other's kin."

Such testimony cannot be put aside. I wish it were possible for me to
give a detailed account of this people, there is so much that is of
interest to us in their mother-right customs. All that I can do is to
note briefly a few of these, which to me seem specially important.

And first, in order to understand better their customs, let us
consider a few facts of the people themselves. The Khasis are a
vigorous and sturdy race. The men are short, but exceedingly muscular;
the women are comely, especially when young; and the children are
remarkably pretty. In both the sexes strongly developed calves are
considered a mark of beauty. It is interesting to note that the men
usually wear their hair long, and when it is cut short, a single lock
is preserved at the back, which is called _u niuhtrong_, "the
grandmother's lock." In some districts the men pull out the hairs of
the moustaches, with the exception of a few hairs on either side of
the upper lip. In character these people are independent, simple,
truthful and straightforward; cheerful in disposition, and
light-hearted by nature. They thoroughly appreciate a joke, especially
the women. Among the men there is some drunkenness, but not among the
women, though they are the chief distillers of spirits. Men and women
work together, usually at the same occupations. We learn that the
Khasis have an unusual love of nature, and are fond of music; thus
they have names for birds and flowers, also for many butterflies and
moths. These are traits not usually found in the people of India.

There is a point to note of special interest in their language. All
the nouns have a masculine and a feminine gender, and the feminine
nouns immensely predominate. The sun is feminine, the moon masculine.
In the pronouns there is one form only in the plural, and that is
feminine. It may seem that these matters--noted so briefly--are
unimportant; but it is such little things that deserve attentive
study. At least they serve to show that the Khasis have reached a high
level of primitive culture; and they indicate further the strong
importance of the feminine idea, which is the main interest in our
inquiry.

A few words must be said about the organisation of the tribes. These
tribes are formed in sections--of which the chief are the Khasi,
Synteng, and War. Each section or tribe is divided into clans and
sub-clans; these are strictly exogamous. To marry within the clan is
the greatest