ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 165

grey-headed men may perform the task, and the grave is dug
in the jungle and no dance or song terminates the funeral, but
the village is not " sherh."

The Chawte make their cemetery some distance from the
village. The dead are buried on the day of death. Over each
grave a mound is raised and fenced round with a bamboo trellis-
work. A small post carved faintly to resemble the human form
is placed over the grave of a man, while a hoe, axe, and winnow-
ing fan denote the grave of a woman. On each grave rests a
flat basket containing some flowers and a small jar of water.
Behind each grave is a rough representation of a house raised
some four feet from the ground, which is also ornamented with
flowers, and some of the deceased's clothes hang from it, while
inside are placed a bamboo full of zu and a small cup, which is
filled with clean water, and a handful of raw rice. These are
changed every third or fourth day till the Thi-duh ceremony
conies round in May, when there is a feast, and portions of meat
and some zu are placed on each fresh grave.

On the death of a Chiru, guns are fired and gongs beaten, and
a fowl, pig, and goat are killed at once. There is the usual
funeral feast, and food and personal effects, including his comb,,
are buried with him. The house is " sherh " for three days,
during which rice is place.d in a small basket in the house and
then thrown on to the grave. On the third day the house is
purified by the thempu sacrificing a cock. In nearly every
clan the house has to be purified by the thernpu besprinkling
it with either consecrated water or zu, and in many cases the
funeral party are similarly purified. The Kolhen bury the
bodies of those who die natural deaths in front of their houses,
as do the Lushais, and the funeral feast closely resembles that
held by the Lushais. The body of a khul-lakpa is carried three
times round his memorial stone, from left to right. A bow and
arrow are placed in the grave. The village is " sherh " for three
days for any death. The Lamgang follow the same customs as
the Anal, but the bodies of women who die in childbirth are not
buried in the graveyard. The Kom and the Pururn have the
curious custom that the duty of digging the grave in case of an
unnatural death falls on the son-in-law of the deceased. They
say that the spirit of the dead cries out at the place where he