By Daphi Shisha Syiem
I was ecstatic when all the local newspapers carried the news of the new Acting Syiem and his Dorbar making Law Syiem their first priority. I, being from the Syiem clan of Mylliem, I believed that the new incumbent will in all honesty and truth restore back Law Syiem to where it should belong as I have written a few times through your ST letter to the editor about Law Syiem belonging to our kur, the Syiem clan of Mylliem.
Then I read about how the new Acting Syiem summoned the various churches who shamelessly exchanged money under the table with Latho Manik Syiem, the suspended Syiem and his cohorts for a piece of the illgotten booty. Then I saw the names and read about some prominent senior citizens who walk only on the path of moral highgrounds with position in the church as elders worthy of great respect but when they were offered a really cheap bargain for a land that the Syiem and his Dorbar were holding on to illegally, they made a jump for it, never the ones to miss such opportunities of “making hay while the sun shines” by hook or by crook for the glory of God. The name of one of the church elders, Dr. B.R. Kharlukhi is associated with politics who held the post of MP at one time and also as a college teacher and Principal of Union Christian College but besides these credentials, he belongs to one of the Myntri clans of Hima Mylliem. The person representing the Catholic Church, L. Shadap is an Ex. MDC. When such elders of our Khasi Society who are convincingly intelligent and well versed in our Khasi History, customs and traditions and simultaneously serving as Church elders, committed to the responsibilities of being examples to the flock and leading the congregation, decides to take such a daring leap of faith to sin for the sake of the Church without giving any thought for a worst case scenario if caught in the process of such shady deals is thought provoking but the gist of the whole matter is that they connived with Latho Manik Syiem and his Myntris for a shady, illegal deal upon a land not belonging to the Dorbar of Hima Mylliem. They just had to take advantage of this golden opportunity while still available and thus in their infinite wisdom, decided to exchange money for land, although it was evidently clear to them that it was not going to be a legitimate deal because of the fact that the whole forest land actually belongs to the Syiem clan of Mylliem.
Do you think that the Syiem and his Myntris will make such a hushed-up controversial land deal if the land really belonged to them? And do you think the Church elders acting as purchasers without the knowledge of their congregation will just hand over lakhs of rupees as salami (bai burom) to the Syiem and his Myntris silently for graveyard plots acknowledging the fact that no proper land documents can be provided by the seller? Now that Latho Manik Syiem, the Syiem of Mylliem has been suspended, we believe that the law of the land will award him with whatever he deserves but what about his numerous other partners? It takes two to tango, so when partners caught dancing together on illegal grounds are arrested, both should be awarded with the same punishment. As for Christians, we know that Sins of commission are sins that we commit by doing something we shouldn’t do.
Then I read about the present Acting Syiem talking about Law Syiem. He has even gone a step further and talks about it as LAW HIMA. Seriously? On whom do we put our trust now? In our present Acting Syiem who now calls it Law Hima or do we go to the Church to pray about it? This whole business of evil and greed and destruction of the greatest Khasi heritage has left a bad taste in our mouths. And during this whole episode, our kur Syiem Mylliem sits without uttering one word in the belief that the spirits of our ancestors will curse all those who try to destroy Law Syiem. Yes, I do agree because it is all happening right before our eyes – death, disease and destruction has started visiting all persons laying hands upon Law Syiem. We believe that the spirits of our ancestors that dwell in that forest puts a curse on anyone that enters to destroy the forest but isn’t it our duty to safe guard our legacy and restore it back to its past glory as it was meant to exist? According to the legend, when the people of Hima Mylliem wanted a ruling family, they went out searching for a person who would make a perfect Chief for their Hima. When they found that person, they brought him to the village and conferred the title of Syiem on him and his clan and all their basic needs were provided for in order for them to establish and continue with the legacy of the Syiem clan. This was the beginning of the lineage of our Syiem clan of Mylliem so even today, with that same mentality perhaps, it looks like our Syiem clan of Mylliem is still waiting for some unseen, divine intervention to hand over to us Law Syiem on a silver platter which I think will not happen very soon. We have to fight our own battle keeping in mind that unless we restore back Law Syiem to the forest that it is meant to be, the spirits of our ancestors will not rest in peace. “Woe betides anyone that disturbs the dwellings of the spirits of the ancestors.”