Hali Lands or Irrigated Paddy Lands.
(1) Raj lands, which used to be the property of the Raja of Jaintiapur, now the property of Government, which are assessed to land revenue.
(2) Service lands, which are lands given rent free to dolois, pators, and other officers who carry on the administration.
(3) Village puja lands, being land the occupants of which pay rent to the doloi or lyngdoh, which are set apart in each village for purposes of worship. These lands are not assessed to revenue.
(4) Private lands held by individuals and which have been transferred from time to time by mortgage sale or otherwise at the will of the owner. These lands are not assessed to revenue.
High lands are sub-divided into (1) Private lands, held like hali private lands. (2) Unclaimed land, or Government Waste.
Up till now the Government has not assessed revenue on the high lands which are its own property. Surveys have been made from time to time of the Government Raj hali lands in the Jaintia Hills, but the maps require bringing up to date. The revenue on such lands is assessed at an uniform rate, viz. at 10 annas a bigha, and the leases have been issued so as to expire contemporaneously. A list of service lands of dolois and others, showing the number of plots held by each official and their approximate total area in bighas, is kept in the Deputy Commissioner's Office. Puja lands are plots of lands set apart entirely for the support of the lyngdohs and other persons who perform the pujas of the doloiships. These lands are generally leased out by the dolois, but in some doloiships they are under the management of the lyngdohs. The occupants of the puja lands have either to present annually sacrificial animals or objects, e.g. bulls, goats, fowls, or pigs, rice, liquor, &c., or make a payment in cash. In the War country in the Jaintia Hills, orange, pán, and betel-nut gardens, are held as private property except in a few villages where there are some Raj pán gardens which have been assessed to land revenue at the same rates as Government hali lands. The various gardens are distinguishable by means of boundary stones or stone cairns, by prominent trees on the boundary lines, or by natural boundaries such as streams.
In the Wár country to the West of Cherra, notably the country between the heights of Laitkynsew and the plains, considerable portions of the hill-sides are the property of communities known as sengs. A seng may be defined as a collection of families sprung from some common ancestress or ancestor. As an instance of these sengs I may describe the community known as the lai seng which owns land in the neighbourhood of Laitkynsew, the area owned being known as the "ri lai seng," or land of the three clans. These clans are descended from three men, U Kynta, U Nabein, and U Tangrai, it being remarkable that in this case descent is traced originally from male ancestors and not from females. The three ancestors are said to have owned a large tract of land, and they had as their abode the village of Laitmawria close to Laitkynsew; but owing to an epidemic, or some such cause, they deserted the village of Laitmawria and went with their families to live in some of the surrounding Wár villages, viz. in Tyrna, Nongkroh, Nongwar, Mastoh, and Mawlong. The descendants of the three men above-mentioned possess a genealogical table, showing their descent from the original three founders of the sengs. They claim a large tract of country lying to the south and south-east of the Laitkynsew plateau, containing not only orange gardens, but also valuable lime quarries. There are other seng communities also in the neighbourhood, e.g. the hinriew phew seng, or sixty sengs, who put forward claims to other tracts of land. The boundaries of the ri lai seng are identifiable on the ground. The business of the seng community is managed by a durbar, an elder or other influential person being chosen as president.
In the country of the Lynngams the crop belongs to the person who cultivates it, but the land belongs to the kur or family. The Lynngam villages; like those in the Khasi Siemships, do not pay any rent to the Siem. If outsiders cultivate within the areas set apart for the different Lynngam villages, all of them, including women, have to pay eight annas each to the people of the village in whose circle they cultivate. There is usually a mutual understanding between inhabitants of Lynngam villages, that certain tracts of land belong to the respective villages; sometimes, however, there are disputes regarding those lands between the different villages. Such disputes are settled by the Lynngam Sirdars of villages or by the Sirdars sitting with the two Lyngskors of the Siemship. If the disputes cannot be settled by these officials to the satisfaction of the parties, the latter are taken by the Lyngskors and Sirdars to the Siem of Nongstoin, who tries the case with the aid of the State mantris.
Laws Regarding Other Property.