[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
THE NIMANGKI SOCIETY 327 It seems that for some days past they have been kept apart in a special house-—-a very unusual feature of the Nimangki rites— and now they are released from this seclusion. About one o'clock in the afternoon one of them fetches a mlnmg mevnis pig and kills it for food. Then still dancing, they each take a piece of wood and ï¬Åx it to their wrists. This piece of wood is called tilevar, and symbolizes the pig's tusk bracelet (tilevar) with which they are going to be invested.‘ The visitors and men of the home-village continue to perform teur for a while, and then each candidate fetches a pig of low value, a lohankdonm or mbuas aros, and says to his introducer: “ Ales, gimp nimumor, ngot/14 ni til-war t1'kimmgk.â€ù The latter thereupon seeks out a senior and asks him to present the candidate with his new bracelet. This is done in the usual way, the tilevav and ncvï¬Åtun nevet being wrapped in croton leaves. After dancing round the gongs the senior and candidate go up to the nimew, the candidate places his wrist against it, the wooden tilevar is struck off and a real tilevav placed on his arm instead. Everyone then begins to dance tear again, and continues it through the night. At this point the ï¬Årst general account of the Nimew rites breaks off, but we may probably assume that the programme for the next day is along the same lines as—though very probably not identical with-that followed at entrance to Nevslvel or Nimweil. One important variation there is, however, namely the rite during which the candidates creep inside the nimew cone and are carried round the gongs. This is mentioned by Layard (p. I67), but no reference has been found to it in Deacon's notes, save that at some stage in the entrance ceremonies a man lies in each compartment of the cone. It seems possible that this rite occurs at that point in the proceedings when, in the ceremonies of Nimweil, the men " bring in the cycas â€ù. Layard's account (pp. 165-8) of the Nimaw rites shows a far greater number of complexities, and his description of the nimew itself is different from Deacon's in some respects. Since, however, neither of them was able to witness the entrance celebrations to this grade, but were both dependent upon verbal accoimts, . ‘ Whether the candidate is to be given a. pig’s tusk bracelet depends apparently upon the value oi the pig with which his introducer has promised to present him, for it is said that “ if the coco-nut on the stick be well sprouted this indicates a mblmg mew/12$ or higher grade pig, and this inevitably implies 8 tile!/av for the candidate â€ù.—C. H. W.
