Liminality in the Practice of Ka Shaw Bhoi of the Khasi in Ri Bhoi District *

Abstract

This study explores the practice of ka shaw bhoi within the Bhoi sub-group of the Khasi, a matrilineal society in Northeast India. In the absence of a female heir, ka shaw bhoi enables the continuation of family lineage through marriage to a non-Khasi woman, with descent traced through the father. The two rites of passage, ka pyntip syrngi and ka bam ja kyrmih, that are central to this practice, facilitate the assimilation of the non-Khasi wife into the family and allow children born from the marriage (ki khun bhoi) to regain their social status as ki khun binong (the native). The social positions of the u nongshaw bhoi (a Khasi man who marries a non-Khasi woman), ka bhoi (non-Khasi wife) and ki khun bhoi (children born of a Khasi father and a non-Khasi mother) are characterised by liminality, existing ‘betwixt and between’ established social categories. Utilising Victor Turner’s concept of liminality, this study examines the liminal stages associated with the three rituals of ka shaw bhoi, investigating the experiences of these individuals as liminal initiands and exploring their transitions or entrapment within their liminal social positions.