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Who Built the Megalithic Monuments of Nartiang?

4/26/2015

6 Comments

 
My interest in the megalithic traditions of south and east Asia began in reaction to the ridiculous claim/belief that it was impossible for normal-sized people without advanced technology to have moved the large stones associated with prehistoric megalithic traditions (hence they must have been built by giants, aliens, advanced civilizations, etc.).  The "living" megalithic traditions of Indonesia (Sumba, Nias, Toraja) and India (Angami Naga) are great because they clearly show not only that large numbers of people armed only with ropes and wood can move some pretty big stones.  They also give us insight into the contexts and motivations that make moving those stones possible. There is both early 20th century ethnographic information and, in some cases, videos available on YouTube showing stones being moved. If you're interested in this sort of thing, check out my previous posts: the photographs and the videos are pretty sweet.

My interest in the Asian megalithic traditions has started to move beyond simply using them to demonstrate that normal-sized people can move big rocks.  As I've learned a little bit more about the archaeology/ethnography of this part of the world, I've started to see the potential for building a really interesting case that might form a useful comparison/contrast to the prehistoric megalithic cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean and the earthen structures of eastern North America. So . . . perhaps I'm off on another large database project.  Who knows.  For now I just wanted write a note about the megalithic monuments of Nartiang,India.

My knowledge of the geography of south/east Asia is not great, and I'm guessing that's true for many of the readers of this blog, also.  So I made a map showing the locations of the megalithic traditions I've written about so far:
Picture
The site of Nartiang is in the Jaintia Hills region of eastern India, in the state of Meghalaya. It is just one of many sites in the region with megalithic monuments. I do not yet fully understand what is known about the living/prehistoric megalithic traditions of this area, but I was struck by the explanations for the monuments at Nartiang (the following passage is from this paper by Vinay Kumar):

"The megalithic monuments of Nartiang in Meghalaya are significant because of larger dimension. Some of the monuments are very big even 9m high. Nartiang used to be the summer capital of the Jaintia Kings of the Sutnga State. The megaliths here are huge granite slabs probably hewn out by the fire setting method. The huge monolith, is said to be erected by Mar Phalyngki, a Goliath of yore. The Nartiang menhir  measures 27 feet 6 inches in thickness."
Here is a photo of Nartiang (source):
Picture
Many of the monuments at Nartiang are composed of a combination of a standing stone (menhir) and horizontal slab balanced on supports (dolmen).  In other areas (and apparently this one as well), the vertical and horizontal stones symbolize male and female, respectively. 
Picture
Based on a quick perusal of online descriptions, it appears as if the prevailing belief is that the Nartiang monuments were erected during the reign of the Jaintia kings in the 16th-19th centuries (source for the photo to the left). An individual named Mar Phalyngki or Marphalangki is variously credited with building all of the monuments or the biggest monument, and is sometimes described as a "giant."

As I said above, I don't have enough knowledge of the ethnohistory or archaeology of this region to evaluate the claim that the monuments were built by the Jaintia kings. I will just point out that the clustered arrangement, the repeated male/female motif, and the variety of stone sizes all seem to me to be consistent with the "living" megalithic traditions that are related to prestige-building and funerary rituals (i.e., celebrating/commemorating particular individuals or households by harnessing human capital to move and erect large stone monuments).  I'm hoping there's a lot more information available on the megalithic cultures of this region.

6 Comments
Bob Jase
4/26/2015 10:37:07 pm

If only we could decypher that mysterious ancient script on the sign - who knows what secrets we might learn!

Reply
Agastya
11/17/2015 12:29:13 pm

Hello Andy,

These megaliths are more than 3000 years old. I don't have the links where the carbon dating is shown. Its was done by the Archaeological Society/Survey of India the official caretaker of ancient monuments.

However, I would like to mention that there is nothing "mysterious" nor anything special about these monuments. They were all single use structures for performing what is known as Yagnas, basically a fire based chanting of ancient Hindu rituals. If you travel in India you will find thousands of similar structures. Some of the same size, some bigger, some smaller. Its nothing really.

I admire your enthusiasm for ancient things. Certainly if there are any inscriptions, they'd be interesting for a while. But in all likely hood, they would say a yagna was done by so and so king for this or that reason.

So why is the sign post saying 16th century? That is a long story involving the British and the missionaries. Will explain some other time as that is of even lesser importance than the megalith.

Thanks,

Agastya.

PS: I apologize if I poured water on some of your dreams of say buried treasures or mysteries on this location. However, the world is big and there are 1000's of mysteries to track down. Cheers.

Reply
Andy White
11/17/2015 01:35:45 pm

Hi Agastya,

Thanks for the comment. I'm not looking for "buried treasures or mysteries," but am interested in both enthnographic and prehistoric megalithic constructions and what they might be telling us. The cases in India are well outside my normal geographic area of expertise, but very interesting. I hope to get back to learning more about them soon.

Reply
Subhashis Das link
11/25/2017 11:43:06 pm

Dear Agastya

Megaliths are non-Sanskrit, non-Hindu tribal structures and has no connection whatsoever with Yagnyas and other Vedic rites.
The Nartiang menhirs and other dolmen type megaliths were erected by non Hindu tribals of the region.
The tribals have their own distinct rituals and customs during the erection of their megalithic burials and memorials.

North East, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are states where megalithism in the region is still practiced by the non-Hindu austric, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burmese tribes.
Several megaliths as Punkri Burwadih in Jharkhand, Nilurallu were created by tribal astronomers for astronomical purposes.
Megaliths and tribalism do indeed have the potential to rewrite the ancient history of India.

Best wishes
Subhashis Das

Reply
Karikorlang Kharkongor
5/12/2020 02:01:53 am

Being a tribal Khasi whose tribe still follows the customs of erecting menhirs and dolmens where the bones of loved ones are buried as a sign of rememberence, hence I must concur that this rite has nothing to do with Hinduism.

Also what can be seen from my eyes, is whenever a capital of a princely state is located, you will find both a market and a place where these monoliths stand.

The monoliths at Nartiang may be a place where the bones of Jaintia warriors of the Jaintia Kingdom whose capital located back then was at Nartiang. So it could be a place of remembrence for all those who laid down their lives in service of the kingdom.

But other places in the Khasi and Jaintia hills have menhirs and dolmens dating 2000-3000 years back.

In fact our affinity for naming all places with a prefix "Maw" which in Khasi means stone or rock may indicate the influence that perhaps the stone age still exists in our community.

Reply
Chandramouli Basu link
5/21/2021 05:11:23 am

I believe that this practice of erecting megaliths continues and is a living tradition in Meghalaya. Do let me know if you can give me more info about this practice.

Reply



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