The body-cloths are of various patterns and indicate the number of social “gennas”[14] performed by the wearer. The first is sütam, a white cloth with broad dark blue horizontal stripes. This is worn by boys[15] and men who have [[10]]performed no social “gennas.” A man who has performed the first social “genna” may wear the phangdhrap. Among the Northern Lhotas this is a dark blue cloth, edged with broad stripes of red with a broad strip of white cloth running across the middle of the cloth parallel with the red stripes. Among the Southern Lhotas the red stripes are narrower and a pale blue band near the top of the cloth takes the place of the white band. A Northern Lhota who has performed both the first social “genna” and the head-taking “genna” wears a cloth called chamthe, which is exactly like the phangdhrap of his section of the tribe, save that the median band is pale blue instead of white. For the performance of the second social “genna” no cloth is awarded, but the Southern Lhotas put on the ethasü after performing the third social “genna.” This is a dark blue cloth edged top and bottom with four red bands, the body of the cloth being ornamented with little squares of red embroidery. Finally, a man who has completed the series of social “gennas” by dragging a stone wears a handsome cloth called lungpensü, which is dark blue with five bands of light blue about one inch broad, and three very narrow lines of light blue at top and bottom. A man who has dragged a stone more than once has four or rarely even five narrow lines at the top and bottom of his cloth, which is called eshamsü. The rükhusü (“enemy-frightening-cloth”) of the Southern Lhotas is rarely worn nowadays, and can only be assumed by old warriors of note. It consists of a lungpensü or eshamsü with a broad median band of white cloth ornamented with highly conventionalized representations of men drawn on cloth with black gum. These bands are made by Rengmas, never by Lhotas. The rükhusü of the Northern Lhotas is exactly similar to the cloth ordinarily worn by rich Aos, and is dark blue with six very broad red stripes, set closely together at top and bottom. The median band, which is always bought from the Aos, is about two and a half inches broad, and ornamented with a conventional design representing human heads, mithan horns and tigers.
Drawing by Miss E. Paterson.] [To face p. 10.
Ornamentation of Median Band of Rükhusü.
Top, Northern Lhotas. Bottom, Southern Lhotas. The former contains combination of mithan and human heads, and the latter represents a row of warriors in full dress.
Like the men, the women usually leave the upper part of [[11]]the body bare, though filthy waistcoats are nowadays commonly worn by both men and women in villages near the plains. When body-cloths are worn by women they are either flung loosely round the body so that the top outer corner lies over the left shoulder, or bound tightly under the armpits. Among the Northern Lhotas an unmarried girl usually wears a plain dark blue cloth (muksü). On the night of her marriage, however, when she goes to her husband’s house, she puts on a very pretty cloth called loroesü, dark blue, with big squares of narrow white and red lines, giving a sort of tartan effect. When her husband has dragged a stone she may exchange her loroesü either for a lungpensü, which is almost exactly similar to his, or for a charaksü, a cloth closely resembling loroesü, but with the tartan squares outlined with much broader red lines. Among the Southern Lhotas unmarried women and wives of men who have not yet dragged a stone wear a cloth called süpang, dark blue, with a broad light blue horizontal band near the top. When her husband has dragged a stone a woman wears a lungpensü.
In wet weather men and women wear slung on their backs light rain-shields (phuchyo) made of broad leaves carefully arranged between two layers of basket work, and strengthened by an edging of thin split bamboo.
Ornaments.
Apart from the finery in which he decks himself on ceremonial occasions, the well-to-do Lhota usually wears certain ornaments on any occasion when he wishes to be well dressed. In the holes in the helix and concha of his ear are tufts of cotton wool. Usually these are quite small, but old men in villages near the Sema border often wear big wing-shaped pads of cotton wool like those worn by their Sema neighbours. Some small ornament, such as a little brass wire spiral, is worn in the lobe of the ear, or in some villages an ornament formed of two or three porcupine quills, bound with yellow orchid stalk on to a bit of cane boiled ebony black in pig’s fat. Like Semas and Aos, [[12]]Lhotas wear above the elbow armlets (koro) consisting of sections sawn from an elephant’s tusk. Formerly the sole supply came from elephants killed locally. Now Angami traders buy ivory in Calcutta and Benares and sell armlets ready sawn. Only old men may saw up a tusk. For a young man to do so would be very unlucky. A man who cannot afford real ivory will sometimes wear an armlet made of white wood smoothed and rounded to resemble the real article. Wristlets (khekap) of cowries sewn on cloth may be worn by anyone who has done the head-taking “genna.”[16] A man who has got first, second or third spear in at the killing of an enemy has a little cross of cowries at the top of his wristlets. Those worn by the Northern Lhotas are identical with the Sema type. They are bought from the Aos and are composed of cowries filed down till they are very narrow and sewn close together on to a cloth foundation. A red hair fringe (khezi) is worn, on the wristlets, ordinarily short, but of long hair in the case of a warrior of note. A man who has been in at the death of a tiger has little bunches of black hair in his red fringe. The wristlets of the Southern Lhotas are of unfiled cowries and the red hair fringe is rarely worn.