Nature's Timeless Abode

With a rich natural and cultural heritage, Meghalaya's Mawphlang sacred grove never ceases to surprise visitors.

- Rhinusmita Kakoty Lahkar

One can clearly hear the symphony of nature here. Hundreds of tiny honeybees buzz through trees, while crickets stridulate a constant tune that becomes one with bushes. Then there are ladybirds gulping down bright red berries and a bat hiding in a tree hollow, away from the bright sunlight that manages to pour through leaves. Combine this with old monoliths covered with moss, and you can be forgiven for thinking that you are in a fairyland—a land where time has stood still.

This is Mawphlang sacred grove, which literally means moss-covered stone. Spanning 77 hectares (ha) at Mawphlang village in the East Khasi Hills, it is one of the largest ancient woods in Meghalaya. One comes upon it suddenly. First, all you can see is a verdant background to a grassy flat meadow. And then, without realising, you find yourself surrounded by trees and gasping in delight! These are no ordinary woods. According to local Khasi beliefs, it is the abode of their deity, Labasa, and departed souls. Labasa protects the clan and the hima (kingdom) from all harm. In fact, they have a saying that: “There can be no hima without a sacred forest and no sacred forest without a hima”.

Several other taboos are also associated with the grove but my guide Sun Lyndoh asks me to keep in mind two important rules: one, do not take anything away from it, not even a leaf; and two, do not leave anything behind. Even spitting and peeing is inauspicious inside the grove. It’s recommended to visit the toilets built just outside the forest before the tour.