THE THADO CLAN
The term New Kukis, which appears so often in the records of Cachar
and Sylhet in the middle of the last century, and which has been
adopted by Dr. Grierson in the "Linguistic Survey of India," may be
taken as synonymous with the Thado clan. The clan is a very large
one; Dr. Grierson in the "Linguistic Survey" estimates the numbers
as follows:--
In Manipur 20,000.
In Naga Hills 5,500.
In Cachar Plains 5,403.
In Sylhet 534.
-------
Total 31,437.
This estimate omits the members of the clan in North Cachar Hills and
in the unadministered tracts between the Naga Hills and Manipur on the
west and the Upper Chindwin district of Burma on the east. Allowing
for these, we may safely conclude that the clan now numbers about
37,000 souls.
The clan is divided in a manner exactly similar to the Lushei. There
are four main families, all named after their progenitors, and these
are further sub-divided into many eponymous branches. The whole clan
traces its genealogy back to Thado and his elder brother Dongel,
and beyond them to mythical heroes who lived below the surface of the
ground. The late Colonel McCulloch, in his most interesting "Account
of the Valley of Manipur," says, "About the names of those previous to
Thado there may be some doubt, but from this great chief, from whom
the whole race takes the appellation of Thado, I don't think that
there is any." After many enquiries I am quite of the same opinion
and have found pedigrees collected from various sources differ but
slightly from that recorded by Colonel McCulloch fifty years ago. The
original habitation of this clan is said to have been Kochuk, situated
very far to the south of Manipur. Here I must differ from Colonel
McCulloch, who says the traditional home of the Thados was in the
north. There are other reasons besides tradition for believing that
the Thados have come from the south, the many resemblances between
them and other clans, which either still live in the centre of the
Hills or did so till quite recently, and the connection between
their language and those of the Sokte, Siyin, Vuite, and Ralte,
so clearly established by Dr. Grierson, amply proves the southern
origin of this clan. It appears almost certain that the Kamhaus,
Soktes, and Siyins were the first to disturb the Thados, many of
whom entered Manipur territory to escape from these active foes,
while others probably moved westward and settled in the hills to the
south of the Cachar district, whence in 1848-50 they were driven into
Cachar by the triumphant Lushais, as described in Part I., Chapter I,
para. 3. In the Manipuri chronicle there is mention of an expedition
against the Khongjais, as the Manipuris call the Thados, as early
as 1787, and though the chronicle cannot be accepted as infallible,
I think we may conclude that the Thados entered the Manipur Hills
about the middle of the 18th century. The different families seem very
soon to have separated and, just as among the Lusheis, to have fought
among themselves, for tradition speaks of a great battle between the
Shit-hloh and the Chhinchhuan, on the Sawnchal hill, some 60 miles
in an air-line south-east of Imphal, the capital of Manipur.
The four main families are the Dongel, Shit-hloh, Haukip, and
Kipgen. The Dongel are descended from Thado's elder brother, and
therefore are considered as rather superior to the rest of the
families. The reason why the clan has not been known by the name
of Dongel is said to be that Thado was a far greater warrior and
killed more men. His name is derived, by the people themselves, from
"that," "to kill," and "doh," "to war." It is curious that the direct
descendants of Thado are known as Shit-hloh. This Shit-hloh was the
seventh in the direct line from Thado, and it is said that up till
his time the followers of the direct line had been fewer than those
of the Kipgen and Haukip, but Shit-hloh was great in council and
war, and retrieved the fortunes of his family, and hence his name
has been adopted by them. Thus Thado remains as the true clan name,
while Shit-hloh, Kipgen, and Haukip are the names of the families,
which are further subdivided, as among the Lushais, into many branches,
mostly named eponymously. The Kipgen and Haukip have always differed
slightly from the Shit-hloh. The reason given for this is that Thalun,
the son of Thado, was one day sitting outside his house with his wife,
and, being alone together, the lady was somewhat careless as to her
garments. Hearing some people approaching, Thalun told her to adjust
her dress, and as she did not at once comply he threw a piece of wood
at her and killed her on the spot. Being overcome with grief and shame,
he fled to another part of the country and married again, the second
wife being the mother of Kipgen and Haukip, whereas Elmun, from whom
the Shit-hloh claim descent, was the son of the ill-fated first wife.
The number of branches into which these three families have
divided is very great, and the connection of all of them with the
parent stem is not very well established. Most of them are now of
but little importance, the members being much scattered, but the
Chhinchhuan, a branch of the Shit-hloh, and Chongput and Hawlthang,
both branches of the Haukip family, still are of some importance. The
Chhinchhuan chiefs rule over eleven villages, containing 952 houses,
in the southern portion of the Manipur Hills, where they have been
established certainly over 150 years. The Chongput and Hawlthang
chiefs occupy sites in the hills to the west of the Manipur valley,
which were assigned to them by Colonel McCulloch about 1850, and rule
over some 190 houses.
With the exception of the three branches just mentioned, the Thados
have broken up very much, and are found in small hamlets scattered
about the territory of totally different clans, without any reference
to locality or ethnographical considerations.
All members of these families, however, admit the claims of the head
chief to their allegiance, and in token thereof give him, or his
nearest representative, a hind leg of every wild animal killed.
The Thados generally are very truculent; in Manipur they have settled
themselves among the more peaceable Nagas, and until the British
Government assumed control of the State they lived largely on the
labour of these unfortunate people, whom they had virtually reduced to
slaves. The Manipuris found it easier to acquiesce in this oppression
by the Thados than to coerce them, and the Thados were used on many
occasions to punish Naga tribes whom the Manipuris were unable to
reduce to submission. The superior cunning of the Manipuris enabled
them to maintain their influence over the Thados by skilfully playing
off one family against another. On one occasion three of the most
powerful chiefs were enticed inside the royal enclosure in Imphal and
treacherously murdered. At present large numbers of Thados are moving
eastward in unadministered country, carrying on the same bullying
tactics, reducing the inhabitants, who as yet have no firearms,
to the condition of slaves.
Among the Thados are found the remnants of many other clans, which
have been practically absorbed, having adopted Thado customs and
language. It is asserted that at the time of the Thimzing (v. Part I.,
Chap. V, para. 1) Lianthang and his brother Thlangom, and Lunkim and
his brother Changsan, had such large supplies of skulls of animals
killed by them that they were enabled to live through that trying
time by using the trophies of their skill in the chase as fuel,
and from them the present Lianthang, Thlangom, Lunkim, and Changsan
clans claim descent. The Changsan are sub-divided into eight families
and are considered a clan of some standing, as is shown by the fact
that the Shit-hloh will only take wives from Shit-hloh, Changsan,
and Mangyel households.
The following clans are said not to be descended from Thado, but
to have emerged from the earth after the Thimzing:--Kulho, Shongte,
Kullon, Thangneo, Hanngeng, Henngar, and Thanchhing. They are now to
all intents and purposes Thados, most of them having even adopted the
Sakhua, or domestic sacrificial rites, of whichever family of the Thado
clan they have attached themselves to. Shongte and his younger brother
Kullon emerged from the Khulpi, which is the Thado equivalent of the
Lushai Chhinglung. Kulho, Thangneo, and Hanngeng were sons of Shongte,
the two latter being by a different mother to the first. Henngar was
Kulho's son. Kulho celebrated the Chong festival, and invited his
half-brothers, but Thangneo refused to come, so Kulho disowned him,
which angered Thangneo, so that he proposed to Hanngeng that they
should kill Kulho, but Hanngeng refused, saying that the removal of
Kulho would make Thangneo head of the family, but would in no way
benefit him. This ancient quarrel is sometimes revived even now,
and blows are exchanged when representatives of Kulho and Thangneo
meet round the zu-pot.
The houses of the Thados generally resemble those of the Lushais, but
are less regular in their interior arrangements, a big house sometimes
having two or three hearths irregularly placed. Zawlbuks are not built,
the young men sleeping in the houses of well-to-do people. The houses
of the chiefs are surrounded by palisading enclosing a courtyard,
along one side of which there is often a platform, which reminds one
very much of the Chin houses, and is one of the many trifles tending
to confirm the tradition of the southern origin of the clan. The
following extracts from Lieut. Stewart's notes on Northern Cachar,
written in 1855, show us the Thados as he knew them:--
"Each of the four clans is divided into separate and independent
Rajahlics, of greater or less power and numbers, consisting of one or
more villages, each of which is presided over by a hereditary chief
or Rajah, whose power is supreme, and who has a civil list as long,
in proportion to the means of his subjects, as that possessed by any
other despot in the world. All these Rajahs are supposed to have sprung
from the same stock, which it is believed originally had connection
with the gods themselves. Their persons are, therefore, looked upon
with the greatest respect and almost superstitious veneration, and
their commands are in every case law.
"The revenue exacted by these chieftains is paid in kind and
labour. In the former each able-bodied man pays annually a basket of
rice containing about two maunds; out of each brood of pigs or fowls
reared in the village, one of the young becomes the property of the
Rajah, and he is further entitled to one quarter of every animal killed
in the chase, and, in addition, to one of the tusks of each elephant
so slain. In labour his entire population are bound to devote four
days in each year, in a body, for the purpose of cultivating his
private fields. On the first day they cut down the jungle, on the
second day, the fuel being dry, they fire it and prepare the ground,
on the third they sow and harrow, and on the fourth cut and bring
in the harvest. Besides the labour of these four days in which the
entire effective population, men, women, and children, work for him,
small parties are told off during the whole season to assist his own
domestic slaves in tending the crop, repairing his house (which edifice
is always built afresh by the subjects when a new site is repaired
to), and in supplying wood and water for the family. On the occasion
of the days of general labour, a great feast is given by the Rajah to
all his people; so also, on the occasion of an elephant being killed,
to the successful hunters, but this is the only remuneration ever
received by them, and calls can be made on them for further supplies
and labour, whenever it may be required.
"The Rajah is the sole and supreme authority in the village or
villages under him, no one else being competent to give orders or
inflict punishment except through him.
"To assist him in carrying on the affairs of government the Rajah
has a minister, and more frequently several, called 'thushois'
or 'muntries,' who have the privilege of being exempt from labour
and taxation at his hands. This office is not, strictly speaking,
hereditary--although in most cases, except when thoroughly incompetent,
the son succeeds the father--but is given to those qualified for it,
as being men of property and influence as well as of ability, and
good spokesmen. The Rajah himself is, on the contrary, invariably
succeeded by his eldest son, for whom, should he be a minor, the
kingdom is managed by a council of muntries. In default of sons, the
Rajah's brother succeeds, and failing him the nearest male relative
takes the guddee, the Salique law being in full force.
"Should the Rajah die without any heir to the throne, the chief muntry,
if he be an influential man, takes his place, or some neighbouring
Rajah of the same clan is called upon to take the government or usurps
it. Each of the clans have one great Rajah, supposed to be the main
branch of the original stock, to whom, although those immediately
beyond his own villages owe him no allegiance, great respect is shown
by all, and acknowledgment of the superior title given, although in
power and wealth he may be much poorer than others of the tribe.
"No regular courts are held among the Kookis, but complaints are always
heard before the Rajah, assisted by his muntries, whenever they may
be made. Heinous crimes are very infrequent among these people. Theft
is almost unknown, and they chiefly offend in slight quarrels and
disputes among themselves, which are settled by their Rajah, a fine
being exacted from the guilty party, according to his means and the
extent of his guilt, either in wine, fowls, pigs, goats, cows, or
methins. When cases of theft, burglary, or arson occur, the criminal
loses his independence and becomes a bondman to the Rajah for the term
of his life. Cases of murder and manslaughter are of course taken
up by our authorities and punished by our laws. But the punishment
awarded for murder among the Kookis was confiscation of all goods and
property and perpetual bondage for the murderer, his wife, and family,
who thenceforth became slaves of the Rajah and did his work. The
only crime punishable by death among the Kookis was high treason,
or an attempt at violence on the person of the king, and treacherous
commerce with an enemy of the clan: the victim in these cases was
cut to pieces with dhaos, but of course no such extreme measures
can be resorted to by them in the present day. In cases of adultery
and seduction the punishment is left in the hands of the aggrieved
husband or father. In the former case, death might be inflicted on
the adulterer by any means with impunity, but more generally it was,
and now invariably is, the custom to compound with him for a large
sum of money, something over and above the original price of the
wife. The adulteress then becomes the property of her lover.
"In cases of seduction every effort is made, and in most cases
successfully, to have the guilty couple married forthwith, a penal
price being put upon the bride. All the women in the village, married
or single, are perfectly at the pleasure of the Rajah, and no voice
would be lifted against him for cohabiting with any of them, the only
prevention being a sense of immorality and an understanding among
the royal families of the whole tribe generally that such conduct
is infra dig.; indeed, there is little temptation, for the Rajah
may have as many wives as he likes or can keep, both polygamy and
concubinage being in common practice, female slaves living generally
in the latter condition with respect to their masters."--Stewart's
"Notes on Northern Cachar," pp. 45-48.
This description is still fairly accurate, but the gradual breaking up
of villages, coupled with the increased control by Government and State
officers, has lessened the power of the chiefs and modified custom to
a considerable extent. Lieutenant Stewart gives the following account
of how the people hunted before guns were common among them:--
"The Kookis are great hunters, and are passionately fond of the sport,
looking upon it, next to war, as the noblest exercise for man. They
kill tigers, deer, and smaller game by means of poisoned arrows. The
bow is a small one made of bamboo, and very slightly bent, the string
being manufactured of bark. The arrow, the head of which has a barbed
iron point, is about 18 inches long, being drawn to the chest and not
the ear, and therefore delivered with no great force, the destructive
effect lying chiefly in the poison. With such an instrument the
great art in hunting lies in stealthily approaching the animal near
enough to deliver the arrow with effect, and in following it up after
being wounded to the spot where it is found lying dead. In this the
Kookis excel, being able to prowl about the jungle as noiselessly as
tiger-cats, and being equal to North American Indians in distinguishing
tracks. Tigers are also killed by spring bows with poisoned arrows
set in the jungles and by poisoned panjies planted in their paths.
"Elephants are slain in great numbers by the Kookis wherever
they are to be had, not only the tusks but the flesh being highly
prized. Parties of 20 and upwards go out in pursuit of them at a
time. When some recent elephant track is discovered in the forest,
two or three of the party ascend some convenient tree, whose branches
overhang the track, the remainder follow it up, and having got on
the other side of the herd scare it towards the ambush by shouting,
beating gongs, and discharging firearms. Here, while passing, the
animals are assailed from above with long spears having huge iron
barbs covered with deadly poison; every wound inflicted results in
the death of the animal at not more than half a mile from the spot
on which he was hit. So wary are the elephants, however, that it is
seldom that more than two out of a herd are killed. At the place
where their game is found dead, they commence cutting him up, and
extract his tusks; laden with these and as much of the flesh as they
can carry, they return home, and other parties go out and encamp in
the neighbourhood of the carcase until they have entirely consumed
it, or are driven away by the effluvia of decomposition. Portions
of the flesh that they cannot immediately eat are dried and smoked
to be kept for future consumption. The Kookis also hunt the methin
or wild cow, which they have likewise succeeded in domesticating,
having introduced the breed to Northern Cachar.
"The deadly poison used by the Kookis is, they say, extracted from a
tree which does not grow in these parts, but the article is brought
to them for sale by tribes inhabiting the borders of Manipur. The
substance is of a dark blue or black colour and of about the
consistency of common resin. To make it serviceable it is ground down
with capsicum seeds and tobacco juice, so as to form a pulp, with which
the weapons are smeared, cotton soaked in the mixture being also tied
to the iron under the barb. I had once the cruelty to try the effect
of this poison on two domestic fowls. To one I administered internally
a dose equal to about two common-sized pills, and I punctured one of
the legs of the other, so as merely to draw blood, with the pointed
bamboo about the size of a toothpick which had been dipped into the
mixture. The latter died in twenty minutes without much apparent pain,
and in the former no effects whatever could be perceived, and it may be
crowing to the present day. Another poison, called 'deo-bi,' is used
by the Kookis to kill fish, and has an intoxicating effect upon them
forcing them to the surface, when it is thrown into the water. The
Kookis also spear fish, but have not much idea of catching them by
the hook or net."--Stewart's "Notes on Northern Cachar," pp. 62, 63.
When the track of a tiger is found the "thempu" lifts the earth on
which the footprint is and lays it on a leaf of the "ai" plant. He
pours some zu on it and then, muttering charms, he wraps it up in the
leaf and drops it into a pot, which he places to his ear and professes
to be able to hear whether the pursuit of the animal will be crowned
with success. The customs as regards "boi" approximate to those of the
Lushais, and where they differ it is always to the disadvantage of
the boi; thus a criminal seeking refuge in the chief's house has to
pay a mithan before he can be accepted. On a chief's death each boi
has to kill a pig at his funeral. Slavery by purchase is recognised
and is not restricted to the chiefs--another point of resemblance
between the Thados and the Chins.
The village organisation is much the same as among the Lushais, but
the minor chiefs, while collecting all dues from the people of their
villages, pay certain dues to the head of their family. The crier is
known as "tlangsam," but he receives no remuneration. The "thirdeng,"
or blacksmith, is known as "thirshu," and receives a day's labour
from every householder in the village as his pay.
The thempu only receives zu, and this only from those he cures--a
system tending to increase the skill of the practitioners.
As regards marriage the rules are not very clearly defined, but
young men of the families which sacrifice a sow to their Sakhua
will not generally take girls from the families which sacrifice a
mithan. Strange to say, the sow-sacrificers have no objection to
providing brides for the mithan-slayers, the cause probably being
that in certain cases the wife's Sakhua has to be propitiated and
the cautious sons of sow-killing families object to the extra expense
involved by marrying a wife whose Sakhua demands a mithan. Lieutenant
Stewart states that strict rules existed prohibiting the intermarriage
of cousins, however remote, but my enquiries tend to show that at
present the prohibition only extends to paternal cousins to the
third generation.
Marriage is by purchase, the sums to be paid being:--
"Manpi" (Lushai "manpui")--three to 30 mithan, according to the family
of the bride, to the father of the girl or his representative.
"Golha" (Lushai "palal")--Rs. 4/- or 5/-.
The bride's elder sister, one cloth of dark blue.
The father's younger brother, one mithan, called "mankang," but if
he is living in the same house as the father then the nearest male
relative who is living separately receives this.
Although a man has paid the full price for his wife, yet he has, on her
death and the death of each of her sons, to pay a further sum called
"longman" to her nearest male relative. Supposing Pathong marries
Thonghlu's daughter and has by her two sons, one of whom dies, it is
Thonghlu's duty to kill a pig in honour of the deceased and to take
the skull and all the flesh except that of the head and the entrails
to Pathong. The skull is placed over the grave and the flesh eaten
by the family. Pathong now has to pay Thonghlu the price of the pig
and Rs. 9/-, but if he prefers he may, instead of these two sums,
give one mithan, however small, Rs. 1/-, and a hoe. It is often
found cheaper to give the mithan. Suppose Thonghlu is now gathered
to his fathers, leaving a son, Kanpu, and Pathong's wife also dies,
then Kanpu must kill the pig and will receive the mithan. Pathong
departs this life and his son marries and begets a son, Komyang, and
Kanpu also dies leaving a son, Nelet. Now on the death of Pathong's
remaining son, Nelet must kill the pig and will receive the mithan from
the dead man's son, Komyang, and as this extinguishes the liability
on account of Thonghlu's daughter, Komyang, in token thereof, will
also give to Nelet one spear and one tinder-box. These payments,
unfortunately, are seldom made on the spot, and claims on account
of great-aunts or even more distant female relatives are frequently
brought up for decision. In case of women who die in childbed or in
any unnatural manner her "longman," as this payment is called, has
not to be paid. "Longman" reminds one of the Lushai "lukawng," and
very similar customs are found among the Old Kuki and some Naga clans.
In common with nearly all non-Lushei clans, a Thado co-respondent,
and not his victim's relatives, has to pay the injured husband all
the expenses he had incurred in the marriage and also a fine of one
mithan. The same rule applies to the seducer of a widow living in
her late husband's house. On a man's death his eldest brother can
insist on marrying the widow and taking all the children. "Sawnman"
is enforced as among the Lushais, but should the father refuse to take
the child when it is old enough to leave its mother, he is called on to
pay a second mithan, and he forfeits the right to receive the marriage
price in case of a girl. The eldest son inherits and, failing a son,
the nearest male relative. Adoption is practised as among the Lushais,
the ceremony being known as "Phunkai" (Lushai "Sa-phun").
In case of accidental homicide the offender has to kill a pig at his
victim's funeral and provide a blue cloth to wrap the body in. Should
the death have been caused by a gunshot wound the gun is forfeited
to the heir of the deceased. The Thados claim that rape and sodomy
are unknown among them.
There is no doubt that head-hunting was indulged in in olden days,
and on the death of a powerful chief at least one freshly taken head
had to adorn his grave.
Lieutenant Stewart, in the book already quoted from, gives a good deal
of information about the religious beliefs of the Thados. He says
they recognise one all-powerful god, whom they call Pathen (Lushai
Pathian), who has a wife, Nongjai. I have enquired about Pathen's wife,
but though all my informants say that it is usual to speak of Pathen
Nongjai together, none could say whether Nongjai was Pathen's wife--an
equally powerful being, sharing power with Pathen--or simply another
name for Pathen. Stewart also provides Pathen with a son, Thihla,
but my informants all agree that the Thihla are demons of the hills,
rivers, and forests--in other words exactly the same as the Huais of
the Lushais. Ghumoishe, mentioned by Stewart, is the king of all these
Thihla, and he has a wife, Imungshe. They are supposed to inhabit
the densest forests on the highest mountain tops, and when passing
through such their dread names are never mentioned. About this demon
Stewart says: "By some he is said to be the illegitimate son of Pathen,
but others deny the relationship, and say that he has no connection
with the god whatever. The idea of making the origin of evil proceed
thus from an illegitimate source is exceedingly clever." None of my
informants would venture a guess even at Ghumoishe's parentage. Kuchom,
whom Stewart gives as Ghumoishe's wife, is nowadays, as far as I can
find out, unknown, as also is Hilo, said by Stewart to be the daughter
of the last-named couple and to be the goddess of poisons. The Thihla
are divided into Thingbulnga, the Thihla of the big trees; Shongbulnga,
of the rocks and stones; Tuikhumnga, the demons of the water, of whom
Tuikhumlen is the king. These water spirits are said to be far more
powerful than those of the woods or rocks, and therefore are often
spoken of as Tui-pathen. They also receive a fourfold sacrifice, of a
white fowl or an egg, a pig, a dog, which must not be entirely black,
and a he-goat, whereas cocks or hens are considered quite good enough
for the Thingbulgna or Shongbulgna.
Zomi is a female spectre, a sight of which is a sure forerunner of
some dire misfortune, which can only be averted by the immediate
sacrifice of a dog. Pheizam correspond to the Lashi. Nuaijingmang is
an evil spirit which lives underground.
After death the spirits of men and women, great and small, all go
to Mi-thi-khua. The only advantage which the spirits of those who
have slain men and beasts and given feasts obtain is that Kulsamnu
does not dare to detain them, whereas she, sitting by the roadside,
seizes all other poor wandering souls, and troubles them sorely unless
their relatives who have gone on before come to their rescue.
I have been unable to find any traces of ancestor worship, nor is it
mentioned either by Stewart or McCulloch. This is extremely curious,
as the Thados attach the highest possible importance to a long pedigree
and, as has been seen, nearly every other clan practise some rites
to appease the dead.
Religious Rites and Sacrifices.--The Daibawl sacrifices are made
as among the Lushais, but not the Khal. The Dongel and Shit-hloh
families sacrifice a sow to Sakhua, but the Haukip and Kipgen kill
a mithan. This difference is said to date back to the time when the
Haukip lived on the banks of the Run or Manipur river, near to Tiddim,
and sacrificed a mithan to Rulpui, or the great snake. The Chhinchhuan
are said to have recently adopted the Vaiphei method of propitiating
Sakhua, and in consequence the Shit-hloh have ceased intermarrying
with them.
Besides the sacrifice to Sakhua the Thado have a special sacrifice
known as "Pathen biak na" ("speaking to Pathen"). This consists of
killing a small pig in the closet at the end of the house and a white
cock in front of the house. The crop, entrails, and bones are "sherh"
and are placed on an oaken post in front of the house, and a thirty
days' "hrilh" is observed.
The Ai ceremonies are much the same as among the Lushais, but in that
of the tiger the carrying of the porcupine is unknown. Directly a
tiger is shot a bamboo skewer is hammered into its ear hole, to make
sure that it is dead, and when the body is brought up to the village
an egg is placed in the mouth by some female relative of the lucky
hunter, who addresses the dead animal thus: "Oh! Ho! You stole that,
did you? And so a peg has been driven into your ear." She then jumps
across the body from side to side and from head to tail. After this the
skin may be removed. In connection with cultivation, a ceremony called
"Daibun" is performed after the burning of the jhums. Seven bamboos
adorned with cotton wool are placed round the jhum as an offering to
the "Thihla" of the locality, who are further propitiated later on
by an offering of an egg and some leaves placed on a bamboo in the
middle of the jhum. This is called "Daikam." Wanolnaunu died because
she was so lazy that it was too much trouble to live, so if any of
her signs are found in a new jhum, a sacrifice has to be performed
to avoid a failure of the crops. A tree which has two trunks which
unite some feet above the ground is said to represent her fingers,
and a red fowl must be sacrificed and the tree dug up by the roots. A
spring is said to be her tears, and a goat must be sacrificed. If
a wallow is found a pig must be offered. If a woman is not blessed
with offspring within the usual time of the marriage there are three
methods of procedure:--The woman may go to her father's house, and
he will kill a cock and they will drink zu together, after which he
ties a string round her neck. If this is not successful she may go
to her husband's eldest brother or cousin, and he will repeat the
performance. If there is still no result the thempu is called in and
kills a black hen inside the house, and its flesh, mixed with stones
and other ingredients, is compounded by him into a medicine which
the poor woman desirous of offspring has to eat. On the occasion of
the birth of a child the mother may not leave her house for five days
in case of a son and three in case of a daughter. When these periods
have expired she goes to her father's house and takes a fowl or a pig,
according to her means. This is called "Nau-bil-vu." The mother also
gives her father or sometimes her mother a cloth on the occasion of
the birth of a child, and the recipient kills a pig in honour of the
occasion. In case of a child getting sick the thempu sacrifices a fowl,
called "Ar-kang-tha."
The marriage ceremonies of the Thados are described by both McCulloch
and Stewart, and do not seem to have changed at all during the 55
years that have elapsed since their accounts were written. Neither
account, however, is quite complete. The bridegroom, accompanied by
his friends, taking with them at any rate a portion of the sum to
be paid for the bride, go to the village where the girl lives, and
for three days the young men of the village wrestle with them. On
arrival they are met with showers of filth from the children of the
village. The girl's parents have to give a pig or a mithan and much
zu to celebrate the occasion. At the conclusion of the feast the bride
sets out for her future home dressed in her best and wearing a gong on
her head. The actual marriage ceremony takes place in the house of the
father of the bridegroom and consists of the thempu killing a fowl,
feathers from the right wing being placed in the hair of the young
couple. They then drink out of the same cup of zu, and the thempu,
muttering charms, binds a cotton thread round their necks, which must
be worn till it falls off from old age.
The thempu then presents each with a comb. Only very near relatives
may use the same comb. Stewart says husband and wife may share a comb,
but my information is that uterine brothers and sisters may do so. A
Lushai correspondent writes that among them the use of another man's
comb may cause a headache, and that a person of a higher clan would
be contaminated if he used the comb of a member of a lower one. To
see whether the union will prove harmonious the thempu takes a hair
from the head of each and moistens them in zu and then twists them
together. If the hairs remain twisted all will go smoothly, but should
they fly apart many bickerings and disputes are to be expected. The
parents of the bridegroom give a feast to all concerned, and this
completes the ceremony, but the young couple do not at once commence
sleeping together. If they have not been previously acquainted they
often sleep apart for a month, and for lesser periods according to
the degree of their acquaintance.
Eligible brides are even now carried off and married against the wishes
of their parents, by ardent lovers belonging to powerful families.
Immediately a death occurs guns are fired and a special funeral
chant called "La pi" (Lushai "Hla") is sung three times. The funeral
ceremonies of ordinary people are practically the same as among the
Lushais, but in the case of those who have performed the "Chong"
the ceremonies last seven days, and each day the corpse is carried
in and out of the house seven times with much shouting, and a mithan
has to be killed on each day. Every relative and slave has to attend
and bring some animal to be killed. The skulls of all these adorn
the great man's grave, and, in former days, at least one fresh human
skull taken specially for the occasion from some other clan had to be
added to the other trophies over a chief's grave. Sometimes the body
of a great chief may be placed in a small house at a short distance
from the village and partially dried over a slow fire; and a curious
survival of the times of war is found in the practice, now dying out,
of severing the head and burying it in an earthen pot in a separate
place. This was done to prevent the heads being found and removed
as trophies, should the village be raided. The entrails of the first
animal killed in honour of the deceased are placed on leaves at the
foot of the post against which the corpse rested during the funeral
feast, and are left there for several days, even up to one month,
and at every meal a handful of rice is taken out of the pot and placed
on the leaves, before anyone is allowed to eat. This portion for the
dead is called "thi an chhe." As among the Rangte, efforts are made
to obtain some wild animal or bird, and if the hunters are successful
the entrails of the animal, or the whole animal if it be not edible,
are buried with the "thi an chhe" in the grave, without waiting for
the expiry of the month.
Unnatural deaths ("thichhia") are considered unlucky, and the custom
regarding the disposal of the corpse in such cases is the same as among
the Lushais. Memorial stones are not generally put up by the Thados,
but are occasionally found among the Chhinchhuan, perhaps from their
proximity to the Lushais.
A man who has performed the Ai of a tiger is honoured with a special
memorial. Two posts, one some four feet long and the other about three,
carefully squared and with the four sides ornamented with transverse
notches, are placed in the ground some five or six feet apart. The
longer post terminates in a spike, on which are impaled several
oval-shaped pieces of wood, which indicate the number of animals
killed by the deceased. Between the posts and to one side a long pole
is planted leaning over between the posts, and from this hangs half a
dried gourd shell, convex side uppermost, from the rim of which hang
tassels of rough wooden beads, and from the centre hangs a piece of
wood 7 or 8 inches long, of which one end is forked and the other a
knob. This represents "thotche," a sort of rat found in the jungle and
said to be the master of the jungle. If this animal is burnt in the
jungle the "Thihla" of the place will be angry and punish the persons
responsible. Children eat the flesh of the thotche. The posts are
called "thingel" and remind one of the memorial posts of the Chins,
and the be-tasselled gourd is a sign among those people that the
owner of the house before which it is displayed has killed a man.
A woman who has performed the Buh Ai is also honoured with a special
memorial, consisting of an upright stone some three feet high, in
front of which are placed three others supporting a flat stone. A
space of about four square yards in front is enclosed by a line of
stones set on edge, the whole of the interior being planted with
small stones, which are supposed to show the number of baskets of
rice reaped on the occasion of the Ai. The feasts connected with
the cultivation known by the Lushais as "Kut" are not practised,
but when the rice is well up the whole community goes to the jhums,
dancing and singing, and beating drums and gongs. In the jhums they
work vigorously in perfect silence for a considerable time and then
burst forth into song and dance, and eat their fill of rice washed down
with zu. There is another feast connected with the crops called "Hun,"
which takes place when the rice is about a foot high. Each household
prepares two pots of zu, one for the husband and one for the wife,
and a post called "shekhon" is planted before each house. This post
has two horizontal arms projecting, one near the top and one near
the ground, the upper one being the longer. These are perforated,
and three reeds are passed through the holes. Each household kills
a white cock at the foot of the shekhon. The flesh is cooked in the
house and eaten by the householder alone. The "sherh" and bones are
hung on the shekhon. The zu in the householder's pot may only be drunk
by other householders, but that in the wife's pot is dispensed to
all comers. For five days after this feast no one but members of the
household may enter the house. Nothing out of the house may be given
away, and the householder must do no work, nor may he attend a funeral.
The series of feasts performed by the Lushais to attain the honours of
"Thangchhuah" is not customary among the Thados, though some informants
say that in olden days some such custom prevailed, and the "Chong"
feast, at which seven mithan and two of every other sort of domestic
animal had to be killed, is not performed now only because none can
afford the expense. It will be remembered that "Chong" is the name
of the first feast in the Thangchhuah series. Among the Haukip I am
told that a position equivalent to Thangchhuah is attained by thrice
celebrating the Ai of one of the following--tiger, bear, elephant,
or hornbill.
Thado Folk Tales.
Benglama is the equivalent of the Lushai Chhura, and there are many
tales about him which are common to both clans and in fact seem to
be known to almost all representatives of the Kuki-Lushai race. The
following is a translation of a portion of a tale written down in
Lushai for me, but told by a Thado. Benglama had visited a village and
got himself much disliked, and everyone was trying to catch him:--"Once
they made a ladder and cut the lower side partly through and made
a great quagmire underneath. Benglama climbed up it, it broke, and
he fell down into the mud. Then a tiger came up. 'My friend, if you
help me out you may eat me,' said Benglama. Then the tiger pulled him
out. Then the tiger--'I will eat you up,' he said. Benglama--'I will
just go and wash myself clean,' he said. 'Presently I will eat you
up,' he said again. Benglama--'I will go and ease myself,' he said,
'otherwise you will dislike my dung,' he said. Where he went to ease
himself he cut a cane. The tiger--'Why do you do that?' he asked. Then
Benglama--'It is going to blow and rain like anything, therefore
I am going to tie myself to the stump of a tree,' he said. Then
the tiger--'If that is so, tie me up first,' he said. He tied him
up. Then he (Benglama) also put a mallet, that all who passed by might
beat the tiger. Benglama went away. Then the wild-cat came along. The
tiger--'My friend, you and I are just alike; we two are friends, we are
brothers--undo me,' he said. He undid him. Then the wild-cat left him,
going into a pangolin's hole. Then just as he was going in, the tiger
caught him by the foot. 'What you have got hold of, that is not me, it
is a tree root,' he said. The tiger let him go, but remained watching
for him, but the wild-cat always slipped out at the other side, and
was always eating fowls by Benglama's house. The tiger--'My friend,
what is it you are eating?' he said. Then the wild-cat--'Oh, I am only
just eating the bones of my hand,' he said. The tiger was always eating
his paw, and it hurt very, very much indeed. Presently the wild-cat
went to the tiger and said to him, 'If you were to take a torch and
go near to Benglama's house you would be able to catch some fowls,'
he said. So the tiger went up, but Benglama saw him, and heated some
water. When it was very hot indeed, he poured it into a tui-um (bamboo
tube for holding water) and threw it over the tiger. The tiger said,
'My friend! My friend! I am dying, I am all burnt up,' he said. The
wild-cat--'There is a waterfall some way down stream; if you roll
down that you will be well,' he said. He rolled down and so he died."
How Benglama Tried to Climb to the Top of the Big "Bung" Tree.
"This Benglama--his wife was going to start for the jhum, and she
spoke thus to him. To her husband his wife said, 'Benglam, when the
sun shines through our doorway, cook the rice, do,' she said. 'When
the sun shines on the top of the bung tree in front of our house, then
clean the rice and tie up the goat,' she said, and she also left her
child with him. His wife then left him to go to the jhum. Then he,
according to his wife's orders, when the sun shone in the doorway
prepared to cook the rice. As often as he put the pot on the fire
it fell off again. Presently the sun shone on the top of the bung
tree. 'Did my wife say cook the food on the top of the bung tree?' he
said. Then saying, 'I will clean the rice,' he prepared to climb to
the top of the bung tree with the rice, mortar, and pounder, with the
goat and the basket of fowls; but he could not climb up, he kept on
falling down again. Just then his child, being hungry, began to cry
and cry. Then Benglama, saying, 'Is his fontanel hurting?' pricked
it with his hairpin. Then the child died. Benglama, saying, 'Has it
gone to sleep?' laid it down on the sleeping machan; he did not know
that it was dead. Then his wife came back from the jhum, and Benglama
just before had fallen from the bung tree and was nearly dead, and
lay on the sleeping platform groaning terribly. His wife said, 'Are
you ill?' and he--'Speak! Why, I can hardly speak, I have fallen from
the top of the bung tree and am nearly dead, don't you know?' he said
to her. Then she looked at her child; and his wife--'Our child here
is dead; how has it happened?' she said. Then Benglama--'Go on! it's
not dead, its head was hurting and I pricked it; it is just asleep,'
he said to her. Then his wife--'It is dead indeed; go and bury it,'
she said. Then Benglama wrapped it up in a mat and carried it over his
shoulder, and the body dropped out behind him, and he placed the mat
only in a cave, and on his way back he saw his child's body. 'Whose
child is this?' he said, and kicked it about with his feet."
The Story of Ngamboma and Khuptingi.
"Formerly Ngamboma and Khuptingi, before they were born, while in
their mothers' wombs, they loved each other. When the time for them to
be born came near their mothers' bellies pained them. Then if their
mothers put their bellies near to each other they got well. Then
the children were born. In the jhums when they were placed apart
in the jhum house while their mothers were at work they always got
together. When they grew bigger they loved each other, and Ngamboma
wanted to marry Khuptingi, but their fathers and mothers did not
think it wise. Then Ngamboma made an image of Khuptingi in beeswax
and tied it to a stump of a tree on the bank of the stream, and
whenever the water rose Khuptingi got ill and when it went down she
got better. Thus it went on for one year. One day the stream rose and
carried away Khuptingi's image, then Khuptingi died. They placed her
body in a dead-house. From the decaying matter which fell from her
body flowers sprang up, and Ngamboma watched them always. One day a
wild cat was going to take away those flowers, but Ngamboma caught
it and said, 'Why did you think to steal my flowers--I'll just kill
you?' he said. Then the wild cat--'Protector! Do not kill me; I am sent
by Khuptingi,' he said. Then Ngamboma--'Where is Khuptingi, then?' he
said. Then the wild cat--'If you catch hold of my tail we will both go
(to her),' he said. Then the wild cat towed him to the village in which
Khuptingi was in the sky, in Mi-thi-khua (the dead-people's-village),
and they arrived at Khuptingi's house and they slept there, and they
ate rice also together. When they slept together Khuptingi was only
bare bones, and Ngamboma said, 'What bones are these?' and he threw
them to the top of the wall and to the bottom of the wall (i.e., all
about the room). Then the next day Khuptingi--'I am not well,' she
said. Ngamboma--'What is the reason?' he said. The Khuptingi--'Last
night when I was sleeping near you you threw me to the top of the
wall and to the bottom of the wall; for that reason I am in pain,' she
said. Then their villagers said, 'Let us go and fish,' they said. They
went. The place where they caught fish--indeed it was not a stream,
it was a patch of bamboo. The dead called the bamboo leaves fish, and
they filled their baskets cram-full, but Ngamboma said to himself,
'They will stop the holes in the baskets with the leaves when they
come to the stream so that the fish may not fall out by accident,'
he said, and he stopped the holes (in his basket) with leaves. Then
they all returned to the village. Ngamboma, by diverting a stream,
caught a few fish and returned. When they reached their houses the
dead roasted the leaves which they called fish, but when Ngamboma
tried to roast them the leaves all burnt up. Then Khuptingi said to
Ngamboma, 'The others have caught so many fish; why have you caught
so few?' Ngamboma roasted the real fish which he had caught, but they
burnt up just like the bamboo leaves. Then one day the people again
went out to hunt. In the place where they went hunting they saw a huge
black caterpillar; the dead called it a bear. Ngamboma did not see
it, and by accident trod on it and killed it. Then the dead said to
Ngamboma, 'That bear which ran towards you, have you seen it?' they
said. Ngamboma--'I have not seen it,' he said. Presently they saw
the caterpillar which he had trodden on, 'Hei-le! Why, you have shot
it!' they said. They carried it up to the village and all the dead
ate up its flesh entirely. Ngamboma, however, did not care to eat
any of it. Then Khuptingi said to Ngamboma, 'Living people and dead
people, we shall not be able to live together comfortably; therefore,
if you now build yourself a house here and then return to your home,
when you die you will be able to live in it?'--thus Khuptingi said. So
he set to work to build a house. The dead called the arum trees, and
they split them with axes and built (with them), but Ngamboma just
split those arums with his nail very quickly. 'Can one build houses
with such stuff?' he said. Then, splitting real trees into planks, he
built his house. Then Khuptingi said to Ngamboma, 'If you go to your
house and call all the villagers together and sacrifice a mithan, and
when you have finished eating its flesh you put on very good cloths
and wear round your neck the sacrificial rope (the rope the mithan
was bound with), and call on my name, then you will die and will be
able to come to our village,' she said. Just as Khuptingi said it came
to pass; he died as he was lying on his bed, then they were able to
live together with comfort. When he saw the house that he had built
in Mi-thi-khua, he said, 'Who built that house?' The dead said to him,
'You built it while you were alive.' Then they married in Mi-thi-khua,
it is said.
"It is because of this story of Ngamboma and Khuptingi that we say
nowadays people are in Mi-thi-khua."