The traditional market system in Khasi society has historically served the needs of the original inhabitants for their livelihood. In ancient times, transactions primarily occurred through barter, involving merchants from neighbouring territories or even across borders. Later, cowries were introduced as a medium of exchange, which persisted alongside the emergence of monetary units.
The council of chieftains and nobles held the authority to grant permission for commercial activities within the province, with temporary trading permits considered for merchants from other territories. For instance, traders from Khyrim province were restricted to operating only on designated market days, either in their own province or at markets in neighbouring provinces such as Nongpoh, Sohra, or Mairang. Conversely, traders from other provinces had to abide by similar conditions when trading in Khyrim province.
While some traditional markets still adhere to this system, many have evolved to prioritise economic transactions, often favouring potential benefits from outside merchants over the interests of local traders. This discrepancy is particularly evident at the Ïewduh market, where even local inhabitants of Mylliem province are deprived of trading spaces, as most are leased out or acquired by migrant merchants in collusion with provincial market authorities. Consequently, the majority of stalls at Ïewduh are owned and controlled by Marwari and Bengali merchants, along with certain local Khasi merchants reliant on merchandise from outside the state. This trend towards favouring prosperous merchants in wholesale markets has marginalised local indigenous vendors and hawkers, highlighting a growing disconnect between traditional market practices and economic realities in Khasi society.
The deity of prosperity is usually connected between the jungle and market and the link is typically the monoliths. The ancient practice is that farmers from across the surrounding segments of their respective cultivation fields would locate an ideal site through divine intervention. Strategically, any vantage point in the vast meadow preferably adjacent to the grove as the abode of the deities would be ideal for piling up their products. Moreover, the grove is refreshing after working the whole day. After the harvest, the men are engaged in heavy carriages and women in sorting out and packing up the agricultural products. Every farmer has his own stuff of various quantities with certain quality and others will have diverse amounts and worth; and in the same manner different sections of farmers have varied requirements where exchange is taking place.
The gathering of farmers every harvest season of the year in the same place is the momentous occasion where joyful amusement also emerged. Therefore, in commemoration of the wonderful experience of prosperity, the people would feel the need to pay obeisance to the deities with ceremonies and erection of monoliths. Essentially, one or few stones could be ceremonial stones, while others would be commemorative megaliths, and hence the emergence of the market with barter system. Therefore traders from far and wide would converge for trade in the market and the community would flourish. Generally, men would carry the heavy load of commodities from across the field and entrusted the women for the trade and this is the reason that women usually engage in merchandise in the Khasi society.
Another advantage of the location is the convenient accessibility to forest resources in the trade and construction of stalls for marketing. The selection of the market site is the consultation process between the deities and humans for their mutual purpose. The legend of Mar Phalyngki at Nartiang is that he carried a slab of stone as the rain shelter and on reaching near the grove at Nartiang, he had a divine encounter that he should erect the monoliths where the market would be set up and the community abided by his narrative and the megalithic complex came into existence beside the market.
The Pomblang Ïewduh ceremony of Hima Mylliem or the erstwhile Hima Shyllong at the market is being held simultaneously with the ‘Nguh Lei Shyllong’ ceremony of paying obeisance to the Shyllong deity at the sacred grove atop the Shyllong peak. This is part of the series of post harvest annual ceremonies which started from the ancient capital of Mawnarian. The festivals and ceremonies of Pam Ïawmusiang at Nangbah; the Behdeinkhlam at Jowai, Tuber, Ïalong and Mukhla; the Pastieh at Raliang; the Sajer at the Bhoi regions are part of the post harvest occasions connected with the agrarian culture and matrilineal system is strictly observed in every formalities.
Hence, the occupation of farming with forest resources and market prospects are interconnected in the effort for prosperous livelihood of the entire community through rituals and ceremonies. In all these ceremonies, the priestess will perform at the sacred house at home, while the priest will perform at the exterior locations of the market or the forest or the cultivation fields.
THE IMPACT OF EXTERNAL FORCES OF CHANGE
The maternal kinship component is binding in every Khasi household, even after the influence of patriarchal customs derived out of Christian traditions and popular global mandate; but it still needs to strengthen various other aspects of ancient customs and traditions. The tradition of community land allocation system has declined and been replaced by the convenient system of outright acquisition with sale deeds, which later required to be registered with the government as per the law. The tradition of allocation of commercial stalls at the market places to the original local inhabitants was abandoned and operated with the lucrative estate assessment and leased out to potential contenders and ultimately sold out to wealthy merchants at the major markets.
The traditional forest management through belief system in the sacred groves and prohibited forests is stagnated, while majority of the forests and few sacred groves were already deforested by timber merchants in connivance with the clan elders or the territorial and provincial councils. In spite of the scarcity of valuable herbs with curative properties due to deforestation, the traditional herbal healing system is emerging as the viable alternative cure of various ailments, even as the allopathy is fervently prevalent as the most sought after medical care, especially with the advancement of corporate healthcare enterprises.
The modern trendy garment outfits are the compatible modern lifestyle that the rural folks are enchanted with at the cost of neglecting the traditional costumes and affecting the local handloom tradition. The entertainment industry with modern inventions of digital technology captivated the global market, influenced the youth and marginalised the traditional music, dance and folk performances. The literary prospect is more inclined towards scientific technology with meager scholastic and academic intervention on the ancient folk knowledge system. The subjective and sensitive issue of belief system and religion also dictated the social fabric of the community, especially Christianity.
All these factors contributed to the fragmentation of the community and affected the traditional customs and practices, including the matrilineal system. The rampant prevalent of various Christian religious denominations and the advancement of modern scientific and digital technology became the divisive forces that devastated the folk culture of the community. The sustenance of sacred forests with folk rituals and ceremonies has been converted to the modern forest conservation methods and tourism potential for exotic global marketing strategy.
The agricultural technology of fertilisers and tissue culture, the information technology, the communication technology and several other conveniences, comforts and luxuries of the modern digital technology have drastically affected the environment and humanity in every aspect of life. The social and cultural assimilation with the dominant communities, the economic and educational prospects at the austere commercial and institutional platforms and the modern trends of progress and development have tremendously contributed to the destruction of ethnic folk culture and ancient knowledge. In the process, the matrilineal system is also facing a great challenge to survive in the widespread universal identity of the rigorous patriarchal system in the entire world.
In the phases of several vulnerable situations, there are arguments and opinions on the validity of the matrilineal system in human society, and the general perspective is the run of the mill attitude like everybody else in the world. The irony is that the majority of the influential and elite section of the society are still in the slumber of colonial hangover, having access to modern education with lucrative career opportunities and flourishing economic wellbeing, whereas ethical knowledge of the roots is in sheer poverty.
On the other hand, there are certain ethnocentric elements with shallow understanding of the ancient knowledge and cultural heritage, survive on menial jobs, depressed with a narrow mindset and consistently resorted to aggressive and arrogant assertion of cultural identity. The people in the society are sandwiched between these scrounging elements, with hardly any scope for enlightenment about life. Nevertheless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel that ignites the minds of a few individuals that should overwhelm the society and ultimately enable them to see the light of day.
