Meghalaya

Indigenous political institutions and hill kingdoms continued through colonial rule; Meghalaya became a state in 1972. Khasi and Jaintia political institutions and Garo community histories long predate the modern state. Colonial expansion brought resistance figures such as U Tirot Sing. Meghalaya became a state in 1972, while customary institutions continued to evolve within modern public life.

A high-rainfall hill state of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo cultures, living root bridges and matrilineal traditions. Matrilineal traditions in several communities trace descent through women, but this does not mean that all authority is held by women. Khasi, Pnar and Garo practices differ, including in inheritance, religion and village institutions. Living root bridges are maintained through patient community knowledge of trees and watercourses. Sacred groves and festivals are not decorative folklore: they can carry rules about land, ritual responsibility and collective care.