The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript - Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf, Naga notebook six

caption:

Tamlu customs

medium:

notes

ethnicgroup:

Konyak

location:

Tamlu

date:

28.8.1936

production:

person:	Furer-Haimendorf
date:	28.8.1936-26.10.1936
refnum:	School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London

text:

(1) Wakching 28/8/1936

text:

Tamlu customs.

text:

Informant: Schoolmaster

text:

Ao
_amung____________chingnio_(T,_W)
_anembong_________nio_(T_&_W)
_it_is_genna______nio_nang_ghei (W)

text:

In Tamlu is a stone called Yong-gam-pe-nio half a mile from Tamlu on the road to Yungnya in a place called Ching-shang. When the jungle is cut down for a new field the owner goes to this stone and kills a chicken or a pig and sprinkles the blood on the stones and sees from the liver of the chicken or the feet of the pig (2) whether his crops will be good or bad. The head of the animal and the feet remain on the stone. Only at this time sacrifices are made at this stone.
Yong = stone
gampe = puja maker
nio = genna

text:

There is a spirit in the stone, or rather a whole family: man, woman and children. If there were no sacrifices given, these spirits would leave the place.

text:

Another stone:

text:

Nik-yong (rice-stone)

text:

A small stone about as big as an egg and of quite black colour.

text:

This stone gives birth to children - quite (3) small stones, sometimes come, also water [comes] out of it. The owner of the stone makes sacrifices for this stone and kills chickens at Pung-gam time, that is after rice harvest.

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