U Ksuid Tynjang

The Ancient Khasis used to inhabit all their beautiful hills and forests with innumerable supernatural beings, who were supposed to be working in the world either for good or evil and dominating all the events of men's lives. There were Bleis (gods) of all grades, and Ksuids (demons or goblins) without number, and Puris (sprites or fairies), visible and invisible, to be encountered everywhere. The religious rites of the Khasis are mainly intended to fulfil obligations supposed to be imposed upon them by these imaginary beings. They are described as quick to take offence and difficult to appease; hence the many and complicated ceremonies which the Khasi religion demands.

One of the most familiar names in ancient lore is U Ksuid Tynjang's, a deformed and lame demon who haunted the forests and tormented mankind. For his misdeeds, he had been doomed to suffer from an incurable and loathsome itching disease, which could only be relieved by the touch of a human hand. All the stories related to this repulsive demon are concerned with his forbidding personality and the tortures he inflicted on the victims. He purposely captured them to force them to rub his body and help with the terrible itching he had been doomed to. He used to tickle them to death with his deformed and claw-like hands if they tried to desist from their sickening task.

To lure people into his grasp, he used to imitate the human voice and to shout "Kaw-hoit, Kaw-hoit!" the common signal-cry of people who lose their companions or their way—a cry to which all humane travellers quickly respond, for it is considered equivalent to murder to ignore the signal-cry. In this way, U Ksuid Tynjang was able to locate the whereabouts of lonely wanderers, and there he would direct his unsteady steps, skipping and hobbling through the jungle, until he came upon them and made them his captives.

In those days, a great fair was periodically held at the foot of the Hills. To this, the Khasis from all over the country used to visit, especially the younger folk, who were fond of pleasure and liked to see the show of fine cloths brought there for sale. It happened that two young sisters from the Hills, Ka Thei and Ka Duh, with their brother, attended one of these fairs in the company of some of their neighbours. It was their first visit to a fair, and they were so taken up with the wonders of it that they forgot all about the time and walked to and fro, gazing at the strange people and wares until unconsciously they drifted away from their friends. It was now growing late, and Ka Thei, the eldest sister, anxiously bade the others cling to her that they might retrace their steps and, if possible, find their companions. But although they walked from one end of the fair to the other, they met nobody they knew. By this, they were in great dismay, and they determined to start for home as fast as they could, hoping to overtake their friends on the way. Evidently, everyone was far ahead, for though they walked very fast and called out at intervals, they saw no signs of a friend and heard no response. By the time they reached the Shillong forests, when they were yet some miles from home, the night closed upon them, and they lost their way in the dense dark jungle. It was hopeless to try and proceed further, for the path could not be traced in the darkness. So the three timid young travellers sat down, footsore and despairing, crushed down with foreboding and fear.

Just then, they heard a loud cry in the distance, Kaw-hoit! and they all thought it was the cry of one of their friends signalling to them, and the three shouted back in chorus Kaw-hoit! and waited expectantly for someone to appear. To their horror, they saw approaching, not a friend as expected, but the deformed and diseased figure of a hideous Ksuid, upon which they realised that they had responded to the mimic-cry of U Ksuid Tynjang, who had often been described to them, and warned against answering to his call.

In a few moments, he was with them, and immediately he ordered them to rub his itching body with their hands. Although they were sickened at the contact, they knew better than to disobey, for U Ksuid Tynjang was known to be very cruel, tickling to death those who dared to disobey him.

It happened that the young brother escaped being seen by the demon, a fact which Ka Thei hoped might turn to their advantage, for she had an alert and a resourceful mind. She motioned to him to squat down on the ground, and she hastily took off the knup (leaf umbrella) hanging from her shoulders and covered him with it.

Soothed by the touch of the young maidens' hands, the Ksuid began to dose. With a little effort, Ka Thei succeeded in approaching her brother and quickly sticking some shrubs in the knup to make it look like the surrounding jungle, whispered to him to crawl away as soon as the dawn broke. She told him to seek the path to their village to carry the news of their fate to their parents and ask them to offer sacrifices to the god of Shillong, in whose territory they had been captured, for their deliverance. With the help of the shrub-covered knup, the boy got away at dawn unobserved and reached his home, after which his parents offered sacrifices to U' Lei Shillong for the deliverance of their daughters.

Whenever the Ksuid fell asleep, the sisters were able to take turns at their unpleasant tasks. In order to lighten their lot somewhat, they planned to kindle a fire for the following night, and they collected dry sticks and made ready. When night fell, they kindled the fire and felt less afraid. During the night, Ka Duh, in putting some fresh wood on the fire, found a large, heavy dao—an axe-knife—of iron which she showed to her sister, who at once took it as an augury that their rescue was on hand, and that the god of Shillong was working for them. She at once began to think of a plan to break the demon's spell using the dao and free her sister and herself from his power. She heated the thick blade red-hot while the Ksuid slumbered, and, taking it by the handle, she seared his body with the hot iron so that he died.

Such, however, is the tenacity of all Ksuids that, even when they are killed, they do not go out of existence. U Ksuid Tynjang could no longer resume the form of a demon as he had formerly done, but he could assume some other form and remain in his old haunts. The form he chose was that of a jirmi—a creeper of a tough and tenacious nature which entangles the feet of hunters when they run in the chase and saps the life out of the forest trees and destroys the plants cultivated by mankind. This plant is known to this day as the Tynjang creeper.