488 Report of an Expedition into the Mishmee Hills. [No. 163. 



Burials. — On the death of any person of consequence, the body is 

 buried, and, according to the wealth of the family, a greater or less 

 number of animals are slain, and the heads deposited around the grave 

 on a frame-work of wood, in the centre of which a circular house is 

 built over the grave itself, in which is placed flesh, both raw and cooked, 

 together with grain, spirits, &c. and all the arms, clothes, and implements 

 necessary for a person whilst living. Should the person be poor, the 

 body is either burnt or thrown into a river if near at hand. 



Births. — When the time of a woman's confinement is near at hand, a 

 small shed is erected for her reception in the jungle near the house, in 

 which she remains until the time of her purification is completed. If the 

 child proves a male, this lasts for ten days ; but if a female, for only 

 eight from the day of its birth : during this time the mother is fed from 

 the house, and none but her female relations are allowed to visit her. 



Marriages. — Marriage amongst the Mishmee3 is perhaps the most 

 singular custom that prevails regarding this ceremony. Alliances are 

 usually contracted by the parents for their sons and daughters ; and on 

 the part of the man, presents to a large amount are required to be given 

 to the father as the price demanded for his daughter, and which are 

 usually proportioned to the rank and beauty of the woman : these pre- 

 sents consist of buffaloes, cows, gongs, salt, &c. &c. with a large quan- 

 tity of dried field mice and fish. The wives allowed to one man are not 

 limited to any number, but do not often exceed four or five. When a 

 man dies or becomes old, it is the custom of these people for the wives 

 to be distributed amongst his sons, who take them to wife ; but the 

 mother of any of the sons is always transferred to one of her husband's 

 sons by another wife, so that a man is not actually obliged to marry his 

 mother, but merely his father's wife. 



Dress and Arms. — The dress worn by the Mishmees consists of a 

 cloth bound round the loins, which passes between the legs, and is fasten- 

 ed in front, and a coat without sleeves that reaches from the neck 

 down to the knees ; two pouches made of fur are used, in which to carry 

 their pipe, tobacco, flint, steel, &c, and on the back is carried a flat 

 shaped basket, which is covered with the long fibres of the Sinwa tree, and 

 ornamented with the tail of a Lama cow ; below the knee is bound a 

 quantity of finely split cane. The dress of the women is made of exactly 

 the same material as that of the men, and consists of a bodice which barely 



