70 THE LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

been performed may be said to be te sherh/' meaning that no one
outside the household may enter it. Portions of the animal
killed are kept for certain periods, during this time are " sherh,"
and cannot be touched by outsiders. A woman is " sherh," for
some days after her confinement, and during that time must
not go to the water supply.

TMang-lo is translated by the missionaries as " unlawful," but
I think " unlucky " more exactly represents the meaning, which
is that a certain act will be followed by some misfortune to
the doer.1

The sacrifices made by Lushais may be divided into eight
classes.

1. Sakhua.—A sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the clan or
family.

2. Khal.—These are sacrifices to Huai supposed to frequent
the village and houses.

3. DailawL—These are to propitiate the Huai in the
jungle, streams, and mountains.

4. Various sacrifices in case of sickness.

5. Sacrifices to cure barrenness in women.

6. Nao-hri.—These sacrifices should be performed once in
a lifetime in a particular order.

7. Sacrifices connected with hunting and killing animals.

8. Sacrifices connected with jhuming.

_ 1. From the chant given below a good idea is obtained of what

" the word " Sakhua " means to the Lushais.

Each clan has a special chant or invocation, and though in
almost every case the animal sacrificed is a big sow, yet the
method and place of the sacrifice and the disposal of the
'* sherh " vary in each clan, and uniformity in this respect is
looked on as proof positive that two families belong to the
same clan.

Among the Lushei clans the sacrifice must be performed by
a pui-thiam of the clan, and the pig is killed outside the house,
but is brought in to be cooked and eaten. The legs and ribs
have to be kept for three days above the rafters, and during this

1 Compare Major Playfair's The Garos, page 114, where the word " marang"
is said to have the meaning of fc unlucky " and " unlawful/'