Speak Your Roots

Tag: karngiew

  • Ka Kiew Pyneh Rngiew Pynksan Rngiew

    Khublei Shibun @hammarsing for allowing to post these photographs 🙏😄

    @hammarsing says:

    Cleaning and other arrangements underway in preparation for the annual pilgrimage to the sanctum sanctorum of U Lum Sohpetbneng – Navel of the Heavens, Centre of the Universe.

    The pilgrimage known as "Ka Kiew Pyneh Rngiew Pynksan Rngiew" is to strengthen one’s inner being and essence – "Ka Rngiew".

    Sanctified rice and water will be distributed after the prayers and rituals are completed by the religious elders – U Tymmen U San – of Seng Khasi. The faithful will then each offer prayers at the sacred summit. The date for this years pilgrimage is February 5th 2023.

    This site is one of the most pristine places on Earth and a reminder of how sacred sites should be maintained and preserved. The tranquility of nature surpasses the grandeur of any man made structure."

    📸 @hammarsing

  • Ka Ramïa

    The Khasi word "Ka Ramia" may be described as a dream or a hallucination or an illusion.

    The following excerpts are from the Doctoral thesis entitled "Transformation, Tradition, and Lived Realities: Vernacular Belief Worlds of the Khasis of Northeastern India" written by Margaret Lyngdoh, University of Tartu.

    **No part of this thesis may be reproduced in any form without the consent of the author. Proper citation should be strictly adhered to when quoting any part of this research. All material for this content has been researched by Margaret Lyngdoh, Ph.D, University of Tartu.

    My research findings suggest that the "ramia" is a dream or vision world, which is inhabited by tigermen and women, ancestor spirits and the tiger deity. It is rather difficult to translate the implications of this term in a western context because the word "ramia" is also used by the Khasis to denote a kind of madness, when a person is not in his or her senses, or is not socially or personally aware of his or her surroundings. So, in the case of divine possession, for example, the person's spirit leaves the body, but the physical body remains and does its daily tasks. But if such a body, without its "rngiew", talks with someone else then the speaker does not make sense and is said to "kren ramia" (lit. 'talk ramia').

    In the Khasi context, a parallel reality is inhabited by the non–human entities and this may be comprehended only through movement into the dream/ vision state, the "ramia". Reality is not dualistically ordered or perceivable only to humans or to the dead. Reality is multiple, and variegated, dependent upon the beings who inhabit it and the purpose for which they inhabit it. The living environment is social and interactive with humans; moreover there exists a reciprocal, intentioned relationship. Human beings can apprehend alternate realities through the dreamworld ("ramia"), the world of the tigermen, the water realm of the spirit deities and the reality of the ancestors. For this to happen, for a human to access the alternate reality, a transformation is required. This is inclusive not only of the human–animal, but of the natural animal. I use the word human-animal, because in Khasi ontology, specially gifted individuals have the ability to transform into animals and deities.

    "Ka Ramïa" is an interesting and important concept of the Khasi worldview.

    Khublei Shibun @lieng_makaw for your research on this concept! 😄🙏

    What we need is to undertake in-depth research of Khasi culture and heritage in order to represent the community in the right light to the world. ✍️📚🏞️
    The importance of "searching and researching" cannot be stressed enough for all indigenous communities!

  • Ka Rngiew: A perspective from Dr. Margaret Lyngdoh, University of Tartu, Estonia

    In the Christian worldview, a person is made of the body, mind, and soul. In the traditional Khasi perspective, a person is made up of met, mynsiem, and rngiew. While met is the body, mynsiem is breath. Rngiew is what invests a body with personhood and it stays with a person through life. It is the quality that allows a person to remain impervious to the evil eye or ka sabuit. Thus the term longbriew means the nature of being "human" or the nature of an entity who is endowed with rngiew.

    There is no English word to approximate this Khasi concept. In its simplest explanation, rngiew is what makes a person human. Further, the Khasi word for breath, mynsiem has been adapted to fit the Western idea of the "soul" or even, "spirit". I cite, Lyngdoh, Margaret (2021). "Landscapes of Enchantment and their Usage: A Critical Case-Study from the Khasi Ethnic Community, Northeast India'' in Graham Harvey and Opinderjit Kaur Takhar (Ed.). "Religion and Senses of Place'' UK: Equinox Publications. (Religion and The Senses) [forthcoming]:

    A being is made up of Ka met (lit. body). ka mynsiem (lit. breath) and ka rngiew. To ‘be' a human being (longbriew), the Supreme Being must clothe the being with a rngiew. I will quote my interlocutor, Sweetymon Rynjah on this, "Ka Rgiew ka dei ka bor maia ba kynja Blei, ba u Blei u la pynkup, pynphong ia u briew ha ka jingwan longbriew jong u' (20 November 2015)".

    I paraphrase: The Rngiew is an ability that is god-like, that the Supreme Being clothes or invests a being with when he/she comes out of the womb initially divine, and then whatever he/she acquires or achieves in a lifetime is dependent on him-/her-self. The rngiew stays with a person through life and is reflected in the person's being and stature. If their (jinglong mynsiem) personality, spirit, essence, strength of character, nature, principles, moral fortitude etc. are in line with, 'Ka tip briew ka tip blei and ka tip hok tip sot' (lit. living a good life in accordance with the Covenant decreed by the Supreme Being), then their rngiew is strong and protects them from those who desire ill or harm to befall upon them.

    All humans and non-humans have rngiew. Ryngkew or guardian deities, have rngiew. This gives a sense of agency to a human or non-human entity. But clans also have rngiew, and in different contexts this can mean different things. But a strong rngiew of a clan can protect a clan from extinction. When we refer to the clan in this context, we use the words “longkur longkha". But rngiew is always a strong, positive quality that remains with humans, places, non-humans (like ancestors and guardian deities) all their lifetime. The first ancestress, Iawbei also has rngiew, especially because they have to look after the well being of a clan and further it's progress and prosperity. Even though we live in a state of rapid transitions, we cannot forget these core Khasi indigenous concepts because this is an essential part of our longbriew manbriew!

    In the photo is Kre Makri, who is a Khruk, a female weretiger, from Raid Nonglyngdoh, Ri Bhoi. Her rngiew transforms into a tiger and roams around in the alternate reality, Ramïa, where notable ancestors also live. She said that while the male weretiger or sansaram (lit. five clawed) has the function of holding on the laws of the ryngkew, the female weretiger, ka khruk, has the sacred function of holding of the rngiew of the clan. The photo was taken by me and this was in the winter of 2012.

    Dr. Margaret Lyngdoh @lieng_makaw gives us what she has found in her research from the approach of Folkloristics about "Ka Rngiew", showing us that it is a far reaching concept which sheds light on the well-being of the individual, the clan and our worldview as Khasi-Jaiñtia society. Thank you @lieng_makaw ! 😀🙏

    The post on "Ka Rngiew" posted on the 5th of August 2021, garnered a lot of attention and also counter-reaction that has proved fruitful in our understanding of this unique Khasi concept. The expression and discussion of different points of view is something that is important for indigenous culture to thrive.

    No part of this material may be reproduced in any form without the consent of the author. All material for this content has been collected through primary fieldwork.