Khasi
Khasi (Ki Khasi or Ri Lum) is the name of a tribe inhabiting the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya State in northeast India. Originally from Southeast Asia, Khasis migrated to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, establishing small chiefdoms there by the mid-sixteenth century. British expansion into Assam in the early nineteenth century exposed the Khasis to missionary activities and Western cultural influence.
Khasis speak a Mon-Khmer language of the Austro-Asiatic family. Traditionally they practiced an animistic religion focusing on propitiation of spirits by a priest (lyngdoh) and a female priest (Ka-soh-blei or Kalyngdoh). Nowadays, however, the majority (67 percent) has adopted Christianity. The Khasis are divided into exogamous clans, each tracing their descent from an ancestress (kiaw or grandmother). The youngest daughter inherits the ancestral property. Although many have entered other occupations, agriculture, both intensive paddy cultivation and shifting agriculture( jhum), is still the main economic activity.
There is much political and social turmoil among Khasis today, especially surrounding the vexatious question of political rights and limited economic opportunities in the region. Conflicts with nontribals resulted in formation of proactive groups such as the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) and the Federation of the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo People (FKJGP). There is also increasing resentment of traditional Khasis against Christianity, giving rise to the Seng Khasi movement to preserve traditional religion.
Further Reading
Bareh, Hamlet. (1985) The History and Culture of the Khasi People. Guwahati, India: Spectrum Publications.
Dasgupta, P. K. (1984) The Khasis: Life and Culture of a Matrilineal Tribe of Meghalaya. New Delhi: Inter India Publications.
Nakane, Chie. (1967) Garo and Khasi: A Comparative Study of Matrilineal Systems. Paris: Mouton.
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