Mawphlang – the Fangorn of Shillong
Mawphlang is an amazing place around 25 km from Shillong. This is a forest that stands out from the surrounding area and the grasslands. The name Mawphlang means stones with moss. It is also called the Sacred Forest by the local Khasi people.
In this entire region the tribes follow the tradition of having a Sacred forest.Almost every tribe or kingdom has its own preserved and protected sacred forest. Mawphlang is perhaps the most famous of these.
Before visiting Mawphlang I read about the forest, about the unique scenery inside it, the flora and fauna. I had no doubt that this would be a paradise for photography.
I am a big-time fan of the monumental work “The Lord of the Rings” by Tolkien.
As I stood on the grass cover leading straight to the forest, a single word came to my mind – Fangorn! I was standing right in front of Fangorn. In the next three hours as I trekked the forest, every single moment I lived in the Fangorn and various other paths of LOTR. As the scenery changed and the slopes changed, my experiences changed from Aragorn to Legolas and back!
I had a schoolboy accompanying me as my guide. He told me a very long story about these monoliths. Unfortunately, I could not understand half of it and the remaining half was names which I do not recollect! But what I did remember was complete and true faith that the boy had about the stories he narrated.
As I walked along, I came across interesting arrangements of monolithic rocks. Of course, covered with moss. These were, I was told, the discussion places for the wise before carrying out sacrifices to the God. Then, I saw a large vertical monolith that appeared yellowish in colour as the sun was behind it. This was the main place of sacrifice. In old days, the boy told me, the sacrifice used to be of a bull or cattle. In recent times though it has changed to sacrificing a rooster in most cases.
An interesting thing about the sacrifice was, even the meat of the animal could not be brought out of the woods. The priest and the wise had to finish it or leave it there. As the saying goes, if the deity was pleased, it would appear as a leopard and if angry, it would come out as a snake!
The magical walk through Mawphlang was an endless experience of nature’s beauty at its best.
The clearwater streams, the moss laden rocks, barks of old trees – every element adding to the thrill of natural beauty.