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The case is treated as one of shong kur, or marriage within the clan, and the bones of the twins cannot be placed in the sepulchre of the clan. There are no special birth customs amongst the Lynngams. There is no trace of the couvade amongst the Khasis. Marriage. We now come to consider marriage amongst the Khasis from a religious point of view.
He may be said to be the priest of the communal religion, although he has certain duties in connection with offences committed against the social law of marriage, and with regard to the casting out of evil spirits from houses which may be thought to be infested with them. The lyngdohs of the Khasis may be likened to the Roman pontifices.
If ten people went there, five of them were swallowed up; half of them he devoured, and half of them he let go. When many people had been devoured, and when they saw that all the children of men would be destroyed, whether they were Khasis or plains people, they held a great durbar at Sunnai market to which both Khasis and plains people went.
In Lord Avebury's "Prehistoric Times" Fergusson's work, and Waring's collection of plates of stone monuments, there are numerous illustrations of menhirs and dolmens to be found in other parts of the world, which may be said to resemble those of the Khasis in appearance, but this is by no means a matter for surprise, for, given like conditions, amongst primitive peoples, totally unconnected with one another as regards race, and living in countries far remote from one another, the results, i.e. the erection of stones as memorials of important persons, or events, are probably the same all the world over.
When poisons are used, however, some fish are not affected by them, and others are only stupefied for the time being and afterwards recover. Food. They are fond of all kinds of meat, especially pork and beef, although some of the Syntengs, owing to Hindu influence, abstain from eating the latter. Unlike the neighbouring Naga, Garo and Kuki tribes, the Khasis abstain from the flesh of the dog.
The Syntengs and Lynngams are fond of tadpoles, and the Khasis consider a curry made from a kind of green frog, called ka japieh, a bonne bouche. The Khasis of Mariao, Maharam, Nongstoin and some other Siemships eat the hairy caterpillar, u'ñiang phlang.
Shadwell, the oldest living authority we have on the Khasis, and one who has been in close touch with the people for more than half a century, mentions a tradition amongst them that they originally came into Assam from Burma via the Patkoi range, having followed the route of one of the Burmese invasions. Mr. Shadwell has heard them mention the name Patkoi as a hill they met with on their journey.
The young grandmother, her daughters and their children are said to belong to shi iing, one house, the word iing in this instance possessing amongst the Khasis the same significance as the English word family. Let us take the example of the great Diengdoh clan of Cherra.
U Suidnoh gained for himself fame and honour, which he enjoys up to the present day. The Khasis, therefore, when they find that the hair or the clothes of any one belonging to them have been cut, refer the matter to U Suidnoh, and they sacrifice to him. The Syntengs also have their "thlen," but he differs much from the Khasi "thlen."
The former affect a pattern peculiar to themselves, viz. large gold pendants of a circular or oval shape. Women wear different patterns of earrings, according to locality. An ornament which I believe is also peculiar to the Khasis is the rupa-tylli, or silver collar. This is a broad flat silver collar which is allowed to hang down over the neck in front, and which is secured by a fastening behind.
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