At Home in a City of India!

Gypsy, the WCS Asia Director, and I have just returned to Singapore after spending a delightful few days in what is, for me, one of the most interesting cities in India. If you look at a map of India you will see in the northeast section a large piece of land jutting out into the ocean. In this region of India people talk about tribes and clans the way the rest of us might talk about extended families. One never marries within one’s own clan.

The city of Shillong is located on that piece of land and because of the winding roads it can best be reached by helicopter. That was a new experience for both of us. Most of the people in this city are of the Kassis tribe. Before I knew about their ancestry I remarked on the fact that so many of the people have physical features very much like the people I had seen in Mongolia. They actually are descendents of Mongolians. The story is that when the Chinese emperor built the great wall, these ancestors watched with horror as worker after worker met with death in some form while working. And so a tribe left Inner Mongolia, which is China, and fled to this part of India.

The people we met in Shillong are well educated and speak excellent English. The influence of missionaries who spent many years contributes to the fact that at least 50% of the people are Christians.

What makes this city so interesting is that it is a matriarchal society. Women own the property and inherit the money. When children are born they take the mother’s name rather than the father’s. The Vice-Chancellor of Martin Luther University was kind enough to show me a wedding invitation and pointed out how prominently the last names of the mothers of the bride and also the groom were featured. He and his brother have both studied in the U.S. and he said that there is gender equality in Shillong that is freeing. I asked others whether the CEOs of the largest businesses were men or women and they responded that it is about equal.

Normally, only the girls receive any inheritance because the inheritance is to go with the bloodline and that lies with the mother. In fact, the youngest daughter, whether married and with children or not, lives with and cares for her parents as long as they are alive. Then she receives the inheritance. While a few families are distributing the inheritance more equally among the children, most people like the way it has always been. As a result, the youngest daughter in the family is likely to be much sought after as a bride.

It happens now and then that there are only sons in a family. When the older parents die the uncles sometimes claim that the inheritance should be spread among the extended family. The sons cannot carry the bloodline.

Jesus Christ raised women to a place of respect and equality in the Kingdom. However, as early as the first century and continuing to the present time, social forces are at work to undo that powerful work. Shillong is the place in India where I feel the most at home.