By Ïasaid Khongjee
Menshohnoh are believed to be typical Khasi human-hunters who after they have got hold of the man/woman kill them and feed their blood to a python (Thlen) which then brings wealth to its keepers. These stories are from persons living in villages like Wahkhen and Khatar-shnong – areas where the hunters are allegedly still active and killings have taken place. Those who have the time could spend one whole night just to hear how they execute their task and what people think of them. This story is only the tip of the iceberg-
The paternal grandmother (Meikha) of my mother-in-law was the Nongri thlen ( a keeper of the Thlen). Her father rejected all material inheritance from his aunt, except the blood relationship which continued with the grandchildren of the keeper, who are no longer alive and who apparently died due to the debilitating effects of the practice.
Other stories are of the uncles of my wife. In their village the hunters and non-hunters live together in peace and harmony – they go about their works; work together in the same field, have no ill feelings, suspicion, against the other ; only they are cautious of attacks. They narrate how once in the village after their day’s work, they were eating and drinking together. When a Menshohnoh shows signs of being on attack mode during such fun times, a scolding, or a slap in the face is given to wake him up to reality. One person I know and lived together with while at school was possessed by the demon through marriage. What he told his fellow villagers was to slap him if he tries to attack them at night saying “wat pynïap, shu thap” (don’t kill, just slap me). Fourteen years ago in a locality where I live, a man due to an unknown illness roamed around the bushes of the village. He was caught, waiting to be interrogated, but a mob of hooligans overwhelmed the elders who could not stand against a brute force and they brutally killed him.
My wife’s second eldest uncle said he had a fight with the menshohnoh on one occasion, and defeated the hunter. In a fit of rage he warned him saying that he would finish him off if he tried attacking him or anyone else in future and then let him go. The other night, the same people who were at war, drank alcohol together, chatting like nothing ever happened before. Once when I was crossing a bush alone at midnight in Sohra someone attempted to harm me.
One thing about being possessed by this Thlen is that it is an accepted part of Khasi society. An uncle of mine who lives in Kongthong related this story: he said he was hunting butterflies in the outskirts of Wahkhen village. Suddenly those people said “ngi boit liangwah, boit liangwah” (a boy from the other side of the river), and started chasing him. He told me he was so scared that he ran back to his village. The origin of how he got transformed was at a festival in a village of Khat-ar-shnong area, where he ate food, but forgot to pay his bill. It’s only after he paid for the food that the evil spirit left him and the spell ended.
At Sohkhmi village my father makes alcohol to augment his income. As a young boy, I would steal some of it to give an old man living next door just to hear his stories. The man happened to be immune to dangers from the hunters. In his clan, they have a god that protects the people of the clan from the hunters. When the Menshohnoh approaches, the tiger emerges; one from behind, and one in front, he said. One night he told of how he purposely asked for liquor from a woman in his native village whom he knew keeps the Thlen. When she refused, he said he asked for a special one, the ‘Ïad Tangsnem (a liquor that makes one to be possessed by the spirit of U Thlen). After drinking it, he immediately lost self awareness and started wandering in the forest nearby his village. He further said that he communicated with other fellow Menshohnoh who are kilometres away through whistling; a usual means of communication by such people. He came to his senses when he fell into a stream. After that event he went to the owner and said “phi dei shisha kaba ri Thlen”, meaning- you are truly the keeper of the Thlen. The effect didn’t last as he has the personal god from his clan to cleanse the spell to its last atom.
At Dewiong, my wife’s village, a woman in her eighties from the same clan as the one mentioned above was attacked by the hunters in her field. They left her for dead after covering her body with dead leaves and whatever was available in the wilds. When the body was found on the third day she was still alive to live for a few more years. The Thlen, a spirit that destroys, is powerless in front of the one that preserves life- this is the law of Nature.
How people in those areas adapt to such an environment, is one aspect of the story. It’s a story that matters if one gets possessed accidentally while living with fellow humans in a close-knit society. Never say “kiar raimaw-raidieng wat ïa shim eiei na ki… “, meaning “avoid them like the plague; never take anything from them.” The snare lies here. The wisdom of those out there tells this: the moment we say the above, the devil would praise saying “O phi shisha kiba tip, kiba lah ban liar, sngewtynnad” meaning “truly you know, you can avoid me at will.” But in life, at times we falter, forget our words, and may happen to beg for a pinch of salt from a neighbour having the Thlen. When this happens, the Thlen who’s on the look out to cling to the person, gets his way. When this happens separating the spirit is hard, if not impossible, because we, in the first place courted it with the knowledge of it being evil,” the dead end!. This is the reason why people in villages live without any superstition, evil eye, gossips, bad name etc against the other; a sophistry in simplicity of life blend!. They accept a person for who they are ; a give-and-take policy is a way of life; and the Thlen also understands the reality of living among humans.
“Don’t kill the Menshohnoh,” – In areas where this knowledge is alive, people never kill without first speaking to them. First of all they say, “ka brew ne ka mrad. Ong haba dei ka brew, khapai” ( a human or an animal ; if a human, it must speak), thus giving another human a chance to live life. It is only when the menshohnoh doesn’t heed the word (an ontological facet of being a human being), that he gets a shot; if missed, he’s lucky, if hit, it’s no fault of the other who has the same Divine right to live. Killing a Menshohnoh who is a fellow human being after he has spoken, is a violence which leads to what is called “ïoh tyrut,” Ka tyrut is a natural law that dispenses natural justice ; we may call it “the blood thirsty demon”. It is the ancestral quantum understanding of the nature of existence; in war, it’s different.
Ka Tyrut is a spirit/a natural law that balances itself by destroying the unlawful destruction of life by another. It is an act of divine retribution. We may call it the devil, but the reality known to us is that the same God when delivering justice to its ontological nature also wipes out those who unlawfully destroy its own Creation. This is our idea of God who’s not only a Creator, but also the one who does justice to Its ontological nature; a thin line that separates the god of western religion from the indigenous God prevalent in our knowledge system. Who has not killed a human can be healed from ill effects that enable him to live a normal life as per the design of nature, or regaining the primary ontological blessings of Nature to live an ordinary life like other fellows. Against the above (if he killed someone), he too will have to die ; a natural way of restoring the Cosmic imbalance caused.
(The author teaches at St John Bosco School, Sohra)