Conclusion

In conclusion, the study of contemporary Khasi society and the impact of Christianity can be looked at from different dimensions keeping in mind the heterogeneous character of the cultural uniqueness of the land and its people.

Long before the advent of Christianity in the Hills, other religions have already existed. Apparently, trade relations, constant interactions and the presence of non-Khasi who followed Hinduism and Islam hardly influenced the Khasi and did not have perhaps intention or enough force to introduce any dynamic in the Khasi society (Lyngdoh 1981:1). It might be possible that while communicating with the people of the plains, the Khasi realised that the beliefs and practices involved in outside religions have vast differences with their traditional ones. But what could have led them to accept Christianity and leave their traditional religion is a matter of speculation. Though it is a difficult task for scholars to separate culture and religion in everyday life of the Khasi, however, when it comes to the process of change that has taken place, one can study it from many angles. The Khasi culture is not in an endangered state because of the coming of Christian missionaries to the hills; a number of factors intruded and merged into the existing culture. Emotional experiences by the early converts does not entirely explain the impact of spiritual bonding, rather, one should look form an angle as to why Christianity has its strong foothold on the Khasi society and why it continues to gain popularity in the hills. To answer this query, writers, philosophers, and historians keep on dwelling on the various forceful commitments and logistics rendered by the British government itself to the missionaries. Many forget to look at the possibility that the locals themselves wanted a change, or had an urge for a new prospering atmosphere of change, or had the mind of openness to change, or were not satisfied with the traditional way of life anymore, or were not able to obtain any answer from traditional gods to their prayers.

The transition from a non-scripted religion to a well scripted religion must have filled them with elation. Another possibility is that some of the converts must have seen more material benefits once they aligned themselves with the foreigners, for the missionaries had brought with them modern clothing, food, medicine, and above all, education. The Khasi also began a new way to look at their belief system with the shift from Ka NiamIng to a consecrated worship of more than two believers coming together to associate in a church. To get a clear picture of the impact of Christianity among the Khasi, there might be hundreds of arguments that need more discussions and debates. Christians would put it that it was the ‘work of the Holy Spirit’ while in the words of historians it was a ‘universal impact of Christianity’ that happened in the nineteenth century since during this time, it was not only the Khasi who began to have their first experience with Christianity, but other communities in India and other parts of the world had too. With regards to polity, the effect of Christianity is nearly negligible. There are opinions that the traditional institutions have become weak with the coming of the British; the blame cannot be entirely laid on Christianity. It was the British government which tried to demoralise the Hima and curtailed its powers in order to prevent further rebellions. Till date, there is no distinction made between adult Khasi males belonging to Christian and non-Christian traditions on the matter of participation in the Durbar or becoming a Rangbah Shnong, a Myntri or in some states even to become a Syiem. Similarly, in modern democratic elections to the Legislative Assembly or to the Autonomous District Council, there is no distinction on the basis of their religious affiliation for the candidates to contest from any constituency.

Overall, the growth of Christianity and its development in the Khasi society in contemporary period is a reflection of the conjuncture that took place for nearly a period of two centuries.

To converts, who directly inherited doctrinal philosophy and procedures of the new faith from the first missionaries, experienced a complete break from the past beliefs and practices. There are two views concerning religion and culture link. One group argues that conversion to Christianity means transformation of the inner being more than the outward expression and does not involve abandonment of one’s culture. So, culture and conversion go together. On the other hand, another group views that any aspect of culture that is contrary to the teaching of Christ must be rejected. But we find many Christian houses and families have adapted to the practices of Christianity and at the same time still want to retain many aspects of their culture. The assimilation and acculturation go parallel to several aspects of tradition. A crucial dimension of it is emerging influence of individualism and gradual decay of tribal community life among the Khasis. The change in dress pattern and eating habits and hygiene is apparent in the daily life of both Christians and nonChristians through adoption to modern fashion and latest dietary trends. The society has begun a new way of looking at daily happenings and hence there are many people who opt for modern living standard and discard traditional beliefs and practices. This phenomenon can also be looked at the similarities between the rise of middle class in Europe after the Reformation and the emergence of an educated middle class in Khasi society particularly from the last quarter of the nineteenth century. While the Seng Khasi movement stresses to rebuild the traditional customs by incorporating religious elements to certain festivals and dances, some of the traditional rituals associated with agricultural cycle and production, birth and child naming ceremonies, cure of ailments and other aspects have been detached from tradition under Christianity. In general, some of the human conducts that were prohibited in the past have become acceptable now, while others that were allowed before are considered morally wrong today.

Notes

1 Among a significant amount of works, few that can be mentioned include: John Hughes Morris (1939), G. Maliekal (2005) and Hamlet B. Ngapkynta (2009).

2 In one of my research articles, I have pointed out that “it would be wrong to assume that the missionaries left the comfort of their homes and came all the way to this region with all its inaccessible forest terrain and other difficulties to attend to the needs of the colonial government as asserted by some scholars. Though the missionaries were able to enjoy the benefits of security and grant for the schools provided by the government, however, there are many instances they were not in good terms with each other”. For more readings on this aspect, see Lal Dena (1988).

3 Movement of Christian Mission works thrives in the West particularly in the United Kingdom and United States of America in the nineteenth century with the formation of the American Baptist Mission, but before that the Welsh had ventured into the Khasi Hills.

4 In 1874 another mission of Anglican Church had started functioning in the hills. In 1976, its Church by the name All Saints’ Church was established. The Roman Catholic Church made its appearance in the Khasi Hills around 1890. The Seventh-day Adventist mission started working in the hills as late as 1933. Other smaller missions include All-in-One Church (1947), Church of Christ (1940) and Pentecostal Church (1968). Not only churches which trace their origin from foreign missions, but indigenous churches incepted in the hills also played a major role in bringing about change. Among the indigenous churches, the Church of God (1902), Church of Jesus Christ (1932), Turoi Gospel (1941), and Full Gospel Fellowship (1974) are some of them.

5 In contemporary times, in certain families where there is an absence of a Kni, the father of the bride is frequently seen accompanying her into the church.

6 To clear the confusion proposed by many scholars, Ka Khadduh does not inherit the property, but simply acts as its guardian.

For details relating to matriliny please refer to the edited volume by Chacko (1998).

7 This aspect is discussed at length in Keith Cantlie (1934).

8 O. L. Snaitang (2018:152) in his latest work opines that Christianity came along with certain elements of western culture. This is evident in dress and style adopted by converts initially. He provides a number of changes in the living standard of the Khasi who now want to adopt the western cultural traits and in the process, discard many of the traditional practices.

9 For detail information about Ka Shad Suk Mynsiem see Seng Khasi (2011).

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Source: Behera Maguni C. (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Readings on Tribe and Religions in India: Emerging Negotiations. Routledge,2024. — 502 p.. 2024

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