The belief in rebirth or reincarnation is deeply entrenched in most cultures around the world.
Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato wrote about reincarnation; eastern religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have delved on the nature of reincarnation; though orthodox denominations of Christianity, Islam and Judaism don’t approve ‘rebirth’ as a concept, this scepticism too evolved with time. Records show that certain religious figures associated with early Christianity spoke about the soul and reincarnation. The mystical Sufis within Islam and the Hasidic sect within Judaism show reverence towards the idea that souls transmigrate.
Needless to say, the fascination with the afterlife and reincarnation remains.
Ri Bhoi district in Meghalaya is no stranger to this belief. Here too, people believe that a person, dead or alive, come back in the new body of a baby.
What’s more striking? They possess the exact same talent and moral code as the old body in a previous life.
Seventy-three-year-old Twe Matong, an elder from Diwon village, has meticulously collected and recorded the rebirth myth since January 5, 1997 in his journal.
There are two different beliefs about rebirth, with the first one having a stronger hold on the minds of the people. While the first is bound to happen, the second is relegated to a mere imagination of the parents.
He said, “Even if we don’t take this seriously anymore, people will reincarnate. In our local dialect of Nongtluh, this type of rebirth is known as Wan Kynteiñ Purei. The second kind of rebirth is just an imagination of the parents. We call this Kyrteiñ Kynroi Kynrei.”
How are they different? Matong focuses on the nuances of the myth.
Dreams play a pivotal role in Wan Kynteiñ Purei… a process that begins at the conception stage. That said, it cannot be a random dream; rather, signs point towards the individual being reincarnated.
If the woman dreams about the uncle, great uncle, her father and grandfather, the baby will be a boy. If her mother, grandmother or mother-in-law visits her in the dream, then she will give birth to a daughter.
In Matong’s words, “It is like a prophecy, and certainly not random in nature.”
Additionally, certain items within the dream point towards the gender reveal. If the male ancestor leaves a rod, it’s a sign of the child’s male gender. The female ancestors leave behind a cloth which reveals the baby’s gender as female.
Physical marks are also checked to ascertain the kind of rebirth.
Once the baby is born, he/she is checked for any physical marks. For instance, if an individual has an unnatural death, say, accidents, in the past life, then the same mark will appear in the new body in the reincarnated life.
The question of lineage is important in Wan Kynteiñ Purei and has to be taken into consideration.
Picture this. An individual has recently reincarnated. Here, the family members of the person in his previous life form claim the body of the recently born child as their own brother, sister, son or daughter. Among the Makri clan, a dead person can be reincarnated in the new body of Syiem, therefore, they claim this body as representing the entire clan.
From the perspective of rituals. Wan Kynteiñ Purei will happen irrespective of whether one believes in this kind of reincarnation. However, not all is rosy in this kind of rebirth. If one doesn’t believe in it, the child will manifest physical symptoms in the form of stomach ache, fever, jaundice, or be a colic baby. Medication will not help in such cases. Mothers of such children will have recurring dreams about their family members.
In the past, certain rituals were observed. With time and the influence of Christianity, people believe in the concept but no longer perform rituals.
Interestingly, once a child reaches six to seven months, the parents visit the family members (usually children) of their parent (now reborn) in the previous lifetime. The purpose of this visit is to inform that their family member has reincarnated in this life.
But, here’s a twist in this belief. Even if a person is alive, people believe that he/she has already reincarnated. In such cases, the parents with the new born child informs him/her directly. This, however, is a rarity.
People of the village believe that the human body can be reborn up to five to seven bodies.
The second type, Kyrteiñ Kynroi Kynrei, is not widely accepted.
Here, people call the name of the dead individual, based on the assumption that a child is a rebirth of someone, making it random. Different from Wan Kynteiñ Purei, people don’t observe signs as minutely as the other type of reincarnation.
Matong said, “As a marker of our unique identity, Wan Kynteiñ Purei is an important aspect of Bhoi culture and belief. Ancestors visit the house of the newly born child out of their love for the parents, a belief rooted since the time of our forefathers. I am a rebirth of my great grandfather.”
Similarities between the two souls are striking. For instance, a singer adept at the guitar in a previous lifetime will be reborn with the exact same qualities.
An interesting aspect of this myth is Rem Kyrteiñ, where a child falls ill if parents scold their child (reincarnated body) using the name of his previous life.
Following conversion to Christianity, Wan Kynteiñ, is not believed by most people in Diwon. Its largely a choice to neglect an element of their culture. That said, rejection does not mean non-acceptance. There is fear among the people that completely rejecting this belief will result in the worst consequence – something bad will happen to the reincarnated body.
Interesting belief systems on reincarnation continue to stand the ravages of time and evolving worldviews. Matong’s journal entries point to his understanding of an important cultural aspect in his village. How future generations read into Ri Bhoi’s rebirth myth, time will tell.
For now, yet another dimension is added in a myth that remains in the consciousness of people living in Diwon – reincarnation, after all, is a mystery that refuses to fade away, and only deepens with time.