oth people we find the dead laid out in the house,
food placed before the corpse; and the funeral ceremonies taking
place, accompanied by music and dancing. Mr. Lafcadio Hearn, in
an interesting book on Japan, writes "that in ancient times the
Japanese performed ceremonies at regular intervals at the tombs of
deceased members of the family, and food and drink were then served
to the spirits;" this is exactly what the Khasis used to do at their
*cenotaphs. This, apparently, was the practice in Japan before the
"spirit tablet" had been introduced from China, when the worship of
the ancestors was transferred from the tomb to the home. We have
an exactly similar instance of evolution amongst the Khasis of
the present day, i.e. the transfer of the ancestor cult from the
flat table-stones erected in honour of deceased ancestors to the
home. Last, but not least, is the idea common to both people, that no
family or clan can prosper which does not duly perform the worship of
deceased ancestors; this, as Hearn puts it, is "the fundamental idea
underlying every persistent ancestor-worship; i.e. that the welfare of
the living depends upon the welfare of the dead." The "Khasi Mynta,"
in an interesting article, notes some further points of resemblance
between the methods of ancestor-worship adopted by the two people. The
following instances may be quoted. Amongst the Japanese the spirits
of those who fall in battle are said to help their fellow-warriors
who are still fighting. The "Khasi Mynta" quotes a similar belief
as having existed amongst the Khasis in former days. The remains of
Japanese warriors who die in battle are said to be reverently taken to
the warrior's home at the first opportunity. The Khasis do likewise,
the clothing in default of the ashes of Khasi transport coolies, who
were employed on military expeditions on the North-Eastern Frontier,
having been carried home by the survivors to present to the dead men's
relations, who then performed the ceremonies prescribed by custom
for those who have died violent or unnatural deaths. Of all deceased
ancestors the Khasis revere _Ka Iawbei_ the most, the word _Iawbei_
being made up of _'iaw_, short for _kiaw_ (grandmother), and _bei_,
mother. _Ka Iawbei_ is the primeval ancestress of the clan. She is
to the Khasis what the "tribal mother" was to old Celtic and Teutonic
genealogists, and we have an interesting parallel to the reverence of
the Khasis for _Ka Iawbei_ in the Celti