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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.

Hei, oh god from above; oh god from below; oh 'lei synshar; oh god who hast created man; as thou hast ordained this marriage, the ring has been given this day; thou wilt know; thou wilt hear; from the clear firmament above that . . . . have been married this day.

At length the finding of the durbar is taken, after the Siem has summed up, and sentence is pronounced, which generally consists of a fine in money, almost always accompanied by an order to the losing party to present a pig. The pig is supposed to be sacrificed to a goddess, Ka 'lei synshar, i.e. the goddess of the State, but it is invariably eaten by the Siem and the members of the durbar.

The Khasis have a vague belief in a God the Creator, U Blei Nong-thaw, although this deity, owing, no doubt, to the influences of the matriarchate, is frequently given the attribute of the feminine gender, cf., Ka lei Synshar. The Khasis cannot, however, be said to worship the Supreme God, although it is true that they sometimes invoke him when sacrificing and in times of trouble.