SHNONG, Umsteiñ (Ngam)
25.154400,92.360600
Description
What appears to be a "Umstein Village Sink" is a collapse doline full of boulders, which contained in February 1997 up to four enterable squeezes into a cave passage (4 m by 2 m, 130°, -50°) descending to a boulder choke at an estimated distance of 20 m from the cave entrance. ETYMOLOGY: The Khasi verb "ngam" has been translated as to »sink, plunge, subside« (note 1). The verb "shnong" means »to sit, to settle« and the noun "ka shnong“ (abbreviated: nong) is the word for »a village, a town, a city« (SINGH, N 1906: 144, 197; SINGH, N 1920: 534; BLAH, E 2007: 311). Boycott & Jarratt (1997.02.26 personal communication) understood »Ganshnung« (sic! Ngam Shnong) and thought it would mean "Nearby Cave" (in Khasi: Krem [ba] poh). The Khasi "u steiñ" signifies the fibre obtained from the bark of Villebrunia integrifolia, »a tree« (SINGH, N 1906: 211) or »fibreous plant« (SINGH, N 1906: 182), which is used for making thread ('sái steiñ) and rope (note 2). SITUATION: An estimated 200 m in an unidentified direction from an unspecified point at Umstein (25°09'21”N: 92°21'49”E, Boycott, A 1997 February GPS), a village on the track from Lumshnong (N25°10'46”: E92°22'49”) down to Wahstein (25°09'05”N: 92°20'50”E, Boycott, A. 1997 February GPS).
NOTE 1: ngam (Khasi; verb, intransitive) to sink (OLDHAM, T 1854 / 1984 appendix C: lxv; SINGH, N 1906: 77; SINGH, N 1920: 475); to plunge (SINGH, N 1906: 77); subside (BLAH, E 2007: 293). NOTE 2; »In every Khasi house is to be found the net bag which is made out of pineapple fibre, or of u stein, the Assamese riha (Boehmeria nivea)« (GURDON, P R T 1906: 36).
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1997.02.26: Swit Sungoh, then a retired Umstein village headman, guided Antony 'Tony' Boycott, (scouting), Anthony 'Tony' R Jarratt (scouting), Estelle Sandford (scouting) and Kyrmen 'Hope' C Hiwot Passah (interpreting) into the cave, where they entered, explored and "surveyed" (sports caver standards) »some 20 m of passage« (Brooks, S J in: BROOKS, S J et al 1998: 29) to a degree yielding a "survey" (total sum of survey leg lengths) but no cave survey (cave plan).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 | WAHBAH SANG (Krem) | ||
| 1.2 | WAH URLA (Krem) | ||
| 1.2 | WAH STEIÑ (Jarratt 1997b) (Cave near) | ||
| 1.4 | UMRYMPHEW (Krem) | ||
| 1.4 | WAH LARENG (Müller 1999) (Krem) | ||
| 1.5 | WAH STEIÑ (Jarratt 1997a) (Cave near) | ||
| 1.5 | WAH LARENG (Brooks 1997) (Umpohliew) | ||
| 2.0 | CHILLI CAVE, Lumshnong | ||
| 2.1 | VALLEY HEAD CAVE |