Domestic Life
Occupation.
The greater proportion of the population subsists by
cultivation. Cultivation of rice may be divided under two headings,
high land or dry cultivation and low land or wet cultivation. The
total number of persons who subsist by agriculture generally in the
hills, is given is the last Census Report as 154,907, but the term
agriculture includes the cultivation of the potato, the orange,
betel-nut and _pán_. A full description of the different forms
of agriculture will be given under the heading "Agriculture." A
considerable number of Khasis earn their livelihood as porters,
carrying potatoes to the markets on the Sylhet side of the district,
from whence the crop is conveyed by means of country boats to the
different places of call of river-steamers in the Surma Valley,
the steamers carrying the potatoes to Calcutta. Potatoes are also
largely carried to Shillong by porters, where the tuber is readily
bought by Marwari merchants, who load it in carts to be conveyed by
road to Gauhati, from which station it is again shipped to Calcutta
and Upper Assam. Many persons are also employed in carrying rice
up the hill from Theria to Cherrapunji, Shillong, and on to other
places. Salt is also carried by porters by this route. Many Khasis,
both male and female, live by daily labour in this way, earning as much
as eight annas, and six annas a day, respectively. The Census Report
of 1901 shows some 14,000 "general labourers" in the district, the
greater number of whom are porters and coolies, both male and female,
employed on road work and on building. In Shillong the Government
Offices and the printing press give employment to a certain number
of Khasis. There is also a fair demand for Khasi domestic servants,
both among the Europeans and the Bengali and Assamese clerks who are
employed at the headquarters of the Administration. The manufacture of
country spirit gives employment to a considerable number of persons,
most of whom are females. At a recent census of the country stills
in the district, undertaken by the district officials, the number
of stills has been found to be 1,530. There must be at least one
person employed at each still, so that the number of distillers is
probably not less than 2,000, possibly more. The spirit is distilled
both for home consumption and for purposes of sale, in some villages
almost entirely for sale. In, the Jaintia Hills stock-breeding and
dealing in cattle provides occupation for 1,295 people, according
to the last census. The cattle are reared in the Jaintia Hills and
are driven down to the plains when they reach the age of maturity,
where they find a ready market amongst the Sylhetis. Cattle are also
driven into Shillong for sale from the Jaintia Hills. Another place
for rearing cattle is the Siemship of Nongkhlaw, where there is good
pasturage in the neighbourhood of Mairang. These cattle are either
sold in Shillong or find their way to the Kamrup district by the old
Nongkhlaw road. Cattle-breeding is an industry which is capable of
expansion in these hills. There are a few carpenters to be found in
Shillong and its neighbourhood. The Khasis are said by Col. Waddell
to be unacquainted with the art of weaving; but the fact that a
considerable weaving industry exists amongst the Khyrwang villages
of the Syntengs, and at Mynso and Suhtnga, has been overlooked by
him. The Khyrwangs weave a special pattern of cotton and silk cloth,
striped red and white. In Mynso and Suhtnga similar cloths are woven,
also the sleeveless coat. In former days this industry is said to have
been considerable, but it has been displaced to a large extent of late
years by Manchester piece goods. The number of weavers returned at the
last census in the district was 533. The Khasis and Mikirs of the low
country, or Bhois as they are called, weave cotton cloths which they
dye with the leaves of a plant called _u noli_. This is perhaps the
wild indigo, or _ram_, of the Shan settlers in the Assam Valley. The
weavers are almost always females. An important means of subsistence
is road and building work; a considerable number of coolies, both male
and female, are employed under Government, practically throughout the
year, in this manner, the males earning on an average 8 annas and the
females 6 annas a day. Col Bivar writes that in 1875 the wages for
ordinary male labourers were 4 to 8 annas a day, and for females 21/2
to 4 annas, so that the wages rates have almost doubled in the last
thirty years. Contractors, however, often manage to obtain daily labour
at lower rates than those paid by Government. Stonemasons and skilled
labourers are able to get higher rates. It is easier to obtain coolies
in the Khasi than in the Jaintia Hills, where a large proportion of
the population is employed in cultivation. The Khasis are excellent
labourers, and cheerful and willing, but they at once resent bad
treatment, and are then intractable and hard to manage. Khasis are
averse to working in the plains in the hot-weather months.
Apiculture.
I am indebted to Mr. Rita for the following remarks on apiculture in
the Khasi and Jaintia Hills.
There are two kinds of indigenous bees in the Khasi Hills: one
domesticated, called _u ngap_ (_apis Indica_), and the other _u
lywai_, which is never domesticated, and is very pugnacious; its
hives are difficult of access, being always located in very high
cliffs. A few hives of a third class of bee are now-a-days to be
found in and around the station of Shillong, i.e. the Italian. This
bee was imported into the hills by Messrs. Dobbie and Rita, and the
species became propagated in the following manner. The bees had been
just established in a hive, where they had constructed a brood comb,
when the hive was robbed by some Khasis for the sake of the _larvæ_
it contained, which they wished to consume as food; but the queen bee
escaped and established other colonies, one of which was afterwards
captured by Mr. Rita, the others establishing themselves at places in
the neighbourhood. The hive used by the Khasis is of a very primitive
description. It is usually a hollow piece of wood, about 2 1/2 to 3
ft. in length and 10 or 12 in. in diameter. A small door is placed at
each end of the log, one for the bees to go in and out, and the other
for the removal of the honey when wanted. The honey-combs are broken
and the honey is extracted by squeezing the comb with the hand. Wax is
obtained by placing the comb in boiling water and allowing it to cool,
when the wax floats to the surface. The Khasis do not systematically
tend their bees, as they do not understand how to prevent swarming,
and as the Khasi bee is a prolific swarmer, hives become weak very soon
and a new hive has to be started from a captured natural swarm. The
villages in which bees are regularly kept to any large extent in the
Khasi and Jaintia Hills are Thied-dieng, Mawphoo, Nongwar, Mawlong,
Pynter, Tyrna, and Kongthong, but most of the Wár villagers rear bees
and sell the honey at the neighbouring markets. The collection of
the honey of the wild bee, or _u lywai_, is a hazardous occupation,
the services of some six or seven persons being required, as the combs
of this bee are generally built in the crevices of precipitous rocks,
and sometimes weigh more than half a maund each. When such hives are
discovered the bees are driven out by the smoke of a smouldering fire
lit at the foot of the rock below the hive. Two or three men get to the
top of the precipice, leaving two or three of their companions at the
base. One of the men on the top of the rock is then lowered down in
a sling tied to a strong rope, which is made fast by his companions
above to a tree or boulder. The man in the sling is supplied with
material to light a torch which gives out a thick smoke, with the
aid of which the bees are expelled. The man then cuts out the comb,
which he places in a leather bucket or bag, which, when filled, he
lowers down to the persons in waiting at the foot of the rock. The
wild honey may be distinguished from that of the domestic bee by being
of a reddish colour. Honey from the last-mentioned bee is gathered
twice or thrice in the year, once in the autumn and once or twice in
the spring; that gathered in early spring is not so matured as that
collected in autumn. The flora of the Khasi Hills being so numerous,
there is no necessity for providing bees with artificial food. The
bees are generally able to obtain their sustenance from clover,
anemonies, "golden rod," bush honeysuckle, and numerous shrubs such
as andromeda, daphne, &c., which abound about Shillong. There seem
to be facilities for apiculture on a large scale in these hills, and
certainly the honey which is brought round by the Khasis for sale in
Shillong is excellent, the flavour being quite as good as that of
English honey. Under "Miscellaneous Customs connected with Death"
will be found a reference to the statement that the dead bodies of
Siems used to be embalmed in honey. The existence of the custom is
generally denied by Khasis, but its former prevalence is probable,
as several trustworthy authors have quoted it.
Houses.
The houses of the people are cleaner than might be supposed after
taking into consideration the dirtiness of the clothes and persons
of those who inhabit them. They are as a rule substantial thatched
cottages with plank or stone walls, and raised on a plinth some 2 to
3 ft. from the ground. The only window is a small opening on one side
of the house, which admits but a dim light into the smoke-begrimed
interior. The beams are so low that it is impossible for a person of
ordinary stature to stand erect within. The fire is always burning
on an earthen or stone hearth in the centre. There is no chimney, the
smoke finding its exit as best it can. The firewood is placed to dry
on a swinging frame above the hearth. In the porch are stacked fuel and
odds and ends. The pigs and calves are generally kept in little houses
just outside the main building. The Khasi house is oval-shaped, and is
divided into three rooms, a porch, a centre room, and a retiring-room.
In olden days the Khasis considered nails _sang_, or taboo, and
only used a certain kind of timber for the fender which surrounds
the hearth; but they are not so particular now-a-days. In Mawkhar,
Cherrapunji, and other large villages, the walls of houses are
generally of stone. In Cherrapunji the houses are frequently large,
but the largest house I have seen in the hills is that of the Doloi
of Suhtnga in the Jaintia Hills which measures 74 ft. in length. The
house of the Siem Priestess at Smit in the Khasi Hills is another
large one, being 61 ft. long by 30 ft. broad. In front of the Khasi
house is a little space fenced in on two sides, but open towards the
village street. The Syntengs plaster the space in front of the house
with red earth and cow-dung, this custom being probably a remnant
of Hindu influences. The Khasis have some peculiar customs when they
build a new house. When the house is completed they perform a ceremony,
_kynjoh-hka-skain_, when they tie three pieces of dried fish to the
ridge pole of the house and then jump up and try to pull them down
again. Or they kill a pig, cut a piece of the flesh with the skin
attached, and fix it to the ridge pole, and then endeavour to dislodge
it. The Syntengs at Nartiang worship _U Biskurom_ (Biswakarma) and _Ka
Siem Synshar_ when a house is completed, two fowls being sacrificed,
one to the former, the other to the latter. The feathers of the fowls
are affixed to the centre post of the house, which must be of _u
dieng sning_, a variety of the Khasi oak. The worship of a Hindu god
(Biswakarma), the architect of the Hindu gods, alongside the Khasi
deity _Ka Siem Synshar_, is interesting, and may be explained by
the fact that Nartiang was at one time the summer capital of the
kings of Jaintia, who were Hindus latterly and disseminated Hindu
customs largely amongst the Syntengs. Mr. Rita says that amongst the
Syntengs, a house, the walls of which have been plastered with mud,
is a sign that the householder has an enemy. The plastering no doubt
is executed as a preventive of fire, arson in these hills being a
common form of revenge.
Amongst the Khasis, when a daughter leaves her mother's house and
builds a house in the mother's compound, it is considered _sang_,
or taboo, for the daughter's house to be built on the right-hand side
of the mother's house, it should be built either on the left hand or
at the back of the mother's house.
In Nongstoin it is customary to worship a deity called _u'lei
lap_ (Khasi, _u phan_), by nailing up branches of the Khasi oak,
interspersed with jaw-bones of cattle and the feathers of fowls,
to the principal post, which must be of _u dieng sning_. The Siem
priestess of the Nongkrem State at Smit and the ladies of the Siem
family perform a ceremonial dance before a large post of oak in the
midst of the Siem priestesses' house on the occasion of the annual
goat-killing ceremony. This oak post is furnished according to custom
by the _lyngskor_ or official spokesman of the Siem's Durbar. Another
post of oak in this house is furnished by the people of the State.
The houses of the well-to-do Khasis of the present day in Mawkhar and
Cherrapunji are built after the modern style with iron roofs, chimneys,
glass windows and doors. In Jowai the well-to-do traders have excellent
houses of the European pattern, which are as comfortable as many
of the European subordinates' quarters in Shillong. Some up-to-date
families in Shillong and at Cherra allow themselves muslin curtains
and European furniture.
The houses of the Pnar-Wárs are peculiar. The roof, which is thatched
with the leaves of a palm called _u tynriew_, is hog-backed and the
eaves come down almost to the ground. There are three rooms in the
War as in the Khasi house, although called by different names in the
Wár dialect. The hearth is in the centre room. The houses are built
flush with the ground and are made of bamboos. In the Wár villages of
Nongjri and Umniuh there are small houses erected in the compounds of
the ordinary dwelling-houses called _ieng ksuid_ (spirit houses). In
these houses offerings to the spirits of departed family ancestors
are placed at intervals, this practice being very similar to the more
ancient form of Shintoism. In some Wár villages there are also separate
bachelors' quarters. This custom is in accordance with that of the Naga
tribes. There is no such custom amongst the Khasi Uplanders. The Wár
houses are similar to those of the Pnar Wárs, except that a portion of
the house is generally built on a platform, the main house resting on
the hill-side and the portion on the platform projecting therefrom, the
object being to obtain more space, the area for houses in the village
sites being often limited owing to the steepness of the hill-sides.
The Bhoi and Lynngam houses are practically similar, and may be
described together. They are generally built on fairly high platforms
of bamboo, are frequently 30 to 40 ft. in length, and are divided into
various compartments in order to suit the needs of the family. The
hearth, which is of earth, is in the centre room. There is a platform
at the back of the Lynngam house, and in front of the Bhoi house,
used for drying paddy, spreading chillies, &c., and for sitting on
when the day's work is done. In order to ascend to a Bhoi house, yon
have to climb up a notched pole. The Bhois sacrifice a he-goat and
a fowl to _Rèk-ànglong_ (Khasi, _Ramiew iing_), the household god,
when they build a new house.
Villages.
Unlike the Nagas and Kukis, the Khasis do not build their villages on
the extreme summits of hills, but a little below the tops, generally in
small depressions; in order to obtain some protection from the strong
winds and storms which prevail in these hills at certain times of the
year. According to the late U Jeebon Roy, it is _sang_, or taboo, to
the Khasis to build a house on the last eminence of a range of hills,
this custom having perhaps arisen owing to the necessity of locating
villages with reference to their defence against an enemy. Khasis
build their houses fairly close together, but not as close as houses
in the Bhoi and Lynngam villages. Khasis seldom change the sites of
their villages, to which they are very much attached, where, as a
rule, the family tombs are standing and the _máwbynna_ or memorial
stones. In many villages stone cromlechs and memorial stones are
to be seen which from their appearance show that the villages have
been there for many generations. During the Jaintia rebellion the
village of Jowai was almost entirely destroyed, but as soon as the
rebellion was over the people returned to the old site and rebuilt
their village. Similarly, after the earthquake, the ancient village
sites were not abandoned in many cases, but the people rebuilt their
houses in their former positions, although in Shillong and Cherrapunji
they rebuilt the walls of the houses of wooden materials instead of
stone. There is no such thing as a specially reserved area in the
village for the Siem and the nobility, all the people, rich or poor,
living together in one village, their houses being scattered about
indiscriminately. To the democratic Khasi the ides of the Siem living
apart from his people would be repugnant. In the vicinity of the Khasi
village, often just below the brow of the hill to the leeward side,
are to be seen dark woods of oak and other trees. These are the sacred
groves. Here the villagers worship _U ryngkew U basa_, the tutelary
deity of the village. These groves are taboo, and it is an offence to
cut trees therein for any purpose other than for performing funeral
obsequies. The groves are generally not more than a few hundred yards
away from the villages. The villages of the Syntengs are similar in
character to those of the Khasis. The Wár villages nestle on the
hill-sides of the southern border, and are to be seen peeping out
from the green foliage with which the southern slopes are clad. In the
vicinity of, and actually up to the houses, in the Wár villages, are
to be observed large groves of areca-nut, often twined with the _pan_
creeper, and of plantain trees, which much enhance the beauty of the
scene. Looking at a Wár village from a distance, a darker shade of
green is seen; this denotes the limits of the extensive groves where
the justly celebrated Khasi orange is grown, which is the source of
so much profit to these people. The houses in the Wár villages are
generally closer together than those of the Khasis, probably owing to
apace being limited, and to the villages being located on the slopes
of hills. Generally up the narrow village street, and from house
to house, there are rough steep stone steps, the upper portion of
a village being frequently situated at as high an elevation as 200
to 300 ft. above the lower. In a convenient spot in a Wár village
a clear space is to be seen neatly swept and kept free from weeds,
and surrounded with a stone wall, where the village tribunals sit,
and the elders meet in solemn conclave. Dances also are held here on
festive occasions. At Nongjri village there is a fine rubber tree,
under whose hollow trunk there are certain sacred stones where the
priest performs the village ceremonies.
The Bhoi and Lynngam villages are built in small clearings in
the forest, the houses are close together and are built often in
parallel lines, a fairly broad space being reserved between the
lines of houses to serve as a street. One misses the pretty gardens
of the Wár villages, for Bhois and Lynngams attempt nothing of the
sort, probably because, unlike the Khasi, a Bhoi or Lynngam village
never remains more than two or three years in one spot; generally the
villages of these people are in the vicinity of the forest clearings,
sometimes actually in the midst of them, more especially when the
latter are situated in places where jungle is dense, and there is fear
of attacks from wild animals. In the Lynngam village is to be seen a
high bamboo platform some 20 to 30 ft. from the ground, built in the
midst of the village, where the elders sit and gossip in the evening.
All the villages, Khasi, Wár, Lynngam and Bhoi, swarm with pigs,
which run about the villages unchecked. The pigs feed on all kinds
of filth, and in addition are fed upon the wort and spent wash of the
brewings of country spirit, of rice beer, the latter being carefully
collected and poured into wooden troughs. The pigs are of the usual
black description seen in India. They thrive greatly in the Khasi
villages, and frequently attain extreme obesity.
In the Khasi villages of the high plateaux are often nowadays potato
gardens, the latter being carefully protected from the inroads of pigs,
calves, and goats by dry dikes surmounted by hedges.
I noticed an interesting custom at a Bhoi village in Nongpoh of
barricading the path leading to the village from the forest with
bamboo palisading and bamboo _chevaux de frise_ to keep out the demon
of cholera. In the middle of the barricade there was a wooden door
over which was nailed the skull of a monkey which had been sacrificed
to this demon, which is, as amongst the Syntengs, called _khlam_.
Furniture and Household Utensils.
As in the case of houses, so with reference to furniture, the influence
of civilization shows many changes. The Khasi of the present day who
lives in Mawkhar [14] has a comfortable house regularly divided up
into rooms in the European style with even some European articles
of furniture, but owing probably to the influence of the women,
he still possesses several of the articles of furniture which are
to be met with in the houses of those who still observe the old
style of living. Let us take the furniture of the kitchen to begin
with. Above the hearth is slung by ropes of cane a swinging wooden
framework blackened with the smoke of years, upon which are spread
the faggots of resinous fir-wood used for kindling the fire. Above
this again is a wooden framework fixed on to the beams of the house,
upon which all sorts of odds and ends are kept. Around the fire
are to be seen small wooden stools, upon which the members of the
household sit. Up-to-date Khasis have cane chairs, but the women of
the family, true to the conservative instincts of the sex, prefer
the humble stool to sit upon. Well-to-do Khasis nowadays have, in
addition to the ordinary cooking vessels made of iron and earthenware,
a number of brass utensils. The writer has seen in a Khasi house in
Mawkhar brass drinking vessels of the pattern used in Orissa, of the
description used in Manipur, and of the kind which is in vogue in
Sylhet. The ordinary cultivator, however, uses a waterpot made from
a gourd hollowed out for keeping water and liquor in, and drinks
from a bamboo cylinder. Plates, or more properly speaking dishes,
are of several kinds in the houses of the rich, the two larger ones
being styled _ka pliang kynthei_ (female) and _ka pliang shynrang_
(male). Needless to say, the first mentioned is a larger utensil than
the latter. The ordinary waterpots, _u khiew phiang kynthei_ and _u
khiew phiang shynrang_, are made of brass, the former being a size
larger and having a wider mouth than the latter. The pot for cooking
vegetables is made of iron. Another utensil is made of earthenware;
this is the ordinary cooking pot used in the houses of the poor. Brass
spoons of different sizes are used for stirring the contents of the
different cooking utensils, also a wooden spoon.
In the sleeping-rooms of the well-to-do there are wooden beds
with mattresses and sheets and pillows, clothes being hung upon
clothes-racks, which in one house visited were of the same pattern
as the English "towel horse." The ordinary cultivator and his wife
sleep on mats made of plaited bamboo, which are spread on the bare
boards of the house. There are various kinds of mats to be met with
in the Khasi houses made of plaited cane, of a kind of reed, and of
plaited bamboo. The best kind of mat is prepared from cane. In all
Khasi houses are to be seen _ki knup_, or rain shields, of different
sizes and sometimes of somewhat different shapes. The large shield of
Cherrapunji is used as a protection from rain. Those of Maharam and
Mawiang are each of a peculiar pattern. Smaller shields are used as
protections from the sun or merely for show, and there are specially
small sizes for children. Then there are the different kinds of baskets
(_ki khoh_) which are carried on the back, slung across the forehead
by a cane head-strap. These, again, are of different sizes. They
are, however, always of the same conical shape, being round and
broad-mouthed at the top and gradually tapering to a point at the
bottom. A bamboo cover is used to protect the contents of the basket
from rain. There is a special kind of basket made of cane or bamboo
with a cover, which is used for carrying articles on a journey. These
baskets, again, are of different sizes, the largest and best that the
writer has seen being manufactured at Rambrai, in the south-western
portion of the hills. Paddy is husked in a wooden mortar by means of
a heavy wooden pestle. These are to be seen all over the hills. The
work of husking paddy is performed by the women. A bamboo sieve is
sometimes used for sifting the husked rise, a winnowing fan being
applied to separate the husk. The cleaned rice is exposed to the
sun in a bamboo tray. Paddy is stored in a separate store-house in
large circular bamboo receptacles. These hold sometimes as much as
30 maunds [15] of grain. Large baskets are also used for keeping
paddy in. In every Khasi house is to be found the net bag which is
made out of pineapple fibre, or of _u stein_, the Assamese _riha_
(Boehmeria nivea). These bags are of two sizes, the larger one for
keeping cowries id, the cowrie in former days having been used instead
of current coin in these hills, the smaller far the ever necessary
betel-nut. _Pán_ leaves are kept in a bamboo tube, and tobacco leaves
in a smaller one. Lime, for eating with betel-nut, is kept in a metal
box, sometimes of silver, which is made in two separate parts held
together by a chain. The box is called _ka shanam_, and is used all
over the hills. This box is also used for divination purposes, one end
of it being held in the hand, and the other, by means of the chain,
being allowed to swing like a pendulum. An explanation of this method
of divination will be found in the paragraph dealing with divination.
There is also a pair of squeezers used by the old and toothless for
breaking up betel-nut. In the houses of the well-to-do is to be seen
the ordinary hubble-bubble of India. Outside the houses of cultivators
are wooden troughs hollowed out of the trunks of trees, which are used
either as drinking troughs for cattle or for feeding pigs. A special
set of utensils is used for manufacturing liquor. The Synteng and
Wár articles of furniture and utensils are the same as those of the
Khasis, with different names, a remark which applies also to those of
the Bhois and Lynngams. Both the latter, however, use leaves as plates,
the Bhoi using the wild plantain and the Lynngam a large leaf called
_ka 'la mariong_. The leaves are thrown away after eating, fresh leaves
being gathered for each meal. The Lynngams use a quilt (_ka syllar_)
made out of the bark of a tree of the same name as a bed covering. This
tree is perhaps the same as the Garo _simpak_. In the Bhoi and Lynngam
houses the swinging shelf for keeping firewood is not to be seen, nor
is the latter to be found amongst the submontane Bodo tribes in Assam.
Musical Instruments.
The Khasis have not many musical instruments, and those that they
possess, with one or two exceptions, are of very much the same
description as those of the Assamese. There are several kinds of drums,
viz. _ka nákrá_, which is a large kettledrum made of wood having the
head covered with deerskin; _ka ksing_, which is a cylindrically-shaped
drum rather smaller than the Assamese _dhol_ (_ka ksing kynthei_ takes
its name from the fact that this drum is beaten when women, _kynthei_,
dance), _ka padiah_, a small drum with a handle made of wood; _katasa_,
a small circular drum. Khasi drums are nearly always made of wood,
not of metal, like the drums to be seen in the monasteries of Upper
Assam, or of earthenware, as in Lower Assam.
_Ka duitara_ is a guitar with _muga_ silk strings, which is played
with a little wooden key held in the hand. _Ka maryngod_ is an
instrument much the same as the last, but is played with a bow like
a violin. _Ka marynthing_ is a kind of guitar with one string, played
with the finger.
_Ka tángmuri_ is a wooden pipe, which is played like a flageolet. _Ka
kynsháw_, or _shákuriaw_, are cymbals made of bell metal; _ka sháráti_,
or _ka shingwiang_, is a kind of flute made of bamboo. This instrument
is played at cremation ceremonies, and when the bones and ashes of a
clan are collected and placed in the family tomb, or _máwbah_. This
flute is not played on ordinary occasions. In the folk-lore portion
of the Monograph will be found a tale regarding it. There are other
kinds of flutes which are played on ordinary occasions. The Wárs of
the twenty-five villages in the Khyrim State make a sort of harp out
of reed, which is called _ka 'sing ding phong_. The Khasis also play
a Jews' Harp (_ka mieng_), which is made of bamboo.
Agriculture.
The Khasis are industrious cultivators, although they are behindhand
in some of their methods of cultivation, (e.g. their failure to adopt
the use of the plough in the greater portion of the district); they
are thoroughly aware of the uses of manures. Their system of turning
the sods, allowing them to dry, then burning them, and raking the
ashes over the soil, is much in advance of any system of natural
manuring to be seen elsewhere in the Province. The Khasis use the
following agricultural implements:--A large hoe (_mokhíw heh_),
an axe for felling trees (_u sdie_), a large _da_ for felling trees
(_ka wait lynngam_), two kinds of bill-hooks (_ka wáit prat_ and _ka
wáit khmut_), a sickle (_ka ráshi_), a plough in parts of the Jaintia
Hills (_ka lyngkor_), also a harrow (_ka iuh moi_). In dealing with
agriculture, the lands of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills may be divided
into the following classes:--(_a_) Forest land, (_b_) wet paddy land
called _háli_ or _pynthor_, (_c_) high grass land or _ka ri lúm_ or
_ka ri phlang_, (d) homestead land (_ka 'dew kypér_). Forest lands
are cleared by the process known as _jhuming_, the trees being felled
early in the winter and allowed to lie till January or February,
when fire is applied, logs of wood being placed at intervals of a
few feet to prevent as far as possible the ashes being blown away by
the wind. The lands are not hoed, nor treated any further, paddy and
millet being sown broadcast, and the seeds of root crops, as well as
of maize and Job's tears, being dibbled into the ground by means of
small hoes. No manure, beyond the wood ashes above mentioned, is used
on this class of land; there is no irrigation, and no other system of
watering is resorted to. The seeds are sown generally when the first
rain falls. This style of cultivation, or _jhum_, is largely resorted
to by the people inhabiting the eastern and southern portions of the
Jaintia Hills, e.g. the Bhois and Lalungs, the Lynngams and Garos
of the western tracts of the district. Wet paddy land (_hali_ or
_pynthor_) is, as the name implies, the land where the kind of paddy
which requires a great deal of water is grown. The bottoms of valleys
are divided up into little compartments by means of fairly high banks
corresponding to the Assamese _alis_, and the water is let in at will
into these compartments by means of skilfully contrived irrigation
channels, sometimes a mile or more in length. The soil is made into
a thick paste in the Jaintia Hills by means of the plough, and in the
Khasi Hills through the agency of the hoe. Droves of cattle also are
driven repeatedly over the paddy-fields until the mud has acquired
the right consistency. The seed is then sown broadcast in the wet
mud. It is not sown first in a seedling bed and then transplanted,
as in Assam and Bengal. When the plants have grown to a height of
about four inches, water is let in again; then comes the weeding,
which has to be done several times. When the crop is ripe, the ears
are cut with a sickle (_ka rashi_) generally, so as to leave almost
the entire stalk, and are left is different parts of the field. A
peculiarity about the Lynngam and the Khasis and Mikirs of the low
hills, or Bhois as they are called, is that they reckon it _sang_,
or taboo, to use the sickle. They reap their grain by pulling the
ear through the hand. The sheaves, after they are dry, are collected
and thrashed out on the spot, either by beating them against a stone
(_shoh kba_), or by men and women treading them out (_iuh kba_). Cattle
are not used for treading out the grain. The grain is then collected
and placed in large bamboo receptacles (_ki thiar_). The paddy-fields
are not manured. The Khasis, when cultivating high lands, select a
clayey soil if they can. In the early part of the winter the sods are
turned over with the hoe, and they are exposed to the action of the
atmosphere for a period of about two months. When the sods are dry,
they are placed in piles, which are generally in rows in the fields,
and by means of ignited bunches of dry grass within the piles a
slow fire is kept up, the piles of sods being gradually reduced to
ashes. This is the "paring and burning process" used in England. The
ashes so obtained are then carefully raked over the field. Sometimes
other manure is also applied, but not when paddy is cultivated. The
soil is now fit to receive the seed, either high-land paddy, millet,
Job's tears, or other crops, as the case may be. The homestead lands
are plentifully manured, and consequently, with attention, produce
good crops. They are cultivated with the hoe.
The cultivation of oranges in the southern portion of the district
ranks equally in importance with that of the potato in the
northern. The orange, which is known in Calcutta as the Chhatak or
Sylhet orange, comes from the warm southern slopes of the hills in
this district, where it is cultivated on an extensive scale. Although
oranges do best when there is considerable heat, they have been known
to do well as high as 3,000 ft.; but the usual limit of elevation
for the growth of oranges in this district is probably about 1,000 to
1,500 ft. The orange of the Khasi Hills has always been famous for its
excellence, and Sir George Birdwood, in his introduction to the "First
Letter Book of the East India Company," page 36, refers to the orange
and lemon of Garhwál, Sikkim, and Khasia as having been carried by Arab
traders into Syria, "whence the Crusaders helped to gradually propagate
them throughout Southern Europe." Therefore, whereas the potato was
imported, the orange would appear to be indigenous in these hills.
_Nurseries_.--The seeds are collected and dried by being exposed to the
sun. In the spring nurseries we prepared, the ground being thoroughly
hoed and the soil pulverized as far as possible. The nursery is walled
with stones. The seeds are then sown, a thin top layer of earth being
applied. The nurseries are regularly watered, and are covered up with
layers of leaves to ensure, as far as possible, the retention of the
necessary moisture. When the plants are 3 or 4 in. high, they are
transplanted to another and larger nursery, the soil of which has
been previously well prepared for the reception of the young plants.
An orangery is prepared in the following manner:--
The shrubs, weeds and small trees are cut down, leaving only the
big trees for the purpose of shade. The plants from the nurseries
are planted from 6 ft. to 9 ft. apart. When they have become young
trees, many of the branches of the sheltering trees mentioned above
are lopped off, so as to admit the necessary amount of sunlight
to the young orange trees. As the orange trees increase in size,
the sheltering trees are gradually felled. The orchard requires
clearing of jungle once in spring and once in autumn. The Khasis do
not manure their orange trees, nor do they dig about and expose the
roots. The price of orange plants is from 75 to 100 plants per rupee
for plants from 1 to 2 ft. in height, and from fifty to seventy-five
plants per rupee for plants from 2 to 5 ft. in height. Orange trees
bear fruit when from five to eight years old in ordinary soils. In
very fertile soils they sometimes bear after four years. A full-grown
tree yields annually as many as 1,000 oranges, but a larger number
is not unknown. The larger portion of the produce is exported from
the district to the plains, and to fruit markets at the foot of the
hills such as Theria, Mawdon, and Phali-Bazar, on the Shella river,
whence it finds its way to the Calcutta and Eastern Bengal markets.
Potatoes are raised on all classes of land, except _hali_, or wet paddy
land. When the land has been properly levelled and hoed, drains are
dug about the field. A cultivator (generally a female), with a basket
of seed potatoes on her back and with a small hoe in her right hand,
digs holes and with the left hand drops two seed-potatoes into each
hole. The holes are about 6 in. in diameter, 6 in. deep, and from
6 to 9 in. apart from one another. Another woman, with a load of
manure in a basket on her back, throws a little manure over the seed
in the hole, and then covers both up with earth. After the plants
have attained the height of about 6 in., they are earthed up. When
the leaves turn yellow, it is a sign that the potatoes are ripe. The
different kinds of sweet potatoes grown and the yam and another kind
of esculent root--_u sohphlang_ (_femingia vestita Benth_.) will be
noticed under the head of "Crops."
The Khasis possess very few agricultural sayings and proverbs, but
the following may be quoted as examples:--
(1) _Wat ju ai thung jingthung ne bet symbai ha uba sniew kti_.
Do not allow plants to be planted or seeds to be sown by one who has
a bad hand.
As elsewhere, there is a belief amongst the Khasis that some people's
touch as regards agriculture is unlucky.
(2) _Thung dieng ne bet symbai haba ngen bnai, ym haba shai u bnai_.
Plant trees or sow seeds not when the moon is waxing, but when it is
on the wane.
(3) _Wei la saw bha ka bneng sepngi jan miet phin sa ioh jingrang
lashai_.
A red sky in the west in the evening is the sign of fine weather
to-morrow.
Cf. our English proverb "a red sky in the morning is a shepherd's
warning, a red sky at night is a shepherd's delight."
Crops.
The varieties of rice found in the Khasi Hills are divided into two
main classes, one grown as a dry crop on high lands, and the other
raised in valleys and hollows which are artificially irrigated from
hill streams. The lowland rice is more productive than that grown
on high lands, the average per acre of the former, according to
the agricultural bulletin, as ascertained from the results of 817
experimental crop cuttings carried out during the fifteen years
preceding the year 1898, being 11.7 maunds of paddy per acre,
as against an average of 9.4 maunds per acre (resulting from 667
cuttings made during the same period) for the latter. [16] The average
out-turn of both kinds is extremely poor, as compared with that of any
description of rice grown in the plains. The rice grown in the hills
is said by the Agricultural Department to be of inferior quality, the
grain when cleaned being of a red colour, and extremely coarse. The
cultivation of potatoes is practically confined to the Khasi Hills,
there being little or none in the Jaintia Hills. The normal out-turn of
the summer crop sown in February and harvested in June is reported by
the Agricultural Department to be five times the quantity of seed used,
and that of the winter crop, sown in August and September on the land
from which the summer crop has been taken, and harvested in December,
twice the quantity of seed. The winter crop is raised chiefly for
the purpose of obtaining seed for the spring sowings, as it is found
difficult to keep potatoes from the summer crop in good condition till
the following spring. The usual quantity of seed used to the acre at
each sowing is about 9 maunds, so that the gross out-turn of an acre
of land cultivated with potatoes during the year may be taken at 63
maunds, and the net out-turn, after deducting the quantity of seed
used, at 45 maunds. The above estimate of the Agricultural Department
rests chiefly on the statements of the cultivators, and has not been
adequately tested by experiment.
Since the appearance of the potato disease in 1885-86 there has been
a great decrease in the area under potato cultivation. In 1881-82
the exports of potatoes from the district were as high as 126,981
maunds. From 1886-87 the exports began annually to decrease until in
1895-96 the very low figure of 8,296 maunds was reached. The figures
of export for the last nine years are as follows:--
1896-97 16,726 maunds
1897-98 7,805 maunds
1898-99 9,272 maunds
1899-00 5,422 maunds
1900-01 29,142 maunds
1901-02 38,251 maunds
1902-03 36,047 maunds
1903-04 50,990 maunds
It will be seen that in the three years following the earthquake of
1897 the exports fell very low indeed. Since 1901 the trade has been
steadily recovering, and the exports of 1904 reached half a lakh
of maunds.
It will be observed that there has been some improvement, but the
exports are still not half what they were in 1881-82. There are
two kinds of sweet potatoes grown in the district, the Garo potato
(_u phan Karo_), which appears to have been introduced from the Garo
Hills, and _u phan sawlia_, the latter being distinguished from the
Garo potato by its having a red skin, the Garo potato possessing a
white skin. These kinds of potato are planted on all classes of land
except _hali_, they do best on jhumed and homestead lands. The yam
proper (_u phan shynreh_) is also largely grown. The small plant
with an edible root called by the Khasis _u sohphang_ (_flemingia
vestita Benth_.), is also largely grown. The roots of the plant after
being peeled are eaten raw by the Khasis. As far as we know, this
esculent is not cultivated in the adjoining hill districts. Job's
tears (_coix lachryma-Jobi_) [17] are extensively grown, and are
planted frequently with the _sohphlang_ mentioned above. This cereal
forms a substitute for rice amongst the poorer cultivators. Maize or
Indian corn (_u riew hadem_) is grown frequently, thriving best on
homestead land, and requires heavy manuring; it is grown in rotation
with potatoes. Next in importance to rice comes the millet (_u krai_),
as a staple of food amongst the Khasis. There are three varieties
of millets generally to be seen in the Khasi Hills:--_u 'rai-soh_
(_setaria Italica_), _u 'rai-shan_ (_Paspalum sanguinale_), and
_u 'rai-truh_ (_Eleusine coracana_). _U 'rai-shan_ is cultivated
in rotation with the potato, _u 'rai-soh_ and _u 'rai-truh_ are
generally cultivated on jhumed land, where they thrive well. Millet
is sometimes used instead of rice in the manufacture of spirit by the
Khasis; _u rymbai-ja_ (_phaseolus calcaratus_), and _u rymbai ktung_
(_glycine soja_) are beans which are cultivated occasionally: Khasis
highly prize the fruit of the plantain, which they give to infants
mashed up. The following are the best known varieties:--_Ka kait khún,
ka kait siem, ka kait kulbuit, ka kait bamon, ka kait shyieng_.
The most important crop on the southern side of the hills is the
orange, which has already been referred to in the paragraph dealing
with agriculture.
The oranges are sold by the _spah_ or 100, which is not a 100
literally, but somewhat over 3,000 oranges. Different places have
different _spahs_. At Phali Hat, on the Bogapani River, the _spah_
is computed as follows:--
1 Hali = 4 oranges.
8 Halis = 1 Bhar.
100 Bhars = shi spah (one hundred) = 3200 oranges.
At Shella the computation is slightly different, being as follows:--
1 Gai = 6 oranges.
5 Gais + 2 oranges = 32 oranges.
4 Bhars = 1 hola = 128 oranges
27 holas + 2 bhars = shi spah (100) = 3,520 oranges.
By another method of calculation the _spah_ consists of 3,240 oranges.
The price per _spah_ varies from about 10 rupees in good years to
Rs. 40, when the orange harvest has been a poor one.
The lime is also cultivated, not separately, but along with the
orange. The lime can be grown with success at a higher altitude than
the orange. There is extensive betel-nut and _pán_ cultivation on the
southern slopes of the hills. The betel-nut tree is cultivated in the
same manner as in the plains, except that the trees are planted nearer
to one another. The trees bear when eight to ten years old. A portion
of the crop is sold just after it has been plucked; this is called _u
'wáí kháw_, and is for winter consumption. The remainder of the crop
is kept in large baskets, which are placed in tanks containing water,
the baskets being completely immersed. This kind of betel-nut is
called _u 'wáí um_. The Khasis, like the Assamese; prefer the fresh
betel-nut. They do not relish the dry _supári_ so much.
The principal _pán_ gardens are on the south side of the hills, _pán_
not being grown on the northern slopes, except in the neighbourhood
of Jirang. The _pán_ creepers are raised from cuttings, the latter
being planted close to the trees up which they are to be trained. The
creeper is manured with leaf mould. The plant is watered by means of
small bamboo aqueducts which are constructed along the hill-sides,
the water being conducted along them often considerable distances. As
in the plains, the leaves of the _pán_ creeper are collected throughout
the year.
The bay leaf (_'la tyrpád_, or _tezpát_) is classified in the
_Agricultural Bulletin_ as _Cinnamomum tamala_, and there is a note
in the column of remarks that "this tree, as well as one or two
others of the same genus, yields two distinct products, _tezpát_
(bay leaf) and cinnamon bark." The bay leaf is gathered for export
from the extensive gardens in Maharam, Malaisohmat, Mawsynram, and
other Khasi States. The plants are raised from seed, although there
are no regular nurseries, the young seedlings being transplanted from
the jungle, where they have germinated, to regular gardens. Bay leaf
gardens are cleared of jungle and weeds periodically; otherwise no
care is taken of them. The leaf-gathering season is from November to
March. The leaves are allowed to dry for a day or two in the sun,
and then packed in large baskets for export. The gathering of bay
leaf begins when the trees are about four years old.
The following are the other minor crops which are grown in the Khasi
and Jaintia Hills:--
Pineapples, turmeric, ginger, pumpkins and gourds, the egg plant,
chillies, sesamum, and a little sugar-cane. The arum [18] (_ka shiriw_)
is also extensively grown in the hills, and forms one of the principal
articles of food amongst the poorer classes; it is generally raised in
rotation with potatoes, or is planted along with Job's tears. The stem
of the arum is sometimes used as a vegetable, also for feeding pigs.
In the Jowai Sub-Division, notably at Nartiang, there are fairly good
mangoes, which are more free from worms than those grown in the plains
of Assam.
The Bhois and Lynngams cultivate lac. They plant _arhar dal, u landoo_,
in their fields, and rear the lac insect on this plant. Last year the
price of lac at Gauhati and Palasbari markets rose as high as Rs. 50
per maund of 82 lbs., it is said, but the price at the outlying
markets of Singra and Boko was about Rs. 30. The price of lac has
risen a good deal of late years. Formerly the price was about Rs. 15 to
Rs. 20 a maund. 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. The Marwari merchants from the plains
attend all the plains markets which are frequented by the hill-men,
and buy up the lac and export it to Calcutta. The whole of the lac
is of the kind known as stick lac.
Hunting.
The weapons used by the Khasis for hunting are bows and arrows,
the latter with barbed iron heads, and spears which are used both
for casting and thrusting. Before proceeding on a hunting expedition
the hunters break eggs, in order to ascertain whether they will be
successful or not, and to which jungle they should proceed. Offerings
are also made to certain village deities, e.g. _U. Ryngkew, u Basa_,
and _u Basa ki mrád_. A lucky day having been selected and the deities
propitiated, the hunters start with a number of dogs trained to the
chase, the latter being held on leashes by a party of men called _ki
nongai-ksew_. When the dogs have picked up the scent some hunters
are placed as "stops" (_ki ktem_), at points of vantage in the
jungle, and the drive commences with loud shouts from the hunters,
the same being continued until the object of the chase breaks into
the open. The man who draws the first blood is called u _nongsiat_,
and the second man who scores a hit _u nongban_. These two men get
larger shares of the flesh than the others. The _nongsiat_ obtains
the lower half of the body of the animal, thighs and feet excepted,
called _ka tdong_, and the _nongban_ one of the forequarters called
_ka tabla_. The other hunters obtain a string of flesh each, and each
hound gets a string of flesh to itself. These hunting parties pursue
deer sometimes for many miles, and are indefatigable in the chase, the
latter lasting occasionally more than one day. In the Jaintia Hills,
at the end of the chase, the quarry is carried to the house of the
_nongsiat_, where a _puja_ is performed to some local deity, before
the flesh is distributed. At Shangpung, when a tiger or a mithan is
killed, the head is cut off, and is carried in triumph to a hill in
the neighbourhood where there is a _duwan_, or altar, at the foot
of an oak tree (_dieng sning_). The head is displayed on the altar,
and worship offered to _u 'lei lyngdoh_, the God of the doloiship.
The Khasis make use of an ingenious species of spring gun for killing
game, the spring gun being laid alongside a deer path in the jungle. A
string stretched across the path, when touched, releases a bolt and
spring, which latter impels a bamboo arrow with great force across
the path. This spring gun is called _ka riam siat_. A pit-fall, with
bamboo spikes at the bottom, is called _u 'liw lep_, and a trap of the
pattern of the ordinary leopard trap is called _ka riam slung_. A noose
attached to a long rope laid in a deer run is named _riam syrwiah_.
There is also _ka riam pap_, the principle of which is that an animal
is attracted by a bait to walk on to a platform; the platform sinks
under the weight of the animal, and a bolt is released which brings
down a heavy roof from above weighted with stones, which crush the
animal to death.
There are several means employed in snaring birds; one of the most
common is to smear pieces of bamboo with the gum of the jack-tree,
the former being tied to the branches of some wild fruit tree, upon
which, when the fruit is ripe, the birds light and are caught by the
bird lime. This is called _ka riam thit_. Another is a kind of spring
bow made of bamboo which is laid on the ground in marshy places,
such as are frequented by snipe and woodcock. This form of snare
is unfortunately most common. A third is a cage into which birds
are lured by means of a bait, the cage being hidden in the grass,
and the entrance being so contrived that the birds can hop in but
not out again. This is called _ka riam sim_.
Fishing.
Although there are some Khasis who fish with rod and line, it
may be said that the national method of fishing is to poison the
streams. Khasis, except the Wárs and the people of Shella, unlike
the Assamese and Bengalis, do not fish with nets, nor do they use the
bamboo-work device known by the Assamese as _pala_ (pala) and _jakai_
(jakaaii). The method of fish-poisoning of the Khasis is the same
as that described by Soppitt in his account of the tribes inhabiting
North Cachar. The following is a description of how Khasis poison fish
in the western portion of the district; it may be taken as a sample
of the whole. A large quantity of the bark of the tree _ka mynta_ and
the creeper _u khariew_ is first brought to the river-side to a place
on the stream a little above the pool which it is proposed to poison,
where it is thoroughly beaten with sticks till the juice exudes and
flows into the water, the juice being of a milky white colour. In a
few minutes the fish begin to rise and splash about, and, becoming
stupefied, allow themselves to be caught in the shallows. If the
beating of the bark has been well carried out, many of the fish soon
die and after a time float on the surface of the water. A large number
of Khasis stand on the banks armed with bamboo scoops shaped like
small landing nets, to catch the fish, and fish traps (_ki khowar_)
Assamese _khoká_ (khookaa) are laid between the stones in the rapids
to secure any fish that may escape the fishing party. Another fish
poison is the berry _u soh lew_, the juice of which is beaten out in
the same manner as described above.
Soppitt says, certain fish do not appear to be susceptible to the
poison, and not nearly the destruction takes place that is popularly
supposed. The mahseer and the carp family generally do not suffer
much, whereas, on the other hand, the river shark, the _bagh mas_ of
the Bengalis, is killed in large numbers. It is impossible, however,
in the opinion of the writer, that the mahseer fry, which abound in
these hill rivers in the spring and early summer months, can escape
being destroyed in great numbers when the streams are frequently
poisoned. In the neighbourhood of lime quarries and other large works
where dynamite is used for blasting, this explosive is sometimes
employed for killing fish. The practice, however, has been strictly
prohibited, and there have been some cases in which the offenders
have been punished in the courts. Fish-poisoning is bad enough, but
dynamiting is still worse, as with an effective cartridge all the
fish within a certain area are killed, none escape. When poisons are
used, however, some fish are not affected by them, and others are
only stupefied for the time being and afterwards recover.
Food.
The Khasi and Syntengs ordinarily take two meals a day, one in
the early morning and the other in the evening, but labourers and
others who have to work hard in the open take a midday meal as well,
consisting of cold boiled rice wrapped in a leaf (_ka já-song_),
cakes (_ki kpu_) and a tuberous root (_u sohphlang_) which is eaten
raw. They are fond of all kinds of meat, especially pork and beef,
although some of the Syntengs, owing to Hindu influence, abstain from
eating the latter. Unlike the neighbouring Naga, Garo and Kuki tribes,
the Khasis abstain from the flesh of the dog. Both Bivar and Shadwell
say the reason why the Khasis do not eat the flesh of the dog is
because he is in a certain sense a sacred animal amongst them. There
is a Khasi folk-tale relating how the dog came to be regarded as
the friend of man. It is, however, quite possible that the Khasis
may never have eaten the flesh of the dog from remote times, and it
is nothing extraordinary that the Khasis should differ in a detail
of diet from the neighbouring Thibeto-Burman tribes which are so
dissimilar to them in many respects. The Khasis, except some of the
Christian community and some of the people of the Mawkhar, do not use
milk, butter, or ghee as articles of food. In this respect they do
not differ from the Kacharis and Rabhas of the plains or the Garos
of the hills. The Mongolian race in its millions as a rule does not
use milk for food, although the Tibetans and some of the Turcoman
tribes are exceptions. Before fowls or animals are killed for food,
prayers must be said, and rice sprinkled on the body of the animal. The
staple food of the Khasis is rice and dried fish. When rice cannot
be obtained or is scarce, millet or Job's tears are used instead. The
latter are boiled, and a sort of porridge is obtained, which is eaten
either hot or cold according to fancy. Khasis eat the flesh of nearly
all wild animals, they also eat field rats and one kind of monkey
(_u shrih_). 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_. They, however, do not eat ordinary frogs
(_jakoid_). The Khasis of Mariao, Maharam, Nongstoin and some other
Siemships eat the hairy caterpillar, _u'ñiang phlang_.
A staple food which must not be forgotten is the inner portion of
the bark of the sago palm tree, _ka tlái_, which grows wild in the
forest and attains a large size. The tree is felled and the outer bark
removed, the soft inner part is cut into slices, dried in the sun,
pounded in a mortar and then passed through a fine bamboo sieve. A
reddish flour is obtained, of sweet taste, which is boiled with
rice. This flour is said to make good cakes and puddings.
Although the Khasis are such varied feeders, there are some clans
amongst them which are prohibited by the ordinance of _sang_, or taboo,
from eating certain articles. The following are some instances:--
The Cherra Siem family cannot eat dried fish (_'khá-piah_); the
Siem of Mylliem must not eat the gourd (_u patháw_); a fish called
_ka'khá-lani_ is taboo to some of the _Siem-lih_ class. Some of the
Wár people must not eat _ka ktung_ (preserved fish), and the clan
_'khar-um-núid_ in Khyrim is debarred from the pleasure of partaking
of pork. The flesh of the sow is _sang_ to the _'dkhar_ clan, although
that of the male pig may be eaten.
Drink.
The Khasis are in the habit of regularly drinking considerable
quantities either of a spirit distilled from rice or millet (_ka'iad
pudka_), or of rice-beer, which is of two kinds (1) _ka'iad hiar_,
(2) _ka'iad um_. Both of these are made from rice and, in some places,
from millet, and the root of a plant called _u khawiang_. _Ka'iad hiar_
is made by boiling the rice or millet. It is then taken out and spread
over a mat, and, when it cools, fragments of the yeast (_u khawiang_)
are sprinkled over it. After this it is placed in a basket, which
is put in a wooden bowl. The basket is covered tightly with a cloth
so as to be air-tight, and it is allowed to remain in this condition
for a couple of days, during which time the liquor has oozed out into
the bowl. To make _ka'iad um_ the material, the rice or millet from
which the _ka'iad hiar_ was brewed, is made use of. It is placed in
a large earthen pot and allowed to remain there for about five days
to ferment, after which the liquor is strained off. _Ka'iad hiar_ is
said to be stronger than _ka'iad um_. The former is used frequently by
distillers of country spirit for mixing with the wort so as to set up
fermentation. The people of the high plateaux generally prefer rice
spirit, and the Wárs of the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia
Hills customarily partake of it also. The Khasis of the western hills,
e.g. of the Nongstoin Siemship, and the Lynngams, Bhois, Lalungs,
and Hadems almost invariably drink rice-beer, but the Syntengs, like
the Khasi uplanders, drink rice-spirit. Rice-beer (_ka'iad um_) is
a necessary article for practically all Khasi and Synteng religious
ceremonies of importance, it being the custom for the officiating
priest to pour out libations of liquor from a hollow gourd (_u klong_)
to the gods on these occasions. As there is no Excise in the district,
except within a five-mile radius of Shillong, liquor of both the
above descriptions can be possessed and sold without restriction.
According to some Khasi traditions the Khasis in ancient times used
not to drink spirits, but confined themselves to rice-beer. It is
only in the last couple of generations that the habit of drinking
spirits has crept in, according to them. From Khasi accounts, the
use of spirits is on the increase, but there is no means of testing
these statements. There can be no doubt, however, that at the present
time a very large amount of spirit is manufactured and consumed in
the district. The spirit is distilled both for home consumption and
for purposes of sale; in some villages, e.g. Mawlai and Marbisu,
near Shillong, where there are fifty-nine and forty-nine stills
respectively, there being a still almost in every house. Mawlai
village supplies a great deal of the spirit which is drunk in Shillong,
and from Marbisu spirit is carried for sale to various parts of the
hills. Other large distilling centres are Cherrapunji, with forty-seven
stills; Jowai, with thirty-one stills; Laitkynsew, with fifty-four
stills; Nongwar, thirty-one stills; and Rangthang, thirty-seven stills.
From what has been stated above some idea may be gathered how very
large the number of stills in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills is. I am
not in a position to state with any degree of accuracy what is the
amount of spirit manufactured or consumed in the year, but it is very
considerable. The out-turn of a Khasi still has been reckoned at from
four to eight bottles per day. From this estimate, and the fact that
there are 1,530 stills in the district, it may be roughly calculated
what is the consumption annually. Practically the whole of the spirit
is consumed within the district. The liquor which is manufactured is
far stronger than the spirit distilled in the ordinary out-stills in
the plains. It has been stated by an expert analyst that the Khasi
spirit contains 60 to 80 per cent. of proof spirit, and that it
possesses "an exceptionally nice flavour and taste." The usual price
at which it is sold is 4 to 6 annas a quart bottle, a second quality
being sometimes sold for 3 annas. It will be seen that the liquor is
exceedingly cheap. A Khasi in the villages of the interior can get
drunk for 2 annas, [19] or a quarter of an ordinary coolie's daily
wage. Drunkenness prevails on every market day at Cherrapunji, Jowai,
and other large háts, and on occasions when there are gatherings of
the people for various purposes. This cheap but strong spirit is
demoralizing the people, and some restriction of its use would be
welcomed by many. In the Khasi Welsh Methodist Church abstention from
liquor is made a condition of Church membership, but the vast number
of stills and the facilities with which liquor can be obtained are a
constant source of temptation to the Christian community, and cause
many defections.
Games.
The Khasis have many games, but their principal game is archery, this
may be said to be the national game, and is a very popular form of
recreation amongst them, the sport being indulged in from about the
beginning of January to the end of May each year. The following is
a description of a Khasi archery meeting, for the details of which
I am largely indebted to U Job Solomon. By way of introduction it
should be stated that the Khasis opine that arrow-shooting originated
at the beginning of creation. The Khasi Eve (_Ka-mei-ka-nong-hukum_)
had two sons to whom she taught the toxophilite art, at the same time
she warned them never to lose their tempers over the game. At the
present day villages have regular archery meetings, the men of one
village challenging those of another. There are men on both sides
called _nong khan khnam_ (lit., he who stops the arrow). This man,
by uttering spells, and reciting the shortcomings of the opposite
side, is supposed to possess the power of preventing the arrows of the
opposing party hitting the mark. These men also, to some extent, may be
said to perform the duties of umpires. They may be styled umpires for
the sake of convenience in this account. Before the match commences
conditions are laid down by the umpires of both sides, such as (_a_)
the day on which the contest is to take place; (_b_) the place of the
meeting; (_c_) the number of arrows to be shot by each archer; (_d_)
the distinguishing marks to be given to the arrows of either side;
(_e_) the amounts of the stakes on each side; (_f_) the number of
times the competitors are to shoot on the day of the archery meeting,
and many other conditions too numerous to mention here. The targets are
generally small bundles of grass called "_u skum_," about 1 ft. long
by 4 in. in diameter, fastened on a small pole. Sometimes targets are
made from the root of a plant called _ka soh pdung_. The distances
from the point where the marksmen stand to the targets are some 40 to
50 yards. Each side has its own target, the different targets being
placed in a line, and the competitors taking up their positions in
a straight line at right angles to the line of fire, and facing the
targets; each side in turn then shoots at its own target. Early in
the morning of the day fixed for the contest the umpire of each side
sits in front of his target with a hollow bamboo full of water in
his hand, the bows and arrows being laid on the ground alongside the
targets. The umpire then repeats all the conditions of the contest,
invokes the aid of the primeval woman (_ka mei ka nong hukum_)
aforesaid, goes through certain incantations freely referring to the
many faults of the opposite side, and pours water at intervals from
the bamboo in front of the target. This business lasts about two
hours. Then they exhort the competitors of their respective sides,
and the match commences amidst loud shouts. Every time there is a
hit there are loud cheers, the competitors leaping high into the air,
the umpires muttering their incantations all the while. At the end of
each turn the number of hits are counted by representatives of both
sides. At the close of the day the side with the greatest number of
hits wins the match, the successful party returning home, dancing
and shouting. The young women admirers of both sides assemble, and
dispense refreshments to the competitors, taking a keen interest in
the proceedings withal. Frequently large wagers are made on either
side. In the _Khadar Blang_ portion of the Nongkrem State as much as
Rs. 500 are occasionally wagered on either side. In Jowai the practice
is also to bet a lump sum, the amount being raised by subscription
from amongst the competitors. More usual bets are, however, about
one anna a head. The _nong khang khnam_ and the men who prepare the
targets receive presents from their respective sides. The Khasi bow
carries a considerable distance, an arrow shot over 180 yards being
within the personal knowledge of the writer. It is believed that Khasi
bows wielded by experts carry up to 200 yards. The average range may
be said, however, to be 150 to 180 yards.
Yule mentions peg-top spinning amongst Khasi children as being
indigenous and not an importation, but Bivar thinks that the game is
of foreign introduction. I am, however, inclined to agree with Yule
that peg-top spinning is indigenous, inasmuch as this game could not
have been copied from the Sylhetis or the Assamese of the plains,
who do not indulge in it. As the British had only recently established
themselves in the hills when Yule wrote, they would scarcely have had
time or opportunity to introduce an English children's game. Khasi
children also play a kind of "hop Scotch" (_khyndat mala shito_ and
_ia tiet hile_), and Yule writes, "Another of their recreations is
an old acquaintance also, which we are surprised to meet with in the
Far East. A very tall thick bamboo is planted in the ground, and well
oiled. A silver ornament, or a few rupees placed at the top, reward
the successful climber." A leg of mutton, or a piece of pork fixed
at the top of this pole would render the pastime identical with the
"greasy-pole" climbing of English villages. The following are some
other Khasi games:--
Wrestling; two persons grasping each other's hands with the fingers
interlocked, and then trying to push one another down; tug-of-war with
a piece of stick, the two combatants placing their feet one against
the other; butting at one another like bulls, and trying to upset
each other (_ia tur masi_); long jump; high jump; blind-man's buff;
flying kites; pitching cowries into a hole in the ground; a game like
marbles, only played with round pebbles, and others.
Manufactures.
The manufactures of the Khasis are few in number, and do not seem
to show any tendency to increase. On the contrary, two of the most
important industries, the smelting of iron ore and the forging of
iron implements therefrom, and the cotton-spinning industries at
Mynso and Suhtnga, show signs of dying out. Ploughshares and hoes
and bill-hooks can now be obtained more cheaply from the plains than
from the forges in the hills, and Manchester piece goods are largely
taking the place of cloths of local manufacture. The iron industry
in former days was an important one, and there is abundant evidence
that the workings were on a considerable scale, e.g. at Nongkrem
and Laitlyngkot, in the shape of large granite boulders which have
fallen to the ground from the sides of the hills owing to the softer
rock which filled the interstices between the boulders having been
worked out by the ironworkers, their process being to dig out the
softer ferruginous rock, and then extract the iron ore from it by
means of washing. The softer rock having been removed, the heavier
portions fell by their own weight, and rolled down to the bottom of
the slopes, the result being the great number of boulders to be seen
near the sites of these workings.
Colonel Lister, writing in 1853, estimated that 20,000 maunds of iron
were exported from the hills in the shape of hoes to the Assam Valley,
and in lumps of pig iron to the Surma Valley, where it was used by
boat-builders for clamps. Nowadays the smelting of iron is carried
on in very few places. There are still smelting-houses at Nongkrem
and Nongsprung, but these are practically the only places left where
smelting of iron ore goes on: there are many forges where rough iron
brought from the plains is melted down and forged into billhooks and
hoes. Messrs. Yule and Cracroft have described the native process
of smelting iron, and it is only necessary to refer to their papers
if information is required on the subject. Yule's account is a very
full one, and is to be found at page 853, vol. xi. part ii. of the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The system pursued, both in
the extraction and in the subsequent smelting of the ore, is the same
at the present day as that described by Yule. Dr. Oldham, writing in
1863, says, "The quality of this Khasi iron is excellent for all such
purposes as Swedish iron is now used for. The impurity of the blooms
(or masses of the metal in a molten state), however, as they are sent
to market, is a great objection to its use, and the waste consequent
thereon renders it expensive. It would also form steel or wootz (Indian
steel) of excellent quality. I have no doubt that the manufacture
could be greatly improved and possibly extended." Dr. Oldham, however,
goes on to remark that the manufacture of iron could not be very much
extended, owing to the scanty dissemination of the ore in the rocks,
and the consequent high cost of obtaining it. At present the want
of any permanent supply of water prevents the natives from working
for more than a few days during the year, whilst the rains are heavy,
and they can readily obtain sufficient force of water for the washing
of the ore from its matrix. The export of iron in any form from the
district has now almost died out, only a few hoes being brought down by
the Khasis from Laitdom, in Khadsawphra, to the Burdwar and Palasbari
markets in the Kamrup District of the Assam Valley. Iron of English
manufacture has, of course, much cheapened the market, but probably
the fact that the parts of the country in the neighbourhood of the
rocks which contain the metal have been denuded completely of timber,
charcoal being necessary for smelting, has affected the production
almost as much as the presence of cheap iron in the market.
Manufacture of Eri Silk Cloths and Cotton Cloths in the Jaintia Hills.
The number of weavers in the district at the last Census was 533. This
number in the Census Report is ascribed to the cotton industry, no
mention being made of weavers of silk. The spinning of Eri silk thread,
and weaving it into cloths is, however, a fairly considerable industry
amongst the Khyrwang and Nongtung villages of the Jaintia Hills. The
Nongtungs and Khyrwangs rear their own Eri worms, and spin the silk
from the cocoons. The late Mr. Stack, in his admirable note on silk
in Assam, says, "Throughout the whole range of the southern hills,
from the Mikir country, Eri thread is in great request for weaving
those striped cloths, in which the mountaineers delight," but this
observation should have been confined to the Jaintia Hills portion of
this district, the Khasis not weaving themselves either in silk or
cotton. The Khasis obtain their silk cloths from the Assam Valley,
and from the Nongtung or Khyrwang villages in Jaintia. The latter
villages have given the name to the striped cloth, _ka jáin Khyrwang_,
which is almost invariably worn by the Syntengs. Mr. Stack has given
in detail a description of the silk industry in Assam, and it is not
therefore necessary to go over the same ground here. The Khyrwang
cloth is red and white, mauve and white, or chocolate and white,
the cloth being worn by both men and women. The Khyrwang cloths vary
in price from Rs. 5 to Rs. 25, according to size and texture. These
cloths are the handiwork of women alone, and a woman working every
day regularly will take six months to manufacture a cloth valued at
Rs. 25; but, as a rule, in the leisurely manner in which they work,
it takes a year to complete it.
Cotton Cloths.
In the Jaintia Hills at Mynso cotton is spun into thread, and weaving
is carried on there, but on a limited scale. The Mynso people weave
the small strips of cloth worn by the men to serve the purpose of the
Assamese _lengti_ or Hindi _languti_. In Suhtnga the people import
cotton thread from Mynso and weave the (_ingki_) or sleeveless coat,
peculiar to the district; these coats are dyed red and blue. The dark
blue or black dye is obtained from the leaf of a plant called _u sybu_,
which Mr. Rita has classified as _strobilanthus hoeditolius_, which
grows in the gardens round the homesteads. The leaves are dried,
then reduced to powder, mixed with hot water, and the skeins of
thread are steeped in the liquid. The colour is permanent. The red
dye is obtained from the mixture of the dry bark of two shrubs,
_ka lapyndong_ (_symplocos racemosa_, Roxb.), and _ka 'larnong_
(_morinda-tinctoria_, Roxb.), the latter being the same as the Assamese
(aacukaa.th) _áchukáth_. The bark is dried, then pounded, and the two
sorts are mixed together and made into a paste with hot water. The
skeins are steeped in this mixture for twenty-four hours, then taken
out and divided, and again steeped for another twenty-four hours. The
Lalungs and Bhois and Lynngams all weave cotton cloths, which are
generally dyed blue, sometimes striped blue and red. The Wárs weave
cotton cloths which are dyed red and yellow, the cloths being woven in
checks. Mr. Darrah remarks that the cotton grown in the Jaintia Hills
is said to be the best cotton produced in the province. Its thread
can be more closely woven than that of other kinds. This statement,
however, is not borne out by Mr. Allen, writing in 1858, who says
that the cotton is of inferior quality, the staple being short and
woolly. The cotton cloths woven by the Bhois are called _spua_.
Pottery.
The Census Report of 1901 gave the number of persons who are supported
by the manufacture of pottery at 54 only. Pottery is manufactured
at one place only in the Jaintia Hills, Larnai. The Larnai potters
make many of the earthen pots to be found in the Khasi houses called
_khiew ranei_, or sometimes _khiew Larnai_. Mr. Gait says, "These
potters use two kinds of clay mixed; one is of a dark blue colour,
_'dew-iong_, and the other of a greyish colour, _'dew khluid_. These
clays seem to correspond closely with the _kumár máti_ and _hira máti_
of the Brahmaputra Valley."
The clay at Larnai is well beaten out upon a hide, or upon a flat
disc of wood; the women fashion the pots by hand, they do not use
the potter's wheel. The pots are sun-dried and then fired. They are
painted black with an infusion of a bark called _sohliya_. The Larnai
potters also make flower-pots which are sold in Shillong at from 2
annas to 4 annas each, the price of the ordinary pot or _khiew ranei_
varying from 2 pice to 4 annas each. A water-pot (_khiew um_) is
also fashioned, which is sometimes used in the manufacture of liquor,
price 4 annas to 6 annas each.