THE KHASI SOCIETY OF MEGHALAYA: THE MATRIARCHAL QUESTION

Abstract

The Khasis are a group of people inhabiting the state of Meghalaya in North –East India. Meghalaya was previously a part of Assam and became a full-fledged state on 21st January, 1972. Many clans among the Khasis trace their descent from ancestresses known as ‘Kiaw’ (grandmothers) who are styled ‘kiIwabei – Tynrai’ which means grandmothers of the root that is the root of the tree of the clan. These ancestresses are greatly revered and worshipped in the Khasi society. The descendants of one ancestresses of the clan, ‘KaIawbei Tynrai’ are called ‘Shi Kur’ or one clan. Then comes the division of the Kpoh or the sub – clan, all the descendants of one great grandmother or the ‘Shi – Kpoh’. The next division of the Khasi society is the family (Gurdon, 1907).