By Barnes Mawrie
Nature does not permit a vacuum. Does this apply to human nature as well? I personally believe so. That is the reason why we say that a person who does not have something constructive to do, will end up doing something destructive. So too when good elements are missing in society, evil elements will fill in the gap. This leads to degeneration of a community and a threat to its own identity and survival.
Critically examining the Khasi society today, we witness a sort of “cultural vacuum” which is posing a great danger to the community. Khasi society is in a period of transition and this transition has been accelerated by the advent of Christianity and Modernization. The onset of modernization has been much anticipated that a community finds itself unable to cope with the changes that are coming about. Apart from the great contributions that Christianity has brought about to Khasi society especially in the area of education, health care and social empowerment, there are certain loose ends which have developed since the time the Khasi people embraced the new religion. One very glaring negative impact of Christianity is the weakening of the traditional institution of kñiship (maternal uncle). Traditionally, the kñi (maternal uncle) used to be the ultimate authority in the kur (clan). He embodied in himself the role of a father, an elder, a priest, a disciplinarian, a judge and a representative of the kur or the kpoh. So it can be said that the traditional Khasi society is matrilineal by lineage (tracing origin from the female) but patriarchal by function (governed by the male).
By accepting Christianity the Khasis have delimited the power of the kñi. First of all, Christian faith lays emphasis on the role of the father as it is quite alien to the tribal concept of clan. Christianity as a religion has its own set of priests or pastors who consequently have replaced the kñi in religious matters. For example, in traditional Khasi marriage, it used to be the kñis of both contracting parties who accompanied their nephews and nieces and who presided over the wedding ceremonies. But in Christian marriage today, it is the parents who accompany their sons or daughters to the altar. The kñis in most cases become only passive spectators since Christian marriage rituals do not have provisions for the kñi’s role. This phenomenon has tremendously weakened the position of the kñi in his own kur or kpoh. Over this, the kñi who is also a father in his children’s family, if he is already a Christian by faith, becomes more conscious of his duties as a father than as a kñi. Consequently, a Christian kñi today spends most of his time with his children than with his nephews and nieces. His visits to his maternal home become less frequent and in some cases, he reaches them only on unavoidable occasions.
Unfortunately, the fading role of the kñi has not been equally complemented by the role of the father. The Khasi father today is still in a state of ambiguity. He is not yet empowered as the head of a family (father) since no customary law exists to that effect. At the same time, his traditional status as a kñi is fast disappearing. Thus the gradual fading of kñiship as an institution has not been compensated by another institution. This is what we call a cultural vacuum in Khasi society which is leading to many negative consequences. Ambiguity regarding authority both in the kur and in the family has led Khasi men to feel a sense of social insecurity. Deprived of legitimate authority he easily slips into disillusionment and discouragement. These in turn result in irresponsible behaviours like alcoholism, drug addiction and divorce.
Perhaps another traditional institution which might have escaped our attention for long and which we have lost forever due to the advent of Christianity and modernization, is the institution of Ïngkhynraw (bachelors’ dormitory). This was a common institution among the tribal communities of North-east India. The Ïngkhynraw was a very valuable cultural institution where young men and women who have reached the age of puberty, were brought up as a community within a larger community in a special house known as ïngkhynraw. Usually an elder of good repute took care of these youth in matters of culture, tradition, ethics, martial arts, folk art, social manners and above all personal discipline and communitarian virtues. Thus society was assured of quality youth to carry forward the rich cultural heritage of the community. Today however, with the disappearance of Ïngkhynraw, Khasi youth are deprived of such holistic formation.
Schools and hostels of modern days do not come up to the level of this traditional institution in matters related to cultural and ethical training. Many Khasi youth today lack self discipline and human virtues like diligence, honesty, confidence and social etiquettes. They continue to grow in ignorance about one’s culture and traditions. This cultural vacuum is being filled in with alien cultures which they copy from the media etc. This is posing a great threat to the identity and integrity of the Khasi community. Perhaps it is time that we recuperate some values of the past and revive some of these important traditional institutions. Traditional institutions are the pillars of any society and they must not be lost or else some other unwanted elements will enter in to fill the vacuum.