COME AND SEE

BASA AND IWBIH

        Khasi tribe is one of the tribes in the Northeast, which has many ancestral legends. These legends are connected and related to the mountains, caves, rocks, rivers etc. Here is one among the classic legends.

        Long ago there lived a family. The father of the family was Sdieng, the mother was Khain and their three-month old daughter was Iwbih. They survived on rice cultivation. One day Khain with her daughter went early to the field because Sdieng was fully drunk. Sdieng got very wild at his wife. He told her, ”I have been loving you for a long time but now you responded me in this way.” As soon as he finished uttering his words he killed Khain. When he finished killing his wife, a dense cloud covered the sky. After sometime it started raining. Sdieng ran away and left the child untouched. In spite of the rain the child did not get wet as her mother kept safe in the place which was nicely prepared and covered with umbrella. When evening came the child cried for milk but no one could hear the sound. After a long time a big snake called Basa appeared, he took the child and looked after the child. When Iwbih was crying for milk, the snake would go to the village and forced the cow by pulling from its tail to come and feed Iwbih. After some days the cow started to come by itself everyday.

        Iwbih grew up to be a fine lady; she considered the cow as her mother and the snake as her father. When she was able to walk she used to come out of the cave an then collected some fruits to feed herself and Basa. Her pets were small snakes and different kinds of insects. She was able to play and even communicate with them very well. One day when she came out to collects some fruits some hunters saw her. They were astonished at the sight. They tried to meet her, but they could not, for Iwbih ran away to the cave. She was terribly scared because she had never seen any human being before. She could not speak in human language. With this strange experience the hunters could not keep quiet anymore. So they informed the King about the lady and her beauty. The prince was impressed by what he heard and by all means he wanted to find Iwbih.

        The prince and the hunters went to Iwbih’s palace and saw her. She was sitting on a stone beside the cave arranging her long beautiful hair. When the prince saw her, he couldn’t help falling in love that moment itself. The hunters and the prince tried to approach her. But Iwbih did not respond, instead she ran to the cave. The prince was depressed and went home sadly. After a few days he again organized a group of hunter to capture the lady while she was relaxing outside the cave. Before reaching the cave, the prince advised his followers to be very alert. He asked them to walk quietly and block the entrance of the cave, So that the lady would not be able to enter the cave. When Iwbih saw them she tried to run but she could not enter the cave as the hunters already blocked the cave. She was then caught and took to the prince palace. As soon as she reached the palace, the king organized a feast for the prince and Iwbih. But every time she was filled with sweet remembrance of the activities in ht cave. So one day she requested the prince to take here to the cave so that she could meet Basa.

        The prince and Iwbih went to the cave. When they reached they saw Basa crawling round Iwbih’s stone weeping in grief. She went near Basa and talked with him. When Basa saw Iwbih standing just beside him, how was very pleased and his tears stopped suddenly. But seeing the prince standing at a distance from them, Basa coiled the prince with his long tail bringing close to his wide open mouth trying to swallow him. At that moment Iwbih pleaded Basa not to gulp him for he was her friend.

        The Prince was led inside the cave by Iwbih and Basa. He was afraid to enter the cave. But when he reached inside, he was stunned to see the wall was decorated with gold and precious stones far better than any other building in the world. Iwbih explained Basa all tat had happened to her. Having listened to her, Basa also narrated how she was saved by him. Also told her that he was a special snake which can fly, change his appearance, produce light and reach anywhere to help his subjects, After saying this he gave Iwbih and the prince all the treasures of the cave and promised them that he will be their helper. He also advised her to call his name in times of trouble.

        Here ends the story but te rears of Basa is now turned into a stream and the Khasis believed that whenever they go to jungle they always feel the presence of his spirit. If they go out of their Kingdom they never shout or do anything that would destroy the sanctity of the place lest they get sick.

        The Khasis believed that Basa was a unique creature created by God therefore, no one should kill Basa.