THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

verses, these were not generally known by members of other ethnic groups
and so were only 1 ikely to be used when dancing with other Yakha. One
such song, our performance of which as anthropologists was adored and
almost became a hallmark of our Yakha learning efforts, went as follows:
makkaiga cBmB
chi 'wiiga kiu
chdbdk ta lakhtf
aooteoma jiu
maize porridge
nettle stew
dance the rice dance
dear aooteoma
Although the music accompanying these verses seemed quite monotonous
to an outsider, for the young people themselves the rice dance was an
exciting event, reflected in the smiling intensity of the faces of the
young men. The women usually tried to look as if they were standing in
the circle under sufferance. A dance, once begun, might go on for over
an hour. Not even the monsoon rains, which often sent dancers scurrying
through the mud to seek shelter in shop doorways or side passages, could
dampen the enthusiasm people shared. Often the friendships which
participants developed during these dances fizzled out afterwards, but
they could represent the first step taken towards elopement or marriage.
On both occasions we attended the Ranke bazaar, the pleasure of
dancing was disrupted during the night by violent fights which broke out
in the streets between gangs of drunken men. These fights appeared to
be spontaneous but in fact arose from written challenges sent in advance
between youths in rival villagesd The second year, since these brawls
happened after the April revolution and seemed particularly violent
(with some women crying inside the hotels as the fighting raged
outside), we wondered whether their ferocity was a sign of police
weakness. However, according to the Brahmin teachers to whom we spoke