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The latter hills take their name from the Rajas of Jaintia, the former rulers of this part of the country, who had as their capital Jaintiapur, a place situated at the foot of the Jaintia Hills on the southern side, which now falls within the boundaries of the Sylhet district. The Lynngams inhabit the western portion of the Khasi Hills proper.
Spirit drinking is confined more to the inhabitants of the high plateaux and to the people of the Wár country, the Bhois and Lynngams being content to partake of rice beer.
The Lynngams are probably the darkest complexioned people in the hills, and if one met them in the plains one would not be able to distinguish them from the ordinary Kachari or Rabha. The nose in the Khasi is somewhat depressed, the nostrils being often large and prominent. The forehead is broad and the space between the eyes is often considerable.
The leaves are thrown away after use, a fresh supply being required for each meal. The Lynngams brew rice beer, they do no distil spirit; the beer is brewed according to the Khasi method. Games they have none, and there are no jovial archery meetings like those of the Khasis. The Lynngam methods of hunting are setting spring guns and digging pitfalls for game.
This stone is apparently some rough gem which may be picked up by the Lynngams in the river beds. A rich man amongst them, however, is one who possesses a number of metal gongs, which they call wiang. For these they pay very high prices, Rs. 100 being quite a moderate sum for one of them. Being curious to see one of these gongs, I asked a sirdar, or head-man, to show me one.
Before proceeding further, it should be stated that the Assamese of Boko call the Lynngams Núniyá Garos, all hill people being Garos to the Assamese of that region, without distinction or difference.
The Lynngams pull out the hairs of the moustache with the exception of a few hairs an either side of the upper lip. Physical and General Characteristics The Khasis are usually short in stature, with bodies well nourished, and the males are extremely muscular. The trunk is long in proportion to the rest of the body, and broad at the waist; calves are very highly developed.
The Syntengs of the Jaintia Hills are darker than the Khasi uplanders. The Wárs who live in the low valleys are frequently more swarthy than the Khasis. The Bhois have the flabby-looking yellow skin of the Mikirs, and the Lynngams are darker than the Khakis.
The stones are also swathed in cloths, and turbans are tied round the tops. The death customs of the Lynngams, and, indeed, other customs also, are partly Khasi and partly Garo, it being difficult to say that the Lynngams are more Khasi than Garo, or more Garo than Khasi in this respect; their language, however; has been found by Dr. Grierson to be a corruption of Khasi.
There do not appear to be any hypergamous groups. As with the Khasis, it is a deadly sin to marry any one belonging to your own kur, or clan. Unlike the Khasis, however, a Lynngam can marry two sisters at a time. The Lynngams intermarry with the Garos. It appears that sometimes the parents of girls exact bride-money, and marriages by capture have been heard of.
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