The weapons used by the Khasis for hunting are bows and arrows,
the latter with barbed iron heads, and spears which are used both
for casting and thrusting. Before proceeding on a hunting expedition
the hunters break eggs, in order to ascertain whether they will be
successful or not, and to which jungle they should proceed. Offerings
are also made to certain village deities, e.g. _U. Ryngkew, u Basa_,
and _u Basa ki mrád_. A lucky day having been selected and the deities
propitiated, the hunters start with a number of dogs trained to the
chase, the latter being held on leashes by a party of men called _ki
nongai-ksew_. When the dogs have picked up the scent some hunters
are placed as "stops" (_ki ktem_), at points of vantage in the
jungle, and the drive commences with loud shouts from the hunters,
the same being continued until the object of the chase breaks into
the open. The man who draws the first blood is called u _nongsiat_,
and the second man who scores a hit _u nongban_. These two men get
larger shares of the flesh than the others. The _nongsiat_ obtains
the lower half of the body of the animal, thighs and feet excepted,
called _ka tdong_, and the _nongban_ one of the forequarters called
_ka tabla_. The other hunters obtain a string of flesh each, and each
hound gets a string of flesh to itself. These hunting parties pursue
deer sometimes for many miles, and are indefatigable in the chase, the
latter lasting occasionally more than one day. In the Jaintia Hills,
at the end of the chase, the quarry is carried to the house of the
_nongsiat_, where a _puja_ is performed to some local deity, before
the flesh is distributed. At Shangpung, when a tiger or a mithan is
killed, the head is cut off, and is carried in triumph to a hill in
the neighbourhood where there is a _duwan_, or altar, at the foot
of an oak tree (_dieng sning_). The head is displayed on the altar,
and worship offered to _u 'lei lyngdoh_, the God of the doloiship.