Other lordship · Self-governing peoples of Northern India · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Khasi and Jaintia

The matrilineal hill people of the plateau between the Brahmaputra and the Surma, later organised in some 25 hima under hereditary Syiems with durbar of clan elders (English Wikipedia; undated).

The Kamakhya goddess may have been a Khasi tribal goddess before Kamarupa took her, which is a modern suggestion. The Jaintia Hills and Sutnga are not described in the page we opened. No Khasi political fact is recorded for 1200.

Who he is

Name
not named
Title
Syiems (hereditary chiefs) of the hima
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
English Wikipedia names Hima Mylliem, Hima Khyrim and Hima Nongkhlaw, with no dates.
Confidence
low

English Wikipedia, Khasi people.

What it holds

  • The plateau from the Jaintia hills to the Garo border
  • Iron and lime, oranges, betel, and the foot-trade down to the Surma and Brahmaputra

Allies and rivals

Kamarupa (cult link), Sylhet (trade), the Garo, Tripura.

How things stand that morning

Village republics and clan chiefs; no external ruler.

Wealth

Iron, lime, betel, honey, oranges and cotton.

Military

Bowmen with poisoned arrows; no numbers.

Threats

  • None recorded

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1823First firm contact with the British (English Wikipedia); no earlier dated event is known to me.Depends on: Not applicable. Stopped by: Not applicable.

Places of note

  • Shillong: Plateau centre (modern).

Where the sources disagree

  • The campaign board entry the-khasi-and-garo-hills is "contested" under Kamarupa; no source shows Kamarupa ruling the hills.

Evidence: Oral tradition and British records of the nineteenth century.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The range is drawn as a province (the matching nie-prov record); this record draws no ground of its own.

Sources and studies

  1. English Wikipedia, Khasi people

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.