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THE NIMANGKI SOCIETY 317
assume that it is laid down inside the numbul. When the pre-
parations are ended, guests from other villages ardve and dance ;
as in Neliwis, the irltroducer gives the carved yam to his assistant,
who dances with it—on this occasion to the accompaniment of
the gong rhythms mun‘ tear mansip and naui mbat no-replaces
it inside the mmbul, and reoeives for his pains a pig from the
candidate. Then follows the payment for the carved yam, for
the nu/mbul, for the nzrei meviis, and for the nawm miindwl. In
addition it is said that two pigs are killed ritually with a spear,
one for the ml/mbul and one for the carved yam. These are
presented to the assistant who danced with the yam, and are
shared by him with his friends.
The guests now return home, and the introducer and candidate
begin to prepare the principal kmes, the tomes mbat m. In this
grade each candidate must have two of these, one of which is
set up in the dancing ground, the other in the matanhal. The wood
used is tree-fern, and on each two faces are depicted (as is implied
by the words mbat ru, meaning " two heads") and are painted
in white, black, and rod. In the dancing ground there is now
erected a structure called mbang a1>. It resembles a lean-to
shed, with one wall vertical and the other sloping, both ends
being leit open.‘ Beneath this shelter each candidate sets up
one of his mus mbat ru and to its foot arc fastened niriuivw,
mbruingmlrlvingamb and croton leaves. The other tame: mbat m
~is~planted without any shelter in the matanhal. After an interval
'of:four days the men go out and plant a large number of small
-flames around those larger ones which have been set up in the
maumhal. They are planted by each candidate and include a
iemes of every single Nimangki grade of which he is a member."
Between these manifold tame: they put tall poles of Erythrina
wood and the two varieties oi cordyline, man’ mbuas and naari
tamat, so that they form a kind of hedge. Through this a moan
mbatia is thrust at an angle. This whole arrangement is called
naai new/ah.“ On the evening oi the fourth day aisumpndew is
_ 1 The mblmg up is identicu-i in shape with the structure called msamp, which
is set up Ior the entrance rites 01 the Nalhwan grade oi urn: name.-—A. BA D.
I The meaning of the notes here is rather dubious. rt may he that these
_ Imus nro planted by every man who is attending these Mbat Ru ceremonies,
hutthe lntcrfretation given above ngrm with the account of these rites which
tn given by lyard and is probably thcreiore the more cmrcct.--C. H. w.
_- This planting oi the lama: and flmlml mbutil occurs also in the rites oi
N1marv_ (q.v.), where according to Deacon it is called Mani nun/. Layard,
describing thll ceremony in Mbat Ru, calls it more Mmwr, which is clearly the
rune word as mun‘ M¢1w,—C. H. w.