164 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

if she wishes to, but in that case the brother-in-law will take
the dead man's property and children.

Ceremo- All these clans bury their dead in special cemeteries outside

necked*1' ^he village, and unnatural deaths or deaths in childbirth are

wiM* universally considered signs that the deceased has failed in some

way, and the corpses of such unfortunates are buried outside the

cemetery and with scant ceremony.

Among the Aimol, the corpse of the khul-lakpa is carried
round the village before being taken to the grave. The
corpse of one who has gained honours equivalent to Thang-
chhuah among the Lushais is enclosed in a rough log coffin
and kept for two days amid much drinking and feasting, which
recalls the funeral ceremonies of a Lushei chief. With a rich
man many cloths are buried and with a poor man at least one.
In addition some cooked rice, zu, a dao, some meat, and a bow
and arrow are deposited in the grave. The bow and arrow are
a survival, for such weapons have been long obsolete. Over the
grave a small house is built in which some meat and zu are
placed to attract the " Khawhring." Spears are then thrust
through the house, which is then thrown away. I am not
quite clear whether the " Khawhring " in this case is supposed,
as among the Lushais, to have inhabited the body of the
deceased, or whether it is believed to be a disembodied spirit
which is on the lookout for the soul of the deceased.

Three days after the burial a wild animal is killed and zu and
rice are offered, and the spirit of the deceased is asked to go
away and not to trouble the living who have sacrificed and
made an offering of zu and rice. The Anal make a distinction
between deaths in childbirth and deaths by accident or in war.
In the former case the body is buried in the cemetery, the grave
being dug by those of her household, and food and drink and
domestic utensils are deposited therein. The husband has to
sacrifice a pig and feast the village before the burial, and the
village is " sherh " for that day. The first stones and earth are
placed in the grave by aged men, and the filling then completed
by young men. The thempu having muttered some charms,
the young men and women sing and dance for the deliverance
of the soul. In cases of ordinary death the grave is dug by men
not of the household, but in case of unnatural death only old