Gender and Forests in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills: A Probe in History

Abstract

Meghalaya, nestled in North East India is known for its matrilineal society and Sacred Groves. Although, Matrilineal in character, each gender has specific roles to play in their society, the norm follows that females are the custodians and caretakers of their ancestral lands and forests, whereas major decisions about the property is taken by the male members of the family or clan. Forests are part of the daily life of the Khasi-Jaintia tribes, and each gender has specific roles inside the forests; hunting, fishing, collecting firewood are male dominated, whereas gathering, maintaining gardens, preserving seeds are mostly dominated by women in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills. The paper will be historical in approach and aims to present how gender and Forests relate in ways that determine different meanings and conservational practices of forests, explore the relationship of forests with Women portrayed through the cultures, folk narrative and ritual practices of the tribes, and how forests are threatened by patriarchal colonial practices which shape and destroy ecologies in the past, present and future.