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The Khasis of Meghalaya – an Emphatic Study

The Khasis who live in ‘Meghalaya’ is one of the important ethnic groups of people of the North Eastern region of India. But nothing definite can be said about the particulars of this hill tribe. Generally, it is believed that the Khasis came to present Meghalay from a different place. It is said that they came from the north side and settled down in the hilly regions ending their last limit of wandering in Sylhet. According to Mr. Seduwell, the Khasis came to Assam from Burma crossing the Patkai Hills.

‘Agriculture’ is the primary occupation of the Khasis. They produce potato, orange, betel-nut etc in the hills to a great extent and export them to different places. They also produce maize and rice in some areas much. Besides, the Khasis grow various fruits, cassia leaf, cinnamon, ginger, long ground, turmeric and various vegetables. Their staple food is rice. Most of them drink rice-beer. They domesticate cows and pigs and eat their flesh.

The Khasis are of the ‘Mongoloid stock’ of people. They speak Mon-Khemer language. The Khasi society is mainly matriarchal. The head of the family is the eldest woman of the same. The youngest daughter of a family plays an important role in the Khasi society. She does the religious functions of the family and it is for this reason she claims a lion share of the property. Another, her unmarried sons and daughters, her married daughters and their husbands including their children live together in a Khasi family.

Generally, the houses of the Khasis are made of thatches. They follow some customs in time of constructing their houses. At present the rich Khasi men use i.e sheets for building their houses. However, the post posted in the middle of the house must be of oak tree. The house of Cherrapunji are big in size. Their walls are of stone. The Khasi villages are generally situated at places away from the hills.

The Khasis are peculiar to their dresses and ornaments. Formerly the Khasi men-folk worn a kind of shirt known as “Jamphong”. The rich people wore “Dhuti”, and cover their heads with turbans. Now-a-days the Khasis put on short or long pants, coats and shirts. There is a special peculiarity of the class worn by a Khasi woman. The Khasi women put on “Kamjputan”, “Ka-Jainchem” and “Ka-Jain-Kup”. The Khasi women are expert in weaving and they weave their own cloths by their own hands. The Khasi men and women are lovers of ornaments. They put on ear-rings and gems. The Khasi men folk put on chains around their waists and the Khasi women folk put on silver chains around their necks hanging to the waists. The Khasi women also put on gold or silver bracelets.

The Khasis use different types of weapons. They are swords, spears, bows and arrows, and round-shields. The hands of the swords are either of iron or steel. The Khasis are expert in archery.

The Khasis use seats and various utensils in their every day life. They use small wooden stools for sitting. They use iron-pan or earthy vessel for cooking. Again, they use several kinds of dish. Pitchers, small and big, made of brass and spoons made of brass and bamboo are also used by them.

The Khasis earn their livelihood by different means. Most of them are agriculturists. Some of them are service holders some are black-smiths and a few of them are carpenters. They are very hard-working. Some of them earn their livelihood as workers or coolies. The women of the Khasis prepare or make wine or beer and sell them in the market. The Khasis rear honey bee and sell honey even in the markets of different places.

The Khasis are the supporters of endogamy. Of course, they marry in the same group of people. They consider it to be a sin to marry in the same group. There is no practice of polygamy among the Khasis. Again, the re-marriage is not permitted in a Khasis society. Of course, a Khasi can marry the sister of his wife after her death. Divorce is in vogue in the Khasi society. It is permitted and may be resorted to by either side—the bride-side on the one hand and the bride-groom side on the other. No re-marriage is permitted after divorce.

The Khasis believe in God who is known as “U Blei Nongkhao”. Their religion is confined to the worships of the Gods. The Khasis worship the snake. The Khasi women observe the religious functions of the society. The Khasis believe in the immortality of soul. Of course, they do not believe that the soul goes to Heaven or Hell after the death of a man. The Khasis post or set up erect stone on the ground as memorial stone for the purpose of memorizing the dead.

The Khasis bury the dead doubly. They keep various eatables and betel-nut on a plate near the dead body. They sacrifice cow or pig etc to the dead even after the burial.

There is a custom in the Khasi society that after the marriage the bride-groom goes to the house of his bride and lives there with the members of his mother-in-laws. But when he becomes able to maintain his family, he leaves the house of his mother-in-law and builds a house for his own family. The Khasi women folk play an important part in the society and occupy a high position in the same. But this does not mean that the status of the Khasi men folk is inferior to the status of the Khasi women folk. The Khasi family may adopt a female when it remains without a female.

The Khasi society has some special features:-

i) The Khasi society is matriarchal.

ii) The right of women-folk in the society is greater than their men-folk.

iii) After marriage the Khasi take their husbands permanently to their houses to live together.

iv) The Khasi women inherit the common property of their family.

The Siem is the head of each political organization of the Khasis. A Siem is made or selected only from the family of a Siem. He plays an important part in the organization and does all the important tasks in consultation with the ministers of the council. The organization tries all sorts of criminals and punishes them severely. Thus, it does much to maintain the social control of the Khasi society. But at present the organization has lost its former status and importance to a great extent.

There are different ‘phaids’ or clans among the Khasis. They do not live in the same area. However, now-a-days the Khasis are advancing in the field of education.

About the Author

Present Address:
Guptajit Pathak
Head, Faculty of Social Sciences
Donyi Polo Vidya Bhawan
Itanagar – 791111
Arunachal Pradesh (India)
Mobile No. 09856274617
Email : guptajitpathak@yahoo.com

Permanent Address:
Guptajit Pathak
Village & P.O. Bezera
District : Kamrup
State : Assam
Pin : 781121
Phone : (03621) 280119
Mobile : 09864443099

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