Khasi people

This article is about the ethnolinguistic Austroasiatic group. For the neighbouring Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group, see Khas people.

Khasi
Hynñiewtrep
Khasi women in traditional dress
Total population
1,512,831
Regions with significant populations
 India1,427,711[1]
              Meghalaya1,382,278[2]
              Assam34,558[3]
 Bangladesh85,120
Languages
Khasi
Religion
Majority: Christianity[4]
Minority: Ka Niam Khasi,[5] Hinduism,[6] Buddhism[7] and Islam[8]
Related ethnic groups
Khmers, Jaintia people, Palaungs, Was, Kinh and other Mon–Khmers

The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of Meghalaya, that is Khasi Hills, constituting 78.3% of the region's population,[9] and is the state's largest community, with around 48% of the population of Meghalaya. They are among the few Austroasiatic-speaking peoples in South Asia. The Khasi tribe holds the distinction of being one of the few remaining tribes that have a matrilineal society.[10] Under the Constitution of India, the Khasis have been granted the status of Scheduled Tribe.

  1. ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". censusindia.gov.in. Government of India. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ^ "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Meghalaya". census.gov.in. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  3. ^ "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Assam". census.gov.in. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. ^ Ghosh, Paramita (16 October 2021). "Missionary is not a popular word in India. But in the Khasi hills, it holds a different meaning". ThePrint. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  5. ^ Khasi, in Dizionario di storia, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2010
  6. ^ "Religion Data of Census 2011: XXX ST Meghalaya". Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Religion Data of Census 2011: XXX ST Meghalaya". Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  8. ^ Langstieh, Banrida Theresa (2001). "Demographic structure of the Khasi-Muslims of Shillong, Meghalaya". Journal of Human Ecology. 12 (2): 121–125. doi:10.1080/09709274.2001.11907591. S2CID 134712439.
  9. ^ ORGI. "C-16: Population by Mother Tongue". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  10. ^ Nakane, Chie (18 March 2019). Garo and Khasi: A comparative study in matrilineal systems. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-133016-7.