| caption: |
forked posts and mithan sacrifices |
| text: |
(147) Longkhai 16/10/1936 |
| text: |
There are many old forked posts in the village, all quite roughly worked - rather short "horns". Now no new ones are erected because they don't keep mithans and buffaloes now-a-days and for animals which were bought from other villages no posts are set up. When they sacrificed a mithan during the O-ya-bu on the day Ashoi-bu, on the fourth day, Wen-shan-bu, the post is erected. |
| text: |
(148) The young men of the sacrificer's clan go to the jungle and cut the forked post (without words) and carry it to the village. When the post is set up the sacrificer and the Benba say at once the following words: [konyak] "On this earth more jungle and wood may grow, if you (mithans) see a tiger or a (149) red dog run away, come here all of you". Then they feed the post with madhu, rice and the tongue of the mithan, which they put on the ground at the foot of the post. No special cloth is worn by mithan- sacrificers and they are not called in any special way. |
