Nartiang Monoliths

In the village of Nartiang, once the summer capital of the Jaintia kings, stands the largest and most impressive collection of megalithic monoliths in Meghalaya — a stone forest of towering menhirs and broad dolmens gathered in a single grove. Erected over centuries by the Jaintia people, the tallest of the standing stones (the male menhirs, or ki moo shynrang) reaches around eight metres.

The monoliths served as memorials: the upright menhirs raised in honour of men, the flat table-stones (ki moo kynthai) placed to honour women, reflecting the matrilineal culture of the region. The most famous, the Mookyllung, is associated with the giant U Mar Phalyngki, a legendary strongman of Nartiang. Some stones are attributed to the 16th–18th centuries; others are older still.

Beside the monoliths, Nartiang also holds the 600-year-old Nartiang Durga temple, one of the 51 Shakti Pithas and a rare Hindu shrine in the Christian-majority hills, making the village a compact and fascinating stop in the Jaintia Hills.