be dedicated to the giang an teng (house spirit). Any achievement of the family used to be attributed to the help given by the house spirit. The family does not open the “kang” where lies the house spirit, except in the A ja annual celebrations when each family must open the “kang” and use the sacred item therein for rituals inside the family and in the Rong house. When a ritual is held, the family head used to put some cooked rice, some rice grains, and meat in front of the “kang” and offers prayers. The spirit of the Long house (giang danh) The long house where lived many families has its own spirit (giang danh) which stayed in the room reserved to visitors/guests, where a small house hung under the roof is the shelter of giang danh. In case of illness or any bad happening in the family, the family used to hold a ritual dedicated to giang an teng (house spirit) and thereafter another ritual dedicated to giang danh. While participating in village rituals or celebrations, the head of the long house must also perform a ritual dedicated to the giang danh. As and when a family household in the long house eats goat, buffalo or cow meat, it must keep giang danh informed by performing a ritual. Tiger spirit (giang avo) Of all forest wild beasts, the Ta-oi regard tigers as the most powerful animal and as a protecting spirit of the village. They regard the capture of a tiger as a gift of the forest spirit. The capture of a tiger is preceded by a number of incidental dreams: because of such a dream, a villager sets up a big trap (ti ho), the trap owner sees in his dream a tiger (a vo bok) who expresses the desire to stay in the village. When a tiger falls into the trap, the hunter and inhabitants must hold a ritual dedicated to the forest spirit, involving such offerings as sol, leo, agate beads and a “reng” cloth. Only after such an elaborate ritual, would they cut the head of the tiger and take it to the village. A group of young men build a grave house for the tiger (ping a vo), but it is not until a ritual is held by the village that the head of the tiger could be put in the grave house.