168 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

The Puruin celebrate the festival in August, and the
unmarried girls take a prominent part in the ceremony. A
raised platform is made before the house of the eldest
unmarried girl in the village. (In a community where there
is no dearth of husbands, and every girl is sure of being
married in due course, the prominence given to the eldest
spinster is not objected to as it might be in an English village.)
On this platform the girls assemble, and the creeper after the
usual ceremonies is tied to the platform, and there is a great
feast with much dancing between the young folk.

The similarity between these festivals and the " Koi-hrui-an-
chat," mentioned under the Ngente, bears out the truth of the
tradition that these clans long ago were near neighbours.

The Chiru at the time of cutting the jhums go in procession
with drums and gongs to the place chosen and on their return
drink much rice beer. In March or April, before the sowing, a
festival called " Arena " is celebrated. On the first day a dog
is killed at a stone to the west of the village, and a pig to the
north in the direction of the hill Kobru. All the men attend,
but no women. The animals are killed by the thempu.
The flesh is eaten there by the whole party, and the " sherh "
are left at the place of sacrifice. There is then a drinking
party in the house of the thempu. On the second day all the
young men go and catch fish, and on their return they are
entertained with two pots of rice beer by the unmarried girls.
On the third day the lup-lakpa gives a feast of meat and rice,
washed down by much rice beer, to the men only, and later all
dance in front of the " chhirbuk "—i.e., Lushai zawlbuk.

The fourth day is spent in visiting each other, drinking and
singing at each other's houses. As soon as it is dark men and
women meet before the chhirbuk and dance round the stone
drinking; then they go to the lup-lakpa's house and drink again,
and then to a house where all the unmarried girls are collected
and drink again, and then bring the girls to the chhirbuk
and dance round the stone again, drinking as they go. This is
a pretty heavy day's work, and it speaks well for the young
folk if many of them have the energy to complete the pro-
gramme by drinking and dancing together on the fifth day.
During the festival the village is " sherh."