Tales from the Hills by Aaron Kharkamni

Stories from ancient times, passed on by word-of-mouth to the next generation are a treasure, a family heirloom. Every community in India possesses its own tales, memories, lifestyles, that can live beyond them, telling the world about their lives and ways. Let's peek into one such tale from the Northeast.

Artwork: The Great Canyon of the Yellowstone by Thomas Moran. Source: U.S. Department of the Interior Website.

Tales from the Hills

Among the rolling hills of the Northeast,

lives an ancient tribe of mystique,

one where writing plays no role

and only by recitation

can stories be told.

This Khasi Tribe and these hills

are what I call home.

When the day was done, and chores complete,

grandmother, hobbling in the kitchen,

would gather us around the hearth.

Her tales - a tapestry of mystery, happiness, and woe,

would cover us as the heat of the fire glowed.

But none was so grand as the tale of creation:

of the deity who created our nation;

she thus began, "U Blei (God) has put humans

on this earth to care for animals and nature,

to till the land and to prosper.

That was the duty of the Seven Clans."

U Blei in all reverence and love,

did not forbid the Seven Clans

from entering heaven’s gate.

And Lum Sohpet Bneng,

the Mount of Heaven’s Navel,

was made for men to come and go

as they please, so long as they remembered,

to follow three heavenly decrees.

"Tip Briew Tip Blei, Ka Tip Kur Tip Kha, and Kamai ia ka Hok."

So long as man was secure in the Knowledge

of man and god,

of one’s maternal and paternal relation,

in the means of earning righteously,

heaven’s gate remained unlocked to man and his fate.

But man in his greed,

defied the three heavenly decrees.

On seeing rebellion,

the Mount came crashing down,

leaving men forever stuck,

striving to repent for their wanton ways.

The Seven Clans wished life to return

like the old days.

***

For the love of art,

Aaron Kharkamni