Areas of Interest:

Prehistory & Archaeology of Northeast India; Neolithic and Megalithic Traditions in Northeast India; Ethno-archaeology; Material Culture, Gender, Social & State Formations in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.

Experience:

34 years of P.G. teaching in the Dept. of History, NEHU,from June 1989 till present and 35 years of research. Participated in an excavation at the site Harsh Ka Tila, Thanesar,  Kurukshetra, Haryana from December 1987-February 1988; Appointed Pottery Yard Assistant at the same excavation from November 1998-February 1989.

Ph.D. Degree awarded - 5 nos.

• Mr. Marco BabitMitri (2009),“Archaeological Investigation in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills: A Study of the Distribution pattern of Neolithic Sites (An Ethno-Archaeological Approach).
• Mr. Mawlsawnliana Hmar (2011), “Megalithic Monuments of Mizoram: A Descriptive Study”.
• Mr. RaktimPatar (2019), “The Tiwa: An Ethnohistory”.
• Ms. Adella R. Sawian (2023), “Literature and Social Consciousness of the Khasi in the Colonial Period: A Historical Perspective”.
• Mr. Damut Skhem Umdor (2023), “Society and Economy in Ri-War from Pre-Colonial to Colonial Times”.

M.Phil. Degree awarded - 2 nos.

• Ms. P. Gracefulness Bonney (2012), “An Administrative History of HimaNongstoin in the Colonial Period”,
• Ms. DachanmiDkhar (2016), “Folk Crafts as Material Culture: A Study of Potting, Weaving and Basketry in Jaintia Hills”.

PhD ongoing: 6 nos.

Administrative responsibilities undertaken:

• Dean, School of Social Sciences NEHU, 2017- 2020.
• Member Executive Committee, NEHU, 2018-2020.
• Member Planning Committee, NEHU
• Member Central Purchase Committee, NEHU
• Member  Library Committee, NEHU
• Member Purchase Committee, NEHU
• Member IQAC, NEHU
• Member Grievance Committee, NEHU
• Member BRS, NEHU
• Member Central Admission Committee (for foreign students)
• Coordinator UGC-SAP-DSA II, History Dept. NEHU
• Head, Dept. of History from December 2020 to 2023.
• Member BPGS, History Department, Nagaland University
• Member BPGS, Sociology Department, NEHU.
• Member BOS, Education Department, NEHU.
• Member BOS, Khasi Department, NEHU (currently).
• Member BOS, Anthropology Department, NEHU
• Member BOS, Tourism & Hotel Management, NEHU (
• Member Screening Committee ICSSR-NERC (currently).
• Dean, School of Social Sciences NEHU, 2024 to present.

Academic affiliations

• Life member of North East India History Association
• NAAC Peer team member
• Have served/serving as member of Governing Bodies of Colleges in Shillong and currently on the Governing Body of Bormanik College, Upper Shillong and K.L. Bajoria College, Laitumkhrah.
• Engaged with the Department of Art & Culture, Govt. of Meghalaya on issues related to heritage archaeology;
• Member of the State Level Implementation Committee on National Mission on Monuments & Antiquities, by the Govt. of Meghalaya, 2008.
• Currently Member Screening Committee, Government of Meghalaya for placement of Government Lecturers as a NEHU representative.
• Member of the Ethics Committee (ISMEC) 2021 to the present.
• Member of the Academic Committee NCERT, New Delhi (Currently).
• Consultant for Meghalaya Basin Management Agency on Heritage Sites (Currently).

Research Projects

1. Meghalaya Megaliths: An Enquiry into Technological Aspects, funded by the Science and Technology Cell, Dept. of Planning, Govt. of Meghalaya, 1993-1996.
2. UGC-SAP-DRS I: Megalithic Phenomenon of Northeast India: Trends and Perspectives 2001-2006
3. UGC-SAP-DSA I: Megaliths, Rituals and the Making of a Social Landscape.2007-2011
4. UGC-SAP-DSA II: Khasi-Jaintia Megaliths: A Study of the Social Contexts of Megalithic Constructions. 2014 - 2019.
5. State Project Coordinator for Meghalaya on National Mission on Monuments & Antiquities, ASI, Govt. of India. 2010 - 2011.

Publications

Articles in Proceedings:

• “Classification of Khasi Megaliths: A Critique” in Proceedings of North East India Association, Shillong, 1991.
• “Methods of Preservation Practiced in Cherra State: Some Insights” in Proceedings of North East India Association, Shillong, 1997.
• “Some Aspects on the Indigenous Earthenware of the Khasi-JaintiaHills” in Proceedings of North East India Association, Shillong, 1999.
• “Dating the Northeastern Neolithic Cultures” in Proceedings of North East India Association, Shillong, 2004.
• “Trends and Status of Prehistoric Research in Northeast India as Reflected in the NEIHA Proceedings” in Proceedings of North East India Association, Shillong, 2004.

Research Papers:

• Co-authored a paper “Folklore & Archaeology” in The North-Eastern Hill University Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Shillong, 1991.
• “Anti-Colonial Resistance in Meghalaya: Reclaiming the Unsung Heroes/Heroine of the Seng Khasi of the Pre-Independence Period” in Man and Society: A Journal of North-East Studies, Vol. XX, 2022,ISSN: 2229-4058.
• “Decoding Megalithic Traditions of Select Tribes of Northeast India” in Aitihya-The Heritage, Vol. XIV, Issue-1, 2023, ISSN: 2229-5399.
• “Reviewing the Typology of the Khasi-Jaintia Megaliths and their Symbolic Meaning” in Man and Environment, Vol. XLVIII (7), 2023, ISSN: 0258-0446.

Book Chapters:

• “Megalithic Elements among the Garos: Some Observations” in M.Momin (ed.)Readings in History and Culture of the Garos, Regency Publications , New Delhi, 2003, ISBN: 81-87498-82-X
• “Megaliths and Social Formation in Khasi-Jaintia Hills ” in M. Momin & Cecile A. Mawlong(eds.) Society and Economy in North-East India, Vol I, Regency Publications , New Delhi, 2004, ISBN: 81-87498-83-8.
• “Christianity and the Megalithic Tradition in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills: A Preliminary Study of the Processes of Deculturation and Enculturation” in T.B.Subba et.al. (eds.) Christianityand Change in Northeast India, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2009, ISBN 13-978-81-8069-447-9 ISBN: 10-81-8069-447-X.
• “Exploring the Issue of the ‘Khasi’ Identity: Some Observations” in H. Srikanth & Rooplekha Borgohain (eds.) Ethnicity and Political Economy in Northeast India DVS Publishers, Guwahati, 2016, ISBN: 978-81-86307-91-5
• “Women and Craft Production: A Study of Iron-Working and Pot-Making in Traditional Khasi-Jaintia Society” in Manorama Sharma (ed.) Rethinking Gender History: Essays on Northeast India and Beyond, DVS Publishers, Guwahati, 2017, ISBN: 978-93-85839-18-4.
• Keynote paper in Tilok Thakuria (ed.)Perspectives on the Material Cultures of Northeast India, Lakshi Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 2019, ISBN: 978-93-82120-56-8
• “History Etched in Stone: A Study of the Khasi-Jaintia Megalithic Tradition” in Queenbala Marak& Sarit K. Chaudhuri (eds.) The Cultural Heritage of Meghalaya, Manohar Publishers & Distributers, New Delhi 2021, ISBN: 978-81-943521-2-9.
• “Communities in Transition: Contemporary Issues on Sustainability among Indigenous People of North-East India” in Dipannita Chakraborty & Rita Das Nayak (eds.) Transitional Aspects of Indigenous People : North East India, EBH Publishers Guwahati, 2022, ISBN: 978-93-92038-419.
• “Kinship, Religion and Gender in Matrilineal Khasi-Jaintia Society” in Cecile A. Mawlong & Tejimala Gurung Nag (eds.) Religion and Society in Northeast India: An Interface, DVS Publishers, Guwahati, 2022, ISBN:978-93-85839-68-9.

Books:

• M. Momin & Cecile A. Mawlong (eds.) Society and Economy in North-East India, Vol I, Regency Publications , New Delhi, 2004, ISBN 81-87498-83-8.
• Cecile A. Mawlong, Interrogating the Past: A Study of Gender and the Megalithic Tradition in Khasi-Jaintia Society DVS Publishers, Guwahati, 2022, ISBN: 978-93-85839-46-7
• Cecile A. Mawlong & Tejimala Gurung Nag (eds.) Religion and Society in Northeast India: An Interface, DVS Publishers, Guwahati, 2022, ISBN: 978-93-85839-68-9.

Papers presented in Conferences/Seminars/Workshops:

• “Megaliths as a Strategy of Domination” at a Seminar on the themeState Formation in Pre-Colonial Northeast Indiaorganized by the Department of History, NEHU, Shillong on10-12 November, 2005.
• “Living Megalithic Tradition and the tribes of Northeast India: An Overview” at a National Seminar on the themeArchaeology of Eastern India: Recent Researchesorganized by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata on 23-24 February, 2006.
• “Megaliths and Megalithic Rituals in the Khasi Religion and Belief System” at a National Seminar on the themeMyths, Ritual and Belief Systems in Pre-Colonial Societies of North East Indiaorganized by the Department of History (UGC-SAP-DSA I), NEHU, Shillong on 19-21 March, 2008.
• “Gender Relations in Khasi Society as reflected in the Megalithic Tradition”at a National Seminar on the themeInterpreting Historical Developments in North-East India: A Gender Perspective, organized by the Department of History (UGC-SAP-DSA I ) NEHU, Shillong on 26^th to 27^th February, 2009.
• “Funerary Rituals: A Study of Bone Internment Ceremonies in Khasi-Jaintia Society” at a National Seminar on the themeReligion and Society in Northeast India from18th Century to Contemporary Timesorganized by the Department of History(UGC-SAP-DSA I ) NEHU, Shillong on24-25 November, 2009.
• “Jeebon Roy and the Seng Khasi: Khasi Revivalism in the Late 19^th and Early 20^th Centuries”, at a National Seminar on the themeTowards An Intellectual history of Northeast India: Pre To Post Colonial Periods”, organised by the Department of History (UGC-SAP-DSA I) NEHU, Shillongon 24-25 November 2010.
• “Uncovering the Khasi Past: The Colonial Legacy” at a National Seminar on the theme Edward Gait, and the Making of Regional History, organized by ICHR Regional Centre, Guwahati on 21-22 March, 2012.
• “The Khasi–Jaintia Megalithic Tradition: Problems and Perspectives” at a Regional Seminar on the theme Archaeology of North-East India, organized by the Archaeological Survey of India (Guwahati Circle), on 20-21 July 2012.
• “Gender and Governance in Khasi-Jaintia Hills”, in a National Seminar on the theme ‘Interrogating Democracy and Development in North-East India”, organised by the Department of Political Science, NEHU, Shillong on 17-18 March, 2016.
• “Gender Roles in the Matrilineal Khasi-Jaintia Society: A Re-reading of Folk Tradition”at a National Seminar on the themeGender and Folklore in Northeast India: Beliefs and Practices, organised by the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies NEHU, Shillong on 30-31 March, 2016.
• “Matriliny in Meghalaya: A Study of the Khasi-Jaintia in Historical perspective” at a National Seminar on the theme Northeast India Since 1947: Society, Polity and Economy in the State of Meghalaya, organised by the Department of Political Science, NEHU, Shillong in collaboration with OKD Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati, on 16-17 March,2017.
• “Khasi-Jaintia Matriliny: Problems and Perspectives” at a workshop on the theme Status of Women’s Studies in North East India, organisedby the OKD Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati on 18-19 January 2019.
• “Exploring the Intersection of Borders and Culture: A Study of the War-Khasi of Meghalaya” at an International Seminar on the theme Historicizing Borders: New Perspectives on Politics, Ethnicity and Trans-National Linkages in Northeast India, organised by the Department of History(UGC-SAP-DSA II) NEHU, Shillong, on 26-28 February, 2019.
• “Matriliny, Power-Relations and Governance in Khasi-Jaintia Society: A Study of Traditional Political Institutions and their Modern Counterparts”, at an International Seminar on the theme Custom, Law and the Colonial State in Northeast India: Dynamics and Challenges for the Postcolonial State organised by Nehru Memorial Museum& Library, New Delhi in collaboration with the Department of History, NEHU, Shillong on 13-14, June 2019.
• “Revisiting Indigenous Knowledge-Based Practices among the Khasis of Meghalaya”, at a National Seminar, on the theme Traditional Tribal Technology in India: Northeast in Focus organised by the Department of History, Don Bosco College Kohima in collaboration with the  Department of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, Kohima, on 12-13 May, 2023.
• Made a joint presentation on “Stone Jars” at a Conference/Workshop organised by the Archaeological Survey of India, Guwahati Circle on 4-5 December, 2023 on the theme Looking Beyond Vision Statement for Excavation by 2035.