332 CACHAR. Chap. XXXI. 



hands in motion ; at each step the free foot was swung 

 backwards and forwards. Cupid then chose a partner, 

 and standing in the middle went through the same motions, 

 a compliment the women acknowledged by curtseying and 

 whirling round, making a sort of cheese with their petti- 

 coats, which, however, were too heavy to inflate properly. 



The Nagas are another people found on this frontier, 

 chiefly on the hills to the north : they are a wild, copper- 

 coloured, uncouth jungle tribe, who have proved troublesome 

 on the Assam frontier. Their features are more Tartar 

 than those of the Munniporees, especially amongst the 

 old men. They bury their dead under the threshold of 

 their cottages. The men are all but naked, and stick 

 plumes of hornbills' feathers in their hair, which is bound 

 with strips of bamboo : tufts of small feathers are passed 

 through their ears, and worn as shoulder lappets. A 

 short blue cotton cloth, with a fringe of tinsel and tufts 

 of goat's hair dyed red, is passed over the loins in 

 front only : they also wear brass armlets, and necklaces 

 of cowries, coral, amber, ivory, and boar's teeth. The 

 women draw a fringed blue cloth tightly across the 

 breast, and w T ear a checked or striped petticoat. They 

 are less ornamented than the men, and are pleasing- 

 looking ; their hair is straight, and cut short over the 

 eyebrows. 



The Naga dances are very different from those of the 

 Munniporees ; being quick, and performed in excellent 

 time to harmonious music. The figures are regular, like 

 quadrilles and country-dances : the men hold their knives 

 erect during the performance, the women extend their arms 

 only when turning partners, and then their hands are not 

 given, but the palms are held opposite. The step is a sort of 

 polka and balancez, very graceful and lively. A bar of music 



