By Fabian Lyngdoh
The concept, ‘ka kur-ka jait’ in the Khasi society is found to be connected with the political organisation of the society. I would like to offer some clarifications through these columns on this important aspect of the kur which according to my finding has been misinterpreted. There is some confusion in the interpretation of the concepts of ka kur, and ka jait. Some writers spell it as ‘Jaid’, while others write ‘Jait’. It is found in historical literature, official documents and various other writings, that the spelling ‘jait’ is more preferred to the spelling ‘jaid’ when reference is made to the political office of the kur.
Review of historical literature and prevailing oral traditions reveal that in the past, when the Khasi society was composed of small community states, every kur was also a ‘jait’. The concept of jait particularly applies to the Khasi political organization. In Raid Thaiang, the kur Thaiang functions as a jait Lyngdoh, the kur Myrsing-syiem functions as the jait Syiem, the kur Myrsing-lubra functions as the jait Sangot. In Raid Iapngar, the jait syiem is of the kur Shadap-Kharpati, while the jait Lyngdoh is of the kur Shadap-Pnar. A jait Lyngdoh Mylliem is of the kur Marbaniang; A jait Lyngdoh Sohiong is of the kur Thabah; the kur Malngiang is the jait Syiem in hima Mawsynram. The kur Narlong was a jait syiem in Raid Thaiang in the past, but when it was ousted from Raid Thaiang and migrated to Raid Nongkhrah it was adopted there as a jait kong-san. The kur Syngkli is a jait pator in Raid Nongkhrah; the kur Malai is a jait Syiem in Hima Malai-Sohmat, but it is a jait Daloi in Raid Nongtluh, and so on and so forth.
Every kur in the past was a ‘binong-bishon’ (aristocratic clan) in its own original raid or hima (state). When a kpoh (section) of the kur migrates to another state it cannot carry along its status as an aristocratic clan in the new state, but becomes an ordinary clan or ‘ki shongthap-shongbiang’, unless it is adopted by the new political community and assigned a particular ‘jait’ for it. It is reported that a section of the jait Lyngdoh Thaiang migrated to Raid Nongtung and acquired or assumed a new clan name of Masharing and they became ‘ki shongthap-shongbiang’ (ordinary citizens) without any jait there. In due course of time when they multiplied and proved their competence, the ‘dorbar-longsan'(council of aristocratic clans) of Raid Nongtung included them among the aristocratic clans and conferred on them the title of jait Basan. Hence, the Masharing clan which was a section of the Thaiang clan, which is a jait Lyngdoh Thaiang, became the jait Basan in Raid Nongtung. So, the Thaiang and the Masharing are of the same Kur, but of different Jait.
Some scholars are of the view that the word ‘jait’ refers to the various sub-divisions of a kur. But according to the Khasi political ideology as reflected in the actual functioning of the society, this concept ‘ka jait’ applies particularly to the political office which a kur holds in a political community. The sub-divisions or kinds of a kur or anything may be called ‘jaid’, but not ‘jait’. ‘Jaid’ means kinds. ‘Bun jaid ki syntiew’ means many kinds of flowers. ‘Bun jaid ki kpoh ka kur’ means many kinds of sub-divisions of the kur. The word ‘jaid’ means ‘kinds’ and has a general application to all things, while the word ‘jait’ refers only to the kind of office a particular kur is holding in a particular State. It is a political division of labour. The word ‘jait’ seems similar to the word ‘jat’ or ‘jati’, a concept prevalent among other Indian societies. But the Khasi concept of ‘jait’ does not carry similar meaning. It is not an economic division of labour as ‘jati’ is, and it is also not a hierarchy of social order as ‘varna’.
In the Khasi concept, all the kurs are equal in status, rights, privileges and social responsibilities. When a group of clans settle in a certain geographical territory and constitute a raid or hima (state), as the founding clans they distribute among themselves various political and religious responsibilities, as the syiem, lyngdoh, basan, daloi, pator, sangot, maji, kong-san, shutia, etc., and collectively they constitute the ‘dorbar-longsan’ or the ‘dorbar-ki bakhraw’ (council of the aristocratic clans). All the people in the state belonging to these aristocratic clans have a kur and a jait, hence the concept, ‘ka kur-ka jait’. All other people living in the state not belonging to the aristocratic clans have a kur but they do not have a jait, though they may have a jait in some other state. So, the ‘Kur’ is a full-fledged member of the society and the ‘Jait’ is the political office that a kur holds in a state. In social interactions such as marriage, the people would inquire about my kur because it is related to my niam (religion), but in political interactions people would inquire about my jait, not about my kur.
There is another basic and cardinal principle of Khasi society on which I would like to offer some more clarification than what had been previously described. This is, the concept of, “ka khein-kur, khein-kha, tip-kur, tip-kha”, or, what has been said, ‘to know thy kur and what is other than thine own kur’. It is said that the injunction tip-kur-tip-kha is one of the cardinal principles guiding social interaction among the members of the Khasi society. At first sight this principle seems to create a two way relationship of a Khasi ‘with his kur and with those other than his kur’. This would imply that for each individual, the Khasi society is composed of ki kur and ki kha. This is sufficient as a general description of the composition of the Khasi society.
On closer scrutiny and detailed analysis of the Khasi social interactions, the concept of “ka tip kur-tip kha” as a two way relationship does not cover the entire Khasi system of social relationships, or the web of social relationships between the kurs. In actual social interactions, each kur carries on itself three forms of inter-relational status. Each Khasi man or woman holds the status of a kur among his or her kur members; the status of a meikha-pakha to some other kur, and the status of a khun-kha to some other kur. Every marriage transaction between two kurs, and when children have been born, brings about the emergence of three forms of status. The husband has to retain the status of a kur among his matrikin; the kur of his children acquire the status of ki khun-kha; and all the members of his kur acquire the status of meikha-pakha. Each person in Khasi society is at the same time a kur, a kha and a khun-kha. It is not a two way relationship, but a triangular form of social relationships. A man’s status among his kur is equal; as u khun-kha he has to honour and respect the matrikin of his father; while as u pa-kha he is honoured and respected by all ki khun-kha of his matrikin.
When children are born, the husband becomes a father whom the Khasis call u long-kha, or simply u kha. It is an identity which is also shared by his kur as a whole as ka long-kha. The concept of u pa-kha means the fatherhood of a man not only to his own children but to the whole kur of his wife and children. So every kur is ka long-kha to the children of a particular male member of the kur. But the whole kur becomes also ka meikha-pakha not only to his children particularly, but to the whole kur of his wife and children.
So, the concept of, “what is other than thine own kur”, is encompassing ki kha and ki khun-kha as well. The statuses of ki kha, and ki khun-kha, are not the same. ‘Ki kha’ are the kurs whom a man and his kur have to honour and respect, while ‘ki khun-kha’ are the kurs who offer him and his kur honour and respect. In these three statuses of kur, kha and khun-kha, every kur and individual member undertake their social interactions in the Khasi society.
(The author can be contacted at [email protected])