Religion of the Khasis
by: Late Dr. H. Kelian Synrem
The Khasi community is one of the few communities of North-East who still embrace and maintain the religion and traditions handed down to them by their forefathers. The Khasi believes that U Blei the Creator, is the Universal God who created everything living and non- living, big and small to be multiplied and to prosper int he beautiful wide world. according to the Khasi belief, U Blei created different races of mankind and in each race He gave different cultures and religions, different traditions and customs to be followed and practiced and each race praised and worship Him in their own way of life. It is through religion that a group of persons or a particular community flock together and share their belongings and represent the whole culture of the society in miniature. The Khasi culture is a religious culture and through it they have been able to preserve and maintain them-selves through ages.
unlike any other religion, the Khasi does not have any written text or scriptures. It is a belief that the religion is handed down by U Blei (God Himself) to man. This is transferred orally from generation to generation which involves active participation of the members of the society. And it is by sharing, all their hopes and fears by what Radcliffe Brown calls "a common concern in e vents or eventualities that human beings fell linked together in permanent society."
The Khasi religion is known by the name 'Ka Niam Khasi.' According to H.O. Mawrie, the term Niam is a combination of the two words 'Nia' and 'im', where the word 'Nia' means 'reason', 'arguments' and 'im' means 'alive' or 'living'. The human beings are the only rational living beings who are having the power of reasoning. the Khasi holds that his life has a rational foundation which is derived ultimately from U Blei (God). Hence man ought to conduct his life rationally by observing and following the religious rites and norms meticulously.
The basic principle of Khasi religion is Ban Kamai ia ka Hok, i.e. to earn righteousness in the world. The tenets of Ban Kamai ia Ka Hok are through the precepts of Ban Tip Briew - Ban tip Blei, i.e., to know god one should know his fellow human being first; Ban Tip Kur - Ban Tip Kha, i.e., to know his Kith and Kin and Ban ieit Ialade ban ban burom ia kiwei, i.e., to love thyself and thine own and respect others. If man can follow these precepts of the basic principle of Ka Niam Khasi (Khasi religion) he will have a satisfied and fulfilled life in this world and will enjoy a peaceful life thereafter in another world i.e., ha ka iing U Blei (in the House of His Creator).
The ideal of earning righteousness involved in the living with Ka Hok, in rhythm with nature. Man is born with Ka Hok (righteusness and Ka Hukum Blei ( God's command), but that inherent quality of man needs to be awakened by practice. Though Ka Hok is the central concept in the Khasi belief the elders prescribe a way of life which is called a virtuous life as opposed to non-virtuous life. the Khasi religion command that man is in this world to earn his living righteously and to be clear in his conception regarding U Briew (man) and U Blei (sacred) (Tip Briew - Tip Blei) and to adjudicate values with reason. the tenet of Khasi religion is that in order to know U Blei man should know his fellow human being first. by serving his fellow human beings well this itself pleases U Blei and brings man closer to Him. to have a better understanding and good relationship with U Blei man should know how to live in harmony with his fellow human beings on earth. That is why the Khasi religion is also known as Ka Niam tip Briew - Tip Blei ( a religion of knowing man- knowing God).
The Khasi religion further teaches that in order to earn righteousness in this world as A khasi he should follow the precept of Ka Khein Kur - Khein Kha, Ka Tip Kur - Ka Tip Kha (see FN *1). The khasi follow the matrilineal system, that is from the mother ( Ka Kmei, I Mei) sprang a clan. And they practice clan exogamy among them. It is a taboo to marry within the same clan. This type of incest committed is unpardonable before U Blei and U Briew. NO ritual ceremony of purification can be remedied for the incest taboo i.e., Ka Shnong sang. Persons guilty of the sacrilege are excommunicated from the clan in olden days they were driven out from the village/society or were completely rejected by the community. The Khasi believes that those who commit Ka Shongsang openly or secretly, will be punished by U Blei in the form of a thunder stroke (Pom pyrthat) and be eaten by a tiger (bam U Khla) or face an unnatural death (iap kynsha-thala). The Khasi are very strict about Ka Khein Kur-Ka Khein Kha, therefore, physically handicap born babies are hardly found within the community. As they are very strict with Ka Khein Kur-Ka Khein Kha they are also very mc uh concerned regarding ka tip Kur- ka tip kha. Here in Ka tip kur - ka tip kha the Khasi knows how to differentiate the type of love and respect to his Kur and to his Kha. The type of love shown to the Kur is informal, free and open except to the maternal uncle though love is there but respect and shyness are also prevailing. the type of relationship shows to the Kha is a formal one. Here though love is there but respect is very much important. Members who belong to the father's side are respected, whether young or old, as they are Ki Nongai Nongsei rynieng (the giver of seed and stature). His mother Ka Meikha,*2 during her life time and after her death, reverence is shown by Ki khun kha (father's children) and special homage is given on her death.
The Khasi believes that U Blei is universal (generating respect for others). As has been mentioned earlier the Khasi believes that U Blei is universal and created many races of human beings to understand and propagate their religions as handed over to their forefathers. The Khasi believes that all religions are good and equal in the eye of their Creator. But the relationship man to man is different from one community to the other and from one society to another. Mr. Hipshon roy in the Souvenir Lyngkhuh snem ba shiphew 1982-1992, of the Seng Khasi mawlai stated that " One side of religion is universal in the relationship of god to man and hence all religions are good and the same in this respect which we must strive to share in understanding. the other side of religion is in its aspect of the relationship of man to man there are differences from group to group. In this there many not be sharing but interaction for the understanding of one another and the respective way of life and culture and the appreciation of the needs of others." He, therefore, opposes any form of proselytisation. In this he stands on the firm ground of his faith that teaches him the value of spirituality in the maxim of "Love thyself and thy own and respect others (ieid Ialade bad burom Ia Kiwei)." He further opines that "a man who love himself and his God will not destroy the character and spiritualism of his religion. the future of the world lies int he spiritualism of the powerful supplemented by the spiritualism of the less powerful." Mr. c Lyngdoh, a district judge, in one of his judicial pronouncements wrote. *3" A Khasi is Khasi because of his religion (Niam) more than anything else. this is a great fact. To understand him therefore one has to go deep into his religion in the sense of hi Niam, which regulates all his thoughts and activities. Forget his religion and you will never understand a Khasi. "Thomas Carlyle supported the statement when he stated that " In every sense, a man's religion is the chief fact with regard to him." On the foundation of one's own heritage one has to build oneself as he is the product of the past. So, if Khasi religion is destroy or taken away from him what else is left of the Khasi in him??
Having mentioned the basic principle of Khasi religion one cannot negate an important issue that come up called Ka nongkylliang. There is no specific meaning equivalent to the term Nongkylliang. One might understand that Ka nongkylliang deals directly with human behavior during his life time. To analyze the specific term, Ka Nongkylliang in Khasi religion it does not really mean 'vengeance' nor 'retribution' what many might have thought. but it simply means both 'reward' and 'punishment'. a man is responsible for his actions during his life time. If he earns righteousness he will be rewarded here after whereas a man who does evil things (serious crimes) will be punished in Ka akher - Ka sngi (the day of judgment). But human being is not perfect, somewhere or the other he has his own weaknesses and shortcomings. for this a Khasi has what he called Ka Lait - Ka let, Ka Tam - Ka Duna which means human being is liable to fall anytime or commits errors during his lifetime. but he repents and asks forgiveness from U Blei (God the merciful) through Ka duwai - Ka Phirat (prayers), Ka nguh ka dem (rituals), he will be forgiven. Until and unless a Khasi commits a taboo of the incest marriage or any other serious crimes then he is unpardonable, hence, he is compensating this Ka Nongkylliang. the person who committed Ka shongsang (incest taboo) and those who have done serious crimes his Nongkylliang is that after his death his eternal soul will be sent to *Khyndai Pateng Niamra. The other popular equivalent names for Ka Khyndai pateng Niama are. *1 Ka shnong Ka Ksew, *2 Ka Mynkoi U Jom and *Ka shnong ka lawpaw (the eternal place for bad souls). but those who earn righteousness on earth will have a good life in Ka Iing U Blei (the House of God) hereafter and chewing betelnut peacefully (bam kwai snewbha) together with his Ki Mei -Ki law, Ki Ni - Ki Kong (good ancestors).
The Khasi insists on the importance of virtuous life. a man is responsible for his acts, so if his acts are in conformity with Ka Hukum Blei (His Command) that is to 'earn righteousness' then he can be called as u Riew Tip Briew - Tip Blei(a righteous man). therefore, Ka Niam Khasi is also known as Ka Niam Tip Briew Tip Blei - a religion of knowing man knowing God. So as a Khasi one should love oneself first, love his own religion and culture but one should not forget to serve and respect other fellow human beings, their religions and cultures too. That is the fundamental principle of Khasi religion and that teaches man to live and grow and from it to draw one's life principles and governing ideas and through it to maintain and identify as a race of a particular society.
*1 Khein in this context means care, have regard, value, and Tip means to know or to have knowledge. Synrem, H.K. in her book, Revivalism in Khasi Society p-16 explained the Kur are those who have the same blood relation inherited from the common ancestress. Kha has two meanings. The first is the tie of relationships which the Khasi has from the father's side only. The second meaning refers to all other Khasi who are not from the same clan with them with is known as Iadei Kha - Iademan, that is relationship of marriage can take place.
*2 Mei means 'mother' and Kha in this context means 'born'. So Meikha is the mother who gave birth to the father.
*3 C. Lyngdoh, "The Rudiments of the Khasi Law of Inheritance" Excerpts from Ka Syngkhong Jingtip. (The Khasi Cultural Journal), 1938.
* Khyndai Pateng Niamra: The Khasi believes that there are nine (khyndai) stories (pateng, mala) deep down into the earth. This story is the last and the most darkened place where the king of darkness (Niamra) by the name U Jom rules and his domain is known as *2Ka Mynkoi U Jom - a place of evils. It is called *3 Ka Shnong Ka Iawpaw - a place of those bad souls who committed unpardonable crimes while living. This is called by the name *3 Ka Nurok Ka Ksew - a place where only the dogs live and howl throughout.