When building his house the Lushai must be careful that he does not put his hearth on the side of the house next to that on which his neighbour has his. To do so is "thianglo" and illness will follow. It is not difficult to guess how this idea has arisen. Lushai houses are generally built in lines one above the other on the sides of a hill, and therefore it is more convenient to place the heavy earthen hearth on the upper side where the posts are shorter. This causes the hearths of all the houses in one row to be on the same side, and, the custom once formed, any deviation from it is considered unlucky. To dream of the auction of a "hlang"--i.e., the bamboo frame to which the corpse is strapped during the funeral feast--is unlucky, and the person seen by the dreamer to purchase it will certainly die. The following translation of a Lushai account of "tualsumsu" is interesting:-- "There are 'tualsumsu' in dreams and also while people are in a trance; the latter are the worst. If two friends are sleeping and in their dreams one says to the other, 'Go as "tualsumsu"'--i.e., 'beating your head on the ground'--nothing will happen to the one who goes, but the man who sends him will die. If anyone goes without being told to go, and likes it, he will die, but if he says, 'Oh, how it hurts my head!' he will not die. Sometimes a person will go beating his head on the ground and when roused from the trance know nothing of it." The following is another curious belief:-- "If a man dreams that with his friend they are going to fly like 'Chawifa,' and they, both carrying burning maize cobs wrapped in old cloths in baskets, intend flying from inside the house, and having come outside, his friend flies away, while he himself stands on the end of the roof and cannot fly, his friend who flew away will die quickly, while he who could not fly will live. And he that flew away knew nothing of it, and the corn cobs wrapped in old cloth were thrown up, and the people saw them blazing like fire. This is extremely 'thianglo.'" The Lushais speak confidently of "Chawifa," and many say they have seen it. They describe it as a kind of meteor, which flies through the village blazing brightly, and if it alights on a house the owner must die. Compare the Lakher idea of "Chawifa," given in Part II., and the Manipuri "Sangaisel," in Mr. Hodson's book on the Meitheis, page 121. [3. Snake worship.] The Lushais do not worship snakes, but there are many tales of "rulpui" (the big snake). Colonel Lewin in his "Progressive Exercises" has written as follows:--