By HH Mohrmen
Nartiang can be called the Monolith Capital of Meghalaya or the place of the dolmens and menhirs. The fact is that there is a large collection of monoliths in the area, and it is the place where the largest collection of monoliths in the state are found. Monolithic culture amongst the Khasi Jaintia people is unique because every monolith has stories to tell, and if we don’t know the stories anymore, it is because we have lost them. Nartiang is not only the place where one can find the largest collection of monoliths in one place, but it is also famous for temples and we will discuss that in subsequent articles. While monoliths are found everywhere in the region, it is only in the Jaiñtia Hills that one can also find megaliths, and Nartiang has a few of these giant monoliths. Of the many monoliths found in the area, two stand out as the most prominent, not only because of their sizes, but because of the stories they tell.
The Monolithic culture
Monolithic culture is a tradition that was found to be practiced by people who live in the Neolithic age but it is popular in this region too. Despite it being a very ancient culture, the fact that this custom is still being practiced by the Khasi Pnar people today is, in itself, an enigma. The standing stones dotting the skyline of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills comprise mainly the Mawshynrang, Moopynïeiñ (in Pnar), or standing stone or menhir, and Mawkynthei and Mooknor, or dolmen. The small stones on which the dolmen sits are called mawkhrum. While the standing stone symbolizes the male and the dolmen symbolizes the female, the mawkhrum symbolizes the children and the grandchildren (Dr. Fabian Lyngdoh Facebook post). There are different reasons why people erected monoliths in the Khasi Pnar culture. For a much more elaborate description of the monoliths and the megaliths in the region, one can refer to Mohrmen HH, Cultural History of Jañtia Hills in Stories, Stones, and Tradition.
Nartiang and Raliang: Shared stories and tradition
Nartiang and Raliang are two important villages in the Jaintia Hills. The two villages share at least one thing in common, and that is the market day in both villages are observed on the same day, as per the traditional calendar of the Pnar. In both villages, the market happens on Mulong, a day before Musiang, the market day in Jowai, which is the seventh day in the eight-day week calendar of the Pnar people. There is a story behind why these two prominent villages observe market day on the same day, and this story is connected with one of the megalithic stones in Nartiang.
Apart from the menhirs and the dolmens in the Jaintia Hills, there are also the mawkjat, or footstones or stone slabs, which were used as bridges and are part of the megalithic culture prevailing in the area. There is one particular mawkjat at Nartiang located on the right side of the road from the village to the monolith park, which has a story connected with u Mar Phalangki.
Makjat that Mar Phalangki used as a Knup
U Mar Phalangki is a giant of a man from Nartiang, recognized by the king for his size and strength. Phalangki is a kur (clan) name that is popular in Nartiang, and Mar is a title, hence he must have had a name that we may have unfortunately lost. He earned the title “U Mar,” meaning a giant or a strongman, and the king used him for various projects and during battles.
The story has it that u Mar Phalangki, after finishing his errands at Raliang, was about to return to his native village of Nartiang. As he was about to start his journey from Raliang village to Nartiang, it began to drizzle. It then started to rain heavily, and he had nothing to protect himself from the rain. He then saw an old lady sitting in the verandah of her hut and approached her to ask if she could lend him a “knup” or a “chaladiang”—traditional rain protection gear made of bamboo. “O ñia, can you lend me a knup or a chaladiang to protect myself from the rain?” Looking at his size, the old lady said, “Sorry, I do not have a knup or a chaladiang for a man of your size. Why don’t you just take that stone (pointing to the stone slab nearby) and protect yourself?” Mar Phalangki took the stone and put it over his head to protect himself, but the stone was no ordinary stone. The large stone near the monolith park, which now serves as a bridge, is believed to be the stone that Mar Phalangki carried from Raliang to protect himself from the rain.
The stone and the traditional market
What connection does this story have with the market? Or rather, the question should be: why do the market days of these two traditional markets converge on the same day? The two villages are significant with regards to the culture, traditions, and religion of the people, and the markets in these areas are considered “ïaw niam” or religious markets. These are markets connected with the traditional Niamtre, as offerings are still sacrificed at the altar in the market to pay obeisance to the market gods. The reason the two markets share the same day in the traditional calendar is that the stone Mar Phalangki carried from Raliang to protect himself from the rain is a “moo niam,” or a stone connected with the rituals related to the market at Raliang.
The story of the tallest monolith in the park
The other story that connects a monolith in Nartiang with Mar Phalangki is located in the park itself. It is linked to the biggest and tallest monolith in Meghalaya, and because of its size, it can be called a megalith too. It is only in the park in Nartiang that one can see both monoliths and megaliths erected in one place.
The story of the tallest stone in the park is believed to have been erected by Mar Phalangki, and there is a Karbi connection to the story. The story goes that it was market day, and people were standing around a spot where the huge stone was to be erected. U Mar Phalangki was given the responsibility of raising the stone, but as he tried to do so, his efforts went futile as the stone fell to the ground. He tried twice over but each time, the stone refused to stand. The people were at a loss. Perhaps the stone did not stand because something offended the deities. They needed to do something. So, they conducted an egg divination, and the message was that the gods needed to be propitiated with a human sacrifice. For the stone to stand tall, the deities required human blood. A golden lime container was purposely dropped into the hole dug for the base of the stone. A Karbi man, who had come to Nartiang market to do his chores, went to where he saw people gathered. When he saw the container in the pit, not suspecting any ill intentions, he went to pick it up. While he was inside the pit, U Mar immediately lifted the stone and placed it over the poor man’s body. This act pleased the deities, and U Mar Phalangki was able to erect the stone, which has stood tall through the passage of time.
This is the story of the tallest and biggest monolith in Nartiang, which is about 8 meters in height, 2 meters in breadth, and 0.46 meters in thickness. It is believed to be the tallest and largest monolith in Meghalaya. There is another story connected with the monolith park at Nartiang, which says the monoliths were erected to celebrate the coronation of one of the Jaintia kings.
King’s other assignment to Mar Phalangki
It appears that U Mar Phalangki was a very important person in the court of the Jaintia king. He was not only involved with the two monoliths, but he was also one of the Mars the king assigned to build the footpath from Nartiang to Jaiñtiapur. Legends have it that the footpath, which stretches for more than a hundred kilometers, was assigned to three Mars to complete: U Mar Phalangki, U Luh Laskor, and U Bailon Khynriem. The first two were assigned to construct the stretch on the plateau, and U Bailon was given the remaining task to build the road on the southern slopes until it connected with Jayantiapur.
The remnants of the path, and more importantly the stone bridges that are part of the path, can still be seen today on the Indian side of the border. These testify to the grand project of the king to connect the two parts of the kingdom. However, it is not known if any remains of the path can be found on the Bangladesh side, though the monoliths at Jaintiapur provide evidence of the prevalence of monolithic culture in the area.