A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

U Ramhah is a giant of extraordinary strength in Rafy’s Khasi collection. He lifts boulders, raises pillars, uproots trees and defeats beasts, dragons and armed opponents. In the U Thlen episode he assists U Suidnoh by building a smelting-house and making great tongs in a single day, then carries the heated iron used to kill the serpent. This earlier public service matters to the later account of his decline.

After that victory, he becomes a predatory robber who believes himself entitled to others’ possessions. Carrying a large plaited bamboo basket on his back, he raids houses, markets and travelers, escaping through his strength and long strides. The wealthy Ka Bthuh, repeatedly plundered, plans a feast knowing that he will arrive uninvited and eat before the guests. She conceals sharp steel in the rice. The giant swallows it, leaves and dies alone when the blades cut his intestines.

His clanspeople cannot cremate a body so large, and later find no urn big enough for his bones. While a larger vessel is being made, a northern hurricane scatters the bones along the southern Khasi Hills. Rafy’s tale identifies the limestone there, with its winding cavities, as the remains of the giant and describes their value to people he once harmed. This landscape explanation is legendary, not a claim about the geological origin of limestone.

Giant whose scattered bones become limestoneSelected regional narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Khasi tale selected and presented in English by Mrs. Rafy

02

Records & interpretation

Complete named chapters, title page and foreword read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Folk-Tales of the Khasis

    Mrs. Rafy (title-page credit; foreword signed K. U. R.) · 1920

    XII, pp.58–67; XXV, U Ramhah, pp.116–119; Macmillan, London

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Mrs. Rafy, Folk-Tales of the Khasis (1920)

English collection. XII, pp.58–67; XXV, U Ramhah, pp.116–119

Complete relevant chapters and foreword read. His clanspeople cannot cremate a body so large, and later find no urn big enough for his bones. While a larger vessel is being made, a northern hurricane scatters the bones along the southern Khasi Hills. Rafy’s tale identifies the limestone there, with its winding cavities, as the remains of the giant and describes their value to people he once harmed. This landscape explanation is legendary, not a claim about the geological origin of limestone.

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical English folklore collectionRafy, Folk-Tales of the Khasis, XII, pp.58–67; XXV, U Ramhah, pp.116–119Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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