Khasi people

The Khasi are an indigenous people in northeastern India mainly in the State of Meghalaya with over 1.1 million members. Several thousand Khasi live in the neighboring state of Assam and tens of thousands in neighboring Bangladesh. " Khasi " means " born of a woman ", even they call themselves Ki Hynñiew trep ( "the seven huts "). The Khasi form a matrilineal society, in which the succession is governed by the female line, and women made ​​possible by the real estate economic and social independence. This is also enshrined in the Constitution of the State of Meghalaya. After marriage, the husband usually takes the wife ( matrilocality ). The Khasi language is in Meghalaya since 2005 as an associate official language, but unlike that of any other Indian language, but belongs to the Mon-Khmer languages ​​and is related to the Vietnamese and Cambodian language.

• 2.1 clothing
• 2.2 Residential way
• 2.3 ownership and inheritance
• 2.4 Marriage
• 2.5 Religion
• 2.6 rituals

Economy

The Khasi practice agriculture and animal husbandry (pigs, cattle) in subsistence farming. At the beginning of the colonization by the British, the Khasi exaggerated brisk trade with their neighbors to Cambodia. Today, many Khasi go a modern work after or study at universities. The main food of the Khasi consists mainly of rice, also from fish and meat. For religious festivals they brew a strong rice beer.

Agriculture

Traditionally, the operate Khasi slash and burn. The seed was applied at the beginning of the rainy season, so that no irrigation was needed. The soil was not specially prepared for the seed, not even plowed. The fields were small and over time emerged terrace straps on the hills.

The traditional agriculture, the Khasi led recently to severe erosion and soil degradation. Therefore, educated at universities Khasi have new farming methods, including building terraces, successfully introduced. Besides the traditional rice and other fruits and vegetables are grown - Lichi, pineapple, ginger, pumpkin, sesame, sugar cane and mangos. In more recent times, potatoes were added, however, assert themselves only slowly.

Fishing

The Khasi not use nets or traps for fishing but have a proprietary method developed them. For this purpose, a poisonous for fish berry juice is added to the water of the stream or river. The fish are anesthetized in this manner downstream collected.

Society

The Khasi were organized into tribes, which were in turn composed of families and clans. During the British colonial period, British officials deliberately strengthened the male chiefs to undermine the authority of clan mothers and to gain influence. Nevertheless, the Khasi today hold on to their traditional way of life within a matrilineal and matrilocal society governed by the Rules, in which the maternal lineage ( Succession ) dominates, that is, the children are attributed to the parent and some or all property, rights, duties and privileges of the mothers passed on to their daughters. Not as common in the patrilineage, the oldest son, but each youngest daughter, called khaddu, this inherits all of the assets and is the head of the entire family clans, if this was considered by the family as suitable. Some authors report that in some regions the youngest daughter gets the best schooling.

The Khasi clan mother also knew next to the chiefs. Clan chief was a son or a nephew of the clan mother. While the clan mother was responsible for the home and family, the chief took administrative and ceremonial duties outside true, however, had even within the nuclear family a veto. As a diplomatic representative of the chief hunts or other events for invited guests had to organize other clans and this host. There were also female chiefs in the Khasi. The land and the income from agriculture and trade were among the clan together and were managed by the clan mother. Like other indigenous peoples also knew the Khasi strict, for single individuals hardly breakable gender division of labor.

Clothing

Khasi men wore traditional for Jympong, a kind of union, arms and neck freely allowed. To this end, a cap that covered the ears. The traditional dress of the women consists of the Jimpien, a knee-length piece of cloth that is wrapped around the body and fastened with a belt and braces. In another panel is thrown which falls freely over the back and sides. The traditional costume of the Khasi - men and women - is very brightly colored, the weaving is decorated with complex, very colorful patterns.

As jewelry for both men and women wear heavy silver and gold earrings and necklaces. Women also wear also silver or gold bracelets on the upper arm.

Living way

The Khasi traditional wooden houses built on stilts. Nails were taboo. The sometimes up to 100 meters long clan houses often had only a single window to let in the light. The houses were built oval and no corners. In the center of the oven was a religious reasons ever-burning fire, which was entitled to under any circumstances.

Ownership and inheritance

In addition to her jewelry knew the Khasi no private property. Lands and houses belonged to the clan and were managed by the clan mother. The youngest daughter inherited next to the jewelery of the mother also asked the ka ka niam, the religious or spiritual responsibility for the family, and the ka iing seng, the ceremonial center of the clan house.

This from a man drew up before his marriage assets belonged to his mother, after marrying his wife worked.

Marriage

The Khasi still follow their traditional marriage rule forbidding marriage within the same clan and punished with the repudiation of the couple. At weddings ritual gifts such as betel nuts between the two clans involved to be replaced. The Khasi live matrilocal, the couple moves into the family home of the bride. The German priest and anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt in 1952 represented the thesis of a visiting marriage as "a more ancient form of matriarchy ". Thus it happened that in the Khasi and the neighboring nation of Synteng ( Jaintia ) the man remained at the residence of his family and the relationship with the woman only made ​​occasional visits consisted (see NATO Local residence rule). In fact Khasi husbands often do not achieve all their work force and income in the budget of a wife or leave her partner; the care of the mother of the wife compensates for this, however, and even lead to better chances of survival for children.

Religion

The majority of the Khasi committed after the Christianization during the colonial period to one of the Christian churches. The traditional religion ( Niam Khasi ) of the Khasi is an animistic tribal religion, in addition to an all-powerful, at the same time male and female deity good and evil spirits of nature occur, which sacrifices and prayers are offered. There is neither temples nor idols or images of the gods. In addition, the ancestor worship is an integral part of the Khasi culture. The ancestral spirits were offered food, so they ensured the security and prosperity of the clan. Important ancestor for each clan was the Ka lawbei, the primordial mother or founder of the clan.

To Khasi religion include a number taboos that must not be violated:

• The most important taboo is still the incest taboo that prohibits marriages within a clan. For a couple that breaks the incest taboo, there is no absolution - the woman is cast out of the clan and may never return, even after their death not. Your bones are not buried in the family grave, which is backed by the faith of the Khasi, that her mind does not interfere with the clan.
• To build houses no nails may be used and a house can have a maximum of three stone walls
• The altar in the center of the house may only consist of a metal
• Only single trees can not be beaten, no trees from a forest out
• Gifts and gifts may be served only with the left hand, never with the right
• Cow's milk and goat's milk should not be drunk

Although most of the Khasis are now converted to Christianity, many of these rules and beliefs continue to have a strong - albeit declining - impact on the daily lives of people.

Rituals

Like other farm crops, know the Khasi, a number of annual festivals that are associated with the growth cycles of nature. These are traditionally celebrated with ritual dances, music and offerings. Among the musical instruments include KDOR the bamboo slit drum, beaten with sticks, bamboo zither singing diengphong (similar to the chigring ), the raft zither dinkhrang, the four-stringed long-necked lute duitara ( names related to the Persian Dotar ), the three-to four-stringed fiddle maryngod ( related to the Sarinda ), the small boiler drum Ksing, the larger boiler drum bom ka or ka Nakra ( names related to the nagra ), the horizontal played double cone drum synthieth (similar to the pung ) and the double reed instrument tangmuri. At funerals, the bamboo flute is played sharati.

• The Ka Pom- Blang Nongkrem is a harvest festival. During five days is danced and made ​​offerings to thank the almighty deity for a good harvest.
• The Ka Shad Suk Mynsiem is a spring festival to celebrate the sowing. It will be held ritual dances and implemented by women symbolic fertility rites.
• The Ka - Shad - Shyngwiang - Thangiap is a ceremonial dance that is performed when a family member dies. The men play along on bamboo flutes and drums. The dances begin at the date of death and last until the end of the funeral ceremony.
• The Ka - Shad - Kynjoh Khaskain is a ritual dance which is committed when a new house was built and the family moves in there. The dance begins after the religious ceremony of blessing the house and lasts from sunset to sunrise.
• Before a house built or a trip is started and before other major events consult traditional Khasi an egg oracle about the expected favorable or unfavorable outcome. The oracle should also answer the question of the cause of a disease.