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Community-based festivals are events where people, religion and nature are celebrated. Tribal communities in particular are custodians of indigenous knowledge, and being mostly agrarian in nature, their festivals embody agricultural principles. This study aims to explore how tribal communities of Meghalaya are able to spearhead environmental and cultural preservation through their celebrations of festivals. Tribal communities like the Khasis and the Jaintias of Meghalaya are facing rapid urbanisation in these modern times. The preservation of the local customs which are driven by various beliefs becomes all the more important as principles of modernisation are absorbed into the framework of the community. As technology is a part of modernisation, exploration of the integration of the same into the ecosystem of the communities becomes imperative. Applying technology for the promotion of their festival and ensuring ease for communities and visitors coming to the place is important; however, providing these services with the help of technology at the expense of losing the indigenous attributes of the people could pose a threat to their identity. Therefore, this chapter aims at studying the intricacies of how technology is currently being incorporated by these communities. These two festivals act as case studies for the state of Meghalaya. The analysis has been done based on the secondary literature, a modified participant observation method and short semi-structured interviews conducted with an academician expert and representatives for the Nongkrem Festival in 2023 and the Behdieñkhlam Festival in 2024, respectively. Hence, interventions like using digital media, various GPS methods; colour-coded bins, vermicomposting; and drones for probable threats to the community and the ecology, like increasing tourist footfall, improper waste management and forest degradation, have been identified respectively and are aimed at complementing traditional practices in alleviating the pressures of modernisation on these communities.

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Indigenous Ecotheology in the Digital Age: Khasi and Jaintia Tribal Festivals

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Haziel Mercy Buam,
  • Shreyas P. Bharule

摘要

Community-based festivals are events where people, religion and nature are celebrated. Tribal communities in particular are custodians of indigenous knowledge, and being mostly agrarian in nature, their festivals embody agricultural principles. This study aims to explore how tribal communities of Meghalaya are able to spearhead environmental and cultural preservation through their celebrations of festivals. Tribal communities like the Khasis and the Jaintias of Meghalaya are facing rapid urbanisation in these modern times. The preservation of the local customs which are driven by various beliefs becomes all the more important as principles of modernisation are absorbed into the framework of the community. As technology is a part of modernisation, exploration of the integration of the same into the ecosystem of the communities becomes imperative. Applying technology for the promotion of their festival and ensuring ease for communities and visitors coming to the place is important; however, providing these services with the help of technology at the expense of losing the indigenous attributes of the people could pose a threat to their identity. Therefore, this chapter aims at studying the intricacies of how technology is currently being incorporated by these communities. These two festivals act as case studies for the state of Meghalaya. The analysis has been done based on the secondary literature, a modified participant observation method and short semi-structured interviews conducted with an academician expert and representatives for the Nongkrem Festival in 2023 and the Behdieñkhlam Festival in 2024, respectively. Hence, interventions like using digital media, various GPS methods; colour-coded bins, vermicomposting; and drones for probable threats to the community and the ecology, like increasing tourist footfall, improper waste management and forest degradation, have been identified respectively and are aimed at complementing traditional practices in alleviating the pressures of modernisation on these communities.