A book entitled ‘MEI: Matrilineal Exogamous Institution’, which purports to delve into the intricacies of Khasi matrilineal culture, was formally released by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong here yesterday.
The book has been authored by Raphael Warjri and published by his Riti Academy in collaboration with the Meghalaya chapter of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). “It presents extensive research on Khasi matrilineal culture,” Warjri said in a press release today. “It offers thought-provoking concepts and diverse perspectives on contemporary social change. Notably, the book integrates biological science through the study of mitochondrial DNA and includes an extensive list of Khasi clans, including new and emerging ones.”
Besides Tynsong, the book launch was done in the presence of a large number of representatives of autonomous councils from the North East states. It did not go unnoticed by members of the public that all of the dignitaries involved in the launch of a book on matriliny were, ironically, men.
Meanwhile, at the same event, a statue of the late JJM Nichols Roy, renowned as the architect of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, was unveiled at the Lariti International Cultural and Performing Arts Centre (LICPAC) to commemorate Roy’s contributions to the region. It is through the Sixth Schedule that tribal areas of the North East states were given powers through autonomous councils over the indigenous people and their land.
