2020-12-04 Fri

The Jaintia is situated in today’s Bangladesh and North-East India. In the year 1835, the kingdom Jaintai was annexed by the British East India Company. Though the origin of this kingdom is unknown, the people of Jaintia shared their culture from the Megalithic phase. A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones.

The word ‘Jaintia’ is derived from the shrine of Jayanti Devi or Jainteswari, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. Some people also called it as Pnar, also known as Jaintia which was a sub tribal group of Khasi Tribe in Meghalaya, India.

This silver tanka that weighs around 8.85g was issued by king Ram Simha during his rule in Princely State Jaintiapur. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Sri Sri Siva Charana Kamala Madhu Karasya’. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Sri Sri Jayantipura Purandarasya Sake 1712, with five beads above legend, three beads on either side of the top line’.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction