SHILLONG: The annual pilgrimage to Lum Sohpetbneng will conclude on Sunday with the marking of lime on the boulder at the arched entrance in the foothill of Sohpetbneng peak.
The pilgrimage began with the initiation ceremony at Law Nongthroh, then at Mawbuh sacrosanct and at the summit of Lum Sohpetbneng. Lum Sohpetbneng is a Khasi legendary peak at a height of 1434 metres above sea level.
It is believed to be the umbilical link between the nine spiritual and the seven temporal families, which were once the celestial beings residing in heaven.
On January 26 at dawn there were rituals at the precinct of Nongthroh forest near the excavation site.
The main celebrant Rangbah Skor Jala performed the ceremony along with few religious elders to appease the deity of Raij Mawbuh. Initially, the ceremony was performed under the aegis of the Mawbuh council of elders from the four clans of Rangslang, Shylla, Manar and Shadap.
For the past few decades, the council could not hold the ceremony due to certain constraints, significantly the conversion to Christianity by few of the vital and responsible elders.
Thereafter, one of the prominent elders of Seng Khasi, HO Mawrie intervened through a communication with the Seng Khasi Mawlai.
The Seng Khasi Mawlai took up the matter with the apex organisation, the Seng Khasi Kmie, and the Lum Sohpetbneng Committee was formed under the leadership of Sumar Sing Sawian and Dipshon Nongbri, where it was entrusted for reviving the ancient ceremony.
Thereafter since 2000, the pilgrimage and ceremony are being held annually at Sohpetbneng peak.
After the ceremony at Nongthroh forest, the pilgrims marched towards the stone sacrosanct of the divine mother of Mawbuh.
A mound is being prepared to perform the ceremony of sacrifice of fowls and egg divination.
Thereafter, the celebrants led the purification ceremony of bathing the boulder believed to be the abode of the divine mother of Mawbuh, where all the pilgrims partaken with the ceremony, including the chieftain of Mylliem province, Ainam Sing Syiem.
Subsequently the pilgrims ascended to the summit of Sohpetbneng peak and the celebrants performed the sacred rituals at the altar to appease the deity.
The ceremony was also performed for strengthening the human essence with the rice grain traditionally gifted and blessed by the queen mother of Mawbuh.
Later, the rice grain was distributed to all the pilgrims as they paid obeisance to the divine creator of humankind.
The myth of Sohpetbneng peak narrates about the genesis of human race on earth, where the seven celestial families descended from heaven through the golden vine entwined across the ficus and oak trees simultaneously. Interestingly, there was an archaeological excavation by an academic team led by Marco Mitri, where remnants of ancient settlement were discovered along with a large number of litho and metal antique implements used by the Khasi ancestors. The discovery substantiated the authenticity of the Khasi myth about the beginning of mankind on the planet earth. The devotees will participate in the pilgrimage on Sunday.
Thousands of devotees from all over eastern Meghalaya will walk around 15 kilometers to reach the summit of Sohpetbneng peak, while a large number of visitors also will witness the solemn ceremony and the spectacular convergence of people from all over the country, including foreign tourists.
The versatile exponent of Khasi heritage, Sumar Sing Sawian stated that the altar at the summit of Sohpetbneng peak has the coordinates of 25° 42″ North Latitude and 91° 55″ East Longitude, which is the centre point of the eastern part of the globe and synchronised with the Khasi mythical terminology as Ka Ri Shongpdeng Pyrthei, literally meaning the Nation at the Centre of the Earth or the Eastern World.
