Maharam language

Last updated
Maharam
Maram
Native to India
RegionWest Khasi Hills, Meghalaya
Austroasiatic
Dialects
  • Mawranglang
  • Nobosohpoh
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog None

Maram, or Maharam, is an Austroasiatic language of Meghalaya, India. It's closely related to Khasi, and is sometimes considered a dialect of that language, though it appears to be more divergent than Khasi is from Pnar. [1]

Related Research Articles

Meghalaya State in north-eastern India

Meghalaya ; is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: the United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, and the Garo Hills on 21 January 1972. The population of Meghalaya as of 2016 is estimated to be 3,211,474. Meghalaya covers an area of approximately 22,430 square kilometres, with a length to breadth ratio of about 3:1.

Khasi language Austroasiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya, India

Khasi is an Austroasiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people. It is also spoken by a sizeable population in Assam and Bangladesh. Khasi is part of the Austroasiatic language family, and is related to Khmer, Palaung, Vietnamese and Mon languages of Southeast Asia, and the Munda and Nicobarese branches of that family, which are spoken in east–central India and in the Nicobar Islands, respectively.

Atong is a Sino-Tibetan language related to Koch, Rabha, Bodo and Garo. It is spoken in the South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya state in Northeast India, southern Kamrup district in Assam, and adjacent areas in Bangladesh. The correct spelling "Atong" is based on the way the speakers themselves pronounce the name of their language. There is no glottal stop in the name and it is not a tonal language.

Khasi people Ethnic group in India

The Khasi people are an indigenous ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. The Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of Meghalaya, 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. A cultural tradition of the Khasi people is that they follow the matrilineal system of descent and inheritance. Under the Constitution of India, the Khasis have been granted the status of Scheduled Tribe.

Khasic languages

The Khasic or Khasian languages are a family of Austroasiatic languages spoken in the northeastern Indian state Meghalaya and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh.

The Pnar, also known as Jaiñtia, are a sub-tribal group of the Khasi people in Meghalaya, India. The Pnar people are matrilineal. They speak the Pnar Language, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family and is very similar to the Khasi language. The Pnar people are natives of West Jaintia Hills and East Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India. They call themselves as "Ki Khun Hynñiew Trep". Their main festivals are Behdeinkhlam, Chad Sukra, Chad Pastieh and Laho Dance.

Thomas Jones (missionary)

Thomas Jones was a Welsh Christian missionary, who worked among the Khasi people of Meghalaya and Assam in India and of Bangladesh. He recorded the Khasi language in Roman script, and the inscription on his gravestone calls him "The founding father of the Khasi alphabets and literature".

The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is one of the mainline Protestant churches in India, with over one million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region.

The Khasi–Palaungic languages are a primary branch of the Austroasiatic language family of Southeast Asia in the classification of Sidwell. This is a departure from Diffloth (2005) classification of Khasi-Khmuic with Khmuic and Mangic (Pakanic) now being separate branches within Austroasiatic family.

Karbi language South Asian language

The Karbi language, is spoken by the Karbi people of Northeastern India.

Khasi may refer to:

Biate is a language spoken in the north-eastern part of India. The speakers of the language are known as Biate and are spread over many parts of North east India viz. Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. Biate is pronounced as Bia-te (the e in te pronounced as "a".

Lyngngam is an Austroasiatic language of Northeast India closely related to Khasi. Once listed as a dialect of Khasi, Lyngam has in recent literature been classified as a distinct language. Lyngam speakers have food and dress similar to the neighboring Garo people.

Tiwa language (India)

Tiwa (Lalung) is a Tibeto-Burman or Sino-Tibetan language of Assam in North East India.

Williamson Ampang Sangma, a Garo leader, was the founder Chief Minister of Meghalaya, twenty-first state of India on 21 January 1972. He was also the first ever Governor of Mizoram among the Garos in 1989.

Dkhar, alternatively spelled as Dikhar, is a term used by the Khasis to refer to non-Khasi people in Meghalaya. It is a term used for people from mainland India who come to Meghalaya particularly Shillong to earn a living. It is a general term use to generalise all non tribals who are staying in meghalaya. It is non derogatory but some perceived it as derogatory. For Khasis any non tribal is a dkhar and they address them by that term. According to former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Govind Bhattacharjee, the term was coined by Khasi Students Union but in reality it was coined by their Khasis ancestors. In real terms, the word mean the affluent, educated settler from West Bengal or the Hindu, Bengali-speaking "East Bengal" man who made Assam or Meghalaya his home 50 years or even 100 years ago. The term is a Khasi word which means a foreigner. It is sometimes abbreviated to Khar.

Hamlet Bareh Ngapkynta (1931-2012) was an Indian writer, historian and film director from the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. He is known as the first person from the Khasi tribe, an indigenous ethic group of the state, to secure a doctoral degree (PhD) and as the maker of the first feature film in Khasi language, Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem. He was the chairman of the executive committee of the Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh and a recipient of the 2004 Meghalaya Day Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,

Helen Giri Syiem is an Indian musicologist and historian, known for her efforts in promoting Khasi music tradition. A former member of faculty at the North Eastern Hill University, she is a member of the executive council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Matrilineal society of Meghalaya

Multiple tribes in the state of Meghalaya in northeast India practise matrilineal descent. Often referred to as Khasi people and Garo people, among the Khasi people which is a term used as a blanket term for various subgroups in Meghalaya who have distinguishing languages, rites, ceremonies, and habits, but share an ethnic identity as Ki Hynniew Trep whereas the Garo people refers to the various groups of Achik people. The Khasi, Garo, and other subgroups have a proud heritage, including matrilineality, although it was reported in 2004 that they were losing some of their matrilineal traits. The tribes are said to belong to one of the "largest surviving matrilineal culture[s]" in the world.

Khasi Cinema is the term used to refer to the Khasi language film industry based in Shillong in Meghalaya, India. In 1981, Hamlet Bareh Ngapkynta's 1981 film Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem became the first ever film in Khasi. Years later, Ardhendu Bhattacharya's 1984 film Manik Raitong became the first ever color film in the Khasi language. After the 2000s when militancy in the state came down drastically, a market for entertainment and movies opened up. A lot of short films and telefilms started getting produced in the Khasi language. However, the production of feature films in Khasi got a major fillip after the entry of national award winning filmmakers like Pradip Kurbah into the scene.

References

  1. Sidwell, Paul. 2018. The Khasian Languages: Classification, Reconstruction, and Comparative Lexicon. Languages of the World 58. Munich: Lincom Europa. ISBN   9783862889143