214 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

a few years a few of the Chinja tribe arrived and were received
tinto the village. These were followed by more and more until
eventually the Mara left the Chinja in possession of Ramri
and moved across the Blue Mountain, where they have remained
ever since." There are other Lakher villages besides those
referred to in the above extract, and the clan is found in
considerable strength to the south of the Lushai Hills
boundary, in territory which is at present unadministered.
Members of the clan are also found in the Lushai and
Chin villages adjoining the real Lakher country, which lies
in the loop of the Koladyne or Kaladan river, south of lati-
tude 22°3'.

Their villages are more permanent than those of the Lushais
though the houses are built of the same materials, the prox-
imity of large supplies of bamboos having led the immigrants
to abandon the substantial timber buildings of the land of
their origin for more flimsy structures. The sites are, however,
levelled and the villages are seldom moved. Before the reign
of peace which has followed our occupation of the Hills, each
village was surrounded by a triple line of stockading or by an
impenetrable belt of thorny jungle, through which a narrow
pathway, defended by three gates, led to the village. Inside
the houses the sleeping platforms of the Lushais are absent and
the hearth is in the middle of the floor. If the owner has
slaves or a married son, the interior is divided into compart-
ments by partitions which extend three-quarters of the way
across the house.

The men smoke but little, but much relish the nicotine water
from the women's pipes, which differ slightly in shape from
those used by their Lushai cousins.

Dress.—I have been unable to detect any difference in dress
between the Lakhers and the Southern Chins. The men wear
a narrow loin-cloth twisted round the waist, one end being
passed between the legs and slipped under the waist-band,
the only other garment being a cloth about *7 feet by 5, worn
as the Lushais wear theirs, and made either of cotton or silk.
Blue and white check cloths are very much fancied, but are
imported from Burma, whence also comes a very rough cotton