By Bhogtoram Mawroh
A few weeks ago, I took part in a three-day workshop on ‘The Cambridge Companion to the Indigenous Peoples of India’ at Shiv Nadar University. The discussion ranged from how indigenous peoples were viewed in ancient India to their status in modern times. While there was agreement on many of the points presented, there was one issue on which participants held divergent views: the issue of gender among indigenous communities and the need for reform in customary norms. Everyone agreed that while the status of women in indigenous communities is comparatively more favourable, certain cultural practices disproportionately affect them negatively, such as witch-hunting. However, some were not very open to the idea of changes in customary norms for the reason that any dilution of them could weaken their status as Scheduled Tribes, who are distinguished from the mainstream community because of this important aspect. The paradoxical case of the Khasi community, which despite being matrilineal has kept women away from political life, was also discussed.
In the 2025 book ‘Understanding Social Sustainability in a Hill Town: Water Governance in Shillong’, Bankerlang Kharmylliem looked into the functioning of the Dorbar Shnong in order to assess whether they had been able to bring about social equity in water access. He found the performance of the Dorbar Shnong to be mixed, but there were some themes that were common across all of them: the lack of inclusion of non-Khasi voices and absence of women. In some Dorbar Shnong, women have started taking part in the proceedings, but it is still a long way before someone can contest for the position of Rangbah Shnong, which, as informed by H. H. Mohrmen, has taken place in Jaintia Hills. Therefore, it would appear that the political participation of Khasi women is moving forward at a faster pace among the Pnar compared to the other Khasi subgroups.
Bankerlang collected quite a few phrases that try to explain the lack of political participation of women. Two stand out in particular: “ka said ka thew, ka saiñ ka tiah, kiba khia kiba shon ka jong u rangbah,” which emphasises that deliberations, decisions, planning, administration, policies, and the responsibilities of management fall under the purview of men; and “ka wait, u sum, ka sang, ka barshi, ka kñia ka khriam baroh ka jong u rangbah,” which highlights that aspects such as the instruments of war and sacerdotal rituals belong to men. The gist is that women are not meant to be involved in political matters, which are the domain of men. However, neither recorded history nor oral folklore confirms such a position.
In his 1835 ‘Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India’, R. Boileau Pemberton devoted a couple of sections to the Khasi, with one on Hima Jaintiapur. In it, he noted that “in conducting the affairs of Government, the Rajahs of Jynteeah (Khasi Syiems of Hima Jaintiapur) are under the necessity of consulting on all important occasions the queen mother (Syiem Sad), and the chief (Doloi) of districts, and officers (Myntri, etc.) of state.” This clearly demonstrates that the role of the Syiem Sad was very important in making political decisions for the realm. In no way was politics a realm specifically reserved only for men. In fact, on occasions, women could also inherit the throne.
In 1878 W.S. Clarke, the Deputy Commissioner of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, was tasked with holding official inquiries into issues of succession to the position of Syiem. After extensive consultation with the Himas, he concluded that “females are eligible for the office of Syiem.” This was also mentioned in Hamlet Bareh’s book ‘The History and Culture of the Khasi People’, which discusses in detail eligibility to the office of the Syiem: women could become Syiem. So, it would appear that based on tradition there was no bar on women holding political offices, including the highest in the land. But were there any female Syiems in the past? Here folklore reveals that indeed there were female Syiems in the past.
Based on folklore, Hima Shillong along with Madur Maskut appears to be among the earliest Khasi Himas. There is mention of Hima Sutnga as well, but it is clear that in the initial stage, the Pnar living in Nangbah, Nartiang, Jowai, and Maskut were under the rule of the Syiem Malngiang. It was only after his assassination that the dominion of Hima Sutnga took final shape, with the population made up of the Pnar and the War (especially War Amwi, who founded Hima Sutnga), along with other non-Khasi groups such as the Karbi, Tiwa, and Biate. But before these Himas came into being, there was the Raid, which according to Fabian Lyngdoh in his PhD thesis ‘A Study on the Nature and Roles of Traditional Governance Institutions among the Khasis in Ri Bhoi District of Meghalaya’ emerged from the ancient Nongbah, or first settlement. The earliest was Raid Ïapngar, which comes from Ka Ngar, a woman who died at the site of the Raid’s first settlement, the Nongbah.
According to tradition, Raid Ïapngar was ruled by a woman called Ka Ïong Saring, who was very arrogant and contemptuous of the poor. However, another woman, Ka Luh Shadap (a Pnar), deposed her in an eating competition (involving pork and a sour fruit called sohnairiang, or local lemon) administered by the Basans. Having defeated Ka Ïong Saring, Ka Luh Shadap took over as leader and Lyngdoh of the Raid. Ka Ïong Saring and her family led a wandering life for a while and eventually settled at Raid Nongtung. Today her clan is one of the Jait Basan clans of Raid Nongtung. Another version states that Ka Ïong Saring’s family wandered to Raid Nonglyngdoh in Nongpoh, where they were inducted as the Jait Syiem of Raid Nonglyngdoh under the name Ki Syiem Mariñ. So, women held leadership roles in the very early days of Khasi state formation. But perhaps the most remarkable story of a woman Syiem is connected with the founding of Hima Shillong. This version is found in the 2003 book ‘Ka Jingiathuh-Khana-Pateng Shaphang Ka Hima, Shillong’, by Shortimai Syiem.
It is believed that Hima Shillong traces its origin to Ka Pahsyntiew, who is considered a divine being discovered by Bambteng Mylliemngap near Krem (cave) Marai while he was farming. He was able to entice her out of the cave with a handful of tiew Jalyng-kteng, or the flower of the Khasi pumpkin. She was then adopted into the Kur Mylliemngap, with Bambteng acting as her uncle and taking great care of her in the belief that she was the daughter of Lei Shillong (deity of Shillong peak). Soon, he convened a meeting of the ki Bakhraw, where he expressed his wish to appoint her as “ka nongsynshar-ka nongsumar, ka nongri-ka nongda, ka nongkhroh-ka nongkjor, ka nongmai-ka nongsneng, ka nonglum-ka nonglang ia ki khun ki hajar, kum ka kmie ka syiem”—that is, as the Syiem. The Dorbar agreed with his proposal and resolved that from that day onward there would be only one Hima, and that the girl would be the Syiem who would rule over all. She came to be known as Syiem Pahsyntiew and, eventually, when she married, became the first ancestress of the Syiem clan of Hima Shillong.
All these folklores make it abundantly clear that whether it was the early-state formation period, i.e., Raid, or the final state formation period, i.e., Hima, among the Khasi, the first rulers were women. This corresponds with the written records, which also make it very clear that women could become Syiem. This is not very surprising considering the matrilineal traditions of the Khasi. In fact, it would have been shocking if women did not have a major political role in Khasi society.
This has similarities with another group with whom the Khasi share ancestry: the Vietnamese. Known simply as the Trung Sisters, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị raised an army and went to battle against the Chinese in order to protect their ancestral homeland 2,000 years ago. Trưng Trắc later became the female monarch of Vietnam, as well as the first queen in Vietnamese history. This clearly shows that women have always occupied important political positions in Austro-Asiatic societies, with the matrilineal tradition providing the foundation and logic for it.
Should customary law be transformed to make it more egalitarian? I believe so, but it also carries political risks that have to be considered. In the case of the Khasi, however, at least regarding women’s participation in the political sphere, there is no need to change customary norms, only to revive them. I think it is high time women are given their rightful position in society, as Syiem, Lyngdoh, and Rangbah Shnong.
(The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not reflect in any way his affiliation to any organisation or institution)
