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[replace with] Khasia, The (or Khasi)
[replace with] Mongolite ethnic group. The Khasia's descended to the Khasia hills and
[replace with] Jaintia
[replace with]  hills from Cherapunji and Shilong regions. They migrated to
[replace with] Bangladesh from Assam where they came about five hundred years ago,
[replace with] presumably from Tibet, and now form one of the major matriarchal tribes in
[replace with] Bangladesh. Khasias are short people with flat noses and mouths, high jaws,
[replace with] and small and straightened black eyes. Once they were nomads and they are
[replace with] still inclined to roam. North-east Bengal formed their traditional welling
[replace with] place. The habitats of the hilly Khasias extend upto the Garo hills in the
[replace with] west. They are fond of hills, mounds, bushes, and forests. They build their
[replace with] cottages with a balcony on a platform made of wood and bamboo. The balcony
[replace with] is used as drawing room. Recently, they have begun to build houses like the
[replace with] Bangalis. The kitchen is attached to the bedrooms and almost every house of
[replace with] Khasias has a pig-shed near it.
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[replace with] Historical Background:
[replace with] Khasias call their villages
[replace with] punjis. The villages are clusters of houses within the cultural boundary of
[replace with] their own community. However, in search of livelihood, they often desert
[replace with] their punjis and move to new places, where they form new ones to live in.
[replace with] They spread out to different places. Previously, Khasias in Bangladesh lived
[replace with] in the northeast border of sunamganj district, while in India they had
[replace with] settled in the foothold of the Jaintia hills in Meghalaya, at an elevation
[replace with] 9-10 meter above the sea level. Once a Khasia Sardar (tribe leader) occupied
[replace with] a few parganas (administrative divisions) and built an estate, but later, he
[replace with] was ousted. At present, Khasias are spread over bishwamvarpur, tahirpur and
[replace with] chhatak in Sunamganj. Other tribes living in the Khasia region include the
[replace with] Syntong, garo and Lalong, who are minority groups. Although descendants from
[replace with] the Khasia, these minority groups are looked down upon by them. Khasias have
[replace with] a number of other descendants of their own like the Khongta, Palong and
[replace with] Surong. There are five punjis in the border bteween habiganj and maulvi
[replace with] bazar, sixty-one in Maulvi Bazar, and seven in sylhet. Most Khasias live in
[replace with] the border region. Some live in Guyanghat, jaintapur, and Joyai. Many Khasia
[replace with] children are found working in the tea garden in kulaura.
[replace with] Khasias are strongly attached
[replace with] to their tribal origin and culture. Although at present, they are gentle,
[replace with] polite and very disciplined, they were known to be aggressive in the past.
[replace with] The hilly Khasias used to attack villages in the plain regions and plunder
[replace with] villages, commit arson, and kill innocent people. In 1744, they were known
[replace with] to have burnt the scaffold of the capital of a feudal king (chieftain). The
[replace with] Mughals posted an army in the border parganas to repel the attack of Khasias.
[replace with] The British also did the same thing. The mountains in the border region
[replace with] abound in limestone. Conflicts over the business in limestone prevailed up
[replace with] to 1795. The mountains were under the control of the Khasia chieftains. In
[replace with] 1787, they attacked some five parganas and killed about three hundred
[replace with] people. Poisonous arrows and bows were used in these raids. The British
[replace with] faced great difficulty in controlling them. Khasias attacked even many local
[replace with] zamindars then.
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[replace with] Socio Economic Aspects:
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[replace with] Livelihood:
[replace with] According to the census of 1991, the total number of Khasias in Bangladesh
[replace with] was 12,300, but the Bangladesh Khasia Society claims the number to be around
[replace with] 30,000. Birth rate is very high among Khasias. The chief of the punji is
[replace with] called Siem. Some punji-chiefs in Meghalaya and Bangladesh have the power of
[replace with] arbitration. They are called ministers, and own vast land property.
[replace with] Sharecroppers work in their lands and orchards. The job of the sharecroppers
[replace with] is supervised by paid workers. Religious festivals and social ceremonies are
[replace with] held under the supervision of the ministers. Many Khasias used to grow
[replace with] bananas, pineapples, oranges, cassia leaf (or dial), blackpepper and pan
[replace with] (betel leaf) on lands which they did not own. In addition to working in tea
[replace with] garden, they also traded in betel leaf, oranges, fish and rice in markets on
[replace with] both sides of the border. Rice and fish are their major food items.
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[replace with] Social System:
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[replace with] Lifestyle: The religious
[replace with] feelings, culture, dress and manners of the Khasia today have been moderated
[replace with] considerably under the influence of modern developments in education,
[replace with] science, technology and culture. While they are adopting modern life-styles,
[replace with] some primitive traits are still found in them. They perform various kinds of
[replace with] rituals throughout the whole year and pray for the fertility of their land.
[replace with] They perform khyakhang brata at the time of sowing seeds. Other rituals are
[replace with] pisthol, pirdong and khyaklam. Marriage is compulsory for Khasia men and is
[replace with] treated a command of God. Celibacy is sinful and cursed. They dance and sing
[replace with] in a chorus in marriage ceremonies and other regular festivals. They
[replace with] celebrate birth and death. They are good in dancing and singing.
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[replace with] Rituals: The Khasia
[replace with] religion is very old but it has evolved over time. Traditional customs and
[replace with] superstitious beliefs form the core of their religion. The influence of
[replace with] hinduism, christianity, and islam is very evident. The changes that have
[replace with] taken place in the Khasia community are most evident in their religious
[replace with] practices. christian missionaries began to preach Christianity among Khasias
[replace with] about one and a half a century ago. At present, more than 80% of the Khasias
[replace with] are Christians. Almost every punji has its own church, where they say their
[replace with] Sunday prayer and spend some time in discussing about the punjis. Christian
[replace with] priests often arbitrate in disputes arising in the punjis. Khasias were
[replace with] originally monotheists, who believe that the God first created the universe
[replace with] and then a man and a woman. Subsequently, the God created gods and goddesses
[replace with] for the purpose of controlling various aspects of the universe. They also
[replace with] believe in the existence of the god of a village. Moreover, they believe in
[replace with] the existence of evil spirits and adore nature and animals. They perform
[replace with] numerous rituals. They do not have any religious scripture. Recently, some
[replace with] Khasias have been converted to Islam. Conversion to Christianity brought
[replace with] about tremendous changes in the socio-economic structure of their lives.
[replace with] Christian Khasias are mostly protestants and Catholic Khasias are rarely
[replace with] found. They, however, continue to maintain their age-old customs and
[replace with] traditions. There are some exceptions as well. They burn the body of the
[replace with] dead and bury the remains. The priest recites at the funeral: "Good bye,
[replace with] good bye, You will chew betel leaf in the kingdom of God".
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[replace with] Language: The Khasia
[replace with] language does not have alphabets. Tradition says that once they had a
[replace with] written scripture, which was destroyed by a calamity. They are bilingual and
[replace with] can speak in the Khasia language as well as in Bangla, although in some
[replace with] pejorated phonetics. Once the Khasia language used to be written in Bangla
[replace with] letters. The first Khasia version of some parts of the Bible appeared in
[replace with] Bangla. The literate Khasias still use Bangla alphabets in writing their
[replace with] letters in the Khasia language. At present, the Khasia langauge on the other
[replace with] part of the border is documented in Roman letters. In Bangladesh, the Khasia
[replace with] language does not have any universal character. Khasias living in Cherapunji
[replace with] in India, however, have standardised their version of the language.
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[replace with] Family Structure:
[replace with] According to a Khasia proverb, the civilisation originated from the female.
[replace with] Because of the existence of a social system based on matriarchy, Khasia
[replace with] girls make their own choice of bridegrooms from tribes other than their own
[replace with] and keep their husbands in her own houses after marriage. Marriage within
[replace with] one's own tribe is forbidden and results in the loss of ownership of
[replace with] property, excommunication from the village, and no funeral after death. Most
[replace with] marriages take place on the basis of prior mating on the part of the girl.
[replace with] Usually girls invite would-be husbands to their houses and sometimes living
[replace with] together also takes place. Guardians are informed of the agreement among the
[replace with] intending parties and fix the date of the marriage ceremony. The males on
[replace with] the bridegroom's side dress the bridegroom in a white loincloth and a turban
[replace with] and take him to the bride's house. The bridegroom is blessed by his mother
[replace with] and senior female relatives. The bride's party welcomes them. The priest
[replace with] recites religious verses and blesses the bridegroom. The gods are offered
[replace with] wine and dry fish. After palatable dishes and drinks the bridegroom's party
[replace with] leaves him at midnight. The bridegroom treats the brothers and sisters of
[replace with] the bride as his own brothers and sisters. Sometimes marriage also takes
[replace with] place on the basis of the consent of the guardians without prior mating.
[replace with] After the marriage is over, a cottage for the new couple is built by the
[replace with] side of the house of the bride's mother. In some punjis this is compulsory.
[replace with] No cottage is built for the youngest daughter since she happens to be the
[replace with] heir of her maternal house and property. The wife does the monetary
[replace with] transactions.
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[replace with] Social Structure: In
[replace with] Khasia society cultivation and household work are done on the basis of
[replace with] mutual cooperation and understanding between wife and husband. Disagreement
[replace with] is very rare. Men respect women. Children have a religious responsibility to
[replace with] look after their old father if he is a widow. In the event of untimely death
[replace with] of the wife, the husband can marry and move elsewhere. The social custom of
[replace with] Khasias is not so rigid as that of the matriarchal Garo. Offsprings are
[replace with] known by their maternal names. All daughters, including the youngest, get a
[replace with] share of property but they can not sell it. The youngest sister bears the
[replace with] responsibility of performing all rituals and ceremonies in the family.
[replace with] Monogamy is a custom among the Khasias. However, a woman can have more than
[replace with] one husband if the first husband happens to be sextually impotent. Rules of
[replace with] marriage and matriarchal social custom do not vary much in Khasia punjis.
[replace with] The income of the couple is exclusively its own if it lives independently
[replace with] after marriage. Divorce becomes mutual in the event of mistrust, hatred,
[replace with] dishonesty, and impotency on the part of husband. One or both have to
[replace with] communicate the desire to divorce to the minister of the punji and the
[replace with] people concerned with the marriage before divorce comes into effect. A
[replace with] specified time period is allowed to the party in question to reconsider the
[replace with] matter. If the situation does not change, the marriage is officially
[replace with] declared to be null and void by beating drums in the punjis. In most cases,
[replace with] divorce is initiated by the wife and in such case, she has to pay fifty
[replace with] percent of the compensation. But if the divorce is initiated by the husband,
[replace with] he has to pay for two pieces of cloth. Divorce, however, is ineffective if
[replace with] the wife is pregnant. Both the husband and wife can remarry after divorce
[replace with] but the children, if there is any, stay with their mother. A wife can also
[replace with] remarry after the death of her husband. [Ali Nawaz]
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