Speak Your Roots

Tag: khasivillages

  • Jingtmang La Shnong da i Ibakor Shisha Kharmujai

    Na sor ngan leit sha shnong lajong

    Ban peit ki kha ban peit ki man

    Ban bam sohkymphor ban bam sohphan

    Ban khwai dohkha ban khwai dohtham

    Ngan kiew diengkwai ngan kheit tympew

    Ngan lum latyrpad ngan mad jajew

    Ngan kiew ki thied ngan kam ki maw

    Ban poi sha kshaid ban poi sha thmaw.

    Watla ka eh ban pyllait por

    Ba teh ki kam ki jam ha sor

    Mynsiem jong nga ka khmih lynti

    Ki kha ki man bangan iohi

    Jingsarong jingkmen bym lah nujor

    Banga ngam dei ka khun nongsor

    Tang lait sha shnong ngan phet bran bran

    Shuti ba la lang ban pyndonkam

    Jingieid kan teh rasong iangi

    Katba nang iaid ki snem ki sngi.

    -Ibakor Shisha Kharmujai

    "Jingtmang la shnong" is an original Khasi poem by @ibakorshisha 😄🏞️

    The poem speaks of the homesick feeling that assails one when one is far away from their village. Country life with its beauty and simple joy is something that one cannot have in the city ❤️❤️🌾🌱

    Khublei Shibun @ibakorshisha ïa ka poitri jong phi kaba kren shaphang ka jingim ha nongkyndong, ka jingim ka sngewtynnat shisha!!

  • “Mylliem” by Esther Syiem

    Village of my ancestors

    secure in your remoteness

    where your men stoke their forges

    under makeshift shelters;

    shacks of molten fire that

    spark with the energy of limbs that

    strike…hit…strike..

    in an echoing canvas of sound and silence

    that will always lead me back to my distant beginnings.

    Mylliem of my ancestors

    your smithies have endured

    the treacheries of wind and rain

    your flames lick

    the shimmering cold, as they

    condense in vapours of liquid heat.

    You are the mirage,

    locked in metal.

    Must I turn to you again?

    as in your men and in your women

    I find an answering call

    in the aroma of smoked earth in them

    and in the unbeaten slant of a life

    that writes itself back into my present.

    -Esther Syiem

    Mylliem is a hamlet in East Khasi Hills, famous for its iron smelting works.

    "Mylliem" is an original Khasi poem by Dr. Esther Syiem @meiithei which appears in the collection entitled Oral Scriptings (Writers Workshop, Kolkata, 2005).

    If you are from Mylliem or have lived there, you will find that the poem is an evocative mix of the sounds and images from the village of Mylliem which we now don't hear anymore. Gone are the days when the strikes of the blacksmiths were a reassuring pace of the passing of life. But we are never rid of our memories. These sounds and images return to fill our dreams and our stories. ✍️✍️🗣️🗣️

    Dr. Esther Syiem is a professor in the Department of English, North-Eastern Hill University.

  • The Khasi State Formation (Mario Pathaw)

    The Khasi State Formation

    In the Khasi State formation or settlement, there are four levels in which the formation takes place

    1. Kur: A family of the same descendant constitutes a clan called "Kur"

    2. Shnong: A group of these kur forms a village or a colony or "Shnong"

    3. Raid: A group of these colonies forms a political unit called "Raid"

    4. Hima: Collectively, all the Raids form a Native State/Provinces which is termed as "Hima" and is headed by a Ruler-Syiem

    Kur – Ka kur ka dei ka jingïadei jong ka doh ka snam, ha kaba ïa kane ka jingïadei la kheiñ na ka liang jong ka kmie da ka jingai ïa kajuh ka jait. Ka kur ka bat bad tehsong ïa ki longïing longsem.

    Shnong – Ka shnong ka dei ka jaka kaba kynthup ïa ki katto katne tylli ki ïing.

    Raid – Ka raid ka kynthup ïa ki shnong kiba hap hapoh ka jingkhmih jong uwei u nongsynshar.

    Hima – Ka hima ka kynthup ïa baroh ki raid kiba don lang ha ka shi jaka.

    "Ka kur" comprises of a Khasi clan which determines lineage, and whose clan name is taken from the female relatives.

    "The Khasi State Formation" is an art piece by @mario_pathaw 😃😃 It explains from the beginning how the Khasi polity is created.

    Khublei Shibun @mario_pathaw for this beautiful illustration! 🙏🙏🌲🌲

    🟡 Please zoom in to read