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View of A∙chik Patriarchy Through the Periscope of A∙chik Folklore

Chambers Dictionary defines Patriarchy as “a community of related

families under the authority of a patriarch.” Patriarch is “a man who governs his
family by paternal right, a male head of the family”.

Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power,

predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and
control of property; in the domain of the family, fathers or father-figures hold
authority over women and children. Many patriarchal societies are also
patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage.
The female alternative is matriarchy.

Historically, patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, legal, political, and
economic organization of a range of different cultures.1

Etymology

Patriarchy literally means "the rule of the father” and comes from the
Greek (patriarkhēs), "father of a race" or "chief of a race, patriarch", which is a
compound of (patria), "lineage, descent” (from patēr, "father") and (arkhō), "I
rule".2 Historically, the term patriarchy was used to refer to autocratic rule by
the male head of a family. However, in modern times, it more generally refers
to social systems in which power is primarily held by adult men.3

In The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner, the author states that

Aristotle believed that women had colder blood than men, which made women
not evolve into men, the sex that Aristotle believed to be perfect and superior.
Maryanne Cline Horowotz stated that Aristotle believed that "soul contributes
the form and model of creation." This implies that any imperfection that is
caused in the world must be caused by a woman because one cannot acquire an
imperfection from perfection (which he perceived as male). Aristotle had a
hierarchical ruling structure in his theories. Gerda Lerner claims that through
this patriarchal belief system, passed down generation to generation, people
have been conditioned to believe that men are superior to women. These
symbols are benchmarks which children learn about when they grow up, and the
cycle of patriarchy continues much past the Greeks.4
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The patriarchal political theory is closely associated with Sir Robert

Filmer. Sometime before 1653, Filmer completed a work entitled Patriarcha
(published posthumously). In it, he defended the divine right of kings as having
title inherited from Adam, the first man of the human species, according to
Judeo-Christian tradition.5

The topic of my paper is “View of A∙chik Patriarchy Through the

Periscope of A∙chik Folklore”.

At first hearing, the topic may sound like a contradiction, a paradox -

A∙chiks and Patriarchy? However, it is known that A∙chiks follow matrilineal
culture and not matriarchal. I shall now attempt to show how A∙chik community
is not matriarchal. Under a normal Garo marriage, a husband is given the
paternal authority in his new house. The place of the husband in the family is
firmly established after his marriage. In the case of the nokkrom (the husband of
the heiress), he is placed in the second seat among the members of the house,
next to his father-in-law.6 In a family, the husband is given all the
responsibilities for the family affairs. The wife is subordinate to him in spite of
matrilocal residence. This is quite evident from the observation of the behaviour
in their day to day lives. We find that the husband is the first person served by
the wife. The husband, according to Garo custom can beat his wife if she acts
against him unreasonably. On the other hand, if a wife beats her husband it is a
serious matter for the Garos. They think of it as a great insult to the husband and
his lineage people.7

According to the Garo Customary law, the Chra (nearest male relative of
the wives’ side), who is generally called (panterang ‘chra mongting wage
jating’) has absolute power over the family properties of the motherhood. He
has the power to veto the decision of the parents and of the individuals in a
family, if he thinks that a decision is against the interest of the whole
motherhood and the mahari. The male relatives are to follow what the Chra will
tell them to. The full responsibilities in looking after the welfare of the families
of his sisters, nieces and mother entirely rest upon the Chra even though he has
been married to some other clan and lives in a separate homestead. 8 The
ancestral property may be disposed of in consultation with her Chra or mahari
who have the sole authority over such properties.9
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Robbins Burling describing avuncular authority says:

Fathers chastise naughty children but uncles deal with the most serious legal
infractions. Father and uncle, then share in discipline of children. The mother’s
brother authority and more generally the authority inherent within the lineage, is
the only consistently reliable source of authority in the society. The authority
within the lineage which is real though not manifest except on relatively
infrequent occasions is one of the few points in the society where the moral
pressure can be brought to bear with any degree of effectiveness. The Garo,
then, do have authority located within the status of the mother’s brother.10

According to A·chik oral tradition, (now recorded in written form in

Apasong Agana), the practice of instituting the female/daughter as the ‘heir’ to
the house began in a very well-organized and well-attended convention in a
place known as ‘Sangkatti Wakmetom, Matia Panchia’. The time when this all-
important meeting took place was sometime before the very last attack of Raja
Behari or the Bijni King on the A·chik settlements. The convention was held in
Bonepani a·tilla or the grand courtyard of Bonepa. The purpose of this meeting
was to decide as to who should be instituted as the one who would stay in the
house; in other words, who would be the heir or the heiress and carry out all the
responsibilities that come with such a privilege. The decision crystallized that
the woman (daughter) should be instituted to be the one to stay in the house, to
be ‘kept’ in the house or nokna, which is, meant for the house. It was also
decided that the father of the house/family would look for a husband for this
intended heiress, from among his closest nephews.11

No doubt A·chiks follow the matrilineal system; which many mistake for
matriarchal. Traditional lores and stories reflect the community in so many
ways. An analysis of the four select A∙chik folklores with reference to the
definitions and theories given at the beginning will show quite many elements
of patriarchy. Alan Dundes in the Preface to his book Interpreting Folklore
emphasizes on the need to interpret folklores. He writes: “I am interested in
folklore because it represents a people’s image of themselves. The image may
be distorted but at least the distortion comes from the people, not from some
outside observer armed with a range of a priori premises. Folklore as a mirror
of culture provides unique raw material for those eager to better understand
themselves and others.”12
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In the Garo folklore “Ambare Segin” Jeng married Nokse and left her according
to his whim and fancy. The story goes that Jeng had eaten gooseberry in
Nokse’s house. After relishing the fruit, he felt thirsty and asked Nokse for
water. Jeng found that the water given by Nokse tasted sweet. He thought that
Nokse could make water taste sweet and on that basis married her. He didn’t
know that if one ate gooseberry and had water soon after that, the water would
taste sweet. Soon after marriage, Jeng asked his wife Nokse to give him water to
drink. However this time the water didn’t taste sweet. Jeng then accused Nokse
of having tricked him into marrying her by making the water taste sweet. He
then left her without a thought to her feelings and emotions. 13 She is only seen
as an object who can give some kind of pleasure to a man. When she fails to
satisfy that, she is discarded.

“Dombe Wari” is a story where an exceptionally beautiful A∙chik woman

gets caught in between a human husband and a buga pante or merman.14 She
becomes a helpless sacrificial victim at the altar of one man’s pride and another
male’s greed and lust. Dombe is made to mindlessly follow where the two
males lead her, one at a time. The males who fight for Dombe do not ever stop
to ask for her opinion, what she would like or want for herself. She is deprived
of the right to make decision for herself, and even loses her own life and those
of her children. In other words the men dominate and rule over her. She remains
a mute creature, suffering her lot.

In the story Nire Sinje Okgilma-Chambilma, the mother of Nire Sinje, is

an archetypical A∙chik widow who is depicted as weakened, defenceless and
thrown into depths of despair after the death of her husband. She is marginalised
and in desperation takes the help of a tiger. Unable to help herself she had to
give away her new-born daughter to a tiger that volunteers to get rid of the deer
and antelopes in exchange for the baby. The new-born girl is named Nire Sinje
and she becomes the tiger’s wife when she comes of age. Once during a market
day, Nire Sinje who is a beauty without compare is spotted by a young man
Raka Marak, who fell in love with her. Raka elopes with Nire Sinje and defeats
the tiger in a single combat.15 Here in the story Nire Sinje, it is seen that one
woman (Okgilma-Chambilma) suffers because of the absence of a husband,
reaching the depths of drudgery. The story implies that without the husband the
woman is weak, unable to defend herself; so she will be compelled to do
anything. She becomes a helpless victim; she promises her to –be- born child to
tiger in exchange for its services. The other woman, Nire Sinje suffers because
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the males coveted her because of her great beauty. She is looked at as a property
to be possessed by the strongest.

In her book “Women’s Lives- Men’s Laws” Catharine MacKinnon writes

“Women are the animals of the human kingdom, the mice of men’s world” 16 (or
fitting mates to tigers, mermen, etc) “.... Women in male dominant society are
identified as nature, animalistic, and thereby denigrated, a manoeuvre that also
defines animals’17 relatively lower rank in human society. Both are seen to lack
properties that elevate men, those qualities by which men value themselves and
define their status as human by distinction.”(p 93)

Dombe, Nire Sinje’s mother and Nire Sinje- all feel the impossibility of
escaping from the clutch of the animals- male animals, as the wife feels the
impossibility of escaping from the hideous creature and Nokse escaping from a
hopeless situation which she has not helped to make.

In the same book MacKinnon writes to the effect that men treat women
and animals equally. She writes ‘... it is widely thought and practised and said
that people are “above” animals, whereas it is commonly thought and practised
but denied ... that men are “above” women.’18

Dombe, Nire Sinje’s mother and Nire Sinje- all feel the impossibility of
escaping from the clutch of the animals- male animals, as the wife feels the
impossibility of escaping from the hideous creature and Nokse escaping from a
hopeless situation which she has not helped to make.

In the same book quoted above, MacKinnon writes to the effect that men treat
women and animals equally. She writes ‘... it is widely thought and practised
and said that people are “above” animals, whereas it is commonly thought and
practised but denied ... that men are “above” women.’18

“Ambi Jakbrik” (“Grandma Scratch My Hand”) is once again a story that

implies that a husband/ a man is superior to the wife/ or woman. 19 The man has
dominion over those that frightens woman. In other words the man is doubly
superior to man. The creature frightens the woman, the husband kills it. The
woman is at the lowest level. Next comes the creature who terrorizes her and
who subdues her mentally. Above the woman and the hideous creature is the
man. He subjugates the wife by standing tall above her and protecting her and
kills the hideous creature. The man has power over both. The story of “Ambi
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Jakbrik” speaks about male domination, power, strength, courage and protector
of the inferior creature.

MacKinnon continues: “Qualities considered human and higher are

denied to animals...” and in the cases of Okgilma-Chambilma (Nire Sinje’s
mother) in Nire Sinje and the wife in Ambi Jakbrik “the qualities considered
masculine and higher are denied to women.” 20 Thus the view of A∙chik
patriarchy through the periscope of A∙chik folklore reveals men’s domination
over women. The women are depicted as underdogs, lacking a mind of their
own and doggedly following the male. The mother had to give away the
daughter because of the fear of the tiger. The tiger is also another male. The
daughter had to remain with the tiger because she had no way out. She became
an object/property that the males, both animal and human cherished and desired
to possess. The man Raka Marak defeats the tiger in a combat and retains his
claim on Nire Sinje. The women are seen as servile, deprived of the right to
decide to themselves. “Girls are seen, not heard.” Women are seen objects
pandering to the wishes and desires of the other sex...even becoming mates of
animals and water-creatures. Lacking qualities that men posses, women
defenceless, need protection, supervision, they need to be chaperoned, and
watched over. This gives the feeling that female of the species live in a
panopticon-like ambience –watched and observed every moment of their lives.

Sources and End Notes

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy 26/10/2015

• Ibid. 26/10/2015

• Ibid. 26/10/2015

• Ibid. 26/10/2015

• Ibid. 26/10/2015
6.
Sangma, M.S. History and Culture of the Garos, Rep. Dr. Milton S. Sangma:
Guwahati. 2012, p148
7.
Ibid. p149
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6.
Ibid. p148)
7.
Ibid. p149)
8
Marak, J.L.R. Garo Customary Laws and Practices, revised edn, Akansha
Publishing House: Delhi. 2000, p144
9.
Ibid. p145
10.
Ibid. p145-6)
11.
Rongmithu, D. Apasong Agana. Smt. Sharona N. Marak, Romil Publishers :
Delhi.1997. p 205.
12.
Dundes, Alan. Interpreting Folklore (Preface), Indiana University Press:
Bloomington. 1980
13
Sangma, D. K. A∙chik Golporang (Garo Folklore)- I. Tura Book Room: Tura.
P57-58
14.
Ibid. 71-74)
15.
Ibid.74-80)
16
MacKinnon, Catharine Women’s Lives- Men’s Laws, The Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachussets and London, England (p
93)
17.
I bid. p 93
18.
Ibid. p 92
19.
Sangma, D. K. A∙chik Golporang (Garo Folklore)- I. Tura Book Room:
Tura. p 48-50
20.
MacKinnon, Catharine Women’s Lives- Men’s Laws, The Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachussets and London, England