SHILLONG: There has been a call to collect and document the oral tradition of the Khasis as it is found that though state is very rich in oral tradition yet the same has remained undocumented.
This was raised by Principal of St. Edmund’s College, Sylvanus Lamare during the one-day seminar on the importance of collection and compilation of oral literature in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya held at Arts and Culture Hall, Directorate of Arts and Culture on Thursday.
According to him oral tradition is not only about literature alone but also about many other aspects related to the society
He emphasized on collecting all that was written about the Khasis, as he pointed out that there were many written documents about the Khasis in English which are now in British museum and other libraries in the world including in Seattle, Washington.
Furthermore, he added that there was a need to collect even the written documents by the German and the French and to back bring back the documents to the state.
“Today, you can request such libraries and institutions to give us the e-format so at least if e-format is available here, we can first collect what is written about us because the task to collect the oral works is going to be difficult for us as we don’t have any more people (around us),” he said.
Lamare, emphasised on other physical aspects as well which have a historical background including Krem Tirot (cave of Tirot Sing Syiem), monoliths of Nartiang, Krem Marai, double decker root bridges etc.
Citing the instance of Krem Tirot festival, he pointed to the relevance of the presence of the Krem Tirot (cave of Tirot Sing Syiem) which could take the people back to the memories of the Anglo-Khasi war of 1829 on how Tirot fought against the British and where he went into hiding.
“The Krem Tirot becomes a document and a historical importance for us because it has got a historical connection,” he added.
Lamare referred to another example of the monoliths of Nartiang stating that the monoliths also have a story behind them and the science involved in putting up the famed monoliths.
He stated that the monoliths have been tested by the great earthquake of June 12, 1897 which was over 8.9 on the Richter scale.
“If they are still standing today even after the earthquake, it means the Khasis used to have such scientific temperament that they were able to gauge that even if the earthquake comes, the stones can still stand,” he said.
He added, “I want the people to realise that even scientists also have to do research on the monoliths as it shows the science of the Khasis that they have their own science even in the erection of the monoliths.”
Highlighting on the same aspect of un-documentation of oral traditions, he further pointed to the Krem Marai, which is the origin of the Syiem of Khyrim and Syiem of Mylliem came about.
“We don’t even have a proper path to reach Krem Marai. How do we really portray that if we don’t have a road to go there?” he remarked.
According to Lamare, such unexplored aspects of the Khasis have to be collected, documented as he maintained that it was not only about documentation of literature.
Speaking on the use of technology, he appealed to the youth to use the technology to spread hidden/unexplored places/aspects of the Khasis to pique the interest of the people.
“You can take a picture of Krem Tirot and write on social media about his role in the Anglo-Khasi war. People will be inquisitive about it. In that way, you can interact with people and educate them on and thereby create attraction for tourism which will be good for the place and also encourage exchange programme among the people,” he said.