r, taboo, for seven days, whereas amongst the Khasis the
only prohibition is that the parents must not cross a stream or wash
their clothes until they have propitiated the spirits. A twin birth is
_sang_, or taboo. The Khasis argue that as there is but one _Ka Iawbei_
(first ancestress), and one _U Thawlang_ (first ancestor), so one
child, either male or female, should be born at a time. A twin birth
is accordingly regarded as a visitation from God for some _sang_, or
transgression, committed by some member of the clan. When the twins are
of opposite sexes the _sang_ is considered to be extremely serious, the
Khasi idea being that defilement has taken place within the womb. The
case is treated as one of _shong kur_, or marriage within the clan,
and the bones of the twins cannot be placed in the sepulchre of the
clan. There are no special birth customs amongst the Lynngams.

There is no trace of the _couvade_ amongst the Khasis.

Marriage.

We now come to consider marriage amongst the Khasis from a religious
point of view. Shadwell has said that marriage amongst the Khasis
"is purely a civil contract." This statement is not correct, for
there is an elaborate religious ceremony at which God the creator,
_U'lei thaw briew man briew_, the god or goddess of the State, _U_ or
_ka'lei Synshar_, and, what is probably more important, the ancestress
and ancestor of the clan, _Ka Iawbei-tymmen_ and _U Thawlang_, are
invoked. There are three marriage ceremonies prevalent amongst the
Khasis, which are (_a_) _Pynhiarsynjat_, (_b_) _Lamdoh_ and (_c_)
_Iadih-kiad_, respectively. The first and second forms above mentioned
are considered the more respectable; the last-named is resorted to
by the very poor who cannot afford the greater expense entailed by
the first two ceremonies.

_Preliminaries_.--A young man of marriageable age, say between
seventeen or eighteen years of age and twenty-five, fixes upon a girl
of, say between thirteen and eighteen years, as likely to become
a fitting partner; probably he has been acquainted with the young
woman for some time before, and is on more or less easy terms of
intimacy with her. He mentions the name of the girl to his parents,
and uncles and aunts in the house, and they agree or disagree, as
the case may be. Sometimes marriages are arranged by the parents of
the young people themselves. Having agreed regarding the fitness of
the bride, the young man's parents send a male representative of