Cotton Cloths.

In the Jaintia Hills at Mynso cotton is spun into thread, and weaving
is carried on there, but on a limited scale. The Mynso people weave
the small strips of cloth worn by the men to serve the purpose of the
Assamese _lengti_ or Hindi _languti_. In Suhtnga the people import
cotton thread from Mynso and weave the (_ingki_) or sleeveless coat,
peculiar to the district; these coats are dyed red and blue. The dark
blue or black dye is obtained from the leaf of a plant called _u sybu_,
which Mr. Rita has classified as _strobilanthus hoeditolius_, which
grows in the gardens round the homesteads. The leaves are dried,
then reduced to powder, mixed with hot water, and the skeins of
thread are steeped in the liquid. The colour is permanent. The red
dye is obtained from the mixture of the dry bark of two shrubs,
_ka lapyndong_ (_symplocos racemosa_, Roxb.), and _ka 'larnong_
(_morinda-tinctoria_, Roxb.), the latter being the same as the Assamese
(aacukaa.th) _áchukáth_. The bark is dried, then pounded, and the two
sorts are mixed together and made into a paste with hot water. The
skeins are steeped in this mixture for twenty-four hours, then taken
out and divided, and again steeped for another twenty-four hours. The
Lalungs and Bhois and Lynngams all weave cotton cloths, which are
generally dyed blue, sometimes striped blue and red. The Wárs weave
cotton cloths which are dyed red and yellow, the cloths being woven in
checks. Mr. Darrah remarks that the cotton grown in the Jaintia Hills
is said to be the best cotton produced in the province. Its thread
can be more closely woven than that of other kinds. This statement,
however, is not borne out by Mr. Allen, writing in 1858, who says
that the cotton is of inferior quality, the staple being short and