1884.] Major Macgregor— Notes on the AJcas. 201 



of Mehdi's, some flags were found, supposed to be relics of Buddhism. 

 The Akas usually consult omens before going on the war path, &c, and 

 sacrifice pigs, cocks, and goats to propitiate the spirit of war. Mithun 

 are but rarely killed on these occasions, as they are considered too valu- 

 able. On the capture of the forest Babus by the Akas, the omens 

 were consulted as to their fate. The decision was both for and against 

 their murder ; so I imagine that the Akas, like the Nagas, interpret 

 their omens to suit their own purposes, and have no faith whatever in 

 the auguries. 



Corpses are buried, not burnt ; a small square stone building about 4 

 feet high is sometimes erected over the body. A species of altar of split 

 wood, streaked with blue dye and smeared with fowl's blood, is placed 

 near the body, which is always interred with the clothes worn by the 

 individual when alive. Brass cooking utensils are (when the deceased 

 was fortunate enough to have possessed them) placed in the grave. 



Among the Akas women are respected. The forest Babus who were 

 domiciled during their captivity in an Aka household said that nothing 

 astonished them so much as to see the respect paid to the women. 

 When there are guests of both sexes in the house, the women are served 

 first. The high estimation in which the Aka male is said to hold his 

 better-half does not, however, prevent his using her for all the hard 

 work in the fields, whilst he stays at home and looks after the children. 

 Marriage is a question of mutual liking (men generally select their 

 brides with reference to their physical qualities). The ceremony of 

 marriage generally takes place when the girl has attained her 14th year. 

 Should the union not be a fruitful one, the man is at liberty to take 

 another wife. A young girl (mimsa) paints her face before she becomes 

 a married woman. A young man (mim), who (as is usually the case 

 among hill tribes) is far vainer about his personal appearance than a 

 young woman, also paints his face, mere smudges, not in the artistic 

 manner the Eastern Naga paints. At a marriage, mithun are generally 

 killed, and a feast is given. The bridegroom gives mithun and pigs to 

 the bride's father as a dowry. After the feast, the young man takes his 

 bride to his father's house, and she becomes an inmate of the common 

 dormitory. Although privacy in the married life of an Aka is unknown, 

 yet the marriage tie is usually kept unbroken. Husband and wife eat 

 from the same plate (a plantain leaf generally) together. Children are 

 fed separately ; the mother cooks the food for the household and feeds 

 the children. 



In the evenings, when seated round the hearth (which is placed in 

 the centre of the room), young men and girls dance in turn, moving 

 their hands and feet with a kind of cadence, a small drum being beaten 



