318 



A NATVJULI^T'S WANI>EJiINO^i 



aide, a platter whereon a morsel of food is offered every time 

 tkey eat in its presence. Every time tbey drink they dip 

 their finger and thund) in i\m fluid, anrl flick a drop or two 

 upward witli a few muttered words of iuvoeation. Along 

 the four sides spaces for sleeping on ai*© raised some nine 

 to twelve inches above the level of the rahanralan or floor of 

 the house. The inmates sleep on small, neatly made bamljoo 

 mate, and rest their heads on a piece of squared bamboo with 

 rounded edges, exactly similar to the Chinese pillow* In one 



HOUBE m TlUOB-LAtT. 



gable is the f&ean or fire-place^ and opposite to it on a trellis- 

 work platform is placed the cranium of the father of the Head 

 of tlie house. Indian com and other comestibles and various 

 articles are stored on little platforms stretching between the 

 rafters, and their scanty clothing and other articles are sus- 

 pended from the roof by wooden contrivances often elaborately 

 designed and elegantly ci^rt^ed (see pp, 320, 324). Aftx^r seeing 

 how elaborately rovered almost everything tliey used was with 

 carvings, executed with undoubted taste and surprising skill, 



