SIELKAN HMAR POUK

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A relatively small entrance (note 1) with an unidentified shape faces northeast, is about 2 m wide and half a metre high, and gives access to what was done away with as a comparatively small limestone cave which featured a flow of water (in the dry season on 17th February of 2005 an estimated 0.5 ltr/sec) at a certain the end shaft (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). Actually small, however, is knowledge of the cave because only the first few metres of the entrance area had been -surveyed- in the sense -sized up-.(note 2) ETYMOLOGY: The origin, history and meaning of the strange cave name Sielkan Hmar Pouk (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss) has always been beyond the comprehension power of expedition cavers. It is possibly the result of confusing the Mizo words -Hmar- (note 3) and -hnar- (note 4). Later on, it was Thomas Arbenz, who cared to create all on his own the even stranger cave name Silken Hmar Pouk (Arbenz T undated 2005.09.19 silkan hmar pouk.pdf).SITUATION: The cave enrance of the Sielkan Hmar Pouk lies at an unspecified distance of 400 m (perhaps along a winding route, possibly in a direct line) in an unspecified direction from the shifting Khasi village of Sakwa (note 5), which once (February 2005) stood about a kilometre (or so) approximately north of Sielkan (Jantschke, H 2005.02.11 Mss: Fahrtenbericht Meghalaya 2005, v. 2005.04.17).APPROACH: Enter a forest without path on what once had been for a very short time Georg Bäumler's left (south) on a way from Muallian (25°11'49.4”N: 92°29'26.9”E: 794 m) eastwards and some 500 m (or so) short of Sielkan (±250 m 25°11'47”N: 92°27'12”E). Scramble through thickets of greenery and invoke guardian angels, propitiate forest demons and search for a more or less little doline (unidentified shape, unspecified dimensions) which was an estimated 150 m on foot from the path (after Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). CAVE DESCRIPTION: A comparatively small entrance [without size, facing nort-east] to a boulder room (10 x 7 m) with large spiders. A crawl leads to a little shaft 3 m deep. At the bottom, two narrow passages can be followed for about 10 m (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). The sketch in the survey book of Georg Bäumler, G (2005.02.17) shows a north-east facing cave entrance (perhaps an insurgence draining a stream with an unidentified name) to a solitary cave passage, initially with what looks like a high level terrace, that gives after 38 m access to what was understood to represent a -crawl- beyond the limits of unbending cave spotters.PROSPECTS: One tributary cave passage (about 10 m north-west) was explored up to a chamber (approximately 4 m or 5 m in diameter, height unknown). Another tributary cave passage, opposite south-east across from the first one, was not pushed and remains unexplored. CAVE LIFE: Bäumler, G (2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk) had noticed the presence of relatively large spiders of unknown size (note 6), perhaps Sparasidae: conf. Heteropoda (Arachnidae: Aranea).-east] to a boulder room (10 x 7 m) with large spiders. A crawl leads to a little shaft 3 m deep. At the bottom, two narrow passages can be followed for about 10 m (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). The sketch in the survey book of Georg Bäumler, G (2005.02.17) shows a north-east facing cave entrance (perhaps an insurgence draining a stream with an unidentified name) to a solitary cave passage, initially with what looks like a high level terrace, that gives after 38 m access to what was understood to represent a -crawl- beyond the limits of unbending cave spotters.PROSPECTS: One tributary cave passage (about 10 m north-west) was explored up to a chamber (approximately 4 m or 5 m in diameter, height unknown). Another tributary cave passage, opposite south-east across from the first one, was not pushed and remains unexplored. CAVE LIFE: Bäumler, G (2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk) had noticed the presence of relatively large spiders of unknown size (note 6), perhaps Spara-east] to a boulder room (10 x 7 m) with large spiders. A crawl leads to a little shaft 3 m deep. At the bottom, two narrow passages can be followed for about 10 m (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). The sketch in the survey book of Georg Bäumler, G (2005.02.17) shows a north-east facing cave entrance (perhaps an insurgence draining a stream with an unidentified name) to a solitary cave passage, initially with what looks like a high level terrace, that gives after 38 m access to what was understood to represent a -crawl- beyond the limits of unbending cave spotters.PROSPECTS: One tributary cave passage (about 10 m north-west) was explored up to a chamber (approximately 4 m or 5 m in diameter, height unknown). Another tributary cave passage, opposite south-east across from the first one, was not pushed and remains unexplored. CAVE LIFE: Bäumler, G (2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk) had noticed the presence of relatively large spiders of unknown size (note 6), perhaps Spara-east] to a boulder room (10 x 7 m) with large spiders. A crawl leads to a little shaft 3 m deep. At the bottom, two narrow passages can be followed for about 10 m (Bäumler, G 2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk). The sketch in the survey book of Georg Bäumler, G (2005.02.17) shows a north-east facing cave entrance (perhaps an insurgence draining a stream with an unidentified name) to a solitary cave passage, initially with what looks like a high level terrace, that gives after 38 m access to what was understood to represent a -crawl- beyond the limits of unbending cave spotters.PROSPECTS: One tributary cave passage (about 10 m north-west) was explored up to a chamber (approximately 4 m or 5 m in diameter, height unknown). Another tributary cave passage, opposite south-east across from the first one, was not pushed and remains unexplored. CAVE LIFE: Bäumler, G (2005.02.17 Mss: Sielkan Hmar Pouk) had noticed the presence of relatively large spiders of unknown size (note 6), perhaps Sparasidae: conf. Heteropoda (Arachnidae: Aranea).