Ranlim – Creation and History

A recording in which Ranlim Thungwa talks about the origin and history of the Tangsa people. This consists of the following sound file: nst-kim_20121109_04_SM_T_Ranlim_History.wav The details of this recording are as follows: nst-kim_20121109_04_SM_T_Ranlim_History.wav; Duration 10’21”; Historical story, ranging from the beginning of the Tangsa. He tells about the creation of people. God created the Tangsa people near to the sun. God created the human out of the dust – only men were created in this way. At that time there were only men, so there was no reproduction, so he thought that there should be women and took the bones out of animals to create women. After many years that original man went up towards the east and there he found many people and many animals of many kinds. He also talked about how God had given people writing on the skin of a buffalo (ngi khii) but they had cooked and eaten it. And lastly he said that many people have a written form, but we the Tangsa have no written form, it is only in our heart, verbally. 6’30” He talks about the cock crowing, saying that there was a very big cock so this big cock can see the sunrise, then the cock crows, so when other smaller ones heard that, the cocks all over the world began to crow. That is the reason that the cock crows in the early morning before sunrise. 8’00” He talks about the kuk (‘festivals’), It was observed for five days and the two ancestors, Homjam Wi and Sangwang Ti are invited then. The invitation is in the form of singing of the Wihau song. These two are invisible and then possess the sing and sing through him. When the festival finishes, they sing again “We will meet next year”