ration.

(3) Village puja lands, being land the occupants of which pay rent
to the doloi or lyngdoh, which are set apart in each village for
purposes of worship. These lands are not assessed to revenue.

(4) Private lands held by individuals and which have been transferred
from time to time by mortgage sale or otherwise at the will of the
owner. These lands are not assessed to revenue.

High lands are sub-divided into (1) Private lands, held like _hali_
private lands. (2) Unclaimed land, or Government Waste.

Up till now the Government has not assessed revenue on the high
lands which are its own property. Surveys have been made from time
to time of the Government _Raj hali_ lands in the Jaintia Hills,
but the maps require bringing up to date. The revenue on such lands
is assessed at an uniform rate, viz. at 10 annas a bigha, and the
leases have been issued so as to expire contemporaneously. A list
of service lands of dolois and others, showing the number of plots
held by each official and their approximate total area in bighas,
is kept in the Deputy Commissioner's Office. Puja lands are plots
of lands set apart entirely for the support of the lyngdohs and
other persons who perform the pujas of the doloiships. These lands
are generally leased out by the dolois, but in some doloiships they
are under the management of the lyngdohs. The occupants of the puja
lands have either to present annually sacrificial animals or objects,
e.g. bulls, goats, fowls, or pigs, rice, liquor, &c., or make a
payment in cash. In the War country in the Jaintia Hills, orange,
_pan_, and betel-nut gardens, are held as private property except
in a few villages where there are some Raj _pan_ gardens which have
been assessed to land revenue at the same rates as Government _hali_
lands. The various gardens are distinguishable by means of boundary
stones or stone cairns, by prominent trees on the boundary lines,
or by natural boundaries such as streams.

In the War country to the West of Cherra, notably the country between
the heights of Laitkynsew and the plains, considerable portions of
the hill-sides are the property of communities known as _sengs_. A
_seng_ may be defined as a collection of families sprung from some
common ancestress or ancestor. As an instance of these _sengs_ I may
describe the community known as the _lai seng_ which owns land in the
neighbourhood of Laitkynsew, the area owned being known as the "_ri
lai seng_," or land of