1921.] S. L. HoRA : Fish of Manipur. 213 



the net is used by women from a boat. The bamboo pole is held 

 lietween the thighs and is alternately raised and lowered by a 

 peculiar movement of the right leg and both hands. In each 

 boat there .are two women, one of whom manipulates the net 

 while the other rows the boat and drives the fish into the net by 

 beating the boat with a short bamboo stick. The peculiar noise 

 thus produced is to be heard day and night at Thanga Island. 



The arrangement and the method of using the net is different 

 in other parts of the valley. A rope is tied to the bamboo pole 

 near the junction of the two arches and the pole is loosely fixed 

 in the ground to serve as a fulcrum. The net is lowered or raised 

 by means of the rope. With this arrangement the net is called 

 ilb-jung-lhauri (pi. xi, fig. i.). 



A kind of gill-net is also used in the Loktak L,ake. Large 

 pieces of pith tied along the upper edge act as a float, while the 

 lead-weights attached to the lower edge keep the net vertical. 

 The net is shot in a suitable place ; the boats manoeuvre in the 

 vicinity, herding the fish into the net, in which they are meshed. 



All kinds of nets used in the valley are provided with a 

 small mesh only a few millimetres in width. 



Fishing Enclosure. 



Big fishing enclosures are constructed in the lyoktak I^ake and 

 sometimes large quantities of fish are captured in this way. A 

 fairly big piece of a floating island is cut and drifted away to a 

 suitable place and is fixed in position by passing long bamboo 

 poles through it into the bottom of the lake. The island thus 

 fixed is allowed to remain in one position for several days. After 

 some time an enclosure of bamboo poles and grass is built around 

 it, a little higher than the level of the water to prevent fish from 

 jumping out. On the completion of the enclosure the floating 

 island is cut into small pieces and cleared, but all the small fish 

 which may be present in the grass are carefully collected. After 

 the surface is cleared of floating material, the water is made 

 muddy by making buffaloes move in it in all directions. Dift'erent 

 kinds of nets are used for taking the fish out, the most efficient 

 being the ilb-hungen-paiira. 



Near Thanga Island it is a common sight to see young boys 

 and girls paddling a small piece of floating island to their homes 

 by placing their small boat across it. Near their home the island 

 is fixed in position by long bamboo poles and serves to attract fish 

 by reason of the shelter it provides. 



Fish Spearing. 



The spears used in the valley are of two kinds, one with two 

 prongb, the other with several (as many as eleven or more). The 

 former is used in spearing ngapiirain {Monopterus albus)^ and is 

 known as the Naga laou. It consists of two long bamboo sticks 

 bearing iron prongs at one end and tightly fixed by wedges at 



