SHILLONG: KHADC chief executive member HS Shylla has said the council will gather information on clans in Ri Bhoi which follow the customary practice of Shaw Bhoi.
Shylla told reporters on Wednesday that genuine Bhoi clans practise the custom where a male takes a wife from a different community if there is less or no female member to carry forward the name of the clan.
“Such a practice aims to preserve the clan. For instance, if there are three males and only one female member, such a clan practices the custom of Shaw Bhoi. Then the offspring takes the father’s surname,” he said.
In such “exceptional cases”, clans are exempted from following the matrilineal system to preserve the name of the clan, he added.
The KHADC executive committee had a meeting in the evening to discuss the recommendations of the
Consultative Committee on the Khasi Social Custom of Lineage (Amendment) Bill.
Rona Khymdeit, the MDC from Nongpoh, had raised the issue during the meeting saying there is a need for getting better knowledge about the clans so that the council comes up with rules.
Intricate details of customary practices found among different clans of Ri Bhoi have led the KHADC to linger with the decision on the KHAD Khasi Social Custom of Lineage Act.
In this connection, the KHADC has not fixed a special session due to the complexity. “It is a long winding process and we have not arrived at any decision yet as there are many other details such as the customary practice of Ri Bhoi, which need to be looked into,” Shylla said.
Shylla reiterated that there is no practice of mixed marriage from the female side while there is a ceremony of tang jait if a man takes a wife from outside his community to make way for a new clan to come up.
