Earth, ancestors emerge from, xx, 3, 193;
belief regarding the, 172;
oath on earth from grave, from land in dispute, 103
Earthquake, cause of, 172;
dream of, presages death, 172
East, souls of “good” go to, xxxiv
Easter Island, similarity of Naga and —— hoe, xxvii
Eating together as test of relationship, xix;
separately, husband and wife when selecting “jhum,” 46;
after formal sowing, 49;
on morning of Rangsikam, 51;
relations of murderer and his victim must never eat together, 101;
villages between which there has been much bloodshed, 101
[239]
Echantyoi, husbands of women a man calls sister, duties in stone-dragging, 141, 142
Echon, month corresponding to January, 226
Eclipse of sun and moon, causes and meaning of, 172, 173
Egg, omen taking by breaking, xxxiv n. 3;
by rolling, 124, 152, 153
offered to spirits, 6, 50, 125, 127, 128, 132, 133, 135, 152;
to Dayang river, 131;
in stone-dragging, 142, 143;
to tree struck by lightning for rheumatism, 166
oath on, 103;
with rice offering eaten by householder at Liritang, 54
Eight, importance of this number appears from following:
sacrificer swings eight pieces of meat in each hand, 34;
eight nung yung leaves offered, 48;
eight cuts to right and eight to left in stone-dragging, 143;
Hantsen swings sacrificial meat eight times before bride and bridegroom, 148;
bride and bridegroom genuflect eight times before Hantsen, 150;
in Ponyiratsen’s ceremony eight bundles of eight “chungas” each containing eight pieces of pith, and
four parcels of eight pieces of pork, 151;
“Hohoho” repeated eight times, eight yutso leaves left, 152;
omen taken eight times, bride and bridegroom’s cloths shaken eight times;
omen mat shaken eight times, 153
Ekhirandhapen, boy’s game, 85
Ekyung, chief, his position, 96;
raiders collect at his house, 106
Elephants, damage crops, 56;
caught in pitfalls, 67;
flesh not eaten by young women, 77;
Potsos foretell trouble from, 114;
fear of death from, 163
Emetic, 79
Emhu, month corresponding to March, 226
Emung (gathered together), term explained, 26, n. 1;
for rebuilding champo, 26;
after firing “jhum,” 46;
after Thruven, 48;
Motharatsen, 49;
Amungkam, 50;
Lanvung, 52;
Pikuchak, 128;
Tuku graves dismantled, death omens taken, 130;
three days preceding dragging of opya posts, 123;
day after visit from Potsos, 114;
day after an eclipse, 173;
story regarding monkey’s ravages during, 224;
stranger who breaks emung held to ransom, 101
Emungrangki, temporary hut during stone-dragging, 141
Enemy, insignia of killer of, 7, 12, 14;
see also Head hunting, Head taking.
Entrails, eaten, 78;
of sacrificial animal eaten by Puthi, 50;
buried, 51;
eaten by stone-carriers, 143;
omens taken from, 6, 34, 50, 51, 123, 128
Ephi, month corresponding with April, 226
Epuetha ceremony to appease Khyuham, 116;
described, 132
Erhinga tree, nets made of bark, 43
Eschatology of different tribes, xxxiii;
of Lhotas, 115 et seq.
Eshamsü, cloth of man who has dragged more than one stone, 10
Eso, supporter of Stone-dragger, 142
Etchhienya, ceremony to appease the Dead, 120;
may not be performed six days before Lanvung, 52;
offerings to Dead at, 53
Etchhiku, entrance to Land of the Dead, q.v.
Etchhili, Land of the Dead, q.v.
Etchhililan, Road of the Dead, q.v.
Etchhililanthamo, guardian of Road of the Dead, 119 n. 4, 157
Etchhiman (price of death), 155
Etchhitsok (dead men’s rice), 120
Etha, social “genna,” described, 140;
performers must perform Thruven, 47, 48
Ethasü, cloth of performer of Etha, 10, 140
Ethung, second spear, q.v.
Etsiao thanked for help, vi
Excreta, omen taken from, 50, 149, 151
Exogamy, among Naga tribes, xxx–xxxii;
among Lhotas, 87, 88;
arranged for in new village population, 5 n. 1;
may have existed between corresponding clans, 92, 93
Exposure of dead, practised by Aos, Konyaks, xxiv;
Phoms, Changs, xxv, 92 n. 1;
Lhotas in case of tiger’s victim, 162
Eyes, of Angamis and Semas, xxi–xxii;
Lhotas, 7;
medicine for sore, 81
Ezong clan, origin of, 88;
term used for mother, 95
Ezongterowe kindred, 91
Ezongtsopowe kindred, 91
Fasts: owner of “jhum” fasts on morning of formal sowing, 48
Father, use of different words for, divides tribes into two linguistic groups, xxxi n. 2;
food and other tabus of, during mother’s pregnancy, 144, 145;
duties during wife’s labour, 145;
after birth of child, 146, 147;
share of daughter’s marriage price, 149;
his duties during marriage ceremonies, 148–150, 153
Feet, of game hung in mpongki, 35;
of Puthi touched with rice in first-fruits ceremony, 53
Females sit on left of sacrificer, 34;
associated with number five, q.v.
Fertility, spirit of, in Lisü “genna,” xxx n. 1;
ceremonies to promote, 28, 122, 129;
especially of rice, 125, 126
Feudal position of Sema chief, xxxiii
Fever, cure for, 136
Field-house, 86;
described, tabus regarding, 51;
ceremonies in, 51, 54;
unhusked rice stored in, 55, 56
Fingers, as trophy, 106;
hung in mingetung, 108
Fire, lighting of, in new village, 6;
in new house, 34;
a protection against evil spirits, 48, 133;
for purifying dogs, 65;
people, 160–161;
kept burning on graves, 158, 159;
dreams of fire, meanings, 172;
also see Fire-stick.
Fireplace (nchu): see Hearth.
Fire-stick (mi-hm), described, 6 n. 1;
omen-taking by, xiv;
use and disposal of, in ceremonial fire-lighting, 6, 34, 50, 52, 54, 65, 161;
in case of painful childbirth, 145;
oath-taking, 102, 103
[240]
First-fruits, eaten by Puthi and householders, some placed in daily rice-bin, 53, 54;
see Mshe etak.
Fish, shooting of, xxvii n. 3;
kept in water supply, 29;
presented to Potsos, (tseru) in rain-compelling, 130;
(ngolelop) given to babies, 147;
disposal of, in case fisherman is drowned, 161;
vehicle of love charm, 168;
gift of, completes marriage (Aos), 168
Fishing, methods by poison, 43, 90;
described, 70, 71, 72;
observances connected with, 71, 73;
by rod (ngoko), 73;
by blocking channel, 74;
by weirs, 72, 73;
by hand trap, 73;
rights, 70
Fishing, beliefs connected with, weir-builders keep chaste, do not speak to strangers,
begin as boys, 73;
catcher of süwo fish with rod, liable to death by tiger, 74;
luck in, spoilt by a man dyeing, 38
Fish-hook (mukhu), 73
Five, important number connected with females: compare with six;
—— days’ “genna” for birth of, and five beads in necklace of cow-calf, 60;
“chunga” dropped —— times in omen-taking for a woman, 134;
chicken tossed —— times for a woman in scapegoat ceremony, 135;
girls’ name given —— days after birth, 145;
bride carries —— pieces of meat and bobbins of thread in Halam ceremony, 154;
—— pieces of meat over woman’s grave, five days’ “genna” after woman’s death, 158;
death chicken’s wings chopped —— times for a woman, 159;
—— pieces of liver in Sityingo’s share, 65;
—— days’ “genna” for litter of pigs, 61;
puppies, 63;
—— days’ interval between counting of oha stones and opening of mingetung fence, 124
Flies, after second death the Dead change into, 121
Floor of house, 30
Flowers, cultivation and use of, 58
Flute (philipi or phiphili), 85;
girl’s name expressed in note of, 86;
Sema and Angami, 85 n. 1
Flycatcher, Little Pied, called Deadmen’s Hornbill, 120
Folklore, as indication of tribal origins and affinities, xxxiv, xxxv
“Folklore in the Old Testament,” xxvii n. 1, 46 n. 1
Folk Tales, 174–199;
general remarks on, 174
Apfuho and the Old Woman, 177
Apfuho and the Tiger, 177
The Boy and the Water Spirit, 182
The Girl who married a Tiger, 190
How Children became Monkeys, 222
How Men became Cat-fish, 184
How Men were turned into Gibbons, 184
Lankongrhoni and the Villagers, 193
The Sambhur and the Hanuman Monkey, 175
The Story of the Kithang Clan, 185
The Story of Lichao and His Daughter, 187
The Story of the Cuckoo and the Crow, 220
The Story of Sityingo and Ngazo, 183
The Story of the Two Brothers, 181
The Story of Ramphan, 197
The Sun and the Moon, 196
The Widow and the Boys of the Morung, 186
The Wild Boar and the Tiger, 175
The Woman with a Caterpillar for a Husband, 195
The Wagtail and the Owlet, 196
Food, 74–78;
cat-flesh as, 63;
bee and hornet grubs, 69, 74;
transference of qualities by eating, 74;
animals, etc., not eaten, with reasons, 75–77.
Food tabus attaching to persons and avocations will be found under those headings.
Forehead of Puthi touched with rice at First-fruits eating, 53
Forge, site of, unlucky, 42
Founder of village, duties of, in village founding ceremony, 56;
priestship, hereditary in family (Angamis), xxxiii;
chieftainship, hereditary, 96
Four, important number in various ceremonies:
in new house occupation, 34;
in first sowing, 47;
in second sowing, 48;
in Liritang, 54;
in rain-compelling, 131;
in Ponyiratsen, 151, 152
Fowls (hono), keeping of, 63;
sacrificed, 125, 129, 140;
also see Cock, Hen, Chicken.
Frazer, Sir J., xxvii n. 1, 46 n. 1, 160 n. 3, 186 n. 1
Friend (okam), making of formal, 104;
namesakes regarded as, 104, 169
Fringe (khezi), as insignia of tiger-slayers and head-takers, 12
Frog flesh tabued to ratsen, 165
Gait, “History of Assam,” 2 n. 1
Gall of cow or pig medicine for diarrhœa, 79;
of python for fever, etc., 80
Garden, crops grown in, 57, 58;
Puthi sows first rice in, 48;
reaped at Mshe etak, 53
“Garos, The,” on reaping, xxviii;
Road of the Dead, xxxiv n. 1;
on hauntings, 160 n. 2;
on the moon, 172
Garos, Bodo Tribe, lack of love for village site, xv;
migratory, xvi;
immigrants from Nepal and Tibet, xvi, xvii, xxvi;
connected with Semas, xix;
burn dead, xxiv n. 1;
reap with hand only, xxviii;
erect memorial posts, xxix;
knowledge of lycanthropy, xxxiv;
Road of the Dead, xxxiv n. 1
“Gazetteer of Upper Burma, etc.,” xvi n. 3, xvii n. 1, 2, xxiv n. 1, xxviii n. 1, xxxvi n. 3;
regarding Kachins, 105 n. 1
Genealogies, Angamis’ knowledge of, xv
“Genna” stones, 5, 23;
tallystick, 159
“Gennas,” Social, 136–144.
Importance and cost of, general remarks regarding, 136, 137;
first “genna,” 138;
second, 138;
third, 140;
fourth, 140;
performance of all, necessary for certain posts, 66, 98, 122, 126;
non-performance of any, necessary for certain posts, 48, 126, 132, 133;
performance of, considered in division of inheritance, 98, 99;
insignia of performers, [241]9, 10, 136, 138, 140;
memorials of performers and non-performers of, 159;
tabus regarding, 65, 138, 141
Ghosts (omon), 169–170;
ladder, 160, xxiv
Gibbon, fur of, as warrior’s wig, 13;
flesh not eaten by young women, by Othui clan, 185 n. 2;
head put in stream as rain charm, 130;
story, “How Men were turned into Gibbons,” 92 n. 1, 184
Ginger (osing), use of, to keep off evil spirits, 27, 34, 132;
as offerings, 47, 49, 128, 133, 134, 135
Girl, head shaved, 7, 8;
assumes first skirt (khondrosü), 9;
terms used for, 95;
birth customs differ from those for boys, 145–147;
married without being consulted, 112;
girls and boys formed into working parties, 97;
stories of girls emerging from oranges, etc., see Legends.
Goat (nyanya), keeping of, 62;
hair, value of, 62;
in ornaments, 13, 14, 17;
hoof as medicine, 79;
flesh not eaten by dyers, 38,
pot-makers, 41,
cultivator on day of “jhum” selecting, 46;
household at Rangsikam, 52
Gods:
see also Rangsi, Sityingo, Tchhüpfu, Ngazo, Potso.
Lhota’s ideas regarding, 113 et seq.;
Wind god of Ungma, 103
Goître, cure for, 80
Gongs, 44
Gourds (shammo, zükhe), cultivation of, 58;
use of, as bottle, 36, 54, 58
Government, practices stopped by:
use of notsü as fish poison, 70;
catching game in pitfalls, 67;
plucking goats and dogs alive, 62
Granary (osung), described, 23;
temporary (echengrangki), 56;
as ossuary (Kalyo-Kengyu), xxv, 130;
sacrifice at, 140;
mithan head placed in, 155;
oha stones kept in, 166
Grave, digging of, 157;
protection, ornamentation of, fire lighted on, 158;
dismantled, 159, 130, 154;
of performer of Rangendri, 129;
of Sema, 19;
in houses, xxiv;
houses built over, xxiv, 160 n. 3;
thatched, xxiv;
opened for second burial, xxiv;
oath on earth from, 103
Great Darkness: see Thimzing.
Grierson, Sir George, on classification of Naga languages, xvi n. 1, xix, xxxv;
of Lhota, 207
Guests, sleeping-place of, 31
Guns, scarcity of, 63
Gurdon, Colonel, xv n. 2, xxvii, xxviii n. 3, 172 n. 3
Hail, cause of, 173
Hair, as guide to classification of races, xxii;
types of, found among hill tribes, xxiii;
—— of Lhotas, 67;
Aos, Konyaks, 7;
colour of children’s, xxiii, 7;
not cut during pregnancy, 145;
first cutting of baby’s, 147;
oath taken on, 102, 103;
danger of —— getting into hostile hands, 169;
dressing of, 7, 8;
of children, 147;
—— of “head” fixed on gate-post (orrülama), 107;
in ornaments, human, 13, 14;
dog’s 13, 19;
goat’s, 13, 14
Hair-brush Palm (shawo), leaf as arrow-feather, 18
Haki-ung, Chang clan, hereditary “tiger men,” 163 n. 1
Halam, third part of marriage ceremonies, 149–151;
Southern Lhota, 154
Halamman, fifth item of marriage price, 155
Hammer, similarity of Naga and Philippine, xxvii
Hands, conventional representations of, on houses of Puthis and warriors, 34
Hantsen, celebrant of marriage ceremonies, 148–155;
not known among Southern Lhotas, 154
Haokip, Thado clan, xxx n. 1
Harvest, described, 54–56
Hawks, eaters of, spit, 76
Hawk-eagle, only eaten by old people, 76
Head, treated with ceremony, xxv;
detached after death, xxiv, xxv
of bull, Stone-dragger’s portion, 143;
of pig in Halam ceremony, father-in-law’s portion, 148
of enemy, treatment after taking, 107, 108;
ear as substitute, 106;
brought to champo, 24;
hung in mingetung, 28, 108;
in Phiro, 29;
skin of, attached to champo post, 25, 107;
brings luck to village, 109;
—— of toothless baby valueless, of woman valued more than man’s, 105;
represented by rüho, 14;
carved over graves, 129, 158;
exposed in front of “morung,” xxix n. 2;
buried, xxxvii;
see also Head hunting, Head-taking “genna.”
Headache, medicine for, 80
Head-hunting:
importance of, 105, 109;
abolition of, tends to decay of customs, xii, 104;
Phiro belief regarding abolition of, 29;
degraded state of, 109;
between Lhota villages prohibited, 104;
planning of, 24, 105;
proceedings on return of successful —— party, 106–108;
trophies, 106;
mock, 128
Head-taking “genna” (Ramo), described, 108–109;
qualifications required of performers of, 107, 108, 110;
insignia of performer of dark blue “lengta,” 8, 109;
cowrie wristlets, 12, 109;
three king-crow feathers, 13;
hornbill’s tail feathers, 13, 109;
wild boar’s tusks, 12, 109;
lechapsü red, 16, 109;
spear-shaft scarlet goat’s hair, 17;
mock —— at Rangendri, 129;
commemorated on grave, 158