United States or Luxembourg ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
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.
These cannons were captured from the Jaintia Raja by the Siem of Nongkrem. No specimens of the cannon ball used are unfortunately available. There are also small mortars, specimens of which are to be seen in the house of the Siem of Mylliem. The weapons of the Syntengs are the same as those of the Khasis, although some of them are called by different names.
After two or three months the ears of the child are bored and ear-rings are inserted. Mr. Jenkins mentions that the naming ceremony amongst the Syntengs is performed by the "eldest aunt," presumably on the mother's side. A basket of eggs is placed in the centre of the room, and before the ceremony begins one egg has to be broken.
The Syntengs seem to have more closely preserved the customs of the matriarchate than the Khasis, and the Syntengs claim that their niam or religious ceremonies are purer, i.e. that they more closely correspond to what they were in ancient times than those of the Khasis.
It seems probable that the practice of sacrificing human victims in Jaintia was of long standing, and was originally unconnected with Hinduism, although when the Royal family became converts to Hinduism, the goddess Kali may easily have taken the place of the Kopili River goddess. Many of the Syntengs regard the River Kopili to this day with superstitions reverence.
The Kopili river rises in the "Black Mountains," and flows northwards into the Brahmaputra. It is the boundary between the country of the Syntengs and that of the Hadems. Any traveller who wishes to cross this river must leave behind him the rice which he has taken for his journey, and any other food that he may have taken with him.
The lac trade in the Jaintia Hills and in the southern portion of the Khyrim State is a valuable one. The profits, however, go largely to middle-men, who in the Jaintia Hills are Syntengs from Jowai, who give out advances to the Bhoi cultivators on the condition that they will be repaid in lac.
This coat, however, may be said to be going out of fashion in the Khasi Hills, its place being taken by coats of European pattern in the more civilized centres and by all sorts of nondescript garments in the interior. The sleeveless coat, however, is still worn by many Syntengs in the interior and by the Bhois and Lynngams. The men in the Khasi Hills wear a cap with ear-flaps.
In land customs as well as other customs the Syntengs seem to preserve more closely than the Khasis what are probably the ancient usages of the race. It must be clearly understood, however, that all land acquired by inheritance must follow the Khasi law of entail, by which property descends from the mother to the youngest daughter, and again from the latter to her youngest daughter.
Khasis 107,515 Syntengs 47,883 Christian Khasis 17,125 Khasis inhabiting other districts 4,091 The Khasi and Jaintia Hills district is situated between 25° 1' and 26° 5' North Latitude, and between 90° 47' and 92° 52' East Longitude. It contains an area of 6,157 square miles, with a total population at the Census of 1901 of 202,250 souls.
Word Of The Day