THE LUSHEI KUKI CLANS
BY
Lt.-COLONEL J. SHAKESPEAR
Published under the orders of the
Government of Eastern Bengal
and Assam
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1912
Copyright.
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited BRUNSWICK STREET,
STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK
TO
"THANGLIANA"
Lieut.-Colonel T. H. Lewin
THE FRUITS OF WHOSE LABOURS I WAS PRIVILEGED TO REAP,
AND WHO, AFTER AN ABSENCE OF NEARLY FORTY YEARS,
IS STILL AFFECTIONATELY REMEMBERED BY THE LUSHAIS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction xiii
Bibliography xvii
Glossary xix
PART I
THE LUSHEI CLANS
CHAPTER I PAGE
General 1
1. Habitat. 2. Appearance and physical characteristics.
3. History. 4. Affinities. 5. Dress. 6. Tattooing.
7. Ornaments. 8. Weapons.
CHAPTER II
Domestic Life 17
1. Occupation. 2. Weights and Measures. 3. Villages.
4. Houses. 5. Furniture. 6. Implements--Agricultural,
Musical, Household. 7. Manufactures--Basket work, Pottery,
Brass work, Iron work, Cloth manufacture, Dyeing,
Ornamentation. 8. Domestic animals. 9. Agriculture.
10. Hunting and fishing. 11. Food and drink.
12. Amusements--Dances, Athletics, Games.
CHAPTER III
Laws and Customs 41
1. Internal structure--Formation and constitution of the
Clan, Sub-division into Families and Branches. 2. Tribal
organisation--The Chief, Village officials, Rights of
chief, Boi, Sal, &c. 3. Marriage--Bride-price, Divorce,
Widow remarriage. 4. Female chastity. 5. Inheritance--
Adoption. 6. Offences regarding property. 7. Offences
connected with the body. 8. Decisions of disputes.
9. War and head-hunting--Ambushing, Raiding, First use
of guns, Head-hunting.
CHAPTER IV
Religion 61
1. General form of religious beliefs--Pathian the
Creator, Other spirits, The world beyond the grave,
Re-incarnation. 2. Ancestor worship--Offerings to the
dead, Possession by spirit of the dead. 3. Worship of
natural forces and deities--Spirits of hill, vale, and
stream, The Lashi. 4. Religious rites and ceremonies--
Definitions of terms used, Sacrifices, Epidemics, "Ai"
sacrifice. 5. Priesthood. 6. Ceremonies connected with
childbirth. 7. Marriage ceremonies. 8. Funerals--
Description, Disposal of corpse of infants, Lukawng,
Unnatural deaths. 9. Festivals--Connected with crops,
"Thangchhuah feasts," "Buh-ai."
CHAPTER V
Folk-lore 92
1. Legends--Creation and natural phenomena, Nomenclature
of hills, &c., Animal tales, Mythical heroes.
2. Superstitions--Connected with cultivation, with animals,
house building, miscellaneous. 3. Snake worship--"Rulpui,"
"The great snake," Other superstitions regarding snakes.
4. Omens. 5. Witchcraft--"Khuavang zawl," "Khawhring,"
Origin of.
CHAPTER VI.
Language 113
Lushai or Dulien, Grammar, Word for word translation.
APPENDIX
Families and Branches of Lushei Clan 125
PART II
THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS
INTRODUCTORY
Division of Clans into Five Groups 129
CHAPTER I
Clans included in the term Lushai 130
Chawte, Chongthu, Hnamte, Kawlni, Kawlhring, Kiangte,
Ngente, Paotu, Rentlei, Vangchhia, Zawngte.
CHAPTER II
Clans which, though not absorbed, have been much
influenced by the Lushais 136
Fanai, Ralte, Paihte or Vuite, Rangte.
CHAPTER III
The old Kuki Clans 148
The old Kuki Clans of Manipur, Aimol, Anal, Chawte, Chiru,
Kolhen, Kom, Lamgang, Purum, Tikhup, Vaiphei. Other old
Kuki Clans, Khawtlang and Khawchhak.
CHAPTER IV
The Thado Clan 189
CHAPTER V
The Lakher or Mara Clan 213
CHAPTER VI
Language 225
Resemblances between languages of clans, Change of
certain letters, Comparative vocabulary.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Khamliana, Sailo Chief (Coloured Plate) Frontispiece
Lushai Weapons, Ornaments, &c 10
Lushai Men's Hair Ornaments To face 12
Zawlbuk, or Young Men's House To face 22
Plan of a Lushai's House 26
A Rest by the Way--on the Way to the Jhums.
Lushais and Pois To face 32
Lushais Threshing Rice (Coloured Plate) To face 33
Zataia, Sailo Chief and Family (Coloured Plate) To face 44
Lushai Girls To face 53
Copy of a Map of the Route to Mi-thi-khua, drawn
by a Lushai 63
Khwatlang Posts Erected to Commemorate the Slaying
of Mithans at a Feast To face 65
Chief's House showing "She lu Pun," the Posts
Supporting the Skulls of Mithan Killed at One of
the Feasts To face 90
Cane Suspension Bridge To face 110
Fanai To face 136
Memorial Stone in Champhai, Known as Mangkhaia,
Lungdawr To face 140
Vuite Memorial To face 147
Rangte Grave To face 147
Aimol Nautch Party. The Youth is Holding a Rotchem To face 152
Heads of Kuki Clans To face 184
Memorial to a Man who has Performed the Ai of
a Tiger 206
Memorial to a Woman who has Performed the Buh Ai 206
Lakher Chief and Family (Coloured Plate) To face 215
Lakher Baskets To face 223
Map At end of Volume
INTRODUCTION
This monograph was originally intended to deal only with the
inhabitants of the Lushai Hills, but on my transfer to Manipur,
I found so many clans living in the hill tracts of that curious
little state that I suggested that the scope of the monograph might
be enlarged to include all clans of the Kuki race as well.
This term Kuki, like Naga, Chin, Shendu, and many others, is not
recognised by the people to whom we apply it, and I will not attempt
to give its derivation, but it has come to have a fairly definite
meaning, and we now understand by it certain closely allied clans,
with well marked characteristics, belonging to the Tibeto-Burman
stock. On the Chittagong border the term is loosely applied to most
of the inhabitants of the interior hills beyond the Chittagong Hill
tracts; in Cachar it generally means some family of the Thado or
Khawtlang clan, locally distinguished as New and Old Kukis. In the
Lushai Hills nowadays the term is hardly ever employed, having been
superseded by Lushai. In the Chin Hills and generally on the Burma
border all these clans are called Chins.
The term Lushai, as we now understand it, covers a great many clans;
it is the result of incorrect transliteration of the word Lushei,
which is the name of the clan, which, under various chiefs of the
Thangur family, came into prominence in the eighteenth century and
was responsible for the eruption into Cachar of Old Kukis at the end
of that century and of the New Kukis half a century later.
The Lusheis, however, did not eject all the clans they came in contact
with, many of them they absorbed, and these now form the bulk of the
subjects of the Thangur chiefs. In this monograph Lushai is used
in this wider sense, Lushei being used only for the clan of that
name. Among the people themselves the Lusheis are sometimes spoken
of as Dulian, at the derivation of which I will hazard no guess,
and the general population of the hills is spoken of as Mi-zo. Among
inhabitants of the Lushai Hills are found a very considerable number
of immigrants, or descendants of immigrants from the Chin Hills,
who are found living among the Lushais under the Thangur Chiefs or
in villages under their own chiefs. I have made no attempt to deal
with these, as their proper place is the Chin Hills monograph, and
Messrs. Carey and Tuck have already described them very fully in
their Chin Hills Gazetteer.
I am conscious that there are many omissions in this book; the subject
is a very wide one and the difficulty of getting at the facts from so
many different clans, each speaking a different dialect and scattered
over an area of about 25,000 square miles is extremely great. I trust
therefore that my readers will excuse all shortcomings.
I have purposely avoided enunciating any theories and making
deductions, considering it wiser to limit myself to as accurate a
description as possible of the people, their habits, customs and
beliefs. Regarding the affinities between the clans dealt with in
this monograph and those described in the other books of the series,
I venture to express a hope that the subject may be dealt with by
some competent authority when the whole series has been published;
until this is done no finality will be reached. It would be easy to
fill several pages with points of resemblance between the different
clans. Major Playfair, in his account of the Garos, has pointed
out many ways in which the subjects of his monograph resemble the
inhabitants of the Naga Hills, but reading his book I find many more in
which they are like the clans I am dealing with. Sir Charles Lyall has
drawn attention to the evident connection between the Mikirs and the
Kuki-Chin group; I venture to think that a study of the following pages
will confirm his theory. I may mention here that the main incidents
of the "Tale of a Frog" given by Sir Charles are found not only in
the folk-lore of the Aimol, as he has pointed out, but also among the
Lushais, a very similar story having been recorded by Colonel Lewin in
Demagri, 250 miles in an air line from the Mikir hills, and published
in his Progressive Colloquial exercises in the Lushai dialect in 1874.
My best thanks are due to Lt.-Colonel Cole, Major Playfair, and
Mr. Little, P.W.D., for many of the photographs, and especially to
my wife, my companion for many years in these hills, for the four
coloured illustrations.
I am also indebted to Rev. W. K. Firminger for correcting the second
proofs and making the index. I must also acknowledge the assistance
I received from many Lushais and others, notably Hrangzora Chuprasie
of Aigal and Pathong, interpreter of Manipur.
J. SHAKESPEAR.
Imphal, Manipur State.
September 12th, 1910.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
McCulloch, Major W. "Account of the Valley of Manipore and the Hill
tribes; with a comparative vocabulary of the Manipore and other
languages." Calcutta, 1859. Selections from the Records of the
Government of India (For. Dept.) XXVII
This is a most valuable book, full of useful information as regards
all the Hill tribes of Manipur. I have made use of it freely in
Part II., but space did not allow of my extracting all that I
should have liked to reproduce. It would be well worth while to
reprint this book, with notes bringing it up to date.
Stewart, Lieutenant R. "Notes on Northern Cachar. Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal," Vol. XXIV, 1855.
Another most valuable book, as regard Thados and Old Kukis,
which would well repay reprinting. Both these books contain
comparative vocabularies.
Lewin, Captain Thomas Herbert. "Progressive Colloquial Exercises in
the Lushai Dialect of the 'Dzo' or Kuki Language, with vocabularies
and popular tales. (Notated.)" Calcutta, 1874.
One of these tales is reproduced in Part II. The tales are well
translated, but the Lushai is transliterated in a manner now out
of date. The notes are as excellent as one would expect from a
writer who certainly knew more of the Lushai than anyone else at
that time, and who was more admired by them than any other white
man has ever been.
By the same Author. "The Hill Tracts of Chittagong and the Dwellers
therein." Calcutta, 1869.
A most fascinating book, full of information, expressed in
good English. Pages 98 to 118 deal with Lushais and Shendus,
i.e. Lakhers.
By the same Author. "A fly on the wheel: or how I helped to govern
India."
The portion concerning the Author's life among the Lushais is full
of interest, and his word pictures of the scenery and life among
the people, for "Thangliana" as he was called really did live among
the people, sharing their food even, are accurate and graphic. To
few Europeans is the power given to mix thus with such savages
and yet retain their respect. I once heard a Lushai's comment on
a young officer who with the best of intentions tried to imitate
the great "Thangliana." A friend asked him what he thought of
So-and-So, the reply being: "I don't know what sort of man he is,
all I know is, that he cannot be a sahib to live as he does."
Carey, Bertram S. and H. N. Tuck. "The Chin hills: A History of the
People, their Customs and Manners, and our Dealings with them, and
a Gazetteer of their Country." Rangoon, 1896.
A model of what such a book should be. The illustrations are
particularly good. The Lushais and Thados are only touched. Much
of the matter referring to the Haka and Klang-Klang Chins is
applicable to the Lakhers.
Lorrain, Herbert J., and Fred W. Savidge. "Grammar and Dictionary of
the Lushai Language." Shillong, 1898.
A very complete and accurate work. Unfortunately the standard
system of transliteration has not been entirely adhered to.
Soppitt, C. A. "A short account of the Kuki-Lushai tribes on the
North-East Frontier Districts: Cachar, Sylhet, Naga Hills, &c.,
and the North Cachar Hills." Shillong, 1887.
I believe this is a useful accurate work, but have not been able
to obtain it.
Sneyd-Hutchinson, R. "Gazetteer of the Chittagong Hill Tracts."
As regards Lushais there is not much of value, as they are beyond
the scope of the work, but few being found in the Hill Tracts.
Besides the above there are notes in the Census Reports of 1891 and
1901, various military publications and gazetteers by Mr. A. W. Davis,
I.C.S., and Mr. B. C. Allen, I.C.S., all of which contain a certain
amount of useful information, but do not pretend to be more than
notes giving succinctly the knowledge then obtained of what was then
practically new ground. Colonel Woodthorpe's account of the Silchar
columns' march to Champhai, though not professing to be an account
of the people, is interesting reading. Round Champhai I met several
men who had been there when the column arrived, and they all remember
the little sahib who drew pictures; and would sit long looking at the
pictures in his book and chatting to each other of the good old days.
[Note.--On p. 6 of the present work the Author refers to a passage
in Lewin's Hill Tracts of Chittagong and the Dwellers therein,
in which is cited an account of "the Cucis or inhabitants of the
Tipperah Mountains written by J. Rennel, Chief Engineer of Bengal in
1800." In reading through the proofs of the present work, it occurred
to me that it would be important to discover whether the "J. Rennel"
referred to by Lewin was or was not the famous Major James Rennell,
Surveyer-General of Bengal, who is so often described as "the Father of
Modern Geography." Major Rennell with his wife (née Jane Thackeray--a
great aunt of the novelist W. M. Thackeray) left Bengal in March,
1777, and reached England in February 1778. He died on March 29,
1830. It seemed to me possible that the great Rennell might have
obtained the information about the Kukis during his period of service
in East Bengal, and that he might have published a memoir on the
subject in 1800. Mr. W. Foster of the Record Department of the India
Office very kindly informed me that no such a memoir could be traced
at Whitehall, and drew my attention to Lewin's heading of the memoir,
"From the French of M. Bouchesiche, who translated the original from
the English of J. Rennel, Chief Engineer of Bengal.... Published
at Leipsic in 1800." Mr. Edward Heawood, Librarian of the Royal
Geographical Society, to whom I am indebted for much trouble taken
in satisfying my curiosity, informed me that Bouchesiche gave what
purported to be an extract, translated into French, from Rennell's
well-known work on India, and that the Frenchman's book was printed
in Paris in 1800, although there may perhaps have been a Leipzig issue
also. The account of the Kukis given in Bouchesiche's work, however, is
not taken from any known work by James Rennell. Dalton in his Ethnology
of Bengal refers to what has been supposed to be the earliest account
of the Kukis--a memoir by Surgeon McCrea, which appeared in 1799 in
Volume vii of Asiatic Researches. Mr. Heawood most kindly hunted
up McCrea's memoir, and found in it a reference to a memoir which
appeared in Volume ii of Asiatic Researches, 1790. The title of the
memoir of 1790 runs "On the Manners, Religion, and Laws of the Cucis,
or Mountaineers of Tipra.... Communicated in Persian by John Rawlins,
Esq." On investigation, Mr. Heawood found that the Memoir of 1790 is
undoubtedly the original from which Bouchesiche drew his account in
French, and of this the account, attributed to "J. Rennel" by Colonel
Lewin, is a rough paraphrase. Note by the Rev. Walter K. Firminger.]
GLOSSARY
Only the terms which occur often are given.
Ai.--A ceremony performed to propitiate the spirit of an animal killed
in the chase, or of a human being killed in war. The performer's
spirit will own the spirit of person or animal killed in the next
world. The term is also used for a ceremony performed to celebrate
a particularly good crop--Buh-Ai, or Buh-za-ai.
Boi.--Persons who have taken refuge in the chief's house.
Dai-bawl.--A series of sacrifices to the demons of the hills, &c.
Hlam-zuih.--Lushai. A first-born child that dies within a year of
its birth and is buried without any ceremony.
Hrilh.--A period during which no work must be done, after a sacrifice,
closely resembling the Naga genna.
Huai.--Lushai. Demons who cause sickness.
Jhum.--A piece of land on which the jungle has been felled and burnt
for cultivation.
Kawhring.--A person whose spirit takes possession of another's body,
the spirit of such a person.
Khal.--A series of sacrifices to the demons of the village site,
only performed by Lushais.
Khuavang.--Lushai. A powerful spirit, sometimes used for "luck."
Kum-ai.--Children's sleeping platform.
Kum-pui.--Parent's sleeping platform.
Kut.--Lushai. Festivals connected with the crops.
Lal.--Lushai. Chief.
Lashi.--Lushai. Mythical beings who control wild animals. Known also
to Aimol and Vaiphei.
Mi-thi-khua.--"Dead men's village." Expression used by all clans for
the place of departed souls.
Mi-thi-rawp-lam.--A feast in honour of the dead.
Palal.--A man who receives part of the bride-price, and acts as
trustee to the bride.
Pathian.--Lushai. The Creator. Very similar names are used by all
the clans dealt with.
Pial-ral.--Lushai. The land beyond the Pial river, in the abode of
the dead, to which the spirits of those who have acquired merit pass.
Pu.--A word used in most dialects, meaning grandfather, maternal uncle,
and other relations on mother's or wife's side. It is also used for
a person specially chosen as a protector or guardian.
Pui-thiam.--Lushai. Sorcerer, priest and medicine man.
Ramhual.--Lushai. Chief's adviser as to distribution of jhums.
Rem-Ar.--The cock killed on occasion of a marriage.
Rotchem.--Mouth organ made of a gourd and reeds.
Sakhua.--Lushai. The guardian spirit of the household and the sacrifice
performed to him.
Sawn-man.--Compensation payable to a father for seduction of an
unmarried girl.
Sherh.--Lushai. The portions of the sacrificed animal which are
offered to the demon. Also the state of a house for a period after
the performing of certain sacrifices, during which the entrance of
outsiders is prohibited.
Thangchhuah.--Lushai. A man who has given a series of feasts
to his village. The expression is also used for the series of
feasts. Honour in this world and comfort in the next are the reward
of the Thangchhuah.
Thian.--A woman who receives part of the bride-price, and acts as
friend or trustee to the bride.
Thir-deng.--Lushai. Blacksmith.
Tlangau.--Lushai. Chief's crier.
Upa.--Lushai. Chief's minister.
Zawlbuk.--Bachelor's hall and guest house.
THE LUSHEI KUKI CLANS
THE LUSHEI CLANS
PART I
CHAPTER I
GENERAL
[1. Habitat.] The Lushei chiefs now rule over the country between the
Kurnaphuli river and its main tributary, the Tuilianpui on the west,
and the Tyao and Koladyne river on the east, while their southern
boundary is roughly a line drawn east and west through the junction
of the Mat and Koladyne rivers and their most northerly villages
are found on the borders of the Silchar district. Within this area,
roughly 7,500 square miles, there are only a few villages ruled
over by chiefs of other clans, and outside it there are but few true
Lushei villages, though I am told that there are villages of people
very closely connected with the Lusheis, on the southern borders of
Sylhet, in Tipperah and in the North Cachar Hills, and there are a
few in the Chittagong Hill tracts.
[2. Appearance and physical characteristics.] All the Lushai Kuki
clans resemble each other very closely in appearance and the Mongolian
type of countenance prevails. One meets, however, many exceptions,
which may be due to the foreign blood introduced by the many captives
taken from the plains and from neighbouring tribes; but these are
not worth considering, and the description of the Kuki written by
Lt. Stewart close on 80 years ago cannot be improved on. "The Kukis are
a short, sturdy race of men with a goodly development of muscle. Their
legs are, generally speaking, short in comparison with the length of
their bodies, and their arms long. The face is nearly as broad as
it is long and is generally round or square, the cheek bones high,
broad and prominent, eyes small and almond-shaped, the nose short and
flat, with wide nostrils. The women appear more squat than the men
even, but are strong and lusty." In Lushai clans both sexes are as
a rule rather slighter made than among the Thado and cognate clans,
whom Lt. Stewart was describing. Adopting the scale given in the
handbook of the Anthropological Institute, the colour of the skin
varies between dark yellow-brown, dark olive, copper-coloured and
yellow olive. Beards and whiskers are almost unknown, and a Lushai,
even when able to grow a moustache, which is not often, pulls out all
the hairs except those at the corners of his mouth. The few persons
with hairy faces may, I think, be safely said to be of impure blood.
The hair is worn, by both sexes, in a knot over the nape of the neck,
and carefully parted in the middle. The young folk of about the
marrying age devote much care to their hair, dressing it daily with
much pigs' fat. Later in life they grow careless, and widows allow
their hair to hang as it chooses. Children's hair is left to grow as
it likes till it is long enough to tie up. Curly hair or hair with
a pronounced wave in it is uncommon, and is much objected to.
The women are prolific, five to seven children being about the average,
but the mortality among the children is so great that few parents
can boast of more than two or three grown up children.
Both men and women are good walkers and hill-climbers, which is only
natural, but for a race which lives exclusively on the hilltops the
number of good swimmers is very large. Most men are not afraid of the
water, and manage rafts very skilfully, making long journeys on them
in the rains.
Abortion is not infrequently resorted to when a widow who is living
in her late husband's house, and therefore, as described later,
expected to remain chaste, finds herself enceinte. Suicide is also
rather common, poison being the usual means chosen. The cause is
generally some painful and incurable disease, but very old persons
with no one to support them sometimes prefer the unknown future to
the miserable present.
[3. History.] The existing Lushei Chiefs all claim descent from
a certain Thang-ura, who is sometimes said to have sprung from the
union of a Burman with a Paihte woman, but, according to the Paihtes,
the Lusheis are descended from Boklua, an illegitimate son of the
Paihte Chief Ngehguka. The Thados say that some hunters tracking a
serao noticed the foot-marks of a child following those of the animal,
and on surrounding the doe serao they found it suckling a child, who
became the great Chief Thang-ura, or, as they call him, "Thangul." From
Thang-ura the pedigree of all the living chiefs is fairly accurately
established. The Lusheis, in common with the Thados and other Kuki
tribes, attach great importance to their genealogies; and pedigrees,
given at an interval of many years, and by persons living far apart,
have been found to agree in a wonderful manner. From comparison of
these genealogies and from careful enquiries lasting over many years,
I estimate that Thang-ura must have lived early in the eighteenth
century. His first village is said to have been at Tlangkua, north
of Falam. It is probable that he personally ruled over only a small
area. From him sprang six lines of Thang-ur chiefs:--(1) Rokum, (2)
Zadeng, (3) Thangluah, (4) Pallian, (5) Rivung, and (6) Sailo. To
the north the country was occupied by the Sukte, Paihte, and Thado
clans. These appear to have been firmly established under regular
chiefs; but to the west the hills appear to have been inhabited by
small communities formed largely of blood relations and probably
each at feud with its neighbours. Therefore when want of good jhuming
land and the aggressions of the eastern clans made it necessary for
the Thang-ur to move, they naturally went westward. The Rokum, the
eldest branch, are said to have passed through the hills now occupied
by the Lushais, and some of their descendants are said to be found
on the Tipperah-Sylhet border. The Zadeng followed the Rokum, and,
passing through Champhai, moved westwards and about 1830 ruled some
1,000 houses divided into four villages situated near the banks of
the Tlong or Dallesari river, round the Darlung peak. In alliance
with Sailo chiefs of Lalul's family, they attacked and defeated
successively the Hualgno (a Lushei family settled between Tyao and
Manipur rivers) and the Pallian, who were their allies against the
Hualgno. Subsequently the Zadeng quarrelled with Mangpura, then the
most powerful Sailo chief, who, dying about that time, bequeathed
the feud to his relatives, one of whom, Vutaia, prosecuted it with
such vigour that the Zadeng, in spite of an alliance with the Manipur
Rajah--who, however, proved but a broken reed--had to flee southwards,
and their last independent village, numbering only 100 houses,
broke up on the death of the chief, which occurred at Chengpui, near
Lungleh, about 1857. The Zadeng chiefs are reputed to have been cruel
and arbitrary rulers, whose defeat was not regretted even by their
own followers. Their descendants have retained these qualities, and,
in spite of much assistance, have failed to regain their position in
the world.
The Thangluah and Rivung took a more southerly course. The latter
penetrated into what is now the Chittagong Hill tracts, and a chief
named Vanhnuai-Thanga had a very large village on the Longteroi hill,
between the Chengri and Kassalong rivers. He died about 1850, and
shortly after his death the village was destroyed by Vutaia. The
remnant of the Rivungs fled to Hill Tipperah, where Liantlura, a
great-grandson of Vanhnuai-Thanga, had a village up till a few years
ago, and there is one small hamlet under a Rivung chief in the Aijal
sub-division of the Lushai Hills.
The Thangluah penetrated as far as Demagri and Barkhul, where
Rothangpuia (Ruttonpoia) became known to us, first as a foe, and
then as a faithful ally. Rothangpuia's son Lalchheva, fretting at our
control, moved his village across our boundary, in spite of a warning
that Government could on no account protect him if he did so. Very
shortly after this move he was attacked by Hausata, a Chin chief,
and his village totally destroyed, many persons being killed and more
taken captive. All the mithan (tame bison) were driven off and the
chief escaped with little more than the one cloth he was wearing,
and now the once prosperous Thangluah clan is represented by only a
few poverty-stricken hamlets round Demagri.
The Pallian followed the same route as the Zadeng. The best
known chiefs of this clan are Sibuta (Sheeboot) and Lalsuktla
(Lalchokla). Sibuta is said in Mackenzie's "Eastern Frontier"
to have thrown off the Tipperah yoke with 25,000 houses. He died
close to Aijal, and his memorial stone is at the first stage on the
Aijal-Lungleh road. It is extremely doubtful whether he ever was really
subject to Tipperah, though it is certain that all these Lushai clans
had dealings with the Tipperah Rajahs and feared them greatly. Among
the tales in Chapter V. will be found one which exemplifies this.
Lalsuktla (Lal chokla), captured by Captain Blackwood in 1841, was
a great-grandson of Sibuta's. Purbura is said to have been a very
powerful Pallian chief and at one time to have received tribute from
almost all his contemporary Thangur chiefs. He had a large village,
said to contain 3,000 houses, on the Dungtlang, whence he moved
as far westwards as Pukzing, where his village was destroyed by a
combined force of Zadeng, Sailo, and Chuckmahs. This attack took place
somewhere about 1830. Purbura rebuilt his village, but died soon after,
and his descendants were attacked frequently by the chiefs of the
Rolura branch of the Sailo family, and now only two small hamlets,
close to Aijal, remain to remind us of this once powerful clan.
The Sailo.--These chiefs are descended from Sailova, a great-grandson
of Thang-ura's. They came into prominence last, but have crushed all
their rivals, and have developed such a talent for governing that
they hold undisputed sway over representatives of all sorts of clans,
over nearly the whole of the area now known as the Lushai Hills.
This great family has often come in contact with the British
Government, but from the fact that our dealings with them have
generally been through illiterate interpreters, they appear in our
records under various names. The Howlongs, who caused much anxiety on
the Chittagong frontier from 1860 to 1890, Lalul's descendants, whose
doings fill the records of Silchar for nearly a century, Vonolel,
Savunga, and Sangvunga, against whom the two columns of the Lushai
Expedition of 1871-72 were directed--all these were Sailos.
As above remarked, it seems most probable that the country into which
the various Thangur chiefs moved, under pressure from the Chins,
was almost entirely occupied by small communities having no power of
cohesion. The greater part of these were absorbed, and now form the
majority of the subjects of the Thangur chiefs; but some fled north
and west into Manipur, Silchar, Sylhet and Tipperah, where they are
known as Kukis and where their appearance caused much trouble, as,
from the very nature of the cause of their migration, much ill-feeling
existed between them and the triumphant Lushais. In Stewart's notes
on Northern Cachar, it is stated that the Old Kukis made their
appearance in Cachar about the end of the eighteenth century. These
Old Kukis include the Biate (Beteh) and Hrangchul (Rhangkol) and
other cognate clans who are now known to us as Khawtlang. They claim
the hills round Champhai as their place of origin, and the sites
are still known by their names. We have seen that the Lusheis claim
to have sprung from a village south-east of Champhai, and that the
Zadeng passed through Champhai on their westward move, which ended
so disastrously for them. The advance of such tribes would be slow,
and would be largely regulated by the rate at which they exhausted the
cultivable land near their village sites; therefore the appearance of
the Biate and Hrangchul in Cachar at the beginning of the nineteenth
or end of the eighteenth century fits in well with the date I had
assigned for Thang-ura, the first Lushei chief, before I had read
Lieutenant Stewart's book. These Khawtlang clans to this day have
little power of cohesion, and they naturally gave way at once before
the well-organised Lushais, and fled north and north-west into Cachar
and Manipur, passing through the territory of the Thado clans and
suffering considerably at their hands. When the Thangur had firmly
established themselves, and the capable Sailo chiefs had come to
the front, they felt equal to fighting the Thado clans, which were
as highly organised as themselves. The Sailo chiefs triumphed, and
hence the eruption of the New Kukis, alias Thados, and cognate clans,
into Silchar about 1848.
In Colonel Lewin's "The Hill Tracts of Chittagong and the Dwellers
Therein," page 109, is given an account of the "Cucis or inhabitants
of the Tipperah mountains," written by J. Rennel, Chief Engineer
of Bengal in 1800. With very slight alterations, this account is
applicable to the Lushais of to-day, and I have no doubt that the
Cucis therein described were the Rivung, the advance-guard of the
great Lushai invasion.
On the Chittagong side, we find, as early as 1777, records of frontier
disturbances ascribed to "Kookies, men who live far in the interior
parts of the hills, who have not the use of firearms, and whose bodies
go unclothed" (Lewin's "The Hill Tracts of Chittagong and the Dwellers
Therein," page 21). These Kukis were allies of the Chuckmahs, and we
have seen that about fifty years later the Chuckmahs joined with the
Zadeng and the Sailos in an attack on Purbura.
The various branches of the Sailo family were frequently at war, the
cause almost invariably being a dispute as to land. About 1856 a war,
known as "The War of the North and the South," broke out and lasted
about three years. The Northern combatants were the descendants of
Lallula, their opponents being Cherra's family. The bone of contention
was the Piler hill, and this quarrel was on the point of breaking out
again in 1892, when Mr. McCabe and I, appearing on the scene from Aijal
and Lungleh respectively, "frightened both the heroes so they quite
forgot their quarrel." The war ended in a victory for the North, who
surprised Konglung, a village on the top of a very precipitous rock,
and captured the young chief and his mother, who later were ransomed
for many necklaces.
In 1874 the Southern Lushais fell out with the Thlantlang (Klangklang)
chiefs. Vandula, head of the Lushais, had raided Vaki, a village on
the Arracan border, and brought away as part of the loot a brass bowl
and a big earthenware vase, which the Thlantlang chief claimed as
being part of the promised price of his daughter, who had recently
been married to the son of the Vaki chief. As Vandula refused to
give up the articles, the Thlantlangs attacked a Lushai piquet on
the Koladyne, killing some men. To revenge this insult, the Lushais
attacked Bunkhua, with disastrous results, as is described in Chapter
III, Para. 5, and had to make an ignominious peace.
Later the Northern chiefs quarrelled among themselves, and the war of
the East and West broke out and lasted several years. The cause is said
to have been a girl called Tuali, for whose affections Liankhama and
Khalkhama were rivals. It is unnecessary to go into the history of our
dealings with the Lushais, which have ended in the whole of the Hills
being annexed, and a stop put to all such wars, but when we occupied
Lungleh in 1889 we found the Fanai clan coming into prominence, and
there is little doubt that, but for our intervention, that clan would
shortly have attempted to eject the Southern Lushai chiefs.
[4. Affinities.] The Lushais are more or less closely allied
to all the tribes now living in their vicinity, but some who show
this most strongly, such as the Chiru, Kom, Aimol, are now settled
in the Manipur State, while the intervening country is occupied by
clans belonging to the Thado, Paihte, and Khawtlang families, which,
though no doubt of the same stock, are more distantly connected. It
seems certain that the former clans lived near the Lusheis when the
Thangur commenced their victorious career, and it may well be that
it was fear of absorption by their more powerful neighbour that drove
these clans northwards, while the Lusheis took a westerly direction.
The connection between the Lusheis and their eastern neighbours is
apparent both in their language and in their customs, but the eastern
tribes, known to us generally as Chins, are of finer physique and,
owing to their having permanent villages, the differences between
clans have become more marked than among the semi-nomadic Lushais
and Kukis. The feuds between different clans, which are always found
where permanent villages exist, tend to widen the breach between
communities and to accentuate every accidental variation of custom,
so that the common origin is soon lost sight of. Nevertheless there is
no doubt that the Kukis, Chins, and Lushais are all of the same race.
Less apparent but still quite traceable is the relationship between
the Lushais and the Kabuis and Manipuris, though the latter nowadays
try in every way to disown all connection with their poor relations.
[5. Dress.] The men's dress could not well be simpler, consisting
as it does of a single cloth about 7 feet long and 5 wide. It is worn
as follows:--One corner is grasped in the left hand, and the cloth is
passed over the left shoulder, behind the back, under the right arm
across the chest and the end thrown over the left shoulder. Although
it would appear probable that clothing so loosely worn would be
continually falling off, yet, as a matter of fact, accidents of that
sort seldom occur. In cold weather, one or more cloths are worn, one
over the other, and also a white coat, reaching well down the thigh
but only fastened at the throat. These coats are ornamented on the
sleeves with bands of red and white of various patterns. When at work,
in hot weather, the Lushai wraps his cloth round his waist, letting
the ends hang down in front, and should he find the sun warm and if
he is wearing two cloths, he will wear one as a puggri. Puggris are
sometimes worn when out in the sun for long, and some affect rather
a quaint style, twisting the cloth round the head so as to make an
end stand up straight over each ear.
All these garments are of cotton, grown locally and manufactured
by the women of the household. The cloths in general use are white,
but every man likes to have two or three blue cloths ornamented with
stripes of various colours.
The Lushais have a very strong objection to getting their heads wet,
and therefore in the rain wear hats made of strips of bamboo or cane
plaited and lined with smoked leaves. The original hats were almost
flat and circular, but nowadays these have been discarded in favour
of very clever imitations of helmets and solar topis. In the southern
portion of the district the people use, as a protection from the wet,
a large shallow basket-work tray, shaped like an oyster shell, and
made waterproof by being lined with smoked leaves; the narrow end
rests on the wearer's head, while the broad end reaches down well
below the waist, so that, while bending down weeding in the jhum,
the head and body are kept dry. This form of waterproof is not much
used in the northern portion of the Lushai Hills, but is common
among the Chiru and other allied clans in Manipur. As the Lushai has
no pockets, he carries, wherever he goes, a haversack made of some
pretty coloured cotton cloth slung over his shoulder by a strap of
the same material. In this he carries his flint and steel and his
tobacco, in neatly made boxes carved out of solid pieces of wood and
fitted with lids of the same material, or of leather moulded into
shape by being stretched over a block. His pipe is generally in his
mouth; it consists of a bowl made out of a particularly hard kind
of bamboo which is only found in the Chin hills--whence the Lushais
claim to have sprung--with a long stem made of a reed-like variety
of the same plant. When not in his mouth, this also reposes in his
haversack along with his "tuibur," a small gourd to hold the water
which has been impregnated with nicotine in the pipe of his wife or
sweetheart. A little of this evil-smelling concoction he takes into
his mouth from time to time and, having kept it there a few minutes,
he spits it out and declares that it has a stimulating effect. In his
haversack you will also find his knife, the wooden sheath tied to
one of the shoulder straps so that the handle is always convenient
to his hand. The blade is about four or five inches long and nearly
an inch wide at the handle, but comes to a sharp point; the edge is
straight and ground like a chisel.
The dress of the chiefs is the same as that of the common people,
except on occasions of ceremony, when they wear dark blue cloths,
with red lines of a particular pattern, and plumes, made of the tail
feathers of the king-crow, in their hair knots. These plumes are very
much prized and are kept most carefully in bamboo tubes with leather
caps. The cloth referred to above can also be worn by anyone who has
given certain feasts, as described later on.
Dress in War-time.--When the Lushais were fighting us in 1892 I was
much struck by the whiteness of their garments. The men who ran away
from the stockades as we rushed them were always dressed in nice
clean coats and cloths, and crowds of similarly attired warriors
used to assemble every morning just out of range and challenge us
to come and fight. I was told that it was considered the correct
thing to come properly dressed when there was fighting on hand, but
a raiding party I once came across was dressed far more suitably. A
single cloth wrapped tightly round the waist, a haversack protected
by a bear or tiger skin guard over one shoulder, and a fighting dao
or dah over the other, and a gun in his hand completed each warrior's
equipment. It will be seen from the above description that the Lushais
are not fond of dress, and this is another point in which all Kuki
clans differ from those of Naga stock.
Special Attire.--A man who has earned the title of "Thangchhuah"
(v. Chap. IV, 9) is allowed to wear a cloth of a certain pattern and
those who have killed men in war have special head-dresses, known as
"chhawndawl" and "arke-ziak."
The Women's Dress.--The women are no more addicted to fine clothes
than their men-folk. All women wear the same costume; a dark-blue
cotton cloth, just long enough to go round the wearer's waist with
a slight over-lap, and held up by a girdle of brass wire or string,
serves as a petticoat which only reaches to the knee, the only other
garments being a short white jacket and a cloth which is worn in
the same manner as the men. On gala days the only addition to the
costume is a picturesque head-dress worn by girls while dancing. This
consists of a chaplet made of brass and coloured cane, into which
are inserted porcupine quills, and to the upper ends of these are
fixed the green wing-feathers of the common parrot, tipped with tufts
of red wool. At the back is affixed a horizontal bar from which hang
strings of glistening wing covers of green beetles. The women smoke as
much as the men and have a special form of pipe, a miniature hookah
about 9 inches high with a clay bowl, the water container being of
bamboo much ornamented with patterns roughly scratched. The water
when thoroughly impregnated is transferred to the "tuibur" gourd of
some male relative or admirer. Children of both sexes begin smoking
very young. I have seen a woman take her pipe from her mouth and put
it into that of the baby on her back.
[6. Tattooing.] This is not much practised. The only patterns
employed are circles on the forearm and breast, which are said
to be mementoes of love affairs in happy bachelor days, and rude
representations of a metna's head, which is said to have no particular
meaning.
[7. Ornaments worn by men.] The Lushai wears a variety of articles
in his hair knot. The commonest is a brass two-pronged pin with a head
shaped like a G. The prongs are drawn out to sharp points and vary in
length from three to eight or nine inches. These very long pins are a
recent innovation, and their use seems to be restricted to the young
dandies of the hamlets round Aijal. Skewers of ivory, bone, and metal
about six or eight inches long are also worn. Of the two former there
are two patterns, one four-sided, about a quarter of an inch thick at
two thirds of its length, tapering to a point at each end, the other
being flat, pointed at one end and about half an inch broad at the
other. Both are ornamented with engraved circles and lines. The metal
skewers are quite plain and more for use in scratching the head than
for ornament; a piece of the rib of a broken umbrella is now often
used. The hair comb is also an ornamental article; it consists of a
piece of ivory or wood about three inches long, half an inch thick
and an inch or so wide, into which are inserted, very close together,
teeth of strips of bamboo about two inches long. If the back is of
wood it is generally crescent-shaped and lacquered red and inlaid.
With reference to the comb I may quote from Colonel McCulloch's
descriptions of the Thados in his "Account of the Valley of
Manipur":--"Their attention to genealogy, the distinction of clans,
and the respect paid to seniors, I have already noticed. Out of this
may have sprung the only exclusiveness shown by the Khonjai (Thado),
namely, in the point of who would be entitled to use his comb and
whose comb he might use. This, though amongst them a very important
matter, I cannot find to have any religious importance attached to
it, but there is an indication of the superior rank in respect of
descent or by connection, or of estimation in which an individual is
held or holds himself to be found to whom he would refuse his comb,
or amongst whom his comb is common." My Lushai informant says that
the use of the comb is restricted, as headaches are communicated by
the comb. He also adds, "A higher clan man is contaminated by a lower
clan man using his comb. Thus a Renthlei may not use a Sailo's hair
comb, and a Chawngthu may not use that of a Pallian."
Earrings.--Most men have their ears pierced, and wear either small
wooden studs, with flat heads about half an inch in diameter, and
coloured red, or cornelians suspended by a piece of string. The stones
are barrel-shaped and unpolished, the surface being pitted with minute
holes and circular marks. These are valued very highly, and are passed
on from father to son, or given as a daughter's dowry. Some of them
have names connecting them with some story of bygone days. These
naturally fetch higher prices. I know of stones valued at Rs. 400/-.
Necklaces.--Both sexes are fond of necklaces: those of amber are most
valued, and any that have histories attached to them fetch prices
which to us seem absurd. I remember a chief, who was offered Rs. 60/-
for his necklace, replying that if the Sahib wanted the necklace he
would give it him, but that he would not sell it for Rs. 1000/- as it
had been the property of his ancestors. The old necklaces are made of
very dark amber, beautifully clear, and the beads are sometimes two to
three inches long and over an inch in diameter. There is some doubt
as to where these beads came from, but it is probable that they came
through the Chin hills from Burmah. Besides amber, agate, cornelian,
and various sorts of bead necklaces are worn, or, failing all these,
white shirt buttons are acceptable.
A tiger's tooth is often hung round the neck as an ornament and is
also thought to have magical properties. The young dandies are fond
of hanging round their necks tufts of white goat's hair bound together
with red thread; these are now worn as ornaments, but undoubtedly the
custom arose from the idea that cures are effected by hanging round
the affected part a piece of the skin or feathers of the animal or
bird sacrificed to the demon, who is thought to be responsible for
the illness.
Bracelets are not much worn and are generally plain brass rings.
Ornaments Worn by Women.--With the exception of their earrings,
the Lushai women affect the same ornaments as the men. The earrings,
however, are quite distinct, and, in order to be able to wear them,
much preparation is necessary. When quite a child the girl has her
ears pierced, and small wooden plugs are inserted. These are replaced
by larger ones, which in turn give place to still larger ones of clay,
the size of which is gradually increased till the real earring, which
is an ivory disc some inch or inch and a half in diameter, with a hole
in its centre, can be inserted. Widows remove their earrings, and slit
the lobes of their ears when they abandon all thought of re-marrying.
[8. Weapons.] The Lushais have been in possession of firearms
for the last sixty or seventy years. These weapons are flint-locks
bearing the names of many European makers; many are Tower muskets,
and guns bearing the marks of the French Customs Department are not
at all rare. These guns came into the country in the first instance
chiefly through Burmah, though no doubt some came through Chittagong,
and much money must have been made, for the demand was large. When
the weapons first began to appear, the Lushais and other western
tribes used to obtain them from the tribes on the Burmah border,
giving slaves in exchange, a strong male slave being equivalent to
two guns. The other weapons in use are spears and dahs. The former
are inferior weapons with iron laurel-leaf shaped blades about a
foot or fifteen inches long, very insecurely attached to the shaft,
which is of hard wood, often a piece of sago palm; at the other end
of the shaft is a long iron spike which is stuck into the ground when
the user halts. A special spear is used for sacrificial purposes,
the blade of which is much longer and diamond-shaped. The spike at
the other end is also much elongated, so that sometimes the wooden
shaft is only six or seven inches long. The dah is a more serviceable
weapon, being copied, as its name "kawlnam" denotes, from the Burmese
weapon, but the blade is shorter, the handle is of wood lacquered
black and red, and ornamented with brass bands and a brass knob at
the end. In former days oblong shields of bison-hide eighteen inches
wide and about two feet long, adorned at the two upper corners with
tassels of goat's hair dyed red, were carried. The upper half of the
shield was sometimes covered with discs of brass, while from a string
crossing the centre of the shield hung a row of brass cones about two
inches long, from each of which depended a tassel of red goat's hair,
reaching to the base of the shield. Bows and arrows have entirely gone
out of use, but were formerly used, especially in the chase, when
the arrows were poisoned. The bows were small and made of bamboo,
the string being of bark. The arrows were furnished with barbed
iron points, and were carried in a bamboo quiver with a leather cap
to it. Among weapons we must class the bamboo spikes with which a
retreating foe or villagers expecting an attack rendered the ground
almost impassable to a bare-footed enemy. These spikes were of two
kinds, one used round the village or block house, and the other,
carried in a neat little cane-work quiver, and stuck in the path
when returning from a raid to delay pursuit. The former were simple
bamboo spikes of various lengths, while the latter were carefully
smoothed bamboo spikes about six inches long, and no thicker than
a knitting needle; each sort was nicked so that it might break off
after entering the flesh. To a bare-footed foe these spikes form a
very serious obstacle, and even our troops have suffered from them,
the spikes being sometimes long enough to reach to a man's knee.
CHAPTER II
DOMESTIC LIFE
[1. Occupation.] The entire population may be classed
as agriculturists, as only a few people, as will be afterwards
described, live on contributions of rice given them in exchange for
services rendered to the community. There are no shop-keepers, and,
except the blacksmith, no craftsmen, each household being capable of
existing on its own labours. The men build the house and cut the jhum,
they help in the weeding and harvesting, and procure fresh meat by
their skill in setting snares and hunting. Periodically they visit
the nearest bazar, often a journey of several days, to purchase
salt and the few requisites that their own industry cannot produce,
consisting chiefly of brass cooking pots, iron to be made into daos
or finished daos. Nowadays, it is true, the wants of the people
are slowly increasing, and looking-glasses, umbrellas, needles,
and Manchester goods are finding their way into the most remote
villages. The women folk fetch the wood and water, cook the food and
do the greatest part of the weeding and harvesting; they also make all
the clothing for the whole household from cotton grown in the jhums,
which they themselves gather, clean, spin, and weave into strong cloth.
A Lushai woman has to rise early, fill her basket with empty bamboo
tubes, and trudge off before daylight down to the spring, which is
generally some way down the hill, and the supply of water is frequently
so scanty that it takes her some time to fill her bamboos. Having
conveyed her basketful to the house, she has to set to work cleaning
the rice for the day. The necessary amount of unhusked rice has been
dried the previous day on the shelf over the hearth, and this she now
proceeds to pound in a mortar in the front verandah, and winnow on an
oval bamboo tray till it is clean enough for use. The breakfast of
rice has then to be cooked, and by the time it is ready her husband
is awake. After the meal the real work of the day begins. In the cold
weather the women settle themselves to some of the operations connected
with clothmaking, while the men prepare to pass a day of complete
enjoyment, lying in the sun and smoking, the younger ones combining
this with courting any of the pretty clothmakers; while the children
play around entirely uncontrolled, save when a shrill-voiced mother
calls one of them to assist her in some domestic operation. About noon
there is a meal of rice and herbs, after which work is resumed and
continued till the evening, when the housewife has to make another
journey to the spring, and on her return the pigs must be fed with
a mixture composed of rice husks and a species of edible arum bulb,
mashed and boiled together, the fowls enticed into their baskets,
and finally the family collected for the evening meal, which varies
little from the two previous ones, but some garnish, a little meat,
dried fish, or some savoury vegetable is generally added. As soon as
it is dark, all the female members of the family gather round the
hearth, and carry on such work as can be carried on by what light
they can get from the fire; though in villages near fir forests some
pine splinters are generally kept handy for use when an extra bright
light is required for a few minutes. The men either gather in the
"zawlbuk" or in some house where there is drink going, but the young
bucks sneak off to court their lady loves, which the girls' parents
give them every facility for doing. In the other seasons of the year,
that is from March to December, the people are engaged in their jhums
from the morning to the evening meal, as is described later on.
Lushai parents are very fond of their children, and fathers are
often seen carrying their infants about. In times of scarcity, what
rice can be got is reserved for the young children, the rest of
the people living on yams, jungle vegetables, and the pith of the
sago palm. The children assist their parents as much as they can,
tiny girls accompanying their mothers to the spring, and bringing
up one or two bamboos of water, while the lads help their fathers in
cutting the jhum. No one, however, takes any care of children, and they
are allowed to run about the village as they like, in all weathers,
which no doubt accounts largely for the heavy mortality among them,
as their clothing is of the scantiest.
Teknonymy is very common. The parents of a child called Thanga will
generally be known as Thanga-Pa and Thanga-Nu, and I have come across
old widows whose real names were unknown. There is a strong and
general dislike among all Lushais to saying their own names. When
we first occupied the hills, a man would not tell you his name; if
asked he would refer to someone else and say, "You tell him." The
following explanation, given me by a Lushai, seems to me scarcely
satisfactory:--"Lushais are shy of saying the name of their father
and mother and their own names. Because it is their own name they
are shy of saying it. Some people are shy because their names are
bad. Their parents' names--because they are their parents they never
call them by their names, therefore they are shy of saying them. Their
own names also they never say; just for that reason they are shy of
saying them. The names of their brothers and friends they are always
saying, therefore they are not shy of saying them." Long ago another
explanation was given me. When a man kills another, he calls out his
own name: "I, Lalmanga, have killed you!" so that the spirit of the
dying man may know whose slave he will be in Mithi-Khua, the dead
man's village; it was suggested that it was unlucky to say one's name
on less important occasions.
[2. Weights and Measures.] In every village there is a small flat
basket, the size of which is fixed by the chief, which is used for
all retail dealings in rice and such goods, but large quantities are
measured by the number of loads, a load being about 50 lbs. After the
harvest the unhusked rice is piled in a conical heap. A Lushai will
tell you that his crop is "chhip-zawn," that is, the heap is level
with the top of his head; "silai-zawn," that is, level with the end
of his gun held up perpendicularly over his head. This is about a
record crop; lesser quantities are denoted by the height of his hand
or hoe or axe held up. Time he measures by the time a pot of rice
takes to cook--i.e., about an hour--or by the time he can hold a sip
of nicotine in his mouth; he has terms for each period of the day,
denoting the usual occupation; he also divides the year according to
the agricultural occupation proper to it. Terms expressing measures
of length are very numerous. Short lengths are expressed by reference
to the human body, as we speak of a span; but the Lushai has sixteen
or seventeen of these, extending from "chang-khat"--i.e., from the
tip to the first joint of the first finger--to "hlam," which is the
distance a man can stretch with both arms extended. Longer distances
he expresses by terms such as the distance of the nearest jhum,
the distance of the furthest jhum, the distance a mithan will wander
during the day, the distance a man can travel before his mid-day meal,
&c.--terms which, though well understood by the people, are a little
perplexing to strangers. Measures of weight are scanty; a curious
one is "chuai"--i.e., as much as can be supported if suspended from
the tip of the first finger palm downwards. Many of the stars and
constellations have received names; most of them have some story
attached to them. The months are lunar months, and some have names,
but these are but little known or used.
[3. Villages.] The Lushai likes to perch his village on the top
of a ridge or spur, partly because, hillsides being steep, it is
difficult to find sites elsewhere, partly for the sake of the climate,
but chiefly, I think, in order to get a good defensive position. His
migratory habits disinclining him to make the elaborate defences over
which the Chins, Nagas, and other dwellers in permanent villages took
so much pains, he therefore sought for a site which was difficult
of approach. When we first occupied the country, every village was
surrounded by one or more lines of stockade made of timber, with
several rows of bamboo spikes outside it. At each gateway was a block
house, and others were built at suitable places on the roads along
which enemies were expected to come, and were occupied whenever an
attack was apprehended. Tradition speaks of villages of 3,000 houses,
and, though this is probably an exaggeration, still from an examination
of the sites it is evident that they must have been very large, and
even when we occupied the country villages of 400 and 500 houses were
not uncommon, and there were two or three of 800 houses.
Now that all fear of being raided has gone for ever, people no longer
feel the need of living together in large communities, and the size of
villages is steadily decreasing. The peculiar vagabond strain in the
blood of the Kuki-Lushai race, if not controlled, leads to villages
splitting into hamlets and hamlets sub-dividing, till in the Manipur
Hills we find single houses in the midst of dense jungle, several
miles from the next habitation. This could never happen among tribes
belonging to the Naga group, with whom intense love for the ancestral
village site is a leading characteristic. A short distance outside
the village by the roadside there generally are several platforms of
logs with posts round them adorned with skulls of animals, gourds,
rags, and old pots. These are memorials of deceased heroes, and will
be more fully dealt with later on.
The gate itself was composed either of two large slabs of timber,
or of a number of stout saplings suspended from a cross bar by holes
cut through their upper ends; during the day these were drawn aside,
but at night they hung perpendicularly in the gateways and were
firmly secured between two cross bars. Passing through the gate,
one finds oneself in a sort of irregular street leading up to the
highest point of the village, where there is generally an open space,
from which other streets branch off. On one side of this space will
be the chiefs house, with the "zawlbuk," or bachelors' hall, opposite
it. The villages of powerful chiefs are beautifully laid out in regular
streets which follow the natural features of the ground. When Colonel
Lister in 1850 captured the village of Shentlang he was so impressed
with the regularity with which the villages within sight were laid out
that he was easily led to believe these were cantonments inhabited
solely by warriors. If the village is a large one and contains a
mixed population, it is divided into several quarters, or "veng,"
which are generally inhabited by people of the same clan, and each
will have its zawlbuk, a large building constructed by the united
labour of the men of the veng or the village. As the mithan or gyal
(tame bison) belonging to the village pass the night under the zawlbuk,
it is generally built on rather a steep hillside, so that the natural
fall of the ground may allow ample room for the animals under the
raised floor and ensure good drainage. It is built, as are all other
buildings in the village, of timber and bamboos, tied together with
cane and thatched with either cane leaves or grass--if the former,
then the ridge of the roof is straight and gable-ended; if the latter,
it is far higher in the centre, whence it curves down somewhat abruptly
to each gable. Access to the building is obtained by a platform of
rough logs at the uphill end, where the front wall commences some 3
1/2 feet above the platform. Having stooped under this wall you are
confronted by a low matting partition, surmounted by a huge log, the
whole some 3 feet high, over which you scramble and find yourself in
a large bare room varying from 15 to 50 feet long and 15 to 30 feet
wide, according to the size of the village, with a square earthen
hearth in the centre on which a few logs are always smouldering,
and at the far end is a raised sleeping platform extending the whole
width of the building. The young boys of the village have to keep up
the supply of firewood for the zawlbuk, this duty continuing till they
reach the age of puberty, when they cease sleeping in their parents'
houses and join the young men in the zawlbuk. Until that time they are
under the orders of the eldest or most influential boy, who is their
"hotu," or superintendent. The zawlbuk is the particular property of
the unmarried men of the village, who gather there in the evening to
sing songs, tell stories, and make jokes till it is time to visit
their sweethearts, after which they return there for the rest of
the night. Travellers not having any friends in the village use the
zawlbuk as a rest-house, but eating and drinking are seldom, if ever,
carried on there. The zawlbuk is an institution common to many tribes,
but among the clans I am dealing with it is confined to the Lushei
and the clans most nearly allied to them. Its appearance among the
Chiru and Vaiphei emphasises the close connection between these clans
and the Lusheis.
The houses all abut on the street, but small gardens are often found at
the back, in which sugar cane, beans, cucumbers, &c., are grown. The
houses of the chief's advisers and wealthy men are generally grouped
near his, but should the chief have more than one wife, or should
he have some less fortunate relations dependent on him, their houses
will be found scattered through the village, each forming a centre of
a quarter or a veng, from the inhabitants of which the chief allows
them to collect the dues, which are his by right.
The steepness of the hillside is no obstacle to house building,
and frequently the roof of one house will be lower than the floor
of the one immediately above it. The Lushais have been nomadic ever
since their ancestors started on their western trek some 200 years
ago. The method of cultivation which they follow is very wasteful,
and a large village soon uses up all the land within reach, and then
a move becomes imperative. Their custom of burying their dead within
the village tends to make a site unhealthy, especially as the water
supply is usually so situated as to receive the drainage of the
village, and when the rate of mortality rises unduly high, a move
is at once made. In old times these moves were often of considerable
length--sometimes as much as two or three days' journey--and sometimes
a halt for a whole season would be made at some temporary site, the
people living in huts alongside their cultivation. The selection of
a new site is a matter of much thought, and before a final decision
is arrived at, a deputation of elders is sent to sleep at the proposed
site, taking with them a cock. If the bird crows lustily an hour before
daybreak, as all good cocks should, the site is approved of. Sites of
villages which have been burnt by enemies are eschewed as unlucky,
and a chief when re-occupying a site of some other chief's village
generally tries to establish himself slightly to one side or other,
in hopes that the new site will bear his name for many years.
As soon as the move has been decided on, arrangements are made for
cutting the jhums near the new site, and during the rains all the
workers live either in the jhum houses, or in temporary shelters
built near the new site, to which, after the harvest, they laboriously
carry all their belongings on their own backs, as they own no beasts
of burden. These constant moves have had a great share in moulding
the Lushai character, for when you have to carry all your worldly
goods from your old to your new house every four or five years, it is
not strange if you are disinclined to amass more than is absolutely
necessary, and gradually become content with very little, and prefer
ease and idleness to toiling in the hopes of being able to add to
your worldly possessions. This I believe to be the explanation of the
difference between the Lushai and the Chins, the latter being eager
to earn money by work or trade, while the former far prefer to lie
smoking in the sun.
[4. Houses.] The house of a commoner consists of three parts, the
front verandah, approached by a rough platform of logs, the main room,
and a small closet partitioned off at the far end, beyond which there
will sometimes be a small bamboo platform. The verandah is termed
"sum-hmun," from the "sum," or mortar in which the paddy is cleaned,
which has its place here. On one side the careful housewife stacks
her firewood, and the front wall of the house is the place on which
the householder, if he is a sportsman, displays the skulls of the
animals and birds he has slain; among them hang baskets in which the
fowls lay, and even sit on their eggs, hatching out as numerous and as
healthy broods as do the most pampered inhabitants of model poultry
farms. The fowls spend the night in long tubular bamboo baskets,
hung under the eaves, access to which is gained by climbing up an
inclined stick from the front verandah. Hens with broods are shut up
each night in special baskets with sliding doors.
From the verandah a small door, about 2 1/2 feet by 4, with a very
high sill, opens into the house. This door is placed at the side
furthest from the hill, and consists of a panel of split bamboo work
attached to a long bamboo which slides to and fro, resting in the
groove between two other bamboos lashed on to the top of the sill,
in which there is generally a small opening, with a swinging door,
for use of the dogs and fowls when the big door is closed. Immediately
inside the door, in one corner, are collected the hollow bamboo tubes
which take the place of water pots; opposite will often be a large
circular bamboo bin containing the household's supply of paddy. Next
to this is a sleeping platform, known as "kum-ai," beyond which is
the hearth of earth, in the centre of which three stones or pieces
of iron are fixed, on which the cooking pot rests. The earth is
kept in its place by three pieces of wood, that in front being a
wide plank with the top carefully smoothed, which forms a favourite
seat during cold weather. The earth is put in wet and well kneaded,
and eventually becomes as hard as brick. Along the wall an earthen
shelf serves the double purpose of keeping the fire from the wall and
affording a resting place for the pots. Over the hearth are hung two
bamboo shelves, one above the other, on which to-morrow's supply of
paddy is dried, and various odds and ends are stored. These shelves
also serve to keep the sparks from reaching the roof. Beyond the
fireplace is another sleeping place, called the "kum-pui"--i.e.,
big bed--which is reserved for the parents, while the young children
and unmarried girls use the kum-ai; the bigger boys and young men,
as has already been stated, sleeping in the zawlbuk. Beyond the
kum-pui comes the partition dividing off the small recess used as a
lumber room, and often as a closet. The beds and hearth are always
on the side of the house nearest to the hillside, and do not usually
extend quite to the centre, the rest of the floor being vacant, and,
in order to avoid obstructing this, the posts which support the ridge
are placed slanting, passing through the floor in line with the edge
of the hearth. Along the wall opposite to the hearth are lashed two
or more bamboos, forming convenient shelves, while a platform of the
same useful plant is constructed from one cross beam to another. Forked
sticks tied to the wall or to the uprights form hooks, and the large
bamboos, wherever used, have openings cut in them which convert each
joint into a tiny cupboard. At the far end of the house, opposite the
front door, is a similar door opening on to a small platform, whence
a notched log serves as a means of descending to the garden or the
street. Many houses have bamboo platforms adjoining the front verandah,
on which the women folk sit and do their weaving, while the young
men lie at their ease and flirt with any girls who are good looking.
The houses of the chiefs are very similar to those of their subjects,
only a good deal larger. Entering from the front verandah, the visitor
finds himself in a passage running along one side of the house, off
which open several small rooms inhabited by the married retainers;
the other end of the passage opens into a large room with several
sleeping platforms and sometimes two or more hearths, but otherwise
similar to that above described. Beyond this is the usual closet,
while beyond that is a wide verandah partially closed in, which is
especially reserved for the chief's family. These verandahs, called
"bazah," are forbidden to all except chiefs or wealthy persons who
have given certain feasts. A similar prohibition exists regarding
windows, which are one of the prerogatives of the "Thangchhuah,"
as will be described in Chapter IV, para 1. Openings in the side of
the house are viewed with suspicion, as likely to bring misfortune,
and a most progressive chief told me he had refrained from making any
but the authorised ones, in deference to the strong public feeling
that the whole village would suffer for such an innovation.
The materials of which all the buildings are constructed are the
same--viz., timber for uprights and cross beams, bamboos for the
framework of the floor, walls, and roof, split bamboos for the floor,
walls, and if cane leaves are used to cover the thatch; the whole being
tied together with cane. The uprights consist of sections of hard wood
trees, which are split longitudinally and left to season for as long as
possible. The cross beams which rest on the wall plates appear to us
unduly heavy, while the wall plates seem very weak. The Lushais claim
that the weight of the cross beams gives the house stability in high
winds. The broad bands of split bamboo laid on top of the cane leaf
thatch from eave to eave, secured at intervals by longitudinal bamboos
tied down with cane, give the roof a semi-circular appearance from the
outside. When cane leaves cannot be obtained, thatching grass is used,
but its extreme inflammability makes it unpopular. When cane leaves
are used, holes for the passage of cane ties cannot be avoided, and
beneath each of these a bamboo split in half is secured as a drain
pipe to convey the drippings beyond the walls.
[5. Furniture.] Owing to their nomadic habits the Lushais have not
much furniture. Even in the houses of powerful chiefs but little will
be found but a few rough and low wooden stools, some wooden platters,
some earthenware beer pots, strengthened by plaited cane coverings,
some brass pots, and many baskets in which valuable or perishable
articles are preserved. Property which can be safely buried is often
concealed in this way, a custom which is fast dying out now that
raids are things of the past.
[6. Implements.] Agricultural.--The Lushai's cultivation being
confined to cutting down the jungle, burning it, and dibbling in the
seed among the ashes, he does not require many or elaborate implements
and is content with a dao, an axe, and a hoe. The dao is a knife with
a triangular blade, about 3 inches wide at the end and 1 inch or so at
the handle. It is ground with a chisel edge, the broad end being also
sharpened. This is used for clearing the jungle, and the broad end
is used for grubbing the holes in which the seeds are placed. The axe
heads are of iron only about 1 1/2 inches wide at the edge, and taper
almost to a point; the handles are simply pieces of bamboo, the heads
being thrust through the tough root portion. The hoes very closely
resemble the axes, the heads being a little lighter and broader.
Musical Instruments.--The commonest are gongs and drums, but a kind
of mouth-organ known as "rotchem" and a fiddle made out of a piece
of bamboo are sometimes used. The gongs are mostly imported from
Burma, as much as Rs. 150/- being paid for large ones, but the most
prized are sets of three small gongs, each with a separate note,
on which three skilled performers can produce something resembling a
tune. The drums are sections of trees hollowed out, the ends being
covered with metna hide caps laced together. The rotchem, which is
found in all Lushai-Kuki clans, consists of a gourd into which nine
hollow reeds are inserted, one to serve as a mouthpiece; the others,
which are of various lengths, have small holes cut in them. The
performer blows into the mouthpiece, and, by closing and opening the
holes with his fingers, he can produce various notes, but the music
is dull and monotonous. The fiddle is a very rough affair, produced
in a few minutes by loosening a strip of the outer skin of a bamboo,
without detaching it at its ends, and raising it up and inserting
a piece of stick to act as a bridge; the bow is made out of another
piece of bamboo. The sound of a bugle is very cleverly imitated by
blowing through several lengths of bamboo inserted one into the other.
Household Utensils.--Besides the articles enumerated under furniture,
earthenware cooking pots and bamboo spoons complete the utensils used
inside the house.
[7. Manufactures.] Basket Work.--This is chiefly carried on by
men. The patterns are very numerous, each being adapted to some
particular use. The material is generally bamboo. The "thul" is a
basket with four short legs, about twelve inches square at the bottom,
widening till the mouth is a circle with a diameter of about thirty
inches; this basket is supplied with a conical lid and is chiefly
used to keep valuables in. The outer layer is of finely split bamboo
closely woven, and this is lined with broad leaves well dried, which
are held in their place by an inner layer of bamboo more loosely
woven. These baskets are quite waterproof.
For carrying goods there are the "deron," a truncated cone 30 to 36
inches long with a diameter at its mouth of about 24 inches, holding
about 50 lbs. of paddy; the "em," similar to the deron, but about
half the size. The "bomrang," an open-work basket with an oval mouth,
15 inches by 12, is used for carrying goods on long journeys. The
"paikawng" similar in shape to the em, but with open-work sides,
is for conveyance of wood, water tubes, &c. There are also several
sorts of flat baskets for holding grain, each with its particular
name. The containing power of these is approximately constant, and
they are used as measures of quantity.
Pottery.--The women make clay pots, moulding them by hand. There are
only two kinds in use--a small circular pot with a mouth some 6 to
8 inches in diameter, used for cooking, and a large jar, about 24
inches high and 15 inches in diameter, tapering to about 9 inches at
the mouth, which is used for brewing beer in.
Brass Work.--Occasionally one comes across rough specimens of moulding
in this metal, which show considerable if untrained talent, but they
are very rare, and I attribute them to captives taken from the plains
of India or Burma, or to persons who have learnt from them. The method
followed is to make a model in wax and cover it with successive washes
of clay till a sufficient thickness is obtained, the whole then being
baked till the clay is hard, and the wax has all run out through a
hole left for this purpose. Into this mould the molten brass is then
poured. The commonest use of this work is for the semi-circular tube
required to connect the two arms of the syphons used in drawing off
the rice beer. These tubes are sometimes surmounted by quite elaborate
designs, a hunter approaching his quarry, a tree with many hornbills
perched among the boughs, and on one which I bought are represented
Vutaia and his "kawnbawl," or minister, with leg irons on. The latter
carries on his shoulder an elephant's tusk, which formed part of
the ransom of his master, who, in the ups and downs of the troublous
times in which he lived, had been captured by the Kamhaus.
Iron Work.--The blacksmith is one of the village officials described in
Chapter III, para. 2. The forge is placed in the middle of the widest
street to lessen the risk of fire; it is only a rough shed with a log
platform in front, which is as favourite a resort for loafers as is
the forge door in England. The bellows consist of two hollow wooden
cylinders in which pistons fringed with feathers are worked up and
down. The lower ends of the cylinders are buried in the ground, side
by side, and from them two bamboo tubes converge, meeting just behind
a stone through which there is a hole; the charcoal fire is placed in
front of this stone, and when the pistons are worked smartly a very
strong draught is obtained. The blacksmith does little more than make
and repair the simple agricultural implements of the village, but I
have heard rumours of some who are capable of making gun locks. I think
the form of bellows and the art of working iron have been introduced by
captives, as the same type of bellows is found in the adjoining plains.
Cloth Manufacture.--Cotton is grown in the jhums. It is cleaned in
a home-made gin, consisting of a frame holding two wooden rollers,
one end of each being carved for a few inches of its length into
a screw, grooved in the opposite way to the other, so that on the
handle being turned the rollers revolve in opposite directions, and
the cotton is drawn between them, the seeds being left behind. The
cotton is then worked by hand into rolls a few inches long, whence it
is spun into the spindle of a rough spinning wheel, or occasionally
a bobbin is used, which, being given a sharp twist, draws the cotton
into a thread by its own weight. This method admits of diligent ones
spinning as they go to and from their jhums. The thread having been
spun, it is thoroughly wetted and then hung in loops some three or
four feet long over a horizontal bar, and stretched by several heavy
bars being suspended in these loops.
Weaving.--The warp is prepared by passing the thread round two smooth
pieces of wood, one of which is fastened to two uprights, while the
ends of the other are attached to the ends of a broad leather band,
which passes behind the back of the weaver as she sits on the ground
and, by leaning back, stretches the threads to the requisite degree
of tightness. The woof is formed by passing to and fro bamboos round
which are wound different coloured threads, which are beaten home
with a well polished batten made of the sago palm.
A very serviceable form of quilt called "puanpui" is made by passing
round every fourth or fifth thread of the warp a small roll of raw
cotton and drawing both ends up. A row of these cotton rolls is put
in after every fourth or fifth thread of the woof, so that on one
side the quilt is composed of closely placed tufts of cotton.
Dyeing.--The commonest dye is obtained by boiling the leaves of
the Assam indigo (Strobilanthes flaccidifolia). Many immersions
are required to render the colour permanent, and as the plant,
which is cultivated near the villages or in the gardens, does not
grow luxuriantly, it is seldom possible to obtain enough leaves in
any one year for more than two immersions, so that the whole process
may take two or three years.
Several red and yellow dyes are known, but they are little used,
and most of the thread, excepting the blue and white, is obtained
from the bazars.
Ornamentation.--Cloths are ornamented almost entirely by lines
of different colours. White cloths have blue and red stripes down
the centre and sometimes one transversely about a foot from either
end. Coloured cloths are mainly blue, with stripes of red, yellow,
and green. Zigzags are not uncommon, and short lengths of this pattern
are placed haphazard on cloths and coats. The stems of women's pipes
are ornamented with spirals and coils.
[8. Domestic animals.] The most valued animal is the mithan; these
tame bison wander all day at will in the jungle round the village and
towards dusk return spontaneously, each animal going to its owner's
house, round which it loiters till it receives a little salt, after
which it joins the rest of the herd under the zawlbuk. The animals are
only used for slaughter. They interbreed freely with the wild mithan,
and the hybrids are, I believe, not sterile. The other domestic animals
are pigs, goats, fowls, and dogs. The pigs are the scavengers of the
village, but are generously fed on a species of arum and rice husks
boiled together. The fowls are of a small breed; pure white, brown,
and black are the commonest colours, but there is also a handsome
spangled breed. The dogs have bushy tails, which curl tightly. Dogs
are eaten freely, but their chief value is derived from the demand
for sacrificial purposes. The goats are splendid animals with long
silky hair and very large horns.
[9. Agriculture.] The only form of agriculture practised is that
known to us generally as jhuming, and it consists in felling a piece of
jungle and when it has completely dried setting fire to it. The ground
is thus cleared and manured by the ashes at the same time. Timber
which is not entirely burnt is dragged to the side of the plot and
made into a rough fence to keep deer out. The surface of the jhum
is lightly hoed over and then there is nothing more to be done till
the gathering clouds warn the cultivator that the rains are about to
break, then everyone sallies out, each with a small basket of seeds
slung over one shoulder and the square-ended dao in hand. Line is
formed at the lower end of the clearing, and the whole family proceeds
slowly upwards, dibbling shallow holes with their daos and dropping
into each a few seeds. It is considered very lucky to get well soaked
while sowing. The chief crop is rice, but the maize, ripening as it
does in August, is eagerly looked for by the improvident Lushais who
have probably used up more rice than was prudent in the manufacture
of beer. The rice does not ripen till November or December, though
a little early rice is grown which ripens in September. Between the
sowing and the end of the rains in October the crop requires constant
weeding, a duty which falls on the women folk if the family contains
enough of them. In each clearing a small house is built, well raised
off the ground, in which the cultivators stay during the time the work
is heaviest. The other crops grown are millet, Job's tears, peas, and
beans. Tobacco and cotton are also grown for home consumption. The rice
is cut very high as the straw has no value. It is threshed on a piece
of ground specially levelled near the jhum house. Threshing is done
in two or three ways. The ears are thrown on to the threshing floor
and trodden out by persons dancing on them, or are beaten with sticks
till the grains have all fallen out. Both these methods are rather
wasteful, and a better one, which is much used in the northern part of
the hills, is to construct a platform about 7 or 8 feet from the ground
on which a circular bamboo bin is fixed, into which the ears of rice
are thrown and a young man with a girl as a companion dance merrily
among them, singing all the while, the split end of the bamboos of
which the platform is made keeping up a cheerful clatter. The grain
is quickly separated from the ear and falls in a golden cone on to
the threshing floor, whence it can be easily collected and stored in
large round bins in the jhum houses or in specially built granaries
in some sheltered nook at a convenient distance from the village.
Jhuming is certainly a very wasteful method of cultivation, as seldom
more than two crops are taken off the same piece of land, which is then
allowed to lie fallow till it has again become covered with jungle,
which will take three or four years in the case of bamboo, and seven
to ten if the jungle be trees. Tree land is said to give better crops,
but the labour of felling is greater than in the case of bamboo and
more weeding is required, and if the land is jhumed too frequently the
trees give place to coarse grass, which the Lushais refuse to jhum,
whereas bamboos only grow thicker for cutting.
[10. Hunting and fishing.] All the hill men are very fond of fresh
meat, and are clever at trapping game. Long lines of rough fencing are
run through the jungle, with small openings at intervals, in which
snares are set. Pheasants, jungle fowl, &c., coming to one of these
fences will always run along it till an opening is found, and thus get
snared. Porcupines are killed by a bamboo spear fastened to a sapling
bent back like a spring alongside a run and so arranged that it shall
be released just as the animal is opposite the spear point. Tigers
are caught under a platform of heavy logs, which is supported in an
inclined position by a strong cane passed over a cross piece held up
by two uprights. In a hole under this platform is placed a pig in a
basket; on the tiger pulling at the basket the heavy platform falls
and squashes him, while the pig, being in a hole, escapes. Deer,
wild cats, &c., are caught in snares, a noose being arranged so
that on the animal's stepping in it a sapling to which the noose is
attached, and which is held down in a bent position, is released,
thus hoisting the animal up into the air. The method of releasing
the bent sapling or causing the platform to fall is in all cases
the same. Two uprights are driven into the ground and a bar securely
tied across near their tops. The string or rope which supports the
platform or keeps the sapling in a bent position has a wooden toggle
tied to it. The string is drawn between the uprights and one end
of the toggle is hitched under the bar and the other end drawn down
between the uprights until it is perpendicular, in which position it
is held by a movable piece of wood being slipped across the uprights,
just behind its lower end. In this position the pull of the string is
on the upper cross bar, and a very slight touch will remove the lower
one and set the toggle free; then up goes the string and down comes
the platform or the noose is tightened. The removal of the lower bar
is achieved in several ways. The bait or one end of a string stretched
across the run may be tied to it, or it may be made to support one
end of a tiny platform, on which the unwary quarry treads as it passes.
Pitfalls constructed in former times for the capture of elephants
are found all over the hills, generally on a narrow ridge between
precipices. To catch monkeys some rice is placed on a small platform
at the end of a partially severed bamboo standing at a right angle
to the hillside. The monkey, attracted by the rice, springs on to
the platform and is precipitated on to a number of bamboo spikes
which have been stuck in the ground beneath it. The same device with
suitable alterations is sometimes employed to destroy tigers and bears.
The Lushai is also very fond of shooting, and with his old flintlock
accounts each year for a good number of bears and tigers. If a village
is much troubled by a tiger systematically waylaying its livestock,
a general hunt is ordered, guns are borrowed from the neighbours, and
the tiger, having been tracked into a piece of jungle, is approached by
a shouting mob, from which he flies. Every effort of his to turn from
the path selected for him is defeated by well posted crowds, who turn
him back with shouts and beating of drums, till, wearied out, he comes
to bay and falls a victim to a volley from all the guns present, but
before he dies he has often severely mauled several of his tormentors.
Large hunting parties make lengthy expeditions into the uninhabited
parts in search of elephants and wild mithan. To kill an elephant
with their flintlocks is not an easy task. A volley is fired at the
selected animal, which is then followed for days, being fired at
when an opportunity occurs, till it falls from sheer exhaustion. The
following graphic account of an unsuccessful hunt was written for me
by a Lushai. The Kongpuishiam and funeral ceremonies will be described
in the proper place further on.
"When Hmongphunga's village was at Kanghmun, they intended to go out
shooting. They performed the Kongpuishiam ceremony; they placed the
ashes in the middle of the road. Early next day they went and looked at
them, and in the ashes they saw the footmarks of a tiger, an elephant,
and a man. They started on the hunting expedition, carrying plenty
of rice with them. They certainly found the elephants and fired a
volley at one of them. One of the party was called Hrangkunga. The
elephant ran away. They found it in a narrow ravine. Hrangkunga was
about to shoot at it from above when the earth gave way and he rolled
down close to the elephant, which picked him up and carried him to
a level place close by, and threw him down and trampled on him and
broke up his gun and powder horn. His friends fired at the animal,
and it went off; they could not kill it. When the elephant had gone
they took up Hrankunga and buried him close by in the jungle, and
set out for their village, near which they shot a tiger. When the
people in the village heard of their approach they came out to meet
them with 'zu.' The hunters wrapped up grass and leaves in a cloth
to represent the corpse of their friend. Outside the village they
fired guns and put down the effigy, which was buried by the elders
of the village. Shortly after this they went out shooting again,
and after going some way they saw Hrangkunga's ghost on the branch
of a tree and were very frightened, and went home."
Fishing is carried on with the ordinary casting net, and fish are
sometimes killed with spears or daos by torchlight, but most reliance
is placed on the "ngoi." This is a weir built of timber and bamboos
reinforced with stones, which stretches from side to side of the
river. At one side an opening is left through which the water rushes
with great force into a long bamboo shoot, which curves slightly
upwards and ends in a deep receptacle, also of bamboo. The fish are
carried into this by the force of the water which escapes between
the bamboos, and are unable to leap out. Close by is placed a hut,
well raised off the ground, in which the fishermen live for several
days at a time and smoke the catch. Any chance openings in the weir
are closed with conical baskets which detain small fish, prawns,
&c. These weirs are constructed by the united labour of the whole
village, and any villager can make use of them, but he has to pay a
toll in kind to the chief. Certain spots are peculiarly adapted for
these weirs, and each is by prescriptive right the property of the
village occupying a certain site in the vicinity, any infringement
of which will lead to a serious quarrel.
Deep pools in the smaller streams are sometimes poisoned by having a
decoction of a certain herb called "kokur" or of a bark called "ru"
poured into them. This stupefies the fish, which float to the surface
and are easily captured. The mixture is said to be harmless to human
beings or cattle.
[11. Food and drink.] The Lushai when speaking of food always means
rice. Though he is fond of meat and likes vegetables and seasonings,
he only considers them as a garnish to his rice. When a mithan is
killed to feast the village, the flesh is boiled in earthen pots
in the street and the contents emptied out on to plantain leaves,
whence the feasters help themselves with their fingers, washing down
the savoury morsels with the water in which they have been boiled,
but this banquet in no way takes the place of the regular meal of rice.
Flesh of all animals is eaten, and is not objected to even when
considerably decomposed. The flesh of leopards and tigers is only
eaten by children, but in spite of many enquiries I have been unable
to ascertain why adults abstain from this article of diet. Rats of
the white-bellied variety are considered a luxury. Dogs, especially
puppies, are a favourite dish. Next to rice, maize may be considered
the most important staple. It is eaten boiled, never being ground
into flour. Besides the grains and herbs which he grows in his jhums,
the Lushai finds many edible roots and herbs in the jungle. The young
shoots of the bamboo are by no means unpleasant eating, and a salad
of those of the sago palm is quite a luxury, while the pith of the
latter is much eaten in times of scarcity. When a large animal has
been killed at any distance from the village the flesh is cut into
strips and dried over a slow fire, after which it remains edible,
according to Lushai ideas, for a very long time. Boiling is the only
culinary art known.
As regards his drink, the Lushai has very simple tastes. With his meals
he drinks nothing but the water in which the food has been boiled,
which he sips sparingly, washing the meal down with a draught of cold
water. Intoxicating drinks he only takes when he has full leisure to
enjoy them and in company with a party of friends.
There are two kinds of such drinks, both home-made, from rice. The
commonest is known as "zu," and is a simple partially fermented drink;
the other, called "rakzu" or "zuthak," is distilled. This is very
seldom used, being only made on special occasions. The still is a
very simple contrivance, generally consisting of an earthenware pot
on the top of which a gourd is fixed securely, the joint being made
airtight with rags and clay; through the top of the gourd is passed a
bamboo which is swathed in rags which are kept wet so as to condense
the vapour from the pot. Zu is a very important article with these
people. It is required for the due observance of every ceremony;
a child's birth is an occasion for entertaining its relations, no
marriage can be celebrated without the consumption of zu, while after
his death a Lushai's friends and relatives drown their sorrow in all
the zu they can obtain.
Has a demon to be propitiated, the return of a raiding or hunting
party to be celebrated or a friend to be welcomed, in every case zu
is indispensable.
Good zu takes some time to prepare. After being well bruised, paddy
is damped and packed away in several layers of leaves and kept for
some months--the longer the better. When the zu has to be brewed the
bundles are opened and the contents placed in a large earthen jar and
well pressed down, with a layer of leaves on top, and the jar filled
up with water. After standing a few minutes the liquor is drawn off
by a syphon into a brass or wooden bowl, out of which it is handed
round to the guests in horns or small bamboos. The principal guest is
served first, and as he tosses off the cup he names the one in whose
honour he drinks, who in duty bound must drink next, naming another
to follow him. While the important personages are thus ceremoniously
entertaining each other the rank and file sitting round in a circle
are each in turn receiving a brimming horn full. As the supply in the
jar gets low, more water is added, so that the quality of the liquor
steadily deteriorates. Occasionally, instead of drawing off the zu,
a tube is inserted and each toper in turn sucks up his allowance,
the appearance of the top of a peg, inserted in the layer of leaves,
giving him a hint when to leave off.
Should the zu not have been kept long enough, a cake of yeast prepared
from rice may be required to start fermentation. Well prepared zu
is by no means an unpalatable drink. It contains much nourishment,
and Savunga, one of our opponents in the 1871-72 expedition, whom I
found still living in 1898, was said to have taken little else during
the last two years of his life. The drink naturally varies much in
strength, but even at its strongest it is not very intoxicating, and
it has not the exciting effect which the drink brewed from maize and
millet seems to have on the eastern tribes, among whom violent crimes,
committed during drinking bouts, are very common.
[12. Amusements.] The songs which the folk seem never tired
of singing are slow, solemn dirges sung by the whole party to the
accompaniment of a drum or gong, and are generally in praise of some
former home of the tribe or some departed hero.
The dances also are very slow and monotonous. A single male performer
enters the circle of drinkers and postures slowly, keeping time to
the drum or gong. There are one or two exceptions, such as the dances
in which the performer imitates a monkey or a bird, but generally
speaking they are most uninteresting.
The men are fond of putting the weight; the stone used is a light one
weighing 10 to 12 lbs. and the thrower is allowed to follow on as much
as he likes. Jumping and running races are never indulged in, and,
though I have often prevailed on the young men to try, the results
were always very poor.
The Lushais are very badly off for games. Girls play a game with a
large, flat bean, called "koi." The players divide into two parties,
each in turn placing their kois in a row on the ground to serve as
a target for those of the other party, which are held between the
thumb and first finger of the left hand and propelled by the middle
finger of the right. Should the target not be struck the first time,
each firer goes to where her koi lies and again aims at the target, but
this time the missile has to be propelled in another manner. Sometimes
it is placed between the knees and jerked forward by a sharp jump, or
it is balanced on the cheek or forehead and then projected by a jerk
of the head, or it may be balanced on the instep and kicked towards
the mark. This game is played among the Manipuris, who call it "Kang
sanaba." The koi bean of the Lushai is called "kang" by the Manipuris,
but the latter now usually use round discs of ivory instead of the
natural bean.
A game played by both sexes is "Vai lung thlan." [1]
The players sit on the ground on opposite sides of two parallel rows
of shallow holes. In each row there are six holes and in each hole
five small stones are placed. Each player in turn picks up all the
stones in any hole in the row nearest him and, commencing from the
hole next on the left, drops one in each hole along his row and then
back along that of his opponent. If at the end of a turn one or more
of the holes last dropped into is found to contain only one stone,
the player removes these single stones and places them aside. The game
continues till all the stones have been thus removed, and the winner
is he who has taken most. Counting the stones in the hole before
removing them is not allowed, and considerable skill is required
to judge accurately the number of stones, so as to select a hole
containing the number of stones which when distributed will leave
the maximum number of holes with single stones in them. This game,
under the name of "Mancala Bao" and "Warri," is played by the Negroes
in many parts of Africa, but on elaborately carved boards.
Boys and young men are very proficient with the pellet bow, and many
a bird and squirrel falls victim to the sun-dried pellets shot from
their bamboo bows, with strings of cane. The other amusements of the
children consist chiefly in imitating their elders, the building of
model houses forming a favourite pastime. Swinging is also popular,
the swing consisting of a creeper suspended from the branch of a
tree or from two poles stuck in the ground and tied together at the
top. The swinger holds on to the end of the creeper, or places one
leg through a loop, or sits astride a big knot tied at the end of it.
CHAPTER III
LAWS AND CUSTOMS
[1. Internal structure.] The population of a village ruled by a
Thangur chief at the present time is composed of representatives
of many tribes and clans, which have all more or less adopted the
language and customs of their rulers. I have already described the
rise of the Thangurs and the process by which they either ejected or
absorbed into their communities the other inhabitants of the country.
Our arrival in the country put a stop in certain cases to this process
of absorption. For instance, many chiefs held considerable numbers
of Paihte or Vuite and Khawtlang in a species of semi-slavery. These
were captives or descendants of captives made in war, and nearly all
have availed themselves of the Pax Britannica to return to their own
people. Again, we found certain villages ruled over by non-Lushei
chiefs, who were living under the protection of powerful Lushei
chiefs. In the process of pacification these non-Lushei chiefs regained
their independence and have gathered round them many of their clansmen,
who formerly were scattered among the Lushei villages, and who, if we
may judge by what has undoubtedly happened in other cases, would in
a short time have become completely absorbed. Inquiries lasting over
many years have convinced me that these clans are little more than
enlarged families. In most cases the dialects of the minor clans
have been entirely forgotten, and the only differences remaining
are the manner of performing the "sakhua" or domestic sacrifice,
the position occupied by the corpse at the funeral feast, and such
other minor points.
A stranger might live for a long time in a Lushai village without
knowing that such divisions existed. Every clan is further subdivided
into families and branches. Thus the Lushei clan has several
families. One of these is the Thangur, and the Thangur family has six
branches--Rokum, Zadeng, Rivung, Thangluah, Pallian, and Sailo--but
none of these branches has any further sub-division, though the
descendants of certain powerful chiefs are sometimes collectively
spoken of by their ancestor's name, showing how these clan, family,
and branch names have arisen.
During the census of 1901 an unsuccessful attempt was made to get a
complete list of the clan families and branches. The causes of the
failure were the ignorance of the people themselves as to what clan or
family they belonged to and the tendency to claim to be true Lushais.
Everyone knew the name of the branch to which he belonged, and as
a rule the family name would be correctly given, but in many cases
the clan name was altogether omitted, or Lushei was entered against
families which had no real claim to that distinction.
An old Lushai once asked me why I was troubling myself about family
and branch names, and on my explaining that I hoped to make a complete
list of them he muttered, "Can you count the grains in that basket
of rice?" and turned from me to the zu-pot.
As a sample of the constitution of a clan I give in the Appendix a
list of all the families and branches of the Lushei clan.
My enquiries lead me to believe that practically all the clan and a
great many of the family and branch names are eponyms. In some cases
the name of a village site has been given to its inhabitants, first
probably by outsiders and eventually adopted by the people themselves,
but even in these cases as often as not enquiry will show that the
village site was first named after some famous chief who lived there.
Before the Thangur chiefs had risen to their present predominant
position there were many consanguineous communities scattered over
the hills, living under headmen of their own and each using a dialect
of its own. Some of these communities appear to have had separate
corporate existence for long periods and in consequence to have been
sub-divided into many families and branches, while others were quickly
absorbed by the Thangur and consequently have few sub-divisions.
I have been accused of deriving "Lushei" from "lu," head, and "shei,"
long. If in the salad days of my sojourn among these folks I was ever
guilty of this folly, I hereby publicly repudiate it. There is no
doubt that Lushei, in common with the other clan names, is an eponym.
A versatile and imaginative writer has recently derived "Sailo,"
the name of the branch of the Lushai clan to which the present chiefs
belong, from "sai" elephant, and "lo," a jhum, alleging that because
the elephant is the biggest animal, therefore "Sailo" means the
biggest jhum and that the name refers to the excellence of the jhum
land between Burkhal and the source of the Kornaphuli river, where
he says the Sailos formerly lived. There are some objections to this
theory; to begin with, the Lushais never use "sai" as a prefix meaning
greatness, and secondly half the area mentioned was never inhabited by
Sailo chiefs, and thirdly only a small and little considered branch
of the great Sailo family ever entered this land of fatness and not
till long after the family name had been generally accepted; further
the name of the common ancestor of all the Sailo chiefs is known to
have been Sailova, which is a common name still in the family.
[2. Tribal organisation of the Lushais.] Among the Lushais,
each village is a separate State, ruled over by its own "lal" or
chief. Each son of a chief, as he attained a marriageable age, was
provided with a wife at his father's expense, and given a certain
number of households from his father's village and sent forth to
a village of his own. Henceforth he ruled as an independent chief,
and his success or failure depended on his own talents for ruling. He
paid no tribute to his father, but was expected to help him in his
quarrels with neighbouring chiefs; but when fathers lived long it
was not unusual to find their sons disowning even this amount of
subordination. The youngest son remained in his father's village and
succeeded not only to the village, but also to all the property.
Our rule has tended to increase the independence of the young chiefs;
for in former days, when might was right, it behoved a son to follow
the advice of his father, or the latter's help might not be forthcoming
when danger threatened.
The chief was, in theory at least, a despot; but the nomadic instinct
of the people is so strong that any chief whose rule was unduly harsh
soon found his subjects leaving him, and he was therefore constrained
to govern according to custom.
To assist him each chief appoints one or more elderly men, known
as "upa." These form a sort of council which discusses all matters
connected with the village, and decides all disputes between people of
the village, for which they receive fees termed "salam" from the party
who loses the case. These fees are their only remuneration. The chief
presides over this council, which is generally held of an evening in
the chief's house, while the zu horn circulates briskly. The chief
receives a portion of each fine levied, a practice found to prevent
undue leniency.
Besides the upas the chief appoints the following village
officials--"ramhual" and "tlangau." The former, of whom there may be
several, are advisers as to where the jhums shall be cut, and are
allowed first choice of land for the purpose, but have to give the
chief five to seven baskets of paddy instead of two, which is the
portion due from other subjects.
The tlangau is the crier, whose high-pitched voice is heard after dark,
when every good householder is at home, proclaiming the chief's orders.
He also arranges how the work of the village is to be divided, who
are to go and make a road, who are to repair the zawlbuk, &c.
In return for his labours he receives a small basket of rice from
each house in the village.
Besides the ramhual and the tlangau, no village is complete without at
least one "thirdeng," or blacksmith, and a "puithiam," or sorcerer. The
former receives one basket of rice from each householder whose tools
he repairs; the latter receives the same amount from each householder
for whom he performs the sacrifices connected with his cultivation.
The chief receives one hind leg of every wild animal shot by any of his
men, and when the killing of elephants was allowed he took one of the
tusks if his villagers were lucky enough to slay one of those animals.
The villagers build the house of their ruler, and formerly they also
cut his jhum, but I regret to say that nowadays they have ceased doing
so, and this is an unsatisfactory sign of how, without any desire on
our part to do so, our rule has weakened the authority of the chiefs.
The chief held rather an anomalous position. Nominally he was
a despot--I am speaking now of the state of things which existed
prior to our occupation of the Hills--but in reality his power was
very much circumscribed, and his subjects could so easily transfer
their allegiance to some rival chief, who would probably be willing,
for a consideration, to champion the cause of his last recruit, that
every ruler had to use tact as well as force. In fact the amount of
power he wielded depended almost entirely on the personal influence of
the chief. A strong ruler, who governed mainly according to custom,
could do almost anything he liked without losing his followers,
but a weak man who tried petty tyrannies soon found himself a king
without any subjects.
The chiefs naturally tried their best to stop people leaving their
villages, and it was customary to confiscate the paddy of any person
who left the village without permission, but leave was seldom refused
if the emigrant intended moving to the village of a friendly chief;
and if the fugitive took refuge with a more powerful ruler it was
extremely likely that a demand for the prompt surrender of all his
property would be made with such a show of force that it could not
be ignored.
I add here two extracts from Colonel Lewin's book, "The Hill Tracts
of Chittagong and the Dwellers Therein," page 100.
"The village system among the Kookis, i.e. (Lushais) is best described
as a series of petty states, each under a Dictator or President. To
illustrate the position of the chief or President I may mention
that in 1866, when on a visit to the village of one of the leading
chiefs among the Looshai, I was standing talking with him in the path
that ran through the village. While we were thus standing a drunken
Looshai came stumbling along, and finding us somewhat in the way,
he seized the chief by the neck and shoved him off the path, asking
why he stopped the road. On my asking the chief for an explanation
of such disrespect being permitted, he replied, 'On the war-path or
in the council I am chief, and my words are obeyed; behaviour like
that would be punished by death. Here, in the village, that drunkard
is my fellow and equal.' In like manner any presents given to the
chief are common property. His people walk off with them, saying:
'He is a big man, and will get lots more given to him. Who will give
to us if he does not?' On the other hand, all that is in his village
belongs to the chief; he can and does call upon people to furnish
him with everything that he requires.
"To collect his people, or in fact to authenticate any order, the
chief's spear, which is usually carved and ornamented, is sent by a
messenger from village to village. Should the message be a hostile one,
the messenger carries a fighting dao, to which a piece of red cloth
is attached. Another method is by the 'phuroi,' which is a species
of wand made out of strips of peeled bamboo, about eight inches long,
in this shape (). If the tips of the cross pieces be broken, a demand
for blackmail is indicated, a rupee to be levied for each break. If
the end of one of the cross pieces is charred, it implies urgency,
and that the people are to come even by torch light. If a capsicum
be fixed on to the 'phuroi,' it signifies that disobedience to the
order will meet with punishment as severe as the capsicum is hot. If
the cross piece is of cane, it means that disobedience will entail
corporal punishment."
The "Boi" Custom.--Among the Thados and Chins real slavery used to
exist, and men and women were sold like cattle. Among the Lushais this
has never been the case, but there is a class known as "boi" who have
been miscalled slaves by those ignorant of their real condition.
Among the Lushais no one but a chief can have boi, who are divided
into the following classes:--
(i.) Inpuichhung (Inpui = big house, chhung = within), Lalchhung,
or Chhungte--viz. those who live in the big house or chief's
house. (ii.) chemshen boi (chem = dao, shen = red); (iii.) tuklut
boi (tuk = promise, lut = to enter). The first class consist of all
those who have been driven by want of food to take refuge in the
chief's house. Widows, orphans, and others who are unable to support
themselves, and have no relatives willing to do so, form the bulk of
this class of "boi," but it is not unusual, if a young widow remarries,
for her second husband to insist on his predecessor's children being
put into the chief's house, unless any of their father's relatives
will take them. The inpuichhung are looked on as part of the chief's
household, and do all the chief's work in return for their food and
shelter. The young men cut and cultivate the chief's jhum and attend
to his fish traps. The women and girls fetch up wood and water,
clean the daily supply of rice, make cloths, and weed the jhum, and
look after the chief's children. In return the boi get good food and
live in the chief's house, and often wear his ornaments and use his
guns and weapons. They have to do very little more work than they
would have to do if they were independent, and, on the other hand,
they are free of all anxiety as to the morrow.
As all the chiefs are of the same family, a boi is at liberty to move
from one chief's house to another. If a chief or his wife treats a
boi very badly, the injured one goes off and seeks for a new master,
and, as a large number of boi is considered to increase a chief's
importance, every chief is willing to receive him, and therefore
boi are generally well treated. In former days powerful chiefs like
Sukpuilala and Vutaia only allowed their boi to go to one of their
own relations, but even then a boi very often would manage to find
an asylum with some equally powerful chief.
When a person has once entered the chief's house, he or she can only
purchase freedom by paying one mithan or its equivalent in cash or
goods. The fact that a boi can ever do this shows that he is allowed
to acquire property. When a male boi reaches a marriageable age, the
chief generally buys him a wife, and he lives with her for three years
in the chief's house: should he marry a female boi, the couple have
to live six years in the chief's house. After this period, he sets
up a house of his own and is known as "inhrang (in = house, hrang =
separate) boi," and works for himself, but is still in some respects
a boi. If he kills any animal he has to give a hind leg to the chief,
and failure to do so renders him liable to a fine of one mithan or
its equivalent. If the chief is in want of rice he can call on his
boi to help him if they have any surplus, and if a boi is in want he
can look to the chief for assistance.
Regarding the children of such a boi, customs differ somewhat. Some
chiefs have made it the rule that only the youngest son, who inherits
his father's property, is a boi, the remainder of the sons and all
the girls being entirely free. Others insist that all the children
are boi, and that the chief is entitled to the marriage prices of
the daughters. They give, as a reason for this, that the chief has
paid for the boi's wife and so is entitled to consider the children
as boi. In either case the children are inhrang boi.
A female boi is allowed to marry, and the chief receives the marriage
price, and when this has been paid in full he has no further claim on
the woman or her children during her husband's lifetime, but should
she be left a widow, she is sometimes forced to re-enter the chief's
house; but as a rule, if she behaves decently, she is allowed to remain
on in her husband's house, and manage his property on behalf of his
children, who are never considered boi. Should she re-marry, the
chief will again receive whatever sum is paid as her marriage price.
It will be seen that the inpuichhung are by no means badly off, and the
custom seems in every way suited to the circumstances of the case. Many
a clever young man rises from being a boi to being the chief's most
trusted adviser, and it is by no means unusual for a chief to take
a favourite boi into his own family by the ceremony called "Saphun"
(see under Adoption, page 54).
(ii.) Chemsen Boi (Red Dao Boi).--These are criminals who, to escape
from the consequences of their ill deeds, take refuge in the chief's
house. Murderers closely pursued by the avengers of blood rushed
into the chief's presence and saved their lives at the expense
of their own or their children's freedom. Debtors unable to pay
their creditors sought the chief's protection, and he released them
from their debts on condition that they and their children became
boi. Thieves and other vagabonds avoided punishment by becoming the
chief's boi. Civil disputes were unblushingly decided in favour of the
party who volunteered to become the chief's boi. It is evident that
the custom in these cases has grown up by degrees from the chief's
granting sanctuary to those who, having committed serious crimes, were
in danger of being killed by those they had injured or their relatives.
Chemsen boi do not live in the chief's house or work for him. Their
position is similar to that of an inhrang boi, but all their children
are considered boi to the same extent as their parents. The chiefs
generally take the marriage price of the daughters of such Boi.
(iii.) Tuklut (Enter by Promising) Boi.--These are persons who
during war have deserted the losing side and joined the victors by
promising that they and their descendants will be boi. A tuklut boi
can purchase his freedom for a mithan, and if there are three or
four persons in one household one mithan will release them all. As
a rule the daughters of tuklut boi are not considered boi. A tuklut
boi does not live in the chief's house, and is in most respects in
the same position as an inhrang boi.
Chemshen boi have not been recognised by our officers, and whenever
one has claimed protection he has been released. The tuklut boi have
also not been formally recognised, but their duties weigh so lightly
on them that they seldom claim their release, and in their case, as in
that of the "sal," the class, receiving no fresh recruits, will soon
cease to exist. As regards the inpuichhung boi, the custom seems well
suited to the people and provides for the maintenance of the poor, old,
and destitute, and it would be extremely unwise to attempt to alter it.
When we first visited Kairuma in 1891, we found some 80 houses of
Thado, Biate, and other clans living in his village (in a species of
serfdom) very much on the footing of the tuklut boi, only that Kairuma
received a mithan out of the marriage price of each of the daughters
as well as the other dues. These people were remnants of conquered
clans and were not allowed to leave the village. I was assured that,
if any of them tried to run away, a party of young men would be at
once sent off to kill or bring back the fugitives. When Kairuma's
village was burnt, owing to its continued contumacious behaviour,
all these people made their escape to the villages of their own clans.
Sal.--Persons captured in raids are called "sal"; their position is
quite different from that of any of the classes of boi. They are the
personal property of their captors, and I am told that when guns first
made their appearance in the hills the western tribes used to exchange
their sal with the eastern tribes for guns, one strong sal being worth
two guns. As a rule only children and marriageable women were taken
captive, and the latter were disposed of in marriage, the lucky captor
acting in loco parentis and taking the marriage price. The children
grew up in the captor's house as his children, and as a rule were so
well treated that they seldom wished to return to their former homes.
[3. Marriage.] The Lushais have wide views as to matrimony. A young
man is not hampered in his choice by any table of prohibited degrees,
nor is his choice confined to any particular family or clan; in fact,
he can practically marry any woman he chooses except his sister or his
mother. There is, however, a certain amount of prejudice against first
cousins on the father's side marrying, but the reason generally given
for this is that when a girl's parents have to consider the question of
her marriage they naturally try to dispose of her outside the family,
in order that her price may increase the wealth of the family, not
merely transfer it from one brother to another. I have, however, been
told that girls object to marrying their "brothers." Among the chiefs
the desire to marry another chief's daughter limits the young man's
choice, and marriage among first cousins is more frequent than among
commoners. Marriage among nearly all the other clans dealt with in this
monograph is endogamous as regards the clan, but exogamous as regards
the family. When we consider the composition of the following of the
Thangur chiefs, we see at once the cause of this difference, for any
restrictions on intermarriage would have interfered with that fusion
of clans which was so necessary for the establishment of their power.
Regarding the number of his wives also the Lushai has great latitude;
in fact, it is simply a matter of money. Experience has taught
them that two wives in one house is not conducive to peace, and
consequently polygamy is almost entirely confined to the chiefs,
for few others can afford to keep up two establishments. Marriage
is purely a civil contract, although, as is described in Chapter IV,
para. 7, a pseudo-religious ceremony is performed.
Among Lushais the following sums constitute the price which has to
be paid for a wife:--
(i.) Manpui (Principal Price).--This is paid to the bride's nearest
male relative on the father's side. In case the bride's father is
dead and she has brothers these divide the manpui, but if any one of
them has contributed more than the others to the girl's support, or
has provided her "thuam"--i.e., her trousseau--he receives a larger
share of the manpui than the others.
The manpui is always reckoned in mithan, and varies according to the
family of the bride. Thus a Thangur maiden is valued at ten mithan,
while less aristocratic girls are worth less, the lowest price being
three. A custom seems springing up of counting the manpui in "tlai" =
Rs. 20/-. If the bride's "thuam," or trousseau, is a good one a sum
of Rs. 20/-, called "tlai," is added to the manpui, but should the
woman die without issue, this sum will not be paid, as the thuam will
return to her father's family. If she has children these inherit the
thuam, and therefore in such cases the tlai must be paid. The thuam
consists of necklaces, earrings, and superior cloths, not articles
for everyday use.
(ii.) Pushum.--The perquisite of the nearest male relative on the
mother's side or of a person specially chosen as the bride's "pu"
or protector. It varies between Rs. 4/-, and Rs. 10/- but in the case
of a chief's daughter it is a mithan.
(iii.) Palal.--The bride or her relations select some trusted friend,
who may be of any family, whom they appoint her "palal," or trustee,
and he is expected to look after her interests throughout her whole
married life. His fee varies in accordance with the pushum.
(iv.) Niman (Aunt's Price).--A sum equal to the pushum which has to
be paid to the bride's aunt on her father's side. If there are several
aunts the eldest takes the "niman" of the eldest niece and the second
aunt that of the second niece and so on. It is possible for a niece
to refuse to allow her aunt to take the niman and to select another
person of her own family.
(v.) Thian.--The "thian," or friend, is a female palal, but she only
receives a small sum from Rs. 10/- downwards.
(vi.) Nau Puan Puak Man (Price of Carrying the Younger Sister in
her Cloth).--Each sister receives this from the husband of her next
younger sister. Among Sailo it varies from Rs. 20/- to Rs. 40/-;
in other families it is only Rs. 3/- or Rs. 4/-. In the case of the
eldest sister it is taken by some near female relative.
These sums are never paid down at once; in fact, they are allowed to
remain unpaid for many years, but, as a rule, in each family it is
the custom to pay a certain amount of the manpui before the marriage;
this is called "sum hma hruai," "price before taking."
Divorce.--The bonds of matrimony are extremely loose and are very
easily slipped off. If a couple disagree they simply separate. The
woman returns to her parents and the man renounces all claim to any
portion of her price which he may have paid, unless the woman agrees
to its being partially returned. If the man turns the woman out for
no fault he must pay up her full price, if he has not already done
so. If a woman commits adultery or leaves her husband against his
will, however unfaithful he may have been, the whole of her price
has to be refunded.
If a pair who have separated by mutual consent wish to make it up
they can do so. If the overtures are made by the man he is expected
to pay the woman a small sum up to Rs. 20/-. If, however, the woman
makes the advances the man has nothing to pay.
Widow Re-marriage.--There is no objection to a widow remarrying. If
a woman has a son and there is any property, it is proper for her to
remain unmarried and look after her son and his interests; should she,
however, wish to remarry there is nothing to prevent her, but her
late husband's relatives will take charge of the children and all the
property. Should a widow be left with daughters only, it rests with her
husband's nearest male relatives whether she shall continue to live
separately or shall enter his house. It is not unusual in such cases
for the widow to be allowed to bring up her daughters, utilising,
with the heir's approval, whatever property has been left, but the
marriage prices of the girls will be taken by their father's heir. In
olden times a widow had to remain unwashed and with her hair uncombed
for a whole year from the death of her husband, but the period has
been reduced to three months, out of pity for the women, and after
that time remarriage is allowed. A widower who remarries before
three months has passed since his wife's death used to be fined,
but this excellent custom has dropped out of use. Should a woman
elect to live in her late husband's house and bring up his children,
she is considered as still married to him, and should she be detected
in an intrigue her relatives will have to refund her marriage price
just as if her husband were alive.
[4. Female chastity.] The unmarried girls are not very strictly
looked after, and, if they conduct their intrigues with a fair
amount of secrecy, nothing is said. As has been described in Chapter
II, 3, there is a sleeping place on each side of the hearth, that
furthest from the door--kumpui--being reserved for the parents, the
other--kumai--being for the girls and young children. Sometimes,
however, if the family is large, one of the girls sleeps with her
parents. If a young man is found on the kumai nothing is said to him;
if, however, he trespasses on the kumpui he is fined. In some villages
if he even crosses the centre of the hearth he is fined. The fine
varies in different villages, but it is about Rs. 10/-. If a girl
becomes pregnant, the man responsible is at once surrounded by her
relatives, who demand a mithan as the price of his indiscretion. This
is called "sawn man," "the price of the bastard." This has to be
paid even in the case of the child being born dead and in cases of
premature births where the legs and arms are complete.
When the father has paid the sawn man he can claim the child as soon
as it is old enough to leave its mother.
In cases in which the girl has been prodigal of her favours, no sawn
man can be demanded.
In case a man should have a second illegitimate child by the same
woman, he is not expected to pay more than Rs. 10/- and often nothing
at all. For a third child he would, however, have to pay a mithan. In
case when asked to pay sawn man, the man at once expresses his desire
to marry the girl, he would not have to pay the fine in addition to
the usual marriage price. If, however, he delays in marrying her,
he must pay both. In this matter, however, custom varies considerably
in different villages.
[5. Inheritance.] The general rule is for the youngest son to
inherit, but occasionally the eldest also claims a share. With chiefs
it is usual for each son, as he comes to a marriageable age, to be
given a certain number of households and allowed to set up a village
of his own, but the youngest generally remains with his father,
and inherits his village and his property.
Adoption.--Persons of property who have no son sometimes adopt a near
relative, but there is no special ceremony; it is a purely private
arrangement. The custom known as "Sa-phun," is in some respects akin
to adoption. Should a chief have a very favourite boi, he sometimes
grants him admission into his own clan. The "puitiam" being called,
a fowl or a pig is sacrificed, after the appropriate prayer has been
said, and a few of the hairs or feathers are tied round the man's neck,
and he is henceforth considered to belong to the chief's clan. Anyone
can thus admit another to his clan, but in practice it is seldom
done, except by chiefs. I think the sacrifice is made with a view to
propitiate the Sakhua of the clan which the man is abandoning.
[6. Offences regarding property.] Certain articles are said "man a
nei," "to have a price," and the theft of any of them is punished by
a fine of one mithan, quite irrespective of the actual value of the
article stolen. These are--rice cleaned or unhusked, cloths, guns,
brass pots, domestic animals, and wild animals, or birds which have
been killed or trapped. The theft of other articles is punished by
fines of from Rs. 1/- to Rs. 5/-, which are taken by the chief and
his upa, and termed "salam." Restitution of the articles stolen is
always insisted on.
To steal or even to retain a hoe or axe found on the road is most
unlucky, and is supposed to be followed by the death of the finder's
child.
[7. Offences connected with the body.] The punishment in these
cases rested originally with the aggrieved party or his relatives,
who were allowed to exact summary vengeance. Thus a husband was at
liberty to kill an unfaithful wife and her paramour, but if he did
not take refuge in the chief's house, becoming a chemsen boi, the
families of the victims were also entitled to kill him whenever they
got an opportunity. Very shortly after our occupation of the Lushai
Hills, two lads deliberately cut down a man who, they were told, had
murdered their father many years before. The deed was done in broad
daylight, in the middle of the village, and apparently attracted
but little attention. The boys both entered the chief's house, and
I should never have heard of the occurrence had they not applied to
be released from service to the chief.
To cut off the ears or nose of the paramour was a favourite way for a
husband to avenge himself, and he did not always wait to be sure that
there was anything to avenge. A man of Lianphunga's village passed
the night in Tlungbuta's village, and, having been very hospitably
treated by a friend, mistook the house of a very jealous husband for
that in which he was to sleep, and was promptly ejected and deprived
of his ears. Lianphunga, being a more powerful chief than Tlungbuta,
exacted ten mithan as compensation for the injury done to his man,
who, however, received absolutely nothing. The chief kept eight of
the animals and killed two to feast the village, but the unfortunate
victim was too ill even to share in the feast.
Rape or sodomy were punished in the same way, but the latter, if
committed with the consent of the pathicus or with an animal, was
not considered a crime, and there is no doubt that the class of men
known as Tuai, who dressed as women and did women's work, indulged
habitually in this disgusting vice. Fortunately the class, never very
large, has almost died out, but I fear the vice is far from extinct.
[8. Decisions of disputes.] The chief of each village, assisted
by his upa, was the one and only court of justice in the village,
and from their decisions there was no appeal, but nevertheless an
unsuccessful litigant found a way of getting his case reheard. If the
matter in dispute were of sufficient value to make half of it worth a
great chief's acceptance, the would-be appellant could generally find
some powerful chief who would accept him as a subject and take up his
quarrel on those terms. The custom of settling disputes by ordeal or
by oaths, which is so common among the Naga tribes, is almost unknown
to the Lushais. During the fourteen years I was among them I have
only twice heard a party to a case offer to accept the other's oath.
In ordinary cases, a man wishing to be believed will take an oath
holding a tiger's tooth, saying, "If I lie, may a tiger eat me as I
now gnaw this tooth"--suiting the action to the word.
An oath of friendship between chiefs is a serious matter. A mithan
is tied up to a post and the parties to the oath, grasping a spear
with their right hands, stab it behind the shoulder with sufficient
force to draw blood, repeating a formula to the effect that until the
rivers run backwards into the earth again they will be friends. The
animal is then killed and a little of the blood is smeared on the
feet and forehead of the oath takers. To make this oath more binding
they both eat a small piece of the liver raw.
[9. War and head-hunting.] The true Lushai method of making war
was to raid the enemy's villages and carry off as many captives and
as much loot as possible. In this they form a great contrast to the
Chins, whose plan of action was systematically to ambush the paths
in the enemy's country and kill as many passers-by as possible. The
Lushais consider this unsporting and say pathetically, "How can men
live if for fear of ambushes no cultivation can be carried on?" The
Chins were fully aware of the effectiveness of their method of warfare
and resorted to it whenever they wished to extend their boundaries,
piqueting the coveted piece of land so effectually that it was soon
abandoned to them.
The essence of success in Lushai tactics was surprise, and no disgrace
attached to a party of warriors which, on finding the enemy on the
alert, quickly returned home without attempting any attack.
The wars between the different Lushai clans lasted sometimes for
several years, but were not very energetically prosecuted. Thus in a
war between the Thangluah and Sailo chiefs which lasted from about
1833 to 1850, about six villages were destroyed on each side, but,
except on one occasion, but few lives were lost. The exception was the
massacre of Thaurang, a Sailo chief's village, which is still spoken
of with pride by the descendants of the perpetrators. The people of
Thaurang were celebrating a great feast, and in all the principal
houses in the village zu was being dispensed to all comers. There had
been no hostilities of late, and the guards gradually abandoned their
posts and joined the groups round the zu pots. With song and dance
the night passed merrily, and by two or three in the morning no one
was in a fit state to notice that a large number of strangers, whose
drunkenness was only assumed, had mingled with the crowd. Suddenly
a gun-shot gave the signal, and, drawing their dahs, the Thangluahs
fell on their enemies, who, too drunk to know friend from foe, were
slaughtered without mercy. Having burnt the village, the successful
warriors returned dragging with them many captives. The Sailo chiefs
tried to play the same trick on the Thangluah when some time later
the latter were celebrating their victory with a large feast, but
their intelligence department was inefficient and the attack was not
delivered till some days after the feast.
At that time there were but few guns in the country, and so little
was the use of those they had understood that the wad on the top of
the bullet was often omitted, with the natural result that when the
time for firing came there was no ball in the gun, and hot were the
arguments as to the value of this new-fangled weapon. In those days
also they had not acquired the art of making stockades, which they
subsequently copied from the Chins, and consequently there was but
little chance of resistance if the surprise was successful, and the
shouts of the assailants were a signal for a general stampede on the
part of the whole population. The attack was always delivered just
before daylight, and, if successful, but little time was lost; as many
captives as could be caught were collected and loaded with as much
loot as they could carry without retarding the retreat, and the whole
party set off and seldom halted till they had travelled forty-eight
hours. As a rule only strong women and children who could keep up in
the retreat were taken, all other captives being killed on the spot,
and should any captive lag behind a spear thrust quickly ended her
career, and her head was taken on to form an ornament in the raiders'
village. Occasionally a few young men were carried off to be killed
during the festivities which were held in honour of the success of
the raid. If the raiders' chief had a son too young to accompany them,
a captive was frequently reserved for him to slaughter and thus prove
his bravery.
Having put what they considered a safe distance between them and
any possible pursuers, the party proceeded more leisurely, sending
on messengers to announce their success, whose arrival set the
village in a ferment, and everyone commenced preparations for the
ensuing feast. As the brave warriors were seen in the distance the
whole population rushed out to meet them with horns of zu for their
refreshment, beating drums and gongs, and shouting praises of their
bravery. The following is an accurate translation of an account given
me by a Lushai of the proceedings which followed the return of a
successful raiding party:--
"Formerly the Lushais raided the Tipperahs and captured about ten
and dragged them back to their village, and killed them either in
the street or just in front of their houses. Presently they said,
'Let us dance.' They danced before the heads of the slain, and a crowd
collected and watched. The heads were placed on posts around the open
space in the village, and those who had killed men came out into the
space in the centre of the village with their guns and fighting dahs,
wearing their 'chhawn' head-dress, and the girls came with beautiful
plaits of red and black cotton thread and tied them round the knots
of the young men's hair. This is called 'arkezen.' Then the young
men danced beautifully. 'We are very magnificent,' they said. In the
middle of the open space a platform had been built of bamboos like
those in front of the house. On this everyone collected any number
of eggs, and those who had killed their enemies and those who had
felt no fear ate up the eggs as fast as possible. This is called
'malchawh.' Very tall 'thingsia' and 'phulrua' (kinds of bamboo) are
put up in front of each man's house and called 'ralngul,' and they
hang to the end of the phulrua, by a piece of cane called 'vawmhrui,'
a circle of pierced pieces of wood; these are called 'hrangkhual.'"
In wars between Lushais it was considered wrong to kill chiefs. This,
of course, was due to the chiefs being all of the same family.
When starting on a raid each man provided himself with cooked rice
for several days. This was rammed down very tightly into pieces of
bamboo, so that several days' food could be conveniently carried
without fear of any being lost on the road. Sections of bamboos were
also employed as water bottles, the bamboo being cut above one joint
and below the next and a small hole made just below the joint on one
side, which could be easily plugged with a roll of leaves; for sake
of lightness the bamboo would be whittled down as much as could be
safely done. These raiding parties travelled immense distances. About
1850, Vuta, whose village was then at Hweltu, suddenly appeared at
Pirovi's village on the Soldeng, and, taking the people entirely by
surprise, made many captives, among whom were the chieftainess and her
infant son. Many others were killed and much loot rewarded the daring
savages. The distance between the two villages is about seventy miles
in an air line and at least twice that by the jungle paths. Although
guns quickly became common in the Hills, the style of warfare did
not change. In the war between the Northern and Southern Chiefs,
which lasted from 1856 to 1859, each side only made three successful
raids, and the actual number killed in action appears to have been very
small. I once asked one of the chiefs who had been very prominent in
one of the later wars how many men he had killed with his own hand,
and, on my expressing surprise at his admitting that he killed none,
he naïvely remarked, "You see, we chiefs always go last, shouting
'Forward, forward!' and by the time I reached the village the people
had always run away." Though the Lushais were able to turn the Thados
and other clans of their own kindred out of their possessions, yet when
they came in contact with the Chins they were invariably defeated. In
1881 a large force of Southern Lushais raided Bunkhua, a Chin village
to the north of the Tao hill. They burnt the village without much
trouble, but the Chins refused to acknowledge this as a defeat and
kept up a hot fire on their assailants, killing one of their bravest
warriors. When the Lushais set out on their return journey they found
the whole country up, and in a gorge they were greeted with a volley
which laid forty of them low, and the remainder fled in all directions,
and, had it not been for heavy rain, which washed away the bloodstains
and made tracking difficult, but few would have reached their homes.
Although when fighting among themselves the ambushing of cultivators
and travellers was disapproved of, they resorted to it freely when
fighting us, but our casualties were not very great, as the ambushers
were so anxious about their own safety they generally fired too
soon. These ambushes were always arranged below the road, where the
ground fell away very sharply, and, having fired, the brave fellows
hurled themselves down the hill, ignoring all cuts and scratches in
their anxiety to escape.
Head-hunting.--It used to be considered that all inhabitants of these
Hills were head-hunters. In fact, so great an authority as Colonel
Lewin derives the name "Lushai" from "lu," "a head," and "sha," "to
cut." This, of course, is a mistake, as the name of the clan is not
Lushai, but Lushei, and though "sha" does mean "to cut," it does not
mean "to cut off," and could not be used of cutting off a man's head;
but that such a mistake should have been possible shows how firmly
rooted was the belief that head-hunting was one of the peculiarities
of the population of these Hills. I believe that as far as the Lushais
and their kindred clans are concerned, head-hunting was not indulged
in. By this I mean that parties did not go out simply to get heads. Of
course, a man who had killed his man was thought more highly of than
one who had not, and, therefore, when a man did kill a person he
brought the head home to show that he was speaking the truth; but
the raids were not made to get heads, but for loot and slaves. The
killing and taking of heads were merely incidents in the raid, not
the cause of it. I think that the Chins or Pois are an exception to
this, and, as far as I can gather, the glory of bringing in a head
was sufficient to send a young man and his friends off on the raid.
I have also made careful enquiries in all parts of the Hills as to
whether there is any truth in the commonly accepted theory that on
the death of a chief a party was at once sent off to kill people in
order that their heads might adorn his memorial and their ghosts wait
on his spirit in the other world, but I never heard anything which
lent any colour to the idea, and, as regards Lushais, I believe it
to be a pure invention; but it was undoubtedly a Thado custom. If a
single person is killed in a raid every person in the attacking party
is entitled to all the honours pertaining to a slayer of a man.
CHAPTER IV
RELIGION
[1. General form of religious beliefs.] Practically all divisions
of the Lushai-Kuki family believe in a spirit called Pathian, who is
supposed to be the creator of everything and is a beneficent being,
but has, however, little concern with men.
Far more important to the average man are the numerous "Huai" or
demons, who inhabit every stream, mountain, and forest, and to whom
every illness and misfortune is attributed. The "puithiam" (sorcerer)
is supposed to know what demon is causing the trouble and what form
of sacrifice will appease him, and a Lushai's whole life is spent in
propitiating these spirits.
In addition to Pathian and the Huai there is a spirit known as
Khuavang, who is sometimes spoken of as identical with Pathian, but
is generally considered to be inferior to him, and more concerned with
human beings. Khuavang sometimes appears to people, and his appearance
is always followed by the illness of those who see him. A Lushai
will say, "My Khuavang is bad," if things are going wrong with him,
and he will also tell you that you are his Khuavang, meaning that his
fate rests with you. I have also been told that there are two spirits
called Mivengtu, watchers of men. One of these is a good spirit and
guards people; the other is a bad spirit who is always trying to sell
men to the Huai. Similarly each person is said to have two "thlarao,"
or souls, one of which is wise, while the other is foolish, and it
is the struggles between these two that make men so unreliable. If
a man hits his foot against a stone, he attributes it to a temporary
victory of the foolish spirit.
In addition to all these spirits, there is another. Each clan has a
special spirit presiding over its destinies. The spirit is known as
"Sakhua," and all sacrifices to him have to be performed by a puithiam
of the clan, and only members of the family can be present.
The Lushais believe in a spirit world beyond the grave, which is
known as Mi-thi-khua--i.e., dead man's village--but on the far side
of Mi-thi-khua runs the Pial river, beyond which lies Pial-ral, an
abode of bliss. Access to this is not obtained by a life of virtue
while on earth, but the due performance of sacrifices and the killing
of men and certain animals and success in the courts of Venus. The
following account of the common belief was written for me by a
Lushai, who embellished his essay with a map. It will be noticed
that in the latter he has inserted the Kristian's (Christian's)
village and their heaven, the road to which is under Isua (Jesus),
while the roads to the Lushai's Mi-thi-khua are watched by Seitana
(Satan). This incorporation of the teaching of the missionaries
with the indigenous belief is not without interest, showing a broad
spirit of tolerance in the author, who, without abandoning the faith
of his forefathers, is ready to admit the truth of Christianity and
its suitability to those who profess it, and sees no difficulty in
providing in the unknown lands beyond the grave a special country
for each race, just as there is in the world he knows of.
Translation of a Lushai's account of the World beyond the Grave
"The first man is said to have been Pupawla; then he died before all
those born after him. Then Pupawla, this man who died first, shoots
at those who have died after him with a very big pellet bow, but at
some he cannot shoot. Hlamzuih (see below, para. 8) he cannot shoot
at. Thangchhuah he may not shoot at. Then he may not shoot at a young
man who has enjoyed three virgins, nor at one who has enjoyed seven
different women, even if they were not virgins; but women, whoever they
may be, he always shoots at. They say that there is a road between
the Mi-thi-khua and the Rih lake. [This lake is on the left bank of
Tyao river 1 1/2 miles from the place where the Aijal-Falam road
crosses the river.] To go there, they say, there are seven roads,
but Pupawla has built his house where the seven roads meet. Then
after Pupawla has shot them, there is a hill called Hringlang hill,
and then there is the Lunglo river [heartless, feelingless, which
removes feelings] the water of which is clear and transparent, and
the 'hawilopar' [look back no more flowers] flourish there. The dead
pluck hawilo flowers and place them behind their eyes and drink of
the Lunglo water, and have no more desire for the land of the living."
The Thangchhuah, mentioned above, are those who have slain men and
certain animals and have given a series of feasts to the village,
which will be found described in para. 9 of this chapter.
Those whom Pupawla hits with his pellet cannot cross the Pial river
and are doomed to stay in Mi-thi-khua, where life is troublesome and
difficult, everything being worse than in this world, the metna of
Mi-thi-khua being no larger than crabs.
The proud title of Thangchhuah, which carries with it much honour
in this world as well as the right of admission to Pial-ral after
death, can only be obtained by killing a man and each of the
following animals--elephant, bear, sambhur, barking deer, wild
boar, wild mithan--and by giving the feasts enumerated below; but
it is well also to have killed a species of snake called "rulngan,"
a bird called "vahluk" and a species of eagle called "mu-van-lai"
(hawk in the middle of the sky). A Lushai gave me the following
account of the journey of Thangchhuah to Pial-ral.
"After death the dead man holds the horns of the sambhur while sitting
on its head, the rulngan will wind itself round him and the horns,
the mu-van-lai will try to seize the rulngan, but the Thangchhuah can
drive them off. That is why they always fly screaming so high in the
sky. The vahluk shade him by flying above him and also hide him from
Pupawla, and thus the Thangchhuah is carried to Pial-ral."
In Pial-ral food and drink are to be obtained without labour, which
to the Lushai appears the height of bliss.
The omission of the tiger from the list of animals which a Thangchhuah
must have killed is curious, and I cannot explain it as the Lushais
have no superstitious objection to killing tigers and the "Ai" of
a tiger is a very special function, as will be seen in para. 4 of
this chapter.
This ceremony called "Ai" is always performed when a man or a wild
animal has been killed. It is supposed to give the performer's ghost
power over the ghosts of the man or animals killed. He is described as
going to Pial-ral leading the ghost of his enemy on a string like a
dog. Every member of a hunting party in which an elephant is killed
or of a raiding party in which a man is slain is entitled to say
that he has killed an elephant or a man. This simplifies admission to
Pial-ral, and now that the killing of men and elephants is prohibited
by an unsympathetic Government, it is popularly supposed that this
qualification will not be insisted on.
Many people profess to have seen Mi-thi-khua in their dreams, but none
claim to have seen Pial-ral. Should a person dream of his parents
and in his dream accept rice from their hands he will die without
fail in a very short time.
I have been told that the spirits of the dead sometimes are
reincarnated in the form of hornets and sometimes in the form of dew,
and if this falls on a person the spirit is reborn in his or her child.
[2. Ancestor worship.] Though this can scarcely be said to be the
religion of the Lushais, yet they firmly believe that the spirits of
the dead are constantly present and need to be propitiated, and one
of the principal Thangchhuah feasts is in honour of the dead. This
is described in para. 9 of this chapter.
At every feast or sacrifice a small portion of flesh, rice, and a
little zu is placed on a shelf under the eaves for the spirits of
the dead members of the family. This is called "rao-chhiak."
A little of the first fruits of each crop is always placed on the
wall under the eaves, above the spot where the water tubes are
stacked, as an offering to the cultivator's parents. This is called
"Mi-thi-chhiah," but there is another more important Mi-thi-chhiah. It
is supposed that the spirits of the departed are very fond of coming
to watch the Kut festivities (see para. 9 of this chapter) and on
such occasions the spirit of a mother will enter her daughter's
body and the daughter then goes off into a trance. The Lusheis say,
"Mi-thi in a thluk" (The dead has taken her place). To cause the spirit
to depart and restore the girl to consciousness it is necessary to
perform the ceremony called Mi-thi-chhiah. Necklaces, earrings, cloths,
petticoats, rice, and zu are placed in a heap on the floor where the
corpse of the deceased was seated during the funeral feast. Then the
worst cloth and petticoat of the girl are burnt in the forge and she
forthwith returns to life. One reason given for the behaviour of the
spirit is that sufficient attention to the adornment of the corpse
at the funeral feast had not been paid. The spirit is supposed to be
able to brood over the slight put on its late tenement; hence the
collection of all sorts of cloths and ornaments on the spot where
the corpse had been seated.
[3. Worship of natural forces and deities.] The Lushais do not
worship the sun or moon or any of the forces of nature, though when
wishing to emphasise a statement they frequently say, "If what I say is
not true, may the sun and moon desert me." But they believe the hills,
streams, and trees are inhabited by various demons. These are known as
"Huai," those inhabiting the water being called "Tui-huai," and those
residing on land being known as "Ram-huai." These spirits are uniformly
bad, and all the troubles and ills of life are attributed to them, and
the sacrifices described in the next part are supposed to appease them.
The following account of the doings of one of these Huai was given
me by Suakhnuna, one of the most intelligent of the Lushei chiefs:--
"A Ram-huai named Chongpuithanga used to live near the ford over
the Sonai. He said he was the servant of the King of the Huai and
was always on the look out for men along the banks of the river. He
spoke through a girl called Ziki, who was often ill, and used to
go into trances. He demanded a pig and professed to have caused
the deaths of ten persons of the village." The following is another
story which the teller fully believed. "About six years ago Hminga,
of Lalbuta's village, was looking at a ngoi (fishing weir) and saw
some Ram-huai. These wore the chawndawl (headdress worn by slayers
of men), and round these were strings of babies' skulls. On his
return home he got very ill, and all his family kept on asking him
what was the matter, but when he was going to tell them the Ram-huai
would seize him by the throat so that he could not tell them. If he
managed to say a few words he got a pain in the head. He did not die,
but recovered." Again, "A woman of Lalbuta's village went out of her
house at night for purposes of nature. Her name was Mangami; she was
enceinte. The Huai of the Tuitlin precipice caught her, and forced
out the immature child and then carried her off down the rocks. The
young men of the village went to search for her and found her naked
in the jungle at the foot of the precipice, where the Ram-huai had
left her. She knew nothing about it. She recovered."
The following story gives rather a different view of the Huai:--"A
man called Dailova, who may be alive now, did not know that it was
time for him to perform his Sakhua sacrifice. He and his son went down
to fetch 'dhan' from the jhum house, and slept there among the straw;
in the night the boy, feeling cold, went into the jhum house and slept
among the paddy, but Dailova covered himself up in the straw and kept
warm. Towards morning two Huais came along, one of whom was called
Lianthawnga, and the other, Ram-huai, called to him, 'Where are you
going to, Lianthawnga?' and he replied 'I am going to Lungzawl.' Then
Dailova, from under the straw, called out, 'Where are you going to,
Lianthawnga?' Then the Ram-huai came into the straw and wrestled with
Dailova. When they had finished wrestling it was daylight, so they
ate their rice and came home, and Ram-huai followed them and wrestled
with Dailova. Sometimes the Ram-huai appears as a tiger and sometimes
as a man. Dailova kept on saying, 'I will wrestle again with him,'
and at last he called out, 'I have conquered.' Then the Ram-huai
told him that his Sakhua sacrifice was overdue and he performed it
at once." In the last story the Ram-huai is represented in much the
same aspect as Khuavang has been described to me by others, one of
whom told me that once, returning from a drinking bout at the chief's
house, he had found a man of huge stature sitting by his hearth,
who after staring at him for a moment or two disappeared. Another,
who also had been at a feast, while on his way home saw huge men
with enormous heads passing through the jungle. In both these cases
the narrators assured me that they were perfectly sober; in fact,
one of them alleged as a reason for being sure that the figure which
he saw was Khuavang was that, in spite of having drunk a great deal,
he did not feel intoxicated. In each case the vision was followed by
a severe illness.
There is a lake called "Dil," between the southern border of the
Lushai Hills and the Arracan hill tracts, which was credited with being
the abode of many savage Tui-huai. No hill man would go within sight
of the water, and when I first went there I had great difficulty in
getting men to accompany me. The story is that some foreigner visited
the place once and climbed into a tree overhanging the water, whence
he dropped his knife into the lake and sent one of his men down to
fetch it. The diver returned without the knife, but with tales of
wonderful beings beneath the water. The foreigner fired his gun into
the lake, whereupon numbers of Tui-huai emerged and chased the whole
party of intruders, catching and carrying off all except their leader,
who made good his escape.
Every form of sickness is attributed to the influence of some Huai
or other, and all tales about Huais either begin or end, "There was
much sickness in our village." At the time of an epidemic there is
probably some hysterical girl, such as Ziki appears to have been, whose
mind has been imbued with tales of Huais, who works herself up into a
frenzy and believes herself possessed of a devil. This theory receives
confirmation from the facts recorded in the next chapter regarding
Khawhring. Not every Huai is known by name, and the sacrifices about
to be described are offered to all Huais of a particular class.
Lashi.--Although the Lashi are not considered as demons or divinities,
yet this seems an appropriate place to deal with them. A Lushai
describes them thus:--"The Lashi folk are spirits which live in the
Lur and Tan precipices. Formerly a Lushai young man went shooting
alone. Beneath the Tan precipice a most beautiful Lashi maiden was
weaving, and on seeing her the youth became love-sick and could not
go away, so he stayed and courted her all day, till it began to grow
dark; then the Lashi maiden, wishing to go to her house, asked him to
roll up her weaving for her, but he would not. Then she said to him,
'What animal would you most like to shoot?' and on his saying an
elephant she at once caused him to kill one and he bore its head back
in triumph, while the Lashi maiden and her mother rolled up the cloth
and disappeared into the precipice." My informant assured me that had
the young man rolled up the weaving he would never have escaped. In
another tale a Lashi youth falls in love with the daughter of a man
called Lianlunga, to whom he appeared in a dream and offered to place
in his tobacco box the fur of many wild animals and to enable him to
shoot every animal the fur of which was in the box. In return for this
Lianlunga agreed to the match, and both he and his wife were given
the power of decoying wild animals. Lianlunga's wife would pinch her
pig's ear, and if it made no noise Lianlunga would go out shooting and
Chawntinleri, a younger sister of the Lashi son-in-law, would drive
all the animals past him, and he shot what he liked, for the Lashi
had tamed all the animals. Lianlunga, however, came to a tragic end
through trying to dispense with the services of the Lashi. He enticed
a wild metna under his house and then tried to spear it through the
floor, but only wounded it and the animal escaped. This offended the
Lashi, who "made the barb of an arrow come out of his heart so that
he died." The Lashi seem to be only concerned with wild animals,
over whom they are believed to have complete control.
[4. Religious rites and ceremonies.] In this part I propose only
to deal with the various sacrifices which play so important a part
in a Lushai's existence, but the festivals described in para. 9 are,
to a certain extent, religious ceremonies, and are performed with the
idea of pleasing the gods. Suakhnuna explained to me, when giving the
description of the Thangchhuah feasts, that Pathian resided in the
sky and that these feasts were supposed to please him. Similarly,
the carrying about of the effigies of their ancestors in the
"mi-thi-rawp-lam" is supposed to be acceptable to the spirits of
the departed. In these feasts I think we may safely trace the rude
beginnings of the magnificent pageants performed by the Manipuris
and called by them "Lai-harauba"--i.e., "Pleasing the god." Before
describing the various sacrifices it is necessary to explain some of
the terms used.
Hrilh closely approximates to the Naga "Genna." The meaning is that
those to whom it applies must do no work, except necessary household
tasks, and must not leave a prescribed area. The "hrilh" may apply to
the whole village or only to the household of the performer of the
sacrifice, and the area in which those under "hrilh" are allowed to
move about may be either their own house and garden, or the village
limits.
Sherh.--This term is used to describe the portions of the animal
sacrificed, which are reserved for the god or Huai. These portions
vary slightly in different sacrifices, but, generally speaking,
they are the extremities and some of the internal organs, such as
the heart, liver, or entrails. In every case the extremities are
included. I believe the Khasis offer these to the "thlen." [2] I have
found the Manipuri iron-workers when about to work a new deposit,
also offer the hair from the end of the tail and from the fetlocks,
and a little blood drawn from the ear of the buffalo, to the local
god. Having become Hindus, they can no longer kill the animal as their
forefathers did, but still make this offering of the "sherh." "Sherh"
is also used in the sense of tabu. Thus a house in which a sacrifice
has been performed may be said to be "sherh," meaning that no one
outside the household may enter it. Portions of the animal killed are
kept for certain periods, during this time are "sherh," and cannot
be touched by outsiders. A woman is "sherh," for some days after her
confinement, and during that time must not go to the water supply.
Thiang-lo is translated by the missionaries as "unlawful," but I think
"unlucky" more exactly represents the meaning, which is that a certain
act will be followed by some misfortune to the doer. [3]
The sacrifices made by Lushais may be divided into eight classes.
1. Sakhua.--A sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the clan or
family.
2. Khal.--These are sacrifices to Huai supposed to frequent the
village and houses.
3. Daibawl.--These are to propitiate the Huai in the jungle,
streams, and mountains.
4. Various sacrifices in case of sickness.
5. Sacrifices to cure barrenness in women.
6. Nao-hri.--These sacrifices should be performed once in a
lifetime in a particular order.
7. Sacrifices connected with hunting and killing animals.
8. Sacrifices connected with jhuming.
[1. Sakhua.] From the chant given below a good idea is obtained of
what the word "Sakhua" means to the Lushais.
Each clan has a special chant or invocation, and though in almost
every case the animal sacrificed is a big sow, yet the method and
place of the sacrifice and the disposal of the "sherh" vary in each
clan, and uniformity in this respect is looked on as proof positive
that two families belong to the same clan.
Among the Lushei clans the sacrifice must be performed by a pui-thiam
of the clan, and the pig is killed outside the house, but is brought
in to be cooked and eaten. The legs and ribs have to be kept for
three days above the rafters, and during this time they are "sherh,"
and if they are touched by anyone of another family, someone of the
household performing the sacrifice will suffer in some way, unless
another pig is quickly killed. The skull of the animal is hung on
the centre post inside the house. The sacrifice is generally made
about once in four years, unless the pui-thiam advises the performance
more frequently on account of sickness. The following is the chant or
invocation used by the pui-thiam at this sacrifice. Each invocation
begins and ends with a long drawn out note. The refrain "And accept,
&c.," is repeated after each line.
Ah--h. Arise from the village. Aw--w.
And accept our sacrifice.
Ah--h. Arise from the open spaces in the village. Aw--w,
And accept our sacrifice.
Ah--h. Arise from your dwelling places. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the paths. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the gathering mists. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the yam plots. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from Bualchuam hill. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from Khawkawk hill. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from Buhmam hill. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from above the road. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from below the hill. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from Vahlit hill. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from Muchhip hill. Aw--w.
The spirits of three more hills are invoked.
Ah--h. Arise from the new village site. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the shelf over the hearth. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the village. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the floor. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Arise from the earth. Aw--w.
Ah--h. Spirits prayed to by our ancestors,
Accept our sacrifice.
Bless Luta's spirit (the householder's name),
Bless us with sons, bless us with daughters,
Bless us while in bed, bless us round the hearth.
Make us to flourish like a sago palm,
Make us to flourish like a hai tree.
Bless us while the sun shines,
Bless us while the moon shines.
May those above bless us, may those below us bless us.
Guard us from our enemies, guard us from death.
Favour us with flesh. (May we have success in the chase.)
Favour us with the produce of the jungle.
For ten, for a hundred years bless us.
Bless us in killing man, bless us in shooting animals,
Bless us in cultivating our jhums, bless us in cultivating the beans.
Guard us in the presence of men, guard us in the presence of
animals. Bless us in our old age,
Bless us when our heads are bowed down.
Guard us from the spear, guard us from the dah.
Those whom our grandmothers worshipped guard us,
Those whom our grandfathers worshipped guard us.
Bless us in spite of the faults in this our chant,
Bless us in spite of the faults in this our worship."
Bualchuam hill is the hill in which the first men built their first
village, Buhmam the hill on which the first bird's nest was built by
a crow. The other hills mentioned give a clue to the village sites of
the first Lushei chiefs. The omission of a prayer to be preserved from
the danger of gunshots shows that the chant has remained unaltered
in spite of the gun having superseded the dah and the spear.
[2. Khal.] There are many sorts of Khal. The following are some of
the most important.
Vok-te-Khal.--A small pig killed near the head of the parents' sleeping
platform, flesh cooked inside the house, and the skull hung over the
sleeping place. The sherh consisting of the heart and liver and fat,
are kept for the night in a pot with salt and rice and then thrown
away. The day of the sacrifice and the night following are "hrilh"
for the household.
Ar-Khal.--Similar to the Vok-te, but a red cock is killed, and instead
of the head, the long feathers from above the tail, called "fep" by
the Lushais, are strung on a cane and hung over the parents' sleeping
place. The sherh, consisting of the head, feet, heart and liver,
and wings, are placed in a small basket and thrown away in the morning.
Kel-Khal.--A goat is killed in a place where the water tubes are kept;
its flesh is cooked inside the house. The sherh are hung on a cane
in the front verandah. The hrilh lasts three days, and during that
time no intercourse must be held with strangers, nor must any of the
household enter the forge.
These three sacrifices should always be performed soon after marriage,
but poor persons postpone them till ill-health shows that the Huais
will wait no longer. Dreams are also the means of notifying when a
Khal should be performed. If a person dreams of a beautiful stranger of
the opposite sex who laughs constantly, then the Vok-te-Khal should be
performed, and if the dream is repeated often Ar-Khal must follow or
the dreamer will certainly get ill. Should a tiger bite the dreamer,
Kel-Khal is most urgently needed, and if not performed the dreamer
will certainly die. Persons who dream this dream are so frightened
that they will not leave their houses after dark, nor stir beyond
the village during the day, for fear of a tiger seizing them.
Van-chung-Khal.--A white cock is killed on the hearth and the flesh
cooked inside the house. The sherh are placed in a winnowing basket
on the top shelf over the hearth with salt and a little rice taken
from the pot before anyone has eaten. The next morning it is thrown
away. Hrilh only for one night.
Khal-chuang or Mei-awr-lo.--"Tail not worn"--because it is not
obligatory for the performer to wear the tail on a string round his
neck as is is done in Kel-Khal.
A goat is killed as in Kel-Khal and the sherh are treated in the same
way, but the flesh must not be cooked till the next day, and it is
"thiang-lo" to eat "thei-hai" fruit. Though this sacrifice is so very
similar to the Kel-Khal, yet it is considered more efficacious.
[3. Daibawl.] The commonest of these is "Tui-leh-ram" (water and
land). This sacrifice has to be performed at the outskirts of the
village. It is to appease the demons inhabiting the woods and the
streams.
A cock and hen are killed. Three bamboos are brought; of these
"theibial" are made, which are pieces of bamboo about four inches long
stuck into the ground. A small basket called "maicham" is also made,
and some small square mats called "lengleh" made of a thin strip of
bamboo bent round and round itself and kept in position by lacings of
black and red threads. These are hung from small pieces of bamboo stuck
into the theibial. The fowls' throats are cut and the blood allowed to
flow on the maicham and theibial. Then three small stones are brought
from the nearest stream and a shallow hole is dug at the place of
sacrifice and lined with a wild plantain leaf. In this some water is
poured and the stones and the sherh are placed in the water. The fowls'
flesh may be cooked and eaten either on the spot or in the house.
Bawl-pui.--This is a very important sacrifice, which is seldom
performed and only after all others have been tried. Two small clay
figures are made, one to represent a man and the other a woman. These
are called "ram-chawm."
The female figure has a petticoat of "hnahtial" (a plant which has
tough leaves used for wrapping up food to be taken on a journey),
and is made to bite the pig's liver.
The male figure is provided with a pipe and a necklace of the liver
of the pig which is sacrificed. A small bamboo platform is made,
and on it is put a clay model of a gong and other household utensils,
and sometimes of mithan.
The pig's throat is cut and the blood allowed to flow over the
platform, &c.
The pig's flesh is cooked on the spot. To take it into the house is
"thianglo." Many persons come and eat it with the puithiam. If the
patient does not die during the performance of the sacrifice or during
the subsequent feast he will undoubtedly recover.
[4. Various sacrifices in case of sickness.] Kangpuizam.--This is a
very important and efficacious sacrifice, and can only be performed by
a certain wise man of the Khawtlang or Vuite clans. It costs Rs. 40/-
besides the cost of the animals killed and zu drunk. In front of the
house a sort of arbour is made of grass and boughs supported on four
sticks. All round this are hung little balls made of split cane rolled
up tight. This split cane is said to be much liked by the devils. All
round the house strands of cane are stretched, the ends being tied to
the arbour. The devils are supposed to be unable to pass these canes,
so that the sorcerer has no fear of the devils who are already inside
the house being assisted by recruits from the outside. Drinking of
zu and reciting of charms goes on during the day, and after dark the
sorcerer and his assistants get up on the roof of the sick man's house
and commence marching up and down reciting charms and ordering the
devils to leave the man, and offering them asylum in the bodies of a
goat, pig, and dog which they carry with them. After some shouting and
firing of a gun the party sit down on the roof over the front entrance
of the house, and the sorcerer commences a long incantation over each
of the animals in turn, beating them and stamping on them. Then some
of the party come down and the rest retire to the back of the house,
and each of the animals is brought in turn from the far end of the
house, being made to walk on its hind legs to the front, and then is
thrown down on to the entrance platform. Lastly a big bough is carried
from the back of the house along the roof and fixed in a hole through
the roof over the entrance. From this bough a cane is stretched to
the arbour. Then all the rest of the party come down, and after many
incantations and much shouting the animals are sacrificed and eaten
by the sorcerer and his assistants, the usual useless portions being
hung up in the arbour for the devils, who are supposed to have been
driven either into the animal or along the cane into the arbour.
Ui-hring.--A full-grown dog or bitch is killed on the entrance platform
and its flesh is cooked in front of the house. Blood is put on the sick
man's wrist, inside his elbow joint, on his forehead, on his chest, at
the back of the knee and ankle. Sherh and head are hung up on a post.
Hring-ai-tan.--Similar, but a different charm is muttered and the
heart is roasted and eaten. The house is "sherh" for one day, leaves
being hung in front of the door to warn outsiders. One day's hrilh
is observed.
Khuavang-hring.--Puithiam decides what animal shall be killed, and
the sacrifice takes place on a platform before the house, the flesh
being cooked in the street. Sherh and head are hung on a post in a
small basket.
Thlako (The Calling of the Spirit).--Sometimes a Lushai returning
from a shooting expedition experiences a sudden feeling of fear
near the water supply, and on reaching his house feels ill and out
of sorts. He then realises that he has lost one of his "thlarau," or
souls, in the jungle. So he calls in the puithiam and requests him to
call back the wanderer. The puithiam then hangs the head of a hoe on
to the shaft of a spear and goes down to the water spring chanting
a charm and calling on the spirit to return. As he goes the iron
hoe head jingles against the iron butt of the spear and the spirit
hears the noise and listens. The puithiam returns from the spring
to the house still chanting and calling, and the spirit follows him,
but should the puithiam laugh or look back the spirit is afraid and
flies back to the jungle.
Epidemics.--The appearance of cholera, or any similar disease, is the
signal for the evacuation of the village. The sick are abandoned and
the people scatter, some families taking up their abode in the jhum
huts, others building huts in the jungle. The neighbouring villages
close their gates to all coming from the infected neighbourhood, and to
terrify the Huai, who is supposed to be responsible for the epidemic,
a gateway is built across the road leading to the stricken villages,
on the sides and arch of which rude figures of armed men made of
straw with wooden spears and dahs are placed. A dog is sacrificed
and the sherh are hung on the gateway. [4]
[5. Sacrifices to remove barrenness in women.] Chhim.--This is
generally performed if a woman does not become enceinte in the first
year of married life. A white hen has to be caught just as it has
laid an egg, but as this is a somewhat difficult feat, and as the
demons, though malevolent, are supposed to be easily imposed upon,
a white hen is often caught and put into a nest basket with an egg
and fastened there till the puithiam arrives and says, "Oh, ho! so
your hen has laid an egg!" Then the hen is killed at the head of
the sleeping platform (khumpi), under which the sherh are placed in
a basket till sunrise next morning, when they are thrown away. The
flesh is cooked on the hearth and eaten.
Nu-hrih.--A black fowl is killed and eaten as in the "Chhim"
sacrifice. The sherh are wrapped in a wild plantain before being placed
under the bed in a basket. They are thrown away in the morning. The
feathers are bound with the thread used for tying the woman's hair and
hung on the wall opposite the fireplace. Whether the couple cohabit
on this night or not is immaterial.
[6. Nao-hri.] The following sacrifices are performed some time during
life, whenever a person is unwell. If a person keeps well they will
not be made. Rich people often go through the whole course for their
children as a precautionary measure. The sacrifices are done in the
following order:--
1. Hmar-phir.--Cock and hen killed on entrance ladder.
2. Hmarchung.--Cock killed on entrance ladder.
3. Hmarkhat.--Hen killed on entrance ladder.
4. Vawk-te-luilam.--Small pig killed outside house.
5. Ui-te-luilam.--Puppy killed outside house.
6. Zinhnawn.--Puppy killed outside house.
7. Zin-thiang.--Puppy killed outside house.
8. Ui-ha-awr.--Dog killed in front of platform, tooth worn round
neck.
[7. Sacrifices connected with hunting and killing animals.]
Kongpui Shiam (Making a Big Road).--This ceremony is supposed to
make successful hunting probable; it also foretells the result. It
is performed before a large hunting party starts and also annually
about April.
Translation of Lushai Account.
"As soon as it gets dusk two men and the puithiam go a short way
down the road which leads out of the village southwards taking a
small pig with them, and there they make a fire, and kill the pig
and cook its flesh. They drink some zu which they have brought with
them in a gourd and also eat the flesh of the pig. Presently they say
no one is to come this way, and the puithiam sweeps a place in the
middle of the road and places some of the ashes from the fire there,
and sings this magic chant:--
"'Animals come, animals of the Ri lake come, animals of the Champhai
come, animals from the village come, animals of Ai-zawl come, you
with the white tusks, you with the standing manes (bears), you with
the branching horns come.'
"Then, picking up some small stones and putting them in their
haversacks, they return. As they are about to enter the chief's house,
they say, 'We are bringing men's and animals' heads.' The upas who are
collected in the chief's house ask, 'Are you friends or enemies?' 'We
are friends,' they reply. Then they open the door and put the stones
which they have brought into a basket, and as they enter they are
given zu."
The next day is "hrilh" for the whole village. In the morning, early,
they go to look at the ashes, and are supposed to be able to see
the likeness to footmarks in them, and thus to what animals will be
killed in the chase. If a man's foot marks are seen, it is unfortunate,
and a man will be killed.
Ai.--In order that a person after death may gain possession of
the spirits of the men or wild animals he has killed here below,
it is necessary for him to sacrifice a mithan, goat, or pig. This
is called "Ai." After this feast, before the skull can be placed in
the front verandah, a religious ceremony has to be performed by the
puithiam. This is called "Sa-lu-an-chhuang"--i.e., "Hoist the head of
the wild animal." A small white fowl is given to him and the skull of
the animal is placed in front of him. He then takes some zu in his
mouth and spits it out over the skull, and, after muttering a charm
in so low a tone that no one can hear him, he strikes the skull with
the head of the chicken. If some of the feathers stick on the skull
it is very lucky. After this the skull can be put up. As is stated
further on, the Lushais believe that the spirit of a dead man cannot
pass to Mi-thi-khua unless some animals are killed. These have to be
provided by the heir, and no greater objection can be urged against a
claim to inherit than a failure to provide the funeral sacrifice. This
explains the reason of the Ai ceremony; the performer thereby enables
the spirit of the dead animal to pass to Mi-thi-khua and in return
acquires power over it. No Ai has to be performed for tame animals,
presumably because they are the property of the slayer already. The
word "Ai" has many meanings--among them are "to fascinate," "to obtain
power over"; and there is also a plant of that name, which in one of
the folk tales is said to have the magical property of driving away
any evil spirit at which it is pointed.
The Ai of a man requires the sacrifice of a mithan and a small pig. If
an enemy is killed and no Ai performed the slayer is very likely to
go mad.
If you perform the Ai you can take your enemy with you (as a slave)
when you die; if you do not perform the Ai you cannot do so, and the
spirit of your deceased enemy will haunt you in this life.
Translation of a Lushai Account of the Sakei-Ai.
"When Bengkhawia's village was at Thenzawl, a tiger beset the
village and in one day killed a mithan and two goats. The crier
called on the people to surround it, and they did so. Thangbawnga
shot it and performed the Ai ceremony; the night before he must
not sleep. A young man cut its tail off; he also must keep awake
all night. The next day he performed the Ai ceremony, sacrificing a
mithan. Thangbawnga, who was performing the Ai, dressed himself up as
a woman, smoked a woman's pipe, wore a woman's petticoat and cloth,
carried a small basket, spun a cotton spindle, wore ivory earrings,
let his hair down, and wrapped a mottled cloth, which was said to be
of an ancient pattern, round his head as a turban. A crowd watched
him and yelled with laughter, but it would have been 'thianglo' for
him to laugh. Presently he took off his turban and carried it in the
basket. Then he took off his woman's disguise and dressed himself
as a man, and strapped on a fighting dah and carried a gun. He also
took 'sailungvar' (white flints) and put them into the tiger's mouth
while he ate eggs. 'You eat the sailungvar,' he said; 'who will
swallow them the quicker?' 'I have out-swallowed you, you have not
swallowed yours; I have swallowed mine. You go by the lower road;
I will go by the upper. You will be like the lower southern hills;
I shall be like the high northern ones. You are the brave man of the
south; I am the brave man of the north,' he said, and cut the tiger's
head three times with his dao. Then the men buried the body of the
tiger outside the village." If the tiger has killed men, his eyes are
gouged out with skewers or needles and thrown away; it is "thianglo"
for the performer to laugh, so he holds a porcupine in his arms, and
if he laughs by accident they say, "The porcupine laughed." The idea
of the performer disguising himself as a woman is that the spirit
of the dead tiger may be humbled, thinking that it has been shot by
a woman; and the giving of the flints while the performer eats eggs
is to show the power of the performer over the the tiger, as he eats
the eggs easily, while the tiger is unable to chew the flints.
Haohuk Ai.--The Ai of a "haohuk," or gibbon, means a feast given to
all who care to attend. Twenty pots of zu are required, but they
are of a small size. A pig has to be killed and eaten. This Ai is
especially necessary because of the superstition connected with the
killing of these animals, which will be found in Chapter V.
[8. Sacrifices connected with jhuming.] Lohman.--When the jhum
house has been completed, the sacrifice has to be performed by the
owner of the jhum. The puithiam has to be called and two fowls killed
by him. A small hole is dug in the ground under the house and lined
with plantain leaves and then filled with water, and three small
stones are dropped in. The puithiam cuts the throats of the fowls,
allowing the blood to fall into the hole. The sherh are then cut off
and hung under the house, and the rest of the flesh is cooked and
eaten in the jungle. The next day is hrilh. The first day after this
on which they work, some rice and vegetables are placed on the top of
one of the posts of the house platform as an offering to the Ram-huai.
Fanodawi.--The chief prepares zu in his house. Puithiam and two upas
go just outside the village on the road to the jhum and sacrifice a
cock, and its wings are hung on either side of the road and the sherh
are placed in the middle of the road. Next day is hrilh; no one goes
out of the village except to carry water. This is to make grain fill
in the ear, and is performed in July.
[5. Priesthood.] There is no regular priesthood; the nearest approach
to priests are the puithiam (great knowers). These men pretend to
be able, by feeling a sick man's pulse, to tell which sacrifice
is needed. The only training necessary is to commit to memory the
various "hla," or charms, which have to be muttered while performing
the sacrifices. Any man who thinks he has a call can acquire these
from a puithiam on payment of a fee of a few rupees. His success in
his calling appears largely to depend on luck.
There is generally one puithiam appointed by the chief, but there is
no limit to the number there may be in a village. As has been said,
the important Sakhua sacrifice requires the presence of a puithiam of
the clan concerned, but other sacrifices can be performed by a puithiam
of any clan. The services of a puithiam are not given gratis. For
performing those connected with cultivation he receives a basket of
rice; for other sacrifices he receives sums varying from a rupee up
to ten rupees, but for some it is not customary to take payment, and
the fees depend chiefly on the position of the person who has to pay
them, as the puithiam, on the principle that half a loaf is better
than no bread, will generally perform a sacrifice and take what he
can get rather than get nothing. For the more important sacrifices,
the fees, however, are always higher.
[6. Ceremonies connected with child birth.] The particular sacrifices
to be performed in connection with a child's birth vary considerably
in different clans and families. Within seven days of the birth,
the sacrifice known as the "Arte-luilam," consisting of a cock and
a hen killed just outside the house, must be made; till this is done
the woman cannot go to the spring and is "sherh," and had better not
leave the house.
Should the woman not observe the custom the child will suffer in
health. Three days after the birth of a child a small chicken and
seven small packets of rice and vegetables are suspended under
the edge of the front verandah. This is called "arte-hring-ban"
or "khaw-hring-tir." The object is to satisfy the "khawhring" (see
Chapter V, para 5) and prevent it entering the child.
If a woman has difficulty in bringing forth, a fowl is killed and
divided equally. The portion with the head is put at the upper
end of the village with seven pieces of cane rolled into bundles,
the other half at the lower end of the village with five rolls of
cane, and the woman is given a little water to drink. This is called
"arte-pum-phelna"--i.e., "to open the stomach with a fowl."
For seven days after a child's birth its spirit is supposed not to be
quite at home in the little body and to spend some of its time perched
like a bird on the parents' bodies and clothes, and therefore, for
fear of injuring it, the parents keep as quiet as possible for these
seven days. If either of the parents works during these seven days
and a red rash appears on the child, the illness is called "borh,"
and the cure, which is called "borh keo," is as follows:--A certain
creeper called "vomhrui" is brought and coiled round and round,
forming a sort of cylinder, and into this the child is dipped three
times. This is done at night after the fire is out, and no fire can
be lit again till morning.
Two days after the birth of a child its parents give a big drink to
their friends and relatives--this is called "nau"--and seven days
later another big feast is given. Some families give the name at the
first feast, some at the second. The proper custom is for the "pu"
to name the child, but nowadays parents generally do this.
Should several children have died young, the parents will carry the
next baby and deposit it in a friend's house, and then come and ask,
"Have you a slave to sell," and purchase it for a small sum. This
is supposed to deceive the Huais. Such children's names always begin
with Suak, [5] and, judging from the frequency with which such names
are met, the custom must be a very common one.
It is thought good to appoint a "pu." The pu kills a pig and a fowl
and eats it with his friends. Some of the "fep" of the fowl are
tied round the child's neck. The pu is a general protector, and he
only can get the "pushum" of a girl. He also receives the "lukawng"
(see Part 8). Should a woman die in childbirth, it was considered
unlucky for another woman to rear the child, which was buried alive
with its mother.
There are no ceremonies connected with attaining the age of puberty. A
boy simply joins the young men in the zawlbuk. After this it is
considered unlucky to cut the hair.
[7. Marriage ceremonies.] A young Lushai as a rule chooses his own
bride, but the arrangements are made by the parents. The would-be
bridegroom's parents select two male friends, called "palai," who
go to the parents of the selected girl and arrange matters. If the
parents are agreeable the palai go on another day with zu, and the
girl's parents brew zu. The price to be paid is fixed by custom, as
before explained, but the amount to be paid down has to be settled
by negotiation, and this is often a long business, the palai urging
the poverty of the bridegroom's family, while the bride's parents
try to fix the sum as high as possible. When this difficulty has
been overcome the palai go again with zu, and the girl's parents
also provide zu. On that day the girl is escorted by her friends
to the house of the bridegroom's parents. This is called "Loi." As
they pass through the village all the children pelt them with dirt,
but on arrival they are welcomed with brimming cups of zu, and the
bridegroom says to the bride, "Oh! your cloth is dirty," and gives
her a new one. After some time the bridegroom produces a fowl, and
this is killed by the puithiam, who says certain charms while doing
so. This fowl is called "rem ar"--i.e., "the fowl of agreement"--and
directly it is killed the bride and bridegroom pledge each other in
zu. Then the bride and her young friends retire, while the rest of
the party remain and have a great feast, consuming the "rem ar,"
and also the fowls and zu, which the bridegroom receives from the
bride's aunt, pu, thian, and palal. The next day towards evening,
the bridegroom's mother or other elderly female relative goes to the
bride's house accompanied by two or three young girls, and they escort
the bride to her husband's house and hand her over to him. The young
companions of the bridegroom sometimes amuse themselves by collecting a
number of fowls under the house, tying she-goats up in the verandah,
while the kids are tied at the far end of the village, and throw
stones at the house throughout the night, so that the happy couple
get but little sleep. This is called "Inngaithlak." On the following
morning the bride returns to her mother's house, and for some time,
occasionally for several weeks, the bride will spend her days at her
mother's house, only going to her husband's after dark.
[8. Funerals.] Different clans have different methods of disposing of
their dead. The following is the custom of all true Lusheis, whenever
the means of the deceased's family are sufficient to meet the expenses.
Directly after death the corpse is washed, the hair dressed carefully,
and then the body is attached to a bamboo frame, placed in a sitting
position, and adorned with fine raiment, necklaces, &c.; if the
deceased was a man his gun, dao, &c., are put near him. In Lushei
families the corpse is put on the floor at the head of the kumpui. In
other clans it is placed against the wall on one side. If the family
be rich a mithan, a pig, a dog, and a goat are killed, but at least
one of these must be killed. The flesh is then cooked in anticipation
of the arrival of the friends and neighbours who are invited to a
funeral feast, "Ral," which is kept up with singing and drinking till
the evening of the next day. Food and drink are offered at intervals to
the corpse. The spirits of the animals killed are supposed to accompany
the soul of the deceased to Mi-thi-khua. If these animals are not
killed the soul of the deceased will either not reach Mi-thi-khua,
or if it does will be very poorly off there. So far there is not much
difference between the Lushei custom and that of other clans. The other
clans, on the evening of the day after the death, bury the deceased
outside the house, without any particular ceremony. The nearest male
relative makes a short farewell speech wishing the deceased a pleasant
journey and asking him to prepare things for those who have to follow
him. With a man are buried his pipe, haversack, and flint and steel;
with a woman only the two first. As regards the burying of food and
drink and weapons the custom varies, but it is generally done.
The Lusheis, however, prefer not to bury their dead. The body is placed
in a box made by hollowing out a log, a slab of wood is placed over
the opening, and the joint plastered up with mud. This rough sort of
coffin is placed in the deceased's house near to the wall. A bamboo
tube is passed up through the floor and through a hole in the bottom
of the coffin and into the stomach of the corpse. The other end is
buried in the ground. A special hearth is made close to the coffin
and a fire is kept burning day and night on this for three months,
and during the whole of this time the widow of the deceased, if he
leaves one, must sit alongside the coffin, over which are hung any
valuables owned by the deceased. About six weeks after placing the
corpse in the coffin, the latter is opened to see if the destruction
of the corpse is proceeding properly, and if necessary the coffin is
turned round so as to present the other side to the fire. The opening
of the coffin is celebrated by the killing of a pig and the usual
drink, and is known either as "en-lawk" or looking, examining.
When it is thought that everything but the bones has been destroyed,
the coffin is opened and the bones removed. The skull and the larger
bones are removed and kept in a basket, which is placed on a special
shelf opposite the hearth. The remainder of the bones are collected
and buried generally in an earthenware pot.
On the occasion of the final opening of the coffin--"khuang pai,"
"throwing away coffin"--it is customary for chiefs to kill a mithan;
lesser people are content with the usual drink. Few Lusheis, except
chiefs, can afford the expense incurred in this method of disposing
of their dead, and in such cases the body is simply buried. It is
customary for relations and friends of the deceased to send animals
to be killed in his honour, and the spirits of these are supposed to
belong to the spirit of the deceased in the Mi-thi-khua.
The skulls of all animals killed on such occasions are placed on poles
round the grave if the body has been buried. If the body has not been
buried, the heads will be placed on poles round the "lung dawh,"
or platform erected in memory of the deceased. These "lung dawh,"
in most cases, are merely a rough platform of logs placed beside the
road just outside the village, but in the case of chiefs and of men
who have killed men in war, the platform is built of stones. A big
upright stone is placed in the centre, and on this various figures are
roughly outlined, representing the deceased and sometimes his wife and
children and the various animals he has killed. An indiarubber-tree
is very often planted by a chief's grave. Sometimes a person who
either has no near relatives, or who mistrusts those he or she has,
will get the young men of the village to build the lung dawh during
his or her lifetime.
An aged couple with no relatives expended all they had on a feast to
the young men who brought and set up a big stone. The old people were
carried in sitting on the stone and cheerfully superintended the feast,
and a month later peacefully departed this life. [6]
Hlamzuih.--If the first child in a family dies shortly after birth,
it is buried without any ceremony under the house, and it is called
"hlamzuih" (hlam = after birth, zuih = to follow). Should other
children subsequently die, however young they be, they will be honoured
with a complete funeral. It will be remembered that the hlamzuih are
exempt from being shot by Pupawla. (See above, page 62).
Lukawng.--On a person's death a sum, varying from Rs. 2/- to Rs. 20/-
according to family custom, has to be paid by his heir to the pu of
the deceased (see para. 6). A chief generally claims the "lukawng"
of all his boi.
Sar-thi.--Deaths from accidents, in childbirth, or those caused by
wild animals, or in war are termed "sar-thi," and the corpse must not
be buried within the village; in some cases the corpse must not even
be brought into the village, if the death occurred outside. Even if
the corpse is brought into the village, it is often not allowed into
a house, but deposited in the forge. In such cases no lukawng can
be demanded. Should the injured person survive for any considerable
time, the death will not be called sar-thi unless the person has
been wounded by a tiger. The fact that tigers eat men is given as the
reason for this. The graves of persons killed by tigers are watched
by the young men of the village for several nights, lest the tigers,
or their elder brothers the wild cats, should come and dig up the body.
In-thian, Thi-thin.--Three months after a death a small chicken is
killed and placed with some rice on the shelf which runs along the
wall. The family indulge in zu. This is apparently a sort of farewell
to the soul.
[9. Festivals.] There are three feasts connected with the crops. They
are all known as "Kut." The first is called "Chap-char-kut"; it is the
most important of the three, and is held after the jhums are burnt,
about the time of sowing, and is never omitted. It lasts three or
four days. On the first day a pig is killed by each householder who
can afford it and zu is drunk. On the second day, about 4 p.m., the
whole population gathers in the open space in the village, dressed
in its best. Everyone brings platters of rice, eggs, and flesh, and
tries to force the food down the throats of their friends. After dark
the young men and girls collect in houses of well-to-do people with
several daughters and dance "Chai" till daylight.
The Chai consists in all the young men sitting with their backs to
the walls, each with a girl sitting between his knees with her back to
him. Individual performers dance in the middle, the remainder singing
and clapping hands. On the third day the young men and girls collect in
the centre of the village and form a circle, every girl being between
two youths, whose arms cross over her neck, holding in their hands
cloths which hang down behind like a curtain. Inside the circle is
a drummer or gong-beater, who chants continuously, the young people
taking up the refrain, and treading a slow measure in time with the
song, while cups of zu are brought to them in rotation. Fourth day,
"Zuting-ni." The performance is repeated again if the liquor holds out.
In villages where there are many Ralte, [7] they kill their pigs the
next day after the Lusheis and the other ceremonies are postponed
one day.
Mim-kut.--Named after the maize, as it takes place when the crop
ripens. It is of but little importance and seems likely to die
out. Cakes of Job's tears are eaten and the next day is "hrilh."
Pawl-kut.--Held at harvest time. Fowls are killed and children,
dressed in their finest clothes, are fed with the flesh mixed with
rice and eggs. The next day is "hrilh."
The correct performance of the Chap-char-kut is thought to go far
towards insuring a good crop for the year.
Thang-chhuah Feasts.--The feasts which an aspirant for the honours
of Thang-chhuah must give are five in number and have to be given in
the order named, as they involve considerable expenditure, but not
within any specified time.
1. Chong.--The feast lasts four days, the first of which is called
"In-chhia-shem-ni," (day for repairing the house). The floor in
the house is strengthened to make it safe for the large number of
guests. The labourers receive a liberal allowance of zu in payment for
their trouble. The second day is called "Zu-pui-ni," from the large
amount of zu that is drunk. The next day--"Rawi-ni"--two boars and a
sow are killed and there is a great feast. The last day is known as
"Chang-do-ni," and on it the remains of the feast are finished up.
2. She-doi.--The feast only lasts three days. The first day is
"In-chhia-shem-ni," the second is known as "She-shun-ni" (mithan
slaughter day), and a mithan is killed and eaten. The third day,
known as "Sa-ru-che-u-ni," is similar to Chong-do-ni.
3. Mi-thi-rawp-lam.--Three months before the day fixed for the feast
all the young men and girls of the village start cutting firewood, for
cooking the flesh of the animal to be killed. A cane is stretched along
from tree to tree beside one of the main approaches to the village
for some 500 yards, and against this on alternate sides are rested
the billets so that they may be thoroughly dry by the time they are
needed. As a reward the young people receive a he-goat and a sow, which
they consume with much merry-making, the skulls being placed on posts
at each end of the line of billets. This collection of wood is called
"sa-thing-zar" (flesh-wood-hangout). The actual feast lasts four days,
which are known by the same names as in the "Chong" and are spent in
much the same way, but on the Rawi-ni, besides the slaying and eating
of mithan, effigies, supposed to represent their deceased relatives,
are made and attired in the finest cloths and adorned with the best
necklaces. These are strapped on a square bamboo framework, in the
centre of which on a tall pole is an effigy supposed to represent the
progenitor of the clan. The oldest living member of the clan then
comes slowly from his house, bringing with him a gourd of zu, and
gives each effigy in turn a little zu, muttering a charm as he does
so; he arranges his tour so as to reach his own father's effigy last,
and when he has muttered his charm and given it the zu he dashes the
gourd down on the ground and, bursting into tears, rushes into his
house, whence he must not emerge for a month. The effigies are then
carried about the village with much shouting.
This carrying about of their effigies is supposed to be very pleasing
to the spirits of the ancestors, and it is evident that the people
consider that these spirits are able to influence them for good or for
bad, though I have never had this view of the matter clearly explained
to me. This carrying about of persons on a platform is considered
an honour, and an instance of it will be found in the description
of the Fa-nai. It also appears among the Aimol and Tikhup. Among
the Manipuris or Meitheis the right to be carried in a "dolai," or
litter, is much valued and is the prerogative of certain officials,
but is sometimes granted by the Rajah as a personal distinction. The
last day of the feast resembles the same day in the Chong.
4. She-doi as before.
5. Khuang-choi.--This is the greatest feast. Wood is collected three
months before, as in the Mi-thi-rawp-lam, but the collectors get a
mithan and a goat as their reward. The feast lasts four days, the
names being the same as in the Chong. On the Rawi-ni at least three
mithan must be killed. The Khuang-choi really completes the series,
and the giver can now proudly wear the Thang-chhuah cloth and have
a window in his side wall, but it is considered unlucky to stop,
and after some time the She-doi is performed again under the name
of "Tlip," followed in the course of a year or so by "Zankhuan,"
a four days' feast similar to the Chong, but one or two mithan are
killed. If the fortunate man's life is prolonged he will continue
repeating these two feasts alternately. A man who has twice celebrated
a Khuang-choi is allowed to build a raised summer house called "zao"
a short distance in front of his living house.
After slaying a mithan in any of these feasts the giver of the feast is
subject to various restrictions. Till he has performed the "In-thian"
ceremony, he may not leave the house nor talk to anyone from another
village. In some cases his movements are not so closely restricted,
but he must in no case cross running water. I am told that should
he infringe these rules his Sakhua would be offended and he or his
family would get ill. The "In-thian" ceremony is performed some forty
or fifty days after the killing of the mithan, and consists in the
sacrificing of a cock. The prohibition of conversing with strangers
is generally enforced only for three or four days, but on no account
must they be allowed inside the house.
The skulls of mithan killed on these occasions are placed on posts
to one side of the entrance to the house of the giver of the feast,
and it is the highest ambition of the Lushai to have a long line of
such posts in front of his house. Each post is cut out of a tree of
considerable size, which is dressed until the lower 7 or 8 feet are
only some 8 or 9 inches thick. Above this the tree is roughly cut into
a plank some 8 or 9 inches thick, forming an irregular quadrilateral,
the lower side being a foot or so long and the upper from 2 to 3 feet,
while one side may be 18 inches and the other 2 feet or a little more;
at each of the upper corners there is a perpendicular projection some
12 inches long terminating in a spike, a short distance below which
a ring of wood is left. The skull is placed on the higher spike,
while on the lower an egg is affixed by a thin peg of fir wood. This
use of fir may be a survival of the time when the clan lived east of
the Tyao, where fir forests are still found.
Posts are erected on similar occasions by many of the Kuki-Lushai
clans. Among the Khawtlang the quadrilateral portion is only two or
three feet from the ground, while the projections are far longer. Among
the Vuite the custom is to put a thin straight post slightly carved on
one side of the house and to plant a number of branches in a clump on
the other. The Tangkhul Nagas, to commemorate the slaying of cattle,
plant lines of dead trees in front of their houses.
The method of killing the mithan at these feasts is strictly laid
down. After the puithiam has said a prayer, the giver of the feast
stabs the animal behind the shoulder in the region of the heart, but
only sufficient to draw blood. The poor beast is then despatched by
other men with sharp bamboos or clubs; it must on no account be shot.
Buh-ai.--This is a feast given by a wealthy person who has had an
exceptionally good harvest. It is not one of the feasts which a
would-be Thangchhuah has to give, nor is there any idea of obtaining
advantage in the next world, as there is in the Ai ceremonies performed
after the killing of animals or men, but it is a thank-offering for
a good harvest. It is not worth performing Ai for a crop of less than
100 baskets. An old red cock and a pig are killed and much zu prepared.
There is a special pot of zu prepared on the platform in front of
the house of which no one who has not performed the Buh-ai can drink,
for others to drink of it is "thianglo." The person who gave the last
Buh-ai feast is entitled to the first drink at this zu, which is called
the "Buhza-zu" (the 100 baskets of rice zu). There is ordinary zu for
the others to drink, and if it is not all finished the first day the
guests return on the morrow.
The flesh of the animals killed is eaten by the guests. At night the
girls and lads dance the Chai, as in the Chap-char-kut. To give such
a feast reflects great glory on the giver and improves his standing
in the village.
The Buh-ai is celebrated by nearly all the Lushai-Kuki clans and in
some replaces the Thangchhuah feasts. Full particulars will be found
in Part II.
CHAPTER V
FOLK-LORE
[1. Legends.] There are many tales common to all the Kuki-Lushai
clans, though the names under which the various personages figure in
them are not always the same. A numerous class of legends deals with
the creation of the world and the first appearance of mankind thereon
and other natural phenomena; another class accounts for the names of
hills and rivers; a third class reminds one of Uncle Remus's tales of
the doings of Brer Rabbit; but there are also a great many which are
simply tales and which are generally a trifle obscene. The following
are instances of the first class:--
Chhura is said to have shaped the world, beating it out flat with his
mallet. There are many tales connected with Chhura some of which will
be found further on. The following translation gives a Lushai's idea
of an eclipse of the sun or moon:--
"Formerly the Hauhul chief swallowed the moon, having been changed
during his dream into an awk, and many people were watching and said,
'The awk is swallowing the moon.' Then he awoke and his mouth was
bleeding. A year later he died and his ghost was turned into an awk and
went up into the sky, and the moon was full and big, and the ghost,
which had been changed into an awk, could not swallow the moon, but
the next day the moon was smaller and he swallowed it. Thus men knew
for the first time that there was an awk."
When an eclipse occurs there is much excitement and beating of drums,
&c. This is to frighten the awk, for the Lushais believe that once
the awk swallowed the sun so effectually that general darkness
prevailed. This awful time is called "Thimzing"--i.e., the gathering
of the darkness--and many awful things happened. Everything except the
skulls of animals killed in the chase became alive, dry wood revived,
even stones became alive and produced leaves, and so men had nothing
to burn. The successful hunters who had accumulated large stocks of the
trophies of their skill were able to keep alive using them as fuel, and
some of their descendants still survive among the Thados, under which
heading they will be found in Part II. As it was pitch dark, neither
animals nor men could see at all, and tigers went about biting wildly
at trees, stones, and people. A general transformation took place,
men being all changed into animals. Those who were going merrily to the
jhum were changed into "satbhai" (laughing thrushes), as can be known
by their white heads, which represent the turbans worn by the men, and
their cheery chatterings. People wearing striped cloths became tigers,
the chiefs of those days being represented by the hornbills of to-day,
whose bills represent the bamboo rods for stirring rice while cooking;
but another version is that the chiefs became king-crows, whose long
tail-feathers the chiefs value much and wear as plumes. The black
hands of the gibbon prove clearly that his ancestors were dyeing thread
when the Thimzing occurred. Another version ascribes the same origin
to the crows. Similarly those who were carrying torches finding their
way down stream beds were changed into fireflies. The Chongthu family
are sometimes said to have been turned into monkeys, the Vangchhia
into elephants; but another version says the elephants were old women
who were wearing their "puanpui"--i.e., cotton quilts--with the tufts
of cotton outside. Wrestlers were suddenly transformed into bears,
who to this day grapple with their foes.
The Paihte or Vuite clan became a species of squirrel, while the
Ralte's ancestor was just saying, "Vaibel kan chep te ang nge?" "Shall
we suck our pipes?" and was therefore changed into a sort of squirrel
called "chepchepa," from the sound it is always making.
The domestic animals were changed into wild ones, but a number of
large boulders in the Van-laiphai are said to represent Chhura's
mithan which were grazing there at the Thimzing. After this terrible
catastrophe the world was again repeopled by men and women issuing
from a hole in the earth called the "Chhinglung," which appeared to
me to be a disused "cache" in which some long forgotten chief used
to hide his valuables on the approach of danger. Mithan reappeared
from gourd seeds, as is shown by their bellow "um mu"--i.e., gourd
seed. Pigs issued from the Rih-lake, wherefore they come to their
food when called "rih rih." Fowls were re-created from the mud, so
to this day they answer to the call "chirih chirih," i.e., "chir mud."
It is not quite clear how, if representatives of the different clans
were changed into various animals, these same clans again issued
from the Chhinglung, but our own legends are not always quite easy
to follow.
The following is a translation of a Lushai account of the repeopling
of the world and of a feast which is said to have taken place soon
after:--
"The place whence all people sprang is called Chhinglung. All the clans
came out of that place. Then two Ralte came out together, and began at
once chattering, and this made Pathian think there were too many men,
and so he shut down the stone. After a short time Thlandropa was going
to hold a Khuangchoi, and told them to call together all the people
of the world, and when this had been done he held his Khuangchoi. They
said to the sun, 'Do not shine, because we want our leader the Sa-huai
(Loris) to lead us in the dance,' and the sun said, 'All right.' At
that time the Sa-huai and all the animals could talk, and the bamboo
rat was beating the drum, and they all danced, and in the middle of
their fun the sun said, 'Oh, how I do want to look,' and shone out,
and all the animals got hot, and could not dance any more, so the
Sa-huai got angry and quarrelled with the sun, and won't even look at
it nowadays. There was a great feast of flesh, but the owl got no meat,
so he got angry, and went and sat on the bough of a tree, and Zuhrei,
the big rat, chaffed him and said, 'Buka has eaten his fill.' Then
the owl being still hungry, got angry and bit Zuhrei. Since that day
they have been at war, and if the owl sees Zuhrei he assuredly bites
him." The point of the allusion to the Ralte is that this clan is
famed throughout the Hills for the loquacity of its members.
Another story connected with this feast is that Thlandropa gave a
number of presents: to the ancestor of the Poi or Chin tribes he
gave a fighting dao, while the ancestor of the Lushais only received
a cloth, which is the reason that the Poi tribes are braver than the
Lushais. On my asking what the ancestor of the white man had received,
I was told he had received the knowledge of reading and writing--a
curious instance of the pen being considered mightier than the sword.
Thlandropa appears to have been a great person in his day, for he
is supposed to have received Khuavang's daughter in marriage, giving
in exchange a gun, the report of which we call thunder. This legend
puts Khuavang on a par with Pathian, and supports the theory that
the differentiation is of comparatively recent growth.
There is a legend that the king of the Water Huai fell in love with
Ngai-ti (loved one) and, as she rejected his addresses and ran away,
he pursued her and surrounded the whole human race on the top of a
hill called Phun-lu-buk, said to be far away to the north-east. As
the water kept on rising, to save themselves the people threw Ngai-ti
into the flood, which thereupon receded. It was the running off of
this water which cut up the surface of the world, which Chhura had
levelled, into the deep valleys and high hill ranges of which the
whole world as known to the ancestors of the Lushais consisted.
As a sample of the second class of tale, the following story regarding
the origin of the Tui-chong river, which joins the Kurnaphuli, near
Demagri, may be taken:--
Nine miles from Demagri, on the Lungleh road, the traveller has to
cross the Tui-chong river, one of the largest tributaries of the
Kurnaphuli, on which Chittagong stands. This river, according to
the Lushais, owes its origin to the self-denial of a girl called
Tui-chongi, who, with her little sister Nuengi, was walking on the
hills whence the river rises. It was April, and the sun blazed down on
them. Nuengi began to cry for water. "How can I get you water on the
top of a hill? Don't you know that all the springs are dry, for are not
the jhums ready to be burnt?" "Water, water, or I shall die," wailed
Nuengi. "Would you rather have water than me?" asked Tui-chongi. "If
I don't get water, I shall die, and then of what use would you be to
me?" replied the spoilt child. So Tui-chongi, to satisfy her youngest
sister's thirst, changed herself into a river, and Nuengi drank and
was satisfied. But the water flowed down among the hills and burst
its way into the country of the Bengalis. The king of the Bengalis
was astonished to see so mighty a river flowing past his palace, and
sent some of his people to find out whence it came. They journeyed
many days, till at length they reached the source of the stream,
and there sat Nuengi, who, now that her thirst was satisfied, would
gladly have had her sister back again to show her the way home. The
explorers were astonished to find so beautiful a maiden sitting
thus in the middle of the jungle, and decided that it would be wise
to take her back to their master, who liked pretty girls. So Nuengi
was added to the harem of the king of Chittagong, and in time became
the mother of a most lovely boy. The king's chief wife, on seeing the
child, thought to herself, "If my lord sees this jungle woman's brat,
he will assuredly love her more than me who am childless." So she had
the child thrown into the river, which flowed under the palace windows,
and frightened Nuengi into keeping silence on the matter. Tui-chongi,
however, in spite of the change in her circumstances, remembered
her little sister, and cherished the child so that he grew and
throve. In the same way six more children were born and thrown into
Tui-chongi's fostering arms. When they were grown up Tui-chongi told
them the circumstances of their birth, and sent them to dance on the
roof of their father's palace, who, hearing the noise, came out to
see the cause of the disturbance. When he saw seven handsome young
men he was much astonished, and asked them who they were. "We are
your sons," they replied. "Why do you lie to me?" said the king;
"liars have short lives in my kingdom." "Nay, O king, we lie not;
we are Nuengi's sons"; and they told him their story. So the king
smote off the head of the bad queen, and installed Nuengi in her place.
Of the third class the following are good examples, and admirers of
Uncle Remus will be reminded of the doings of "Brer Rabbit and the
other animals."
The Tale of Granddaddy Bear and the Monkey.
The Monkey made a swing and was always swinging in it. One day
Granddaddy Bear saw him and said, "Oh, Monkey, let me have a
swing." The Monkey replied, "Wait a minute till I have hung it
more securely." Then he climbed up and bit the cane nearly through
and jumped down again crying out, "Come on, Granddaddy Bear, have
a swing." The bear got in and swung, the cane broke, and he fell
down. The Monkey, intending to eat him, had gone and fetched some
cooked rice (to eat with the bear's flesh). But though Granddaddy Bear
fell down he was not killed. The Monkey, being terribly afraid, said,
"Oh, Granddaddy Bear, hearing you had fallen I brought some rice for
you," and gave him all he had brought.
The Bear's Water Hole.
The Bear made a dam to collect water, and put the Monkey to
watch it. Every sort of animal came crying, "I am dry. Who has
water which he does not want? I am dry." The Monkey always said,
"The water belongs to Granddaddy Bear. If you dare to drink, drink;
if you dare to suck, suck it up." Then the Tiger came along, saying,
"I am dry. Who has water which he does not want? I am dry." The Monkey
replied, "It is my Granddaddy Bear's water. If you dare to drink,
drink; if you dare to suck, suck it up." The Tiger drank it all;
he sucked the place dry. Then the Monkey went to the Bear and said,
"Oh, Granddaddy Bear, the Tiger has drunk your water!" So the Bear
rushed up and began to fight with the Tiger. They fought a long time
and both died, and the Monkey took their bones. "Whose ever bones will
sound, whether my Granddaddy the Tiger's or Granddaddy the Bear's,"
he said, and so, taking the bones which would sound, he made a rotchem
(see Chapter II, para. 6) out of them and he sat in the fork of a
tree and played on it. The Quail, hearing the sound, came up. "Hallo,
Monkey! let me play for a bit," he said. "Oh, ho!" said the Monkey,
"you will fly off with the rotchem." "If you fear that," said the
Quail, "hold me by the tail." So the Monkey held him tight by the
tail, and off he flew, but the Monkey pulled his tail clean out. Then
the Quail came and begged for his tail, saying, "Do give me back my
tail." But the Monkey replied, "You can ransom it by paying eight
mithan." "Oh," said the Quail, "if I have to pay eight mithan for it,
I'll just remain tailless," and flew away.
The following tale is interesting as showing the great prestige the
Tipperah chief enjoyed among the Lushais, who call him "Rengpui." There
are many versions of this tale, some of which are very long. I have
been obliged to abridge it considerably.
Rimenhoiyi married Zawlthlia. Their house was of iron. They had an
eight-fold iron door. They beautified the inside with iron and brass
things. They also had a window (i.e., Zawlthlia was Thangchhuah [8])
and a platform to sit on--in fact they wanted for nothing.
Rimenhoiyi planted flowers, but there was one flower she had
not, called "nipuipar" (bright sun flower--a creeper with scarlet
flowers). When her husband was about to go in search of it he said to
her, "Please don't go outside the house," and having filled the brass
vessels with enough water to last her many days, he went off. However,
the supply ran short and the lady went to the stream to wash, and
one of her hairs was carried down and swallowed by a fish, which
was caught by the cook of the king near the mouth of the river; and
from out of the fish the cook pulled this immensely long hair, and it
filled a winnowing basket. The king sent for the owner of the hair,
and after many episodes she was brought to him. Zawlthlia returning
found his wife gone, but with the help of the domestic animals he
traced her, and, on arriving at the foreign king's village he saw
slaves fetching water; and, ascertaining that it was for the new
queen, he put one of the nipuipar into the vessel, so Rimenhoiyi knew
he had arrived. According to one version, they resorted to the same
subterfuge that Abraham and Sarah employed when entering Egypt and
lived happily till, the king's suspicion being aroused, Zawlthlia was
summarily slain. According to another, Rimenhoiyi married them both,
but as she showed a preference for Zawlthlia the king killed him.
With the help of a wise woman learned in charms Zawlthlia was brought
to life in a more beautiful form, and the king was so struck by the
improvement in his appearance that he asked to be allowed to undergo
the same treatment, and was duly killed, but, unfortunately for
him, was by some accident restored to life in the shape of a dog;
but in this shape he seems to have found more favour in the fickle
fair one's eyes, and a child called Uithovi was born, who, being
very poor, begged for some land of Zawlthlia, who had become king
of the Tipperahs, and was told to take as much as a buffalo hide
measured. By cutting the hide into a very thin strip he was able to
measure a considerable area of ground, but, not content with this,
he voyaged far till he reached the place where money was to be found,
and he became very prosperous. "Nevertheless it was said that to the
present day Kumpinu (the Company's Mother--i.e., the late Queen),
who is a descendant of Uithovi's, cannot get the better of Rengpui
(the Rajah of Tipperah). If the Sahibs fight against Rengpui, all
their crops fail, and much sickness occurs among them. Pathian once
threw down a cannon from the sky, and a great number of Kumpinu's
sepoys tried to move it, but could not, while a few of Rengpui's men
were able to drag it away."
Chhura is represented as a man of immense strength and stature, of
an easy-going disposition, but not much blessed with brains. Thus
one story tells of how, being on a visit, he was regaled with a crab
stew, which he had not tasted before, and liked greatly. He inquired
of what animal it was made. On his way home he forgot the name and
commenced searching. Someone seeing him looking about asked what he had
lost. "Stupid," replied Chhura; "if I knew, would I be looking?" The
passer-by remarked that he smelt strongly of crab. "That's it! That's
what I was searching for," cried Chhura much pleased, and went on
his way. His mallet head, a roughly dressed cylinder of stone, about
30 inches long and 18 in diameter, is pointed out to the curious,
lying beside the path between Leng and Lingvum, where it is said to
have fallen when it flew off the handle while Chhura was flattening
the earth in the Van-lai-phai valley some five miles away. A large
spherical stone in the same neighbourhood is pointed out as one of
the pellets shot from his pellet bow when he was at Thenzawl, many
miles distant.
There are many tales of this hero, who is especially honoured by
the Khawtlang.
Mualsavata is another mythical hero of immense stature. The smoke
from his pipe was like that of a jhum burning. His whetstone, some
18 inches long, lies beside the road near Chongthleng, where it fell
from his haversack, which his wife had neglected to mend.
I have given so many tales in other parts of the monograph that I
shall only add one more here.
The Tale of Him who Demanded His Sister's Price.
He went to the west to demand his sister's price. The debtor gave
him a bamboo stirring rod. If you stirred an empty pot with this rod
it was at once filled with rice. He returned towards his village. On
the way he stayed the night in the house of a widow, and placed his
stirring rod on the shelf over the hearth saying, "Granny, please
don't stir your pot with my stirring rod." "All right," said she, but,
while he was walking about the village, she stirred her pot just to
see what sort of a stirring rod it was, and, behold, her pot was full
of rice. "It is a very good stirring rod," she said; "I will just
exchange mine for it"--which she did secretly. And the owner of the
magic rod went on to his village, and on arrival there he called to
his children, "Set the water boiling to cook the rice." His children
replied, "We have nothing to cook. What is the use of boiling water
alone?" "I have got rice, I've got rice," he said. So they boiled the
water, and he stirred it hard with his rod, but nothing came. "If we
stir more it will come," he said, but nevertheless nothing came.
Then he went off to demand the price from the debtor again, who
gave him a goat which passed nothing but amber and cornelian beads,
and said, "Take it carefully home." "All right," said he. He stayed
the night at the same widow's house, and when he was going out to
stroll through the village he said, "Granny, you will be careful
not to kick my goat on the rump, won't you?" "All right," said she,
but directly he was out of sight she kicked the goat and he passed
many beads. "It is a good goat," she said, and secretly substituted
her own goat for it. Her guest went off and directly he reached his
house he called out, "Prepare strings for necklaces. Prepare strings
for necklaces." His children replied, "Father, we have nothing to
put on the strings. What is the good of the strings alone?" "I have
got beads, I have got beads," he cried. So they prepared a winnowing
basket full of threads. Then he gave the goat several good kicks on
the rump, but it only passed filth and bleated loudly.
Then he went again to demand payment and was given a mallet and a
piece of cane. "The name of this piece of cane is 'Ramdia,'" they
said. He set off for home and again stayed in the same old woman's
house and put Ramdia and his mallet down among the firewood, and as
he started for his stroll he said, "Granny, don't touch this cane,
will you? It is called Ramdia--and you won't touch the mallet either,
will you?" "All right," she said, but no sooner was he gone than,
saying, "They are valuable things," she touched them both. The cane
wound round and round her and the mallet began to beat her. She was
in terrible trouble and shouted to her neighbours; wherever she went
the mallet beat her and beat her till she died.
[2. Superstitions.] The Lushais are an extremely superstitious
race; any unusual occurrence is considered as portending some evil
results. The meaning of the word "thianglo" has been already explained
in Chapter IV, para. 4. Certain acts, dreams, or sights are universally
considered "thianglo," or unlucky, but should a Lushai see any unusual
sight or hear an unusual sound he would at once consider that some
misfortune was imminent and take advice from the puithiam as to how
it could be avoided. The following are some of the superstitions
connected with cultivation.
It is "thianglo" to find, in the proposed jhum, a gibbon's skull stuck
on a tree stump. If in burning the jhum the flames make a peculiar
huk-huk sound; if the khatchhat (nightjar) calls by day, the jhum
had better be abandoned. Should the jhum cutter after his first day's
work dream of water or rice all will be well, but should he dream of
a mithan chasing him or tigers springing on him, he must not continue
cutting the jhum, or he will certainly get very ill and probably will
die. If on the site of the proposed jhum a "thing-lu-bul" is found,
death will certainly claim the cultivator should he persist in jhuming
anywhere near the unlucky object, which is a kind of abortive tree
growth without boughs or shoots, but covered with bulbous excrescences,
which sometimes remotely resemble the human form, and if cut exude
a blood-red juice. Should a tree have a pendant protuberance, called
"thingzang," the jungle near must not be cut. The rubbing together of
two tree boughs is thought to denote the presence of a Huai, who must
be appeased by the sacrifice of a cock and hen, the sherh being hung
under the jhum house with some chips of the tree. Brackish springs,
known as "sa-khi-shi" (barking deer springs), are supposed to be the
abodes of Huai, who are generally satisfied with the sacrifice of a
fowl, the sherh being hung in a basket over the spring, but if the
Huai be greedy the jhumer will fall ill, and then a pig and a dog
must be sacrificed in the same manner.
The following are some of the superstitions about animals:--
A Lushai named Kela visited Aijal; on the road he met a rat,
which stood up in the middle of the road and held its paws to its
head. "What a curious rat!" he said. Two days after he reached
his home he died. To see such a rat is certainly "thianglo." This
incident happened a short time ago; no one had ever heard of such a
rat having been seen before, and the unusualness of the occurrence,
coupled with the death of Kela, was, to the Lushais, proof positive of
its being the cause of his death. The Lushais tell me that sometimes
a muskrat will be followed by her whole family, each holding in its
mouth the tail of the one in front; this they call "In tir mei kai,"
and whoever sees it will certainly die. Should a bear on being shot
fall on its back, and lie with its legs in the air, the shooter will
die. If a bird enters the house prompt measures have to be taken to
avert misfortune. The puithiam is called and the bird captured. The
house is festooned within with the leaves of a certain tree, and the
bird is thrown out of the house by the puithiam, who, muttering various
charms, advises it to take itself off and carry its witchcraft with
it. I came across, in an old number of the Outlook, a translation of
a Chinese poem said to be dated about 100 B.C. in which the following
occurs:--"When a wild bird enters a dwelling it portends that the
human occupant must go forth." The coincidence is curious.
The following translation of a Lushai's reason for considering
the sight of an atlas moth "thianglo" shows the origin of such
superstitions. Atlas moths are rare in the Lushai hills. The "keptuam"
(atlas moth) was the letter bearer between Pathian and the Vai
(foreigner); and once when he was carrying Pathian's letter to the
Vai chief the keptuam made the letter into wings, and flew away and
disappeared, and Pathian was much disturbed at the loss of his letter
and at the disappearance of his messenger, and he made mankind hunt
for the missing keptuam. Now the keptuam did not wish to be caught,
so he said, "Whoever sees me will die"; but as mankind did not know
this they hunted and hunted till at last one saw the fugitive and
died, and so they learnt that to see a keptuam is "thianglo," and
ever since if anyone sees a male keptuam he will probably die.
Should the fowls at midnight become terrified and make an unusual sound
like "i-ak, i-ak" someone will die. Should gibbons be heard hooting
during the night, they have seen the corpse of someone who will fall
from a tree or be drowned. As the gibbon retires to rest even before
the sun sets, it must be very seldom that their shouts are heard at
night. It is "thianglo" to shoot a gibbon, because at the Thimzing a
man and a wife were changed into those animals. The woman at the time
was dyeing blue thread, and therefore the palms of the hands of the
female gibbon are black, though the rest of the body is light coloured.
The rhinoceros is also safe from attack on account of a similar belief,
the folds of his skin being supposed to be derived from the folds
of the cloths of persons who were transmogrified. The natural result
of killing one of these animals is that all members of the slayer's
family sicken and die, but this can be avoided if the successful
huntsman on his return to the village goes straight to the zawlbuk
or forge and remains there a whole day and night, after which it is
safe for him to enter his house, provided that he leaves his gun and
haversack behind and has changed all his clothes.
It is, however, worth noticing that, though monkeys, elephants,
tigers, bears, &c., are also said to have been men before the
Thimzing, there is no reluctance shown to kill them, and in fact
the chiefs wear plumes of the king crow's feathers, and hornbills'
beaks decorate many a chief's verandah.
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:--
"Throughout the Lushai Hills, among all the tribes with whom I have
come in contact, whether 'Toung-tha' or 'Khyoung-tha,' sons of the
hill or sons of the river, I have always found that special attributes
have been assigned to a certain description of snake or serpent that
is found in these forests. I remember once we were camped peacefully
beside the border of a small hill stream; the shanties of leaves
and grass which form our tentes d'abri in this part of the world
had been erected, and all the world (our world some 30 persons)
was either smoking the pipe of peace or stirring the pot of rice
that was to form the evening meal. Suddenly there arose a shout of
'Tchubba-gree! Tchubba-gree!' which is the Hill Arracanese for 'the big
snake, the king-serpent.' Behold the camp in a ferment, each stalwart
young fellow seizing his dao and tightening his waistband. We went
forth, and indeed the snake was very big. His long sinuous growth was
at least 20 feet in length and bulky in proportion; he moved slowly
along, taking apparently no notice of the turmoil and confusion that
soon filled the wood around him. The Hillmen swarmed around his length
like ants, and in a few moments he was cut in pieces by dao strokes. I
noticed that each of my combatants as they ran up to the snake spat at
him before striking. On inquiring the reasons of this, I was informed
that in attacking a snake of this description, if he spat at you first
before you struck him, your fate was sealed, and strangulation was your
doom; but if you were speedy in salivation and forestalled his action,
then he was delivered a prey into the hands of his assailants. A
similar superstition formerly attached to the basilisk or cockatrice,
which was said to be able to fascinate or cause the destruction of
man or beast if it first perceived its victim before it was itself
perceived. Sir Thomas Browne, in discoursing 'Of the Basilisk,' says
'that veneration shooteth from the eye, and that this way a basilisk
may empoison, is not a thing impossible; but that this destruction
should be the effect of the first beholder or depend on priority of
aspection is a point not easily to be granted.' The flesh of this
snake (which is a species of python) is eaten by the Hill folk, and
the fat of the reptile is held to be a sovereign cure for all cuts
and wounds, as well as for more obscure diseases. In the household
tales and fireside stories of the people 'the big snake' holds a
prominent place, and is vested with attributes of power and knowledge."
Colonel McCulloch, in his account of the Valley of Manipur, 1859, page
32, mentions the belief of the Manipuris in a snake god, and in fact
the royal family is supposed to have sprung from a snake god known
as "Pakhangba." Colonel McCulloch also relates that a Kuki--i.e., a
Thado--who had left him in perfect health, "saw a black snake as large
as his thigh, which uttered a sound like that of an ox bellowing." "On
his reaching his home he became ill, his belly swelled, and he has not
recovered his health." Compare this with the following translation of
a statement made to me by Hrangzova, a Lushai political Chaprassie,
in 1904:--
"When I lived at Thenzawl, I once saw a curious object about 18 inches
long, and about 6 inches thick, like a snake, which kept standing up
on its stumpy tail, and then falling forward. I called my friend,
who also saw it. When I got home I told my father and mother, who
were very frightened, and said it was 'thianglo.' They both died
within the year. This was 12 years ago. The rulpui which I saw had
not got feathers, but perhaps that was because it was not big enough,
as I am told the real rulpui has feathers like that of a cock."
There are various places named after rulpui. On one hill the body
of a large snake is said to have been raised up on a pole, and so
big was it that its shadow fell on a hill many miles away, called
thereafter "Rulpui-thlin"--i.e., Rulpui's Shadow. The following is
the translation of the story of the origin of "rulpui."
Chhawng-chili and the Rulpui.
Once upon a time there was a girl called Chhawng-chili, who was in
her father's jhum. At the bottom of the jhum in a hollow tree a snake
had its nest, and the snake loved Chhawng-chili very much. Whenever
they went to the jhum she used to send her younger sister to call
the snake, who used to come up and coil itself up in Chhawng-chili's
lap. The little sister was very much afraid of the snake and did not
dare tell her father. When the girls were going to the jhum, their
parents always used to wrap up some rice and vegetables for them
to take with them. On account of her fear of the snake, the little
sister could not eat anything. Then her sister and the snake ate up
all the rice and the vegetables, and the little sister stayed in the
jhum house all day and got very thin, and her parents said to her,
"Oh, little one, why are you getting so thin?" but she always said,
"Oh, father, I can't tell you"; but her parents pressed her to tell
them, and at last she said, "My sister and the snake make love always;
as soon as we get to the jhum she says to me, 'Call him to me,'
and I call him, and he comes up and coils himself up on her lap,
and I am so frightened that I cannot eat anything, and that is why I
am so thin." So they kept Chhawng-chili at home, and her father and
younger sister went to the jhum, and her father dressed himself up
to resemble Chhawng-chili, but he put his dao by his side; then the
little sister called the snake, who came up quickly and curled itself
up in her father's lap, and he with one blow cut it in two, and then
they returned to the village. On the next day Chhawng-chili and her
sister went to the jhum and her little sister called the snake,
but her father had killed it. So they came back to their house,
and found their father lying on the floor just inside the door
sill. Chhawng-chili said, "Get up, father, I want to scrape the mud
off my feet" (on the door sill), but her father would not move. So
Chhawng-chili scraped off the mud from her feet, and stepped over
the sill, and her father struck up and killed her. In her stomach
there were about 100 small snakes. They killed them and killed them,
but one escaped and hid under a dry patch of mithan dung, and grew up
and used to eat people, and when it got bigger it wriggled into the
"rulchawm kua"--i.e., "feed snake hole"--and people of all villages
used to feed it. After a time it was not content with goats and pigs,
but demanded children. One day a Chin who was travelling noticed his
host and hostess weeping, and on asking the reason was told it was
the day for giving a child to the snake. "I will kill the snake," he
replied, and, being provided with a goat, he slew it, and wrapped its
flesh round his dao and forearm and offered it to the rulpui. When
his forearm had been swallowed, by a quick turn of his wrist he
disembowelled the monster. The place where this took place is on the
Aijal-Champhai road, some forty miles from Aijal. The Biate or Bete
claim to have been the people who fed the snake.
If a "thingsir" (a snake of which the female is very light-coloured
and the male dark) enters a house, it is very "thianglo."
The entry of any snake into a house is looked on with suspicion, and
either portends misfortune or it denotes that the sacrifice to Sakhua
is urgently needed. If this sacrifice is not performed speedily death
may ensue.
To see a snake with legs is "thianglo." The Lushais believe there are
such creatures. My informant says it is only nowadays that this is
"thianglo," inferring that formerly such creatures were common and
therefore attracted no attention. It is the unusualness of the thing
which makes the Lushai think it "thianglo."
[4. Omens.] In the section dealing with superstition the subject of
omens of misfortune has been fully dealt with, and there is no need to
say much more, but the following extract from "Asiatic Dissertations,"
II, 1792, is interesting--it is from a description of the "Mountaineers
of Tipra."
"If at any time they see a star very near the moon they say, 'To-night
we shall undoubtedly be attacked by some enemy,' and they pass the
night under arms with extreme vigilance."
This belief may be accounted for by the superstition that projects
undertaken on such occasions are likely to succeed.
Once when starting on a night expedition to capture a rebel chief,
I noticed my guide staring up intently at the moon, and he expressed
great satisfaction at seeing a star quite close to its edge, and
exclaimed that our expedition was now sure to succeed, which I am
glad to say proved true.
[5. Witchcraft.] The Lushais are firm believers in witchcraft. There
are several ways of bewitching your enemy. Colonel Lewin has a tale in
which the wizard takes up the impression of a person's foot in the mud
and puts it to dry over the hearth, thereby causing the owner to waste
away. Clay figures into which bamboo spikes are thrust also figure
in all cases in which a person is accused of this offence. To cut off
a piece of a person's hair and put it in a spring is certain, unless
the hair is speedily removed, to cause his death. Several tragedies
have occurred on account of the belief in witchcraft. In 1897 three
whole families were massacred because it was thought that they were
bewitching a very aged chieftainess. The livers of the wizards were
cut out and portions carried to the sufferer, but unfortunately she
died before being able to taste them and thus prove the efficacy of
the remedy. So strong was the feeling about these wizards that four
or five households of their relatives had to be given a special and
isolated site, as no village would receive them.
The following translation of a Lushai's account of how mankind first
learned the black art is specially interesting, as it introduces
Lalruanga and Keichalla, who are the heroes of many of the oldest of
the Lushai tales. Colonel Lewin gives some excellent stories in his
"Progressive Colloquial Exercises." Keichalla is the man who can
become a tiger at will, and appears in many tales:--
"Dawi witchcraft was known to Pathian. Vahrika also was something like
Pathian. Vahrika had a separate water supply, and Pathian's daughter
was always disturbing it. Vahrika said, 'What can it be?' and lay in
ambush. Pathian's daughter came, and he caught her and was going to
kill her, but she said, 'Don't kill me; I will teach you magic.' So
she taught him, and Vahrika taught it all to Keichalla, Lalruanga, and
Hrang-sai-puia. Then Lalruanga went to court Zangkaki, and Zangkaki,
who was a friend of Pathian's daughter, bewitched Lalruanga, who
had forgotten his "dawi bur" (magic gourd), and he said to Chaichim
(the mouse), 'Go and fetch my dawi bur which I put in my basket.' So
the mouse went to fetch the dawi bur and got it, but the Tuiruang
(Barak) river rose very high. The mouse took the dawi bur in his mouth
and started to swim over the river. The dawi bur was washed away by
the river till it stuck in the fish trap of the Thlangom tribe, who
said, 'What is this?' The dawi bur was singing like anything. The
Thlangoms broke it open. No sooner had they opened it than they
each acquired knowledge of magic. Then the Thlangoms were chanting
the magic song. Some Mizo (natives of these Hills) who were passing
through the village also heard the song of those who knew magic. The
Mizo saw a man eating rice. 'May you be bewitched!' they said. They
bewitched him in his rice eating, and for a year after whenever he
ate cooked rice it changed into dry uncooked rice, and it swelled
inside him till his stomach could not hold it and he died. Thus the
Mizo learnt about magic. Nowadays also there is magic, but those who
know it won't teach it without payment."
The Lushais maintain that the tribes to the north of them, such as
Paihte, Bete, &c., are very proficient at witchcraft, while the Chins
consider the Lushais such experts at the craft that when Captain
Hall, 2nd Gurkhas, and I forced our way from the west through the
then unexplored hills and joined General Symons at Haka in 1890,
the chiefs of that village besought the General not to allow any of
our Lushai followers to go within sight of it, lest they should, by
merely looking at it, cause fearful misfortunes. The belief in the man
tiger is common through the Hills and also in Nepal. When a man-eater
gave much trouble in Lungleh, our Gurkha Sepoys maintained that it
was a man, one of three friends who had assumed this shape and were
travelling by different shapes to a previously selected rendezvous,
on reaching which they would resume their human forms.
Khuavang zawl.--The Lushais believe that certain persons--both males
and females, but more generally females--have the power of putting
themselves into a trance and are in a state of communication with
Khuavang. This power is called "zawl," and a person who possesses
it is called "zawlnei." During their trances they are said to be
able to elicit from Khuavang information regarding the particular
sacrifice required to cure any sick person, and their information is
supposed to be more reliable than the opinion of the puithiam, who
bases his statements solely on the action of the pulse. The method
of interrogating a zawlnei is called "thumvor," and is as follows:--
The zawlnei being in a trance is given a shallow basket containing
rice, which he or she holds in one hand while an egg is placed in the
palm of the other hand. When the zawlnei reverses this hand the egg
does not fall. The basket of rice is shaken backwards and forwards,
and there appears among the rice the footprint of the animal which
it is necessary to sacrifice to ensure the patient's recovery. If it
is impossible to trace any resemblance to any animal's footmark the
state of the patient is serious and the whole series of sacrifices are
needed. Compare the description of the Maibi's method of divination
given in McCulloch's account of the Valley of Manipur, page 21. The
following two accounts of Khuavang zawl were given me by Lushais:--
Lianthangi was a Khuavang zawl. There was much sickness in the
village. One night Khuavang came to her in her dreams and said, "If
each house-owner will make a clay metna and place it outside his or
her house the sickness will cease." So they did this and the next day
they observed as "hrilh," and within 20 days everyone was well again.
Thang-tei-nu was a zawlnei, but concealed the fact; people used to
come secretly and make her perform the thumvor, and said she knew
everything. She allowed no one to drink zu in her house, and if she
drank zu she always got ill and it was "thianglo" for her to perform
sacrifice. Khuavang told her this in her dreams.
Khawhring.--In Chapter IV, para. 6, the sacrifice called Khawhring
Tir has been described. The belief in Khawhring is universal, and
from the following translation it will be seen that the unfortunate
women who were accused of being possessed by such a spirit have good
reason to be grateful that the control of the country has passed
into our hands. The belief is that Khawhring lives in certain women,
whence it issues forth from time to time and takes possession of
another woman, who, falling into a trance, speaks with the voice of
the original hostess of the Khawhring. A missionary described to me
a weird scene of excitement which he once saw, the object being to
exorcise a Khawhring which had possessed a girl. Amid a turmoil of
shouting, drum-beating, and firing of guns the spirit was ordered to
quit its temporary abode and return whence it came.
Translation of a Lushai Version of the Origin of Khawhring.
"Wild boars have Khawhring. Once a man shot a wild boar while out
hunting. On his return home they cooked the flesh. Some of the fat
got on the hand of his sister, who rubbed her head, and the wild
boar's Khawhring just passed into her. On the next day, without any
provocation, she entered another girl. She took entire possession
of her. People said to her, "Where are you going to?" She replied,
"It is the wild boar my brother shot." "Well, what do you want?" they
said. "If you will give me eggs I will go away," she replied. They
gave her eggs and she went. Presently all those who borrowed the
"hnam" (a plaited cane band for carrying loads) of the girl with the
Khawhring also got possessed. If one with a Khawhring has a daughter
the child is always possessed, so no one wants to marry a person
with a Khawhring. Even now, we being to some extent Lusheis, we do
not like to let a person possessed by a Khawhring enter our houses,
and if such a one sits on the bed of a true Lushei she will certainly
be fined a metna. Those possessed of Khawhring are most disgusting
people, and before the foreigners came they were always killed."
The writer was not a true Lushei, but belonged to one of the clans
which are fast being absorbed and are almost indistinguishable from
Lusheis.
The Lushais say that sometimes girls walk in their sleep and go and
lick up urine, as the metna do, under the zawlbuk, and that when
starting forth on these expeditions their feet and hands shine as
if they were coated with phosphorus. If a young man wakes a girl up
while she is walking thus she is very much ashamed, and generally
grants him the favours of her bed to procure his silence.
This state is called "Thlahzung."
CHAPTER VI
LANGUAGE
I propose, in this chapter, to deal only with Lushai, and to treat of
the connection between the different dialects spoken in these Hills
at the end of Part II.
Lushai or Dulien, which is the dialect of the Lushei clan, modified,
doubtless, by contact with those of other clans, is now the lingua
franca of the whole Lushai Hills, and is understood in many parts
of the adjoining districts. A very complete grammar and vocabulary
has been published by Messrs. Savage and Lorrain, now of the London
Baptist Mission, and therefore I only propose to give a bare outline
of the language here, which is largely borrowed from the above work.
Articles.--The indefinite article can generally be rendered by the
numeral one.
The definite article is sometimes represented by demonstrative pronouns
or relative particles.
Gender.--Inanimate objects have no gender. In nouns gender may
be shown by use of different words, as "tlangval," a young man;
"nula," a maiden. This system is only employed when speaking
of human beings, by adding suffixes--"pa" and "chal" for males,
"nu" and "pui" for females; thus "fa pa," son; "fa nu," daughter;
"she chal," bull metna; "she pui," cow metna. "Chal" and "pui"
are restricted to full-grown animals. All men's names end in "a,"
all women's in "i." Some words are the same in both genders--"u,"
elder brother or sister; "nao shen," a baby; "naupang," child. "I"
is the feminine termination in Manipuri also.
Number.--The plural terminations are "te," "ho," and "zong"; sometimes
these are combined or duplicated.
Mi zong zong = all mankind.
Lal te ho = chiefs.
These terminations are omitted when the number can be otherwise
inferred.
Sakor paruk = six horses.
Puan tam tak ka pe = I gave many cloths.
When a suffix is added to a noun to denote case, the plural suffix
follows the case suffix.
Zawng-a-te an lo changa.
Monkey into s they became changed.
Kan in-a-te an lo-lut-a.
Our house into s they entered.
Case.--Nouns are not inflected. The agent is denoted by the suffix
"in."
Lal in a that = The chief killed (him).
The same suffix is used to distinguish the instrument.
Lal in fei in a shun = The chief speared (him) with a spear.
"In" is therefore exactly equivalent to "na" used in Manipuri to
distinguish the agent or instrument.
The other cases can only be inferred from the position of the words.
The object immediately precedes the transitive verb governing it.
Lal-in puan a-pe = The chief gave a cloth.
The indirect object precedes the direct.
Suaka puan ka pe = I gave a cloth to Suaka.
Hnena (to) is sometimes used to give greater clearness.
Lal hnena ui pakhat ka pe ang = I will give a dog to the chief.
The thing possessed immediately follows the possessor.
Kawn bawl in a-kang = The minister's house caught fire.
The following construction is sometimes used:--
Kawn bawl a in a lian e = Minister his house it big is.
The other cases are rendered by suffixes.
Ka in a daraw. Ka in a tang in laraw. Aizawl a kalraw.
My house in put. My house from bring. Aijal to go.
Adjectives follow the words they qualify, but are not inflected in
any way.
Mipa tha = a good man.
Hmaichhia tha = a good woman.
Nula-te tha = good girls.
When a noun is used as an adjective it precedes the noun it qualifies,
as, "Lung in," stone house.
Adjectives are compared thus
Suaka Nela ai- in a chha k zawk.
Suaka Nela than he stronger.
Suaka is stronger than Nela.
When demonstrative adjectives are compared, "ai-in" is combined with
them, thus:--
He sakor he saw ai sawn ashang zawk.
This horse here that than there is taller.
This horse is taller than that.
"Saw saw ai-in" being replaced by "Saw-ai sawn."
When no object of comparison is mentioned "ai-in" is omitted.
Nangma lo azao zawk.
Your jhum extensive more.
Your jhum is more extensive.
The superlative is formed thus:--
Lalzong zinga Khuma a vin ber.
Chiefs among Khuma he bad tempered most.
Khuma is the most bad-tempered of all the chiefs.
Khuma lalzong ai-in a vin ber.
Khuma chiefs than he ill-tempered more.
Khuma lalzong a a vin ber.
Khuma chiefs of he ill-tempered most.
Khuma a vin ber.
Khuma he ill-tempered most.
Khuma is the most ill-tempered.
The numerals are very simple:--
1 = pa khat 6 = pa ruk
2 = pa hnih 7 = pa sari
3 = pa thum 8 = pa riat
4 = pa li 9 = pa kua
5 = pa nga 10 = shom
11 = "shom leh pa khat," 12 = "shom leh pa hnih," and so on to 20 =
"shom hnih"; then "shom hnih leh pa khat" &c., to "shom thum" = 30,
"shom li" = 40, "shom nga" = 50, and so on to "za" = 100, "za leh pa
khat" = 101, and so on to "shang" = 1000.
"Shing" = 10,000 and "nuai" for 1,000,000 are hardly ever used; 8,975 =
"shang riat, leh za kua leh shom sari leh pa nga."
It will be seen that the real numerals are "khat," "hnih," "thum,"
&c., pa being equivalent to unit. It is usually omitted when animals
or things are mentioned, but retained when speaking of human beings.
Lal pa sari = seven chiefs.
Sebong nga = five cows.
With numbers above ten the name of the thing enumerated if a
monosyllable, is often repeated. Thus:--
Ni shom hnih leh ni nga.
Days twenty and days five.
Ordinals are formed by adding "na" to the cardinals, thus:--
In shom na lutrawh.
Enter the tenth house.
But--
Ni thum ni a lo-kalraw.
Day three day on come.
Every other day = Ni khat dan a.
Every third day = Ni hnih dan a,
and so on.
Numeral adjectives are formed thus:--
Voi nga, voi shom leh voi khat.
Times five, times ten and times one,
eleven times.
Demonstrative adjectives are:--
He or hehi } This = near Heng, henghi = these.
Hei hei hi } the speaker.
Saw = that. Sawng = those.
Kha = that near you. Khang = those near you.
Khu = that down there. Khung = those down there.
Khi = that up there. Khing = those up there.
Chu = that. Chung = those.
They are generally repeated, thus:--
Khu sava khu kadu e.
That bird down there I want.
Khi zawng khi a liane.
That monkey up there he big is.
When a noun qualified by one of these adjectives is an agent, the agent
suffix "in" is combined with the second part of the adjective thus:--
Khu ui khu-an min a sheh = That dog down there bit me instead of Khu
ui in khu.
The personal pronouns have several forms, which are the same for
both genders.
Nominative { Keima, kei, ka = I.
{ Keimani, keine, kan = we.
Possessive { Keima, keiia, ka = my.
{ Keimani, keini, kan = our.
{ Keimata, keiata, kata = mine.
{ Keimanita, &c. = ours.
Objective { Keimamin, kei min min = me.
{ Keimani min, &c. = us.
The second person is "nangma" and "nangmani"; the third "ama,"
"anmani."
The possessive of the second person, when used as nominative of
verbs, has a curious irregular form "i" in the singular and "in"
in the plural.
The pronominal particles "ka" (I), "i" (thou), "a" (he), "kan" (we),
"in" (you), "an" (they) must be used with verbs in addition to the
pronouns, thus:--
Nangma i kal ang em? = Will you go?
Keimani chaw kan ei mek = We are just eating our rice.
The particle can never be omitted, whereas the true pronoun is
generally left out except when required for emphasis.
Reflexive action is denoted in several ways.
The particle "in" is prefixed to the verb in all cases. The following
are a few examples:--
Ka in vel }
Mani leh mani ka in vel } I hit myself.
Mani in ka in vel }
Keimani theoh vin kan in vel = We hit ourselves.
Relative Pronouns are:--
Kha, chu, a piang = who, which, what, that.
A piang, a piang kha, a piang chu = whoever, &c.
Lekha i ziak kha a tha e.
Letter you wrote that it good is.
The pronouns are sometimes omitted, the idea being conveyed by the
use of relative participles or verbal nouns.
I lekha ziak a tha e
Your letter written it good is.
The letter you wrote is good.
Interrogative Pronouns are:--
Tu-nge? Tu? Tu-maw? Eng-nge? Zeng-nge? Eng? Eng-maw? = What?
Hhoi-i-nge? = Which?
They are used thus:--
Tu-nge a lo kal? = Who has come?
Tu-in-a nge i riak? =
(house in =) you stay
Whose
Tu ar nge i lei? Tu-in-nge vel che?
(fowl) = you buy? Who hit you?
Whose
Tu-nge i vel? =
Whom did you hit?
Tu and Tu-maw are only used thus:--
A lo kal Tu-Maw? or Tu? =
He has come Who?
Eng-nge i duh? Khoi-i lekha buh nge i duh? =
What you want? (book) you want?
which
Which book do you want?
Eng tui nge i choi?
(water) = you draw?
What
The particle "a" preceding an interrogative pronoun has a partitive
force.
A tu-nge i ko? = Which of them did you call?
Verbs.
The same form is used for all persons and in singular and plural,
the pronominal particles marking person and number.
Shoi = to say
Pres: Ka shoi = I say. Ka shoi mek = I am saying.
Past: Ka shoi or } I said. { Ka shoi mek a ni = I
Ka shoi or tawh } { was saying.
Fut: Ka shoi ang } I will { Ka shoi mek ang
Ka shoi dawn } say { = I shall be saying.
Ka shoi tawh ang = I shall have said.
Conditional Mood.
Ka shoi tur = I would say, or, I ought to say.
Ka shoi tawh tur = I would have said, or, ought to have said.
The future terminations are often used in a conditional sense.
Subjunctive Mood.
Ka shoi chuan = If I say, said or had said.
The following forms are peculiar and appear to me of foreign
origin. The pronominal prefixes are absent, the person and number
being indicated by different forms.
Shoi i la or i lang = If I say or said.
Shoi la, or lang = If thou sayest or saidst.
Shoi shela or shelang = If he say or said.
Shoi i la or i lang = If we say or said.
Shoi u la or lang = If you say or said.
Shoi shela or shelang = If they say or said.
The pluperfect tense is formed by inserting "ta."
Shoi ta i la = If I had said.
Shoi ta u lang = If you had said.
By inserting "ma" the meaning "although" or "even if" is given.
Shoi ma she lang = Even if he says.
Shoi ta ma u la = Although you say.
Imperative Mood.
The imperative has several forms:--
Singular: Shoi rawh, shoi ang che, shoi ta che, shoi te, shoi che,
all mean "say." The last four forms have a somewhat
persuasive meaning.
Plural: I shoi ang, i shoi ang u = Let us say.
The second person plural is formed by adding "u" to the singular form.
Infinitive Mood.
The infinitive or verbal noun is the same as the root shoi = to say.
Ka shoi lai in } When I was saying.
I say time at }
A verbal noun can also be formed by the suffix "na."
Ka riak na in
My staying house.
The suffixes "tur," "tur-in," "na-tur," "nan," "an," "in," denotes
infinitive of purposes.
Tui in tur ka duh.
Water to drink I want.
Chaw lei tur ka nei lo } I have nothing wherewith
Rice to buy I have not. } to buy rice.
The suffix "tu" changes the verb into noun of agency.
Veng-tu = a watchman. Hril-tu = an informant.
Participles: Shoia, shoi-ing = saying.
Negative.
There are two negative particles:--lo and shu.
The first is used except in the conditional and the imperative,
when the latter is used.
The particles are placed after the root except in the past tense,
when they follow the tense termination.
Ka kal lo = I do not go.
Ka kal ta lo = I did not go.
Ka kal lo vang = I will not go } The "v" is inserted for
Ka kal lo ve = I do not go } sake of euphony.
Kal rawh = Go.
Kal shu = Don't go.
Kal shu se = Do not let him go.
Shoi shu u = Do not say (plural).
Shoi shu i la = If we do not say.
"Nem" and "nang" are used as negative particles and intensify the
meaning.
Ka hre lo = I don't know.
Ka hre nem = I don't know. How should I?
Lal in a ka kal nang = I am not going to the chief's house. Why
should I be?
Interrogative Particles.
These are as a rule placed at the end of a sentence. They are "em"
and "em ni."
I kal ang em = Will you go?
"Em ni" sometimes implies that the answer is expected in the same
form as the question.
I lo-kal em ni = You have come, have you?
A lo-kal lo vem ni = He has come, has not he?
"Maw"--This particle is used when the person asked, instead of
replying at once, repeats part of the question--a pernicious and
vexatious habit much indulged in by the Lushais.
I dam em? = Are you well?
Keima maw? Ka dam e = Do you mean me? I am well.
The Passive Voice.
The verb when used in the passive voice is pronounced slightly
differently. The construction is as follows:--
Lal in min kap = The chief shot me.
Lal ka ka ni = I am shot by the chief.
Verbal Prefixes.
These are a very noticeable peculiarity. They are:--
Zuk = motion downwards. Zuk la ro = Bring it down.
Han = motion upwards. Han en rawh = Come up and see.
Han = motion towards the A han la ta = He brought it.
speaker.
Lo = motion towards the Lal a lo kal = The chief arrives.
speaker.
Ron = motion towards the
indirect object.
Lal hnena ron hril rawh = Go and tell the chief.
Min ron pe rawh = Come and give it to me.
Va = motion from. Va la zo = Go and bring.
Adverbs.
There is a peculiar series of adverbs in Lushei, which, besides
denoting the manner in which a thing is done, also convey some idea
of the appearance of the agent, thus:--
Lal a kal buk buk = The chief goes.
"Buk buk" shows that the chief is a big, heavy man and is walking
slowly.
"Bak bak" similarly used would mean that the chief was medium-sized
and walking slowly, whereas "bik bek" could only be used of a small
person proceeding slowly.
There are over a hundred such adverbs in Lushei.
Interjections.
The most common are "Ie" = I say! "Khai" = Come! "Ku" = Ho! "Chei chei"
denoting disapproval and surprise. There are certain interjections,
such as "Karei, Karei!" = Alas! Alas! which are only used by women.
The Lushais are very fond of piling up adverbs to intensify the
meaning:--
Ava mak em em mai!
How wonderful very very very!
Ava mak em veleh!
How wonderful very indeed!
Literal Translation of an Account of the Thimzing.
Hman lai hian thim a lo-zing-a; chutichuan mi zawn zawn
Former time in darkness it collected; then mankind all all
an in-khawm mur mur chutichuan zawng
they themselves collected (untranslatable adverb) then monkey
hmul a lo lenga an hgum a thak an hiat
hair it began to grow their spine ends they itched they scratched
thin-a zawng a te an changa tin lal te chu
always monkeys into (plural suffix) they changed their chiefs indeed
va-pual a an lo changa mi chhia e-raw chu
horn-bill into they became changed people poor on the other hand
zawng a te ngau-va te an lo changa. Tin sa lu ro
monkey into grey monkeys they became changed. Then flesh head dry
nei chuan an tuah a thing ai-in a tha zawh a
had those who they put on fire wood than it good more was
chu-te-chuan an dam rei thei zawk an ti. Tin mei-ling
therefore they lived long could more they say. Then embers
tlaivar lem-in puan tial shin in sakeia
watched all night more than others cloth striped wearing tigers into
an changa thei tin pitar te hian puanpui an sin-a
they changed may be then old women quilts they were wearing
sai a an lo changa.
elephants into they became changed.
APPENDIX
FAMILIES AND BRANCHES OF THE LUSHEI CLAN.
===========================================================================
Thangur Rokum }
Rivung }
Pallian } All the Lushei chiefs belong to
Zadeng } one of these branches.
Thangluah }
Sailo }
Chenkhual Descended from Chenkhuala,
said to be a brother of
Sailova,
probably a son of a concubine.
The Chenkhual had once
independent
villages, but are no
longer looked on as chiefs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pachuao Cherlal This family is said to be
descended
Chhawthliak from illegitimate sons
Chhoalak of Zadenga. Darchaova,
Cherlalla,
Chonglal Lianthunga, and Liannghora
Darchao are heroes of whose
Lalbawm prowess many tales are told,
Lianthung and their names appear among
Liannghor the branch names.
Vanpuia-hrin I.e., sprung from Vanpuia.
Varchuao
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changte Darchun, Pamte
Vokngak, Kawlchi "Chi" means family, "Kawl"
Padaratu, Tumpha means Burma, and "ngak"
Lungte, Ngakchi is to wait; so perhaps the
Chonglun Kawlchi may be descendants
of Changte, who settled
temporarily
in Burma, and the
Ngakchi of some who delayed
at some general move of the
family.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chongte Tuichhung, Lungte
Muchhip-chhuak I.e., from Muchhip, the name of
Pamte a hill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuachang Chonchir, Chonchhon "Hang" means black and "ngo"
white.
Lathang This family and the next are said
to be descended from two
brothers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuaongo Vanpuia-thla Descendants of Vanpuia. The
Hlengel, Hmunpel Chuaongo are said to have
Zongpam, Laller been very powerful, and to
Chumthluk, Aohmun have held a position similar
to that now held by the Sailo.
Their most powerful chief was
Vanpuia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haonar Haothul, Haobul
Tuithang, Shenlai
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hrasel Shelpuia, Sontlunk
Sumkhum, Sazah
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hualbang Chalbuk, Sialchung This family and the next are
Bailchi, Chumkal said to have sprung from two
Khupao, Fangtet brothers, children of a Lushei
Taihlum, Chertluang woman by a Poi or Chin, and
-------------------------------------- to have originated from a hole
Hualngo Chalthleng, Khupno in the ground near the Shepui
Tuazol, Cherput, Bochung rocks, to the east of the
Manipur river. The Hualngo
and Hualbang formerly lived
together in villages under
Hualngo chiefs. On the rise of
the Thangur chiefs, a quarrel
broke out, and the Hualngo
were defeated by a combination
of the Sailo, Zadeng, and
Pallian, and driven across the
Tiao, and took refuge under
the protection of the Falam
chiefs, where their descendants
still are, and are miscalled
Whenoh by the officers
in charge of the Chin Hills.
The Hualbang deserted to the
Thangur, and are found
scattered
in the villages of their
conquerors. There are six
Hualngo villages in the Lushai
Hills containing some 200
houses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lungkhua Sialchung, Ngalchi
Ngalchung, Phungchi
Ngaphawl
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tochong Topui, Chhakom
Muchhip-chhuak Vide Changte.
Chemhler, Tobul
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vanchong Vanlung, Sumkhum The claim of this family to
Chemhler, Chengrel be true Lusheis is sometimes
Kaithum disputed.
===========================================================================
Besides the above families, there is one called Chhak-chhuak, i.e.,
"Come out of the east." In spite of all enquiries I was unable to
find out any reason for the name, which was sometimes said to be the
name of a branch of one of the other families and sometimes that of
a separate family.
PART II
THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS
INTRODUCTORY
In this part all the clans of the Lushai-Kuki race which are not
included by the people themselves among the Lusheis will be briefly
dealt with. All these clans practise the jhum methods of cultivation
and were originally semi-nomadic, but certain of them, under changed
circumstances, have ceased to move their villages and are taking to
plough cultivation. There is a varying similarity in the religious
beliefs and customs, and it will suffice to point out the principal
divergences from those of the Lusheis as already described.
The non-Lushei clans group themselves naturally into five sections:--
1. The clans which live among the Lusheis under the rule of Thangur
chiefs and have become practically assimilated by them, and are
included in the wider term Lushai, as we use it. Naturally the accounts
of these will be brief and will deal principally with the origin of
the clans.
2. The clans which, while still retaining a separate corporate
existence, have been much influenced by the Lusheis, among or near
whom they reside.
3. The Old Kuki clans.
4. The Thado clan with its numerous families and branches, often
spoken of as New Kukis.
5. The Lakhers. These are immigrants from the Chin Hills, and would
more correctly be dealt with in the Chin Monograph, but a brief sketch
of them, though very incomplete, may be useful till a fuller account
is written. They call themselves Mara.
CHAPTER I
CLANS INCLUDED IN THE TERM LUSHAI
These clans have adopted most of the manners and customs of their
conquerors, and to an ordinary observer are indistinguishable from
the true Lushei. In many cases the only difference is in the method
of performing the Sakhua sacrifice. In few cases some words of the
clan dialect are still used, but, generally speaking, there is but
little difference noticeable. In cases where the clan had attained
considerable strength before its overthrow by the Lusheis the process
of assimilation has naturally been slower, and there is more to
describe. The following list of clans does not lay claim to being
complete, but contains all the best-known names.
[Chawte.] Members of this clan are found in small numbers
scattered among the Lushei villages. They kill a goat as the Sakhua
sacrifice, and omit all the Naohri sacrifices except the Zinthiang and
Ui-ha-awr. When a mithan is sacrificed it is killed in the evening,
and the giver of the feast wears some of the tail hairs on a string
round his neck.
In the hills between the Manipur valley and Tamu I found two small
hamlets of Chawte, who said that their forefather had come from the
hills far to the south very long ago. Their language closely resembles
Lushei, but they have come much under Manipuri influence. The names
of the families in no case agreed with those given me by the Chawte
in the Lushai Hills. A detailed account of the Manipur Chawte will
be found in (3).
[Chongthu.] This clan is very widely scattered. The following account
of the origin of the clan is given by Suaka, now Sub-Inspector of
Police at Aijal:--"Of all Lushai clans Lershia (Chongthu) celebrated
the Chong first of all. Lershia's village was on the hill to the
south of the Vanlai-phai. There he celebrated the Chong. He was
the richest of all men. Lershia had a younger brother, Singaia. His
village was separate at Betlu. He was very rich in mithan, gongs,
and necklaces. Once he was moving to another village with all his
goods, when a very big snake swallowed him. Even till now Chongthus
are always 'upa' to chiefs. It may be they are wiser than the other
clans; they are very amiable--maybe they understand how to express
matters well. In every village Chongthu are always upa. How many
children Lershia had or where they are I do not know. Nevertheless he
was the richest of all men. Because he was so rich in mithan, gongs,
and necklaces he first celebrated the Chong. His name was also first
given to the Chong song. Even till now the Sailo and all Lusheis and
all Ralte, if they celebrate the Chong according to their customs,
sing Lershia's song--they have not a new song of their own."
From the above it would appear that Chongthu is a nickname given to
Lershia on account of his having first celebrated the Chong. Chongthu's
name appears in the Thado pedigree as the first of the race to emerge
from the earth, and the great-great-grandfather of Thado. The Chiru
and Kolhen also claim descent from him, though they cannot give the
intermediate names.
[Hnamte.] This clan lived to the east of the Tyao river. Their
most famous chief was Chon-uma, their last village was at Tlangkua,
on the Lentlang. Bad harvests and general misfortunes brought about
their dispersal early in the last century.
[Kawlni.] A widely-distributed clan sub-divided into at least 12
families said to be connected with the Ralte, q.v.
[Kawlhring. Kawl = Burma. Hring = Born.] This clan had a big
village on the Hringfa hill, where the remains of earthworks made
by them in their final struggle against the Haka people may still be
seen. Messrs. Carey and Tuck in their "Chin Hills Gazetteer," p. 153,
say:--"Having settled with their formidable neighbours on the north,
the Hakas turned their attention to the Lushais, who at this time
occupied the country as far east as the banks of the Lavar stream,
barely 20 miles east of Haka. Their chief centres were Kwe Hring
and Vizan, two huge villages on the western slopes of the Rongtlang
range, and to this day the sites, fortifications, and roads of the
former town may be traced." The Hakas, not feeling equal to attacking
their powerful neighbours single-handed, called in the assistance
of a Burmese chieftain, Maung Myat San of Tilin, who came with 200
men armed with guns and bringing with them two brass cannons. "The
Haka and Burman forces were collected on the spot where Lonzeert
now stands, and, marching by night, surprised Kwe Hring in the early
dawn by a noisy volley in which the brass cannon played a conspicuous
part. The Lushais, who had no firearms, deserted their villages and
fled in disorder, and for several months parties of Hakas ravaged
the country, eventually driving every Lushai across the Tyao before
the rains made that river unfordable."
The people called here Lushais were the Kawlhring. The last Kawlhring
chief was Lalmichinga. The clan is now scattered among the villages
round Lungleh. There are eight families, but I have not found any
branches. The Zinthiang and Zinhnawm are omitted from the Naohri
sacrifices.
[Kiangte.] This clan lived east of the Manipur river, from which
place it was driven by the Chins. Kiangte are now found in small
numbers in most of the villages in the North Lushai Hills. The clan
is divided into seven families, without branches.
[Ngente.] Although this clan has been practically absorbed
its members have retained in an unusual degree their distinctive
customs. The Ngente were formerly a somewhat powerful clan living
at Chonghoiyi, on the Lungdup hill, where about 1780 A.D. a quarrel
broke out between their two chiefs, Lalmanga and Ngaia, and the latter
set out with his adherents to form another village, but was pursued
and killed by his brother. Shortly after this the clan was attacked
by the Lusheis and broken up. The above particulars were given me
in 1904, when I was near the Lungdup hill. They seem to account
for the Koihrui-an-chhat festival, which is described below from
notes supplied to me by Mr. C. B. Drake-Brockman in 1901, embodying
information gathered by him from Ngente living at Lungleh, many days'
journey from Lungdup. This is an interesting instance of history
being embalmed in a custom of which the origin has been forgotten,
and I humbly recommend its consideration to those wise men who are
ever ready to interpret every custom as affording evidence of their
particular theories.
Marriage.--The Ngente young man is no more restricted in the choice
of his wife than is the Lushei, but the price is fixed at seven
guns, which are taken as equivalent to Rs. 140/-. Of this sum the
girl's nearest male relative receives Rs. 120/-, the remainder being
distributed as follows:--Rs. 8/- to the "pu," maternal grandfather
or uncle, Rs. 6/- to her elder sister, Rs. 4/- to her paternal aunt,
Rs. 2/- to the "palal," or trustee. Should a woman die before the
whole of her price has been paid, her relatives can only claim half
the remainder.
Childbirth.--Three months before the birth, the mother prepares zu,
which is known as "nao-zu"--i.e., baby's beer, which must on no
account be taken outside the house and which is drunk in the child's
honour on the day of its birth. Women are delivered at the head of
the bedstead, and the afterbirth is placed in a gourd and hung up on
the back wall of the house, whence it is not removed. The puithiam
sacrifices a cock and hen, which must not be white, outside the
village, and, having cooked the flesh there, he takes it to his own
house for consumption. On the third day after the birth the child
is named by its "pu," who has to give a fowl and a pot of zu. A red
cock is killed and some of its feathers are tied round the necks of
the infant and other members of the family.
Death Ceremonies.--The Ngente do not attach any importance to burying
their dead near their place of abode. They put up no memorials
and offer no sacrifices, and make no offerings to the deceased's
spirit. The dead are buried wherever it is most convenient. This is
a most singular divergence from the general custom.
Festivals.--The Khuangchoi, Chong, Pawl-kut are observed. In place of
the Mim-kut they celebrate a feast called Nao-lam-kut, which takes
place in the autumn. For two nights all the men and women must keep
awake, and they are provided with boiled yams and zu to help them in
doing so. On the third day some men dress themselves up as women and
others as Chins, colouring their faces with charcoal. They then visit
every house in which a child has been born since the last Nao-lam-kut
and treat the inmates to a dance, receiving presents of dyed cotton
thread, women's cloths, &c., and much zu. Compare the account of the
Fanai She-doi, p. 136 et seq. below.
Koihrui-an-chhat (They Break the Koi Creeper).--A party of young men,
being supplied with hard-boiled eggs and fowl's flesh, go off into
the jungle equipped with bows and arrows. On the third day they return
with the heads of some animals--for choice those of the "tangkawng,"
a large lizard--and also a long piece of the creeper from which the
Koi beans (v. Chap. II, para. 18) are obtained. They are received
with all the honours paid to warriors returning from a successful
raid, and a tug of war with the creeper takes place between the young
men and the maidens. The heads of the animals are then placed in the
centre of the village, and dancing, singing, and drinking go on round
them all night, no young man or girl being allowed to go inside a
house till daybreak, when the whole party adjourns to the house of
a member of the Chonghoiyi-hring family--i.e., a descendant of one
born at Chonghoiyi--and after further libations they disperse.
It is quite clear that this feast commemorates the victory of Lalmanga
over Ngaia--compare the account of the reception of a raiding party
given in Part I., Chap. III, para. 9. The use of bows and arrows is
an interesting survival.
The tug of war with the creeper is found among the Old Kuki clans
as one of the incidents of the spring festival, and in the Manipuri
chronicle we find references to such amusements being indulged
in. The Ngente evidently combined the play, intended to keep green
the memories of their ancestor, with the usual ceremonies of the
spring festival. [9]
The Ngente do not practise the Khal sacrifices.
Language.--In the Linguistic Survey Dr. Grierson gives a translation
of the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Ngente dialect supplied him
by Mr. Drake-Brockman, and sums up his description of the dialect as
follows:--"But in all essential points both (i.e., Ngente and Lushei)
agree, and the difference is much smaller than between dialects in
connected languages."
[Paotu.] A very insignificant clan, of which I have found only one
family. The clan formerly lived on a hill north of the Tao peak, to
the east of the Koladyne, and were probably driven out by the Chins
at the same time as the Kawlhring.
[Rentlei.] There are five families in this clan, which has long been
absorbed by the Lusheis, but the Rentlei maintain that at one time,
when they lived in a big village on the Minpui hill to the east of the
Tyao river, they were the more powerful and showed their contempt for
the Lusheis by throwing stones at the skulls of the pigs which the
latter used to place on posts outside their houses after performing
the Sakhua sacrifice, and this led to the Lusheis placing the skulls
inside their houses, whereas the Rentlei to this day adhere to the
custom of putting them outside. This clan is still looked on with
respect, and chiefs frequently take Rentlei brides.
[Roite.] This clan is divided into seven families, one of which
has a branch. There is nothing of interest to be noted about it.
[Vangchhia.] This clan has only three families and one branch. Its
members are said to be generally wealthy, and therefore prudent
parents strive to get them as "pu" to their children. Their Sakhua
sacrifice is elaborate, a mithan being killed in front of the house,
a cock at the head of the parents' bed, and a boar at that of the
children. There is a great feast, followed by nine days' "hrilh."
[Zawngte.] Now an insignificant clan, of which I have not obtained a
single family name. Under a chief called Chengtea they lived on a hill
north of Thlan-tlang, which is still known by their name. They were
ejected by the Chins probably at the same time as the Kawlhring and
Paotu. The eldest son inherits. They place their dead in hollowed-out
logs in small houses outside the village, and leave them there for
three months. In these particulars they resemble the Vuite. As among
the Chawte, after killing a mithan the household of the giver of the
feast wear some of the hairs of the tail on strings round their necks.