A lady sings out to her neighbor, but this call has a much deeper meaning. Each short tune is unique and each one represents a person. It's a kind of secondary name that people here use throughout their lives. It is called "Jingrwai Iawbei."
"Jingrawi means a song and Iwabei means grandmother. This song has been composed for the newborn baby by the mother or father and because in our society we are a matrilineal society. So, this song also we are dedicating to our grandmother. That’s why we call in Khasi—Jingrawi Iawbei," community leader Rothell Khongsip said.
Community leader Rothell Khongsip is a new father who has just finished composing a song for his baby boy. Even more so than their actual names, parents use the tunes to call their children, from infancy to old age.
"Maybe some ghosts, they are living in the jungles or in the rivers and they might know your name or my name. If the ghost knows my name, they might take my name and then I will get ill or die. So to protect from that, instead of calling his or her name, they composed this Jingrawi Iawbei and you know them instead of calling by name," Khongsip said.
But life here is changing. The village elders fear Jingrwai Iawbei may soon die out.
"Now days instead of calling each other by their names, by this Jingrwai Iawbei I mean, we're used to calling by the mobile," Khongsip said.
A few villagers recently formed a cooperative and are building a guesthouse in the traditional Khasi design. They hope it will attract tourists to come and stay for days at a time.
It is not certain if promoting their culture can be a successful economic model for Kongthong. But trying to do so gives their customs and Jingrwai Iiawbei a reason to survive in Kongthong village, in the northern Indian state of Makalaya.
