By Barnes Mawrie
It is true that most primitive societies in the world started with oral tradition in the early years of their civilization. Gradually, these communities developed their own script and started writing on stone tablets, in caves, on stone walls until finally they began writing on papyrus. With the invention of paper, writing on paper became common. It is interesting to note how the Khasis persisted with oral tradition until the arrival of the Christian missionaries in the 19th Century. In fact records show that the Bengalee script was introduced by the Baptist missionary Sir William Carey of the Serampore Mission, sometime in the early part of the 19th Century. It was only in 1841 that the Methodist missionary Rev. Thomas Jones introduced the Latin script in Khasi language.
We may be surprised why the Khasis did not have a written script earlier when they were surrounded by other communities like the Ahoms, the Manipuris, the Bodos and the Bengalees who already had their scripts and were using them. Were our ancestors so unwise as not to develop their own script or at least adapt the scripts of their immediate neighbours? This is a logical question that is in every Khasi mind. I do not presume that our ancestors were so stupid as not to do that, but probably they had reasons not to do it. Conversing with some very elderly Khasis whom I met years ago, the reasons seem to be the following.
First of all every Khasi knows that our ancestors had a script like any other group of people. There is a popular Khasi folktale which says that at one time when a river was in spate, the Khasi and his foreign friend had to cross a river by swimming across. The foreigner tied the scroll of his script on his forehead with his long hair and swam across without losing his scroll. The Khasi man who had short hair however kept the scroll between his teeth while swimming. In the midst of the torrents of water, the scroll melted into pulp which the Khasi accidentally swallow it along with some water. Thus he reached across the river without the scroll. This folktale probably depicts the real historical fact of how the Khasis lost their script. Thus there is a saying among the Khasis that we have swallowed the script and therefore our knowledge springs from within (namarba u Khasi u la nguid ïa ka kot, sa tuid ki khanatang na dohnud jong u).
This story explains how oral tradition originated among the Khasis. At this point should we say that our ancestors had forgotten about that script? Could they not have recalled at least some of it and then re-invent the rest of it? If they did not do that, it would mean that they lacked basic intelligence and wisdom, which we are not inclined to believe at all. Therefore, there were genuine reasons why our ancestors preferred oral tradition right from that period of time.
Why our ancestors chose oral tradition, could be explained by the fact that oral tradition unlike written tradition, is indestructible and can be passed on from parents to children and so on. Let us not forget that the Khasis being the first inhabitants of this region perhaps from pre-historic age, had witnessed the destructible forces of nature like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, heavy rains and floods. They had realized that such forces had erased much of their material accomplishments. This led to their conviction that oral tradition would be the best way to preserve their history and culture. This is the reason why among Khasis we have different modes of oral tradition, like:
a) Khanatang (Sacred stories) – These would be what we call myths in English. They are grand stories about mythical events which are related to the origin, history and life of the community. For these reasons, they are considered as sacred stories and they have been passed on from one generation to the next. Some of the famous Khasi myths are: The Golden ladder on Sohpetbneng Peak, the Diengïei tree on Diengïei peak, The four Durbar-blei (divine assemblies), the Iewluri-lura (Market of Chaos) etc. These stories are essentially related to the origin, history and culture of the Khasi people.
b) Purinam – The equivalents of these in English would be legends. These are stories of famous persons or events in the history of the community. Such persons or events are usually historical in nature but in the course of time they had been embellished with exaggerated interpolations so much so that they have acquired a sort of superhuman characteristic. The Khasis have such legends like U Ramhah (The Giant), U Woh Ryndi and Ka Li dohkha, U Marphalyngki, U Monbhut, U Adadak and his companions, Ka Pahsyntiew, U Manik Raitong, U Thlen, Ka Nohkalikai and many others. Legends of recent origin are those of U Barli, U Sajar Niangli, U Kohja, etc.
c) Puriskam – These are folktales which are stories connected with the animal world, birds, trees and plants, mountains and rivers etc. The Khasis have a huge collection of such tales which have been passed on from times immemorial. Thus we have tales about U Kyllang and Symper (two mountains), Ka Umïam, Umngot and Umkhen, U Rynñiaw, Ka Phreit, Ka Tyngab and many others.
d) Sneng tymmen – These are wise sayings of the elders directed at the younger generations in order to educate and discipline them. The Khasis have a rich collection of such wise sayings and idioms which have been handed down by our ancestors. They serve as a code of conduct and a sure path towards a respectable and dignified life. They are usually communicated around the family hearth.
There are scholarly discussions today on whether the Khasis had any kind of cryptography like peoples of other civilizations. I believe that the early Khasis did practice cryptography on stones and cave walls etc. However the unrelenting forces of nature did not spare any of these. Probably all traces of cryptography have been buried underground by frequent earthquakes or erased by heavy rainfall and damp climate. Unlike the comparatively dry climate of Europe which favours the preservation of ancient monuments, the wet climate of our region does the opposite. Probably it was this hopeless situation which compelled the ancient Khasis to give more importance to oral tradition than spend their time on wasteful exercises of writing and carving.
Moreover, there were certain factors in Khasi society that favoured oral tradition like: the strong kur system (kinship) which facilitated interpersonal communication, the family hearth education which proved to be very effective in transmitting knowledge to the younger generations, the great veneration for elders and adherence to their words and the prodigious memory of our elders.
In conclusion we may say that the genesis of Khasi oral tradition was a deliberate choice of our ancestors and not because we did not own a script or some sort of calligraphy. Unfortunately, Archeology in our state is almost a non-starter and thus we remain ignorant about our own history. Perhaps one day archeologists may discover ancient art and calligraphy of the Khasis.