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Notwithstanding the strong influence of the matriarchate, we find that U Thawlang, the first father and the husband of Ka Iawbei, is also revered. To him on occasions of domestic trouble a cock is sacrificed, and a jymphong, or sleeveless coat is offered. This puja is called kaba tap Thawlang, i.e. covering the grandfather.
It should be remarked that the Khasis never symbolise their gods by means of images, their worship being offered to the spirit only. The following are some of the principal spirits worshipped by the Khasis and Syntengs, omitting the spirits of deceased ancestors such as Ka Iawobi, u Thawlang and u Suidnia, which will be described under the heading of ancestor-worship.
The Khasi saying is, "u kpa uba lah ban iai, u kni uba tang ha ka iap ka im," which may be translated freely as, "the father bears the heat and burden of the day, the maternal uncle only comes when it is a question of life or death." The Khasi father is revered not only when living, but also after death as U Thawlang, and special ceremonies are performed to propitiate his shade.
Shadwell has said that marriage amongst the Khasis "is purely a civil contract." This statement is not correct, for there is an elaborate religious ceremony at which God the creator, U'lei thaw briew man briew, the god or goddess of the State, U or ka'lei Synshar, and, what is probably more important, the ancestress and ancestor of the clan, Ka Iawbei-tymmen and U Thawlang, are invoked.
The following incantation to U Thawlang is then chanted: "Oh, father Thawlang, who hast enabled me to be born, who hast given me my stature and my life, I have wronged thee, oh father, be not offended, for I have given thee a pledge and a sign, i.e. a red and white sleeveless coat.
The large central stone is called u maw thawlang, or the stone of the father, and the upright stones on either side are meant to represent the father's brothers or nephews. The flat table-stone is ka Iawbei, i.e. the grandmother of the father, not the first grandmother of the clan, as in the case of the mawbynna.
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