Funeral Nights as a ‘sthalapurana’: Representation of culture, oral history, folk custom and identity in Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih’s Funeral Nights

Abstract

In the foreword to Kanthapura, Raja Rao aptly pointed out that every part of India has its own folklore, its own ‘sthalapurana’ that is largely transmitted through oral tradition. The ancient rite and folk custom of Ka PhorSorat, the feast of the Dead, a unique six-day-long funeral ceremony of the Lyngngams, a Khasi sub-tribe, forms the focal point of the novel Funeral Nights. The ceremony, along with the vast collection of stories about life, indigenous customs of the Khasi tribes provide a profound insight into the working of the tribal psyche and their worldview. The novel is born out of an innate desire to be heard, understood and respected as a tribe. It is also an attempt to write back to the Centre as Khasis were (and still are) subjected to racism, humiliation, marginalization and dismissal both by colonial historians who saw them as “wild-looking demons” (Nongkynrih 24) and postcolonial mainstream journalists who labelled them as “good for nothing” (Nongkynrih 24). The paper critically analyses the text as it represents indigenous customs, oral history, folk traditions and foregrounds voices that needs to be heard and understood in the context of India’s multicultural mosaic.