e. The bridegroom promises to give a daughter if he has one,
and if he has a son to give him for a friend. The tribe consider that
a man has a right to marry the daughter of his maternal uncle, and
formerly if the girl was refused by her parents he abducted her and
married her forcibly. The bride remains at her husband's house for a
few days and then goes home, and before she finally takes up her abode
with him the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony must be performed. The
hands of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and an arrow is
held upright on them and some oil poured over it. The foreheads of
the couple are marked with turmeric and rice, this rite being known
as _tika_ or anointing, and presents are given to the bride's family.

6. Propitiation of ghosts.

The dead are buried, the corpse being laid on its back with the head
to the north. Some rice, cowrie-shells, a winnowing-fan and other
articles are placed on the grave. The tribe probably consider the
winnowing-fan to have some magical property, as it also forms one of
the presents given to the bride at the betrothal. If a man is killed
by a tiger his spirit must be propitiated. The priest ties strips of
tiger-skin to his arms, and the feathers of the peacock and blue jay
to his waist, and jumps about pretending to be a tiger. A package of
a hundred seers (200 lbs.) of rice is made up, and he sits on this
and finally takes it away with him. If the dead man had any ornaments
they must all be given, however valuable, lest his spirit should hanker
after them and return to look for them in the shape of the tiger. The
large quantity of rice given to the priest is also probably intended
as a provision of the best food for the dead man's spirit, lest it
be hungry and come in the shape of the tiger to satisfy its appetite
upon the surviving relatives. The laying of the ghosts of persons
killed by tigers is thus a very profitable business for the priests.

7. Religion. Ceremonies at hunting.

The tribe worship the god of hunting, who is known as Mati Deo
and resides in a separate tree in each village. At the Bijphutni
(threshing) or harvest festival in the month of Chait (March) they have
a ceremonial hunting party. All the people of the village collect,
each man having a bow and arrow slung to his back and a hatchet
on his shoulder. They spread out a long net in the forest and beat
the animals into this, usually catching a deer, wild pig or hare,
and