XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 173 



the defending party make a sortie from the room 

 fully armed, and repel the attackers with much show 

 of violence, but without bloodshed. After this sham 

 fight has been repeated, perhaps several times, the 

 bridegroom and his supporters are at last admitted 

 to the room, and they rush in, only to find, perhaps, 

 that the coy maiden has slipped away through the 

 small door which generally gives access to a neigh- 

 bouring room. The impatient bridegroom cannot 

 obtain information as to her whereabouts, and so he 

 and his men sit down in the room and accept the 

 proffered cigarettes. Presently the bride relents and 

 returns to her parents' room accompanied by a bevy 

 of her girl friends. But the bridegroom takes no 

 notice of her entry. The inevitable pig meanwhile 

 has been laid in the gallery, together with a few 

 gifts for the dayong who is to read its liver. Here 

 the final steps of the bargaining are conducted by 

 the friends of the bridegroom. (It is impossible to 

 say in each case how far this bargaining is genuine 

 and how far the terms of the bargain have been 

 arranged beforehand.) More gongs are added to 

 the row upon the floor, chiefly by the friends invited 

 by the bridegroom, who thus make their wedding 

 gifts, perhaps until the row extends to the door of 

 the bride's room. The pig is then killed and its 

 liver examined ; and, if necessary, this is repeated 

 with another and another pig, until one whose liver 

 permits of favourable interpretation is found. (A 

 series of bad livers would lead to postponement.) 

 The dayong then sprinkles pig's blood and water 

 from a gong upon all the assembly, invoking the 

 blessing of the gods upon the young couple, asking 

 for them long life and many children. Then the 

 bride and bridegroom walk up and down the row 

 of gongs eight times, stepping only upon the metal. 

 In some cases the bridegroom descends to his boat 

 at the landing-stage on each of these eight excur- 



