198 The Hill-tribes of the Northern Frontier of Assam. [No. 4, 



Near the puja-houses lives the Deori or sacrificing priest. He is 

 always chosen from among the other Akas by divine tokens, it does 

 not matter whether he is a bachelor or married. This Deon has to 

 perform the daily worship for all the people, and on all specxal occasions 

 he has to sacri8ce the requisite number of mithuns, cows goats 

 fowls and pigeons. Geese and ducks there are none to be found in all 

 the settlements of either Aka or Miji. The Akas entertain some 

 crude notions of a state of punishment and reward after death. 



To follow an Aka through his domestic and pubhc life I shall have 

 to begin with the erection of the dwelling-house. The Hrusso cannot 

 build a house where he pleases, for the spot on winch he mends to 

 erect his future dwelling must first be ascertained to be a lucky spot. 

 The Deori therefore has to be consulted, animals slain as sacrifices, 

 and the place pronounced to be propitious. Then the felling of timber 

 and the collecting of the other building materials may he proceeded 

 with. All having been collected, Fuxu receives his offerings, part ot 

 which consist in a portion of the building materials. 



The house itself is generally very substantially constructed. It is 

 built on piles from 5 to 7 feet above the ground; boarded and com- 

 fortably walled in, with carefully planed planks, in this respect resem- 

 bliog the houses of the Kassias. The roof is thatched with a land o 

 broad leaf, and on account of the strong winds, mats are firmly, b^ 

 neatly, fastened all over it. The houses of the Dallas and Abors, 

 including other hill-tribes besides, are less substantially constructed. 



All the members of one family or clan, including the slaves, live 

 nnder the same roof. The size of an Aka dwelling varies therefore 

 with the size of the family. The house of Tagi Raja is 200 feet long 

 and 40 feet broad, a long row of separate compartments running the 

 whole length of the building. 



No earthen vessels are used by the Aka for household purposes. 

 Thev possess huge copper jars to hold the water supplies of the family, 

 and 'for cooking and eating, they use the brass pots and plates which 

 they obtain in the Tezpore bazar. 



The copper jars are not procured by them in Assam, but most likely 

 bartered from the Mijis, who again must have brought them from 

 Butan. The granaries and stables are always built at some distance 

 from the dwelling house for fear of fire. 



