The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript - Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf notebook two

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ritual and agricultural cycle; months and forbidden times

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production:

person:	Furer-Haimendorf
date:	23.6.1936-6.1937

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School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London

text:

(81) 27/7/1936 Wakching
Taili
Tepili
Ou-ling-li
Lingha-li %
Ponglong-pongli %
Li-a %
Dangha-li %
Ou-nyi-li %
Noklet-li %
Shoupan-li (for the boys)
Shou-am-li (for the girls)
Wang-tu-lei
Tai-li

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(% in these months the beating of the gongs is genna)

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(82) Tepili.

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Tepi = build field house li = month

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The field houses are built and the rice sown. Also maize, taro, millet. (They sow these apparently already in Taili).

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Ou-ling-li.

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Ou-ling = genna.

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For three days they kill mithan, cows, buffalo, pigs, and chickens. The mithans are killed outside the house, - pigs inside.

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(83) At this sacrifice they throw some food into the air before they eat, for Ghawang.

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(rice, ginger, salt, meat) One old man of the clan mixes these four things, - and sprinkles them in the house, and gives to Ghawang-ba, - and then eats of it himself, - the same man kills the animals and gives half the liver (or spleen) to Gha-wang-ba.

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The first day all the animals are killed. The second and 3rd the people eat.

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(84) The name of this genna is Ou-ling-pu.

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In the month Ling-ha-li the weeding begins.

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Ling-ha-bu is a small sort of Ou-ling-pu, - this is held in Long-ha-li, - at this only chickens are killed, it lasts only one day.

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Pong-long-pong-li - one pig is killed for the whole village and the head is put on the path, - to get good rice. (Pong-long-pong-pu). Two Neang-bas from each morung, (85) ten altogether, go to the path which leads to the fields, kill the pig and eat the meat on the road.

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In this month the weeding is done, - by bands.

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The same is done in Lia (there is no genna in Lia).

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In Dangla the weeding is continued, but no genna is done.

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In Ou-nyi-li the Bihu (Ou-nyi-pu) genna is done.

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The rice is cut after mithans and pigs have been killed at the

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Ou-ling-bu.

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(86) After the Ou-nyi-bu, - (2 days), those whose fields are ripe first cut them first, - there is apparently no special ceremonial rice cutting.

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Each man who owns a field kills a chicken outside the field house and takes an omen of the intestines.

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