KUT SUTIANG (Mulda Rupon 2001)
25.329300,92.530100
Description
The elusive, secreted away and possibly even sort of sacred "cave" called Kut Sutiang (note 1) or Kut Machar (note 2), Sutiang Fort (note 3) and even Kut Sutling (GOGOI 1998) is probably not a cave in the speleologically sense of the word but a legendary hide-out or »stronghold« (SINGH, N 1920: 501) represented by a difficult terrain (note 4), which, for the sake of turning myth into reality, got fixed in the real world when it was identified with a cluster of dry, relic (abandoned) rift passages, which contain some unspecified calcite deposits (speleothems). The "cave" has been suspected to have been used as a seasonal hide-out (note 5) and is famous for it's association with the Jaintia people's struggle for independence (note 6). SITUATION: It needs a knowledgeable guide to find the cave entrances which were shown in the springs of 2001 and 2003 by important autochthonous persons to the current explorers. The rift entrances lie in a remote area halfway up the eastern slope of the Shnongrim Ridge (note 7) near a spot (note 8), according to GPS-readings, approximately 1.7 km in a direct line on bearing 153° (south-south-east) from the village of Shnongrim (note 9). APPROACH: JARRATT (2003) narrates how »a lengthy downhill walk from the village saw us hacking through thick and steep jungle to reach the entrance, situated on top of a limestone outlier in the valley bottom.« CAVE DESCRIPTION 2001: The cave shown in February 2001 as Kut Sutiang consists of three interconnected rift entrances (about a metre wide and 5 m deep) which descend down into a solitary subterranean chamber with apparent pottery, hearths interpreted as signs of former human habitation (mostly after Jarratt 2001.03.15 personal correspondence). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2003a: The single chamber cave »Krem Kut Sutiang« was taken as a »fossil tunnel cave« (note 10) but this is difficult to proof as insofar as perfectly no trace at all indicates a pair of communicating entrances opposite across each other. »Carlyn Phyrngap reports [March 2003] that this is not the "real" cave which is almost impossible to find and has a small entrance covered with a stone slap« (Jarratt (2003.03.13 Mss: Krem Kut Sutiang). JARRATT (2003) noticed how »a very pleasant 109 m section of fossil tunnel was surveyed, photographed, sketched and videoed to death while the locals sat biri-smoking and bemused on a large stalagmite boss [keyword: speleothem]. This was reputed to be the old King's seat, but they didn't worry too much about using it for an ashtray! The only evidence left in the cave of these troubled times was broken pottery and possible hearth sites.« CAVE DESCRIPTION 2003b: Thomas Matthalm (2003.11.09 personal communication) observed a smooth, level (or levelled?) cave floor. CAVE POTENTIAL: »Cave finish!« (Jarratt 2003.03.13 Mss: Krem Kut Sutiang). See below: Exploration history 2003.03.03. CULTURAL HISTORY: Jarratt (2003.03.13 Mss: Krem Kut Sutiang) mentions unspecified and undescribed »pottery shards found & photographed« in addition to what was understood to represent unspecified and undescribed »evidence of hearths.« CAVE LEGEND: »A large white stalagmite boss in the cave is the reputed seat of the Jaintia King (Syiem) U Kiang Nongbah [note 11]. The locals believe that the British cut off his head and took it to England« (Jarratt 2003.03.13 Mss: Krem Kut Sutiang). UNCHECKED PRINTED SOURCE: BARPUJARI, H K (1976 edited 1978): Problems of the Hill Tribes of [the?] North-East Frontier, volume 2: 1843 - 1872.- (Gauhati).
NOTE 1: Out of the many hundreds of known caves in the Khasi / Synteng speaker's region, Kut Sutiang is one of the two which is not considered »Krem« (cave) or »synrang« (cave, hideout, refuge, rock shelter) but »kot« (in Khasi) or »kut« (in Synteng), which is a strange expression and generally translated along the lines of the Farsi (Persian) »kot« (fort, fortress, stronghold). This explanation is suspected to echo a popular etymology based on imported knowledge. »Sutiang« (today: Sutnga) is the town that once was the summer capital of the Jaintia Kingdom. OLDHAM, T (1854 / 1984: 23 note) came across a Jaintia defence at a certain village of »Molih« (not identified, perhaps Mawlieh, Moolieh, Muhlieh) on the way from »Joowye« or »Joowai« (Jowai) »down the ridge of Molih, Nonkradem [Nongkradem, the principal town of »Singh Manick« (Manick Syiem, S'iem, Siem), then the »Kyrim Rajah« or Khyrim Raja], and Kunng-diah, to Lacat [Lakhat Bazar] … From large slabs of the thin-bedded sandstones of the neighbourhood, the defences of Moolih are built. These slabs are placed edge on edge and side by side, and form a wall some six feet [1.8 m] high. Through this the entrance to the village is by a well-constructed and covered gateway. The whole forms a defence … which would have afforded a great protection against the arrows of any hostile clan.« NOTE 2: The alternative name »Kut Machar« (Fortress of Machar), which was mentioned by Kyrmen 'Hope' C Hiwot Passah (November 1995 personal communication), is reminiscent of Mancha-Amma (Mancha-Mata), the ancient "Indian" tribal snake goddess responsible for "fertility" (prosperity, welfare): »The goddess is variously called Nagamata, Mancha-Amma and Mancha-Mata. It is argued that the correct form of the deity's name is Mancha, which tends to be phonetically rendered as Manasa; hence the orthographic form is changed to Mansa-Amma or Mansa-Mata. The southern Mansa Mata became Mansa or Manasa in Bengal« (JAIN 2004: 340). NOTE 3: The richly illustrated and generally useless coffee-table book edited by BAZELY, P J (1992: 84) places Kut Sutiang quite correctly at an incompetent location somewhere »on a hill between Tongseng and Shnongrim villages« in the Nongkhlieh elaka and hastens to prove that the author never had seen Kut Sutiang as he makes out non-existing »ruins of an old stone fort« and decides to consist of »a large number of well barricaded stone-caves.« More than a decade later, the official government website jaintia.nic.in/PlaceInt.htm (accessed 2005.10.27) repeats Bazely's nonsense almost literally: »Located on a hill in between Tongseng and Shnongrim villages within Nongkhlieh Elaka of Jaintia Hills District, lies the ruins of an old stone fort or barricade, locally known as Sutiang Fort. […] The fort which consists of a large number of stone caves is well barricaded.« NOTE 4: This so-called "cave" might be an allegory for a hide-out or a kind of stronghold in a difficult but strategically favourable terrain. For outsiders, a defended labyrinth of jungle-clad grykes and clints by itself is dangerous to negotiate and tiring to conquer but comparatively easy to defend by those familiar with it. Of course, it would be nice to have a true, subterranean cave in such a terrain -- in case the site is sufficiently lit by daylight and complete with a multiple choice of entrances and exits. Another prerequisite would be a reliable source of water. Hutton, J H (1925.10.09 - 1925.10.15 Mss: Naga Hills Tour Diary.- online: lemurconsulting.com/bamdemo/db/naga (accessed 2005.10.27) ran into stunningly similar identification problems when attempting to visit the so-called »Laitlyngkot caves« (see: Krem –>Mannick, Laitkroh), which are likewise associated with the Khasi's freedom struggle: »… all that the Chaukidar could show me was as long valley full of crannies and holes among the enormous piles of boulders with which it is strewn. In the war with the British the Khasis took refuge there and one British officer was killed by an arrow in the face. To find the real caves (if there) would take far too long to be done in an afternoon.« NOTE 5: »The hill where Kut Sutiang is supposed to be is not far above the Litien [Litang, Leteiñ] valley water table so perhaps the locals could get down to the water level via fissures or caves -- as in the grotty caves further down valley at the foot of the Nongkhlieh Ridge. Or they only hid in the monsoon!« (Jarratt, A R 2001.11.15 personal correspondence). NOTE 6: In 1862-63 followers of U Kiang Nongbah (the "rajah" or king of the Syntengs) used Kut Sutiang as a hideout. In 1860 a house tax was imposed in the Jaintia Hills and the Synteng people rose in open rebellion which was stamped out within four months. Scarcely, however, had the agitation subsided when an income tax was introduced. The total amount assessed was only Rupees 1,259 but this was enough to irritate people who had never been accustomed to pay anything but the lightest tribute to their own princes. In January 1862 a revolt began, and, though apparently crushed in four months, it broke out again, and it was not till November 1863 that the last of the leaders surrendered to the extent of the British resources (MCKENZIE 1884: 241-242; IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, XV: 256; BAREH 1967: 111-233). On these occasions, »the Jaintias resorted to archery… [and] used indigenous matchlocks, artillery and firelocks at places such as Nongkhlieh, Shangpung, etc. Archers lodged themselves inside the almost invisible and impregnable caves…The famous siege of a Sutiang fort at Nongkhlieh is still remembered, where the Government regiment operated from a valley against a stockade on the opposite Sutiang ravines where the Pnar warriors were lodged. It was an elephantry which was engaged advancing from Jaintiapur [25°08'45”N: 92°07'30”E] via Sutnga. The Pnar camp was composed of volunteers from Shangpung, Rymbai, Nongkhlieh, Sutnga and the neighbouring Dalois [doloi, dolloi]. The Pnars withheld the siege at the stretch of more than six months… The battle had its incursion as far as Lum Iakor Singh, inhabited by a small Biate tribe. The Pnars shot their arrows … [but the Government] soldiers could not trace the direction from where the arrows came and were confounded. The soldiers at length found the way, with the help of one cloth merchant from Rymbai who pointed out their hideout on being paid a large amount of money. The soldiers reached the stockade and traced the arrows to a cane-brake… U Manik, Daloi of Sutnga, who was working with his bow and arrow, was hit and brought down from over the clumps of a canebrake. U Ksan, Daloi of Nongkhlieh, escaped« (BAREH, H 1967 / 1985, 1997: 172). NOTE 7: The Khasi historian BAREH, H (1967 / 1985, 1997) places the Sutiang fort »at Nongkhlieh [not the village but the "doloi-ship" which is nowadays the Nongkhlieh elaka", an administrative subdivision], … where the Government regiment operated from a valley [the Litang of the maps] against a stockade on the opposite Sutiang ravines.« Ka Miniren Bamon of Tongseng village (personal communication, 1998.03.05) agree with placing Kut Sutiang "near Tongseng" on the Shnongrim Ridge. NOTE 8: The location of Kut Sutiang (Mulda Rupon 2001) was initially GPS positioned at 25°19'45.4”N: 92°31'48.4”E (±5.1 m, WGS84, Gebauer 2001.02.21, GPS Garmin 12) and later at at spot 17.9 m in a direct line further east-southeast near 25°19'45.2”N: 92°31'49.0”E: 945 m (unidentified precision error, WGS84, Neumann 2003.02.21, GPS Garmin Vista). NOTE 9: Shnongrim village, central road junction near 25°21'08”N: 92°31'04”E (Arbenz, T 2006.04.20 map: Shnongrim Ridge): 1140 m asl (GPS). NOTE 10: The absurd »fossil tunnel cave« (Jarratt, A R 2003.03.13 Mss) means a solitary, relic cave passage without tributary or lateral cave passages. A tunnel cave is characterised by a pair of communicating entrances, one each on its opposite ends, which drains water from an insurgence (sinkhole) to a resurgence (spring). In German “Schlauchhöhle” (BORNHARDT, in: MAYER, Ambros 1910, 1911d), in French “grotte du tunnel” and in US American English "natural tunnel": »A nearly horizontal cave, open at both ends, generally fairly straight in direction and fairly uniform in cross section« (MONROE, W H 1970 / 1972: 13). A fossil cave is an underground cavity that formed when a carbonate succession was undergoing karstification but subsequently was buried and infilled by neptunian deposits: Younger sediment or sedimentary rock that infills pre-existing cavities, such as grikes, dolines or cave passages, in older rocks (LOWE & WALTHAM 1995: 25). A relic cave is an abandoned, inactive cave segment, left when the water that formed it is diverted elsewhere, normally due to rejuvenation, continuing cave development and increasing karstic maturity. Relic phreatic passage segments are abandoned in the vadose zone, where they may remain dry, retaining a typical phreatic morphology, or be invaded and modified to a keyhole profile by new streams (LOWE & WALTHAM 1995: 30). NOTE 11: »The British captured Kiang Nangbah on the December 27, 1862. He was hanged to death in Jowai in the Ïawmusiang market on December 30, 1862« (MOHRMEN, H H 2012.10.15).
Documents
Bibliography 05/04/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1862: U Kiang Nangbah, »rajah [king]« of the Synteng, hid in Kut Sutiang and the »cave« was stormed (MEGHALAYA 1992: 84). 1998.02.04: The Jaintia Adventurers' Association hoped »… to explore the historical Kut-Sutling [sic!] cave located near the Shnongrim village« (GOGOI 1998). 1998.03.05: Bamon Miniran reported the cave name to B. D. Kharpran Daly and H. D. Gebauer. 2000.02.16: Mulda Rupon (Shnongrim Village Headman) denied access due to "booking" of area by the Jaintia Adventurers' Association. Caving politics had hit Meghalaya (Anthony 'Tony' R Jarratt 2000.03.15 personal correspondence). 2001.02.21: Mulda Rupon, the Shnongrim village headman, and two local "forest workers" (including Raplang Shangpliang) guided Brian D. Kharpran Daly, H. D. Gebauer, Anthony 'Tony' R Jarratt, Neil Sootinck, Betty "Betsy" Chhakchhuak and others to three rift entrances in the jungle, assuming these to be the legendary Kut Sutiang: »Further investigation should be carried out here as none of the party [visiting this site], including the guides, thought they were at the correct location (Jarratt, A.R. 2001.10.15 personal correspondence).« 2003.02.21: Thomas Matthalm, Peter Ludwig & Michael Laumanns mapped 108.7 m (grade 5b ground plan and longitudinal section), guided —after three years of attempted visits— by Mulda Rupon (Shnongrim Village Headman), Horbis Patlong, Raplang Shangpliang & Pa He 'Respected Father' Shor Pajuh, and assisted by Andreas Neumann, Shelley A. Diengdoh, Rhys Williams, Peter Ludwig, Robin F. Sheen & Fraser E. Simpson —the Jaintia Adventurers' Association had expired.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4 | KHIM KUT SUTIANG (Krem) | ||
| 0.7 | DONG UM SNOR (Krem) | ||
| 1.1 | TICHA (Krem) | ||
| 1.1 | WAH RALO 2 | ||
| 1.3 | TICHA 2 (Krem) | ||
| 1.4 | WAH RALO, 1st | ||
| 1.5 | PASTOR 2 | ||
| 1.5 | AA CAVE D (Brown 2002), 3rd | ||
| 1.5 | PASTOR 3 |