Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/577

 Festivals of the Hill Tribes South of Assam. 267

greatly and thought much thereon ; and then it came into her mind that it must be Khashima's message. So she took the most beautiful bead she had and tied it to the bee and sent him back ; and he flew to Khashima, who, when he saw it, longed to go to her ; so he called two men from his kindred and made them carry two baskets full of hoes and started for her village, and as they went they gave the hoes to those who showed them the way ; and at last they reached her village, and there was Thingraila sitting in the yard, in front of the house, and she said, " Where have you come from? " And Khashima said, "We have come from Lambui because people said there was a beautiful girl in Kazai, therefore I came to see you." And they loved each other. When her parents came from the fields they saw him, and they thought, " If he marries our daughter we shall be glad, because he is so fine a man." Then her father asked him, " Why do you come here .'' " And he answered, " I came to see your daughter. I want to marry your daughter." Then her father said, " If you agree to remain in our village you shall marry her ; but if you will not stay then you cannot marry her." xA.nd because he loved her very much he agreed to live in her village, and he sent his companions back to Lambui. After a year a son was born to them, and he asked his father-in- law, " I and your daughter want to go to my village. I will pay you twenty buft"aloes for your daughter." But his father-in-law would not agree. So they plotted to run away to Lambui ; but her people heard of it, and one night one of her brothers came to their bedside as they slept and killed Khashima. And when Thingraila woke and knew^ Khashima was dead she killed herself and her son.

The request of the father that Khashima shall stay in his village would point to marriage being by service in that village, and Khashima, much in love, agrees to the proposal, but later wishes to substitute marriage by purchase, which is the custom in Lambui.