Above: Ancient Pumtek beads supposedly from
river finds during the monsoon season.
Excerpt from the Lakhers's by N. E. Parry published 1932.
"In Tisi the theft of a necklace of Pumtek beads is regarded as very serious, and the thief is fined a cow (mithun), and has to return the necklace. The theft of a pumtek necklace, as it is always worn round its owner's neck, is considered to be tantamount to cutting the owner's throat. If a man loses his pumtek necklace, and it is found and restored to him, he is expected to give the finder a dao (thuasang), the reason for this being the belief that a man who finds a lost pumtek necklace is liable to suffer from weak eyes, and that the gift of a thuasang, which carried the idea of brightness, will restore the dimmed eyes of the finder of the necklace."
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