07/10/2018
Rangjyrteh is one of the oldest village in khasi and Jaintia Hills. No one knows when this village come into being. It is the southern part of Khasi Hills to the edge of the hilly region at the top of the great ridges and slopes of Ka Riwar. There is a stretch of wall extending from the north to the west of the village which was probably built by the villagers. This wall sorrounded the village. Outside the wall, to the west there are hillocks standing on the top of which one can feel the pleasant breezes of autumn and enjoy the beautiful slight slopes gorges and desire of Riwar and the lovely and breathe taking watery plains of Bangladesh. On the eastern side, the village was surrounded by the cliff gorges and ravines of the river Dainthlen. The inlet (or outlet from) from this side is only a small rocky passage known as Ka Khyrdop Rangjyrteh (the gateway of Rangjyrteh). To the south of the village, there stand those terrible looking steep ridges of Riwar. So it was very difficult for the enemy to attack this village. It's topography contributed immensely to it's security. On the edges and sites of the village there are number of erected monoliths and beautifully carved as resting place. There are also places from cremation called Mawshyieng where bones of the death belonging to separate and clans are kept. Bones were kept inside earthen pots which were placed around the carved stone. Inside the village, there are still traces of wall foundations, stone sailings : there are huge stones carved in the shape of mangers and heaps formed from the waste product of iron: there are also traces of cylinder shaped structure made out of clay, crude and tough. Besides, there are also stones of bigger sizes where small holes (of around twenty numbers), were carved nicely on top of these stones. These are known as MAWKORKATIA where the children used to play with peebles. Moreover, as a heritage site, one can find the growing of few types of flower such as mini giant cactus and lily which are hardly found in this region. According to oral tradition, Rangjyrteh was a place where people lived mainly by the trade of iron smelting. The transaction of the product was between the villagers and the people of Sylhet (now in Bangladesh) and the iron had to go through Mawmluh, a village at south east of Rangjyrteh. Traces of different structures carved out of stones or made of clay as mentioned above, proved the authenticity of the story.
Because of many internecine conflicts and battles and also unfavourable economic conditions, later, Rangjyrteh slowly started to be depopulated. To the south again of Rangjyrteh, there is a cliff stretching for a few miles. According to oral accounts, there was a great warrior named Narain of Rangjyrteh. Once he was chased by a band of enemy of warriors but he safely skid himself down from the cliff to Riwar by using only his shield. Rangjyrteh was located at a distance of only 200 meter away to the south of Laitduh, a village that exists till today and 1 Km to the west of Dainthlen.
Besides there is another interesting story connected with the place of Rangjyrteh. It is a story that is closely interwoven into the occupation and work experiences of the people of Rangjyrteh. On the south fringes of the village, there is a source of waterfall that cascade really beautiful along the cliff and falls many feet down to join the small river that flow through the the Riwar area. The name of this fall is Nohkalikai fall. According to oral tradition, the name of this waterfall is derived from the woman who killed herself by casting down from the edge of the cliff towards the fall. The legend associated with this fall goes that in the olden days in the village of Rangjyrteh, there was a woman named ka Likai. She was a poor woman who had a husband,. When she had given birth to a girl child, her husband died. While her child was yet a baby, she experienced much trouble in taking care of her because of poverty. After few years , she married to another man, but her new husband did not love the child and most of the time he got angry as she could not take care of him more because of her daughter. One day when she went to carry iron ore, her cruel husband took the girl and killed her. He then chopped the body into pieces and prepared a curry for the mother to eat after returning from her work. When he had finished doing so, he threw all the leftovers far away but he forgot to throw away the fingers which he had kept in a betel nut basket. When ka Likai returned home from her journey, she found that nobody was at home and she thought that both of them went to their neighbour's house. Because she was so hungry, she rushed to have food first and decided to find her daughter when she finished. While eating she found the curry very tasty and she thought that her husband had got the pork from someone who had performed a sacrifice. When she had finished eating, she took up the betel nut basket (Ka shang kwai) but surprisingly found that fingers of her daughter in the basket. She suddenly shrieked and threw herself down and then ran madly to the precipice and cast herself down to it. The villagers who had witnessed at that time were wondered but no one dared to prevent her as she held a dao in her hand,. It was from that time the waterfall was called the Fall of ka Likai. The Khasi name of this fall is ka kshaid Nohkalikai which carry the meaning of the waterfall where ka Likai jumped over the fall.
