Kongthong village in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya has been in the limelight over the past one week following claims of development made by BJP MP Rakesh Singha, who in 2019 had adopted this village.
Besides the claimed development, Kongthong village in Meghalaya is also making the headlines now for being, what many in the state claim to be, ‘wrongly’ named as “whistling village”.
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There is one unique traditional practice among the people of Kongthong and other nearby villages under Khatar Shnong in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
This unique practice is that – every time a child in born in this village – the mother of the child, name the new born by singing a melodious tune – popularly known as “Mother’s Tune” or Jingrwai Ïawbei in Khasi language.
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However, over the past few years, a section of the society has alleged that the people of Kongthong village have been allegedly influenced by BJP MP Rakesh Sinha, who “wrongly renamed” Kongthong as “whistling village”.
Many termed it ‘unacceptable’ that the uniqueness of Kongthong and other nearby villages have been “wrongly projected” by the BJP MP, who adopted the village in 2019.
Some even said that MP Rakesh Sinha spoke in the Parliament about the rich culture of Kongthong village and ‘sadly’, he ‘wrongly’ named Kongthong as “whistling village”.
According to experts, Kongthong is “not all whistling village” unlike Kuskoy village in Turkey.
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Kuskoy village in Turkey is famous for its 400-year-old whistled language, also known as bird language.
The people of the mountain village of Kuskoy in Turkey, whistle as a way to communicate with each other.
Their technique is such that they could whistle in the form of Turkish words and phrases.
However, at Kongthong village in Meghalaya, the “Mother’s Tune” is only used by mothers to name their new-born child.
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Although many in Meghalaya have claimed that Kongthong village has been wrongly named as “whistling village”, elders and residents of the village itself have never raised any objection to it.
However, many have urged the people of Konthong village to take steps to correct the ‘wrong’ naming (Whistling Village) of the village by BJP MP Rakesh Sinha.
BJP MP Rakesh Sinha is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha in Parliament.
Northeast Now tried to contact BJP MP Rakesh Sinha for his comments on the matter, but he could not be reached.