Voices of Northeast India- Karbi folk song Rukasen Rongkim describing the establishment of the first model Karbi village

NEZINE's Podcast

A special series of NEZINE’s podcast- Voices of Northeast India- showcasing multi-lingual and multi-cultural identifies of the region through podcasting of folk tales and folk song of the communities in in the way they speak, converse, or sing.
In this third episode, eminent Karbi folk artiste Borsing Ronghang is singing the Karbi folk song Ruaksen Rongkim which describes the establishment of the first model village by Rukasen, who taught the Karbi people how to live in systematic and proper villages.
English translation and digital recording of the folk song are done by Kache Teronpi, who teaches English at Rangsina Junior College, Donkamokam and co-edited Karbi Studies Vol. 4 with Dharamsing Teron.
Episode planning by Mangalsing Rongphar, freelance writer and author of Jatinga Aru Anyanna

Episode Hosted by Abhilash Bapanasha, an alumnus of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University, is a Cultural Documentation enthusiast and loves to share stories through the microphone

Music by Priyanuj Parashar, a postgraduate student of Chemistry, is an aspiring flutist and he likes to experiment with new flavours while continuously learning for the better

Rukasen Rongkim

So narrates this song of Rukasen,

A time of long winter nights,

The chief no more to sleep,

Waited for the cock to crow,

Up with the first cock crow,

The song says,

Placed himself a bowl,

Filled with wine brimming,

Sipping wine the chief,

Thoughtful for something,

Summoned Pherangke for message to take,

Inform the thousand households in the realm,

A meeting be held tonight,

Informed thousand village members all,

Marching forward steps,

To the chieftain’s house,

Sitting in the outhouse all,

The chief speaking to the crowd,

My sons and subjects all,

Now Our village hoary old,

The Amtarsing growing white all around,

New village site to seek,

New village to build,

With the sunrise next,

Villagers marched to chieftain’s house,

Crowded the chieftain’s house,

Sitting in the outhouse all,

The chief speaking to the crowd,

Sharpening stone to take,

Spade to take,

Some eggs also to take,

Few grains of rice to take,

The song says,

Take care with the eggs,

Thus all marched in line,

The chief walked the last,

Had reached the Kular hill,

Spread leaves on ground all to sit,

The chief speaking to the crowd,

This the high Kular hill,

Look around the hill,

After looking all around,

Found the place a perfect fit,

Chief asking more,

Look for water flow,

There a flowing water be,

The song says,

The river Kopli by the hill,

Stoneplate placed the chief,

Banana leaf on top,

With rice grains on it,

Took the egg in hand,

The intonations to make,

Bless a village to build,

Let the egg break in proper piece,

The chief at the end,

Hit the egg to break,

Yolks and shells in proper lines,

Broken shells still with yolks,

All portents well,

Raised the houses two,

Later other houses too,

Later thousand houses came to fill,

Dug the deeps around and hurdles heaped,

Soon to fill with colour blooms,

Children ran in troupes,

People from afar pointing to the place,

There the village of Ru Kasen,

Flowering trees growing high,

Rounded with bamboos and vines,

Mango jackfruits came in line,

Thus narrates the song of Ru Kasen,

Thus the village of chief Kasen,

People from afar pointed to the place,

That surely is the village of Kasen.

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