the shades of the deceased ancestors, the idea of
making such offerings being very similar to that of the Hindus when
they offer the "_pinda_," or cake, to nine generations of ancestors,
i.e. to propitiate the shades of the departed, and to obtain their help
thereby. U Hormu Rai Diengdoh writes that, "the real religious demand"
amongst the Khasis is the _ai bam_, or giving of food to the spirits
of deceased ancestors, in order that the latter may aid the living
members of the clan with their help; and bless them. To honour dead
ancestors is the duty of every Khasi, and he who wilfully neglects
this duty it is believed, will neither receive their help, nor be
defended from the influence of the numerous spirits of evil in which
the Khasis believe. Amongst the Syntengs, a few days after depositing
the bones in the ancestral tomb, the ceremony of feeding the spirits
of the dead is performed: At this ceremony there are some families
which give two pigs for each person of the family who is dead, and
there are some who give one. The pigs are taken to the _iing-seng_,
or puja house of the clan. Presumably, pigs are usually offered to
the shades only of those members of the family whose remains have been
recently deposited in the clan cromlech. In the chapter dealing with
memorial stones the reader will notice how many of them are erected
to the memory of deceased ancestors, and how they bear the names of
such ancestors, e.g. _Ka Iawbei_ (the first grandmother), _U Suidnia_,
or _U kni rangbah_ (the first maternal uncle). It was the custom in
former days to make offerings of food upon the flat table-stones to
the spirits of the deceased ancestors, and this is still the case
in places in the interior of the district. This practice, however,
may be said to be largely dying out, it being now commonly the custom
to make the offerings in the house, either annually, or at times when
it is thought necessary to invoke the aid of the departed. Such acts
of devotion may well be said to partake of the nature of worship. As
has been the case in other countries, and amongst other people, it
is possible that the Khasi gods of today are merely the spirits of
glorified deceased ancestors transfigured, as has happened with some
of the gods of the Shinto Pantheon of Japan. It may be interesting to
note that the ancient Shinto cult of Japan possesses some features
in common with the ancestor-worship of the Khasis. Take the funeral
ceremonies. With b