Northeast India is home to several tribes and tribal communities. In a tribal context, art, architecture and culture are intertwined into the day-to-day activities. Although most vernacular structures in the northeast use similar locally available materials like bamboo, wood, mud and thatch, they are different from each other. This factor of identity stems from their diverse cultural practices and beliefs. The paper explores the relationship between culture, art and architecture in northeast India, taking the case example of Meghalaya. It further investigates the scenario by analysing the two most important housing typologies of Meghalaya—Garo and Khasi houses. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.