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Countryside between Sakhaboma and Kekrima; Kekrima: carvings, houses, weaving, ginning |
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We left SAKHABOMA at 8.20 a.m. for KEKRIMA (10 miles, nearly due S.), dropping down to the SIJJU R. There we picked up the horses after crossing the river on a light suspension bridge. We rode the rest of the way to KEKRIMA, steadily up hill all the way. Panikhets & jhum fields abundant, & in places areas of jungle only. Beautiful white orchids (large & small varieties) & some coloured ones in full flower on the ground. This is the CHAKRIMA ANGAMI country. The day was fine & hot, & the path the usual ledge-like track along the sides of hills. Scenery glorious. Several villages were seen on ridges to the S. (KHULABASA, CHEPHUSIMI etc.). We reached KEKRIMA at 11 a.m.; the coolies (21 in number & carrying loads of up to 60lbs apiece) arriving shortly after, having come along at a good pace. Hutton was rather off colour, so I went by myself into the Angami village & looked around. A large village & quite close to the I.B.. There were many carved house-fronts & an interesting village gate, carved with mithan heads, human heads & two inverted full-length human figures. The village was a sea of deep mud & indescribable filth. I went into some of the houses & had to drink three lots of zu. Bullet-bows, spring-traps & the usual paraphenalia hung up inside. The houses seem far less divided into compartments than those in Kohima. The pigs lay about inside the houses. Several women were weaving white cloth, not more than 15 inches wide. Some were ginning cotton with small double-roller ginning machines of wood of the Indian type. Outside the village is a group of genna stones. After drizzling for a time it came on to rain in true tropical fashion after 4 p.m. The I.B. is a decent little two-roomed bungalow, quite comfortable. |
