Khyachi Kasuang - Session 01, 23 January 2024

OH-008-15-1a This interview focuses on the plants in use and cultivation in daily life in Byale village. Khyachi Kasuang shares that among the trees, Puik is important for construction, leaves of banana are used for roofing and bamboo is used for flooring in the house. He mentions that several plants are foraged, naming one – Haji. Mainly for consumption, three plants: Metchi (the Palm), Tabua (a fern) and Muang (a tree fern) are used. He cultivates the Palm and shares how the Palms are replanted and maintained in the Palm groves. He answers questions about the suitable growth environment of the Palm and the lifecycle of the Palm leading up to maturation. He also shares the names of varieties of the Palm raised in his groves and how they can be identified by their appearance and sago quality among Machue, Beyryong, Mapyong, Satte, Nichve, Nijvay varieties. When asked about the origin of the Palm, Khyachi Kasuang speaks of Narba and mentions Kamachyang Metchi, which refers to the clusters that came from the sky, present in Yerte. These particular clusters are not harvested or consumed and are maintained as such from the beginning. He says the Palm comes from the place that the Puroik people have emerged from. He goes on to share the oral history of the Puroik people, recounting migration events and names of places and ancestors of the Puroik people. He says that when their ancestors arrived on land from the sky, they brought the Palm with them. He refers to the father of all people, Abotani, and says that at present, people are replanting from his Palms. OH-008-15-1b When asked about how he learned the Oral history, he says that he memorised it when he heard it from his elders repeatedly as a child. He emphasises that Puroik people have eaten sago since generations and encourages future generations to continue raising the Palm and as long as they live. He reiterates that the reliability of the Palm as a cluster never dies, while rice does. Khyachi Kasuang recalls an earthquake event, where landslides happened for 5 days and shares how people coped. At present, he also farms a few crops such as maize, rice and pumpkin. When asked about the origin of farming, he also shares the Oral history associated with rice grains. He shares that he prefers consuming sago over rice. He also briefly discusses fruiting in Micha bamboo, estimating the age of the bamboo. Time-stamped section headings OH-008-15-1a (00:00:24) Background of the speaker. (00:02:52) Important plants for daily life. (00:09:09) Plants important as food and their cultivation. (00:19:13) Varieties of the Palm raised by him and their identification by appearance. [00:24:36 to 00:27:03 Restricted access. Contact archives@ncbs.res.in] (00:36:36) The place of origin of the Palm and the Puroik people. OH-008-15-1b (00:01:24) Learning the lyrical narration of the Oral History, i.e. Mabey and rules around raising the Palm. (00:07:26) Recounting storms and earthquakes in the past. (00:14:37) On rice farming, its origin and the fruiting of Micha, a kind of bamboo used as food.