View source for Khasi people

{{short description|Ethnic group in India}}
{{original research|date=February 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Khasi
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| flag             = <!-- (image filename) -->
| flag_caption     = 
| image            = Khasi Girls.jpg
| image_caption    = Khasi women in traditional dress
| total            = 1,512,831
| total_ref        = <!-- references supporting total population -->
| genealogy        = 
| total_year       = <!-- year of total population -->
| regions          = <!-- for e.g. a list of regions (countries), especially if regionN etc below not used -->
| region1          = {{flag|India}}
| pop1             = 1,427,711
| ref1             = <ref name="census">{{cite web|title=A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|website=censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Government of India|access-date=28 October 2017}}</ref>
| region2          = {{spaces|14}}[[Meghalaya]]
| pop2             = 1,382,278 
| ref2             = <ref>{{cite web |title=C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Meghalaya |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1700.XLSX |website=census.gov.in |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> 
| region3          = {{spaces|14}}[[Assam]]
| pop3             = 34,558
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web |title=C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Assam |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1800.XLSX |website=census.gov.in |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> 
| region4          = {{flag|Bangladesh}}
| pop4             = 85,120
| languages        = [[Khasi language|Khasi]]
| religions        = Christianity 30%, Hinduism 30%, Muslim 20%, Niam Khasi 20%<ref> Khasi, in Dizionario di storia, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2010</ref> 
| related_groups   = [[Khmer people|Khmers]], [[Palaung people|Palaungs]], [[Va people|Was]], [[Kinh]] and other [[Mon–Khmer]]s
| footnotes        = 
| philosophies     = 
}}
The '''Khasi people''' are an ethnic group of [[Meghalaya]] in north-eastern [[India]] with a significant population in the bordering state of [[Assam]], and in certain parts of [[Bangladesh]]. The Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of Meghalaya, and is the state's largest community, with around 48% of the population of Meghalaya. They are among the few [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic-speaking]] peoples in [[South Asia]]. A cultural tradition of the Khasi people is that they follow the matrilineal system.<ref> Khasi, in Dizionario di storia, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2010</ref> Under the [[Constitution of India]], the Khasis have been granted the status of [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]].

==History ==
===Khasi mythology===
[[File:G105706.jpg|thumb|Khasi woman and standing-stones, near Laitlyngkot, Meghalaya, India]]
Khasi mythology traces the tribe's original abode to {{lang|kha|'Ki Hynñiewtrep}} ("The Seven Huts").<ref name="Banaji2010">{{cite book|author=Shakuntala Banaji|title=South Asian media cultures | date=1 April 2010|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-842-2|pages=48–}}</ref> According to the Khasi mythology, {{lang|kha|U Blei Trai Kynrad}} (God, the Lord Master) had originally distributed the human race into 16 heavenly families ({{lang|kha|Khadhynriew Trep}}).<ref name="Nongkinrih2002">{{cite book|author=Aurelius Kyrham Nongkinrih|title=Khasi society of Meghalaya: a sociological understanding |year=2002|publisher=Indus Publishing|  isbn=978-81-7387-137-5 | pages=130–131}}</ref> However, seven out of these 16 families were stuck on earth while the other 9 are stuck in heaven. According to the myth, a heavenly ladder resting on the sacred Lum Sohpetbneng Peak (located in the present-day [[Ri-Bhoi district]]) enabled people to go freely and frequently to heaven whenever they pleased until one day they were tricked into cutting a divine tree which was situated at Lum Diengiei Peak (also in present-day [[East Khasi Hills district]]), a grave error which prevented them access to the heavens forever. This myth is often seen{{by whom|date=January 2020}} as a metaphor of how nature and trees, in particular, are the manifestation of the divine on Earth and destroying nature and trees means severing our ties with the Divine. Like the Japanese, the Khasis use the rooster as a symbol because they believe that it was he who aroused God and also humbly paved and cleared the path for God to create the Universe at the beginning of time. The rooster is the symbol of morning marking a new beginning and a new sunrise.

===Language===
{{See also|Peopling of India}}
The [[Khasi language]] is classified as part of the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic language family]]. According to [[Wilhelm Schmidt (linguist)|Peter Wilhelm Schmidt]], the Khasi people are related to the [[Mon–Khmer languages|Mon-Khmer]] people of [[Southeast Asia]]. Multiple types of research indicate that the Austroasiatic populations in [[India]] are derived from migrations from Southeast Asia during the [[Holocene]] period. Many of the words are similar to other Austroasiatic languages such as [[Palaung language|Palaung]] and [[Khmer language]]:

* Tiger- {{lang|kha|Khla}} (Both Khasi and Khmer).
* To fly- {{lang|kha|Her}} in Khasi, haer in Khmer
* Belly- {{lang|kha|kpoh}} in Khasi, poh in Khmer, bung in [[Vietnamese (language)|Vietnamese]]. 
* New-  {{lang|kha|Thymme}} or {{lang|kha|thymmai}} in Khasi, thmei or thmai in Khmer, moi in Vietnamese
* Year- {{lang|kha|Snem}} in Khasi, chnem in Khmer, nam in Vietnamese 
* Far- {{lang|kha|jngai}} in Khasi, chngay in Khmer, ngay in Vietnamese
* Leaf- {{lang|kha|Sla}} or {{lang|kha|'la}} in Khasi, slaek in Khmer, la in Vietnamese
* Crab- {{lang|kha|tham}} in Khasi, ktam in Khmer
* Fingers- {{lang|kha|preamti}} in only the [[Pnar language|pnar dialect]] (Khasi sub-tribe), mreamdai in Khmer, ngon tay in Vietnamese. 
* Toes- {{lang|kha|preamjat}} in the [[Pnar language|pnar dialect]] (Khasi sub-tribe)], mreamcheung in Khmer, ngon chan in Vietnamese. 
* Children- {{lang|kha|Khun, khon}}, or {{lang|kha|kon}} in Khasi, kaun, kon, in Khmer, con in Vietnamese
* Birds- {{lang|kha|sim}} in Khasi, 'chim in Vietnamese
* Eyes- {{lang|kha|khmat}} or {{lang|kha|'mat}} in Khasi, mat in Vietnamese
*Fish- {{lang|kha|'kha}} in Khasi, 'Ca' in Vietnamese
* Mother - {{lang|kha|mei}} in Khasi, mẹ in Vietnamese, mea also in the Thai a [[Kra–Dai languages|kra-dai]] language family
* Lion- {{lang|kha|'sing'}}  in Khasi, sing too in Thai a [[Kra–Dai languages|kra]]-dai language family
*Rice- {{lang|kha|Khaw}} in Khasi and [[Thai language|Thai]] also 'Khaw', Gao in Vietnamese.

There are also similar to those in [[Sino-Tibetan languages]], such as {{lang|kha|nga}} meaning "I," which is the same in Tibetan, Burmese, and [[Old Chinese]] as it is in Khasi. Traces of connections with the [[Kachin people|Kachin tribe]] of North [[Myanmar]] have also been in the Khasis. The Khasi people also have their own word for the Himalayan mountains which is "Ki Lum Mankashang" which means that at one point in time, they did cross the mighty mountains. Therefore, all these records and their present culture, features, and language strongly show that they also have a strong Tibeto-Himalayan-Burman influence. The word "Khas" means hills and they have always been people of cold and hilly regions and have never been connected to the plains or arid regions. This nature-loving tribe calls the wettest place on Earth their home. The village of [[Mawsynram]] in Meghalaya receives 467 inches of rain per year.

Primarily an oral language, they had no script of their own, until the arrival of the Welsh missionaries. The Welsh missionaries originally used the Bengali script before resorting to the Roman script to transcribe the Sohra dialect of the Khasi language. Particularly significant in this regard was a Welsh evangelist, [[Thomas Jones (missionary)|Thomas Jones]].

===Modern times===
The Khasi first came in contact with the [[British Raj|British]] in 1823, after the latter captured [[Ahom kingdom|Assam]]. The area inhabited by the Khasi became a part of the [[Assam Province]] after the Khasi Hill States (which numbered to about 25 kingdoms) entered into a subsidiary alliance with the British.

The main crops produced by the Khasi people are [[Betel|betel leaves]], [[areca nut]], oranges, pineapples, plums, litchis, local varieties of rice and vegetables.

== Geographical distribution and sub-groups ==
[[File:1947-Khasi_states.png|thumb|right|Khasi states, 1947]]

Many Khasi sociologists classify the Khasi tribe in the following seven sub-tribes, which are collectively also known as the '''''Children of the Seven Huts''''': 

* '''Khynriam''' (or '''Nongphlang'''): inhabit the uplands of the [[East Khasi Hills district]].
* '''Pnar''' (or '''Synteng''') live in the uplands of the [[Jaintia Hills district]]. 
* '''Bhoi''' live in the lower hills to the north and north-east of the [[Khasi and Jaintia Hills]] towards the [[Brahmaputra]] valley in a vast area in [[Ri-Bhoi district]]. 
* '''[[War language|War]]''' subdivided into War-Jaintia and War-Khynriam tribes live on the steep southern slopes of [[Khasi Hills]] leading to [[Bangladesh]].
* '''Maram''' inhabit the uplands of the central parts of [[West Khasi Hills District]]. 
* '''Lyngngam'''  inhabit the western parts of the [[West Khasi Hills  district]] bordering the [[Garo Hills]] display linguistic and cultural characteristics which show influences from both the Khasis to their east and the [[Garo people]] to the west. 
* '''Diko''' are extinct group who once inhabited the lowlands of the West Khasi Hills District.

According to the 2011 Census of India, over 1.41&nbsp;million Khasi lived in [[Meghalaya]] in the districts of East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi, West Jaintia Hills and East Jaintia Hills. In Assam, their population reached 35,000.

==Dress==
[[File:Khasi tribe para dance.jpg|thumb|right|Khasi children, 1944]]
[[File:Shad Suk Mysiem.JPG|thumb|Dancers during the festival of Shad Suk Mynsiem in Shillong]]
The traditional Khasi male dress is a {{lang|kha|Jymphong}}, a longish sleeveless coat without collar, fastened by thongs in front. Nowadays, most male Khasis have adopted western attire. On ceremonial occasions they appear in a {{lang|kha|Jymphong}} and [[sarong]] with an ornamental waist-band and they may also wear a turban.

The traditional Khasi female dress is called the {{lang|kha|Jainsem}} or {{lang|kha|Dhara}}, both of which are rather elaborate with several pieces of cloth, giving the body a cylindrical shape. On ceremonial occasions, they may wear a crown of silver or gold. A spike or peak is fixed to the back of the crown, corresponding to the feathers worn by the menfolk. The {{lang|kha|Jainsem}} consists of two pieces of material fastened at each shoulder. The "Dhara" consists of a single piece of material also fastened at each shoulder.

== Marriage ==
The Khasis are, for the most part, monogamous. Their social organisation does not favour other forms of marriage; therefore, deviation from this norm is quite rare. Young men and women are permitted considerable freedom in the choice of mates. Potential marriage partners are likely to have been acquainted before betrothal. Once a man has selected his desired spouse, he reports his choice to his parents. They then secure the services of a mediator to make the arrangements with the woman's family (provided that the man's clan agree with his choice). The parents of the woman ascertain her wishes and if she agrees to the arrangement her parents check to make certain that the man to be wed is not a member of their clan (since Khasi clans are exogamous, marital partners may not be from the same clan). If this is satisfactory then a wedding date is set.{{fact|date=November 2021}}

Divorce (with causes ranging from incompatibility to lack of offspring) is easily obtainable. This ceremony traditionally consists of the husband handing the wife 5 cowries or paisa which the wife then hands back to her husband along with 5 of her own. The husband then throws these away or gives them to a village elder who throws them away.  Present-day Khasis divorce through the Indian legal system.{{fact|date=November 2021}}

The type of marriage is the determining factor in the marital residence. In short, post marital residence for a married man when an heiress (known as {{lang|kha|Ka Khadduh}}) is involved must be matrilocal (that is, in his mother-in-law's house), while post-marital residence when a non-heiress is involved is neolocal. Traditionally (though nowadays rule is not absolutely true), a Khasi man returns to his Iing-Kur (maternal home) upon the death of his spouse (if she is a Khadduh and they both have no children). These practices are the result of rules governing inheritance and property ownership. These rules are themselves related to the structure of the Khasi Kur (clan system).{{fact|date=November 2021}}

== Onomastics ==
Khasi names are known for their originality and elaborate nature.  The given names may be invented by parents for their children, and these can be based on traditional native names, Christian names, or other English words.  The family names, which they call "surnames," remain typically in the native Khasi language.{{fact|date=November 2021}}

The Khasi people do not have sub-tribes, a confusion that sometimes arises from the expression {{lang|kha|Khynriam, u Pnar, u Bhoi, u War}}. This term is mainly based on the geographical location a Khasi inhabits. Khasi inhabiting the northern part are known as Bhoi, as that area is often called Ri Bhoi. People in the east are known as the Pnar, and they call their land Rilum Jaintia. The south are called War or Ri War, because of its mountainous regions and [[soil fertility]]. The west has a number of regional names: Maram, Rimen, Khatsawphra, Mawiang, Lyngam. A Khasi who inhabits the central area is known as Khynriam. The War inhabitants of the Khasi community designed and built [[living root bridges]] of the War region.{{fact|date=November 2021}}

== Traditional polities ==
[[File:Iing sad smit.jpg|thumb|The royal seat of Khyrim at Smit]]
The traditional political structure of the Khasi community is democratic in nature. In the past, the Khasis consisted of independent native states called Syiemships, where male elders of various clans under the leadership of the Chief (called U Syiem) would congregate during Durbars or sessions and come to a decision regarding any dispute or problem that would arise in the Syiemship. At the village level, there exists a similar arrangement where all the residents of the village or town come together under the leadership of an elected Headman (called U Rangbah Shnong) to decide on matters pertaining to the locality. This system of village administration is much like the [[Panchayati Raj]] prevalent in most Indian States. There were around 25 independent native states on record which were annexed and acceded to the Indian Union. The Syiems of these native states (called Hima) were traditionally elected by the people or ruling clans of their respective domains. Famous among these Syiemships are Hima Mylliem, Hima Khyrim, Hima Nongkhlaw, amongst others. These Syiemships continue to exist and function till today under the purview of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), which draws its legal power and authority from the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://megartsculture.gov.in/herit_volIII-trad_insts.htm|title=Traditional Institutions of the People of Meghalaya, Heritage of Meghalaya: Department of Arts and Culture, Government of Meghalaya|website=megartsculture.gov.in|language=en-US|access-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

== Religion ==
Before the arrival of Christian missionaries, the majority of the Khasi people practiced an indigenous tribal religion.<ref>Iarington Kharkongngor (1973), The Preparation for the Gospel in Traditional Khasi Belief. I. Kharkongngor. pp. 19-26.</ref><ref>Gurdon, P.R.T. The Khasis.</ref> Though around 85% of the Khasi populace have embraced Christianity, a substantial minority of the Khasi people still follow and practice their age-old indigenous religion, which is known as {{lang|kha|Ka Niam Khasi}} and {{lang|kha|Niam tre}}. The main Christian denominations followed by the Khasis include [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Presbyterianism]] (largest Christian denomination among the Khasis), and others. There are also a small number of Khasis, as a result of inter-community marriages, who are Muslims. There are also followers of Khasi Unitarianism as founded by Hajom Kissor Sing Lyngdoh Nongbri.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

== Notable people ==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2021}}
*[[U Tirot Sing]] Syiem, freedom fighter and martyr
*[[U Kiang Nangbah]], freedom fighter and martyr
*[[George Gilbert Swell]], former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Ambassador to Norway and Burma
*[[James Michael Lyngdoh]], former Chief Election Commissioner of India
*[[Keishing Clifford Nongrum]], MVC, Mahavir Chakra awardee (posthumously) 
*[[Skendrowell Syiemlieh]], Notable Khasi folk singer and Padmashree awardee. 
*[[Neil Nongkynrih]], director of the [[Shillong Chamber Choir]]
*[[David R. Syiemlieh]], former chairman, Union Public Service Commission
*[[Bonily Khongmen]], Indian politician from the Indian National Congress party, Former member of Lok Sabha
*[[Silverine Swer]], Indian social and environmental activist, educationist and civil servant.
*[[J. J. M. Nichols Roy]] (Rev. James Joy Mohan Nichols Roy) member of the Constituent Assembly of India, pioneer of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India "which established autonomous district councils in tribal areas in the north-east"<ref>Constituent Assembly Members, J.J.M. Nichols Roy, https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constituent_assembly_members/j_j_m__nichols_roy</ref><ref>J.J.M. Nichols Roy, https://khadc.nic.in/JJM_Nichols_Roy.html</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Khasi pine]]
* [[Tirot Sing]]
* [[Anglo-Khasi War]]
* [[Tungrymbai]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation | last1 =Chaubey | display-authors =etal | year =2011 | title =Population Genetic Structure in Indian Austroasiatic Speakers: The Role of Landscape Barriers and Sex-Specific Admixture | journal =Mol Biol Evol | doi =10.1093/molbev/msq288 | volume=28 | issue =2 | pages=1013–1024 | pmid=20978040 | pmc=3355372}}
* {{Citation | last =van Driem | first =George L. | year =2007b | title =Austroasiatic phylogeny and the Austroasiatic homeland in light of recent population genetic studies | url =http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/files/driem/pdfs/2007MKS.pdf}}
* {{Citation | last =Ness | first =Immanuel | year =2014 | title =The Global Prehistory of Human Migration | publisher =The Global Prehistory of Human Migration}}
* {{Citation | last1 =Zhang | display-authors =etal | year =2015 | title =Y-chromosome diversity suggests southern origin and Paleolithic backwave migration of Austro-Asiatic speakers from eastern Asia to the Indian subcontinent | journal =Scientific Reports | doi =10.1038/srep15486 | pmid =26482917 | pmc =4611482 | volume=5 | pages=15486| bibcode =2015NatSR...515486Z }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100605042409/http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/scst_main.html Census of India 2001, Scheduled Tribes]
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12786 The Khasis] by Gurdon, P. R. T.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080308175546/http://meghalaya.nic.in/culture/people.htm Government of Meghalaya] Portal
* [http://khasi.free-dict.de Dictionary German Khasi]

{{Scheduled tribes of India}}
{{Ethnic groups in Bangladesh}}
{{Hill tribes of Northeast India}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Khasi people| ]]
[[Category:Tribes of Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Assam]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Northeast India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]