Khasi Poetry: Origin and Development

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This work, deals with the questions that are central to the origin and development of written Khasi poetry. It is the result of the first systematic study ever undertaken in Khasi literature.

Here he:

(1) traces the origin and follows the development of written Khasi poetry in the first 100 years of its history beginning 1841;

(2) finds that Khasi poetry originated in-folk tales, fables, folk songs, translation, religious and socio-political thoughts;

(3) shows with examples that some poets were influenced by the art and themes of English poets; and examines the causes of the influences;

(4) examines the nature, theme, style and meaning of the poems in the major section of the work; and

(5) interprets the poems he examines in a lucid and simple way. Now that advances have been made in the study and teaching of Khasi poetry, teachers and students will find in this book background information as well as reliable interpretation of the poems during the period covered by the work. The treatment is intended to provide and insights of the Khasi milieu, including the change of life style along with the progress of education in the pre-Independent days. Therefore, the chapters are arranged in a systematic order which will enable readers of varied disciplines, including, anthropology sociology, education and religious philosophy with a view to find in the book exactly what they wish to know.

The book will contribute largely to the scholar's understanding of Khasi poetry and deepen their appreciation of its wealth.

HARRISWELL WARMPHAIGN STEN (1938-1987) passed M. A. (English) in 1975 and was awarded Ph.D. in 1983 by the North Eastern Hill University on Khasi Poetry Its Origin and Development. He added to his academic qualification while serving.

Prior to his appointment as lecturer in Sankardev College in 1986, he had been the Editor of three prestigious journals from 1971 to 1976. From 1982 till death he served as Reader of Khasi in NEHU, teaching literature and linguistics.

This work is substantially based on the doctoral thesis of the author accepted in 1982 by the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Ever since then, a few more authentic materials have been received from the United Kingdom and incorporated here. Besides this one chapter on the Monologue has also been added.

Written Khasi poetry is 144 years now; but this work happens to be the result of the first investigation in the area. I must state quite frankly that the work does not pretend to be a comprehensive history of Khasi poetry because my aims for it are, first, to examine how written Khasi poetry developed during the first 100 years of its history; second, to explore the major traditions in poetic creation; and third, to examine the extent of outside influences in the works of Khasi poets.

The history of Khasi poetry is to a great extent the history of the intellectual development of the Khasi society. Because I expect literature to reflect and interpret life, a few anthropological questions have been examined in the introductory chapter for possible whole-scale investigation by competent anthropologists. For the same reason again, efforts have also been made to approach the subject through socio-political, cultural and religious movements. A reader needs only to consult the contents to find the movement which is of special interest to him.

Before embarking on the main inquiry, it is fitting to devote a few lines to the primary question which comes up whenever we study Khasi language and literature, that is, where did the Khasis come from?

Ethnographically, all the original inhabitants of the present Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya are Khasis. As years rolled by, these people came to be known by the names of the regions they live in. Thus, we have the Pnars inhabiting the mainland of the Jaintia Hills district, the Khynriams the central part of Khasi Hills, the Bhois on the north, the Lyngngams in the west, and the Wars in the south of both the Khasi and the Jaintia Hills. All are Khasis. Strictly speaking only the children of Khasi parents are Khasis, but the Khasi social custom is flexible enough to include within it children of Khasi mothers and non-Khasi fathers as Khasis, because according to the Khasi customary laws, the children belong to mothers and not to the fathers. There are instances of even children of non-Khasi mothers being regarded as Khasis. People who investigated the origins of clans in Khasi Hills have said that all those clans with Khar as the prefix to them trace their original homes to either the Brahmaputra or the Surma Valley. A. S. Khongphai gives an instance of the origin of three new Khasi clans. He took the three daughters of Mohon Diengdoh and Pushpalata, his wife, namely Bani, Rani and Sati and writes "these daughters cannot be Khasis in their life time, not even for years to come, unless they married Khasis, lived as Khasis, followed Khasi custom...

For a person to be considered a Khasi presupposes the following: (1) He must marry a Khasi girl; (2) he traces his descendance from his mother's side; (3) his dress be like that used by other Khasis; (4) he accepts the Khasi way of life and customs; (5) he speaks one the Khasi dialects; (6) he embraces Khasi religion or religions professed by many Khasis; and (7) he identifies himself totally as a Khasi. There are several clans among the Khasis which have assimilated themselves to the Khasi society in this way. It is not difficult for the members of such clans to trace their origins and to tell others how their ancestors came to this land, and where their original homes were. It is the original home of the original Khasi tribe which most Khasi poets including Soso Tham, Homiwell Lyngdoh and Primrose Gatphob, have exercised their imaginations upon.