326 J. Butler — Rough Notes on the Ancjumi Ndgas. [No. 4, 



single broad bar of black at the top — of one of the numerous kinds of Tou- 

 cans, or Horn Bills, that inhabit the dense forests of the Barrail mountains. 

 So much are these tail feathers sought after on this account, that a single 

 feather will fetch as much as from 4 to 8 annas. Some again wear a 

 wreath or coronet of bear's hair round the head, whilst others frizzle out 

 their own natural hair a V Imp er air ice. In their ears they wear several 

 kinds of ornaments, but among the handsomest is the one formed of a 

 boar's tusk behind the lobe of the ear fixing on, and forming the sheath to, 

 the stem of a peculiar button-like rosette worn in front of the ear. This 

 rosette is about an inch and a half in diameter ; in the centre are two emerald 

 green beetle's wings (from the Bioprestis stemicornis), round which are 

 a circle of long shiny, white seeds, and on the outside of this again an en- 

 circling fringe of scarlet hair, whilst from the lower portion flows down a 

 long scarlet streamer of goat's hair. The tusk is generally ornamented 

 round the base with very pretty red and yellow cane-work. Another ex- 

 tremely becoming ear ornament is made from the blue feathers of the jay. 

 Brass earrings are also very common ; but the most curious ear ornaments 

 of all perhaps are the huge bunches -of white cotton, sometimes as big as a 

 man's fist, which some of the Nagas wear, giving a most queer monkey -like 

 look to an otherwise not bad looking countenance. Strings of various coloured 

 beads made of stone, shell, and glass, decorate their throats, the blood-red 

 cornelian of a long hexagonal shape, and a peculiar yellow stone being 

 among the most valued. Behind and on the nape of the neck is invariably 

 worn the white conch shell, cut and shaped so as to fit properly, and sus- 

 pended by a thick collar of dark blue cotton threads. A few also wear a 

 queer barbaric-looking collar or scarf — for I have seen it worn both ways, — 

 made of long locks of human hair intermingled with tufts of scarlet goat's 

 hair and dotted all round with cowrie shells, from the bottom of which is 

 suspended an oblong piece of wood, about 6 inches in length and about 

 4 inches in breadth, covered with alternate rows either of cowries, or the 

 long, shiny, white seeds already referred to as used in the ear ornament, 

 and black and red hair, and having a broad fringe of scarlet hair all round it. 



Each arm is decorated either with a broad ring of ivory, being simply 

 a slice about 2 inches wide cut off an elephant's tusk, or with very pretty 

 looking bracelets about 3 inches wide, made of yellow and red cane, which 

 are sometimes embellished with cowries and hair. All these armlets are 

 invariably worn above the elbow. 



On the legs just below the knee, they wear a number of bands of very 

 finely cut cane dyed black, whilst a few wear leggings made of very fine 

 red and yellow cane-work, extending from below the knee to above the 

 ankle. These are usually worked on to the leg, and are left there until they 

 wear out, which happens I am told in about three months. 



