d to
the ancestors on a stone in front of the tomb. The males them perform
a ceremonial dance with swords and shields, three times, and the door
of the sepulchre is closed, a flag being fixed to the tomb. All the
clansfolk then depart except three men. One of these sacrifices a
cock (_iar-tanding_) in front of the tomb, a second sits behind the
sacrificer, holding three firebrands, and a third sits behind the
tomb. The man with the firebrands shakes them about, and then crows
like a cock three times. The man behind the tomb listens attentively
for any fancied noise within it, the superstition being that if
the ceremonies detailed above have not been properly performed, the
whole tomb will quake. If the three watchers are satisfied that there
is no commotion within the tomb, then all is well, and they return
and report the result to the clanspeople. This ceremony is called
_tanding_, or the fire test. Next morning the woman who is the head
of the _iing-seng_, or puja-house, distributes to all those who have
taken part in these sacrifices the hinder portions of the sacrificial
animals. She then blesses one by one the assembled clansfolk. The
latter are not permitted by custom to go to work until after three
days from the time of the ceremony; the third day being called _ka
sngi lait ia_. The ceremony described above is a symbolical one. The
massive stone sepulchre is regarded as a symbol of a secure place of
rest for the departed spirits. If the spirits of the dead are not,
however, appeased by the due performance of the ceremonies attending
the bestowal of the remains in the clan _cinerarium_, it is believed
that they roam about and haunt their relations on earth, and plague
them with various misfortunes. It may be interesting to note here,
that Mr. Moberly, the Superintendent of Ethnography in Bengal,
reports that the ashes of deceased Hos, after being sprinkled with
water by means of peepul branches, we collected, dried, and placed
in a new earthen pot, and kept in the house until the day of burial,
which may take place, as with the Khasis, long afterwards. The bones
are buried in the village under a large slab of stone (cf. the Khasi
stone _cinerarium_), and a monolith is erected outside the village
to commemorate the deceased.

Khasi Memorial Stones.

Probably one of the first objects which strikes the eye of a visitor to
the Khasi Hills is the very large number of monoliths, table-stones,
and cromlechs that are