Gender, Power and Conflict of Identities

The article intends to understand the phenomenon of witch hunting among the Rabha community of Goalpara district in Assam. It attempts to map the changes which Rabha society has undergone in the process of the construction from matrilineal to a patriarchal society. The shift from matrilineal to patriarchal is an outcome of the emergence of ‘identity formation’ among the male members of the Rabhas. Therefore, the construction of the identity has become a major issue regarding the establishment of the patriarchal setup in their society. As a result, the women those were considered as powerful are now seen as a threat to the patriarchy. In this regard, particularly, the women healers or midwives, who hold the expertise in the area of gynaecology, have become a threat to the patriarchal setup. In the name of identity creation, the patriarchal society started to brand the powerful women as the practitioners of evil powers. The popular term used by the Rabhas for a woman who is known as a keeper of evil power is tikkar . In the article, I have reflected on my ethnographic study as an outsider from the community.