Though small and remote, the village of Mawlynnong, bordering Bangladesh in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya, attracts tourists from all over the globe.
Most come to see Mawlynnong’s drop-dead gorgeousness: its tropical gardens, waterfalls and ancient living root bridges, not to mention sweeping mountain views, landscaped cobblestone streets and thatched-roof cottages. Travel articles bolster its nickname, “God’s Own Garden,” calling it “the pride of India” and “the cleanest village in Asia.”
But the jungle village of 500 residents offered a different lure for Karolin Klüppel, a Berlin-based photographer: It is home to the indigenous Khasi, one of the world’s rare matrilineal societies. When Ms. Klüppel heard about the Khasi during an artist-in-residency program in the western Indian state Goa, she knew she wanted to experience — and visually capture — something of this society.
Ms. Klüppel lived with different families in Mawlynnong for nine months to create her photo series “Mädchenland,” or “Kingdom of Girls.” The series defies expectations. It offers glimpses of Mawlynnong’s physical beauty and eschews documentary images of the Khasi.
As in Mawlynnong, in “Mädchenland,” the girls rule.
The camera captures a girl wading in a watering hole pinching her nose as she prepares to go under the surface. Another girl stands on what looks like a pedestal, on a bamboo bridge, in complete command of the lush forest that surrounds her. One girl, visible from the chin down, sits on a low stool, wearing a ceremonial necklace made of dried fish skeletons on her bare chest. Another, in a portrait that looks like a painting, lies on a rock, daydreaming, her feet dangling in the river.
The children’s playthings almost always come from their environment. In a striking example, a girl bends over, legs straight, holding severed hooves, as if readying to walk them around.
The series makes obvious these girls enjoy lots of freedom.
“In the Khasi culture,” Ms. Klüppel said in an email interview, “women and girls have a special standing in the society and, of course, this exceptional role ‘produces’ a great self-confidence. I did not want to do a classical documentary on their culture, but tried to capture this outstanding role somehow. I decided to make a portrait series of the girls because I was so impressed by their self-assured appearance and thought this must be how matriliny becomes visible.”
In Khasi culture, the youngest girl in a family inherits its wealth and property, and children take their mother’s surname. Having only boys is hard luck. Khasi women marry whom they want — no arranged marriages there — and divorce or chose to remain single with no stigma.
The girls do work at an early age, Ms. Klüppel said. Despite the tourism, Mawlynnong is still a farm town, which means everyone works. The girls do household chores and take care of younger siblings. But Khasi girls are content, Ms. Klüppel said. So are boys, until they reach manhood and experience an imbalance of power in the household.
“Mädchenland” has had its critics. After it appeared in one online story, commenters complained that the portraits lacked context and left them wanting to know more about the Khasi. (Do a Google search, one defender countered.)
Ms. Klüppel remains unfazed by the rebukes.
“Yes,” she said, “I know that some people do not really understand that my intention of the series was never to do a documentary on the Khasi culture. It is strange to get criticized by not showing the milieu (which I actually do, it is just not in the main focus) when it is not my topic. I wanted to concentrate on the girls and, of course, I had to leave other topics behind. I am aware that my series is not showing the Khasi culture and I am not claiming to do that.”
Instead, she said, she wanted to capture how the girls’ behavior demonstrated their power. “For me, their culture just got visible through their behavior and I tried to capture that,” she said. “I do not think that I leave out the context, because whenever I write about my work, I explain their culture.”
“Mädchenland” is making the rounds of galleries. Already exhibited in Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin and Cologne, Germany, it will be part of a show in Toulouse, France, in September. She is also planning a monograph.
Ms. Klüppel, who received a Master of Fine Arts in photography in 2012, is still in the early stages of her career, deciding what she might explore. But indigenous groups and societies, especially matrilineal ones, are at the top of her list. Her next project, she said, will be on another matrilineal ethnic minority, the Mosuo of China.
“My long-term goal as a photographer, for now, is to create projects that I think matter and are important to be told,” Ms. Klüppel said. “And to make a living from that.”
Follow @enievesAP and @nytimesphoto on Twitter. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.
