4. Ki Symboh Ksiar – Grains of Gold

The opening lines of Ki Sngi Barim U Hynñiew Trep explain why Soso Tham decided to compose his magnum opus. Saddened by the fact that his people continued to look elsewhere for inspiration while failing to appreciate the cultural wealth into which they are born, he set out to reclaim and record the past – ki sngi barim – that survives in myth. He tells of a time now lost to us when the Khasi and Pnar people who call themselves U Hynñiew Trep, came to be here on earth. This is the ‘Once upon a time’ section of that story referring to legends and tales told and shared, of a common heritage of the imagination that has held a people together.