The man is nobody. If he is a brother, _u kur_,
a brother being taken to mean an uterine brother, or a cousin-german,
he will be lost to the family or clan directly he marries. If he be a
husband, he is looked upon merely as a _u shong kha_, a begetter. In
some of the War villages a newly married man is spoken of by the
bride's family as, "_u khun ki briew_," some one else's son. It is,
perhaps, somewhat of a paradox under the circumstances that wives
should address their husbands as "_kynrad_," or lord. There is,
however, no gainsaying the fact that the husband, at least in theory,
is a stranger in his wife's home, and it is certain that he can take
no part in the rites and ceremonies of his wife's family, and that
his ashes after death can find no place within the wife's family
tomb, except, in certain cases, amongst the Syntengs. Further, the
ceremonial religion amongst Khasis, especially that of the home,
is in the hands of the women. It is, therefore, perhaps not to be
wondered at, considering the important status assigned to women by
the Khasis, that women should inherit the property and not men. The
rule amongst the Khasis is that the youngest daughter "holds" the
religion, "_ka bat ka niam_." Her house is called, "_ka iing seng_"
and it is here that the members of the family assemble to witness
her performance of the family ceremonies. Hers is, therefore, the
largest share of the family property, because it is she whose duty
it is to perform the family ceremonies, and propitiate the family
ancestors. The other daughters, however, on their mother's death
are entitled, each of them; to a share of their mother's property,
although the youngest daughter gets the lion's share, e.g. the family
jewellery, and the family house, and the greater part of what it
contains. The youngest daughter cannot dispose of the house without
the unanimous consent of her sisters. If the youngest daughter dies,
she is succeeded by the next youngest daughter, and so on. All the
daughters are bound to repair the house of the youngest daughter free
of cost. In the event of the youngest daughter changing her religion,
or committing an act of _sang_, or taboo, she loses her position
in the family, and is succeeded, by her next youngest sister, as
in the case of a death. Failing daughters, inheritance would pass
by the "knight's move" to the sister's youngest daughter, who would
be succeeded by her youngest daughter, and so on. Failing sister'