The Indian Ministry of Tourism has nominated Meghalaya's Kongthong village for the World Tourism Organization’s Best Tourism Villages award. Two other villages in India, Pochampally of Telangana and Ladhpura Khas in Madhya Pradesh were also nominated for the award. Also famous as the 'Whistling village', Kongthong is a favourite destinaion among tourists. The village follows a very unique tradition in which a mother calls her kid with a tune instead of the child's name. In fact, the villagers residing here have two names, a regular one and the other a tune name.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma took to his Facebook account and shared, "Meghalaya's whistling village Kongthong is selected for entry to the UNWTO World Tourism Organization 'Best Tourism Village' along with 2 other villages in the country."
The Unique Tune-name Tradition
Renowned for its natural bounty this vilage has its unique tradition called 'Jingrwai Iawbei'. In this tradition, a mother gives a tune or lullaby to her child within a week of birth like Eeooow or Ooeeo, etc. This unique tune becomes the kid’s identity. The mother has to think of a unique tune which has to be different from the already existing ones to make sure the child's identity remains unique. Another interesting fact is that villagers are habituated of talking through tunes.
The villagers have two names, a regular name and a song name in two versions, a short song and a long song! The short song name is their pet name and the longer song name is used in the forest to ward away evil spirits.
Along with Kongthong, Pochampally Village in Telangana and Ladhpura Khas village in Madhya Pradesh have also been nominated for the award.