By Fabian Lyngdoh
Many scholars opine that the Khasis who belong to the Austro-Mongoloid groups of races were the first tribe to enter North-East India, and after roaming the length and breadth of the area, found their present home land. Among the Tibeto-Burman tribes the Karbis were the first to come into contact with the Khasis. The Garo tribe belonging to the Bodo-Kachari stock were the second after the Karbis to come into contact with the Khasis. The Bodo- Kachari first established their capital at Dimapur. Scholars believe that the Karbis are of Tibeto- Burman stock but do not belong to the Bodo-Kachari group of tribes. Interestingly the Karbi terms for “One-Two-Three” are “Isih-Ini- Itham” and the Garo terms for the same are, “Sa- gni-getham”. In my two year stay at Garobadha a prosperous village in West Garo Hills in 1983-1984, I met a group of tribes very similar to the Karbis in dress and other cultural expressions. An elder Garo friend told me that this group of people are called the “Bhoi” and that they are in fact the original inhabitants of Garo Hills. I was struck by his explanation because in Ri Bhoi district the Khasis in the past also called the Amri Karbis the “Bhoi.” But I leave that to the scholars to pursue.
A group of the Naga tribes entered into some other portion of North East India and settled in the present Nagaland and Manipur and parts of Arunachal Pradesh. At the same time a group of the Kuki-Chin tribes entered the present Mizoram and parts of present Manipur. The last tribe to enter North-east India were the Shan tribe called the Ahoms belonging to the Tibeto-Burman group of races. The Ahoms were the most powerful of all tribes entering North-east India. They conquered the Bodo-Kachari kingdom and established their rule in the plains of Assam, except in the hill regions. But it seems strange that the latest and most powerful and most organised militarily of all the tribes who entered the North-east India also became the first to lose its identity and control. We can only say that cultural invasion is more decisive than military invasion. It is also opined that the Aryans conquered the Dravidians militarily, but the Dravidians converted the wild Aryans into Hinduism. We leave that also to the scholars to dwell upon.
Coming to the Khasis who were the first tribe to enter the enchanting hills and plains of North-east India, they are the only tribe belonging to Austro-Mongoloid group of races surrounded all around by various Tibeto- Burman tribes. It is not surprising then that the British established the capital of North-east India in the Khasi hills which served that purpose for a full one hundred years. The Khasis call themselves “Ka jaidbynriew” which means, one of the communities of human beings established not as a branch of a race or a tribe of Austro-Mongoloid or Tibeto-Burman or whatever, but independently as a group of human beings. The Khasi mythology says the Khasis came down from heaven through the golden stairs which were on mount Sohpetbneng in Ri Bhoi District. The dispersal of the tribe is said to have occured when the tree of societal covenant – Diengiei (giant tree) on mount Diengiei not very far from mount Sohpetbneng, was cut down by human beings. Mythology concurs with history. According to this writer the Khasis first established themselves around mount Sohpetbneng and mount Diengiei as a simple community. The tribe dispersed after the fall of the Diengiei. Some preferred to remain in the original area around mount Sohpetbneng, others proceeded to the west from Diengiei area while the majority migrated to the south of Sohpetbneng by crossing the river Umkhen to a place now called the Jaintia hills.
In the past the Khasis spread around this hilly area without any markers such as Pnar, Khynriam, Bhoi or War. Indeed nobody knows the name of that Austro-mongoloid tribe which first entered into this north-eastern area of present India. The English called the first people they met in the plateau area as “Cossiyas” while the Pnar called those same inhabitants of the plateau as “Khynriam.” Inhabitants around mount Sohpetneng called the inhabitants of the plateau as “Nongkhasi” and the people of present Jaintia hills who were actually the majority were condescendingly called “Syntiang.” The real name of the Khasi tribe is lost. At present there is no genealogical name common to the whole tribe other than the mythological name “Hynniew Trep”. So let that be. The Khasi-Pnar now called the “Hynniewtrep” is only one tribe without any sub-tribe like other tribes. Other tribes in North east India became divided into sub-tribes in terms of lineage in a particular geographical territory. The Naga tribe got sub-divided into Sema, Lotha, Angami etc., in terms of genealogical lineage in the name of the first patriarch of the sub- tribe and their particular habitations. But the Khasis got divided into u “ Khynriam, u Pnar u Bhoi u War” not in terms of genealogical lineage but by residence. The Laloo clan of Jaintia Hills is the same Diengdoh clan in Cherapunjee and Pariong clan in Hima Mawiang West Khasi Hills. The Passah in Jaintia hills and the Nongkynrih in Khasi hills are of the same lineage with the Shadap in Ri Bhoi. The Lyngdoh Nonglait clan which is related to the Marwein clan are one of the numerous clans that fled from the despotic rule of the Jaintia Raja. The first wave of Khasi migration was from the foot of mount Sohpetbneng outwards. The second wave of migration was from Jaintia hills outwards when the rule of the non Khasi Hindu Raja became a terror to the Hynniewtrep people. Sajar Nangli Shadap a Bakhraw led the major migration. A big group of clans who fled from the maniacal rule of the Jaintia Raja together with the original inhabitants formed the present Raid in Ri Bhoi District. The rest of the migrant clans spread into West Khasi hills and the War area in the south.
The Hynniewtrep tribe in the past survived and multiplied through intermarriage with people of other tribes and non-tribes. The Khasi men as uncles of clans took non-Khasi wives and established new Khasi Kur (clans) with the prefix “khar” or otherwise. Step Lyndem an uncle of the Lyndem clan took a non-Khasi wife named “ka Mohkynhong” and established a new Khasi Kur called “Kharkongor”. In Ri Bhoi area new Khasi Kur were established by the marriage of Khasi uncles with non-Khasi women. In this way the children of a Karbi Teron woman became the “Tron” and “Sten” kur in Khasi. The Karbi “Terang” became “Trang” in Khasi, the “Rongpi” in Karbi became “Rympei” in Khasi, the “Ronghang” in Karbi became “Rynghang” in Khasi, the “Hanse” in Karbi became “Shadap” in Khasi, and the “Madar” in Lalung became “Madur” in Khasi etc. The Kharkongor clan did not belong to the group of Bakhraw clans that constituted Hima Shyllong but because one of their male members was married to a woman of the Syiem clan and because of their competence in war they were inducted into the ranks of the Bakhraw by the Dorbar of the original ki Bakhraw. In Ri Bhoi area those new clans which are inducted into the group of the Bakhraw of the Raid are called “Myrsing”. In Raid Thaiang a clan of the Lalung origin is called “Myrsing Lubra” and hold the post of the Daloi (revenue collector).The Syiem Thaiang clan which is of Assamese origin from Sibsagar is called “Myrsing Syiem”.
The status of a Khasi male in the past was that of the kni (uncle). His status as father or husband was insignificant. The status of the Khasi woman was that of a mother, or sister. Her status as a wife was not considered socially significant. In the past when the status of the Khasi male was that of an honourable ‘kni’ (uncle) the Khasi tribe multiplied through cohabitation between Khasi men and non-Khasi women. Today when the Khasi male has lost his ‘kni’ status and has adapted to being a father and husband, the Khasi tribe is propagating through marital relations between Khasi women and non-Khasi men. There is no more pure Khasi tribe today. As an uncle the Khasi man was at par with men of other tribes. But today as a father and husband the Khasi man is visibly inferior to men of other tribes.
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