hait_, or stones upon which weary travellers sit, are
to be found alongside all the principal lines of communication in the
district. It may serve as an example of these stones to describe the
very interesting collection of stones at Nartiang _hat_, or market. A
reference is invited to the plate which gives a representation of some
of the Nartiang stones. The great height of the upright stone will at
once be seen; it is 27 ft. in height and 2 1/2 ft. thick. This stone is
the largest erect stone in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills at the present
day, and is a very fine specimen. The upright stones and the flat
table-stones at Nartiang are called "_ki maw jong Siem_." There is
no separate designation for each of them. These stones are popularly
supposed to have been erected long ago by two men, U Lah Laskor and U
Mar Phalyngki, to commemorate the establishment of Nartiang market,
which is called Iew Mawlong. "Laskor" is the Synteng equivalent of
the Khasi _lyngskor_, or prime minister. "Mar" is a Synteng word
meaning a giant, the idea amongst the people being that in the olden
days there were giants in the land who performed marvellous feats of
strength, e.g. the erection of the megalithic remains at Nartiang
and elsewhere. A puja is performed upon a great flat stone by the
_doloi_ and his officers in honour of the founders of the market,
but no animals are sacrificed, rice and _rynsi_ (balls of rice) only
being offered. In the days of the Jaintia kings only the Raja could
sit upon the great flat stone; hence the name _maw jong Siem_ (or
Siem's stone). The great upright stone is said to have been brought
by U Lah Laskor and a great number of people from Suriang, a place
near Nartiang. With reference to the Nartiang stones I would refer
to my theory, formulated above, that they were originally connected
with human sacrifices. It may be mentioned that at Nartiang there is
a bridge constructed out of a single stone, which is also said to have
been set in position by U Lah Laskor. Near Suhtnga there is a group of
stones, said to have been originally thirty in number, together with
_maw shongthait_, or stones to seat the weary, which were erected
to the memory of a woman, Ka Kampatwat, who in generations past
is alleged to have had no less than _thirty_ husbands. The lady is
not supposed to have been polyandrous, nor nine-lived, but to have
divorced one husband after another. As she probably established a
record for divorce, her des