deity of the village. These groves are taboo, and it is an offence to
cut trees therein for any purpose other than for performing funeral
obsequies. The groves are generally not more than a few hundred yards
away from the villages. The villages of the Syntengs are similar in
character to those of the Khasis. The Wár villages nestle on the
hill-sides of the southern border, and are to be seen peeping out
from the green foliage with which the southern slopes are clad. In the
vicinity of, and actually up to the houses, in the Wár villages, are
to be observed large groves of areca-nut, often twined with the _pan_
creeper, and of plantain trees, which much enhance the beauty of the
scene. Looking at a Wár village from a distance, a darker shade of
green is seen; this denotes the limits of the extensive groves where
the justly celebrated Khasi orange is grown, which is the source of
so much profit to these people. The houses in the Wár villages are
generally closer together than those of the Khasis, probably owing to
apace being limited, and to the villages being located on the slopes
of hills. Generally up the narrow village street, and from house
to house, there are rough steep stone steps, the upper portion of
a village being frequently situated at as high an elevation as 200
to 300 ft. above the lower. In a convenient spot in a Wár village
a clear space is to be seen neatly swept and kept free from weeds,
and surrounded with a stone wall, where the village tribunals sit,
and the elders meet in solemn conclave. Dances also are held here on
festive occasions. At Nongjri village there is a fine rubber tree,
under whose hollow trunk there are certain sacred stones where the
priest performs the village ceremonies.

The Bhoi and Lynngam villages are built in small clearings in
the forest, the houses are close together and are built often in
parallel lines, a fairly broad space being reserved between the