Forest In The Life Of The Khasis

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Dr. Rekha M. Shangpliang did her M.A. in Sociology from North-Eastern Hill University Shillong, and attained 1st Class 1st position (Gold Medalist). Thereafter she completed her M.Phil and Ph.D. from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. She was a Lecturer in Sociology at St. Edmund's College, Shillong and presently a senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. She has contributed many articles in various academic journals and edited volumes.

This book examines the role of the forest in the life of the tribal communities in India, with particular focus on the Khasis: Tracing the origin and history of the Khasis, it describes in detail their land, ecological heritage, economy and parameters of forest usages among them.

It further discovers the wholeness of nature and ecology in the socio- religious life of the Khasis. Also, it presents a detailed account of the parameters of forest usages in Khasi society, covering various aspects of their life and culture such as shelter, food, medicinal herbs, musical instruments, weaving and dying, and rituals as well as ceremonies.

This book is an outgrowth of my Ph.D. thesis under the title Forest in the Life of the Khasis: A Study in the Role of Forest in Khasi Socio-economic Structure" which I have worked on for almost 6 years. The idea of bringing out this book sparked off from a casual tea-time conversation that I had with my friends and colleagues at the department who held out high opinion about the relevance of the work to the present ecological scenario of the state and about its usefulness for educating and generating eco-consciousness among the people. It also occurred to me that besides being useful to general readers, this book if made available, would be beneficial for academicians, planners and research scholars as well. Keeping this in mind, I set to pattern out my work into two separate volumes. The present volume is based on the ecological dimensions of forest in Khasi culture. It is intended to disseminate knowledge about Khasis, their land, ecology and economy and the parameters of forest usage among the Khasis. While the other volume is meant for a deeper understanding about the Khasi concept of forest and ecology, their implications in the socio-economic and spiritual life of the Khasis including a case study of two sample villages with empirical data-base.

This Book is divided into 4 chapters. First chapter lays emphasis on the background of Khasi society throwing light on the origin, history and ecological heritage of the Khasi people. This chapter also discusses at length the system of classification of land and forest in Khasi Hills, the land tenure system and forest cover information of the State.

The second chapter focuses on the Khasi concept of forest explaining the various connotations of forest as a sacred entity which finds expression in Khasi beliefs, legends, folklores, folktales and literature. With a view to analyse the eco-theandric view of nature, this chapter discovers the wholeness of nature and ecology in the socio-religious life of the Khasis, reminiscent to those found in the life of the Maler tribe studied by L..P Vidyarthi.

**Contents and Sample Pages**