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The cloak is not so frequently worn as amongst Khasis, except in cold weather. The Lynngam dress is very similar to that of the neighbouring Garos. The males wear the sleeveless coat, or phong marong, of cotton striped red and blue, red and white, or blue and white, fastened in the same manner as the Khasi coat and with tassels.
If possible a portion of the dead person's clothes should be burnt with the seeds in the bier, and it is with this view that the coats or cloths of Khasi coolies, who die when employed as porters on military expeditions at a distance from their homes, are brought back by their friends to give to the relatives.
Primers for the study of the language were printed at Calcutta in 1846 and 1852, and in 1855 appeared the excellent "Introduction to the Khasia language, comprising a grammar, selections for reading, and a Khasi-English vocabulary," of the Rev. W. Pryse. There now exists a somewhat extensive literature in Khasi, both religious and secular. An exhaustive grammar, by the Rev.
Let us now turn to the constitution of the Khasi State, which, it will be seen, has been formed, in more than one instance, by the voluntary association of villages, or groups of villages. The head of the Khasi State is the Siem or chief. A Khasi state is a limited monarchy, the Siem's powers being much circumscribed.
The Khasi weapon par excellence is the bow. Although no "Robin Hoods," the Khasis are very fair archers, and they use the bow largely for hunting. The longest bow in use is said to be about the height of a man, the average height amongst the Khasis being about about 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches.
Khasis are devoted to their offspring, and the women make excellent nurses for European children, frequently becoming much attached to their little charges. The people, like the Japanese, are fond of nature. A Khasi loves a day out in the woods, where he thoroughly enjoys himself. If he does not go out shooting or fishing, he is content to sit still and contemplate nature.
U Nissor Singh, in his admirable little book of "Hints on the Study of the Khasi Language," writes, "Adverbs are so numerous in the Khasi language that I shall not attempt to enumerate them all in this small book. Many of the adverbs, indeed, belong to the untranslatables of the language. We are never in want of a specific term to express the appropriate degree of any quality."
There are Khasi goldsmiths to be found in Mawkhar, Cherrapunji, Mawlai, and other villages. Sylheti goldsmiths are, however, more largely employed than Khasi in Mawsynram and certain other places on the south side of the hills. In Mr.
Ka Rih, the malarial fever devil; ka Khlam, the demon of cholera; ka Duba, the fever devil which is said to haunt the neighbourhood of Theriaghat. Bivar says "the Khasi religion may be thus briefly defined as forms used to cure diseases and to avert misfortunes, by ascertaining the name of the demon, as the author of the evil, and the kind of sacrifice necessary to appease it."
This story moreover is remarkable as pointing to a Khasi migration from beyond the Kopili river to their present abode.
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