Raphael Warjri

By Raphael Warjri

The tiger has the dual role of a spiritual Sylvan deity and a real chief of animals in most instances. In the Khasi folklore there are variations of the intangible and tangible identity of tigers. The identity of a Sylvan deity is known as Khla Ryngkew Khla Basa or simply Ryngkew Basa or Labasa in Khasi. The other category of were-tiger is called Laphuli or Khla Phuli for a good soul and Laman or Khla Man for a monstrous beast. The tangible tigers are Labasa, the equivalent of a Bengal tiger, and Lathapsim for clouded leopards. Apart from tigers, there are other intangible or rather invincible spirits in Khasi folklore, which assume the form of monsters, beasts and various types of malicious spirits. They are Thapbalong, Langtyrkhiah, Rakot, Ksuid Tynjang, Puri, Lyngkhuh, Symat, Ramhah, Kla, Boit, Shwar, Taro, Laman, and Thlen.

A few of these spirits and mythical creatures could be both benevolent and malevolent depending upon the relationship with human beings based on specific encounters:

Thapbalong is a type of giant bat or kind of vampire who inhabits the entwined creeping tree or Jynriew in Khasi. It is a nocturnal monster that causes harm to people whenever it gets the opportunity. It is said that it never dies easily, even with multiple stabbings with sharp weapons and, most of the time, the secret of terminating the monster is with rare types of exotic poison ivies derived through the knowledge of some tiny creatures who are endemic to the similar surroundings.  

Langtyrkhiah is a kind of giant vulture who inhabits the caverns on isolated and precarious rocky ridges. It is a benevolent creature and always escorts people in isolation and distress, but is capable of harming anybody who intrudes into its territory.

Rakot is a kind of monstrous beast with the head of a lizard and the body of an obese human, which has a sensitive nasal sense of human odour; this type of beast is quite fond of human flesh, but could be helpful to humans in rare instances.

Ksuid Tynjang or Suid Tynjang, a kind of elongated, one-legged, tall and slender beast, which is fond of captivating humans, tickling  and demanding them to scratch their rugged bodies during a trance; in a few hours, they will be released at a perilous brink of a tree branches or cliffs where the victim would realise after gaining consciousness.

Puri are of two types of fairies, the dark or Puriiong and the fair or Purilieh. They are fond of humans and would usually captivate their aura and desire for marriage in their spiritual realms, which could be sylphs in the forest hillocks or Purilum and mermaids in the underwater or Purium or Puriwah. The Purilieh or fair fairy, keeps hold of the aura of a person, but releases them to return to their real world with human society, even as they would occasionally communicate and interact with the fairy in their illusion. The Puriiong or dark fairy, keeps hold of the aura of a person they like and would never allow even their physical being to resume their tangible existence in society. Therefore, people who are captivated by the fair fairy will remain in society as mentally deranged people, while those who are captivated by the dark fairy will die instantly. People who are captives of the fair fairy or Purilieh are always gifted with extraordinary skills or supernatural powers in healing ailments or performing superlative feats. Sometimes, they are also known as Puriblei because of their pious and benevolent character and are considered to be of a higher hierarchy, like the privileged royal clan of the celestial beings.

Lyngkhuh is another form of malicious sylph or mermaid that affects people if they accidentally encounter on their path, particularly if they violate the sanctity of nature. The act of performing sexual activities in a natural habitat could be one of the vulnerabilities to being captivated by the Lyngkhuh sylph or mermaid and the victim would shudder and fits, including vomiting. The remedy for such ailment is through prayers and spiritual intervention by a shaman.

Sym-at is a sleep monster or dream or sleep paralysis demons that create a pressure of gravity during sleep. The victims are are unable to move or speak, as well as the sense of being held down by a malevolent, often supernatural, intruder. Many people also describe the feeling of their chest being crushed by someone at night and sometimes suppressed breathing. The victim could struggle to release their clasped hands during sleep,  wake up and be alert themselves during the act and try to escape from the phenomenon.

Ramhah is a giant monster that creates fear and terror  in society with his intimidating physical menace. Legend has it that Ramhah would rob and plunder the properties of villagers, wherever he came across. One day, he was duped by a lady, called Bthuh who enticed him with a sumptuous feast where she mixed his portion of the food with iron particles. When the glutton giant monster was satisfied, he would carry the loot in his gigantic cone basket or Khoh Ramhah and leave the village. On his way back home near Thangkharang he sensed trouble with his stomach. The giant monster removed his cone basket and rested for a while on the boulder. Ramhah suspected that he was  suffering from severe abdominal pain due to the poisonous food served by the lady and, before he could do anything, he realised that he was very weak and died on the spot. Gradually, for several eras, his body was subsumed by nature and concealed underneath the earth.  It was revealed that in the ancient period, the entire southern slopes of a perilous ravine were fraught and infested by the remains of giant monsters. Similarly, the bones of Ramhah, along with the other giant monsters, were converted into a white sandstone substance. These are the reasons that limestone is found abundantly in the entire stretches of the extreme southern region of Meghalaya.