By Fabian Lyngdoh
The Khasi conception of the universe is that of a cosmos, where thousands of facts and realities are arranged in order by ‘ki jutang’ (covenants) expressed through ‘ki parom’ (religiously approved stories), and practised through ‘ki sot’ (religious practices). In turn, ‘ki jutang’, ‘ki parom’ and ‘ki sot’ are being upheld by God who is God not only of the Khasis, but of the whole world and all His creation.
God is considered far above human interrelationships and anthropomorphic conceptions. Hence, we find no portrayal of an anthropomorphic God in Khasi mythology, as he is always represented by his three attributes: ‘Ka Hukum’, ‘Ka Synshar’, and ‘Ka Hok’. The idea of Almighty God is kept constantly in the Khasis’ minds and hearts, as they believe that God can be pleased by living the way of righteousness; but there is no institutional worship offered directly to God or his three attributes.
Khasi mythology says that human beings originated with ‘ki Khathynriew Trep’ (sixteen huts) living in heaven. The sixteen huts commutated from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven again through ‘ka jyngkieng ksair’ (golden stairs) on mount Sohpetbneng. Seven of the sixteen huts called ki Hynniew Trep-Hynniew Skum (seven huts) opted to stay permanently on earth and they became the ancestors of human race. There is no religion in the proper sense, in which human beings can have direct communication with God without the intercession of intermediate spirits with personal names. So, in the Khasi kur-religion too, the spirits of ‘ka Ïawbei’ (ancestral mother) and ‘u Suidnia’ (ancestral maternal uncle) intercede between the living members of the kur and God. The spirit of ‘u Thawlang’ (ancestral father) too is recalled in reverence in certain occasions, but not invoked for intercession.
The kur-religion is supposed to substitute for the function of goldenstairs. A man could come into this world of the Hynniew Trep through his birth into the kur, and after death he could enter the spiritual kingdom of the Khyndai Trep (nine huts) through the kur. The nine huts above signify the invisible-kur which exists in intimate communion with God. The seven huts signify the visible-kur still living a mortal life on earth. A continuous communication between these two states of existence of the kur constitutes the primary religion of the Khasi.
There is no sacred place anywhere in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills which is common for the whole Khasi tribe. I fully agree with Fr. Barnes Mawrie that the story of mount Sohpetbneng and the golden stairs is only a mythological allegory, and it has no real connection with the origin of the Khasi tribe. In the traditional religious rites, the Khasi priests in the past never recall the seven huts as being the ancestors of the Khasis only and the golden stairs as the way through which only the Khasis had come down from heaven; but the seven huts are recalled in religious sacrifices as to the ancestors of ‘u khunbynriew’ (the whole human race) who came down through the golden stairs on mount Sohpetbneng. Unlike the Shillong peak where a ‘godparticular’ with personal name is worshipped and offered sacrifices by the founding clans of Hima Shyllong, the Sohpetbneng peak is the place where people can worship ‘Goduniversal’ who has no personal name but can be known only as ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Exodus, 3: 14). Even the people of Raid Mawbuh did not worship a ‘godparticular’ on Sohpetbneng peak but on u Lum Mawbuh and other places around the peak.
‘‘The interest to make a pilgrimage on top of mount Sohpetbneng by the believers of Niam Khasi and by Christians is of recent origin connected with the idea of strengthening the identity of the tribe.’’
The interest to make a pilgrimage on top of mount Sohpetbneng by the believers of Niam Khasi and by Christians is of recent origin connected with the idea of strengthening the identity of the tribe. The desire of the Khasi Christians to worship God on mount Sohpetbneng is not for achieving perfection in their Christian faith, but only to manifest that they are Khasis in spite of being Christians. God is the same God for believers of Niam Khasi and for the Christians. Hence, God is not insulted if he is worshipped by anyone on mount Sohpetbneng, and there is no need for condemnation. If anyone commits a sin of breaking the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’ (Exodus, 20: 7) because he/ she is worshipping ‘Goduniversal’ on mount Sohpetbneng then he/she is answerable to God alone, and not to any other human or institution. Christianity is not insulted by Sri Ramakrishna’s declaration of Christ divinity on his attaining spiritual realization and entering into samadhi when Jesus embraced him and entered into his being.
hat in the community religions of many ‘raids’ and ‘himas’ there had been indigenisation of various aspects of Hinduism. If indigenisation of Hinduism can be considered as indigenous religion, then why not indigenisation of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and other religions be considered as indigenous religions too? According to my opinion, the only reason is not because there is any eternal truth in it, but because indigenisation of some aspects of Hinduism had taken place in the political community of the ‘raids’ and ‘himas’ in the preliterate period before the advent of the British rule; and, today such adaptations are being upheld by the traditional political institutions in the himas and elakas.
Religion has always existed among human societies in two distinct dimensions: the spiritual dimension which is concerned with spiritual realization in bodily existence, and transition of the departed souls to a heavenly abode; and, the social dimension which concerns for temporal affairs of the polity, the economy and other societal needs, and linked with cultural festivals for the purpose of keeping the society alive and to maintain its cohesion and distinct identity.
The spiritual dimension is again manifested in two aspects: The fundamental aspect is in the believers’ personal faith and relationship with God, in which, believers worship God neither on mount Sohpetbneng nor in Jerusalem; but ‘the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth’ (John, 4: 21-24); and the secondary aspect is the call for believers’ faith through the religious institution. Hence, the spiritual dimension of religion including Christianity is fundamentally to be practised in the transformation of heart in daily living, not only to be manifested in institutional programmes. But what emerged in history is the preponderance of institutional worship over the personal devotion and relationship in spirit and in truth. Many professed Christians are only institutional worshippers.
who are diligent with the performance of institutional programmes, rites and ceremonies, but miserably lacking in deep faith in spirit and in truth. They attend to day after day of ‘jingïaseng’ (congressional celebration) but there is no ‘jingïasuk’ (love and peace) in their hearts. In cases when they meet with serious problems or malignant diseases, they readily abandon the faith in their Saviour, and resort to occult healing through various tantric occultisms by private practitioners of whatever religion; and they lead one another into temptation to betray the covenant of their Baptism. But in most cases, they end up in more trouble. It is all a ‘vanity of vanities; all is vanity’ (Ecclesiastes, 1: 2), just to tarnish their souls. To rationalise their lack of faith and spirit of sacrifice to the will of God, they resort to the scripture that they had to ‘render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s’ (Matthew, 22: 21). Jesus clearly intended to instruct his followers to obey the law and political authority in the society in spite of their faith in him. But many of the Christians interpreted that they had to bow down to God for what is concerned with God and to bow down to the devil for power belonging to the devil. The Bible clearly indicates that there is nothing belonging to the devil except hell, and there is nothing to render to him except one’s own destruction. Yet many of these faithless individuals are ardent leaders in their respective Church institutions.
Religious conflicts arise because of the stress on social and institutional aspects of respective religions by pushing the fundamental personal relationship with God into the shadow. There is a constant spiritual war between the devil and the true believers in God, but there is constant hostility only between human followers in institutional worships. It is not faith in God and spiritual life, but it is exclusive commitment to different institutional religious rites and ceremonies that divides human beings into different religious faiths hostile to one another, and into sectarian groups even within the same faith. Let the worship of ‘Goduniversal’ by any Khasi religious group on mount Sohpetbneng be for strengthening the fundamental and personal devotion and relationship with God and for manifesting the tribe’s identity, and not for exclusive strengthening of any religious institution. Neither the Khasi traditional religion nor Christianity fundamentally requires anyone to worship God on that mountain.