Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 28, 1917.djvu/155

Rh At about one o'clock on the morning of the second day the headman of each family, with a lighted torch in his hand, goes very quietly to the field. On this occasion he must not make a sound with his feet or cough. After he arrives at the field he cuts five or six ears of the crop with a bamboo knife, and places them under the roof of a hut erected in the field. When the first ears are gathered it is necessary not to touch others. The rest of this day is spent in feasting.

On the third day the headman of each family again goes to the field early in the morning and cuts a number of ears. Then the rest of the family follow him to the field and continue cutting until noon. On this day the people in the field must keep apart from each other, and are not allowed to talk in a loud voice. In case it is necessary to converse, one must approach a person to whom he wishes to speak, and must talk in very low tones. No one must speak about crops, or use such words as ujai, "hungry," or hatsukeya, "thirsty." If such words are uttered they will hunger or thirst till next harvest. They must use the words mutonge, "a full stomach," or fuujakku, "my throat is wet."

When the new grain is cooked for the first time, the youngest boy in the family must eat some of it before the others. Then the rest of the family follow him. It is prohibited to give the food prepared from the new grain to people outside the family. Also it is not allowed to consume new food all at once; it must be eaten twice. In case the food is prepared, it must be left to be naturally cooled. All these superstitions involve a form of magic by which plentifulness of the crop is secured. A portion of the new crop is kept within the house and it is eaten until the new moon appears; the rest is placed in a store-room, whence it should not be removed before the new moon rises. This is also a form of magic to secure fertility. Like the moon, it must not wane, but wax.