only used a certain kind of timber for the fender which surrounds
the hearth; but they are not so particular now-a-days. In Mawkhar,
Cherrapunji, and other large villages, the walls of houses are
generally of stone. In Cherrapunji the houses are frequently large,
but the largest house I have seen in the hills is that of the Doloi
of Suhtnga in the Jaintia Hills which measures 74 ft. in length. The
house of the Siem Priestess at Smit in the Khasi Hills is another
large one, being 61 ft. long by 30 ft. broad. In front of the Khasi
house is a little space fenced in on two sides, but open towards the
village street. The Syntengs plaster the space in front of the house
with red earth and cow-dung, this custom being probably a remnant
of Hindu influences. The Khasis have some peculiar customs when they
build a new house. When the house is completed they perform a ceremony,
_kynjoh-hka-skain_, when they tie three pieces of dried fish to the
ridge pole of the house and then jump up and try to pull them down
again. Or they kill a pig, cut a piece of the flesh with the skin
attached, and fix it to the ridge pole, and then endeavour to dislodge
it. The Syntengs at Nartiang worship _U Biskurom_ (Biswakarma) and _Ka
Siem Synshar_ when a house is completed, two fowls being sacrificed,
one to the former, the other to the latter. The feathers of the fowls
are affixed to the centre post of the house, which must be of _u
dieng sning_, a variety of the Khasi oak. The worship of a Hindu god
(Biswakarma), the architect of the Hindu gods, alongside the Khasi
deity _Ka Siem Synshar_, is interesting, and may be explained by
the fact that Nartiang was at one time the summer capital of the
kings of Jaintia, who were Hindus latterly and disseminated Hindu
customs largely amongst the Syntengs. Mr. Rita says that amongst the
Syntengs, a house, the walls of which have been plastered with mud,
is a sign that the householder has an enemy. The plastering no doubt
is executed as a preventive of fire, arson in these hills being a