From time to time his neighbours take him, sometimes spontaneously and sometimes by invitation, from house to house and village to village, in procession, and give performances. Ai-yu-a-kare is one of these, and means "going to a feast adorned with jewels."
He never walks, but is always carried in a kantéra (chair), which in shape resembles a palanquin, covered with chintz and decorated with spoons, forks, and soup-ladles. The chair is borne by a dozen strong men. The spectacle of a returning mafai and his party is extremely comical, for, besides being fatigued by the night's exertions, every one is completely intoxicated.
The people venerate the mafai exceedingly, and take him at midnight to the sick, that he may heal them by touch or by shampooing, when he pretends to extract gravel and stones from the bodies of the invalids.
So matters continue until the mafai considers himself strong enough to work for his living, when, with the approval of the tamiluanas, he resigns his mafai-ship in a final ceremony called Luinj-lare Mafai—undressing the mafai.
The same man may eventually become a tamiluana (one who chases devils), or he may become Yom Ap and Yom Elpanam, i.e., "Grandfather or Guardian of Chaura canoes, and Guardian of Elpanam."
The mafai is a peg on which many festivals and customs are hung. The following ceremony is one as occasionally carried out in the village of Mūs. It is called Amutna Kuv—revealing to the invalid.
The tamiluanas of the village decorate themselves and go to a place called Mal, outside the village, and there clear a certain spot in the midst of thick bush. They take with them a few yards of red cloth, a cage containing a score of fowls, a basket of pork, and other things, and hide all under different bushes at some distance from the cleared spot.
To it, with a number of followers, they lead the mafai in procession, and a dance with singing is held.
While the party in general is dancing, the tamiluanas take the mafai apart to one of the bushes and point out to him one of the concealed articles, telling him that it is a gift miraculously sent him by a deceased relative. All then return and join the dancing party. This action is repeated until all the articles are pointed out to the mafai.
The red cloth is then torn into strips and distributed to the men for loin cloths, and all the other objects are taken to the mafai's house, while afterwards the people renew the singing and dancing for the whole night.