MATCHAKOL, Nengkhong Chibigiri
25.318700,90.622100
Description
The south-east facing entrance (1.5 m wide, 2.5 m high) emits an air current and leads to two, more or less horizontal and joint guided passages, interconnected and parallel to each other. The pair of seasonally active stream passages is decorated with dry, secondary calcite formations (speleothems) and lead to a collapse blocked with boulders. One of the collapse slopes was climbed up to a height of 15 m or 20 m above the accessible cave's base level. The entrance emits a considerable air flow (air current), which is thought to originate from the boulder collapses blocking the upper reaches of the accessible cave. These are suspected to connect to the surface above the cave. A shallow pool covering an area of four square metre was found at the base of the northern boulder collapse. ETYMOLOGY: Simplistically, the Garo "matcha" is often translated as »tiger« (Panthera tigris) but actually relates to various wild cats, civet cats and apparently similar animals, including "matcha pantao", the red panda (note 1). JOHNSON (1994a: »Page3« = 21) somehow confused the cave name of the Matchakol (Nengkhong Chibigiri) with that of the "Mountain Goat Cave" –>Matrongkol, the »Mathrongkol« mentioned by Hemason M. Sangma, Nengkhong village headman (1994.02.18 personal communication). SITUATION: At the head of a rocky, jungle-clad gully from which a sizeable stream must rise in the rainy season to join the Chibe (river) from the right (west). The south-east entrance (1.5 m wide, 2.5 m high) lies an estimated 5 m to 8 m above the western (orographically right) bank of the Chibe (note 2), and at a linear distance of 900 m east-south-east (256°) and downstream of the cave entrance to –>Tetengkol, Nengkhong. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1994: »The walking sized entrance was found [note 3] to be blowing a gale and was well decorated with dry calcite formations« and mentions to remember having penetrated a »passage for about 40 m to where it descended into what must be a sump in wet conditions. I went in for another 20 m in sandy passage …« (JOHNSON 1994a: »Page3« = 21). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1995: Looking through the meterialistic lense, »Matchakol, despite great promise, proved to be only some 200 metres long« (BROOKS 1995: 31; 1998b: 16). CAVE CLIMATE: On 23rd February 1994, »the walking sized entrance was found to be blowing a gale …« (JOHNSON 1994a: »Page3« = page 21). The entrance emitted during the day in February 1992 and December 1995 a considerable air flow (air current), which sports cavers love to interprete as indicating in each and every case to guarantee very easy to "survey" cave passages (solitary, linear single passage caves without lateral leads). More often than not, however, the subterranean airflow arrives from the nearby surface. In the case of the Matchakol (Nengkhong Chibigiri), for example, the »blowing gale« or air draught is powered during the hot hours of the day by the relatively cool (heavy) air inside the cave, which falls through the lower cave entrance and thereby sucks relatively warm (light) air via the two boulder collapses blocking the upper reaches of the accessible cave into the comparatively cool cave. CAVE LIFE: Crickets and an about 9 cm long, red coloured centipede. It seems unlikely that Garo "matcha" (wild cats) would move into such draughty living quarters and settle down for good.
NOTE 1: Concercing "match…" animals hunted in the Garo hills, M D MADHUSUDAN (*) lists gaur (matchu burung, mati, matching), sambar (matchok, matchok mesam), tiger (matcha nawang, matcha), common leopard (matcha peng, matcha chirua), clouded leopard (matcha chidual, matcha do.tok), marble cat (matcha apru, matcha bolga), leopard cat (matcha helguk, matcha helabak), binturong (matchibil), Himalayan palm civet (matchru, jonga), large Indian civet (matchuri gisim, matchru gipak), and red panda (matcha pantao).* MADHUSUDAN, M D (s.a. circa 2005): Wildlife distribution and hunting, South Garo Hills.- (ruffordsmallgrants.org: Rufford Small Grants Foundation), table 13; online: samrakshan.org (accessed 2008.07.09). NOTE 2: JOHNSON (1994a: »Page3« = 21) confused Matchakol, Chibe Valley, with –>Matrongkol (Goat Cave) but anyhow confirmed that »… the entrance is to be found some 8 m [mere guesswork] above the western bank of the river at the end of a rocky, jungle clad gully. By the look of this gully, a sizable stream must resurge [sic! for: exurge] in wet weather.« NOTE 3: The entrance was not so much »found« (JOHNSON 1994a: »Page3« = 21) than shown by Hemason M. Sangma, the Nengkhong village headman.
Documents
Bibliography 24/04/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1994.02.18: Hemason M. Sangma (Nengkhong village headman) tells the cave name »Matchakol« (Tiger Cave) to Simon J. Brooks and H. D. Gebauer. 1994.02.23: Guided by Hemason M. Sangma, it was Brian JOHNSON (1994a: »Page3« = 21) who reconnoitered the first 60 m: »The walking sized entrance was found to be blowing a gale and was well decorated with dry calcite formations. I followed the passage for about 40 m to where it descended into what must be a sump in wet conditions. I went in for another 20 m in sandy passage before deciding to postpone further exploration until I had more than a head torch.« 1995.12.09: H. Daniel Gebauer (book), Jennifer 'Jenni' or 'Jenny' A. Brooks (compass, clino), Brian D. Kharpran Daly (tape) and Surajit Roy from Tura mapped and explored (BROOKS 1996: 31; BROOKS, S J et al 1998: 18).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4 | PAROAKOL, Nengkhong Chibigiri | ||
| 0.7 | DOBHAKOL, Nengkhong Chibigiri | ||
| 0.9 | TETENGKOL, Nengkhong | ||
| 0.9 | MAKKREKOL, Nengkhong Chibigiri | ||
| 1.1 | MIHMANG CHIRING | ||
| 1.8 | AA CAVE (Harper 2008) no. 21 | ||
| 1.9 | DOBHAKOL, Nengkhong Jantagiri | ||
| 2.2 | ASAKOL | ||
| 2.6 | Dikkakol | 1915 | 67 |