THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN
This clan emigrated from the neighbourhood of Thlan-tlang (called
by the Chin Hills officers Klang-klang) in comparatively recent
times. They are closely allied to the Southern Chins, and a description
of them belongs more properly to the Chin Monograph. Much of the
information in Messrs Carey and Tuck's Gazetteer regarding the
Southern Chins applies to the Lakhers. I therefore propose to give
only a brief description here.
The clan calls itself Mara, Lakher being the name used by the
Lushais. The Chins, I believe, call them Zo, and the Arracan name
for them is Klongshai. The following extract from my diary, dated
10th February, 1891, gives a brief account of the advent of this
clan:--"In the evening I had a long talk with the chiefs and found
out the origin, according to them, of the feud with the Mrungs (in
the Chittagong Hill tracts). In the lifetime of Thonglien's father,
the Bohmong of that time sent to ask the Mara clan to come and make
friends. A deputation went, taking with them two large elephant tusks
as a peace offering. The Bohmong had two of the party treacherously
killed, and hence the feud which has led to so much bloodshed. I am
told that the first Mara to come here (Saiha) were a colony under one
of Thonglien's ancestors. They came from Thlan-tlang to where Vongthu
now is, and then moved further east till they settled somewhere on the
Blue Mountain. Finding themselves too small a colony to hold their own,
they sent for the rest of the clan, who, under Lianchi, Hmunklinga's
great-grandfather, came and settled where Ramri now is. After a few
years a few of the Chinja tribe arrived and were received into the
village. These were followed by more and more until eventually the
Mara left the Chinja in possession of Ramri and moved across the Blue
Mountain, where they have remained ever since." There are other Lakher
villages besides those referred to in the above extract, and the clan
is found in considerable strength to the south of the Lushai Hills
boundary, in territory which is at present unadministered. Members
of the clan are also found in the Lushai and Chin villages adjoining
the real Lakher country, which lies in the loop of the Koladyne or
Kaladan river, south of latitude 22°3´.
Their villages are more permanent than those of the Lushais though the
houses are built of the same materials, the proximity of large supplies
of bamboos having led the immigrants to abandon the substantial timber
buildings of the land of their origin for more flimsy structures. The
sites are, however, levelled and the villages are seldom moved. Before
the reign of peace which has followed our occupation of the Hills,
each village was surrounded by a triple line of stockading or by an
impenetrable belt of thorny jungle, through which a narrow pathway,
defended by three gates, led to the village. Inside the houses the
sleeping platforms of the Lushais are absent and the hearth is in
the middle of the floor. If the owner has slaves or a married son,
the interior is divided into compartments by partitions which extend
three-quarters of the way across the house.
The men smoke but little, but much relish the nicotine water from
the women's pipes, which differ slightly in shape from those used by
their Lushai cousins.
Dress.--I have been unable to detect any difference in dress between
the Lakhers and the Southern Chins. The men wear a narrow loin-cloth
twisted round the waist, one end being passed between the legs and
slipped under the waist-band, the only other garment being a cloth
about 7 feet by 5, worn as the Lushais wear theirs, and made either
of cotton or silk. Blue and white check cloths are very much fancied,
but are imported from Burma, whence also comes a very rough cotton
cloth with large brown checks. The silk cloths are made by the women
and are fine pieces of work, taking an industrious woman as much as
a year to weave.
The dress of the women is more elaborate--several petticoats reaching
almost to the ground and held up by a massive brass girdle, made
after the pattern of the chain of a cog-wheel. These petticoats are
generally of dark blue cotton, but sometimes the outer one is a very
elaborately worked piece of silk, similar in pattern to the man's
cloth. Each petticoat is merely a strip of cloth wide enough to go
one and a half times or even twice round the body.
While clothing her nether extremities thus decently, the Lakher
woman wears a jacket which consists really of little more than two
very short sleeves joined at the back and tied loosely together in
front. This absurd little garment does not by several inches reach
to her petticoat. The jacket is generally of home-made cloth or
silk of a pattern similar to the men's cloths. A loose cloth of the
favourite blue and white check is wrapped round the body for warmth,
but discarded when any work is being done.
The men wear the hair tied in a knot above the forehead. A very narrow
turban is often worn, being passed round the back of the head low
down and the ends twisted round the knot of hair. Chiefs affect the
high turban of the Thlan-tlangs.
Women wear nothing on their heads, except in wet weather, when both
sexes wear hats like the Lushais. The raincoat of the Chins is also
used. Special cloths and plumes are worn by those who have killed
men or given certain feasts, as among the Lushais.
Ornaments.--The amber necklaces so dear to the Lushais do not find
much favour with this clan, who value especially necklaces of a stuff
known as "pumtek," but as this is very rare, necklaces of glass-beads,
cornelians, buttons, coins, etc., are generally all that commoners
can obtain. The women are particularly fond of necklaces; the men
wear but few, which is in marked contrast to the custom of the Lushais.
The men ornament their top-knots with combs, the backs of which are
sometimes of ivory, sometimes of wood lacquered in various patterns. A
long pin of iron or bone is always worn in the top-knot, and is used
for scratching the head as well as for cleaning out the pipe.
The women wear their hair rolled round a very heavy two-pronged brass
skewer, the weight of which, sometimes as much as 3 lbs., keeps the
hair low down on the nape of the neck.
Constitution of Society.
The Lakhers, in common with the Chins, are less democratic than
the Lushais and their cognates. The power of the chiefs is greater,
and the chiefs' relatives and other wealthy people form a kind of
peerage and lord it over the lesser fry, being seldom interfered
with unless their doings endanger the interests of the chief. Slaves
with the Lakhers are real slaves, not merely unpaid servants as among
the Lushais. A slave is the absolute property of his master, and may
be sold like any other possession. Female slaves are not allowed to
marry, but are encouraged to become mothers, as their children are the
property of their owners. Male slaves who win their master's favour
are sometimes married at their owner's expense, but they and their
children remain slaves. Parents and other relations sell children
when they are in pecuniary difficulties, and captives taken in war
are naturally the slaves of their captors.
In the matter of marriage the Lakher's choice is as little limited as
that of the Lushai but, owing to the power of the upper class, there
is great competition to secure a bride of good birth, and this leads
to girls being married before they attain puberty. After her marriage
such a child-wife helps in the household of her husband's mother, but
sleeps with her own parents. The following extract from a report on
the Lakhers sent me by Mr. Whalley, of the E. Bengal and Assam Police,
cannot be improved on:--"The advanced age, as regards males, at which
marriage takes place is due to the recognised obligation on the part
of every male to marry the daughter of a house of higher standing
than his own, with the consequently disproportionate advance in the
amount of the marriage price. Too frequently a male on coming into
his inheritance is occupied during his years of vigour in paying off
the debt of his mother's marriage price, and can only afford to take
a wife of a higher station than his own when he is no longer capable
of becoming a father. In the interval he takes a concubine, generally
of a lower class than his own. On the other hand, the marriage or
betrothal of children by their parents is common. Such marriages are
on two scales. In both from the date of betrothal the bridegroom
commences to pay the marriage price in irregular instalments; in
one, however, he contracts, if he becomes a father by his bride,
to pay the whole marriage price, and can claim the return of all
payments made if the decease of his bride precedes such an event;
in the other he pays only a proportion of the whole fixed beforehand,
which is not recoverable, even if marriage is never consummated. The
first is in more general favour with parents, as even in the case of
the death of the prospective bride it is by no means certain that,
in view of the disparity in position of the families, the bridegroom
will be able to compel disgorgement of the instalments paid."
"The above description of customs refers mutatis mutandis to all
classes of society except slaves. The desirability of an unmarried girl
varies directly with the social position of the parents; appearance,
industry, and chastity are entirely subordinate factors, and exercise
very little influence on the marriage price demanded. There is a
strange custom by which a husband who finds his wife incompatible
may exchange her for any of her sisters still unmarried. A younger
brother, again, whose parents are dead, even though already married,
takes over as a rule the wife as well as the liability of an elder
brother who has predeceased him. The precedence of such wives should
be regulated solely by the position of their parents, and breaches
of this rule, owing to the partiality of the husband, lead frequently
to bitter feuds."
The following valuable note on the marriage price of a Lakher girl,
and on the dues payable at death, by Mr. R. A. Lorrain, is inserted
just as received:--
The important position occupied by the bride's eldest brother and
her maternal uncle are noticeable.
PARTICULARS OF MARRIAGE PRICE PAID BY A MARA FOR HIS BRIDE. [13]
==========+================+==============+====+============================
| Amount of Price. | | To whom price is paid and
Name of +================+==============+ No.| other particulars in
Price. | Common People. | Ruling Clan. | | regard to the Marriage
| | | | Customs of the Mara Tribes.
==========+================+==============+====+============================
O-Kia | Rs. 20/- | Rs. 150/- | 1 | When the whole family live
| Gong (7 spans).| One slave. | | in the same house, none of
| Gun. | Two Mithan. | | the sons having their own
| | | | houses, then the Prices
| | | | Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and
| | | | Nos. 9, 10, 11, have all
| | | | to be paid to the father
| | | | of the bride.
| | | |
Sei-pi- | Rs. 20/- | Rs. 50/- | 2 | If the family is divided
hra | Gong (7 spans).| One Mithan | | and the eldest son has a
| Gun. | (female). | | house of his own, then the
| | | | father has price No. 11 and
| | | | the eldest son must have
| | | | price No 1, while the
| | | | prices Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
| | | | and Nos. 9, 10, are at the
| | | | eldest son's disposal and
| | | | he may or may not share with
| | | | the youngest son as he
| | | | pleases.
| | | |
Chaw chyu | Rs. 20/- | Rs. 50/- | 3 |
| Gong (7 spans).| One Mithan. | |
| Gun. | Gun (syulô). | |
| | | |
Sei-chei- | Rs 20/- | Rs 50/- | 4 |
hra | Gong (7 spans).| One Mithan. | |
| Gun. | Gun (syulô). | |
| | | |
Nô-hla | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 10/- | 5 |
| Brass pot | Beer pot | |
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | |
| | | |
Saw-hla | Rs. 1/- | Rs. 2/- | 6 |
| Full grown hen | Brass pot | |
| | (4 spans). | |
| | | |
Kei-ma | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 5/- | 7 | No. 7 has to be paid to the
| Brass pot | Beer pot | | friend of the father of the
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | | bride if the sons and father
| | | | live in the same house. But
| | | | if the family is divided,
| | | | the eldest son having his
| | | | own house, then this must be
| | | | paid to his friend instead
| | | | of the father's.
| | | |
Lao-khyu | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 5/- | 8 | No. 8 has to be paid to the
| Brass pot | Beer pot | | bride's mother's brother
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | | (bride's uncle).
| | | |
Rai-pi- | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 10/- | 9 |
hra | Brass pot | Beer pot | |
| (4 spans). | (Rai-pi). | |
| | | |
Aw-rua- | Rs. 5/- | Rs. 50/- | 10 |
baw-na | Beer pot | One Mithan. | |
| (Ra-cha). | Gun. | |
Si-sa-zi or chhi-sa-zi.
{a U-thei-| Rs. 10/- | Rs. 20/- | | Note.==No. 11, divided
{ pa | A "Sisa" bead. |A "Sisa" bead.| | into three sums, has to be
{ | | | | given on engagement before
{ | | | | marriage, and is kept by
{ | | | | the father of the bride.
{ | | | |
{a Lia-pa | Rs. 5/- | Rs. 10/- | 11 |
{ | Brass pot |A "Sisa" bead.| |
{ | (5 spans). | | |
{ | | | |
{a Sei- | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 5/- | |
{ hnai-pa| Brass pot | Beer pot | |
{ | (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | |
PU-MA.[##]
A-ma-pi | Rs. 20/- | Rs. 150/- | 12 | Pu-ma has to be paid by the
| Gong (7 spans).| One slave. | | bridegroom to the bride's
| Gun. | Two Mithan. | | "Pu-pa," that is, the
| | | | bride's mother's brother
| | | | (uncle). He therefore
| | | | receives the prices Nos. 12,
| | | | 13, 14, 15 and 18.
| | | |
Aw-rua- | Rs. 5/- | Rs. 50/- | 13 |
baw-na | Beer pot | One Mithan. | |
| (Ra-cha). | Gun. | |
| | | |
Nô-hla | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 10/- | 14 |
| Brass pot | Beer pot | |
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | |
| | | |
Saw-hla | Rs. 1/- | Rs. 2/- | 15 |
| Full grown hen.| Brass pot | |
| | (4 spans). | |
| | | |
Kei-ma | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 5/- | 16 | No. 16 has to be paid to
| Brass pot | Beer pot | | the friend of the "Pu-pa"
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | | (bride's uncle).
| | | |
Lao-khyu | Rs. 2/- | Rs. 5/- | 17 | No. 17 has to be paid to
| Brass pot | Beer pot. | | the bride's grandmother's
| (4 spans). | (Ra-cha). | | brother on her mother's
| | | | side (bride's great uncle),
| | | | or it is sometimes paid
| | | | the "Pu-pa's" (bride's
| | | | uncles) wife's father
| | | | (father of aunt by marriage
| | | | on the mother's side).
| | | |
Pha-vaw.
{a U-thei-| Rs. 7/- | Rs. 20/- | |
{ pa | A "Sisa" bead. |A "Sisa" bead.| |
{ | | | |
{a Lia-pa | Rs 2/- | Rs. 10/- | 18 |
{ | Brass pot |A "Sisa" bead.| |
{ | (4 spans). | | |
{ | | | |
{a Sei- | Rs. 1/- | Rs. 2/- | |
{ hnai-pa| A large fowl. | Brass pot | |
{ | | (4 spans). | |
DEATH DUE. [##]
Ru | Rs. 10/- | Rs. 80/- | 19 | At the death of a wife
| or more. | or more. | | this price has to be paid
| Gong. | One Mithan | | as a death due by the
| | (large). | | husband to the dead wife's
| | | | father or eldest brother as
| This price is | | | the case may be.
| often nearly as| This price is| |
| heavy as the | often nearly | | At the death of a husband
| "O-kia." | as heavy as | | the eldest son of the dead
| | "O-kia." | | man has to pay the price to
| | | | his father's mother's
| | | | brother (the dead man's
| | | | uncle).
| | | |
| | | | If there is no son, the
| | | | dead man's brother will pay,
| | | | and then the dead man's
| | | | daughters, when they marry,
| | | | their marriage prices will
| | | | go to this brother of the
| | | | dead man (his nieces'
| | | | marriage prices).
| | | |
| | | | If there are no daughters
| | | | then he has his dead
| | | | brother's possessions as a
| | | | recompense, and he will
| | | | also care for the widow
| | | | unless she prefers to go to
| | | | her own family once again.
==========+================+==============+====+============================
One out of each of the above prices has to be paid by the bridegroom
before he is out of debt for his bride, and it will be found that:--
(1) An ordinary person has to give for his bride about Rs. 153/-,
or £10 4s.
(2) One of the ruling clan has to give for his bride about
Rs. 671/-, or £44 14s. 8d.
Then at death the for No. 1, from Rs. 10/- to 20/-, or 13/4
death-due must be met, to £1 6s. 8d.
for No. 2, from Rs. 80/- to 150/-, or £5
6s. 8d. to £10.
Needless to say, many of these prices are kept on credit, and often
have to be met after death by the son or the son's son, making it a
terribly complicated matter on the whole.
Reginald A. Lorrain,
Pioneer Missionary to the Lakhers' or Maras'.
May 4th, 1911.
Offences against property and person can generally be settled by
payment of a fine, but the Lakhers have no fixed custom in such
matters, and a person of quality generally takes the law into his
own hands if he considers himself aggrieved.
Head-hunting used to be indulged in and is still practised by the
Lakhers in unadministered tracks. In case of a chief's death it was
proper to kill someone of a distant village before drums or gongs
were beaten, but it was thought "thianglo" to bring back the head
on such an occasion. As regards their religious beliefs, the Lakher
equivalent of Pathian is Khazang. Mr. Whalley writes:--"All spirits,
with one doubtful exception to be noted later, whether malignant or
benign, are slaves of the great spirit Khazang or Loitha. Whereas the
attributes and the names of the lesser spirits vary from village to
village and individual to individual, this great spirit has a firmer
outline and permits of some attempt at description. The picture they
draw is primitive, almost touching in its childishness. The Khazang or
Loitha is small and brown and almost hairless. He is capable of sexual
love and has children. He is material in his essence, but superior to
natural laws such as those of time, space, and gravity. He is immortal,
and has an immaterial wife and immaterial children. For his continuance
the world exists with its revenue. In their own phrase he 'eats' the
domains of the lesser spirits through all nature as a chief 'eats'
villages (i.e., receives tribute in supplies from villages). He regards
individual men much as these same men regard individual ants. Nearer
to the heart and farther from the intelligence of the Lakhers is
the mysterious Pi-leh-pu, the all-mother and all-father (strictly
translated 'grandmother' and 'grandfather,' the term is generally
used for ancestors)--a being not anthropomorphised or materialised,
partaking in some shadowy way of the functions both of guardian angel
and of originator of the human race."
In the course of my enquiries I did not come across any references
to Pi-leh-pu, but there seems good reason to think that the term
is applied to the mythical ancestor of the clan. In the Lushai
Mi-thi-rawp-lam, it will be remembered that in the centre of the
frame round which the effigies of the ancestors of the celebrants are
fastened there is a white effigy to represent the mythical ancestor
of the whole clan. In some respects Pi-leh-pu seems to resemble the
Lushai Sakhua.
The Ram-huai of the Lushais are known as "Hri-pa" and the Lashi as
"Sakhia." After death the spirits pass to Mi-thi-khua, the road to
which is by the village of Lunchoi and passes up a precipice. It is
so narrow that women with child have to widen it as they go, for which
purpose a hoe is buried with them, or at least laid beside the corpse
during the funeral feast. Pial-ral is called "Pe-ra'," and to reach
it all sorts of animals must be killed and the Ai ceremony performed
for each. The Khuangchoi feast is also considered, if not absolutely
necessary, at least very useful. Triumphs in the courts of Venus will
not help the spirit to pass to Pe-ra'. Women can only reach that happy
place if their husbands take them. A series of feasts or sacrifices
closely resembling the Thangchhuah feast of the Lushais is performed,
but I was assured that the performer's state in the next world was
not in any way affected thereby, the feasts being equivalent to the
Lushai Sakhua sacrifice. The series consists of--
Vok-rial.--A very small pig which has been brought up in the house
is killed and eaten.
Vok-pa.--A boar of five fists' height which has been brought up in the
house is killed, a black hen being also sacrificed at the same time.
The "sherh" are kept inside the house for three days, during which time
none of the household may do any work, but the house is not closed and
anyone may share in the feast. The Vok-rial is performed three times
and the Vok-pa twice, and then a mithan is killed and all share in
the feast. The performer of the She-shun may not cross a big stream
or enter another village till he has sacrificed a hen. Subsequently
he again performs Vok-rial, which is said to conclude the sacrifices
to Sakhua. A feast in which two mithan are killed is called "Bawi." It
is followed by Khuangchoi, in which at least five mithan must be slain.
The spirits of the dead are supposed to become mist after having
lived two or three lives in the other world.
Ten days after the birth of a child the mother goes to the water supply
and washes herself. She then takes the child to her father's house,
where she receives some rice and a fowl, which she takes home and
eats. Sacrifices are not done at this time. Children's heads are shaved
at three months, and the hair is allowed to grow at nine years with
girls and at eleven with boys. The bodies of stillborn children are
buried outside the village without any ceremony, but no purification,
either of the house or village, is considered necessary.
[Death.] The usual funeral feast, which in the case of wealthy
persons may last three to five days, precedes the burial. Some time
afterwards a second feast is given and a portion is put aside for
the spirit of the deceased. At the funeral feast the corpse is laid
out with fine cloths and ornaments and a dance is performed by two
women and one man. In other respects the Lakher and Lushai customs
are very much alike. There is an annual feast in honour of those who
have died during the year. It is called "Lachhia." A pig is killed
and the young men and maidens dance attired in their best clothes,
and the usual large quantities of zu are consumed.
In cases of unnatural death no one may leave the village till the sixth
day. On the fourth day a hen is sacrificed outside the village. The
corpse is buried beyond the village boundary fence. Deaths in
childbirth are considered unnatural deaths. If the firstborn in
a family dies within a few days of its birth the corpse is buried
anywhere, without ceremony, and the household abstain from work for
one day. Such a death is called "naw-dawng" (Lushai "hlamzuih").
Many of the Lushai sacrifices are performed. The Khal takes the
following form:--A fowl is killed at the head of the bed in the name
of the father, a month later one is killed in the name of the mother,
and in successive months one is killed for each child. The flesh of
these fowls can only be eaten by the parents. The Uihring sacrifice
is known as "An-hmu"; a dog is killed outside the house, the hills
inhabited by their ancestors being named. The "sherh" are hung on
a tree or a bamboo. The husbands of women who are enceinte may not
enter the house on such occasions. The following sacrifices of the
Lushais are not performed--Hring-ai-tan, Khuavanghring, Tui-leh-ram,
Bawlpui. In the Thla-ko a cock is killed outside the village and
the spirit is summoned. Khawhring is unknown, and they maintain that
there are no wizards or witches among them.
There are three festivals connected with the crops--(1) "Kicheo" or
"Kutsa-zawng," which takes place in January; feasting and drinking
are the main features of this festival, which is preceded by a
general hunt, as the flesh of wild animals, birds, or land crabs
is absolutely necessary. (2) "Paku," which comes just before the
sowing of the rice, closely resembles the Lushai Chap-char-kut. (3)
"Lalia"--this corresponds to the Lushai Mimkut; the children are fed
with maize cakes, and if any member of the family has died within
the previous year some cakes are put aside for his spirit.
The superstitions of the Lakhers resemble those of the Lushais. To
kill a python is sure to result in the death of the killer. Even to
see a loris is unlucky and to kill one is fatal. The sight of two
snakes copulating will also be followed by serious illness, if not by
death. The Lushai Chawifa is known as "Thla-shi-pu," and if it falls
in the jungle that is the place to cut your jhum, for then you are
sure of a good crop. It seems that Thla-shi-pu is merely a meteor;
the Lakhers have not surrounded this natural phenomenon with the
myths which the more imaginative Lushais delight in. In choosing the
site for a village a cock is taken, and if it does not crow the site
will not be selected, but if one of the party dream of dead persons
or bad things this is also sufficient cause for rejecting the site.
Among the Lakhers there are no priests of any sort; every man is his
own priest. At the marriage ceremony the fowl is killed by the man
who has arranged the match.