The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes are found mainly in which state?

The three main tribal communities of Meghalaya are the Khasis, the Jaintias (Pnars) and the Garos. The state's three hill regions are named after them: the Garo Hills in the west, the Khasi Hills in the centre and the Jaintia Hills in the east.

Key facts about these tribes:

Garo: they live in the western part of Meghalaya and call themselves "A'chik". Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. Their main festival is Wangala, a harvest festival in honour of the sun god Saljong, celebrated with the "100 drums" dance.

Khasi: they live in the central part, around Shillong. Their language belongs to the Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) family, which makes them unusual in the North-East, where most languages are Tibeto-Burman. Their festivals include Shad Suk Mynsiem and Nongkrem.

Jaintia (Pnar): closely related to the Khasis, they live in the east. Their famous festival is Behdienkhlam, held to drive away evil spirits and disease.

A key feature of all three tribes is that they are matrilineal. Descent and family name are traced through the mother, and property is usually inherited by the youngest daughter (called the "khatduh" among the Khasis). The husband usually lives in his wife's family home. This makes Meghalaya one of the few matrilineal societies in the world.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam and became a full state on 21 January 1972. Its name means "abode of clouds". It has Mawsynram and Cherrapunji (Sohra), among the wettest places on earth, and the living root bridges of the Khasi people.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Mizoram is home to the Mizo (Lushai) tribes.
• ✗Nagaland is home to Naga tribes such as the Ao, Angami and Konyak.
• ✗Tripura is home to the Tripuri, Reang and Jamatia tribes.