animals have
been performed. Now the Khasis perform such sacrifices; but they
do not mark their performance thus on the stones. Fergusson on page
447 of his "Rude Stone Monuments" apparently refers to these stones,
which are near Belgaum in the Bombay Presidency, and he is of
opinion that "they were dedicated or vowed to the spirits of deceased
ancestors"; further it is stated that these stones are always in uneven
numbers, a striking point of similarity to the Khasi stones. We know,
for a fact, that the Khasi memorial stones were dedicated to the
same objects as those of the Belgaum stones, i.e. to the worship
of ancestors; so that we have not only similarity in appearance,
in confirmation, and invariable unevenness of number, but identity
of purpose, if Fergusson's conclusion is correct. It is, however,
a far cry from Shillong to Belgaum, and it may, perhaps, be thought
more reasonable if we look for stones nearer at hand. Bradley Birt
in his interesting book on Chota Nagpur has given a photograph of
certain Ho memorial stones, which would appear to resemble greatly the
Khasi menhirs, and if his photograph is carefully examined, it will
be seen that there are in rear of the stones what would seem to be
stone cairns, very similar in appearance to the Khasi _cineraria_. The
funeral ceremonies of the Hos as described by Bradley Birt, viz. the
cremation of the body, the collection of the ashes, their consignment
to a grave, and the offering of food to the spirit of the deceased,
are similar to those of the Khasis. Although not wishing to lay too
much stress on what may be merely a coincidence, I think that the
above similarity in death customs is well worth considering with
regard to the view, based on linguistic affinity, that the Khasis
and the Ho-Mundas were originally descended from a common stock,
i.e. the Mon-Khmer or Mon-Anam family, as has been postulated by Logan.

But there are other tribes in Assam which erect memorial stones,
e.g. the Mikirs and certain Naga tribes. The Mikirs erect memorial
stones in a line, the taller stone being sometimes in the centre, as
in the case of the Khasi memorial stones. Such stones are set up by
the Mikirs only in memory of important personages, such as _mauzadars_
or leading _gaonburas_ (village headmen). Besides the standing stones
(_long-chong_), a flat stone (_long pak_) is also erected in honour
of the deceased. I understand that the Mikir stones, like the Khasi,
are mere c