By HH Mohrmen
Different cultures have their tradition of how they perform the last rites of the deceased member of the community. In the Hynñew Trep society, too, different sub-tribes have their rites of passage and these could vary from one place to another. People have their way of disposing of the body of the dead; some cremate their dead while others bury them, but when it comes to the culture related to the dead, the people in the Khasi Jañtia hills follow a tradition that is unique to the area.
An opportunity to strengthen the
family bond
Amongst the people in the Khasi and Jañtia region, the demise of a person is not only considered a very unfortunate incident, but it is also an opportunity for the near and dear ones and the community to extend their moral and physical support to the bereaved family. Bereavement is an occasion for family and friends to show solidarity with the family and most importantly it demonstrates the continuation of the underlining value system of the common good or well-being of all. Perhaps our society is the only one where when a person dies, the body is kept lying in state for two days and the reason is to enable family members and friends to pay their last respects to the departed soul.
The passing away of a member of the family is a special time and friends and relatives must visit the bereaved family. It is about reinvigorating the relationship of the ‘kur the kha’ family both from the mother’s and the father’s side. It is also a time for the ‘Para marjan marpa’ (friends and neighbours) to strengthen their bond of friendship by sharing their time and resources in sympathy for the bereaved family.
The death of any member of the community is being shared and respected by society and in fact, the deceased person receives much more honour at the time of death than while still alive. Perhaps there is no other community that gives more honour to the deceased person than the tribal society. Therefore irrespective of how one lives, it is an honour to die in a tribal society. The honour given to the dead is one aspect of the society which is unique but it is also about revitalizing both the family and the community’s relationship. It is an example that demonstrates the relationship in which not only the family but even the community shares and cares for each other.
In the Hynñew Trep culture, at the center of all the practice relating to the demise of the person is the important principle of the common good. It is the value which believes in the well-being of one is good for everybody which is an intrinsic part of the culture of the people.
The last rites are
not the end
The last rites of a person is as much about the deceased person, as it is a special occasion for the kith and kin that are still alive. When somebody in the family dies all the kith and kin must be informed not only so that they can pay their last respects to the departed soul, but it can also be an opportunity to rekindle the relationship. The visit during bereavement is also an opportunity to introduce relatives to one another. In the Khasi Pnar tradition, the last rites of a person are more than just an occasion for sending off the dead person to the next life. The last rites of a person also comprise of rituals ‘ka siang ka pha or the siang ka phur’ which is an offering of food to the departed members of the family who dwell in the realm of the spirit. In Jañtia Hills in some cases, the last rites of the deceased do not end with the person being cremated. The final rites are complete and the departed soul can finally rest in peace only when all the rituals are completed.
Cremation is not the end of a person’s last rites
Traditionally cremation is done in a special way that ensures that the charred bones of the deceased person remain and the same are to be collected for keeping in the clan’s ossuary. In the Pnar and War cremation practices, care is taken that not everything turns to ashes since the charred bones are to be kept in the ossuary. Amongst the Pnar there is the tradition called ‘rah chyieñ or booh chyieñ’ and amongst the War Jañtia, it is called ‘lum shyiang’ a tradition in which the charred bones of the dead person are kept in the clan’s ossuary. The final rites of the deceased are completed only when the charred bones are finally laid to rest in the clan’s ossuary.
Defiling nature is a taboo
In the Hynñew Trep traditional belief system, the hills, the forest, and the rivers are not just part of nature, but they are deities that people pay obeisance to. People seldom bury but rather cremate their dead because they believe that burying the dead is defiling nature which is the dwelling place of the nature gods. ‘Ki rynkaw ki basa’ are not only important deities in the Hynñew Trep people’s pantheon of gods but they are also territorial deities. The ‘ryngkaw and the basa’ keep and look after their domain and care for those who live within their domain. A person or a family is always connected to their respective ‘ryngkaw’ or the deity whose realm is the place from where the clan originated.
People also avoid carrying the dead bodies from one place to another or crossing the realm of one deity to another because this amounts to defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’. If defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’ is unavoidable and the body has to be carried across, the ‘ryngkaw’ has to be appeased later. Hence people always carry the charred bones instead which is not the same as carrying a dead body. Families prefer to cremate their relatives at the place where they died and instead carry the charred bones later to the clan’s ossuary which is located within the domain of their respective ‘ryngkaw.’
Therefore when a person dies in far off places or in the ‘ryngkaw para’ or the domain of foreign ‘ryngkaw’, their body or at least their charred bones have to be taken to the ossuary located within the realm of their ‘ryngkaw’ of origin. The charred bones have to be taken to the realm of their deities or the ‘ryngkaw’ they belong to. The final rest of the person has to be under the realm of the deities to which they originally belong.
When cremation is
performed twice
The traditional practice in the War Jaiñtia area which is different even from the rites practiced in the other places is the practice of cremating the dead twice over. The last rites of a person are re-enacted and the cremation is performed again after the real cremation was done a year ago. In the ‘rah chyieñ’ amongst the Pnar although it is only the charred bones that are being carried and kept lying in state at the respective family’s ‘ïung blai’, the customs and modes are sombre similar to when the dead body is present.
‘Rah chyieñ or lum shyiang’ is always performed a year after the real cremation happened, but unlike the ‘rah chyieñ’ of the Pnar in the tradition followed by residents of Nongtalang the entire cremation ceremony is carried out. As always real cremation is conducted immediately after the demise of the person but because it was done in the domain of the foreign ‘ryngkaw para’ it was conducted without proper rituals. A year later even in the absence of the dead body, a ‘krong’ (a bamboo stretcher for carrying the dead body) is made and the same is carried to the cremation ground and friends and family march in a procession similar to when the real cremation happens. At the cremation ground even if there is no dead body, all the rituals due for a dead person are performed and after all the rituals are performed the charred bones are kept in the ossuary and a standing is erected in the case of a male and a flat stone is laid in the case of a female person. Although there is no dead body because the deceased was cremated a year ago, or even if the ceremony is performed a year or more after the person’s demise, the cremation is conducted as if it is a real cremation.
Perhaps it is the only place where the cremation ceremony of a person is performed twice; one immediately after the person dies and another a year later in a tradition called ‘tai shyiang’.