MUSMARI (Krem)
25.208300,92.355600
Description
A 20 m wide and 9 m high cave entrance faces east and give access to about 525 m of inlets on the orographically right (locally north-western) side of the Collaboration Canyon in Synrang –>Pamiang. ETYMOLOGY: The origin, history and meaning of apparently Khasi but possibly fictitious cave name »Krem Musmari« has not yet been discovered. It seems to refer to a "mu" or rock (note 1) which keeps (note 2) a bad smell (note 3). CAVE LIFE: Fischer, Christian W (2001 February 09 Mss, personal correspondence) noticed on 15th February 1999 the subterranean presence of harvestmen: Laniatores indet (one collected, in coll. Schwedinger, Geneve, Switzerland); crabs: Telaphusa indet; and woodlice: cf. Oniscidae indet. (one specimen collected, in coll. Spelda, Stuttgart, Germany).
NOTE 1: u mu (SINGH, N 1906: 132), u mo (SINGH, N 1906: 132), u moo (MOHRMEN, H H 2012.07.30) are Synteng Khasi (Pnar) variants of the standard Khasi u maw (SINGH, N 1906: 130; GURDON, P R T 1906: 201; SINGH, N 1920: 498; BLAH, E 2007: 288) or "u mau" (YULE, H 1844: 619; OLDHAM, T 1859 appendix C: lxi) a stone (noun). NOTE 2: ri (Khasi; verb) to keep, take care of (SINGH, N 1906: 172); entertain, keep, maintain, nourish, preserve, tame (SINGH, N 1920: 155, 279, 304, 342, 398, 518); keep (BLAH, E 2007: 160).ka ri (Khasi; noun, masculine) a country, province (SINGH, N 1906: 172); commonwealth, country, district, earth, kingdom, land, piety, region (SINGH, N 1920: 80, 98, 134, 143, 280, 283, 379, 429); district, land, region (BLAH, E 2007: 82, 163, 250); chieftainship (MOHRMEN, H H 2012.06.12: Gambling through archery.- The Shillong Times, 12th June 2012). u ri (Khasi; noun, feminine) a kidney bean, asparagus (SINGH, N 1906: 172); bean (SINGH, N 1920: 39). u 'ri (Khasi; noun), an abbreviation of ”u thri”, a cane, a bamboo tie (SINGH, N 1906: 172). NOTE 3: sma (Khasi; verb) to smell (SINGH, N 1906: 205; SINGH, N 1920: 480); to have a bad smell (SINGH, N 1906: 205); (iw-) sma (Khasi; verb) to have a slight rotten smell (SINGH, N 1906: 95).(Anonymous [Arbenz, Thomas] 2015.05.22 Mss Um Im 5.doc)
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1999.02.12: Richard Frank, Tom Chapman and Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler surveyed, mapped and explored in the course of an overnight trip the Swabian Inlet (282 m) upstream and connected Krem Musmari to Synrang Pamiang. 1999.02.15: Richard Frank, Christian Wilhelm Fischer and Thilo Müller surveyed, mapped and explored side passages of the Swabian Inlet, including Bluff (26.25 m), Narrow Inlet (50.85 m), Another Swabian Inlet (146.6 m), and the Streamway at the end (17.6 m).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | LABIT, Chiehruphi (Krem) | ||
| 1.0 | PAMIANG (Synrang) | ||
| 1.1 | PDIENG SA LAH (Krem) | ||
| 1.2 | SHANTY SHAFT (aa -) | ||
| 1.3 | Coffee Cave, Thangskai, 1st (aa -) | ||
| 1.3 | UMDA 2 (Krem) | ||
| 1.4 | UMTYRA (Krem) | ||
| 1.4 | Coffee Cave, Thangskai, 2nd (aa -) | ||
| 1.4 | UMTYRA, 2nd (Krem) |