Orality and beyond : a North-East Indian perspective 9788126024520, 8126024526

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Orality and Beyond A North-East Indian Perspective

Orality and Beyond A North-East Indian Perspective

Edited by Soumen Sen Desmond L. Kharmawphlang

Sahitya Akademi

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Orality and Beyond: A North-East Indian Perspective : A collection of papers presented in the seminar held on 26-27 July 2005, edited by Soumen Sen and Desmond L. Kharmawphlang, Sahitya Akademi, 2007. Price : Rs. 90

© Sahitya Akademi ISBN 81-260-2452-6

SAHITYA AKADEMI Rabindra Bhavan, 35 Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi 110 001 Sales : Swati. Mandir Marg, New Delhi 110 001 Jeevantara, 23A/44X, Diamond Harbour Road, Kolkata 700 053 172 Mumbai Marathi Grantha Sangrahalaya Marg, Dadar, Mumbai 400 014 Main Guna Building Complex, 443 (304) Anna Salai, Teynampet, Channai 6 0 0 0 1 8 Central College Campus, Dr B. R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Bangalore 560 001 .

Cover : M. H. Barbhuiya

Published by the Sahitya Akademi Printed by D. G. Offset, 96N, Maharani Indira Devi Road, Kolkata 700 060

Contents Introduction

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Orality and Historical Reconstruction Orality and Beyond: The Story o f U Manik Raitong

Sylvanus Lamare

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Cultural History and the Genesis o f the Khasi Oral Tradition Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

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Relevance of Oral Literature

Carolyne R. Marak

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Orality and the Tale-Type Folktale, North East India and a Tale-Type Index Mrinal M edhi

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‘Promises are Meant to be Broken’ : An Oicotype Study o f Two Tales G. Badaiasuklang Lyngdoh Nonglait, Rimika

Lanong and Desmond L Kharmawphlang

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Orality and Worldview Orality Alive : Recapturing the Tale Esther Syiem

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The Philosophy Behind Khasi Myths Philomena Kharakor

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Orality and Written Khasi Literature Badaplin War*

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Oral Tradition o f Origin, and Migration o f the M ishmisof Arunachal Pradesh R. P. Athparia

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Mizo Values (as reflected in oral traditions) R. L. Thanmawia

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Traditional folk Music of the Garos

Julius L. R. Marak

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Orality in (Con) text Orality and Literacy : Towards an Understanding o f Contempo­ rary Problems in Oral Traditional Poetics in North-east India Anil Kr. Bora 88 Writing Orality Temsula Ao

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Oral Tradition in Transition: The Koireng Example T. Neishoning Koireng

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A Semiotic Study o f Ka Shad Tyngkoh o f the Khasis Promod Jhingan

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Tenyimia Folklore and V erse: A Quest for Beyond D. Kuolie ' Oral Frames o f References: Khasi Myth Chanting and Perspectives o f Defination Desmond L. Kharmawphlang

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Special Supplement Two Sisters: A Biate Folktale (Special Supplement) T K. Darem

List of contributors

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Introduction In the context o f North-East India it is impossible to speak of one monolithic tradition, given its cultural and linguistic plurality. The term North-East India refers to the geographical location of the region that comprises the states o f Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, M anipur, M eghalaya, M izoram , Nagaland and Tripura. Topographically, the region lies in an extension o f the subHimalayan zone consisting o f mountainous terrains and hilly tracts, o f plateaus and valleys fed by rivers and streams. The presence o f a baffling mix o f ethnic communities add to the diverse cultural patterns which are reflected most strongly in the folklore and specifically, in the life breathing oral traditions o f the communities o f North-East India. Oral tradition expresses self-identity and upholds social organizations, religious practices, ethical values and customary laws. While being a wealthy repository o f mythical, legendary and historical past, it provides examples for the sustenance of contemporary social order. It articulates protest and dissent and simultaneously voices concerns o f reform and redress. Orality is a complex phenomenon which configures its own ways and means o f expression and transmission. It is that great highway o f information where an exciting intersection o f ideas, forms and styles takes place at different levels, creating processes and dialogues with inter-linkages between form and content, genre and theme, visual and aural, local and regional, traditional and contempbrary. With the aim o f bringing together the individual efforts of scholars in the field, sharing and exchange o f ideas, methodologies and experiences, Sahitya Akademi and the Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong organized a two-day Regional Seminar on ‘Orality and Beyond : A North­ East Indian Perspective* on 26 and 27 July, 2005. This volume comprises papers presented during the seminar. As editors o f the

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volume, we have taken the liberty o f including our own contributions to the seminar, one a seminar paper, and the other, the key-note address. To speak generally about the papers that were presented during the seminar, it would be honest to state that all were, in their own inimitable ways, concerned with the ideas o f orality as the authors understand it, in the context o f the traditions and communities they were writing about In the present volume, we have tried to retain the basic thematic structure o f the seminar and the papers are grouped accordingly.

1. Orality and Historical Reconstruction Sylvanus Lamare’s paper, entitled, ‘Orality and Beyond: The Story o f U Manik Raitong’ seeks to offer an alternative source for the legend o f U Manik Raitong. The story, both riveting and tragic, revolves around the adulterous relationship between an orphan boy, U Manik Raitong and the wife o f the chief o f the Hima or the traditional state. The fruit o f this liaison was a boy-child and as a consequence, Manik Raitong was burnt alive in a pyre. Legends, it is well known, have been used effectively for historical reconstruction and the legend under study reveals how crucial the oral-literary interface is for such purposes. Kynpham S. Nongkynrih’s presentation details the genesis of the Khasi oral tradition and provides illuminating examples of the various narrative genres and how this vast repertoire is being employed by the Khasis. Caroline R. Marak’s paper is an impassioned plea for the preservation o f the oral traditions. Citing examples from her own Garo community, she laments the fact that narration o f tales, myths, chants relating to the agricultural calendar, funeral poetry and the singing o f folk songs are fast disappearing even in villages. The paper also questions the feasibility o f relying on electronic formats o f documentation and probes the issue by discussing, at length, the erosion o f the A. chik language.

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2. Orality and the Tale Type

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Folklore is describable not only in terms o f the genres o f which folkloristic data are examples, but also on the basis o f identifiable and distinguishable types. The study o f traditional tales paved the way for the first successful attempts to be made in isolating type sets and laid the foundation for the conceptualization o f the telling of a traditional tale as a folkloristic datum, on the one hand, and as a version o f a tale type on the other. Two papers, the first by Mrinal Medhi and the second by G. Badaiasuk Lyngdoh Nongiait and Rimika Lanong were devoted to developing tale type configurations. Mrinal Medhi’s paper entided ‘Folktale, North­ East India and a Tale-type Index’, makes a case for the classification and typology o f North-East folktales into tale type index following the model o f classification given by Antti Aame and taking into account some Assamese folktales. G. B. L Nongiait and Remika Lanong co-authored a paper entitled ‘Promises are meant to be Broken: An Oicotype Study of Two Tales/ The paper is an oicotype investigation of a Khasi and Angami tale respectively and the exercise has indeed lent a new dimension to the perception o f orality vis-a-vis cross cultural studies.

3. Orality and Wfcrldview Insights of the worldview of communities have, since the earliest times, generated much interest among scholars and have, to some extent, provided the scholar with vital information about the community. Esther Syiem, in her paper entitled ‘Orality Alive: Reconstructing the tale*, tried to bring out first, the status of Khasi females, taking an example from Ka Noh Ka Likai tale. Aligning her argument with the myth of the Dieng lei tree, which metaphorically accounts for man’s first defilement of sacred space, she talks about man*s alienation leading to his exile from a world of contentment and the abrogation of the bond with the tiger, his closest ally. The paper presented by (Sr.) Philomena Kharakor was entitled “Philosophy Behind Khasi Myths.” Her paper provides an incisive reflection on a few myths and didactic stories associated with Khasi

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beliefs. Badaplin War’s paper was read by Wanda Shisha Rynjah, a research scholar in her absence. The paper was entitled ‘Orality and Written Khasi Literature.’ The paper does a study of the tradition of Ka Longkur Longjait or clan lineage as reflected in Ka Tiew Larun, a play written by the celebrated Khasi writer, S.J. Duncan. The paper, while analyzing the play, talks about how Khasi clans trace their lineage through the female member. R.P. Aphtaria’s paper was entitled Tribal Oral Tradition of Origin and Migration of the Mishmis, Arunachal Pradesh/ In the paper, the author focuses on the origin and migration of the Mishmis as reflected in legends. R. L. Thanmawia presented a paper entitled ‘The Mizo Values* (as reflected in oral traditions). In the paper, the scholar brings out the social values, qualities and belief of the Mizos as depicted in folksongs and folk narratives. The last paper in this group was presented by Julius LR . Marak entitled ‘Development of Garo Folk Music*. The paper is a summary of folk music and musical instrument of the Garos and the different occasions in which they are used. The paper is also an attempt in trying to systematize certain Garo sung utterances and genres.

4. Orality in (Con)text The papers grouped under this heading, try to investigate the oral-written dichotomy in the context of the multi-ethnic culture of North-East India. Anil Boro, while conceding that early folklore scholarship recognized the dichotomy between orality and the written as two distinct (and sometimes opposing entities), underlined the inherent relationship between the two traditions/ His paper entitled ‘Orality and Literacy: Towards an Understanding of Contemporary Problems in Oral Traditional poetics in North-East’, discusses the privilege of speech over writing, referring to the existence of the oral-written continuums in contemporary studies. The writer also mentions how and when the oral tradition of North-East, like tales, songs and proverbs have been found in printed form and how they played a role in expanding the oral tradition. Temsula Ao*s paper begins with a series of valid questions about oral literature. The discursive work refers to native American poetry, African orature

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and the writer also samples some poems (including her own) written by our North-Eastern poets to probe the texture of orality as it is understood as an identity marker, a creative metaphor and as a developmental paradigm. The paper 'Oral Tradition in Transition: The Koireng example*, by a research scholar, T. Neishoning Koireng, talks about perception of story telling in the microscopic Koireng society and how the members of the community variously interpret the existing oral literature. P. jhingan’s paper entitled, ‘A Semiotic Study of Ka Shad Tyngkoh of the Khasis* dwelt at length on the structural analysis of Ka Shad Tyngkoh, a performance which is pivotal in the superstructure o f the Nongkrem festival. Koulie, a Tenyimia scholar presented a paper entitled ‘Tenyimia Folklore and Verse: A Quest for Beyond*. The paper focuses on the folklore and verses of the Tenyimia (Angami). The writer gave examples of Tenyimia folklore from popular legends and made comparisons between folk and literary poetry. ‘Oral Frames qf References: Khasi Myth Chanting and Perspective of Definition*, a paper presented by Desmond L. Kharmawphlang explores the definition of myth taking into account the parameters of form, content, function and context, outlined by a visual presentation of a myth chanting. As editors, it gives us pleasure to present you a Biate folktale as a special supplement. The tale, ‘Two Sisters*, was collected by T. K. Damei from Mualsei, a remote village tucked away in a corner of Jaintia Hills District of the state of Meghalaya. Shri Damei is an indefatigable social worker who has striven hard for his community, the little known Biates, in the areas of education, health care and welfare. We place on record our deep appreciation, first of all, to all the contributors for their generosity with their advice and time. We are thankful to the Sahitya Akademi for readily agreeing to publish. the seminar papers in the conviction that they will represent a strong book. We owe a debt of gratitude to Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay, Regional Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, Kolkata and the Akademi office for all the assistance rendered during the shaping of the book. Two oxganizations, the Indian Council for Social Science Research, NERC, Shillong and North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur have been

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pivotal in helping us get the Seminar on ‘Orality and Beyond’ together and for that we are indebted to both. Therefore, the labours of this book is as much theirs as ours. The supporting staffs o f the Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies, NEHU, Shillong, have displayed exemplary devotion to work throughout the Seminar and also in the phase when pages of this book began their first few tentative steps, Shri Wallambor Nongrum and Shri Fabian Dkhar worked long hours typing the manuscript. To both of them a big Khublei.

Shillong, April 2006

Soumen Sen Desmond L Kharmawphlang

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O rality and B ey o n d : The Story o f U M anik Raitong Sylvanus Lamare The story o f U Manik Raitong has been told and retold among the Khasis from time immemorial. The story remained in the oral form for many years and it was Rabon Singh Kharsuka who gave the written form in the collection entitled Ka Kitab Jmgphawar, which was published in 1899 that is, according to records kept in the British Museum. The story is known all over Khasi and Jaintia Hills and its main content is the same. However, local flavours were added depending on the area and the rich imagination of the people. It is a love story, between a King’s wife called ka Lieng Makaw and the orphan and outcast known as U Manik. Due to the sorry state o f his condition and without any relatives he was nicknamed U Raitong. The gist o f the story, derived from the source collected by Rabon Singh is that all the close relatives o f U Manik had passed away, and he was left alone. He mourned day and night covering himself during the day with ashes and wearing clothes which were torn. At night after bathing and having taken his meals, he would play the mournful tunes on his flute (sharati). The King’s wife who was alone since her husband had gone on tour around his Kingdom heard the sweet sounding mournful music o f the flute. She listened for many nights and finally, one night, she followed the music and came to the house o f U Manik. She broke the door, since U Manik would not let her in, and there, in front o f her, she saw a well dressed handsome young man. She immediately fell in love with him and persuaded him to have an affair with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. After a few years, the King returned and was shocked to find his wife with a ten month old son. He enquired from her but got no clue whatsoever. He summoned a durbar and commanded that all the men o f the area should attend holding a banana each. One by one, the men showed the banana to the child but the child did

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not even look at them. The King enquired if all the men had come and discovered that U Manik was missing. He was called and was asked to carry a banana with him. When U Manik showed the banana to the child, the child immediately, went to him proving that he was the person who committed adultery with the King’s wife. According to the durbar, U Manik was supposed to be beaten to death, but he requested the King to have a funeral pyre prepared where he would immolate himself. The men o f the village prepared the funeral pyre and when it was ready, U Manik dressed in his best attire, stepped towards it playing the flute all along the way. On reaching the spot, he circled around the funeral pyre three times and after planting his flute into the ground, jumped into the burning flames. The King’s wife followed him. The funeral pyre turned into water and beside it, bamboos with leaves upside down grows to this day. This short story, which was collected by Rabon Singh, became a sort o f inspiration to other writers who wrote poems, plays, novelette and even two movies were made based on the story. My attempt in this paper is to show how the same story was treated by writers like H.W Sten in the drama Ka Mahadd; Donbok T. Laloo in the novelette Pluh KaJingiat; andJespil Syiem in Ka Thymmd U Hynnicwtrep Ki Saw Dorbar-Blei, (pages 804 to 934). The name of the movies based on this story are Ka Swariti (Ka Sharati) by the renowned Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika in 1964 and U Manik Raitong by Ardhendu Bhattacharya in 1984. We shall now study the transcreated elements found in the works o f different writers. H.W. Sten, brought out Ka Mahadci, in 1983; it was first serialized in the newspaper U Kritik between 1981 and 1983. The drama has five acts. Only Act I has two scenes while the rest have one scene each. The drama is written in a form o f poetic drama with about one-third o f dialogues in the form o f poetry. It is written as a tragedy and it closely follows all the conventions o f a tragedy as given by Aristotle in Poetics. The dramatis personae in the drama are U Syiem, Ka Mahadei, U Pator, U Basan, U Sangot, U Shngain, U Manik, Ka Shakri, U Nongkren Blei and Ki Paidbah. To all o f them, the dramatist assigns different roles to play to

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enhance the beauty of the drama. Although the drama is based on the story o f U Manik Raitong, yet, there are certain diversions. The drama begins from the middle, that is, from the expectation o f the arrival o f the King three months after the messenger had been sent to convey the news that the Mahadei had given birth to a son. The birth o f a son when the King had been away for more than two years puzzled all the people in the kingdom particularly the elders. They could not get any clue whatsoever and the Mahadei seemed not at all bothered. The King did arrive on the day the elders expected. He was warmly received by his elders along with the people. Immediately a durbar was called and all the people of the area attended. In the durbar it was decided to find out who the adulterer was. The decision to find out the ‘cause’ is a diversion o f Sten from the original story. Another diversion is the name of U Manik Raitong. In Sten’s work it appears as if it is derived from the village called Raitong. Being a drama the language is powerful, clear and direct. The King and Shngain who is the Headman of Raitong are the two tragic heroes o f the drama. The King, who had spent five months with his wife, left her for more than two years forgetting even to send a message. Even when he was with her, he was busy with the people and the affairs o f his Kingdom. He was blamed to be the ‘cause’ for the Mahadei and she the cause to U Manik. The words o f U Manik, ‘It was started by the King, followed by the Mahadei; I only conclude. It seems the end is near. Now I know the one who started, he is here/ U Shngain, as the headman claimed to know every man in the village and assured the King, the elders and the people that the adulterer will not be from his village. He was wrong, because the adulterer was in fact the least expected person, U Manik the wretched o f the village. Mahadei initially appeared as a lover of the sound o f the flute, which eventually led her to U Manik’s hut. She fell in love with him and then forced him to have an affair with her. By making the King the tragic hero, Sten brought a sort o f justice to the drama. The King as the ‘cause* to Ka Mahadei, who was left alone. She expressed her desire that when she got married to the King

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she wanted children. But the King did not have time for her, and he was busy, to the extent o f totally facetting her. According to Sten, the King appeared to be impotent, because he mentioned that although the Mahadei spent five months with the King she did not conceive whereas she spent only one night with U Manik and she was blessed with a son. In Sten’s Ka Mahadei, all the main elements o f the original story are found. The role o f the flute, the banana to ascertain the identity o f the father o f the child, the acceptance o f the Mahadei that she was the one who had visited U Manik* s hut, the funeral pyre, the flute which was planted upside down, and the Mahadei who followed U Manik to the funeral pyre. The main difference is the decision to find the ‘cause*, and the discovery o f the tragic hero. The drama is a perfect tragedy, which adheres to all the conventions laid down by Aristotle. Jespil Syiem and Donbok T. Laloo, perhaps had the same source that the tale emanated from Ri Bhoi area. Both o f them mention that U Manik’s family was originally from Sutnga and they were from a royal family. They were driven away by the King who saw U Manik as a potential threat to the throne. They both wrote that U Manik was from the Lamare clan and from oral traditions handed down by our ancestors it is believed that the Lamare clan were indeed the ruling clan o f Sutnga. For clarity, I will take the two stories separately. First we take the work o f Jespil Syiem as recorded by Rev. Fr. Sylvanus Sngi Lyngdoh in the book mentioned before which was published in 2004. The work is in poetry and Jespil devoted about 6335 lines to the story o f U Manik and Liengmakaw. According to the poem, the village they lived in was known as Tihwieh and it was ruled by the King from Madur Maskut known as Mailong Malngiang aka Syiem Saitsnier. The Kingdom was very big and its area extended up to the river Ganga. From the poem we come to know that Mailong was a King who loved women but not for marriage. Manik had a sister by the name o f Sanibon and the name of his mother was Nibha Lamare while his father was known as Nisir Mashli. Liengmakaw was also known as Buh from the Rynghang clan while her father was known as Saiwir Shadap. These details give

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us a sort o f clue that the story o f U Manik was alive and vibrant in the 1960s and 1970s when Fr. Sylvanus Sngi Lyngdoh and Jespil Syiem were touring around Ri Bhoi to teach the people about multiple cropping. According to the poem U Manik and Liengmakaw knew each other for a long time; in fact, Liengmakaw wanted to marry Manik but the girl's maternal uncle thought that his niece was made for Mailong the King o f Madur Maskut. It was a sort o f forced marriage and Mailong was more interested to be away from his Kingdom to be with women arranged for him by petty kings under his rule and also by his ministers. U Manik lost his sister and his parents and from then he began to be a lonely man covering himself with ashes and playing mournful tunes on his flute. Though Liengmakaw was married to the King, she was never happy. When the King was away she quiedy visited U Manik in the night From the poem it is clear that U Manik resisted Liengmakaw on many occasions but finally succumbed to her advances. The rest of the story is practically the same and it ends with the decision o f U Manik and Liengmakaw to leap into the funeral pyre prepared for U Manik. Pluh KaJingidtby Donbok T. Laloo, which was published in2005 was written in the year 1999. The theme o f the story is based on the story o f U Manik Raitong. Donbok T. Laloo in the preface to the book mentioned the names o f two informants Jowel Mynsong from Raitong village and Snoh Kharumnuid from Sohryngkham. The work o f Donbok T. Laloo is a novelette and if developed properly could have been a good novel. U Manik’s family arrived from Sutnga to settle in Tihwieh, when U Manik was about 18 years old and Liengmakaw was 14 years old. It was Liengmakaw’s family, which initially came to the aid of U Manik’s. They gave them land to cultivate and even fed them and the two families became very close. Manik and Liengmakaw also became very close to each other. They started loving each other. When tragedy struck U Manik’s life, he was a broken man and no one could console him. He began to live a lonely life avoiding the company o f people. At such a time the King assisted him, gave him land to cultivate and constructed a house close to his own house. The King decided to marry and to enable him to select

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a bride, a dance o f the maidens was organised. He selected Liengmakaw, but she was not willing because she hated the King who was older than her in age. He was known as a bad character who liked to travel frequendy to the plains. She wanted to marry U Manik but her maternal uncle would not listen. Liengmakaw was married to the King for five years and the King never left the Kingdom. Suddenly, the King told Liengmakaw that he would be leaving home to visit his Kingdom and he would be away for a long time. For Liengmakaw this was the opportunity to meet U Manik again. She attempted but failed and LJ Manik knowing her intendons, avoided her to the extent that he began to cook his food in the field. Liengmakaw managed to find him, pretended to be sick and requested him to carry her home. But still she could not entice U Manik. After many nights o f waiting and listening to the mournful tunes played by U Manik, Liengmakaw decided to visit U Manik and she broke the door open. U Manik was trapped and he began his affair with her. A son was bom and when the King returned he was shocked* A durbar was summoned where all the men were told to bring along with them a banana each. By this means the father of the child was identified because the child followed U Manik and it was decided that U Manik should be buried alive in a hole filled with salt Before he died he planted the flute upside down. When U Maniks body was being cremated, Liengmakaw went to the funeral pyre and jumped into it, as she wanted to die with U Manik. In Donbok T. Laloo’s work, we see the difference in the method o f punishment meted out to U Manik; we also see the continuation o f the story of U Manik’s son. He fell in love with the princess ofShyllong Syiemship but she was never allowed to marry him. So when they met and while they were kissing before parting, the two were turned into two strange flowers. In the U Manik Raitong story, we see the transformation from the oral form into the written in 1899 by Rabon Singh Kharsuka, by H.W. Sten into a drama in 1983, byjespil Syiem in poetry form in 2004 and then by Donbok T. Laloo in a novelette form in 2005. The core of the story is that a woman falls in love