traveling with India

India is often perceived as a country where women live in the shadow of male authority to make virtually  all important decisions in their lives. Then..there are the Khasis. They are a tribal people with an ancient matrilineal culture that sweeps aside stereotypical images of subservient Indian womanhood.   Who are the Khasis? Are they a tribe of Xena-like women and emasculated men? I am in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, to find out with the help of James Perry, director of local tour company, Cultural Pursuits. James grew up in a missionary family based in Shillong, "returned" to Canada for his later education, and has now settled down in Meghalaya with his Christian Khasi wife, Valerie. He offered to share his lifelong passion for these tribal people and their stunning environment, and further my inquiries within his wide circle of acquaintances. The word "tribal" conjures up images of a primitive, backward people. The Khasis are neither. While the majority are farmers who live in the hill areas of Meghalaya, their counterparts in Shillong are doctors, lawyers, academics, government administrators and small business operators. They likely arrived in northeastern India from Cambodia and Laos in about the 13th century. Both their physical resemblance and their dialect derived from the Mon-Khymer group of languages appear to bear this out. Churches, missionary-funded schools and hospitals made their appearance in Shillong in the mid-1800s. Today the Khasi population is around 879,000 and although roughly 50% still practice Christianity - at least by outward appearances - their original pantheistic beliefs have by no means disappeared. If anything, there is a resurgence of pride in folkloric history and the age-old rituals of ancestor worship are enjoying a revival throughout the Khasi hills. Consider this: There is no dowry system among the Khasis and both sexes are free to choose their own partners. Often there is no formal marriage ceremony with the relationship merely sealed by the man moving into a woman's joint family ancestral home. Divorce is equally simple: regardless of who initiates the split, the husband must move out of his wife's household-either back to his ancestral home, or to that of a new spouse. The wife may then introduce a new partner into her family enclave. Both are legitimate second marriages. Men have no custody rights over their offspring, and are not liable for alimony. The children "belong" to the mother's family who are responsible for their support and therefore control all decisions pertaining to their upbringing and future. In addition, no Khasi woman is ever thrown out onto the street. Whether married or not, her children are cherished as lineage 'seeds and flowers' and raised in the maternal ancestral home. Although male babies are welcomed, the birth of a girl is considered a special blessing. Family incomes are pooled and households are managed by the older women, who apportion domestic expenses. The youngest daughter of the family matriarch is the legal custodian of the family's wealth and property. courtesy by http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/India.htm