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| Sunday, 2 October 2005 |
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The Garo oath - Part II by Arefa Tehsin Mood of the assemblage changed fiercely. To commit such a crime and then
lie about it with a false oath was beyond comprehension of those
They demanded Pembu to be stoned to death. However, the headman intervened and had him arrested. He was to be sent to Tura, the headquarters of the district, to be tried. Pieces of the puzzle A shattered Pembu with his hands tied tightly at the back and along with a team of his fellow villagers including an exultant Kishto started for Tura. Perilous the forest may be for us, but for these children of nature, it was the kind, the merciful and the provider. On they treaded away from their little hamlet into the wilderness, towards the urban. However, one amongst them was always on his nerves' end. This terrified man would jump on the rustle of leaves and even climbed a tree when a herd of elephants crossed their path. Jeered by his mates, he attracted the attention of Pembu as well who recognised him as the one who had sworn against him falsely the sacred oath. All of a sudden everything became as clear as a cloudless summer sky. He was a friend of Kishto, who had avowed to avenge himself. The pieces of the puzzle to Pembu fell in complete synchrony. But it was too late for him to do anything. Though he believed their 'white-masters' in Taru would be fair but such false proofs of the crime had left no breathing space for justice. Night fell softly and the tired group halted to rest their bones. A fire was lighted, some food cooked, the prisoner tied to a tree, one of the men kept on guard and the party then drifted deep in slumber on the bare ground. All but the fearful wretch did not sleep on the ground but on an elevated mould. The one kept on guard also soon fell fast asleep. Though the physical and mental pain was great with the accused, he too fell asleep after sometime, tied to the tree. The first rays of dawn had hardly penetrated the thick forest canopy when the group got a rude wakeup call. They woke up startled hearing a succession of trumpet like sounds. Before the last note ceased there surfaced from the woods a large elephant with its ears pricked and trunk lifted. It paused for a moment trying to locate the scent and then rushed towards the group with a maddening cry. The group had anticipated this and took the shelter of trees in a jiffy. Only Pembu and the man "a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch" on the mould remained. Not so clearly visible in that vague light of dawn, the accused tied to the tree did not draw its attention. But an object seated on a high mould was not exactly ambiguous. The elephant ran towards him, lifted him in his trunk, tore his body leg to leg, crushed it under its feet and satisfied with his work, retreated. The men then slowly came down the trees and saw before them a muddle of flesh, blood, mud, grass and bones. The escape The sight inspired indescribable horror and repulsion beyond belief. They then looked at Pembu tied to the tree standing without a scratch. They wondered why the murderer and violator of the sacred oath was spared. This episode however markedly changed Kishto. Now it was he who was dead scared but the companions attributed this to the sudden demise of his friend. They reached Tura and Pembu was produced before the magistrate, who was the friend of the author. In the proceedings Kishto was asked to narrate his case. Not agreeing to swear the Garo oath, he went on narrating unflinchingly till the incident in the forest clearing when he halted, looked at Pembu and failed to proceed. He then suddenly fell into the magistrate's feet and begged for forgiveness for his hideous crime. He went on to narrate the abominable ploy of him and his accomplice, how they had murdered the old usurer and hid the knife and anklets in Pembu's cottage. After that he repeated the age-old Garo oath, once ridiculed by him. Kishto was hanged to death for his crime, Pembu returned to the village and wed his beloved and the Garo oath was held more sacred than ever in those divine and mystical Garo valleys and mountains. |
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simple-hearted people not too conversant with lies and crimes, which are
more or less accepted parts of life in our enlightened societies. 
