leader and brother of U Dit Lyngdoh, and the warriors of Raid Thaïang had to retreat to ka kut (castle), while the warriors of Raid Nongtluh went in hot pursuit after them. Ka kut of Raid Thaïang was defended by trenches, thirty feet wide and twenty feet deep all around it. All the Thaïang warriors managed to escape but U Sing Chulit Shadap and U Chikhir Lyngdoh were trapped between the pursuing enemy and the deep trench of ka kut. U Sing Chulit was slain while faithfully defending U Chikhir Lyngdoh who managed to escape. Facing the barrier of a thirty feet wide trench, U Chikhir called upon his deceased brother, “Ko Dit Lyngdoh! it is for avenging the wrong done to you that I fought this war. Hear now, give me power to jump across this trench, and I will sacrifice one bull in your honour.” With these words, U Chikhir flew across the trench like a bird just at the moment when the enemy’s sword was about to fall on his neck. The warriors of Nongtluh in amazement said, “Heit te, da em thabaner re pha te!” (Thou art lucky to have wings, or else thou should be dead). The Nongtluh warriors realized that U Chikhir had ‘ki thabaner’ (wings) or mysterious power through spiritual intervention. As a man, U Chikhir would not be able to jump across the trench, but with the intervention of the spirit of U Dit, he was able to overcome the nature of gravity and flew across. U Chikhir sacrificed a bull in honour of U Dit Lyngdoh, and from then on began the religious tradition of ka ‘Sit Masi’ in the Jait Lyngdoh of Raid Thaïang. In this religious tradition, only a man from the Shadap clan has ‘ka sot’ (sanctioned right) to kill the sacrificial bull by shooting an arrow, in honour of U Sing Chulit Shadap who sacrificed his life to defend the life of U Chikhir Lyngdoh.
The righteous way to seek spiritual intervention according to the Khasi thought is through the spirits of the departed members in the cult of the kur religion. Today, the tribe is in a dilemma. We are no longer in a position to harness energy from legitimate traditional spiritual resources, while at the same time we are apprehensive of moving forward to institutionally embrace the principles of modern scientific knowledge. With due respect to all concerned, I would like to advise our younger generation to critically study the past and set projectiles towards the future. We should be a tribe that moves forward, and not backward. Slogans like, “Ngin nai ïa ka lawei lada ngi dei ban khlad noh na ka mynnor” (we say ‘nay’ to the future, if we are to divorce from the past), should be dumped into the archive. The youthful generation with a bright future would rather say, “Away with the miserable past if it hinders the wellbeing of the present and the future!” We cannot fly from generation to generation only on the wings of poetry. We have to build the society on the rock of truth, not on the shifting sands of emotions and sentiments. U Soso Tham said, “We walk no more by the light of a firebrand like our ancestors, but by the brightly shining sun.” Education conducive to the needs of the present and the future is the shining sun that the paths of our youths should be lighted by. It’s only then that the deep thought of the ancestors would bear new leaves, flowers and fruits in the wide modern environment.