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Preface
This study sprung up as an offshoot from the
concept of Natural Architecture. The
structures depicted in the book Natural
Architecture by Allesandro Rocca drew our
attention to look for structures in India
outside an industrially influenced society, to
understand the relationships that exist
between nature and man. Rudofsky's
Architecture Without Architects gives us a
preview of such structures and societies
around the world, who live with nature by
causing minimal or no damage to the
environment. The best of these examples
being the burial grounds converted to living
quarters in Siwa, Egypt, Hollowed out baoba
tree (Adansonia digitata) dwellings of
tropical Africa and Arbors of Japan made of
bamboo poles and climbers. Inspite of
having a wide diversity of different tribes in
our country, the lack of such examples drove
us to explore further. Few examples were
stumbled upon, like the Mithuvan and
Cholanayakan communities of Kerala. The
former make tree houses to escape from
destruction caused by wild tuskers and the
latter being one of the last communities in
the world who still live in caves. Another
good example was that of the living root
bridges of Meghalaya. Even though a few
documentaries have covered the techniques
of building these living root bridges no
enquiry has been made to understand the
reason behind building them.
Acknowledgments
Firstly I would like to express my sincere
gratitude towards Professor Saurabh Popli,
who guided me by being patient enough at
every step of this research. He helped me
bring focus towards my area of interest in
research. I also appreciate the way in which
he taught me how to produce a research
document and will always be grateful for the
time he spent and the effort he put in
contributing
towards
the
knowledge
pertaining to my study. I am also thank full to
him for all the study materials that he has
given including a book which I am yet to
return.
Secondly I would like to thank my parents in
supporting me morally and financially to
conduct this research. I am deeply humbled
by their blessings and will continue to strive
to make them proud.
Further I thank all the people involved in
making my field visit a success. The list is as
follows. Mr. Kashyap Mankodi for helping
me get in touch with Iba, Ms Ibahun
Basanshrieh for taking her time off in
between her busy schedule, to answer my
calls and just to arrange for my stay in
Nongriat and to put me to Mr Pynsai who
helped me in Cherrapunji. May her soul rest
in peace.
Mr Pynsai who introduced me to Mr Godfrey drama and action. All these memories will
of Nongriat who became a constant remain in my mind for ever and i will miss
them.
companion for the rest of the field visit.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Godfrey Last but not the least, I would like to thank
and his mother Aquila for their kind Prof Jigna Desai for her efforts to streamline
hospitality and helping nature. I will always this research topic.
remember Aquila for her motherly affection,
the food she cooked and hot water that she
arranged for me during my stay at the guest
house in Nongriat. I will also remember Mr
Godfrey as a friend that I have in Nongriat.
His effort to teach me the Khasi way of life
became a valuable part of my study. His
constant companionship and his ability of
speaking English, even though broken,
helped me to a great extent in translating all
that I needed. I also extend my gratitude to
the Sirdar of this village who gave me all the
necessary permissions required to carry out
my work and also for the concessions I got
on the tariff and food of the guest house.
Most importantly I thank Professor Miki
Desai due to whom I am here with a new
mind set and able to present my work.
My heartfelt gratitude towards my closest
friends Aparna, Sharanaya, Kaustubh,
Kushi, Mangesh, Raushan and Parag, and
to all my classmates with whom I spent
wonderful years filled with fun, happiness,
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 AREA & CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
There are numerous ways of understanding
human-nature relationships, but nature
alone cannot be studied in vacuum to
understand these relationships. On the
contrary human beings are part of it. Hence
to understand human-nature relationships,
ecology needs to be studied with the context
of human beings, drawing constant back
and forth relationships. The MerriamWebster dictionary defines human ecology
as 'a branch of sociology dealing especially
with
the
spatial
and
temporal
interrelationships between humans and their
economic, social, and political organization '
(Merriam-Webster, 2013) . In other words it
has to do with the relationships between
various institutions of a society in time and
space where space can be interpreted as
surroundings. 'Many scholars in the 20th
century focused on the relationships
between humans and environment. The
variety of academic approaches is
abundant, ranging from the humanities, and
social sciences to natural sciences as well'
(Lapaka et al., 2012). Nevertheless, the
study relating to culture change as a result
of adaptation to environment was studied by
Julian H. Steward only in the 1950's in a
process that he called cultural ecology and it
was not until the 1970's, when William
Catton Jr. and Riley E. Dunlap introduced a
new concept in social ecology, that the
illustration 2: Methodology
Meghalaya
is
predominantly
tribal'
(Nongkynrih,
2002).
Development
is
proceeding in the North East region at a
rapid rate, this was witnessed on the
highway (National Highway 40) that
connects the capital city of Assam which is
Guwahati to the capital city of Meghalaya
which is Shillong. Shillong is 100 kilometers
(Kms) towards the south of Guwahati. The
drive to Shillong from Guwahati along
National Highway 40 (NH 40) gave a vague
picture of suburbs and villages. Buildings in
the urban areas and suburbs are of concrete
slabs with flat or sloping roofs, but towards
the outskirts one can see shelters with
bamboo mat walls, supported and built
(sometimes on steep slopes) on bamboo
poles with wooden floors and tin roofs
(appendix 1.1 Field visit Photographs). Hills
all along the highway were cut at the time of
the field visit, for road widening and Quarry
work. Industries established along this
highway in the outskirts were seen
contributing to air pollution by expelling thick
white and often black smoke. The landscape
around the city and villages are dominated
by hills. In India as there is no difference in
the time zone between the east and the
west sun disappears behind these hills as
early as 1700 Hrs even in early March.
CHAPTER 3: SUBSISTENCE
3.1 RESOURCE PROCUREMENT
Like most human beings, the Khasis of
Nongriat too are omnivores. They live
primarily on cereals, wild roots, fruits,
vegetables, animal meat and animal
products. Rice is their staple food and they
obtain it from Cherrapunji. Chicken and pig
are domesticated while milk comes from
Tyrna. They depend on the forests
surrounding them for a living. Like most
hunter gatherers they too primarily gathered
seeds, roots, fruits, etc and hunted from the
forests around them, but with the influence
of agriculturists and the people from nearby
urban areas, and with the present markets
offering anywhere between `300 to `500 for
a day's collection (of various things collected
from forests) they trade their goods weekly,
for money and obtain their daily needs from
Cherrapunji.
Nonetheless
the
forest
surrounding them is the main source for
their subsistence. They mainly exploit forest
ecozones consisting of freshwater and
terrestrial ecosystems. The village is
tethered around the rivers Simtung, river
Umkyrsah (or Umkyrsan) and river
Mawkyrdup which are the tributaries of the
river Brahmaputra. While Simtung is a little
away towards the South west, the village is
located on the banks of the river Umkyrsah
towards the foothills of the mountain and
river Umshiang flows right through it. A little
ahead of the village, towards the North east,
d) Miscellaneous
A few more fruit bearing trees like litchis,
Jack fruits and Mangoes grow in this region
in comparatively small numbers. Their fruits
are
obtained
mainly
for
personal
consumption as per the availability. Along
with these fruits the roots of the plant
Nelumbo nucifera are also collected.
e) Fire wood
Their main source of fuel comes from
firewood. Food is cooked in chulas, for
which the wood is collected from the forest.
They are gather from felled trees or trees
that have fallen naturally. The collected
wood is brought back on shoulders
(Illustration 21), chopped into pieces and
then left in the sun for drying (Illustration 22).
They are also placed on a platform on top of
Agriculture in the past and the present
Blessed with rain almost through out the
year the forests have been used for
agriculture since their contact with the
outside world. Khasis of Nongriat follow the
process of felling and burning trees in a
forest patch for agriculture. This process is
described by Gurdon as follows 'The trees
being felled early in the winter are allowed to
lie there till January or February. Then fire is
applied to logs of wood placed at intervals of
a few feet to prevent, as far as possible, the
Ahmedabad.
d) Miscellaneous
Apart from the main cash crops, a few
vegetable gardens were found in the village,
sometimes they are attached to the houses
(Illustration 11). Tomatoes, potatoes, onions
and other vegetables are grown in these
gardens for personal consumption.
Hunting - a forgotten subsistence and
domestication- a substitute.
Like all other tribal societies the Khasis of
Nongriat too relied on hunting in the past for
their living. A detailed description of hunting
given by Gurdon in his book The Khasis
show that they were known to hunt about a
hundred years ago. Owing to the influence
of the urban areas, in the recent past
hunting has vanished. This led to the
practice of relying on agriculture and
domestication of animals. The Khasi turned
Christians of this village who once hunted
now domesticate birds and animals for a
Illustration 12: resource flow of domesticated animals, animal products and fishing
honey is extracted up to 3-4 times a year. considerate about their biological resources
To conclude, their method of subsistence (Tynsong & Tiwari, 2008). This can be
from honey hasn't changed since centuries. understood better after the CHAPTER 4:
EGALITARIAN BEHAVIOR.
Fishing - a recreation for some,
subsistence for others.
As the subtitle suggests fishing is a mode of
subsistence for some and recreation for a
Even though this village is tethered around few others. They use fishing rods obtained
rivers, fishing doesn't form every family's from Shillong while fishing for recreation,
subsistence. Only few venture out of the and use nets while fishing for subsistence.
village and follow the river Mawkyrdup in Fishes obtained either ways sells for around
search of places to fish. Fishes are caught Rs 300 per kg. They are sold within the
for self consumption only and not to cater to village or used for personal consumption.
the needs of the urban areas, hence it is not Fishing during the breeding season, is
carried out at a large scale. In the mornings, banned by the village chief as it results in it's
a team of five to six people can be seen unavailability during later seasons. Empirical
proceeding outside the village, along with study revealed the pattern of recreational
their nets. They pass the two root bridges fishing. A group of friends, five to six in
towards the north eastern side of the village number, leave towards the river at around
and proceed further in search of a suitable 09:00 pm. Since they know their surrounding
place to fish. Since the river Umshiang is well, even at night they commute with ease
located within the village and is immediately just by using torches. They often choose
accessible, fishing is banned here by the shortcuts which are difficult to negotiate,
village head. This not only prevents over atleast for an outsider. A hard day's time
harvesting and exploitation of resources it spent in the forest does not stop them from
also protects ecology within the village. venturing back again for recreation. In their
Some parts of the village are community minds it is leisure and fishing is enjoyed as a
owned (explained in detail in the coming sport. They go with a lot of excitement and
chapters) and resources are treated as a are gone for hours. Worms and some plants
community property. Everybody have an are used as baits, but often an artificial
equal right over them, but no ownership. A silicon fish attached to the ready made
study by H Tynsong & BK Tiwari suggests fishing liners are not replaced. The person
that the Khasis operate under such who catches fishes either uses them for
regulations framed by the village council, cooking food the next day, or sells them to
Scared grooves
Illustration 19: The process of clearing forests and afforesting it again changes the natural landscape
Illustration 20: seasonal extraction of resource use. (Thicker the line more dependency on
subsistence)
*constructed after
understanding a kur
from A.K. Nongkynrih's
Khasi society of
Meghalaya
Illustration 25: Clan tree diagram.
4.2 SOCIETY
From the previous sub chapter, it is clear
that the Khasis of Nongriat have a strong
system of kinship which forms the basis for
the division of labor and the flow of
resources. The structure of the society on
the other hand, regulates the control of
various available resource bases, by
establishing governing bodies and keeping
the general interest of the community. These
governing bodies, not only keep a constant
check
on
the
available
resources
segregated for community use, but also
settles disputes between two parties. On the
whole they look over and take care of the
natural and human resources available.
Governing bodies are established for this
sole purpose only, and not to force power on
the people in any way. Thus the governing
bodies or individuals within these governing
bodies are chosen by the people themselves
for the betterment of the community as a
whole. It would be apt to say that functioning
of the household in Nongriat is based on
kinship, and the society at large operate
under the concept of democracy. Hence
there is no caste system found here and
everyone is considered to be equal.
System of administration and social
hierarchy
syiem
understanding it wouldn't be wrong to use exercise his authority over the others.
the word 'group of localities' instead of People of this village normally choose a
Sirdar every three to five years, and during
'village' in relation to it's use with Nongriat.
the field visit, the Sirdar had already finished
As mentioned earlier, group of Kyntoit are five years in his post and was going to
put under a head, a Sirdar and his decisions continue till people choose otherwise. He
are informed by the elders. The laws of had, in the communities interest, banned
governance of natural and human resources fishing and exploitation of the rivers that
in a kyntoit is over looked by the sirdar, while were flowing within the vicinity of the village.
the authority to take decisions lies with the He had also ordered to add another decker
elders of the village who form the village to the existing living root bridge to promote
council. Any elder of the village can be part tourism, due to which people came together
of this council of members which form a and have started the process of addition. He
Dorbar shnong. Each adult male member, had also, with the help of other fellow
who is over 25 years of age, who work for members built a guest house for the sake of
the subsistence, or contribute to the travelers who come to visit these root
subsistence of the community can bridges, and was responsible in maintaining
participate in the proceedings of this council. it. With the help of the people of this village
In other words he is considered as an adult and the church he had also set up a small
only when he starts taking responsibilities. In community hall to carry out the proceeding
a typical house hold there would be at least of the village council. If the village was in
one adult male member who would be part need of infrastructure the Sirdar would order
of this council. Hence it is ultimately the the the people to contribute towards its
people who govern. In most cases people development, and they would abide by it. If
abide by the decisions taken by the Sirdar. If matters of dispute were not settled by the
a dispute breaks out between two people, Sirdar, it would go to the village council, and
the Sirdar and the elders listen to both the this council is treated as the ultimate source
parties and try to strike a compromise so as of authority (Mawrie, 1981). Syiems on the
to avoid feuds. It was noticed in the village other hand govern larger areas of resource
of Nongriat that even though the Sirdar is bases lying outside the village boundaries
respected amongst the Khasis for his (gray area in Illustration 28). Such areas are
position in their society, he leads a simple the 'in-between areas' of Kyntoit or
life like any other member of the village. He Shnongs. Such a political head is treated
for the Khasis, is one amongst them, as a equivalent to a king in his authority, but they
representative, and not somebody who can cannot exercise any control directly with in
Summary
On the whole 'The Khasis are not lovers of
wealth' (Mawrie, 1981) in general and do not
live only for themselves. Kinship influences
the way in which house holds and clans are
formed which further influences in the way
the land is divided. The divided land is
administrated accordingly by community
way of controlling the available resources
where governing bodies are controlled by
the people. They are established to regulate
the useage of common resource pools. The Illustration 30: diagram showing
components of the Khasi society of Nongriat
Hima
Direction of
Resource flow
Kyntoit
Village
Case of Nongriat
where clustered
Kyntoits are in the
same village
Illustration 34: roots seen anchored to rocks for support, forming the bridge
Illustration 36: A Khasi women of Nongriat climbing a series of steps with a traditional bamboo basket
Illustration 42: flattened out portion of the land in front of the houses used to dry the plant materials
Illustration 45: the last standing traditional house seen in between a new construction (on the right) and a relatively new house (on the left)
Illustration 46: chapel in this village is built almost at the top of the hill.
Inheritance
Since they trace their family lineage through
the female blood line the property is
inherited by the daughters. As mentioned in
the previous chapter, the youngest daughter
is the care taker of mother's iing. Such a
house inherited by her after her mother's
death is referred by others as ing-seng
which means ancestral house. After the
mother's death the property owned by the
mother gets dived amongst the daughter's.
The following paragraph by Gurdon explains
the inheritance system. 'the youngest
daughter gets the lion's share, e.g. the
family jewelery, and the family house, and
the greater part of what it contains..... The
youngest daughter cannot dispose of the
house without the unanimous consent of her
sisters. If the youngest daughter dies, she is
succeeded by the next youngest daughter,
and so on. All the daughters are bound to
repair the house of the youngest daughter
free of cost. In the event of the youngest
daughter
changing
her
religion,
or
committing an act of sang, or taboo, she
loses her position in the family, and is
succeeded by her next youngest sister, as in
the case of a death. Failing daughters,
inheritance would pass......to the sister's
youngest
daughter,
who
would
be
succeeded by her youngest daughter, and
so on. Failing sister's daughters succession
would revert to the mother's sisters and their
female descendants......Amongst Khasis all
Illustration 47: a specific type of flowering plant used on top of the tip of grafted trees
returning home from the forest, they can be reason is that this is a long term genetic
seen cutting fire wood or washing clothes. change which is a form of anatomical
The people like the Japanese are fond of adaptation.
nature,3 the surrounding mountains and
rivers are not just a source for their
livelihood but also their playground. The
young males of Nongriat occasionally, after
coming back from the forest go out to the
river valleys, at around 8 pm, to fish. They
are sometimes gone for hours in search of
leisure.
Summary:
The Khasis of Nongriat are hard working
people who have adapted to their
environment. Their natural surroundings
made of difficult terrain along with their
physically enduring routine have shaped
their body for hundreds of years. One of
man's greatest discovery-the wheel is
rendered useless in this terrain. All these
factors have
partly made human muscle
4
power as the main energy resources used
by them. This has given rise to anatomical
adaptations in them. This also means that
they are confined to use their muscle power
to extract resource from their environment
and hence this extraction is limited within the
boundaries of their physical tolerances. All
though high development of calf muscles in
the Khasis of Nongriat seem to be a type of
secondary physiological response, this
character is also seen in young females who
3 Gurdon, 1914 gives an account of their physical characters, methods of lively hood, occupation & lifestyle, all of which accounts for their mode of resource use.
4 Frame work from This Fissured land(Gadgil & Ramachandra, 1992).
CHAPTER 7: KNOWLEDGE
7.1 QUALITY OF EDUCATION V/S OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES V/S RESOURCE USE PATTERN
5
5 Education refers to formal schooling a child undergoes and not the kind of knowledge gained.
*Boundary of
Nongriat signifies
physical boundary
w.r.t migration,
resource availability
and resource use.
Illustration 48: Schematic relationship between resource use and educational opportunities.
Illustration 49: the child seen shredding the palm leaves into
stripes