"In the state of Meghalaya in India, the indigenous people of the Khasi with 1,1
million members form the majority of the population. The Khasi are a matrilineal
society. Here, traditionally it is the girls who are of particularly importance
and who play an exposed role in the family. The line of succession passes
through the youngest daughter. If she marries, her husband is taken into her
family‘s house, and the children take their mother‘s name.
A family with just sons is considered unlucky, because only daughters can assure
the continuity of a clan. The succession after maternal line guarantees girls
and women in Meghalaya a unique economic and social independence compared to
general indian conditions.
To disrespect a woman in the Khasi culture means to harm the society.
Between 2013 and 2015 I spent ten months in the khasivillage of Mawlynnong in
north-east India, a village of just 95 dwellings. In this series I concentrate
on the girls themselves in contextualizing them in their everyday physical
environment through a sensitive balance between documentation and
composition."
Karolin Klüppel
photographs via
Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAppreciated! Thanks, Wim!!
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