By Fabian Lyngdoh
The present concern with equal right to inheritance of property by sons and daughters, as well as with the right of women to participate in the dorbar in the Khasi society prompted me to write this article. Though I had written several times on these issues, but it seems that the serious thoughts presented in newspaper articles and academic writings are only worthy of hearty appreciations, but they do not sink into the minds of policy-makers. However, since in my understanding, making policies or enacting laws concerning with issues relating to the culture of a society cannot be done without proper understanding of the fundamentals of the culture, I feel the need to reiterate some of these important fundamental elements of the Khasi culture. Though drastic changes have taken place in Khasi society, the fundamental cultural norms still control the thought processes of the people and dictate to their minds to either rightly or wrongly support, or oppose, any conscious and planned efforts to introduce changes in traditions and customs in spite of all odds.
The first thing to understand in depth is the nature of the Kur (clan). In the past, the Khasi society comprised numerous clans which were institutions that were economically and religiously independent, but socially and politically interwoven in social interactions. So, each Khasi clan was a basic member of society, a basic political unit, an independent religious denomination, and an independent economy. The individuals played whatever roles they are entitled to, within the bounds of the above institutional identities of the clans. Within one political community in the form of the Raid or the Hima, each of these clans was an institution with common seal and perpetual succession.
In the original Khasi tradition, the basic unit of the clan comprised of the family of a woman and her children, with supporting, caring and protecting maternal uncles. Hence, in the strictest sense, the father’s physical presence or absence had little to do with the cultural legitimacy, legality, honour, security and social interactions of the family. The ultimate authority in the society rested not with men, but with women in the status of mothers, sisters or nieces. For a man to be accepted as an active member in the political community, he had to produce his conceptual document of continuity and permanency in the physical presence of his mother, sister or niece, who embodied “ka sad ka sunon” (foundation of perpetual succession of the clan). Without the physical presence and the moral and spiritual backup of female clan members, the Khasi society took no cognizance of the men however intelligent, wise or rich they might be. If a man had no surviving female clan members, then he no longer had any role, rites, rituals or ceremony to perform in the Khasi society other than being a servant of some other clans.
As an independent economy, every clan was materially and morally responsible for the economic and social security of its members within one political community. Since the clan was an ever-living social institution with common seal and perpetual succession, there was no point in time when it ceased to exist and its properties could be inherited by any individual as private possession to the exclusion of other clan members. What was succeeded (not inherited) was only the position, the right to enjoy, and the responsibility to manage, and contribute to the growth of the economy. So, ownership of clan properties can be succeeded only by persons in the context of a clan, and not inherited by persons as individuals.
The participation of women in the political affairs of the community was restricted. I had written about this in previous articles, but I repeat them here for the sake of clarity. The basic political institution among the Khasis had been the dorbar-kur (clan council) where males and females can participate. Indeed, a clan council in which no female clan member was present, would be invalid. In the clan council, all interests of the clan, especially that of the women were thoroughly discussed, and the resolutions adopted were presented in the state dorbar by the chief maternal uncle or Basan who was the chief political representative of the clan. Once the resolutions were adopted in the clan council, all other maternal uncles were bound to stand with one voice through the mouth of their Basan. So, in Khasi tradition, not all the men who attended the dorbar had the democratic right to express their personal opinions other than supporting the arguments of their respective Basans. If the maternal uncles of the same clan were to conflict and challenge each other in a public dorbar, they would all be defeated in their cause as a clan, or ridiculed and sent back home to reassemble their clan council and resolve their differences privately. It has often been asserted, that only male adults are entitled to participate in a Khasi dorbar. But the actual principle was, ‘only male adults who represent the clan, and on behalf of the womenfolk are entitled to participate in the dorbar’. A Khasi man has no right to participate in a traditional dorbar if he has no female clan members to advocate for. So, in the real sense, it was not that women were prohibited to attend the public dorbar, but it was felt unnecessary for them to do so as they were already represented by their male members as advocates. There was no sacred religious ground for which Khasi men attend the dorbar other than these socio-cultural functions.
The elders who conducted the dorbar always invoked the presence of the community deities and the spirits of their political ancestors. A Khasi state dorbar in which the community deities and spirits of political ancestors were not invoked to be present, would be invalid. Therefore, the Khasi traditional dorbar where men and spirits are mingled in a charged atmosphere was considered a male affair which no man would like his sisters or nieces to be exposed to. So, the prohibition of women’s participation in public dorbar was in the sense of protecting them from occult exposure that could be harmful, and also from socially embarrassing situations that might be entailed in public affairs.
The act of attending a Khasi traditional dorbar was not considered as a democratic right, but it was actually a socially imposed responsibility on the male adults. That is why even today, fines are imposed on male adults for not attending the dorbar shnong. Hence, the restriction on women was understood not in the context of infringement of rights, but in the context of not compelling them to attend and participate in the public dorbar.
The above cultural principles could have been sociologically legitimate in the past; but today, it is evident that they are no longer relevant and legitimate. Today, when the nuclear families had replaced the clans as the new basic social institutions in political affairs, in religion, in social membership and in economy, the clans lost their institutional identities, and their role in the dorbar became insignificant. As each individual becomes a full-fledged member of society apart from the clan, the present-day dorbar shnong is no longer based on clan representation, but open to all individual adult male residents of the village or locality. According to tradition, a man was not authorized to represent himself, or to represent his wife and children in the Khasi dorbar. But today, men do not attend the dorbar shnong on behalf of their female clan members, but on behalf of their wives and children and for their own personal interests, which is against the tradition. The idea of protecting women from occult exposure no longer holds any ground as no community deities or spirits of political ancestors are being invoked in any dorbar. In today’s context the act of participating in the political affairs of the community is understood as a democratic right of the individuals, and not a compulsion on the adult males only. So, the idea of not compelling women to attend a village dorbar is no longer relevant in the modern context, but it has become an infringement of their rights. As things stand today, there is no longer any cultural ground to say that women’s participation in the dorbar is against the Khasi sacred tradition.
Moreover, a precondition for the right of any clan to be involved in the administration of the political community was that it should be a permanent resident institution, and hold title to land within the community; and men had participated in the dorbar precisely on the ground of being representatives of the clans that were the permanent resident landholders. But today, individuals have become independent land and property holders apart from the clans; and women, especially in the rural areas, have more title of ownership to land and other properties than men. That is evident from the recent movements for men empowerment, and equal right of property inheritance to the sons. Take any Khasi village as a model of study, and it would reveal that the majority of the fathers are “ki shongkha” (incoming husbands) from other villages or localities, while the majority of the mothers are daughters of the soil. Majority of the men own floating sources of income such as labour and services, while the majority of women own lands in the village and businesses based on land. Husbands would migrate to other places in case of divorce and remarriage, but women, as permanent residents, would always remain in the village even after divorce or remarriage. Therefore, as permanent residents and individual landowners in the village, women today have greater rights than men to be involved in the village administration on the ground of Khasi tradition itself. So, the move of the Mawlai Town Dorbar for providing more space for women in the dorbar shnong and community administration, is culturally relevant and rationally justified.
Email: [email protected]