Khasis, with different names, a remark which applies also to those of
the Bhois and Lynngams. Both the latter, however, use leaves as plates,
the Bhoi using the wild plantain and the Lynngam a large leaf called
_ka 'la mariong_. The leaves are thrown away after eating, fresh leaves
being gathered for each meal. The Lynngams use a quilt (_ka syllar_)
made out of the bark of a tree of the same name as a bed covering. This
tree is perhaps the same as the Garo _simpak_. In the Bhoi and Lynngam
houses the swinging shelf for keeping firewood is not to be seen, nor
is the latter to be found amongst the submontane Bodo tribes in Assam.


Musical Instruments.

The Khasis have not many musical instruments, and those that they
possess, with one or two exceptions, are of very much the same
description as those of the Assamese. There are several kinds of drums,
viz. _ka nákrá_, which is a large kettledrum made of wood having the
head covered with deerskin; _ka ksing_, which is a cylindrically-shaped
drum rather smaller than the Assamese _dhol_ (_ka ksing kynthei_ takes
its name from the fact that this drum is beaten when women, _kynthei_,
dance), _ka padiah_, a small drum with a handle made of wood; _katasa_,
a small circular drum. Khasi drums are nearly always made of wood,
not of metal, like the drums to be seen in the monasteries of Upper
Assam, or of earthenware, as in Lower Assam.

_Ka duitara_ is a guitar with _muga_ silk strings, which is played
with a little wooden key held in the hand. _Ka maryngod_ is an
instrument much the same as the last, but is played with a bow like
a violin. _Ka marynthing_ is a kind of guitar with one string, played
with the finger.