Bijoya Sawian is preserving Khasi culture, through stories and translations

Bijoya Sawian retold old stories and translated ancient texts for today's generation

In the mid 19th century, an increasing number of the tribes in the hill state of Meghalaya converted to Christianity. Many among the Khasis, Garos and Jaintias abandoned their traditional faith, practices and beliefs over the years.

Bijoya Sawian, born to a Khasi mother and a Bengali father, felt the loss of a culture — the folk stories she grew up on, the generations-old teachings, the centuries-old traditions... That’s when an aunt of hers suggested she translate the Ka Jingsneng Tymmen (The Teachings of Elders), a book written by her great grand uncle in Khasi verse in the express hope that the ancient wisdom is preserved. The book prescribes a moral, ethical and behavioural code to live by. Khasis believe the last is inextricably linked to worship of their imageless, omniscient God.

Sawian initially balked at the suggestion that she translate a text so revered. But the more she thought about it, the more imperative it became. “A tree cannot live without its roots, no matter how much you nurture it. A human being is no different,” says Sawian. She felt that even if many had converted and even if the younger generation were losing touch with their old way of life, making a text like this accessible could only enrich rather than diminish them.

Once she got going, Sawian translated the book and it was published in 1997 through their family printing press. After the third edition was published, in 2012, the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture in Guwahati requested the rights to publish the book as they could help it reach a wider audience.

That was another feather in her cap, but Sawian had already immersed in her culture. As a child, she remembered being regaled with thrilling folk tales, narrated by her nanny Kong Lem while she and her siblings ate oranges around a fire on a Shillong winter evening. “Kong Lem had a delightful, untutored way of telling these stories, bringing alive a range of emotions from joy to fear to sorrow,” recalls Sawian.

These folk tales were usually set in the Khasi hills and were replete with information on the ancient ways. The long monsoon days, the endless winter nights, are borne with tales of snakes, vampires and river dragons. Many of the tales are set in Cherrapunjee, near the Noh Ka Lakai waterfalls and different parts of the Khasi hills so as to familiarise children with all parts and aspects of their land and to instil a love for it.

“The folklore and tales gave us a glimpse into the past like none other and our way of life is woven into the tale,” she explains. That’s when she decided to turn to Kong Lem again — much older but still as sharp — and put down the tales in Khasi Myths, Legends and Folk Tales (1995).

The Vivekanand Institute then asked her to translate another book, The Main Ceremonies of the Khasis. Not a very ritualistic lot, the Khasis have three main ceremonies — naming a child, marriage, passing — but these are specific and detailed. In the last three months alone, the Seng Khasi (a socio-cultural organisation for the clan) has carried out 30 naming and 80 wedding ceremonies for the Khasi clan as per tradition using her book.

Sawian feels that her work is more relevant today than ever — the loss of identity is only growing

That the community is highly progressive is evident in at least two ways. In cases where an unwed girl gets pregnant — a situation that elicits almost universal disapproval — the Khasis do not ostracise her and instead have a prescribed procedure to legitimise the union. Secondly, while mixing between the sexes is not taboo there are strict rules forbidding marriage within the same clan: One can marry a cousin seven times removed from the maternal side and four times removed from the paternal side. This is to ensure that there are no abnormalities in children borne out of an alliance — a far-sighted philosophy for a traditional community.

Sawian feels that her work is more relevant today than ever — the loss of identity is only growing. Unless one takes concrete steps to reverse this, there will be generations who don’t know where they come from. Which may result in generations that don’t know where they are headed.