Five days in Meghalaya: Home of the Clouds
Meghalaya is a state of the Union of India, formed in 1972 from two districts of Assam. The Khasi, Garo and Jaintia tribal nations ruling these hills together make up this state. I had the chance to visit Meghalaya on the Indian Independence Day, and to gain a passing acquaintance with the Khasi peoples. Khasi is a Austroasiatic language (like Khmer, Vietnamese and other South Asian languages), which appears to be indigenous and independent of the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. About 75% of the people are Christians, and aside from their tribal language, one would be quite at home speaking fluent English. Hindi is relatively unknown, while you have a far better chance of getting understood in English. That is a result of the parishes and convents which set up schools and taught people the language. Khasi culture is matriarchal. All inheritance can only happen through the youngest woman child, or woman relative. The woman owns all property. Mawsynram...