By Dr Rekha R Shangpliang
The matrilineal Khasi tribe of Meghalaya believes in the ideology-”Long jait na ka kynthei” which means, “From the woman sprang the clan.” This ideology is so deeply rooted in the Khasi ethos that it has brought to light the role of women in perpetuating the clan from one generation to another. Descent line in a Khasi family is reckoned only from the mother’s clan or ‘kur’ as a result of which the children belong to the descent group of the mother. Therefore it is customary for them to speak of a family of brothers and sisters who are great grandchildren of one great grandmother, and identify themselves as ‘shi-kpoh’ which literally means ‘one womb’ ‘that is the issue of one womb. Significantly, the Khasi ideology of human reproduction describes the father as the provider of stature and form (U kpa uba ai ka long rynieng),while the mother contributes flesh and blood (ka kmie kaba ai ia ka doh ka snam)to the child. This filial bond between the mother and the child is strongly reflected even in familial relations and kinship ties where the term para-kur (mother’s kins )is used more significantly than the word bakha (father’s kins).
Unity and solidarity in any kinship system depends upon the dynamics of clan organization and the functional roles of various groups and segments within it.This is well understood in the case of the Khasi who trace the emergence of clans to the Divine Theory which states that they are the descendants of the Hynniewtrep-Hynniewskum (seven huts) who came to settle on earth from heaven.This myth describes how the Khasi clans were formed from the union between a woman (the root ancestress) and her husband U Thawlang, the off-springs of which constitutes the Khasi population which is divided into many clans. Following this belief, the Khasis have ever since accorded a high value to kinship bonds amongst clan members. The matrilineal system of the Khasis has played an important role in shaping the kinship ties and relations amongst the matrilineal kins. Starting from the ‘kur’ (group of matrilineal cognates)which is the largest division on the basis of the matrilineal principle,it is found that kinship ties are well maintained at every stage of Khasi family structure .The ‘kur’ which is exogamous is also the first social entity round which every social institution revolves .Members of the ‘Kur’ trace their descent from an old ancestress (Ka Iawbei Tynrai),literally root ancestress. While it is difficult to determine the exact number of ‘kur’ it is well understood that each ‘ kur’ is divided into a number of exogamous units which are grouped together as descendents of a common female ancestress (Ka Iawbei Khynraw). The sense of belongingness and kinship bond amongst members of the kur is so strong that whenever Khasis meet each other for the first time, the first question that is asked is- To which kur do you belong? Or What is your ‘jait’ because one of the abiding principles of Ka Niam Khasi is ‘tip kur tip kha’ (to know one’s maternal and paternal kins) It would therefore be an act of sacrilege and an unpardonable sin if a person should marry within his own clan. There are many important occasions when the ‘kur’plays an important role in maintaining unity and solidarity amongst maternal cognates in the Khasi kinship system, one of which is the practice known as ‘Thep Mawbah.’ This is a customary practice amongst the non-Christian Khasis to deposit the bones of the dead after cremation in a sacred place called ‘Maw-shyieng’ and after a few generations have passed, bones from the mawshyieng are taken out and deposited into the ‘Mawbah’ of the kur which is believed to be the final resting place of the departed souls who belong to the same kur. Although this practice is today followed only by those who follow the traditional Khasi faith or ka niam Khasi , it is a good example of the notion of Kur solidarity which signifies the eternal unity of all the kur members alive or dead.
While delving deeper into the functional units within the Khasi family structure, it is found that the ‘IING’ and the ‘KPOH’ are the two most important tenets that work towards the functional unity of a Khasi matrilineal family .The ‘Iing’ (domestic group of matrilineal kins)) is the most vital functional unit of Khasi family structure.It is the centre of religious rites and ceremonies and also a welfare organisation where all the matrilineal kins belonging to the same lineage of a common grandmother (Ka Iawbei Khynraw) or young ancestress, including the aged,the destitute, the handicapped, orphaned find a place of refuge. While the ancestral ‘Iing’that belongs to the common grandmother still upholds its structural importance as a natal home of all the matrilineal kins ,there is every possibility that such a iing may branch out into separate household units called ‘Iing Tnat’(elementary family) This happens when the elder sisters of the ‘khadduh’(youngest daughter) branch out of the main ancestral iing or household of their mother and create their own separate households. Nevertheless it is the khadduh who retains the religious significance of the ancestral iing which she has inherited and brings the members of the family together from time to time during religious rites and ceremonies , which signify the unity of the lineage. Therefore we see that the original ancestral iing is perpetuated by the khadduh or the youngest daughters at every successive generation. The ancestral Iing is also called ‘Ka iingniam’(a religious unit) where the khadduh is the dispenser of religious rites and ceremonies; she is the one who ‘keeps the religion’ or ‘ka bat niam’. It is in this context that the popular Khasi adage Tip Kur Tip Kha (To know maternal and paternal relatives) becomes practically operational in a Khasi iing which is the centre of religious activities. The Iing also functions as a social community which gathers members of all ages for family events, religious or otherwise. Older members of the family have the important duty of imparting moral and social instructions to the young through moral teachings on etiquette and wisdom such as ‘Ka sneng ka kraw’,ka kdew ka pyni’ and ‘jingsneng tymmen’.
Besides the iing,it is the ‘Kpoh’ (literally meaning the womb) which plays an important role in bringing about strong kinship bond amongst matrilineal kins .The kpoh signifies the genesis of a matrilineal kin group that traces its origin from one great grandmother ‘Ka Iawbei Khynraw.’ Thus the expression ‘shi-kpoh’ is often used which signifies the issue of one womb .Such an expression is bold enough to imply the functional roles,rights and obligations of every member within the “shi-kpoh”. A kpoh may not necessarily be an institutional corporate and functional unit but it has a larger structure and membership than a iing. The customary rights and duties of members of the kpoh imposes on them certain prescribed actions to be performed. For instance whenever any marriage takes place within the kpoh it is customary to collectively come together and offer a gift to the new couple. Usually a pig or a bag of rice or other household items are offered as a token from the kpoh, relatively in times of family crisis such as death or economic hardships , members of the ‘Kpoh’ are expected to be a source of help.
Looking closely at the operation of the Khasi kinship system at different levels of its segmentation starting from the ‘kur,’ then the ‘jait’(sub-clan),the kpoh(lineage) and the iing(household or family), one finds that there is an element of unity and solidarity at every stage ,which is a natural response that facilitates in maintaining closer structural ties amongst kin members .Both at the levels of the kur and the jait, members are expected to extend mutual help to one another in social occasions like marriage or death. Affiliation ties are strong since members of a kpoh comprise of members born of a common great-grandmother.The Iing as a corporate group continues to function today as the centre of all social and religious activities. It is considered as a symbol of physical and social identity to every member since it provides a sense of security in times of family crisis and at the same time it upholds its character as a strong domestic group of matrilineal kins who work together within its internal domestic domain on events of marriage, death, succession etc. All this leads one to conclude that despite the differential impact of modern forces of change, the Khasi matrilineal system with its distinctive matrilineal principles of descent, succession, pattern of residence and inheritance has sustained in strengthening the bonds of kinship solidarity.
(The writer is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong and can be reached at [email protected])