Soso Tham refused to believe that a people with no evidence of a written history was without foundation or worth. He set out to compile in verse shared memories of the ancient past—ki sngi barim—presenting his people with their own mythology depicting a social and moral universe still relevant to the present day. For him the past is not a dark place but a source of Light, of Enlightenment. It may lie buried but it is not dead, and when discovered will provide the reason for its continued survival. Ki Sngi Barim U Hynñiew Trep is the lyrical result of dedicated devotion. It is an account of how Seven Clans—U Hynñiew Trep—came down to live on this earth.
Author: Soso Tham
U Soso Tham was born in Sohra (Cherrapunjee), Meghalaya, in 1873. He served as one of the first school teachers of Khasi at Government Boys’ High School, Shillong. He started writing very late in life and published two collections of poetry besides translated works. From such humble beginnings he rose to become in the words of Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih "the uncrowned though acknowledged poet laureate of the Khasis," whose poems are sung and whose words can still be heard everywhere. He died in 1940.