Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/461

Rh while dancing at a harauba, he is styled a maibi, i.e. priestess, in contrast to maiba, a priest, and when dancing before the god he will wear woman's clothes. Such a person is subject to certain taboos; he may not eat any fish which has spines on its head, as such fish are offered to the god in place of the buffalo of pre-Hindu days. He must only use clean fire, i.e. fire made with flint and steel, or by friction of a band of cane drawn across a piece of dry wood. Should his fire go out and he have no means of making clean fire, he must take a light from the fire of a neighbour and ignite a small heap of sticks, and from that ignite another heap, and repeat the process seven times, the last fire being considered clean. The signs of possession are frantic dancing, wild babblings in an unknown tongue (which is called prophesying), and final collapse in a state of unconsciousness. On the occasion of the present Raja assuming the reins of government, a lai-harauba was held on a very large scale, and one of the many maibis present became possessed and prophesied at great length. It was clear that the matter was taken very seriously by all present, especially by His Highness, and great satisfaction was expressed when the aged pundit who alone was able to interpret the strange tongue announced that the meaning was favourable. A person who has been possessed is instructed by the older maibis and maibas in all the lore of the Umanglais. The maibas are responsible for the proper performance of all the rites, but do not actually take part in the lai-harauba, the gods preferring female dancers (Plate X.); yet the village officials dance before them. If a woman becomes possessed, she is enrolled among the maibis, and in token of her superiority she occupies henceforth the right side of the conjugal couch.

I have seen two methods of enticing, and there may be others. At Kakching, where the great god Khumlangba was being "pleased," the aged maibi entered the river holding in her hand a brass vessel containing the leaves of