t
extent, is filled by the maternal uncle. Among the Khasis he is
regarded in the light of a father. It is his duty to assist the mother
in the management of the family. The husband is looked upon merely as
_u shong kha_,[80] a begetter. Only by the later marriage custom, when
the wife and children leave the home of her mother, has the father any
recognised position in the home. "There is no gainsaying the fact,"
writes Mr. Gurdon, "that the husband is a stranger in the wife's home,
and it is certain he can take no part in the rites and ceremonies of
his wife's family."

[80] _The Khasis_, p. 81.

The important status assigned to women becomes clearer when we
consider the laws of inheritance. Daughters inherit, not sons. The
youngest daughter is heiress to the family property, but the other
daughters are entitled to a share on the mother's death. No man can
possess property unless it is self-acquired. Among the Synteng, such
property on the man's death goes to his mother. This would seem to be
the primitive custom. There is now a provision that, if the wife
undertakes not to re-marry she has half of her husband's property,
which descends to her youngest daughter. In the Khasi states a man's
property, if acquired before his marriage, goes to his mother, but
what is gained afterwards goes to the wife, for the youngest daughter.
Only in the War country do the sons inherit from the father with the
daughters, but something in addition is given to the youngest
daughter. The family property always descends in the female line. For
this reason, daughters are of more importance than sons. A family
without daughters dies out, which among the Khasis is the greatest
calamity, as there is no one qualified to bury the dead and perform
the religious rites. Thus both the Khasis and the Syntengs have a plan
of adoption. The male members of any family, if left without females,
are allowed to call in a young girl from another family to perform the
family religious ceremonies. She takes the place of the youngest
daughter, and becomes the head of the household. She inherits the
ancestral property.

In the face of these facts it can hardly be denied that mother-right
and mother-power among the Khasis are still very much alive. Here at
least descent through the mother does involve power to women, and
confers exceptional rights, especially as regards inheritance. I have
already called attention to the equality of the women with men in t