By Aadrita Chakravorty
Paganism, as a religion, is as ancient as humanity itself. This ancient religious outlook is still prevalent throughout the world, both in complex societies like Japan and India and in less complex tribal societies world-wide. It owes its origins to the European religions of classical antiquity, namely, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A logical definition of a pagan would be : “A follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion”.
As is evident from the definition, Nature is shown a special kind of veneration in this religious outlook. The elements, movements, and the workings of nature are carefully observed, studied, understood and worshipped in this religion. Physical features, like the mountains, lakes, rivers, the moon, the sun and so on are personified, or rather deified and thus the multiple gods and goddesses are nothing but symbols of the divine natural creations of the creator. The pagans believed that the Earth as a whole is sacred and hence everything in it is divine. Pagan religions also recognize the feminine face of divinity, and every Pagan religion would have a goddess or multiple goddesses to symbolize the same.
The Khasis are an indigenous ethnic group of Meghalaya, in North-Eastern India, with a significant population, in the bordering state of Assam and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Before the arrival of the Christian missionaries, the Khasis practiced their own indigenous tribal religion. Though around 85% of the Khasi population have embraced Christianity, there is still a small portion of the population practising and preserving their age old indigenous religion, also known as Ka Niam Khasi.
The purpose of this article, is to point out the uncanny resemblance between the ancient Khasi religion and paganism, and how their ancient beliefs can be considered the key forces leading to the preservation and protection of the remaining flora and fauna. The exponents of this indigenous religion, propagated that the Earth which was responsible for their existence and sustenance, should be considered divine and sacred. Forests were considered sacrosanct, as the Gods were believed to be dwelling in them.
What is interesting to know is that, they also believed in an ultimate creator ( U Blei Nong- Thaw) who is considered to be a female deity (Ka Iei Synshar). They even have a place for female priests (ka soh blei, also called ka-soh-sla or ka lyngdoh) who must be present in all the sacrificial ceremonies. It is believed that, in the older times, the priestess had the liberty to act as her own agent during such ceremonies. The advent of Christianity had brought about a lot of changes not only through conversion but also modification of the indigenous religion, in question. Patriarchy to some extent had set in, and the liberal and nature bound rules were replaced with strict religious doctrines. However, the matrilineal tradition, of passing on the ancestral property and the family name, through the women of the house remained intact. However, this female dominance in the Khasi indigenous religion is similar to the pagan belief of female divinity.
Like the pagans, the Khasis too have deep faith in their indigenous medicine borne out of local herbs and plants. Incantations, and seasonal observation become a part of this indigenous medicinal science, and which again has a striking resemblance with the pagan ritual of healing and making medicines.
The Sacred Groves, home to a protective deity called U Ryngkew U Basa, revered by the Chief and Elders of the village to protect it from all kinds of harms, is a fine example of their religious beliefs being associated with nature. The Sacred Groves or the Law Kyntang, has stood for at least 1,000 years and one of the reasons the forest still survives is because cutting down any tree or branch in the forest is a taboo.
According to traditional Khasi beliefs, every village (hima) is identified by its own sacred grove. The forest also serves as an important ritual site for the people of Hima Mawphlang who perform various thanksgiving and blessing ceremonies in the area. Khasis, like their pagan counterparts, are imbibed with the values of preserving and protecting nature and natural resources. It is basically an oral culture which has been handed down from generation to generation which has become endangered but not extinct yet.
A handful of people have now started making efforts towards preserving and promoting this indigenous religion before it dies a slow death. Exhibitions, fairs, seminar, movies and so on are being used to make the common people aware of the unseen and unheard folklores, rituals, myths, instruments and festivals associated with this religion.
The basic tenet of this religion is the divinity of Mother Earth and thus reviving this long lost tradition of worshipping the forces of nature, and in turn preserving them that might prove to be of ecological benefit, not only to the tribe but to humankind as a whole, as is the basic aim of Paganism: to live in unison with all the divine creations of the Earth.