The full dress of the Lhota warrior closely resembles that of the Sema
and Ao. Besides the ornaments already mentioned, he wears on his head a
wig (thongko) either of the long hair from the neck and shoulders of
the Himalayan black bear, or of the fur of the arms of the male gibbon.
In his wig he may wear three king-crow feathers (yizememhi) if he has
done the head-taking “genna” once, or if he has done it more than once,
one hornbill tail feather (reching’mhi) for each occasion. On his ears
he hangs big pads of cotton wool, and sticks in the lobe of his ear an
ornament (tera) of drongo and scarlet minivet feathers. If he has ever
in his life raided enemies working in the fields and carried off their
property, he adds to the tera little brass chains of Assamese, or very
rarely Lhota, manufacture, which he loops over his ears. Across his
chest he wears one, or, if he has dragged a stone, two baldricks
(ritsen), which are really glorified strings for supporting the “tail,”
which in turn is an elaboration of the “panji” basket. The Northern
Lhotas wear baldricks bought from the Semas, made of blue cloth
embroidered in scarlet with dog’s hair, and edged with a deep fringe of
scarlet goat’s hair, with a line of yellow orchid stalk at the base of
the fringe. Those worn by the Southern Lhotas lack the fringe and are
usually embroidered with wool bought from the plains. The human hair
“tails” are of two types, one (tsichap) in which the hair falls
straight from the little basket, and the other (tsongotsichap) in which
the hair forms a deep fringe hanging from a piece of wood sticking out
behind with a slight upward curve. In the old days the hair for tails
was obtained from women killed in raids, but this source of supply
being now closed, it is bought from any woman who is willing to sell
her tresses. I am told that one lady can produce two good crops, but
that the third crop is apt to be coarse. A warrior of note may wear
either on his chest or between his shoulders at the back an ornament
called rüho (enemy’s teeth). This consists of a flat piece of wood,
about ten inches long and five inches deep, covered with fine plaited
work of red cane, with a border of cowries and a fringe of scarlet
goat’s hair at the ends and bottom. It is supposed to represent the
head of an enemy, the red cane being the tongue and palate, the cowries
the teeth, and the fringe of red hair the blood pouring out of the
mouth. A man who has dragged a stone may wear between his shoulders at
the back the head of a Great Indian Hornbill, a bird regarded by the
Lhotas as symbolical of wealth. The true Lhota cowrie apron
(phuhorive), which is now being rapidly ousted by the bigger one worn
by Semas and Aos, is about fourteen inches deep and twelve inches
broad, the bottom two-thirds being covered with closely set rows of
cowries. A man who has been first, second, or third spear at the
killing of an enemy may have the plain cloth above the sheet of cowries