"KARE-YENG-CHON" 287 



cars. This work is the occupation of about thirty men for three 

 months. From the day the nd-kopdh is commenced, the natives 

 are restricted from killing pigs in the village. 



On these occasions they take great pains in repairing their 

 cooking huts, erecting new ones, and in making new roads and 

 paths up to the boundaries of their village in every direction. 

 The open ground at Elpanani and the graveyard are also 

 cleared and kept tidy, and in the meanwhile they make every 

 effort to secure sufficient quantities of provisions for the festival. 

 A month before this begins some more nd-kopdhs, similar to 

 the above, are prepared with fresh eatables, which, however, 

 are not set out until a week before the feast. When this 

 is done, final invitations {iin-figa-la) are sent to all the 

 guests. 



Besides this, a week before the opening day kare-yeng-chon 

 (headstones of graves) are made in the following manner : — A 

 well-shaped, round log of wood, about 3 feet long and 9 inches 

 in diameter, having two through holes crossing each other near 

 one end, is prepared and kept in readiness. At the approach 

 of the feast a number of men and women together adorn it by 

 rolling round it a piece of white calico and fringing it with 

 red or blue cloth. Four large soup-ladles are fastened to the 

 holes and to the middle of the log, a cross-shaped iron pike, 

 about 6 feet long, called merdkta, ornamented with many spoons, 

 forks and soup-ladles,* is fixed. To it also are attached toys, 

 dolls, and fancy weapons, with other curiosities, which all add to 

 the gorgeous appearance of the object. Some families keep 

 this in the newly-erected cookhouse, others in the open yard. 

 They particularly take the guests and friends to see it in order 

 to show that they are wealthy. 



The men then construct, for temporary use, two or three 

 long bamboo cages, with separate enclosures, so that a dozen 

 pigs may be put in each cage. One is built underneath, and 

 the others in front of the house. 



* This same iron rod is used in the rainy season as a means for the 

 prevention of thunder and lightning. 



