210 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

born, while in their mothers' wombs, they loved each other.
When the time for them to be born came near their
mothers' bellies pained them. Then if their mothers put their
bellies near to each other they got well. Then the children
were born. In the jhums when they were placed apart in the
jhum house while their mothers were at work they always got
together. When they grew bigger they loved each other, and
Ngamboma wanted to marry Khuptingi, but their fathers and
mothers did not think it wise. Then Ngamboma made an
image of Khuptingi in beeswax and tied it to a stump of a
tree on the bank of the stream, and whenever the water rose
Khuptingi got ill and when it went down she got better. -Thus
it went on for one year. One day the stream rose and carried
away Khuptingi's image, then Khuptingi died. They placed
her body in a dead-house. From the decaying matter which fell
from her body flowers sprang up, and Ngamboma watched
them always. One day a wild cat was going to take away
those flowers, but Ngamboma caught it and said, c Why did
you think to steal my flowers—111 just kill you ?' he said.
Then the wild cat.—'Protector! Do not kill me; I am sent by
Khuptingi/ he said. Then Ngamboma—' Where is Khuptingi,
then?' he said. Then the wild cat—e If you catch hold of my
tail we will both go (to her)/ he said. Then the wild cat
towed him to the village in which Khuptingi was in the sky,
in Mi-thi-khua (the dead-people's-village), and they arrived at
Khuptingi's house and they slept there, and they ate rice also
together. When they slept together Khuptingi was only bare
bones, and Ngamboma said,' What bones are these ?' and he threw
them to the top of the wall and to the bottom of the wall (i.e.,
all about the room). Then the next day Khuptingi—e I am not
well/ she said. Ngamboma—' What is the reason?' he said. The
Khuptingi—'Last night when I was sleeping near you you
threw me to the top of the wall and to the bottom of the wall;
for that reason I am in pain/ she said. Then their villagers
said, c Let us go and fish/ they said. They went. The place
where they caught fish—indeed it was not a stream, it was a
patch of bamboo. The dead called the bamboo leaves fish, and
they filled their baskets cram-full, but Ngamboma said to