i8 THE LUSHEI CLANS CHAR

previous day on the shelf over the hearth, and this she now
proceeds to pound in a mortar in the front verandah, and
winnow on an oval bamboo tray till it is clean enough for use.
The breakfast of rice has then to be cooked, and by the time it
is ready her husband is awake. After the meal the real work
of the day begins. In the cold weather the women settle
themselves to some of the operations connected with cloth-
making, while., the men prepare to pass a day of complete
enjoyment, lying in the sun and smoking, the younger ones
combining this with courting any of the pretty clothmakers;
while the children play around entirely uncontrolled, save
when a shrill-voiced mother calls- one of them to assist her
in some domestic operation. About noon there is a meal
of rice and herbs, after which work is resumed and continued
till the evening, when the housewife has to make another
journey to the spring, and on her return the pigs must be
fed with a mixture composed of rice husks and a species
of edible arum bulb, mashed and boiled together, the fowls
enticed into their baskets, and finally the family collected
for the evening meal, which varies little from the two previous-
ones, but some garnish, a little meat, dried fish, or some
savoury vegetable is generally added. As soon as it is dark,,
all the female members of the family gather round the hearth,
and carry on such work as can be carried on by what light they
can get from the fire; though in villages near fir forests some
pine splinters are generally kept handy for use when an extra,
bright light is required for a few minutes. The men either
gather in the "zawlbuk" or in some house where there is
drink going, but the young bucks sneak off to court their lady
loves, which the girls' parents give them every facility for
doing. In the other seasons of the yeair, that is from March tf
December, the people are engaged in their jhttms fyom
the morning to the evening meal, as is described later on.

Lushai parents are very fond of their children, and fathers-
are often seen carrying their infants about. In times of
scarcity, what rice can be got is reserved for the young children,
the rest of the people living on yams, jungle vegetables, and
the pith of the sago palm. The children assist their parents as
much as they can, tiny girls accompanying their mqthers to the