'^l I- 
 
 LIBRARY 

 
 /'V^^-^C^
 
 THE LUSHEI KUKI CLANS
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 KHAMLIANA, SAILO CHIKF
 
 THE 
 
 LUSHEI KUKI CLANS 
 
 BY 
 
 Lt.-COLONEL J.^^HAKESPEAR 
 
 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
 
 153 $^S 
 
 Coj)yri(fht. 
 
 Richard Clay and Soj^s, Limited 
 brunswick street, stamford street, s.k., and 
 
 BtlNOAY, SUFFOLK.
 
 oo 
 
 to 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS BOOK 
 TO 
 
 "THANGLIANA" 
 
 LlEUT.-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 AFFEC- 
 TIONATELY REMEMBERED BY THE 
 LUSH A IS.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction ........ xiii 
 
 Bibliography ........ xvii 
 
 Glossary ......... xix 
 
 PART I 
 THE LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 PAOB 
 
 General ......... 1 
 
 1. Habitat. 2. Appearance and physical characteristics. 3. 
 History. 4. Affinities. 5. Dress. 6. Tattooing. 7. Orna- 
 ments. 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, Dye- 
 ing, Ornamentation. 8. Domestic animals. 9. Agriculture. 
 10. Hunting and fishing. 11. Food and drink. 12. Amuse- 
 ments — Dances, Athletics, Games. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Laws and Customs ....... 41 
 
 Internal structure — Formation and constitution of the Clan, 
 Sub-division into Families and Branches. 2. Tribal organ- 
 isation — The Chief, Village officials, Rights of chief, Boi, 
 Sal, &c. 3. Marriage — Bride-])rioe, Divorce, Widow re- 
 marriage. 4. Female chastity. 5. Inheritance — Ado2)tion. 
 6. Ofiences regarding property. 7. Offences connected with 
 the Ijody. 8. Decisions of disputes. 9. War and head- 
 hunting — Ambu.shing, Raiding, Fir.st use of guns. Head- 
 hunting. 
 
 vii
 
 VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 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-LOKE ......... 92 
 
 1. Legends — Creation and natural phenomena. Nomenclature 
 of hills, &c., Animal tales, Mythical heroes. 2. Supersti- 
 tions — 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," " Khaw- 
 hring," 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
 
 TABLE OF CONTEXTS IX 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PACK 
 
 Clais's included in the term Lushai .... 130 
 
 Chawte, Chongthu, Hnamte, Kawlni, Kawlhring, Kiangte, 
 Ngente, Paotu, Rentlei, Vangchhia, Zawiigte. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Cl.os's which, thouoh not absorbed, have been jiuch in- 
 fluenced 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, Puruni, Tikhup, Yaiphei. 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 l^etween languages of clans, Change of certain 
 letters. Comparative vocabulary.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Khasiliaxa, Sailo Chief (Coloured Plate) . . Frontispiece 
 
 LusHAi Weapons, Oexaments, &c. ..... 10 
 
 LusHAi Men's Hair Ornaments . . . To face 12 
 
 Zawlbuk, or Young Men's House . . . ,, ,, 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) . . »» »> 33 
 
 Zataia, Sailo Chief and Family (Coloured Plate) . ,, ,, 44 
 
 LusHAi Girls ...... ,, ,, 53 
 
 Copy of a Map of the Route to Mi-thi-khua, drawn by a 
 
 Lushai 63 
 
 Kh\vatlang 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 . . . . ,, ,, 110 
 
 Fanai ...... ,, ,, 136 
 
 Memorial Stone in Cha.mphai, Known as Mangkhaia, Lung- 
 
 DAWR ....... To face 140 
 
 Vuite Memorial . . . . . . ,, .. ^'^'7 
 
 Rangte Grave . . . . . ,, ». 147 
 
 AiMOL Nautch Party. The Youth is Holding a Rotchem 
 
 To face 152 
 xi
 
 XII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Heads of Kuki Claks . .... 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 (Culunred Plate) , To face 215 
 
 Lakher Baskets . . . . . . ,, ,, 223 
 
 Map . . . . . , .At end of Volume
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 This monograph was originally intended to deal only with 
 the inhabitants of the Lnshai 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 super- 
 seded 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 lamily, came into prominence in 
 the eighteenth century and was responsible for the eruption 
 into Cachar of Okl 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
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION 
 
 form the bulk of the subjects of the Thangur chiefy. In this 
 monograph Lushai is used in this wider sense, Lushei being 
 used only for the clan of that name. Among the people them- 
 selves 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 inhabi- 
 tants 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. Care}^ 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 monogi'aph 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
 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 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. Firrainger for correcting 
 the second proofs and making the index. I must also acknow- 
 ledge 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. Selectionsfrom 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 tliese books contain 
 comparative vocabularies. 
 
 Lewin, Captain Thomas Herbert. "Progressive Colloquial Exercises 
 in the Lushai Dialect of the ' Dzo ' or Kuki Language, with vocabu- 
 laries and popular tales. (Notated.) Calcutta, 1874. 
 
 One of these tales is reproduced in Part II. The tales are well 
 ti'anslated, 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 Ijeen. 
 
 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 heljjed to govern 
 India." 
 
 The [)ortion concerning tlie 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 I'eally did live among 
 the i)eople, sharing their food even, are accurate and graphic. To 
 few Europeans is the power given to mix tlius with such savages and 
 yet retain their respect. 1 once heard a Lusliai's comment on a 
 young officer who with the best of intentions tried to imitate the 
 
 xvii b
 
 xvfii BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 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." 
 
 Cakey, Bertkam 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 VV. 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 lonu 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 TracU of ChittagoiKj 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 descrihed 
 as "the Father of Modern Geography." Major Rennell with his wife (iiAe 
 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 Marcli 29, 
 1830. It seemed to me possible that the great Reimell might liave 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 18UU. 
 Mr. W. Foster of the Record Department of the India Office very kintlly 
 informed me that no such a memoir could be traced at Whitehall, and drew
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY xix 
 
 mj' attention to Lewin's heading of the memoir, " From the French of 
 ^I. Bouchesiche, who translated the original from the English of J. Rennel, 
 Chief Engineer of Bengal .... Published at Leipsic in 1800." Mr. Edwai'd 
 Heawood, Librarian of the Eo^'al Geographical Society, to whom I am 
 indebted for much trouble taken in satisfying ni}^ curiosity, informed me that 
 Bouchesiche gave what purported to be an extract, translated into French, 
 from Renneirs Mell-known work on India, and that the Frenchman's book 
 was printed in Paris in 1800, although there ma}' 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 I^es'earches. 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 Risearches, 1790. The title of the memoir of 1790 
 runs "On the Manners, Religion, and Laws of the Cucis, or ^Mountaineers of 
 Tipra .... Comnuniicated 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. Firminyer.]
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 OnI>/ the terina which occur often are given. 
 
 A i. - 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 genua. 
 
 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. 
 
 Lai. — Lushai. Chief. 
 
 Lashi. — Lu.shai. Mythical beings Avho control wild animals. Known also 
 
 to Aiinol 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.
 
 XXII GLOSSARY 
 
 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 oftered 
 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 (jf 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. 
 
 Thii'-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 
 
 The Lushei chiefs now rule over the country between the i. Habitat 
 Kurnaphuli river and its main tributary, the Tuilianpui 
 on the west, and the Tyao and Koladyne river on the east, 
 while their southern boundar}^ 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. 
 
 All the Lushai Kuki clans resemble each other very closely in 2. Appear- 
 appearance and the Mongolian type of countenance prevails. pWicai 
 One meets, however, many exceptions, which may be due to the character- 
 foreign blood introduced by the many captives taken from the ^^ ^^^' 
 plains and from neighbouring tribes; but these are not worth con- 
 sidering, 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 
 
 B
 
 2 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. 
 
 Botli 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
 
 I GENERAL 3 
 
 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 Avonder- 
 ful 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 Avant 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 
 
 Jj 2
 
 4 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 inde- 
 pendent village, numbering only 100 houses, broke up on 
 the death of the chief, which occured 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
 
 I GENERAL 5 
 
 doubtful Avhether 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 (Lai chokla), captured by Captain Blackwood in 
 1841, was a greatgrandson of Sibuta's. Purhura 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
 
 6 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 known as Kiikis 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 jDassed 
 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 
 begimiing 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.
 
 I GENERAL 7 
 
 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 Filer 
 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
 
 8 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 annexed, and a stop put to all such wars, but when we occupied 
 Lungleh in 1889 we found the Fanai clan coming into pro- 
 minence, and there is little doubt that, but for our intervention, 
 that clan would shortly have attempted to eject the Southern 
 Lushai chiefs. 
 4. Atfini- The Lushais are more or less closely allied to all the tribes 
 ^^^" now living in their vicinity, but some who shoAv 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 north- 
 wards, 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 per- 
 manent villages exist, tend to Aviden 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
 
 I GENERAL 9 
 
 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. 
 Puggi'is 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 manu- 
 factured 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 water- 
 proof by being lined with smoked leaves ; the narrow end rests 
 on the wearer's head, while the broad end reaches doA\Ti well 
 below the waist, so that, while bending down weeding in the 
 jhum, the head and body are kept dry. This form of water- 
 proof 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
 
 10 
 
 THE LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
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 < 
 
 
 
 a 
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 z 
 
 (J 
 
 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 
 
 a 
 
 CO 
 
 
 < 
 
 h 
 
 
 LU 
 
 7 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 UJ 
 
 1 
 
 
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 X 
 
 Z 
 
 00 
 
 a:
 
 I • GENERAL ii 
 
 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 Avooden 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 thecommon people, 
 except on occasions of ceremony, when they wear dark blue 
 cloths, Avith 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."
 
 12 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. Tattoo- This is not much practised. The only patterns employed are 
 ^"^" circles on the forearm and breast, which are said to be mementoes 
 
 of love affaii's in happy bachelor days, and rude representations 
 of a metna's head, which is said to have no particular 
 meaning. 
 
 7. Orna- The Lushai wears a variety of articles in his hair knot. The 
 
 ments commonest is a brass two-pronged pin with a head shaped like 
 worn by • i • i i 
 
 men. a G. The prongs are drawn out to sharp points and vary m 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
 
 I GENERAL 13 
 
 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 dis- 
 tinction 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 indi- 
 vidual 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 conjtaminated 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 )f necklaces; those of amber
 
 14 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 hy Women. — With the exception of their 
 earrings, the Lushai women affect the same ornaments as the 
 men. The earrings, however, are quite distinct, and, m order 
 to be able to Avear 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. The Lushais have been in possession of firearms for the last 
 
 Weapons, gj^ty or seventy years. These weapons are flint-locks bearing 
 the names of many European makers ; many are Tower muskets,
 
 I GENERAL 15 
 
 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
 
 i6 THE LUSHEI CLANS CH. i 
 
 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 
 
 The entire population may be classed as agriculturists, i. Occu- 
 as only a few people, as will be afterwards described, live P'^^^""- 
 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 gi-eatest part of the weeding and 
 harvesting; they also make all the clothing for the whole house- 
 hold 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 
 
 17 c
 
 i8 THE LUSHEI CLANS char 
 
 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 cloth- 
 making, 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 19 
 
 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. 
 
 In every village there is a small flat basket, the size of which 2. 
 is fixed by the chief, which is used for all retail dealings in rice ^^^^^ 
 and such goods, but large quantities are measured by the Measures, 
 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 hoc or axe held up. Time he measures 
 
 c2
 
 20 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. The Lushai likes to perch his village on the top of a ridge or 
 
 \ illages. 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
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE 21 
 
 villages of 400 and 500 houses were not uncommon, and there 
 were two or three of 800 houses. 
 
 Now that ail 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-di\ading, 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 Avhom intense love for the ancestral 
 village site is a leading characteristic. A short distance out- 
 side 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 chief's 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 im- 
 pressed with the regularity with which the villages within sight 
 were laid out that he was easily led to believe these were can- 
 tonments 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
 
 22 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 may allow ample room for the animals under the raised floor 
 and ensure good drainage. It is built, as are all other build- 
 ings 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 J 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 appear- 
 ance among the Chiru and Vaiphei emphasises the close con- 
 nection 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 23 
 
 relations dependent on him, their houses will be found scattered 
 through the village, each forming a centre of a quarter or a 
 vensr, 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 tem- 
 porary 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 case and
 
 24 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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| 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 open- 
 ing, 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 25 
 
 wet and well kneaded, and eventually becomes as hard as 
 brick. Along the wall an earthen shelf serves the double pur- 
 pose 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 sup- 
 port 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 descend- 
 ing to the garden or the street. Many houses have bamboo 
 platforms adjoining the front verandah, on which the women 
 folk sit and do their Aveaving, 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
 
 26 
 
 THE LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
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 especially reserved for the chiefs family. These verandahs, 
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 II DOMESTIC LIFE 27 
 
 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. 
 
 Owing to their nomadic habits the Lushais have not much 5. Fur- 
 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. 
 
 Agrictdtn/ral. — The Lushai's cultivation being confined to 6. Imple- 
 cutting down the jungle, burning it, and dibbling in the seed "^*'"*'^- 
 among the ashes, he does not require many or elaborate imple-
 
 28 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 ments 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 Ij 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 Instrioments. — 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 detach- 
 ing 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. Manu- Basket Work. — This is chiefly carried on by men. The 
 
 factures. patterns are very numerous, each being adapted to some 
 
 particular use. The material is generally bamboo. The " thul "
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 29 
 
 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 
 80 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 " pai- 
 kawng " 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 Avith 
 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
 
 30 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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, Avho, 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 wdth 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.
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 31 
 
 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 (Strohilanthes fiaccidifolia). 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 un- 
 common, 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. 
 
 The most valued -animal is the mithan; these tame bison 8- Domes- 
 wander all day at will in the jungle round the village and animals, 
 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
 
 culture. 
 
 32 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 to- 
 gether. 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. Agri- 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 33 
 
 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 bo 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. 
 
 All the hill men are very fond of fresh meat, and are clever 10. Hunt- 
 at trapping game. Long lines of rough fencing are run through i?f ?' 
 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, 
 
 D
 
 34 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 pre- 
 cipitated 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 flint- 
 lock 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 35 
 
 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 Kong- 
 puishiam 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 Avas 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. W^hen 
 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 
 
 D 2
 
 36 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 fioat to the surface and are easily captured. The 
 mixture is said to be harmless to human beings or cattle. 
 11. Food 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 37 
 
 grains and herbs which he grows in his jhiims, 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 knovm as " zu," and is a simple par- 
 tially 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 consump- 
 tion 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.
 
 38 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 person- 
 ages 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. The songs which the folk seem never tired of singing are 
 
 Amuse- slow, solemn dirges sung by the whole party to the accompani- 
 ment 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 ex- 
 ceptions, such as the dances in which the performer imitates a 
 monkey or a bird, but generally speaking they are most unin- 
 teresting. 
 
 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
 
 II DOMESTIC LIFE 39 
 
 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." ^ 
 The players sit on the ground on opposite sides of two paral- 
 lel 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 Irom 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 Avhich 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. 
 
 ^ Lung = stone ; thlan = grave ; " vai" may mean " foreign " or be short for 
 " vai phei," the name of an old Kuki clan.
 
 40 THE LUSHEI CLANS CH. ii 
 
 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 
 
 The population of a village ruled by a Thangur chief at the l- In- 
 present time is composed of representatives of many tribes and structure, 
 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 consider- 
 able 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. 
 
 41
 
 42 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. Li 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 pre- 
 dominant 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
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 43 
 
 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. 
 
 Among the Lushais, each village is a separate State, ruled 2. Tribal 
 over by its own " lal " or chief Each son of a chief, as he attained "i^^ oT* 
 a marriageable age, was provided with a wife at his father's the 
 expense, and given a certain number of households from his "®^*^^- 
 father's village and sent forth to a village of his own. Hence- 
 forth 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
 
 44 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 As heard 
 after dark, when every good householder is at home, proclaim- 
 ing the chiefs 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
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 45 
 
 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, with- 
 out 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 otf the path, asking why he
 
 46 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 chiefs 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 (f ). 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" Custo77i.— 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 : — 
 
 (1) Inpuichhung (Inpui = big house, chhung = within), Lal- 
 chhung, 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 chiefs house. Widows, orphans, and others
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 47 
 
 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 chiefs 
 house, unless any of their father's relatives will take them. 
 The inpuichhung are looked on as part of the chiefs household, 
 and do all the chiefs work in return for their food and 
 shelter. The young men cut and cultivate the chiefs jhura 
 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 chiefs children. In 
 return the boi get good food and live in the chiefs 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 chiefs 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 chiefs 
 house : should he marry a female boi, the couple have to live 
 six years in the chiefs 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
 
 48 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 some- 
 what. 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 chiefs 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 circum- 
 stances of the case. Many a clever young man rises from being 
 a boi to being the chiefs 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 (Bed Dao Boi). — These are criminals who, 
 to escape from the consequences of their ill deeds, take refuge 
 in the chiefs house. Murderers closely pursued by the 
 avengers of blood rushed into the chiefs presence and saved 
 their lives at the expense of their own or their children's free- 
 dom. Debtors unable to pay their creditors sought the chiefs 
 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 chiefs boi. 
 Civil disputes were unblushingly decided in favour of the party 
 who volunteered to become the chiefs boi. It is evident that 
 the custom in these cases has grown up by degrees from the
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 49 
 
 chiefs granting sanctuary to those who, haAdng committed 
 serious crimes, were in danger of being killed by those they had 
 injured or their relatives. 
 
 Chemsen boi do not live in the chiefs 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) Tiiklut (Enter hy 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 seldon 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. 
 
 E
 
 50 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. The Lushais have wide views as to matrimony. A young 
 
 Marriage. ^^^^^ -^ ^^^ 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 establish-
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 51 
 
 ments. 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 manjjui 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. 
 
 (m.) Pitshum. — 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 chiefs daughter it is a mithan. 
 
 (iii.) Pdldl. — 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 Avhole married life. His fee varies in 
 accordance with the pushum. 
 
 (iv.) Nivian {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. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 (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. 8/- 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
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 53 
 
 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. 
 
 The unmarried girls are not very strictly looked after, and, if "*• Female 
 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
 
 54 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. Inherit- 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 hence- 
 forth considered to belong to the chiefs 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, 
 g Certain articles are said " man a nei," " to have a price," and 
 
 Offences the theft of any of them is punished by a fine of one mithan, 
 property" 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. The punishment in these cases rested originally with the 
 
 Offences aggrieved party or his relatives, who were allowed to exact 
 with the summary vengeance. Thus a husband was at liberty to kill an 
 ^^^^- unfaithful mfe and her paramour, but if he did not take
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 55 
 
 refuge in the chiefs 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 chiefs 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 suVe 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. 
 
 The chief of each village, assisted by his upa, was the one 8. De- 
 and only court of justice in the village, and from their decisions j^gpy^eg 
 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 
 chiefs 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
 
 56 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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, grasp- 
 ing 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 The true Lushai method of making war was to raid the 
 
 hunting*^ 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 some- 
 times for several years, but were not very energetically 
 prosecuted. Thus in a war between the Th&,ngluah 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 chiefs 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
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 57 
 
 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 lip 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
 
 58 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 feaht. 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 follow- 
 ing 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
 
 Ill LAWS AND CUSTOMS 59 
 
 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 dis- 
 tance 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 
 naively 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 Avashed away the bloodstains and made tracking 
 difficult, but few would have reached their homes.
 
 6o THE LUSHEI CLANS CH. iii 
 
 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 
 
 Practically all divisions of the Lushai-Kuki family believe i. General 
 in a spirit called Pathian, who is supposed to be the creator of religious 
 everything and is a beneficent being, but has, however, little beliefs, 
 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 
 
 61
 
 62 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 has a special spirit presiding over its destinies. The spirit 
 is known as " Sakhua," and all sacrifices to him have to be per- 
 formed 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^ miles from the place 
 where the Aijal-Falam road crosses the river.] To go there,
 
 IV 
 
 RELIGION 
 
 63 
 
 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." 
 
 Mi-thi-khua/"^) 
 
 Ktistian 
 
 The 7 roads from 
 this world all meetin 
 at Pupawla's house 
 
 Mizokhua 
 Lushai Village 
 
 Copy of a Map of the route to Mi-thi-khua drawn by a Lusiiai. 
 
 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
 
 64 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 enumer- 
 ated 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
 
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 IV RELIGION 65 
 
 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. 
 
 Though this can scarcely be said to be the religion of the 2. 
 Lushais, yet they firmly believe that the spirits of the dead are Worship' 
 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. 
 
 The Lushais do not worship the sun or moon or any of the 3. Wor- 
 forces of nature, though when wishing to emphasise a statement natural 
 they frequently say, " If what I say is not true, may the sun forces and 
 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 
 
 F
 
 66 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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
 
 IV RELIGION 67 
 
 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 
 
 F 2
 
 68 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. 
 
 Ldshi. — Although the liashi 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,
 
 IV RELIGION 69 
 
 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. 
 
 In this part I propose only to deal with the various sacrifices 4. Reli- 
 which play so important a part in a Lushai's existence, but fnd^cere^^ 
 the festivals described in para. 9 are, to a certain extent, monies, 
 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." ^ I have found the Manipuri iron-workers when 
 about to work a new deposit, also offer the hair fi-om 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 
 * Vide p. 99 of Colonel P. R. Gurdon's Monograph on the Khasi People.
 
 70 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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.^ 
 
 The sacrifices made by Lushais may be divided into eight 
 classes. 
 
 1. Sdkhua. — A sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the clan or 
 family. 
 
 2. Khcll. — 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. From the chant given below a good idea is obtained of what 
 
 Sakhua. ^^^ ^^^^^ u g^khua " 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 
 
 1 Compare Major Playfair's The Garos, page 114, where the word " marang" 
 is said to have the meaning of " unlucky " and " unlawful."
 
 IV RELIGION 71 
 
 time they are " .sherh," and if the}^ 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 fi-om 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 Much hip 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.
 
 72 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 j hums, 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. There are many sorts of Khal. The following are some of the 
 
 Khal. most important. 
 
 Vok-te-Khdl. — 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-Khdl. — 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
 
 IV RELIGION 73 
 
 over the parents' sleeping place. The sherh, consisting of the 
 head, feet, heai't and liver, and wings, are placed in a small 
 basket and thrown away in the morning. 
 
 Kel-Khdl. — 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. 
 
 Vdn-chimg-Kkdl. — A white cock is killed on the hearth and 
 the flesh cooked inside the house. The sherh are placed in a 
 ■wdnnowing 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. 
 
 Khdl-chuang or Mei-aivr-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. 
 
 The commonest of these is " Tui-leh-ram " (water and land). 3. 
 This sacrifice has to be performed at the outskirts of the village. "^^°*W'- 
 It is to appease the demons inhabiting the woods and the 
 streams.
 
 74 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 gi-ound. 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-piti. — 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. Kdngpuizdm. — This is a very important and efiicacious 
 
 sacrifice, and can only be performed by a certain wise man of 
 
 fices in the Khawtlang or Vuite clans. It costs Rs. 40/- besides the 
 
 sSmess. ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ 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 
 
 Various 
 sacpi-
 
 IV RELIGION 75 
 
 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. 
 
 Vi-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-tdn. — 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. 
 
 Kftuavang-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.
 
 76 
 
 THE LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 5. 
 Saepi- 
 fiees to 
 remove 
 barren- 
 ness in 
 women. 
 
 Thlaho {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.^ 
 
 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 eg^, 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. 
 
 1 For a somewhat similar instance of trying to ward off cholera, vide Khasi 
 Monograph, p. 35. — P. R. G.
 
 IV RELIGION 17 
 
 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. 
 
 The following sacrifices are performed some time during 6. 
 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-pMr. — Cock and hen killed on entrance ladder. 
 
 2. Hmarchung. — Cock killed on entrance ladder. 
 
 3. Hmarkhat. — Hen killed on entrance ladder. 
 
 4. Vavjh-te-luilam. — Small pig killed outside house. 
 
 5. Ui-te-luilam. — Puppy killed outside house. 
 
 6. Zinhncaun. — 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. 
 
 Kongpui Shiam {Making a Big Road). — This ceremony is 7. 
 
 supposed to make successful hunting probable ; it also foretells flgescon 
 
 the result. It is performed before a large hunting party starts neeted 
 
 and also annually about April. hunting 
 
 and 
 Translation of Lushai Account. killing 
 
 animals. 
 
 " 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 Hi lake come, animals of the 
 Champhai come, animals from the village come, animals of Ai-
 
 78 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 chiefs 
 house, they say, ' We are bringing men's and animals' heads.' 
 The upas who are collected in the chiefs 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 mil 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, presum- 
 ably 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,
 
 IV RELIGION 79 
 
 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. Thang- 
 bawnga, 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 "
 
 8o THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. 
 
 Haohick 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. Lohnan. — When the jhum house has been completed, the 
 
 Saeri- sacrifice has to be performed by the owner of the jhum. The 
 
 neeted puithiam has to be called and two fowls killed by him. A 
 
 ^^^^ small hole is dug in the ground under the house and lined 
 
 ing. 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. 
 
 Fdnodawi. — 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. Priest- There is no regular priesthood ; the nearest approach to 
 hood. 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
 
 IV RELIGION 8i 
 
 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. 
 
 The particular sacrifices to be performed in connection with 6. Cere- 
 a child's birth vary considerably in different clans and families, connected 
 Within seven days of the birth, the sacrifice known as the with child 
 " 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 12) 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 
 
 G
 
 82 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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,^ 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. Mar- A young Lushai as a rule chooses his own bride, but the 
 momeT"^^ arrangements are made by the parents. The would-be bride- 
 groom's parents select two male friends, called " palai," who go to 
 the parents of the selected girl and arrange matters. If the 
 1 " Suak " or " Suok " in most old Kuki dialects and in Thado means a slave.
 
 IV RELIGION Ss 
 
 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 bride- 
 ^oom 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 palai. 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 " In- 
 ngaithlak." 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. 
 
 Different clans have different methods of disposing of their 8. 
 dead. The following is the custom of all true Lusheis, whenever ""^'^'^ ^• 
 the means of the deceased's family are sufficient to meet the 
 expenses. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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
 
 IV RELIGION 8s 
 
 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-la\vk " 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 
 indiarubbcr-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 cheer-
 
 86 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 fully superintended the feast, and a month later peacefully 
 departed this life.^ 
 
 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 b}' 
 Pupawla. (See above, page 62). 
 
 Lnkawng. — On a person's death a sum, varpng 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. 
 
 Sdr-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. There are three feasts connected with the crops. They are 
 
 Festivals. ^|| \^^q^^ 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 
 
 ^ Can the fear of hia heirs neglecting to put up a memorial stone have 
 originated the "stone hauling" customs so distinctive of Maram and Angami 
 Nagas ?
 
 IV RELIGION 87 
 
 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,^ they kill their pigs 
 the next day after the Lusheis and the other ceremonies are 
 postponed one day. 
 
 Mim-hut. — 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." 
 
 Pmvl-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 
 1 The Ralte clan is described in Part II, Chap. II.
 
 88 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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-ldm. — 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.
 
 IV RELIGION 89 
 
 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 distinc- 
 tion. 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 con- 
 tinue 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 per- 
 formed 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
 
 90 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 projec- 
 tion 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
 
 Q 
 
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 _-x 
 
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 IV RELIGION 91 
 
 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. There are many tales common to all the Kuki-Lushai clans, 
 
 Legends, ^j^^^g^^ ^j^e 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 fla 
 with his mallet. There are many tales connected with Chhura 
 some of which will be found further on. The following trans- 
 lation 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 an 
 beating of drums, &c. This is to frighten the awk, for the 
 Lushais believe that once the awk swallowed the sun so effectu- 
 ally that general darkness prevailed. This awful time is 
 
 92
 
 CH. V FOLK-LORE 93 
 
 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 usinof 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 dax'k, 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, vvhich 
 represent the turbans worn by the men, and their cheery chat- 
 terings. 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" chep chepa," 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 repre- 
 sent Chhura's mithan which were grazing there at the Thim- 
 zing. After this terrible catastrophe the world was again
 
 94 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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.
 
 V FOLK-LORE 95 
 
 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 com- 
 paratively 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 con- 
 sisted. 
 
 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.
 
 96 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 " 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."
 
 V FOLK-LORE 97 
 
 The Tale of Granddaddy Bear and the Moiikey. 
 
 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 Grand- 
 daddy 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 Bears 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 Grand- 
 daddy 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, Grand- 
 daddy Bear, the Tiger has drunk your water 1 " 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 rotchhem (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 mo play for a bit," he said. " Oh, ho ! " said the Monkey, 
 " you will fly off with the rotchhem." " 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, 
 
 H
 
 98 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 tail- 
 less," 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 con-, 
 siderably. 
 
 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^) 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 
 ^ See above as to windows, page 27.
 
 V FOLK-LORE 99 
 
 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 con- 
 siderable 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. 
 
 h2
 
 loo THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 There ai'e many tales of this hero, who is especially honoured 
 by the Khawtlang. 
 
 Muahavata 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
 
 V FOLK-LORE loi 
 
 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. 
 
 The Lushais are an extremely superstitious race ; any 2. Super- 
 unusual occurrence is considered as portending some evil ^titions. 
 results. The meaning of the word " thianglo " has been already 
 explained in Chapter I V, 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 jhiiming
 
 102 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 some- 
 times 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 witch- 
 craft 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.
 
 V FOLK-LORE 103 
 
 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 wdll 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, 
 fcicfers, bears, &c., are also said to have been men before the 
 Thimzing, there is no reluctance shown to kill them, and in
 
 I04 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 fact the chiefs wear plumes of the king crow's feathers, and 
 hornbills' beaks decorate many a chiefs 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 
 Avhere 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, Avhile 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.' "
 
 V FOLKLORE 105 
 
 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. 
 
 The Lushais do not worship snakes, but ther« are many 3. Snake 
 tales of " rulpui " (the big snake). Colonel Lewin in his ^"^^hip. 
 " Progressive Exercises " has written as follows : — 
 
 " Throughout the Lushai Hills, among all the tribes with 
 whom I have come in contact, Avhether ' 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 te7ites cVctbri 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
 
 io6 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 know- 
 ledge." 
 
 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 
 ifrom 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 reach- 
 ing 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."
 
 V FOLK-LORE 107 
 
 Chhaiong -chili and the Itulpui. 
 Once upon a time there was a girl called Chhawng-chili, Avho 
 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 Chawnor- 
 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 Hoor 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
 
 io8 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 ralpui. 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 nowa- 
 days 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 Disserta- 
 tions," 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.
 
 V FOLK-LORE 109 
 
 The Lushais are firm believers in witchcraft. There are 5 Witch- 
 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 un- 
 fortunately 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 man- 
 kind 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 
 hic-h. The mouse took the dawi bur in his mouth and started
 
 no THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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. 
 
 Klmiavang 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 state-
 
 V FOLK-LORE m 
 
 ments solely on the action of the pulse. The method of 
 interrogating a zawlnei is called " thumvor," and is as 
 follows : — 
 
 The zaAvlnei 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 pahn 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. Conipare 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-o^vner 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. 
 
 JOiawhring. — In Chapter IV, para. 6, the sacrifice called 
 Khawhring Tir has been described. The belief in Khaw- 
 hring is universal, and from the following translation it Avill 
 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
 
 112 THE LUSHEI CLANS CH. v 
 
 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 demonstra- 
 tive pronouns or relative particles. 
 
 Gender. — Inanimate objects have no gender. In noims 
 gender may be shown by use of different words, as " tlangval," 
 a young man ; " nula," a maiden. This system is only em- 
 ployed 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 re- 
 stricted to full-grown animals. All men's names end in " a," 
 all women's in " i." Some words are the same in botli 
 genders — " u," eldci- brother or sister ; " nao shen," a baby ; 
 " naupang," child. "I" is the feminine terminal ion in 
 Manipiiri also.
 
 114 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 Numher. — The plural terminations are " te," "ho," and 
 " zong " ; sometimes these are combined or duplicated. 
 Mi zong zong = all mankind. 
 Lai 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." 
 
 Lai in a that = The chief killed (him). 
 
 The same suffix is used to distinguish the instrument, 
 
 Lai 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. 
 Lai 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.
 
 VI LANGUAGE 115 
 
 The other cases are rendered by suffixes. 
 
 Ka in a daraw. Ka in a tang in laraw. Aizawl 
 My house in put. My house from bring. Aijal 
 
 a kalraw 
 
 to go. 
 
 Adjectives follow the words they qualify, but are not 
 inflected in any way. 
 
 Mipa tha = a good man. Hmaichhia thfi = 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 j hum is more extensive. 
 
 The superlative is formed thus : — 
 
 Lalzong zinga Khuma a vin bar. 
 
 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. 
 
 1 2
 
 ii6 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The numerals are very simple: — 
 
 1 = pa khat 4 = pa li 7 = pa sari 
 
 2 = pa hnih 5 = pa nga 8 = pa riat 
 
 3 = pa thum 6 = pa ruk 9 = pa kua 
 
 10 = shom 
 
 11=" shorn 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" = 10,000and "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. 
 
 Lai 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.
 
 VI LANGUAGE 
 
 117 
 
 Demonstrative adjectives arc : — 
 
 He or hehi | This = near Heng, henghi = these. 
 
 Hei hei hi f the speaker. 
 
 Saw = that. Sawng = those. 
 
 Khfi = 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 1^^^™''*'^^^^ = I- 
 
 ( Keimani, kemc, kan = we. 
 
 r Keima, keiia, ka = my. 
 
 J Keimani, keini, kan = our. 
 
 Possessive S Keimata, keiata, kata = mine. 
 
 V Keimanita, &c. = ours. 
 
 rw.- L- \ Keimamin, kei min min = me. 
 Objective^ ^ . . '. . 
 
 ( Keimani mm, &c. = us. 
 
 The second person is " nangma " and " nangmani " ; the 
 third " ama," " anmani." 
 
 The possessive of the second person, when used as nomina- 
 tive of verbs, has a curious irregular form " i " in the singular 
 and " in " in the plural. 
 
 The pronominal particles "ka" (I), "i" (thou), "a" (lie), 
 " 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.
 
 ii8 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The particle can never be omitted, whereas the true pro- 
 noun 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 "j 
 
 Mani leh mani ka in vel V I hit myself. 
 
 Mani in ka in vel j 
 
 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 )- 
 
 Whose you buy ? Who hit you ? 
 
 Tu-nge i vel ? = 
 Whom did you hit ?
 
 VI LANGUAGE 119 
 
 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 } ou want ? ( book ) 
 
 which you want ? 
 
 Which book do you want ? 
 Eng tui nge i choi ? 
 ( water ) = 
 
 What you draw ? 
 
 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 
 
 Fres : Ka shoi = I say. Ka shoi mek = I am saying. 
 Fast : Ka shoi or \ I said. Ka shoi mek a ni = 
 
 Ka shoi or tawh J I was saying. 
 
 F^d : Ka shoi ang 1 I will f Ka shoi mek ang = I 
 Ka shoi dawn j say \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 1 say, said or had said. 
 The following forms are peculiar and appear to me of foreign
 
 120 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 inlinitive or verbal noun is the same as the root shoi = 
 to say. 
 
 Ka shoi lai in^ 
 
 _ . , When I was saying. 
 
 1 say time at J 
 
 A verbal noun can also be formed by the suffix " na." 
 
 Ka riak na in 
 My staying house.
 
 VI LANGUAGE 121 
 
 The suffixes "tiir," " 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 where- 
 Rice to buy I have not. J with 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 goVrhe " v" is inserted 
 
 Ka kal lo ve = I do not go J for 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 kn<j\v. 
 Ka hre nem = I don't know. How should I ? 
 Lai 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 
 arc " em " and " cm ni." 
 
 I kal ang em = Will you go ?
 
 122 THE LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 " 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 : — 
 
 Lai in min kap = The chief shot me. 
 Lai 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 speaker. A han la ta = He 
 
 brought it. 
 Lo = motion towards the speaker = Lai a lo kal = The chief 
 
 arrives. 
 Ron = motion towards the indirect object. 
 
 Lai 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. 
 
 Admrhs. 
 
 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 : — 
 
 Lai a kal buk buk = The chief goes.
 
 VI LANGUAGE 123 
 
 " Buk buk " shows that the chief is a big, heavy man and is 
 walking slowly. 
 
 " Bak bak " similarly vised 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 " le " = 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 cm 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 
 Former time in darkness it collected ; then mankind 
 zawn zawn an in-khawm mur mur 
 
 all all they themselves collected (untranslatable adverb) 
 chutichuan zawng hmul a lo lenga an hgum 
 
 then monkey hair it began to grow their spine ends 
 a thak an hiat thin-a zawng a te 
 
 they itched they scratched always monkeys into (plural suffix) 
 
 an changa tin lal te chu va-pnal a an lo 
 they changed their chiefs indeed horn-bill into they became 
 changa mi chhia e-ra\v chu zawng a te ngau-va 
 
 changed people poor on the other hand monkey into grey 
 te an lo changa. Tin sa lu ro nei 
 
 monkeys they became changed. Then flesh head dry had 
 chuan an tuah a thing ai-in a tha zawh a 
 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
 
 124 THE LUSHEI CLANS ch. vi 
 
 tlaivar lem-in puan tial shin in 
 
 watched all night more than others cloth striped wearing 
 sakeia an changa thei tin pitar te hian puanpui 
 tigers into they changed may be then old women quilts 
 
 an sin-a sai a an lo changa. 
 
 they were wearing elephants into they became changed.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Families and Branches of the Lushei Clan. 
 
 Family Name. 
 
 Branch Name. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Thangur 
 
 Rokum 
 
 Rivung 
 
 Pallian 
 
 Zadeng 
 
 Thangluah 
 
 Sailo 
 
 Chenkhual 
 
 All the Lushei chiefs belong to 
 one of these branches. 
 
 Descended from Chenkhuala, 
 said to be a brother of Sailova, 
 probably a son of a concubine. 
 The Chenkhual had once inde- 
 IDendent villages, but are no 
 longer looked on as chiefs. 
 
 Pachuao 
 
 Cherlal ... 
 Chhawthliak 
 Chhoalak ... 
 Chonglal . . . 
 Darcliao ... 
 Lalbawni ... 
 Lianthung 
 Liannglior 
 Vanpuia-hrin 
 Varchuao ... 
 
 This family is said to be de- 
 scended from illegitimate sons 
 of Zadenga. Darchaova, Cher- 
 lalla, Lianthunga, and Liann- 
 ghora are heroes of whose 
 prowess many tales are told, 
 and their names appear among 
 the branch names. 
 
 I.e., sprung from V'anpuia. 
 
 Changte 
 
 Darchun, I'amte 
 Vokngak. Kawlchi 
 I'adaralu, Tumpha 
 Lungte, Ngakchi 
 Chongluri ... 
 
 "Chi" means family, " Kawl" 
 means Burma, and " ngak " 
 is to wait ; so perhaps tiic 
 Kawlchi may be descendants 
 of Changte, who settled tem- 
 porarily in liurma, and the 
 Ngaki-hi of soiiit^ wlio delayed 
 at some general move of the 
 family. 
 
 25
 
 126 
 
 THE LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 Chongte 
 
 Tuichhung, Lungte 
 
 Muchhip-chhuak 
 
 Pamte 
 
 I.e., from Muchhip, the name of 
 a hill. 
 
 Chuachang 
 
 Chonchir, Chonchhon 
 
 Lathang 
 
 "Hang " means black and "ngo" 
 
 white. 
 This family and the next are said 
 
 to be descended from two 
 
 brothers. 
 
 Chuaongo 
 
 Vanpuia-thla 
 Hlengel, Hniunpel 
 Zongpam, Laller ... 
 Chumthluk, Aohmun 
 
 Descendants of Vanpuia. The 
 Chuaongo are said to have 
 been very powerful, and to 
 have held a position similar 
 to that now held by the Sailo. 
 Their most powerful chief was 
 Vanpuia. 
 
 Haonar 
 
 Haothul, Haobul 
 Tuithaug, Shenlai 
 
 Hrasel... 
 
 Shelpuia, Sontlunk 
 Sumkhum, Sazah 
 
 Hualhang ... Chalbuk, Sialchung 
 Bailchi, Chumkal 
 Khupao, Fangtet 
 Taihlum, Chertluaug 
 
 Hualngo ... Chalthleng, Khupno 
 
 Tuazol, Cherput, Bochung 
 
 This family and the next are 
 sail! to have sprung from two 
 brothers, children of a Lushei 
 woman l>y a Poi or Chin, and 
 to have originated from a hole 
 in the ground near the Shepui 
 rocks, to the east of the 
 ilanipur river. The Hualngo 
 and Hualhang 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 combina- 
 tion of the Sailo, Zadeng, and 
 I'allian, and driven across the 
 Tiao, and took refuge under 
 the protection of the Falam 
 chiefs, where tlieir descen- 
 dants still are, and are mis- 
 called Whenoh by the officers 
 in charge of the Chin Hills. 
 The Hualhang deserted to the 
 Thangur, and are found scat- 
 tered in the villages of their 
 conquerors. There are six 
 Hualngo villages in the Lushai 
 Hills containing some 200 
 houses.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 127 
 
 Lungkhua 
 
 Sialcliung, Ngalchi 
 Ngalchung, Phungchi 
 Ngaphawl 
 
 Tochong 
 
 Topui, Chhakom 
 Muchhip-chhuak 
 Chemhler, Tobul 
 
 Vide Changte. 
 
 Vanchong 
 
 Vanlung, vSumkhum 
 Chemhler, Chengrel 
 Kaithum ... 
 
 The claim of this family to 
 be true Lusheis is sometimes 
 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 diver- 
 gences 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. 
 
 12!) ^^
 
 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 indistinguish- 
 able 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-kno'wn 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 sacrified 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 betAveen 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). 
 
 Chont^thu. This clan is very widely scattered. The following account of 
 the origin of the clan is given by Suaka, now Sub-Inspector of 
 
 130
 
 CH. I CLANS INCLUDED IN TERM LUSHAI 131 
 
 Police at Aijal : — " Of all Lushai clans Lershia (Chongthu) cele- 
 brated 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. 
 
 This clan lived to the east of the Tyao river. Their most Hnamte. 
 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. 
 
 A widely-distributed clan sub-divided into at least 12 Kawlni. 
 families said to be connected with the Ralte, q.v. 
 
 This clan had a big village on the Hringfa hill, where the Kawl- 
 remains of earthworks made by them in their final struggle !|^i^^°^'_ 
 against the Haka people may still be seen. Messrs. Carey and Burma. 
 Tuck in their " Chin Hills Gazetteer," p. 153, say :— " Having """^^j.^, 
 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 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap 
 
 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 feel- 
 ing 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, Lalraanga 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
 
 I CLANS INCLUDED LN TERM LUSHAI 133 
 
 those wise men who are ever ready to interpret every custom 
 as afifording 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 con- 
 sumption. 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 Miin-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-liim- 
 kut and treat the inmates to a dance, receiving presents of
 
 134 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 dyed cotton thread, women's cloths, &c., and much zu. 
 Compare the account of the Fanai She-doi, p. 136 et seq. below. 
 
 Koihnd-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. Ill, 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.^ 
 
 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 differ- 
 ence 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 
 1 Cf. " Mauipur Festival," Folklore, Vol. XXI, No. I.
 
 I CLANS INCLUDED IN TERM LUSHAI 135 
 
 peak, to the east of the Koladyne, and were probably driven 
 out by the Chins at the same time as the Kawlhring. 
 
 There are five families in this clan, which has long been Rentlei. 
 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. 
 
 This clan is divided into seven families, one of which has a Roite. 
 branch. There is nothing of interest to be noted about it. 
 
 This clan has only three families and one branch. Its Vangch- 
 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." 
 
 Now an insignificant clan, of which I have not obtained a Zawngte. 
 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.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 CLANS WHICH, THOUGH NOT ABSORBED, HAVE BEEN MUCH 
 INFLUENCED BY THE LUSHEIS 
 
 Fanai A CLAN which was rising into eminence, when our occupation 
 
 of the country put a stop to its further aggrandisement. The 
 chiefs trace their pedigree back six generations, to a man called 
 Fanai, who lived among the Zahaos, to the east of the Tyao. 
 His great grandson, Roreiluova, was a slave, or at least a 
 dependant, of a Zahao chief, and was sent with 70 house- 
 holds to form a village at Bawlte, near Champhai, in Lushei 
 territory, with the intention, no doubt, of enlarging the Zahao 
 borders, but Roreiluova entered into peaceful relations with the 
 Lushei chiefs, and gradually severed his connection with the 
 Zahaos, and, moving south-west, occupied successively various 
 sites to the west and north-west of Lungleh, between the 
 Lushai and Chin villages, maintaining his position with 
 considerable diplomatic skill, often acting as intermediary 
 between his more powerful neighbours. He died at Konglung 
 early in the nineteenth century, having attained such a position 
 that his sons were at once recognised as chiefs, and on our occupy- 
 ing the country in 1890 we found eight Fanai villages, containing 
 about 700 houses, grouped along the west bank of the Tyao and 
 Koladyne rivers, between Biate on the north and Sangao on 
 the south. Roreiluova's descendants seem to have inherited his 
 skill in diplomacy, for they kept on good terms with their 
 neighbours, and whenever these quarrelled managed to assist 
 the stronger without entirely alienating the weaker. 
 
 The clan is subdivided into six families and one branch. 
 
 The Fanai now talk Lushai and dress in the same way, 
 
 136
 
 CH. II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 137 
 
 except as regards the method of dressing the hair, which is 
 parted horizontally across the back of the head at the level 
 of the ears, and the hair above this is gathered into a knot over 
 the forehead, while that below is allowed to hang loose over 
 the shoulders. They generally follow Lushai customs. In 
 the series of feasts which an aspirant for the title of Thang- 
 chhuah has to perform, the Chong is replaced by the Buh-za-ai 
 (buh=rice, za=100), performed as among the Lushais. The 
 She-doi feast has to be gone through twice, and is followed by 
 a very similar feast called She-cha-chun (spearing of male 
 mithan), which completes the series. Wealthy persons perform 
 the Khuangchoi, but it is not necessary. The Mi-thi-rawp-lam is 
 prohibited. The following account of the She-doi is taken 
 from my diary of the 14th May, 1890. 
 
 " We went up at once to the village, where a peculiar dance 
 was in progress. Lembu's wife was being carried about on a 
 platform, round which a wooden railing had been fixed to 
 enable her to maintain her position. This platform had four 
 long poles passed underneath it, and a number of men and 
 women, holding these, were moving the platform about in a 
 manner which must have been most uncomfortable for her 
 Majesty. They lifted it up and down, then swayed it to one 
 side, then to the other, then ran in one direction and stopped 
 suddenly, then in another, and pulled up with a jerk. During all 
 this time the royal lady maintained a solemn silence, and 
 showed complete indifference to the whole proceeding. Her 
 head-dress consisted of a band round which at intervals coloured 
 bands of straw were plaited. From this chaplct porcupine 
 quills stood up all round, to the ends of which the yollowish- 
 green feathers of parrots were affixed, each terminating in a 
 tuft of red wool. At the back, an iron crossbar, about 6 
 inches long, was tied horizontally, and from this a number of 
 strings of black and white seeds depended, at the end of which 
 glistening wing-cases of green beetles were attached. Except 
 for this startling head-dress, the Queen was dressed much as 
 usual, except that her waist cloth was longer and more gorgeous. 
 Having been carried about for some time, her Majesty showed 
 her appreciation of the attentions of her subjects by distribut- 
 ing gifts. First she threw a small chicken, which was eagerly
 
 138 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 scrambled for and torn to pieces by the young men anxious to 
 obtain it, next followed a piece of white cotton wool, which no 
 one would pick up, and then some red thread, which was 
 scrambled for eagerly. 
 
 "May 15th. — This morning a mithan was sacrificed. The 
 animal was tied by the head to one of the sacrificial posts, on 
 which his skull was to be placed later on. The chief then came 
 out with a spear in one hand, a gourd of rice beer in the other. 
 The puithiam, or sorcerer, accompanied him, also carrying a 
 gourd of beer. The pair took up their stand just behind the 
 mithan, and the puithiam began mumbling what I was told were 
 prayers for the prosperity of the village. The prayers were 
 interrupted by the chief and the sorcerer taking mouthfuls of 
 beer and blowing them over the mithan. When the prayers 
 were finished, they anointed the animal with the remains of the 
 liquor, and the chief then gave it a slight stab behind the 
 shoulder, and disappeared into his house. The mithan was 
 then thrown on its side and killed by driving a sharp bamboo 
 spear into its heart. The animal was then cut up. Later on 
 another was killed, without any special ceremony, and the flesh 
 of both cooked in the street. Later on there was a dance. 
 Three men arrayed in fine cloths, with smart turbans, came up 
 the main street, crossing from side to side. With bodies bent 
 forward and arms extended, they took two steps forward, then 
 whirled round once, beat time twice with the right foot, two 
 steps, whirled round again, beat time twice with the left foot, and 
 so on, keeping time with the royal band, consisting of a gong, 
 a tom-tom, and a bamboo tube, used as a drum. The dancers, 
 having been well regaled with beer, proceeded to dance each a 
 ipas seul of a decidedly indecent nature. The chief was pro- 
 hibited from crossing running water for a month after this 
 sacrifice had been performed." After this feast there is five 
 days ' " hrilh " for the whole community, and during this no 
 flesh may be brought into the village. The skull of the mithan 
 is kept on the post in front of the chief's house for a month, 
 during which time he may not cross water or converse with 
 strangers. On the expiry of a month a pig and a fowl are 
 sacrificed and the skull is then removed to the front verandah. 
 
 The only difference in the ceremonies connected with child-
 
 II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 139 
 
 birth is that the Ui-ha-awr sacrifice is only performed if the 
 child's hair has a reddish tinge and the whites of its eyes turn 
 yellowish. 
 
 The Sakhua sacrifices are very elaborate, and consist of a 
 series commencing with the Vok-rial, which is necessary when 
 a new house has been completed. A sow is killed at the head 
 of the parents' sleeping place, and whatever portions of the flesh 
 are not at once consumed are placed beneath it till the next 
 day. The house during this time is " sherh." No one may enter 
 it, and the occupants must not speak to strangers nor enter the 
 forge. Later on a boar is killed in the front verandah, and the 
 heart, liver, and entrails, known as " kawrawl," are placed under 
 the parents' sleeping place for five days, and are eaten by the 
 parents, the father sitting with his back to the partition wall 
 and the mother facing him. During these five days a hrilh as 
 above is observed. This sacrifice is called " Vok-pa " — i.e., 
 " Boar " — and is followed by the " Hnuaipui " — i.e., " Great 
 Beneath " — a full-grown sow being killed under the house, and 
 its head and sherh buried at the foot of one of the main posts. 
 The flesh is cooked beneath the house, but eaten in it. A three 
 days' hrilh follows. The series concludes with " Hnuaite " — i.e.^ 
 "Lesser Beneath" — which is similar to the former, but a young 
 sow is killed. 
 
 These sacrifices are performed as the necessary animals 
 become available. 
 
 A dead Fanai is buried in the usual Lushai way, but no 
 rice is placed in the grave. An offering of maize, however, is 
 suspended above it. It may be noted that in the Zahao country 
 rice is not cultivated, the staple crop being maize. The Fanai 
 do not kill tigers, giving as the reason that a former ancestor 
 of theirs lost his way, and was conducted back to his village by 
 a tiger, which kindly allowed him to hold its tail. 
 
 This clan is found scattered in the Lushai villages to the The 
 north of Aijal, in which neighbourhood there are also one or I^'^'**- 
 two villages under Ralte chiefs. I have already — in Part L, 
 Chapter V, para. 1 — given the legend regarding the repeopling 
 of the world and the closing of the exit from the Chhinglung 
 owing to the loquacity of the pair of Ralte. The names of 
 these mythical ancestors were Hehua and Lcpliipi. Thoir two
 
 I40 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 sons were Kheltea and Siakenga, who quarrelled over the dis- 
 tribution of their father's goods, which Kheltea, the younger, 
 had taken, thus conforming to Lushei custom, and set up 
 separate villages, and from them have sprung the two epo- 
 nymous families into which the Ralte clan is divided. The 
 Khelte have always occupied a predominant position, and all 
 the chiefs belong to this family. Lutmanga, Kheltea's youngest 
 son, is said to have made the first cloth from the fibre of the 
 Khawpui creeper. He collected a community at Khuazim, a 
 hill north of Champhai, and from him all the Ralte chiefs are 
 descended. In the early years of the nineteenth century the 
 Ralte villages were near Champhai, and Mangkhaia, a Ralte 
 chief of importance, was captured by some Chuango, a family 
 of the Lushei clan, then living at Bualte, above Tuibual 
 (known to the Chin Hills officers as Dipwell). He was ransomed 
 by his relatives, but Vanpuia, the Pachuao chief, not receiving 
 a share, ambushed Mangkhaia on his way home and killed him. 
 According to another account Mangkhaia filed through his 
 fetters with a file given to him in a roll of smoked meat, and 
 was killed as he was escaping. His memorial stone is famous 
 throughout the Hills, and stands at the southern extremity of 
 Champhai. Mangthawnga, father of Mangkhaia, joined Khawza- 
 huala the Zadeng, then living atTualbung, but, being ill-treated, 
 the Ralte joined Sutmanga, a Thado chief then at Phaileng, 
 who treated them well. Thawnglura, son of Mangthawnga, 
 showed his gratitude to Sutmanga by assisting the Sailo chief 
 Lallianvunga, father of Gnura (Mullah) — whose village Colonel 
 Lister burnt in 1850 — to attack him. Sutmanga then fied north- 
 wards. It is satisfactory to know that Thawnglura's treachery 
 was rewarded by the enslavement of his clan, who till our 
 occupation of the Hills remained vassals of the Sailos. The 
 Ralte are very quarrelsome, and have to a great extent resisted 
 absorption into the Lushais. In some Sailo chiefs' villages 
 there are so many Ralte that the chief himself speaks their 
 dialect, and though Lushai is understood little else but Ralte is 
 heard in the village. 
 
 The Ralte are linguistically connected with the Thado, and, 
 like the Thado, they used not to build zawlbuks, but are now 
 following Lushai custom in this respect.
 
 
 H'^r-'^ws:-; 
 
 MEMOKIAI. STONK in ClIAMI'HAl KNOWN AS MANCKIIAIA, I .T NC, 1 1 AW K.
 
 II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 141 
 
 The Khelte family has ten and the Siakeng family eleven 
 branches. To the various sums paid to the relatives of the 
 bride among the Lushais, the Ralte add " dawngbul " and 
 " da^^^lgle^ " — sums of Rs. 3/- paid to her male and female 
 paternal first cousins. 
 
 The two families have slightly different customs as regard 
 sacrifices. The Khelte sacrifice to Sakhua is a boar, which is 
 killed at the head of the parents' sleeping place and then cooked 
 on the hearth. The skull is hung on the back wall of the house 
 in a basket with six pieces of the liver and three of the skin. 
 The chant is as follows : — 
 
 Ah — h. You whom our grandmothers worshipped ! 
 
 Ah — h. You v,fhom our grandfathers worshipped ! 
 
 Ah — h. You of our birthplace ! 
 
 Ah — h. You of our place of origin ! 
 
 Ah — h. You who made the Khelte ! 
 
 Ah — h. You who made the Tuangphei ! 
 
 Ah — h. In what we have done wrong ! 
 
 Ah — h. In what we have sung amiss ! 
 
 Ah— h. Make it right ! 
 The Siakeng, after killing the boar as the Khelte do, entertain 
 those of their own branch, but before the flesh is eaten it is 
 divided into three portions, which are placed for a short time 
 successively on the floor, on the sleeping-place, and on the shelf 
 over the hearth, being thus offered to the spirits of the house, 
 the couch, and the hearth. 
 
 Of the Naohri sacrifices the Khelte only perform the Hmar- 
 phir, which they call " Thangsang " and the Ui-ha-awr, while the 
 Siakeng perform the Vawkte-luilam, called by them " Chhim- 
 hal," and the Ui-ha-awr. 
 
 They have adopted most of the Thangchhuah festivals, but 
 not the Mi-thi-rawp-lam. When a mithan is killed it is not 
 speared as among the Lushais, but killed by a blow on the 
 forehead. The skull is placed at the foot of the partition wall 
 for three days, and on the fourth it is taken out and placed at 
 the foot of the memorial post. Some ginger, beans, and salt 
 are placed on a dish and an old man takes the skull, and all 
 dance rotmd the post three times to the beating of drums and 
 gongs. Then ginger is thrown three times on to the skull, after
 
 142 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 which the house-owner's wife pierces the skull with a spear, 
 but if she be pregnant this must be done by a man. The skull 
 is then placed on one of the posts of the platform in front of 
 the house till the Khuangchoi has been performed. 
 
 On the occasion of the first death occurring in a new village a 
 spot is selected beyond the line of houses, and the corpse is 
 buried there, subsequent interments being made close at hand. 
 It is considered " thianglo " to bury in a village. A well-to-do 
 Khelte after death is dressed in his best, and seated with his 
 back to the partition wall while his relatives and friends drink 
 and dance before him. A bier is made by elderly persons, and 
 on this the corpse is placed in a sitting position, with his 
 weapons in his hands, and three times lifted by old men and 
 women up to the rafters, while drums and gongs are beaten, 
 after which the body is carried out to the graveyard. 
 
 The birth customs generally resemble those of the Lushais. 
 The This is a clan of some importance still. There are eleven 
 
 Vuite. Vuite villages, numbering 877 houses, in the south-west corner 
 of the Manipur State and two in the adjoining portions of the 
 Lushai Hills. When we occupied the Hills we found many 
 of this clan living in a species of slavery in the villages of 
 important Sailo chiefs. They have mostly rejoined their 
 clansmen, from whom they had been carried off as prisoners of 
 war. 
 
 The clan is generally known to the Lushais as Paihte, but 
 Vuite is the term more commonly used by its members and in 
 Manipur. Vuitea and Paihtea were the sons of of Lamleia, 
 who was hatched out of an egg. There were two eggs, and 
 Aichhana, a Thado, tasted one, and, finding it bitter, threw it 
 away and put the other among the rice in the bin, and in due 
 time Lamleia was hatched out, and the present Vuite chiefs 
 claim to be his direct descendants, enumerating seventeen 
 generations. The Thado version of this story is that Dongel, 
 Thado's elder brother, had incestuous intercourse with his elder 
 sister, and on a male child being born their mother was so 
 ashamed that she hid the child in a hollow tree, thinking it 
 would die, but when she found it was alive after several days 
 she brought it into the house and concealed it in the paddy bin, 
 and produced it a few days later, saying that she had found two
 
 II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 143 
 
 big eggs in a hollow tree and had tasted one and had found it 
 ver}' bitter. The second she had placed in the paddy, where it 
 had been hatched by the sun's rays. Hence the child was 
 called Gwite, from " ni-gwi," the Thado for a ray of sunshine. 
 The Vuite, of course, do not admit this tale to be true, but my 
 informant tells me that in his father's time, when the Dongel 
 and Vuite lived near to each other, the former paid "sathing" — 
 i.e., a portion of each animal killed — to the latter, in recognition 
 that the Vuite were descended from the elder sister of their 
 ancestor. The Vuite, however, always tried to avoid accepting 
 such presents, and when the Dongel moved away the custom 
 died out. The first Vuite village is said to have been at 
 Chimnuai, near to Tiddim. The name of this site comes first in 
 the Vuite Sakhua chant which I obtained in the Lushai Hills. 
 Being attacked by the Sokte and Falam clans, they joined the 
 Thangur chiefs, but were ill-treated and fled to the neighbour- 
 hood in which they now live, and waged war with their 
 oppressors till the establishment of our rule. They at one 
 time approached the Manipur plain and in 1870, under Sumkam, 
 they raided a Manipuri village, to avenge a charge of being 
 wizards. They appear to be closely connected with the Malun, 
 Sokte, and Kamhau clans of the adjoining Chin Hills, and 
 Dr. Grierson places them linguistically in the same group as 
 these clans and the Thado. In their dress and habitations they 
 resemble the Lushais, but the place of the zawlbuk is taken by 
 the front verandah of the houses of certain persons of 
 importance, in which are long sleeping bunks in which half a 
 dozen or more young men pass the night. The young fellows 
 help their host in his house-building and cultivation, and once 
 a year he gives them a feast of a pig. This custom prevails in 
 most of the non-Lushei clans, and also among the Kabui Nagas 
 in the Manipur Hills. 
 
 The women do not wear the huge ivory earrings of the Lushai 
 but cornelians or short lead bars. 
 
 The general constitution of the clan and the village is very 
 similar to that of the Lushais. As regards marriage they are 
 monogamists, in this particular forming a very remarkable 
 exception to all their cognates. The marriages of paternal first 
 cousins are allowed — in fact, among chiefs they are the rule.
 
 144 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The parents of a young man who desires to marry a girl go to 
 her house with an oflfering of zu, and if this is accepted the girl is 
 at once taken to their house, but the bridegroom continues for 
 two or three months to sleep with his bachelor friends. The 
 marriage is not considered final nor is any payment made till a 
 child is born, and if this does not occur within three years the 
 couple separate, but on the birth of a child the full price agreed 
 on must be paid up and divorce is not countenanced. On my 
 enquiring what would happen in case the lady subsequently 
 proved fickle, my informant smiled in a superior manner and 
 said that such behaviour was unknown among his people. The 
 Vuite object to giving their girls to the Lushais on account of 
 the tendency of Lushai husbands to discard their wives on the 
 slightest excuse. 
 
 Although the Vuite do not maintain that before marriage 
 their girls are invariably chaste, yet one who errs is looked down 
 on, and in consequence abortion and infanticide are said to be 
 common. "Sawnman" at Rs. 23/- is demanded from the 
 seducer. 
 
 As among most non-Lushei tribes, the eldest son inherits. 
 The punishments for offences are similar to those among the 
 Lushais, but the Vuite assert that the crime of sodomy is 
 unknown among them. Murder can be atoned for by the 
 payment of seven mithan to the heir of the murdered man, and 
 accidental homicide by that of one mithan and a gun. In the 
 days when war was common they used to ambush their enemies 
 more than was usual among the Lushais, but they never went 
 head-hunting simply for honour and glory. As regards " boi," 
 they follow Lushai customs closely. 
 
 Pathian is acknowledged, and in general their religious beliefs 
 resemble those of the Lushais, but they have no idea of a 
 separate abode for the spirits of warriors. They believe that 
 departed spirits have two or more lives in the land beyond the 
 grave. 
 
 For their Sakhua sacrifice a boar is killed on the front 
 verandah and cooked within the house. The skin of the head, 
 the testicles, heart, snout, and liver are placed on a bamboo over 
 the verandah, which must be freshly thatched. 
 
 Immediately after birth the child is washed, and a fowl is
 
 II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 145 
 
 killed, and its feathers are worn round the necks of the mother 
 and infant. The mother may go out of the house, but for four 
 days after the birth both parents abstain from all work. On 
 occasion of the naming two or three pigs if available should be 
 killed and much zu drunk. The Khal sacrifices, with the 
 exception of Uihring, are not performed, but most of the other 
 sacrifices are made. 
 
 The custom of paying " lukawng " on the death of a person is 
 unknown, and the funeral ceremonies generally are very unlike 
 those of the Lushais. 
 
 After death the corpse is placed on a platform and fires are 
 lit round it, and young men and maidens sleep near it. The 
 skin is hardened and preserved by being rubbed with some 
 greasy preparation. The body is dressed in the best cloths 
 available, and a chaplet of the tail feathers of the hornbill is 
 placed on its head. During the daytime the corpse is kept in 
 the house, but in the evening it is brought out and seated on 
 the verandah while the villagers dance and sing round it and 
 drink zu, pouring it also into the mouth of the corpse. This 
 disgusting performance goes on for a month or more according 
 to the social position of the deceased. The corpses of those 
 who have attained Thangchhuah honours are kept for a year, at 
 least, in a special shed encased in a tree trunk. Before burial 
 the corpse is carried round the village. In case of a violent 
 death, which does not as among the Lushais include deaths in 
 childbirth, the corpse is placed in the forge and the puithiam 
 sacrifices a fowl, after which the usual ceremonies take place. 
 The Kut festivals are not observed, but after harvest the owners 
 of houses in which young men lodge kill one or two pigs. 
 The honour of Thangchhuah is obtained by giving the 
 following feasts: — (1) Buh ai, one mithan being killed; (2) She- 
 shun, one mithan being killed; (3) Chawn, throe mithan and two 
 pigs being killed. No other feasts are given and windows may 
 be made by anyone. Most of the superstitions common among 
 the Lushais are believed, but gibbons are freely killed. The 
 Vuite are very much afraid of witchcraft, but deny all 
 knowledge of it. When a new site for a house has to be chosen 
 an egg is taken and one end is removed. It is then propped up 
 on three small stones and a fire is lit under it. If the contents 
 
 L
 
 146 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 boil over towards the person consulting the omen the site is 
 
 rejected as unlucky. 
 
 The This is a small clan which, after various vicissitudes, has 
 
 Rangte. gg^^}g(| down in thirteen hamlets, containing 372 houses, under 
 
 their own chiefs in the south-western hills of Manipur. They 
 
 claim connection with the Thados, but resemble the Lushais in 
 
 many respects, which no doubt is due to their sojourn among 
 
 them. They also claim relationship with the Vaiphei. They 
 
 say that their original villages were on two hills called 
 
 Phaizang and Koku, whence they were ejected by the Chins 
 
 and took refuge with Poiboi, one of the Sailo chiefs who 
 
 opposed us in 1871, whence they migrated northwards to their 
 
 present place of abode. Their language shows that their claim 
 
 to being allied to the Thado is not without foundation. The 
 
 clan is divided into eleven eponymous families, named after 
 
 Thanghlum and his ten sons, Thanghlum being supposed to be 
 
 the son of Rangte. The constitution of the villages is 
 
 practically the same as that of the Lushais, except that 
 
 there are no zawlbuks. The young unmarried men sleep 
 
 in the house of the girl they like best. An attractive young 
 
 lady may have several admirers sleeping in her house, and they 
 
 will continue to sleep there until she expresses a preference for 
 
 one of them. Marriage is not very strictly limited, but 
 
 matches with another member of the clan or with some 
 
 member of one of the Thado families are most usual. The price 
 
 of a wife — " manpui " — is one blue cloth, one mattress, and three 
 
 mithan, which is paid to the nearest male relative to the bride 
 
 on the father's side, but besides this the bride's paternal 
 
 uncle receives one mithan, which is termed " mankang." If 
 
 there be three brothers, A, B, and C, B will take the 
 
 mankang of A's daughters, C that of B's, and A that of C's- 
 
 Should a man have no brothers some near relative will take his 
 
 daughter's mankang. The eldest son inherits everything, 
 
 and is looked on as the head of the family. He receives the 
 
 " manpui " of all the females, and in his verandah are hung all 
 
 the trophies of the chase obtained by his brothers and their 
 
 children, but on the death of one of these brothers the 
 
 connection ceases, and the deceased's eldest son inherits his 
 
 property and is looked on as the head of the family by his
 
 II CLANS INFLUENCED BY LUSHEIS 147 
 
 younger brothers. Like the Vuite, the Rangte claim that 
 sodomy is unknown among them. In their religious beliefs 
 they employ the nomenclature of the Thados, though there 
 is a little variation. The place of Pupawla on the road to 
 Mi-thi-khua is taken by an old woman, named Kul-lo-nu, Avho 
 is evidently the same as the Thado Kulsamnu, who troubles all 
 except the Thangchhuah. Thlan-ropa is known as " Dapa," but the 
 legends regarding him are similar to those told by the Lushais. 
 
 On the birth of a female child, zu is drunk, but should the 
 child be a son, a pig and a fowl have to be killed, and three 
 days later the puithiam comes and sprinkles the mother with 
 water, muttering charms as he does so, after which ceremony 
 she can go out. Immediately after a death everyone present 
 seizes the nearest weapon and slashes wildly at the walls, posts, 
 shelves, and partitions, shouting, " You have killed him ! We will 
 cut you limb from limb, whoever you may be." The young 
 men then go out in search of wild birds and beasts, the bodies 
 of which are hung on posts round the grave. The corpse is 
 adorned with the head-dress of hornbill's feathers, as among the 
 Vuite and most of the Old Kuki clans. The corpses of 
 ordinary persons are buried without much ceremony close to 
 the house, but the Thangchhuah are carried round the 
 village, as among the Khawtlang, and then enclosed in hollow 
 tree trunks, and kept for periods varying from two months to a 
 year in special sheds, with iires smouldering beneath them, after 
 which the bones are buried. In this it will be noticed that the 
 Rangte custom is a composite of Lushei, Vuite, and Khawtlang. 
 
 Lukawng is only paid if the deceased has been a great 
 hunter or warrior. In their marriage ceremonies the Rangte 
 differ but little from the Lushais. The " Khal " sacrifices are 
 omitted, but most of the others are performed. 
 
 Thangchhuah honours are attained by giving only two 
 feasts — the " Chong," at which a hen has to be sacrificed and 
 two pigs and a mithan killed, and the " Mai-thuk-kai," at 
 which two mithan, three pigs, and a hen have to be killed. 
 The guests hold hands and form a circle round the house of the 
 giver of the feast, who has to anoint the head of each of them 
 with pig's fat. The Buh-Ai is unknown, but thr Ai of wild 
 animals is performed as among the Lushais. 
 
 L 2
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE OLD KUKI CLANS 
 
 The term Old Kukis has long been applied to the clans which 
 suddenly appeared in Cachar about 1800, the cause of which 
 eruption I have explained when dealing with the history of the 
 Lushais, but Dr. Grierson in the Linguistic Survey has included 
 in this group a number of clans which had long been settled in 
 Manipur territory, and my enquiries all go to prove the correct- 
 ness of this classification. It appears practically certain that 
 the ancestors of the Old Kukis and the Lushais were related and 
 lived very close together somewhere in the centre of the hills 
 on the banks of the Tyao and Manipur rivers. The Old Kuki 
 clans of Manipur seem to have been the first to move, as 
 records of their appearance there are found in the Manipur 
 chronicle as early as the sixteenth century, and, though the 
 chronology of the chronicle is not beyond suspicion, I think this 
 may be taken as proof that these clans appeared in Manipur a 
 good deal earlier than their relations the Bete and Rhangkhol 
 entered Cachar. What the cause of this move was it is impossible 
 to say. Probably quarrels with their neighbours, coupled with 
 a desire for better land, combined to cause the exodus, and the 
 movement, once started, had to continue till the clans found a 
 haven of rest in Manipur, as their relatives did centuries later 
 in British territory ; for they were small, weak communities, at 
 the mercy of the stronger clans, through whose lands they passed. 
 
 All these Old Kuki clans are organised far more democratically 
 than the Lushais or Thados. Lieut. Stewart in his Notes on 
 Northern Cachar says: — " There is no regular system of govern- 
 ment among the Old Kukis and they have no hereditary chiefs as 
 
 148
 
 CH. Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 149 
 
 among the New ones. A headman called the ' ghalim ' is appointed 
 by themselves over each village, but he is much more a priest than 
 a potentate, and his temporal power is much limited. Internal 
 administration among them always takes a provisional form. 
 When any parby considers himself aggrieved, he makes an 
 appeal to the elders, or the most powerful householders in the 
 village, by inviting them to dinner and plying them with 
 victuals and wine." 
 
 Among the clans which settled early in Manipur, each 
 village has been provided with a number of officials with high- 
 sounding titles and little power, in imitation of the Manipur 
 system. Among those who have settled in British territory the 
 ghalim has been transformed into the " gaonbura" — i.e., head of 
 the village — and has acquired a certain amount of authority, 
 whilst among the Khawtlang and Khawchhak clans, which after 
 various vicissitudes, including a more or less lengthy sojourn 
 among the Lushais, recently entered Manipur territory, the 
 ghalim has become a feeble imitation of a Lushai lal. 
 
 The Old Kiild Clans of Mcmipur. 
 
 Under this heading I propose dealing with the Aimol, Anal, 
 Chawte, Chiru, Kolhen, Kom, Lamgang, Purum, Tikhup, and 
 Vaiphei, who are now found in various parts of the hills 
 bordering the Manipur valley, and who resemble each other in 
 very many respects. In spite of this resemblance, the clans, 
 while acknowledging their relationship to one another, keep 
 entirely apart, living in separate villages and never inter- 
 marrying. 
 
 In the Manipur chronicle the Chiru and Anal are mentioned 
 as early as the middle of the sixteenth century, while the 
 Aimol make their first appearance in 1728. They are said to 
 have come from Tipperah, but at that time the eastern 
 boundary of Tipperah was not determined, and the greater 
 part of the present Lushai Hills district was supposed to be 
 more or less under the control of the Rajah of that State. A 
 short distance to the east of Aijal there is a village site called 
 Vai-tui-chhun — i.e., the watering place of the Vai — which is said 
 to commemorate a former settlement of the Vaiphei. It 
 seems probable, therefore, that the Aimol and Vaiphei left
 
 ISO THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 their former homes in consequence of the forward movement 
 of the Lusheis. The remaining tribes all claim to have come 
 from various places to the south of Manipur — the Anal from 
 the Haubi peak, the Chiru from " the Hranglal hill far away 
 in the south," the Kom from the Sakripung hill in the Chin 
 Hills ; the other clans can give no nearer definition of the 
 home of their forefathers than far away to the south. Like 
 the Lushais, they all assert that they are descended from couples 
 who issued out of the earth, the Chhinglung of the Lushais 
 being replaced by " Khurpui " — i.e., the great hole. 
 
 The Anal assert that two brothers came out of a cave on 
 the Haubi peak, and that the elder was the ancestor of the 
 Anals, while the younger went to the valley of Manipur and 
 became king of the valley. Another tradition says that the 
 Manipuris, Anals, and Thados are the descendants of three 
 men, Avhose father was the son of Pakhangba, the mythical 
 snake-man ancestor of the Manipuri royal family, who, taking 
 the form of an attractive youth, overcame the scruples of a 
 maiden engaged in weeding her jhum (compare Hodson's 
 "Meitheis," page 12). These legends were probably invented 
 after the clans had come in contact in order to account for the 
 resemblances between them. The Chiru claim to be descended 
 from Rezar, the son of Chongthu, the ancestor of the clan of 
 that name still found in the Lushai Hills, whose name also 
 appears in the Thado pedigree. The Lamgang tell the 
 following tale : — On the Kangmang hill, away to the south, 
 there is a cave. Out of this came a man and a woman, and 
 were eaten up by a tiger which was watching. A god who 
 had two horns, seeing this horrible sight, came out and drove 
 away the tiger, and so the next couple to emerge escaped and 
 became the ancestors of the Lamgang. The Purum claim to 
 be descended from Touring and Tonshu, who issued from the 
 earth. It is said that " Pu rum " means " hide from tiger," Avhich 
 connects them closely with the Lamgang legend. The Kolhen's 
 ancestors were a man and woman who sprang out of Khurpui 
 provided with a basket and a spear, and lived at Talching, and 
 had a son and daughter called Nairung and Shaithatpal, the 
 direct descendants of whom are said still to be found among 
 the Kolhen.
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLAxNS 151 
 
 The Chawte told me the tale of the peopling of the world 
 out of a hole in the ground, adding the graphic touch that an 
 inquisitive monkey lifted up a stone which laj- over the opening, 
 and thus allowed their ancestors to emerge. 
 
 It is not quite clear whether these clans are eponymous. 
 The Chiru say that their clan is named after an ancestor, but 
 can give no pedigree. The Aimol say that there is no general 
 name for the various families, and that Aimol is the name 
 of the village site. It is probably Ai-mual. " Ai " is the Lushai 
 name of a berry and also means crab, and appears in Ai-zawl 
 or Aijal. "Mual" is the Lushai for a spur of a hill. It is a very 
 common, in fact almost a universal, custom to call a new village 
 site, if it has no recognised name, after the site of the old village, 
 and probably the original Aimual would be found in the centre 
 of the Lushai Hills. 
 
 All these clans have come much under Manipuri influence, 
 and the Chiru, Aimol, Kolhen, Chawte, Purum, and Tikhup 
 have abandoned the ancestral architecture, and now live in 
 houses built on raised earthen plinths like the Manipuris. 
 
 The remaining clans still adhere to the ancient style, their 
 houses being raised some four or five feet off the ground on 
 posts. The walls are of planks, and the roofs of thatching grass ; 
 they remind one much of the Falam houses. Round each 
 village are clustered the granaries — small houses raised well 
 off the ground and placed sufficiently far from the dwelling 
 houses to make them fairly safe from fire. Where the houses 
 are raised sufficiently pigs and poultry live under them ; but 
 cattle sheds are common, most of these clans having learnt 
 the value of cows and buffaloes from the Manipuris. The 
 handsome breed of goats so common in a Lushai village is 
 seldom if ever seen, but animals of an inferior sort are generally 
 kept. 
 
 The Chiru, Kom, and Tikhup still build zawlbuks. No 
 woman is allowed to enter these buildings, which, besides being 
 the dormitories of the unmarried men, are used for drinking 
 bouts. They are externally very like those built by the 
 Lushais, but have several fireplaces evidently used for cooking, 
 and the general hearth in the centre is absent. Some of the 
 clans which do not now build zawlbuks say that they believe their
 
 152 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 forefathers did so. In the absence of the zawlbuk the young 
 men generally sleep in the houses of well-to-do villagers, but 
 among the Purum I am told that " if a man has one un- 
 married son and one unmarried daughter, the boy goes to sleep 
 at the house of a man who has an unmarried daughter ; though 
 they sleep in this way they are very careful about their 
 characters." Have we here stumbled on the real origin of the 
 " young men's house " — a desire to prevent incest ? The young 
 women also have houses in which they gather at time of 
 festivals, but they do not sleep there. 
 
 The rotchem, the Lushai mouth-organ, is found among all 
 these clans, but rather smaller and ornamented with fowls' 
 feathers. The Anal make a speciality of long bamboo trumpets, 
 on which they perform with considerable skill, producing 
 sounds indistinguishable from those of a bugle. The trumpets 
 are from four to five feet long, and have bell-shaped mouths 
 made of gourds. 
 
 Most of these clans have adopted various dances from the 
 Manipuris, their own dancing being of the monotonous nature 
 common to the Lushais and Kukis. 
 
 In dress and method of wearing the hair Manipuri influence 
 is also noticeable, the men generally wearing coats and loin- 
 cloths and turbans. The women are more conservative and 
 adhere to the short petticoat. The hair is generally worn very 
 much in the Lushai fashion, but the Chiru men are an exception 
 to this. They part their hair in the middle and brush it down 
 straight, and trim it level with the bottom of the ears. They 
 bind a narrow fillet of cane round the head slightly above the 
 eyes. The Kolhen women gather the hair into two heavy rolls, 
 which hang down in front of each ear. The Tikhup maidens 
 have adopted the Manipuri method of dressing the hair. 
 
 The ivory discs worn in the ears by Lushai women are not 
 found, but metal rings are worn in a similar manner by both 
 sexes. 
 
 The Manipuris have instituted in each village a number of 
 posts with high-sounding titles, similar to those in use among 
 themselves, but traces of the older organisation are to be found. 
 Thus the Aimol recognise a man called Thompa, of the 
 Chomgom family, as the head of the clan, but he has no power
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 
 
 oo 
 
 and receives nothing, while in each village are four officials who 
 receive a portion of every animal killed in the chase. They are 
 called " kamzakhoi," " zakachhimga," " zupalba," and " pakang- 
 lakpa." The last two titles have a distinctly Manipuri sound about 
 them. The usual titles found are "khul-lakpa" — i.e., chief of the 
 village — " lup-lakpa," " zupalba," and " Methei hnnbu " — i.e. 
 Manipuri interpreter — but there are others. The khul-lakpa 
 and lup-lakpa are hereditary posts. Among the Lamgang there 
 are seven such hereditary posts. Among the Chiru the khul- 
 lakpa, besides receiving a portion of each animal killed, also gets 
 his house built for nothing, which brings him very near to the 
 Lushai " lal." Among the Kolhen the khul-lakpa's and lup-lakpa's 
 posts are not hereditary, but on the death of either his successor 
 must be chosen out of the same family, but his sons are ineligible. 
 The new official has to give a feast, killing a pig, which is eaten 
 by the whole community, and the young men and maidens make 
 merry with dance and song. It seems probable that in this may 
 be some idea of averting the evil effects of a breach of the 
 generally accepted custom. 
 
 The puithiam is known as "thempu," "khulpu," or "bulropa," 
 and both he and the blacksmith are sometimes rewarded, receiv- 
 ing a day's labour from each householder they serve, instead of 
 a donation of rice. 
 
 The Lushai system of " boi " is generally unknown, which is 
 only natural in such democratic communities. 
 
 The following animals are not generally eaten — tigers, snakes, 
 cats, crows, or kites ; and among the Lamgang the rat is also 
 considered unfit for food. 
 
 Each clan is divided into eponymous families and generally 
 marriage is restricted to the clan, but alliances within the 
 family are prohibited. The Aimol clan is divided into five 
 families — Chongom, Laita or Mangte, Khoichung or Lei von, 
 Lanu, and Chaita. Marriage is unrestricted, but it is unusual 
 for either sex to marry without the chm. The Kolhen are 
 divided into twelve exogamous families divided into two groups, 
 which are also exogamous {v. below, under Festivals, page 167), 
 but marriage outside the clan is prohibited. Among the Anal, 
 Purum, and Lamgang marriages must be made within th«' 
 clan, but not within the family.
 
 154 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The Tikhup clan, which only numbers some twenty households, 
 is not sub-divided, but marriage is endogamous. The union of 
 first cousins, either paternal or maternal, is prohibited. The 
 elders of the clan attributed the steady decline in their numbers 
 to this custom of endogamy. 
 
 The Chiru and Chawte customs are alike; not only is a 
 young man's choice limited to some family in the clan other 
 than his own, but the actual families from which he may choose 
 his bride are strictly fixed. 
 
 Among the Cliiru — 
 
 A Danla lad may marry a Dingthoi or Shangpa girl. 
 A Dingthoi lad may marry a Chongdur or Danla girl. 
 A Rezar lad may marry a Danla girl. 
 A Shangpa lad may marry a Dingthoi or Danla girl. 
 A Chongdur lad may marry a Danla girl. 
 
 Danla is the family from which the khul-lakpa must be 
 taken, and Rezar has already been noticed as the son of 
 Chongthu, from whom the Chiru claim descent. 
 
 Among the Chawte — 
 
 A Marem lad may only marry a Makhan girl. 
 
 A Makhan lad may only marry an Irung girl. 
 
 A Kiang lad may only marry a Makhan or Marem girl. 
 
 An Irung lad may only marry a Marem, Thao, or Kiang 
 
 girl. 
 A Thao lad may only marry a Makhan girl. 
 
 Among the Aimol, Anal, Chiru, and Purum, a young man has 
 to serve his future wife's father for three years, during which 
 he works as if he were a son of the house. During this period 
 he has free access to the girl, though among the Chiru he con- 
 tinues to sleep among the bachelors. Should the girl become 
 enceinte the marriage ceremony must be performed, and the 
 price paid. Among the Aimol the bride's eldest brother gets 
 Rs. 6/- and each of the others one rupee less than his immediate 
 senior. The paternal and maternal uncles receive Rs. 2/- each ; 
 the aunt and the elder sister also receive Rs. 1/- each as 
 "niman" and " nao-puan-puk-man," as among the Lushais. 
 Among the Anal and the Purum, the price must not be less
 
 in THE OLD KUKI CLANS 
 
 155 
 
 than a pig and a piece of iron a cubit in length, but the o-irl's 
 relatives try to get as much more as they can. The bridegroom 
 has also to feast the family of his bride three times on pork, 
 fowls, and rice, washed down, of course, with plenty of zu. The 
 Chiru girls are only valued at one gong. 
 
 Among the other clans, marriage is by simple purchase. A 
 Chawte maiden can be obtained for a spear, a dao, and a fowl, 
 the payment being sealed by the consumption of much zu. 
 The price of a Kolhen girl is a gong and Rs. 7/- to her mother, 
 and Rs. 7/- each to the elder and younger brother and the 
 maternal uncle. This is most curious, for the father is entirely 
 omitted. Can it be a survival of mother right ? The Kom 
 girls are valued very high, the father receiving one gong, four 
 buffaloes, fifteen cloths, a hoe, and a spear, the aunt taking a 
 black and white cloth. A Lamgamg bridegroom has to pay his 
 father-in-law three pigs or buffaloes or cows, one string of conch 
 shell beads, one lead bracelet, and one black or blue petticoat. 
 A Tikhup father expects a gong, ten hoes, one dao, and one 
 spear ; the maternal grandfather also demands Rs. 7/-. 
 
 The price of a Vaiphei girl varies between two and ten 
 mithan. To a certain extent the price of the girls may be 
 taken as an indication of the relative importance of the clan. 
 Marriage by servitude is not found among either the Lushai or 
 the Thado clans ; its appearance among the Old Kukis is there- 
 fore curious, for as a rule the customs of a clan will be found to 
 resemble those of one or the other of these two main divisions 
 of the Kuki-Lushai race. 
 
 Polygamy is, as a rule, permitted. Among the Anal and 
 Lamgang, the first wife is entitled to the company of her 
 husband for five nights, the second for four, and the third for 
 three. It is not quite clear how a second marriage by servitude 
 can be carried out, and probably the rules are modified in such 
 cases. Polygamy is but little practised un account of the 
 expense ; among the Kolhen it is prohibited. 
 
 In most of these clans the Thado rule of inheritance is 
 followed — viz., the eldest son takes all his father's property, the 
 younger sons only getting what the heir chooses to give them. 
 Among the Anal and Purum, and probably also the Lamgang, 
 the sons of the deceased divide the property, but the youngest
 
 156 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 son takes the house and supports the widow, thus approximating 
 to the Lushai custom. 
 
 In most clans the father of an illegitimate child is fined. 
 Among the Chiru the fine is a pig, a mithan, and two gongs. 
 
 Divorce is generally easily obtained. Among the Aimol, if 
 either party repents of the bargain, the payment of a cloth and 
 three pots of zu annuls the contract. Among the Tikhup the 
 cost of divorce is a mithan and a gong. The Anal and most of 
 the other clans insist on the question being submitted to the 
 village officials, who receive fees according to their position, 
 and settle what compensation, if any, shall be paid to either 
 party. As a rule it is very difficult for a woman to obtain a 
 divorce unless her husband agrees, even though he may be 
 extremely unfaithful and brutal. Among the Anal she must 
 give a feast to the village or pay her husband Rs. 50/-. 
 
 In case of a wife being led astray the injured husband 
 recovers her price or an equivalent amount (among the Tikhup 
 twice the price) from her seducer. In this the Thado custom 
 is followed, which is more just than that of the Lushais, but 
 not so conducive to morality, for among the the Lushais the 
 whole of the woman's family are interested in keeping her from 
 committing herself and are loud in condemnation should she 
 do so, as they have to refund the various sums they have 
 received on her behalf, whereas among the Thado the seducer 
 simply pays up the price and takes the woman, who is thought 
 very little the worse of — in fact, among the clans which follow 
 this apparently more just custom, women hold a far lower 
 position, being traded from one to another, unless they have 
 influential male relatives who take an interest in them. 
 
 All these clans have been given definite sites in Manipur and 
 have practically abandoned the migratory habits of their fore- 
 fathers, and therefore the idea of property in land, which is 
 entirely absent in the case of the Lushais, is fast springing up. 
 Many villages are moving nearer to the plain in order that the 
 people may take leases from the State of land in the valley and 
 carry on plough cultivation, but they also do a certain amount 
 of jhuming, and proprietary rights in jhum lands are recognised. 
 
 The punishment for theft is arranged nmch on the Lushai 
 system of the theft of certain articles having a fixed fine
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 157 
 
 attached to it. This is generally a pig, two jars of zu, and a 
 brass plate. Among the Chiru the whole fine is consumed by the 
 people of the village, the thief also getting his share. The Kolhen 
 punishment is a fine of Rs. 28/-, a pig, and two jars of zu. In 
 case of rice being stolen, the Tikhup custom is that the village 
 officials at once kill and eat the pig of the thief and then make 
 him pay a mithan as compensation to the complainant. Thefts 
 of minor articles are generally punished by the thief providing 
 a pig and zu for the entertainment of his judges. Manslaughter 
 is punished by the pa3anent of compensation, the amount vary- 
 ing considerably. The Anal demand a mithan and a gong, the 
 Chiru a mithan and a cloth, the Kolhen three mithan, a brass 
 pot, a pig, and two pots of zu, the Lamgang four gongs, 
 ten jars of zu, and a big pig. Petty assaults are punished by 
 fines of pigs and zu. A false charge is often punished by a fine 
 of zu. Most of these clans declare that sodomy is unknown 
 among them, the very notion appearing to them highly 
 absurd. 
 
 All disputes and accusations are disposed of by the village 
 officials, who meet sometimes in the house of the khul-lakpa 
 and sometimes at a special spot outside the village where stone 
 seats have been prepared. 
 
 Since the settlement of these clans in Manipur territory all 
 raiding and fighting has been stopped, so that they have practic- 
 ally forgotten what were the habits of their forefathers in these 
 respects, but the Kom declare that in the good old days the 
 young Kom warriors went off on head-hunting expeditions, and 
 if successful adorned the village gate with the trophies of their 
 prowess ; and there is no reason to doubt that, in spite of their 
 present peaceable behaviour, the previous history of these clans 
 was not less full of raids and counter-raids than that of their 
 neighbours. 
 
 The general religious beliefs of these clans show a great 
 resemblance to each other and also to that of the Lushais. 
 Pathian is universally recognised as the creator who lives in the 
 sky, though the name is slightly different, appearing as Pathel 
 among the Anal and Kolhen, and Patheng among the Kom. 
 Mi-thi-khua is generally known as the place of departed spirits, 
 but the Chiru and Tikhup have no idea of a place of greater
 
 158 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 comfort for the spirits of warriors, though the Chiru believe that 
 the spirits of those that die unnatural deaths go to a separate 
 and inferior place, while those of the other dead go westwards 
 into the sky. The Anal, Kolhen, and Lamgang believe that, 
 after hovering around the grave for some time, the spirit is 
 reincarnated in some new-born child, but that an unnatural 
 death prevents this and the spirit passes away skywards and 
 returns no more. The belief in a being or beings which trouble 
 the spirits on their way to Mi-thi-khua, as Pupawla does with 
 his pellet bow, is very general. The Aimol call him 
 Ramcharipu, and say that he makes the spirits of all, except 
 " Thangchhuah," kill a certain number of lice in his head. The 
 Vaiphei say that a male and a female being guard the road and 
 trouble and detain the spirits of those who have not attained 
 the honours of Thangchhuah. With the exception of the Tik- 
 hup, all the clans believe in demons, which they call by 
 various names and which correspond exactly with the Huai of 
 the Lushais. The Aimol call these devils Numeinu, Thanglian 
 Borh, Tuikuachoi. " Numeinu " means mother of woman 
 Borh brings to memory the infantile illness called by that name 
 by the Lushais, while " Tuikuachoi " is evidently the Tui-huai. 
 The Aimol and Chiru perform the Daibawl sacrifices in the 
 same manner as the Lushais. The Chawte sacrifice pigs and 
 fowls in case of sickness, but the Khal sacrifices are quite un- 
 known to any Old Kuki clans. Lashi is known to the Aimol and 
 Vaiphei. Among the former the Sakhua sacrifices are performed 
 to this deity, and he is capable of giving success in the chase, 
 The Vaiphei place Lashi almost on a par with Pathian and 
 sacrifice a pig to him every year. Strange to say, he is supposed 
 to have only one leg. The Sakhua chant of the Vuite 
 commences with an invocation to all the wild animals to 
 collect. 
 
 In nearly every clan there is an annual festival in honour of the 
 souls of those who have died during the year, but in no case is 
 the Mi-thi-rawp-lam or any similar festival included in the series 
 of Thangchhuah feasts. 
 
 The Aimol sacrifice either a pig or a goat to Lashi as their 
 Sakhua. The Chawte have been much influenced by Manipuris, 
 and I was first told that the names of their gods were
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 159 
 
 Pakhangba and Nimgchongba, but on a little further enquiry I 
 found that Pakhangba was always called Pathian when talking 
 among themselves. The other deity is probably the Manipuri 
 god Nungshaba (" The Meitheis," Hodson, page 98). 
 
 Above the hamlet was an oval, level space with a low wall 
 round it. At the eastern end was a small house in which were 
 two stones. This was the abode of Pakhangba, and to one side 
 was Nungchongba's dwelling place, which consisted of three 
 small stones, with a fourth one placed on the top. In front of 
 these a bull is sacrificed once in three years, and dancing and 
 singing take place every year after the harvest. The Chiru 
 believe in " Rampus," which in some respects appear to be the 
 same as the Lushai " Huai," but in others they appear to be 
 local gods. The four chief Rampus live one on Kobru, a 
 high hill overlooking the northern extremity of the Manipur 
 valley and called by the Manipuris the guardian of the north, 
 one in Kangjupkhul, the village site of my informants, one on 
 Makong hill and one in the valley of Manipur. Twice a year 
 the Rampu of Kobra is honoured with the sacrifice of a dog, 
 while pigs, fowls, or goats are offered to the others. In July 
 a dog is killed in honour of the first three and a pig in 
 honour of the last-named. In case of very serious illness, 
 when the Daibawl sacrifices have proved unavailing, special 
 sacrifices are made to the three chief Rampus above men- 
 tioned. These four Rampus are evidently nearer to local 
 godlings than the multitudinous and ill-defined Huais of the 
 Lushais. In July Pathian also is honoured, a pig being killed 
 on behalf of the whole village, while each household sacrifices a 
 fowl. The day is held sacred, no work being done. It is known 
 as Chapui-chol-lai — i.e., holiday in the great heat. The four 
 Rampus can only have come into prominence since the 
 settlement of the hamlet at Kangju])khul, and it is probable 
 that different ones are worshipped by other hamlets. The 
 Chiru also perform Sakhua sacrifices as the Lushais do. The 
 Tikhup denied all knowledge of any devils or semi-divine 
 beings, saying that they worshipped Pathian and him only. 
 Every year in Phalgun they sacrifice a pig and a cock to 
 Pathian, and much zu is drunk. In cases of sickness sacrifices 
 of pigs or fowls and offerings of fiowers, eggs, and rice are made
 
 i6o THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 to Pathian. Dogs are never sacrificed. I think this is the only 
 clan in which they are not. I failed to find out the cause of 
 this. 
 
 In the other clans the sacrifices are combined with festivals 
 either in connection with the crops, the dead, or Thangchhuah, 
 and are not simply in honour of the god. 
 
 The puithiam of the Lushais becomes " thempu " and in some 
 clans " khulpu." The last name seems to indicate his 
 responsibility for protecting the village from all ills and mis- 
 fortunes by performing the necessary sacrifices (khul = village, 
 pu = protector). He appears here as one of the village officials, 
 which is the natural result of the inhabitants of each village 
 being all of the same clan, instead of many clans, as among the 
 Lushais. The functions and methods of the thempu and 
 khulpu appear to be the same as those of his Lushai confrere,. 
 There are various restrictions imposed on pregnant women. 
 Among the Anal she may not eat chillies or honey, and her 
 husband must not touch a snake or a corpse. The Kolhen 
 prohibit her from killing a snake, attending a funeral ceremony, 
 and eating a crab, eggs, and a certain vegetable called " chak " 
 in its young state. The Lamgang also debar her from touching 
 a corpse, but the prohibited articles of food are a sort of fish 
 called "ngarin" and a small animal which I have not succeeded 
 in identifying. The birth ceremonies are much alike ; in every 
 clan there is a period during which the woman, and in 
 some cases the house, is "sherh." During this time the 
 mother's movements are restricted in some way. 
 
 Among the Aimol the period is five days in case of a 
 boy, and three in case of a girl ; among the Anal and Purum, 
 three days in both cases ; among the Chawte, Kom, and 
 Vaiphei, five. Among the Chiru the period is extended to ten 
 days, during which the mother must not go out and no one but 
 near relations may enter the house. Among the Kolhen the 
 period is also ten days, but all women of the village may enter 
 the house ; the mother must eat no flesh, and fowls only may be 
 sacrificed. Cohabitation is prohibited for three months. Among 
 the Tikhup the restriction on the mother's movements lasts 
 only till the disposal of the afterbirth by special persons 
 who clean up the house ; till this is done no one may take a light
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS i6i 
 
 from the fire or remove any article from the house. In every 
 case at the conclusion of this period there is a sacrifice. The 
 custom of the Aimol is for the " thempu " to pour out a 
 libation of zu and herbs in front of the house and invoke the 
 child's spirit to take up its residence within the new-born 
 infant. The name is given at the same time, the father's 
 family choosing the name of a son and the mother's of a 
 daughter. On the day of the birth of an Anal child, the 
 " khulpu " is called, and after he has muttered certain 
 incantations, zu and fish are distributed to the whole village. 
 All sacrificing is prohibited for three days, and cohabitation for 
 three months. When distributing the zu and fish, the house- 
 hold gods — i.e., the Sakhua — are invoked and the soul of 
 the child is summoned. Among the Chawte the thempu 
 attends on the day of the birth, and sacrifices a fowl and sips 
 zu. He then mutters incantations over a piece of turmeric which 
 is then thrown out of the house. On the fifth day a fowl is 
 killed, and as the name selected is pronounced three grains of 
 rice are dropped into a cup of water, and if they sink the name 
 is approved, but if they fioat another one must be selected and 
 tested in the same manner. 
 
 The Chiru ceremonies are more elaborate. After ten days the 
 thempu comes to the house, a rakeng tree is planted in front 
 of it, and then the thempu sacrifices a hen on behalf of the 
 mother, and a cock or a hen, according to the sex of the child, 
 on its behalf. The parents eat the flesh of the birds, and the 
 sherh and bones are buried in the house. Two or three pots of 
 zu are consumed by married persons. The thempu, taking some 
 zu in his mouth, goes round inside the house, blowing it out on 
 the walls and muttering charms. The mother can now leave 
 the house, but for three or four days must not leave the village. 
 The " keng-puna " or " ming-puna" — i.e., " name-giving " — 
 takes place almost immediately. Two cocks or hens, according 
 to the sex of the infant, are killed by the thempu, and their 
 blood smeared on the infant's forehead and navel, some of the 
 feathers being tied in its hair. The Kolhen pierce the child's 
 ears and give the name on the tenth day, the ceremony being 
 the same as among the Chiru on that day. The maternal 
 grandfather is expected to give the child a pair of brass earrings, 
 
 M
 
 1 62 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 bracelets, leg ornaments, and a string of glass beads, and it is 
 generally named after him — a custom also followed by the Koms, 
 who combine the name-giving and ear-piercing, giving a feast 
 for the purpose, on the expiration of the five days' sherh. The 
 ear-piercing is done by the paternal aunt. The Lamgang 
 ceremonies are the same as those of the Anal, but the father is 
 prohibited from eating the flesh of fowls during the sherh 
 period, while the mother is under no restriction as regards diet. 
 No other animal may be sacrificed during that time, and co- 
 habitation is not allowed for one month. The Purum customs 
 are severely simple. The thempu comes and mutters charms on 
 the day of the birth, and returns on the third day and makes a 
 libation of zu. No sacrifices are allowed. The name is given 
 on the second day by the midwife, and the ears are pierced on 
 the seventh day, but in neither case is there any ceremony. 
 The Tikhup give the name at a feast, to which the elders of 
 the community are invited ; a cock is killed and zu dispensed 
 freely. In case of the parents being poor, this feast may be 
 postponed till the child is two years old. 
 
 The custom of summoning the child's soul reminds one of 
 the Lushai prohibition of labour on the part of the parents for 
 seven days after the child's birth, lest its soul, which hovers 
 around them during that period, be injured. 
 
 Where marriage is by service, it is only natural that the 
 actual ceremony should be of little importance, for the couple 
 have been living as man and wife duiing the whole time ; but 
 marriage, ^j^gj-g ^re exceptions. 
 
 At an Aimol wedding two thempus are necessary — one of the 
 bridegroom's, and one of the bride's family. Each kills a cock, 
 the feathers of which are tied round the necks of the happy 
 pair, after which there is the usual orgy. The Chiru and 
 Tikhup custom is almost identical, but the village thempu 
 officiates alone. Among the Kolhen, the young man's mother 
 makes six visits to the parents of her future daughter-in-law, 
 taking an offering of zu, and being accompanied by her eldest 
 son-in-law or other male relative, and on the last occasion by two 
 or three women. Two days after the last visit, the price is fixed, 
 and the day for the ceremony chosen by the bridegroom's father 
 and the village officials. The bridegroom, on the day before 
 
 Ceremo- 
 nies con- 
 nected 
 with
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 163 
 
 that fixed for the marriage, goes to the girl's house, accompanied 
 by several male friends, and makes a present of three pots of zu 
 to her parents. The next morning the bride, accompanied by 
 the unmarried girls of the village, goes to her future home, 
 taking with her two jars of zu, a hen, a piece of ginger, a dog, 
 a strap for carrying loads, a new cloth, and a bracelet. She 
 parts from her friends, with many tears, on the doorstep of her 
 new home. The khulpu decapitates a fowl and throws it down ; 
 if the right leg falls over the left a happy married life is assured. 
 The night is spent in singing and dancing, and the following 
 night in the same way, but in the house of the bride, who on 
 the next morning quits her father's house for good. On the day 
 of the marriage the bride and bridegroom must not leave the 
 village. This taking of omens by killing a cock is practised by 
 the Lamgang and Kom. Where marriage is not by service the 
 preliminaries in all clans resemble much those among the 
 Kolhen. Among the Vaiphei, and, I think, in some other clans, 
 the young man has to give a feast to the young men frequent- 
 ing the same dormitory. A similar custom is described in 
 Fielding Hall's " The Inward Light," page 104, as existing in 
 Burma. " It is an old custom for the village boys to band 
 themselves together in a company. . . . But when one marries he 
 ceases to belong to the company, for he is about to enter into 
 another and a wider life. He is a deserter and a traitor to his 
 fellows. Therefore they lay in wait for him and caught him as 
 he went home at night, and, taking him without the village 
 gate, they tried him and found him guilty. With mock 
 ceremony he was condemned to be turned out from their 
 ranks, and to pay a fine wherewith his comrades might drown 
 their sorrow at his desertion. Then with laughter and song, 
 to the light of torches, they took him home in long pro- 
 cession." 
 
 Widows are allowed to remarry, but as a rule the brothers of 
 the deceased husband have a prior claim, and if the woman 
 marries anyone else before the annual feast in honour of the 
 dead she has to pay a fine, which in some clans is as much as 
 Rs. 120/-, to her brother-in-law. Until this annual feast has come 
 round she must remain in her late husband's house, but when 
 that has been performed she may return to her father's house 
 
 M 2
 
 i64 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 if she wishes to, but in that case the brother-in-law will take 
 
 the dead man's property and children. 
 
 Ceremo- All these clans bury their dead in special cemeteries outside 
 
 riected " ^^^® village, and unnatural deaths or deaths in childbirth are 
 
 with universally considered signs that the deceased has failed in some 
 
 way, and the corpses of such unfortunates are buried outside the 
 
 cemetery and with scant ceremony. 
 
 Among the Aimol, the corpse of the khul-lakpa is carried 
 round the village before being taken to the grave. The 
 corpse of one who has gained honours equivalent to Thang- 
 chhuah among the Lushais is enclosed in a rough log coffin 
 and kept for two days amid much drinking and feasting, which 
 recalls the funeral ceremonies of a Lushei chief. With a rich 
 man many cloths are buried and with a poor man at least one. 
 In addition some cooked rice, zu, a dao, some meat, and a bow 
 and arrow are deposited in the grave. The bow and arrow are 
 a survival, for such weapons have been long obsolete. Over the 
 grave a small house is built in which some meat and zu are 
 placed to attract the " Khawhring." Spears are then thrust 
 through the house, which is then thrown away. I am not 
 quite clear whether the " Khawhring " in this case is supposed, 
 as among the Lushais, to have inhabited the body of the 
 deceased, or whether it is believed to be a disembodied spirit 
 which is on the lookout for the soul of the deceased. 
 
 Three days after the burial a wild animal is killed and zu and 
 rice are offered, and the spirit of the deceased is asked to go 
 away and not to trouble the living who have sacrificed and 
 made an offering of zu and rice. The Anal make a distinction 
 between deaths in childbirth and deaths by accident or in Avar. 
 In the former case the body is buried in the cemetery, the grave 
 being dug by those of her household, and food and drink and 
 domestic utensils are deposited therein. The husband has to 
 sacrifice a pig and feast the village before the burial, and the 
 village is " sherh " for that day. The first stones and earth are 
 placed in the grave by aged men, and the filling then completed 
 by young men. The thempu having muttered some charms, 
 the young men and women sing and dance for the deliverance 
 of the soul. In cases of ordinary death the grave is dug by men 
 not of the household, but in case of unnatural death only old
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 165 
 
 grey-headed men may perform the task, and the grave is dug 
 in the jungle and no dance or song terminates the funeral, but 
 the village is not " sherh." 
 
 The Chawte make their cemetery some distance from the 
 village. The dead are buried on the day of death. Over each 
 grave a mound is raised and fenced round with a bamboo trellis- 
 work. A small post carved faintly to resemble the human form 
 is placed over the grave of a man, while a hoe, axe, and winnow- 
 ing fan denote the grave of a woman. On each grave rests a 
 flat basket containing some flowers and a small jar of water. 
 Behind each grave is a rough representation of a house raised 
 some four feet from the ground, which is also ornamented with 
 flowers, and some of the deceased's clothes hang from it, while 
 inside are placed a bamboo full of zu and a small cup, which is 
 filled with clean water, and a handful of raw rice. These are 
 changed every third or fourth day till the Thi-duh ceremony 
 comes round in May, when there is a feast, and portions of meat 
 and some zu are placed on each fresh grave. 
 
 On the death of a Chiru, guns are fired and gongs beaten, and 
 a fowl, pig, and goat are killed at once. There is the usual 
 funeral feast, and food and personal effects, including his comb, 
 are buried with him. The house is " sherh " for three days, 
 during which rice is placed in a small basket in the house and 
 then thrown on to the grave. On the third day the house is 
 purified by the thempu sacrificing a cock. In nearly every 
 clan the house has to be purified by the thempu besprinkling 
 it with either consecrated water or zu, and in many cases the 
 funeral party are similarly purified. The Kolhen bury the 
 bodies of those who die natural deaths in front of their houses, 
 as do the Lushais, and the funeral feast closely resembles that 
 held by the Lushais. The body of a khul-lakpa is carried three 
 times round his memorial stone, from left to right. A bow and 
 arrow are placed in the grave. The village is " sherh " for three 
 days for any death. The Lamgang follow the same customs as 
 the Anal, but the bodies of women who die in childbirth are not 
 buried in the graveyard. The Kom and the Purum have the 
 curious custom that the duty of digging the grave in case of an 
 unnatural death falls on the son-in-law of the deceased. They 
 say that the spirit of the dead cries out at the place where he
 
 i66 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 met his death until appeased by an offering of tobacco leaves 
 and rice. The Tikhup funeral is exactly the same as that of an 
 ordinary Lushai. The Vaiphei dress up the corpse and strap it 
 on to a bamboo frame, as do the Lushais, and feast around it 
 for three days if food and drink suffice for so long. At the end 
 of the feast the thempu pours some zu down the throat of the 
 corpse and bids the spirit go in peace, and the body is carried 
 to the grave, but if the deceased has attained Thangchhuah 
 honours, it is first carried round the village. The household of 
 the deceased abstain from washing or dressing the hair till some 
 wild animal has been killed. The custom of giving something 
 to the maternal grandfather or uncle on the occasion of a death, 
 known among the Lushais as " lukawng," is found among 
 several clans. Among the Tikhup and Kolhen, for instance, he 
 receives the neck of the animal killed on the occasion of the 
 funeral; and in the last-named clan he also receives a pipe or 
 Rs. 2/-. The custom known among the Kabul and other allied 
 tribes in Manipur as " mandu," which ordains that a widower 
 shall pay his deceased wife's father a certain sum as the price 
 of her bones, is only found among the Kolhen, with whom it is 
 usual to pay Rs. 5/- or 6/-. Among the Kolhen a child dying 
 within ten days of its birth is buried under the eaves of the 
 house, and is called " thichhiat " equivalent to the " hlamzuih " 
 among the Lushais. 
 Festivals. 1. Connected with Crops. — The Tikhup, the only monothe- 
 istic clan in the hills, have no ceremonies connected with the 
 crops, but allow no dancing, singing, or music in the village 
 between the sowing and the reaping. 
 
 Among the other Old Kuki clans there is a great resemblance 
 between the festivals, and their connection with the Lushai 
 " Kuts " can be easily traced — in some cases, as among the 
 Kom, the name being actually the same. 
 
 A festival which is common to several clans and generally 
 takes place in the spring, though sometimes later, and is 
 supposed to ensure good ■ crops and good luck generally, is 
 known by various similar names, all meaning " Pulling the 
 Creeper." 
 
 Kolhen " Keidun " Festival. — This occurs in April. The 
 first day, called " Karamindai," or " Changritakhoi," is occupied
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 167 
 
 by the young men going off to bring in two long creepers. A 
 fowl and a pig are sacrificed and the creepers are hung over a post. 
 On the next day the creepers are brought to the khul-lakpa's 
 stone, and he, saying certain charms, pours out a libation of 
 rice beer, and then a tug of war takes place between two parties 
 selected as follows :— On one side are all the young men of the 
 khul-lakpa's family — viz., the Chongthu — and on the other those 
 of the Jete, to which the lup-lakpa belongs. With the Chongthu 
 pull the young men of the following families — viz., Tulthung, 
 Maite, Tiante, Laishel, Songchungnung, while with the Jete are 
 associated the young men of the Lunglai, Rembual, Mirem 
 Tumtin, and Vanbie. The girls of each family pull on the 
 opposite side to the young men of their family. While the pull 
 is in progress the khul-lakpa sings a song, and when he reaches 
 a certain point the rope is cut in two by a man who stands 
 waiting with a dao. The pull is repeated with the second 
 creeper, and each party carries off the ends it has retained. 
 Marriages are only allowed between the young people who 
 pull on the same side, with the exception of the Chongthu, 
 who, being of the chief's family, may marry a girl of any 
 family except their own. During the festival no work 
 of any sort must be done, but otherwise there are no restrictions 
 as regards villagers or strangers, but the khul-lakpa must 
 abstain from work and from cohabitation for two or three days 
 before. Should a death occur a day or two before the date 
 fixed for the festival, the fact will not be recognised till the 
 completion of the feast, when the funeral ceremonies will take 
 place as if the death had occurred on that day, the corpse being 
 kept outside the village during the interval. 
 
 The Anal and Lamgang, as usual, observe the festival in a 
 similar manner. The creeper having been brought to the gate 
 of the village, the headmen and the thempu receive it, and 
 the latter, muttering prayers, pours over it a libation of rice beer, 
 and then ties a piece of it to the gate. The remainder is cut 
 up and a piece is tied to each house in the village. The 
 thempu goes round at night throwing a piece of turmeric into 
 each house and calling out as he throws each piece, " From to- 
 day may all evil and misfortune run away from this house." ^ 
 ' Compare tho Synteng custom of beh-dieng-khlam, — P. R. G.
 
 i68 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The Purum celebrate the festival in August, and the 
 unmarried girls take a prominent part in the ceremonj'. A 
 raised platform is made before the house of the eldest 
 unmarried girl in the village. (In a community where there 
 is no dearth of husbands, and every girl is sure of being 
 married in due course, the prominence given to the eldest 
 spinster is not objected to as it might be in an English village.) 
 On this platform the girls assemble, and the creeper after the 
 usual ceremonies is tied to the platform, and there is a great 
 feast with much dancing between the young folk. 
 
 The similarity between these festivals and the " Koi-hrui-an- 
 chat," mentioned under the Ngente, bears out the truth of the 
 tradition that these clans long ago were near neighbours. 
 
 The Chiru at the time of cutting the jhums go in procession 
 with drums and gongs to the place chosen and on their return 
 drink much rice beer. In March or April, before the sowing, a 
 festival called " Arem " is celebrated. On the first day a dog 
 is killed at a stone to the west of the village, and a pig to the 
 north in the direction of the hill Kobru. All the men attend, 
 but no women. The animals are killed by the thempu. 
 The flesh is eaten there by the whole party, and the " sherh " 
 are left at the place of sacrifice. There is then a drinking 
 party in the house of the thempu. On the second day all the 
 young men go and catch fish, and on their return they are 
 entertained with two pots of rice beer by the unmarried girls. 
 On the third day the lup-lakpa gives a feast of meat and rice, 
 washed down by much rice beer, to the men only, and later all 
 dance in front of the " chhirbuk " — i.e., Lushai zawlbuk. 
 
 The fourth day is spent in visiting each other, drinking and 
 singing at each other's houses. As soon as it is dark men and 
 women meet before the chhirbuk and dance round the stone 
 drinking ; then they go to the lup-lakpa's house and drink again, 
 and then to a house where all the unmarried girls are collected 
 and drink again, and then bring the girls to the chhirbuk 
 and dance round the stone again, drinking as they go. This is 
 a pretty heavy day's work, and it speaks well for the young 
 folk if many of them have the energy to complete the pro- 
 gramme by drinking and dancing together on the fifth day. 
 During the festival the village is " sherh."
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 169 
 
 The Chawte, before cutting their jhums, sacrifice a pig and 
 go down to the stream and sharpen their daos — " Ti'ust in God, 
 but keep your powder dry." The above festivals correspond to 
 the " Chap-char-kut " of the Lushais, and the following resemble 
 the " Mim-kut." The Purum in September observe " Chulkut " 
 for five days, making and exchanging rice cakes and drinking 
 rice beer, but not sacrificing any animals. The Kolhen observe 
 " Chamershi " for two days in the middle of the rains — viz., in 
 July or August. A pig and a cock are sacrificed in the khul- 
 lakpa's house and eaten there by men only. Old men dance, 
 and rice beer is drunk. This feast is supposed to expel evil 
 spirits. The Chiru in July sacrifice a pig on behalf of the 
 village to Pathian, while each household offers him a fowl. 
 This feast is called the " feast of the hot season rest " — i.e., the 
 few days of leisure after the second weeding of the crops. 
 
 The Aimol, after burning the jhums, celebrate a feast they 
 call " Lo-an-dai." Three fowls are killed and eaten in the 
 khulpu's house, and rice beer is drunk, but no gong-beating or 
 singing is allowed. 
 
 After the harvest, feasts corresponding to the Lushai " Polkut" 
 are held, but among the Purum a feast called " Shanghong " 
 has to be celebi-ated in October, just when the grain is filling in 
 the ear. Every householder has to bring a small sheaf of the 
 green rice, which is presented to the village god, and feasting 
 and drinking goes on for three days, during which time the 
 village is " sherh." The Kolhen, before reaping the crop, carry 
 the khul-lakpa or lup-lakpa out of the village towards the 
 fields with beating of drums, and later drink at his expense. 
 
 The Kom call the harvest festival " Lam-kut." It lasts three 
 days. No sacrifice is performed, but the young men and girls 
 dance and drink together. 
 
 Among the Chawte the custom is practically the same as 
 among the Purum, save that the feast only lasts one day. 
 
 The Lamgang and Anal harvest festival is practically the same. 
 In each case the best crop in the village is reaped by the whole 
 community going to the field with dance and song, and subse- 
 quently the lucky owner of the crop has to entertain the village 
 for three days. It would appear that all good Lamgangs and 
 Anals must pray to have the second best crop. On the second
 
 170 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 day of the feast the consumption of meat and tobacco, the 
 carrying of water and wood, and working with axes or hoes are 
 tabu. The feast closely resembles the " Buh-Ai " of other clans. 
 The Aimol custom is very different from that of the other clans. 
 All the men go out in search of game, the flesh of which is 
 eaten in the evening, and drums are beaten and songs sung 
 while the rice beer circulates freely, in contrast to the feast at 
 the sowing time. Dancing is, however, tabu. The harvest feast 
 is called " Sherh an long." 
 
 The Lamgang have an extra feast, or rather period of rest, 
 when the grain is all garnered, when for ten days no one may 
 enter or leave the village, and no work can be done, the whole 
 energies of the community being concentrated on eating and 
 drinking well. 
 
 2. Feasts Corresponding with the Thangchhuah Feasts of 
 the Lushai. — The idea of " Thangchhuah " is found in some 
 form or other in all clans. Even in those clans who have no 
 very clear conception of a special abode for the spirits of those 
 who have earned good fortune in the world beyond the grave 
 by feasts and killing men and animals here below, we find 
 feasts the giving of which confers on the giver special considera- 
 tion among his fellow-villagers and entitles his corpse to special 
 funeral honours. All these feasts seem more or less connected 
 with the erection of some form of memorial — either a post, such 
 as the Lushai " she-lu-pun," which finds its counterpart among 
 several Old Kuki clans, but among them the erection of the 
 memorial is the important part of the ceremony, whereas 
 among the Lushais the killing of the animal is the more im- 
 portant and the feast is named after that, not after the planting 
 of the post ; or a stone or a heap of stones, or a paved platform. 
 All these are erected during a man's life and are quite distinct 
 from the memorials erected in memory of the deceased, 
 and thus connect the Lushai-Kuki race with the Nagas> 
 among whom the erection of stones is a very important 
 function. 
 
 The " Mi-thi-rawp-lam" is not included in the Thangchhuah 
 series by any of these clans — in fact, it seems to be omitted by 
 all clans not living under Lushei chiefs. These all have a 
 special annual ceremony to lay the ghosts of those who have
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 171 
 
 died during the preceding year. The explanation of this seems 
 to be that among the Lushais the clans have all been broken 
 up and are scattered in different villages, and therefore an 
 annual clan ceremony is not possible, and it has become a virtu- 
 ous act for some wealthy member of the clan to celebrate the 
 feast in honour of the dead of the clan. Among the clans which 
 have retained their corporate existence the annual ceremony is 
 natural, and therefore it is excluded from the Thangchhuah 
 series. 
 
 The Tikhup can earn consideration after death by giving a 
 single feast. The young men and maidens collect a big heap 
 of stones and arrange a seat of honour near it for the giver of 
 the feast, who is carried down on a litter. The young folk dance 
 and sing and drink before him, and then he is carried back to 
 the ^dllage and has to present a mithan to the young men, who 
 feast on it for a day and a night at the house of their leader. 
 A song is composed in honour of the giver of the feast, which 
 is sung at all subsequent feasts. 
 
 The Lamgang, Kom, Kolhen, and Anal put up wooden posts, 
 the Chawte erect a post and pave a piece of ground in front of 
 it, while the Aimol put up a stone and make a pavement. 
 Mithan and pigs are killed, and a feast given which lasts 
 several days, the cost being met by the person ambitious of 
 fame. 
 
 The Chiru alone seem to have no idea of Thangchhuah, 
 and, as noted before, have no idea of a special abode for good 
 spirits. 
 
 The Vaiphei have to give two feasts, at the first of which 
 one, and at the second two or more, mithan are killed. The 
 Kolhen, on occasion of putting up the post, sacrifice a mithan 
 thus : — The thempu first throws an egg at the forehead of the 
 mithan, muttering a charm to drive away all evil ; the animal 
 is then speared until blood is drawn, after which it may be 
 shot. They also give the following feasts as part of the 
 Thangchhuah ceremonies : — " Khuang-that " — i.e., " making a 
 drum." The first day is occupied in bringing the log which is 
 to be hollowed into the drum ; on the second there is a dance 
 outside the house of the giver of the feast ; on the third the 
 mithan is killed after a thempu has broken the egg on its
 
 1/2 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap, 
 
 forehead, and then another thempu invokes its spirit, blowing 
 rice-beer over the body, as at the Fanai festival, p. 138. The 
 fourth and fifth days are occupied with feasting. 
 
 " Lungainai " — i.e., "collection of stones" — this is very similar 
 to the Tikhup festival, with the carrying of the giver omitted \ 
 a mithan is killed as above described. The Aimol have also 
 the drum-making feast, and another in which the giver is 
 carried on a litter, but no heap of stones is made. On 
 each occasion much rice-beer and flesh has to be con- 
 sumed. 
 
 3. Other Feasts. — Mostly annual, if necessary provisions are 
 forthcoming. Some of these probably have reference to the 
 crops. 
 
 The Purum celebrate " Yarr " in February for seven days. 
 Dancing begins each evening at sundown, and is kept up all 
 night with feasting and drinking. In March they keep 
 " Kumyai " for three days, the young men and maidens dancing 
 and drinking together, but no animals are killed. This seems 
 probably equivalent to the " Chap-char-kut " of the Lushais, 
 but both it and the Yarr are said to be to please the 
 village god, without any special reference to the crops. The 
 Lamgang have a peculiar feast early in May, when the young 
 men plant a very tall bamboo, from the end of which hangs a 
 wooden representation of a bird, at which every man in turn, 
 commencing with the thempu and the khul-lakpa, shoot with 
 bows and arrows. Mithan are killed and eaten. No woman is 
 allowed to join this festival. 
 
 The Chiru and Kolhen celebrate a somewhat similar festival 
 called " Ratek " in the middle of August. A pig and a dog 
 are sacrificed by the thempu outside the village, on the side 
 towards Kobru, and then two or three days later an offering of 
 zu is placed in a small bamboo tube beside the water supply, 
 and the drum is beaten for some time ; the party then return 
 to the khul-lakpa's house and are treated to a drink. The 
 following day a tall bamboo is planted in the village with a 
 wonderfully ornamented basket hanging from it, and much zu 
 drunk. The following year the bamboo is taken up and 
 thrown away, the festival being named " Ratek poiyi " (c/. 
 Lushai " pai," to throw away). Before the feast young men go
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 
 
 ■/ 5 
 
 hunting, and if they are successful good luck is sure to follow. 
 The first day of the feast a pig and a dog are sacrificed, and zu 
 drunk ; on the second, the bamboo is thrown away and more 
 zu drunk in the house of the khul-lakpa. On the third day 
 the unmarried girls of the village give a drinking feast to 
 the young men, and both dance together. Should the zu 
 sufiice this portion of the festival may be prolonged for several 
 days. 
 
 It is believed that unless these two festivals are carried out 
 every year in their proper rotation, there will be serious 
 mortality among the elders of the village. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have found two more small clans, 
 which evidently belong to the Old Kuki group — Lonte or 
 Ronte, of whom there are only nine households, living along- 
 side of the Burma road, close to the Chawte hamlet, with 
 whom they are classed by the Manipuris ; and Tarau, 
 eighteen households living slightly to the south of the Burma 
 road. 
 
 The Ronte clan is divided into two families, called Lanu and 
 Changom. Marriages can only be made with members of the 
 other family of the clan. They say that they came from the 
 Ngente hill far to the south {v. Ngente clan), and claim some 
 connection with the Chiru and Aimol. 
 
 The Tarau clan is divided into four families, and mar- 
 riages are restricted as among the Chawte, Chiru, and 
 Kolhen, 
 
 A youth of the Pachana family must marry a girl of the 
 Tlangsha family. 
 
 A youth of the Tlangsha family must marry a girl of the 
 Thimasha family. 
 
 A youth of the Thimasha family must marry a girl of the 
 Khulpu-in famil3\ 
 
 A youth of the Khulpu-in fixmily must marry a girl of the 
 Pachana family. 
 
 In both clans the young men sleep in any house, except 
 their parents', in which there are unmairied girls. The 
 Ronte say that formerly they built zawlbuks like the 
 Lushais. 
 
 The price of a Tarau girl is a gong or Rs. 30/-, or five years
 
 174 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 service in the girl's father's house. The Ronte maiden's price 
 is two gongs, and her proper husband is her maternal first 
 cousin. In both clans a fowl has to be killed by the khulpu 
 at the time of the marriage, and the Ronte tie some of its 
 feathers round the necks of the couple. Should a Tarau 
 maiden be led astray both parties are fined a pot of rice-beer, 
 which the villagers share, and the seducer pays the girl's father 
 one pig. The child, when old enough to leave the mother, 
 becomes the property of the father, A Ronte mother must 
 not leave her house till five days after the birth of a daughter 
 and seven after that of a son. On the day of the birth there 
 is a feast, and on the fifth or seventh day, according to the 
 sex of the child, a fowl is killed by the khulpu, and the 
 child's hair is cut, its ears pierced, and its name decided 
 on, the choice being made from the names of its forefathers. 
 The house is purified by being sprinkled with zu by the 
 khulpu. 
 
 Among the Tarau, the period during which the mother may 
 not leave her house is prolonged to ten days, at the expiry of 
 which the khulpu kills a cock for male child and a hen for girl, 
 and then purifies the house. 
 
 In both clans the dead are buried in a cemetery situated 
 to the west of the village, while the corpses of those who 
 have died unnatural deaths are buried elsewhere with 
 no ceremony. Women dying in childbirth among the 
 Tarau are buried by old men, who have no further 
 hope of becoming fathers, far from the village, while persons 
 being killed by wild animals, or by some accident, such as a 
 fall from a tree, are buried where they die. Persons who are 
 drowned are buried on the bank of the river where the body 
 is found, the grave being dug at the spot where some water 
 thrown up by hand from the river happens to fall. This 
 custom also exists among the Shans of the Upper Chindwin^ 
 which lends some colour to the tradition that the Tarau 
 sojourned in Burma before entering Manipur. Among the 
 Ronte, women dying in childbirth, and all children dying 
 under a year of age, are buried to the east of the village, 
 while accidental deaths necessitate the burial being made to 
 the south. The funeral takes place on the day of death except
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 175 
 
 in the case of old men, whose corpses are kept for a day while 
 their friends eat, drink, and dance before them. Whatever 
 animals can be spared are killed in the honour of the deceased, 
 and their sherh are buried with him, together with some rice. 
 Every day till the " Papek " feast, in honour of those who have 
 died mthin the year, rice and zu are placed on the grave. At 
 Papek a platform of bamboo is constructed near the cemetery, 
 and on it are placed such offering of flesh as the family 
 can afford ; much zu is drunk and all dance. The Rente 
 Sakhua sacrifice consists of a goat, dogs and mithan being 
 prohibited. 
 
 Although the Tarau, from their language, are evidently 
 closely allied to the Lushais, they are the only Old Kuki clan I 
 have met which does not worship Pathian. They denied all 
 knowledge of that name, affirming the name of their god was 
 "Rapu," to whom the Manipuri name of " Sankhulairenma " has 
 been given. Rapu has a shrine just above the Burma road 
 near to Tegnopal, where every year fish, rice, and zu are offered 
 to him. When the rice begins to fill in the ear there is a five 
 days' feast in the village, during which time the young people 
 dance and drink. A pig is killed, and the liver, ears, feet, and 
 snout are offered to Rapu. These are called " sar " (c/. Lushai 
 " sherh "). Before the cutting of jhums commences a small 
 pig or a fowl is sacrificed to Rapu so that no one may be cut 
 with a dao during the clearing of the jhums. Dogs are not 
 eaten or sacrificed by the Tarau or the Rente ; the latter also 
 consider the mithan unfit for a sacrifice. In these particulars 
 they form an exception to the general custom of Kuki 
 clans. 
 
 The Rente have a feast called " Va-en-la," which is given with 
 the idea of enhancing the gi\ er's importance in this world and 
 assuring him comfort in the next. A pig is killed and thirty 
 pots of zu are prepared, and the whole village makes merry. 
 A long bamboo is planted in front of the house of the giver of 
 the feast. Throughout its length this bamboo is transfixed 
 with crosspieces of bamboo about 18 inches long; from its end 
 depends a bamboo representation of a bird, whence the name 
 of the feast — "va," in Route, as in Lushai, meaning "a bird," and 
 " en," " to see."
 
 1/6 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 To show the similarity between the Tarau and the Lushai 
 language I give a few words of each. 
 
 English. 
 
 One 
 
 Two 
 
 Three ... 
 Four 
 
 Five 
 
 Six 
 
 Seven 
 Eight 
 Nine 
 
 Ten 
 
 Father .. 
 Mother .. 
 
 Son 
 
 Daughter 
 House 
 
 Sun 
 
 Moon 
 Water . . 
 
 Dog 
 
 Mithan . 
 
 Tree 
 
 Jhum 
 
 Lushai. 
 Pa-khat . 
 Pa-hnih . 
 Pa- 1 hum 
 Pali 
 Pa-nga . 
 Pa-ruk . 
 Pa-sari . 
 Pa-riat . 
 Pa-kua . 
 Shoni 
 Pa ... . 
 Nu ... . 
 Fa-pa 
 Fa-nu 
 In ... , 
 Ni ... , 
 Thla 
 Tui ... 
 
 Ui ... . 
 
 Shial 
 Thing 
 Lo ... 
 
 Tarau. 
 Khat. 
 Ni. 
 
 Thum. 
 Ma-li. 
 Ranga. 
 Kuruk. 
 Siri. 
 Tirit. 
 Ku. 
 Shorn. 
 Pa. 
 Nu. 
 
 Sha-pa. (Thado, "chapa.") 
 Sha-nu. 
 Ini. 
 Ni. 
 Thla. 
 
 Tui. To carry water, ' ' tui 
 choi," in both dialects. 
 Uh. 
 Shil. 
 Thing. 
 Lou. 
 
 The east and west in Tarau are called " ni-chhuak-lam " and 
 " ni-thlak-lam," which are pure Lushai for " the direction of sun 
 rising and sun setting." 
 
 Folklore. 
 
 1. Legends. — A large number of tales have been collected by 
 Babu Nithor Nath Banerji, of the Manipur State Office, from 
 which I select the following. They have all to a certain extent 
 suffered by being told to the Babu in Manipuri instead of in 
 the vernacular of the relaters. This accounts for Manipuri 
 names being used in some cases. 
 
 The following is a tale told by the Anals :— " Once upon a 
 time the whole world was flooded. All were drowned except 
 one man and one woman, who ran to the highest peak of the 
 Leng hill [this is interesting, as Leng is the name of one 
 of the highest hills in the present Lushai Hills], where they 
 climbed up a high tree and hid themselves among its branches. 
 The tree grew near a large pond, which was as clear as the eye 
 of a crow. They made themselves as comfortable as they could,
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 177 
 
 being determined to spend the night there. They passed the 
 night, sometimes exchanging whispers, and in the morning they 
 were astonished to find that they had become a tiger and a 
 tigress. [This changing of human beings into animals reminds 
 one of the Lushai Thimzing legend.] Pathian, seeing the sad 
 state of the world, sent a man and a woman from a cave, which 
 was on the hill, to re-people it. The man and the woman 
 emerging from the cave were terrified at seeing the two huge 
 animals, and addressed Pathian thus : ' Father, you have 
 sent us to re-people the world, but we do not think that we 
 shall be able to carry out your intention, as the whole world is 
 under water, and the only spot on which we could make a 
 resting place is occupied by two ferocious beasts which are 
 waiting to devour us ; give us strength to slay these animals.' 
 After which they killed the tigers and lived happily and begat 
 man}^ sons and daughters, and from them the world was 
 re-populated." 
 
 The following tale told by the Kolhen resembles in many 
 particulars the story of Kungori told by Colonel Lewin, which 
 is given below : — 
 
 The Story of Fachirang and Rangcliar. 
 
 " Once upon a time there lived a widow ; she had a daughter 
 whose beauty attracted many young men of the village. One 
 day a tiger came in the shape of a man and asked to marry the 
 girl. She was much frightened and kept silence. The tiger- 
 man was angry at her behaviour, and recited a charm which 
 made her ugly. Her mother said, ' Look ! my daughter who 
 was the most beautiful girl in the village has become ugly ; if 
 a man can restore her beauty he may marry her, and if a 
 woman can do it she shall be my friend.' On hearing this, the 
 tiger-man came to the old woman and said, ' Oh ! Granny, I am 
 a stranger, and have come from a distant village ; let me put 
 up in your house. The old lady agreed, and after a few days 
 he said, ' Oh ! Granny, why are you so sad ? Tell me the cause 
 of your sorrow. Perhaps I can remove it.' ' Ahis, my boy, it 
 is beyond your power to do so,' she replied. The; tiger-man, 
 however, pressed her to toll him, and at last she did so, where- 
 upon he replied, * All right, if I cure her you will give her to 
 
 N
 
 178 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 me,' and in a few days he had restored her beauty, and they 
 were married and lived together in her mother's house for many 
 years. At length he asked permission to take his wife to his 
 own home, and they started, but no sooner had they passed the 
 village gate than he was changed into the shape of a tiger, and 
 his wife wept much at seeing him thus. An old woman of the 
 village saw them and came and told the people that a tiger 
 was carrying ofif the girl, so the villagers assembled to consult, 
 but no one would volunteer for the task of rescuing the girl. 
 At last Fachirang and Rangchar, two brothers, set oil with a 
 dao and a spear to kill the animal, but after going a very little 
 way Fachirang, the elder brother, said, ' Oh ! Rangchar, I 
 don't know what is the matter, but my heart beats so flist that 
 I must remain here ; you go and see if you can kill the beast 
 alone.' So the younger brother went on alone till he came to 
 the place where the tiger and the girl were living happily. 
 Rangchar thrust his spear into the breast of the tiger, and it 
 died at once, and Rangchar carried off the girl and returned to 
 where his brother was waiting, and they all three set out 
 for home together. The elder brother married the girl, and 
 they all lived happily together." 
 
 The Story of Ki'tng6ri. 
 
 (From " Progressive Colloquial Exercises in the Lushai Dialect " 
 
 by Captain H. Lewin, 1874.) 
 
 Her father, who was unmarried, was splitting cane to make a 
 
 winnowing basket when he ran a splinter into his hand : the 
 
 splinter grew into a little child ; (after a time) the child was 
 
 brought forth motherless and they called her Kung(5ri. They 
 
 fed her with single grains of millet and rice, and so little by 
 
 little she grew big. Two or three years passed by and she 
 
 attained puberty ; she was very pretty, and all the young-men 
 
 of the village wanted to marry her, but her father refused them 
 
 all. Then the young tiger-man, Keimi, took up the impression 
 
 of her foot and wrapped it up and placed it on the bamboo 
 
 grating over the house fire to dry. Then Kungori became ill. 
 
 Kimg6ri's father said, " If there be anyone that can cure her, 
 he shall have my daughter." All the villagers tried, but not
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 179 
 
 one of them could do any good. Then the young tiger-man 
 came. " I will cure her, and I will marry her afterwards," said 
 he. Her father said, " Cure the girl first and you may then 
 have her." 
 
 So he cured her ; the footprint which he had placed to dry on 
 the fire-shelf he opened out and threw away. Kung(jri became 
 well and Keimi married her. "Come, Kungdri," said he, "will 
 you go to my house ? " So they went ; on the road Keimi 
 turned himself into a tiger, Kungori caught hold of his tail, and 
 they ran like the wind. Some women of the village were 
 gathering wood and they saw this, so they went back home and 
 said to Kung6ri's father, " Your daughter has got a tiger for a 
 husband." Kungori's father said, " Whoever can go and take 
 Kungori may have her," but no one dared to take her. How- 
 ever, Hpohtir and Hrangchal, two friends, said, "We will take 
 her." Kungori's father said, " If you are able to take her you 
 may have her," so Hpohtir and Hrangchal set off. Going on 
 they came to Keimi's village. The young tiger-man, Keimi, 
 had gone out hunting; before he reached his house Hpohtir 
 and Hrangchal went to Kung(5ri. " Kungori," said they, 
 " where is your husband ? " " He is gone out hunting," she said, 
 "but will be home directly." On this they became afraid, and 
 Hpohtir and Hrangchal climbed up on to the top of the high 
 fire-shelf Kungori's husband arrived. " There is the smell of 
 a human being," said he. " It must be my smell," said 
 Kiing^ri. Night fell ; everyone ate their dinners and lay down 
 to rest. In the morning Kungori's husband again went out 
 to hunt. A widow said (to the two friends), " If you are going 
 to run away with Kungori take fire-seed, thorn-seed, and water- 
 seed (with you)." So they took fire-seed, thorn-seed, and water- 
 seed, and they took Kiingori also and carried her off. 
 
 Kungori's husband returned home. He looked and found 
 Kungori was gone, so he followed after them in hot haste. A 
 little bird called to Hrangchal. " Run ! run ! Kungori's 
 husband will catch you," said the bird. So (the friends) 
 scattered thu fire-seed, and the jungle and undergrowth burnt 
 furiously, so that Kungori's husband could not come any 
 further. Wht-n the fire subsided he again resumed the 
 pursuit. 
 
 N 2
 
 i8o THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 The little bird cried to Hrangchal, " He is catching you up." 
 So they scattered the water-seed, and a great river rose. How- 
 ever, Kiingori's husband waited for the water to go down, and 
 when the water went dowTi he followed after them as before. 
 
 The bird said to Hrangchal, " He is after you again — he 
 is fast gaining on you ; sprinkle the thorn-seed," and thorns 
 sprouted in thickets, so that Kiingori's husband could not get 
 on. By biting and tearing the thorns he at length made a way. 
 and again he followed after them. Hrangchal's ^ party became 
 bewildered and hid in a clump of reeds. Hpohtir cut the tiger 
 down dead with a blow of his dao. " I am Hpohtir," ^ said he. 
 So the tiger died. 
 
 Hrangchal and the others went on again until they came to 
 the three cross-roads of Khuavang, and there they stopped. 
 Hpohtir and Hrangchal were to keep guard turn about. 
 Hrangchala went to sleep first while Hpohtir kept watch. 
 
 At night Khuavang came. " Who is staying at my cross- 
 roads ? " he said. Hpohtira (spoke out boldly). " Hpohtira and 
 Hrangchala (are here)," said he, " crouching under the reeds. We 
 cut off the tiger's head without much ado." Khuavang, hearing 
 and becoming afraid, ran off. So Hpohtira (woke up Hrangchal, 
 saying), " Hrangchal, get up ; you stay awake now. I am very 
 sleepy ; I will lie down. If Khuavang comes you must not be 
 afraid." Having said this he slept. Hrangchala watched ; 
 presently Khuavang returned. " Who is this staying at my 
 cross-roads ? " he said. Hrangchala was frightened ; (however), 
 he replied, "Hpohtira and Hrangchala (are here); they killed 
 the tiger that followed them among the reed-roots." But 
 Khuavang was not to be frightened by this, so he took 
 Kung6ri. Kiingori marked the road, trailing behind her a line 
 of cotton thread. They entered into a hole in the earth, and so 
 arrived at Khuavang's village. The hole in the earth was 
 stopped up by a great stone. In the morning Hpohtir and 
 Hrangchala began to abuse each other. Said Hpohtira to 
 Hrangchal, " Fool man ! " said he, " where has Kungori gone to ? 
 On account of your faintheartedness Khuavang has carried her 
 
 1 a is merely the masculine termination. Hrangchal-a is a man's name, 
 Hrangchal-i a woman's. The terminations are often omitted when it is 
 known who is meant.
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS i8i 
 
 off. Away ! you will havo to go to Khuavang's village." So 
 they followed Kung(5ri's line of white thread and found that the 
 thread entered (the earth) under a big rock. They moved away 
 the rock and saw Khuavang's village below them. Hpohtira 
 called out, " Hoy ! give me back my Kiingori ! " Khuavang 
 replied, " We know nothing about your Kungori, whom you 
 were taking away." '' If you do not (immediately) give me 
 Kungori I will use my dao," said Hpohtir. " Hit away," 
 answered Khuavang. With one cut of the dao a quarter of the 
 village died right off. Again Hpohtir cried, " Give me my 
 Kungori," Khuavang said, " Your Kungori is not here." On 
 this Hpohtir and Hrangchal said, " We will come in." " Come 
 along," said Khuavang, so they went in and came to Khuavang's 
 house. Khuavang's daughter was a very pretty girl. " Here is 
 Kungori," said they. " This is not she," said Hpohtir; "give 
 me Kiingori herself." So (at last) they gave her to him. 
 
 They took her away. Kungori said, " I have forgotten my 
 comb." "Go, Hrangchal, and fetch it," said Hpohtir; but 
 Hrangchala — " I dare not. I am afraid," said he. So Hpohtir 
 went (himself) to fetch (the comb). While he was gone Hrangchal 
 took Kungori out and closed the hole with the great stone. 
 After this they arrived at the house of Kimg(5ri's father. 
 " You have been able to release my daughter," said he, " so 
 take her." Kiingdri, however, did not agree. Said Kungori's 
 father, " Hrangchal is here, but where is Hpohtira ? " " We 
 do not know Hpohtira's dwelling-place," he said. So Hrangchala 
 and Kiing6ri were united. Though Kungori did not wish it, he 
 just married her. 
 
 Hpohtira was married to Khuavang's daughter. Beside 
 the house he sowed akoi-seed. It sprouted and a creeper sprang 
 (upwards like a ladder). Hpohtira, when he was at Khuavang's, 
 had a child (born to him), and he cooked some small stones, 
 and when his wife was absent he gave the stones which he had 
 cooked to the child, saying, " Eat." While it was eating 
 Hpohtir climbed up the stalks of the koi creeper and got out. 
 He went on and arrived at the house of Kungori's father. They 
 had killcfl a mithan, and were celebrating the Khuangchoi and 
 dancing. With (me blow Hpohtira cut off the head of 
 Hrangchal !
 
 i82 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 Kungori's father cried, " Why, Hpohtira, do you cut off 
 Hrangchala's head ? " "I was obliged to decapitate him," 
 said Hpohtir. " It was I who released Kung(5ri from Keimi's 
 village — Hrangchala dared not do it. When Khuavang carried 
 off Kiingori also Hrangchala dared not say him nay — he was 
 afraid. Afterwards we followed Kung(5ri's line of cotton thread, 
 which led us to Khuavang's village. Kung6ri (after we had 
 released her from there) forgot her comb ; we told Hrangchal to 
 go and fetch it, but he dared not. ' I am afraid,' said he, so I 
 went to get it. He then took Kung6ri and left me behind, 
 shutting the hole in the earth with a great stone. They went 
 away. I married Khuavang's daughter, and while she was 
 absent I climbed up the stalks of the creeper and came here." 
 On this," Is it so?" said they. 'Then you shall be united." So 
 Hrangchala died, and Hpohtira and Kimgori were married. 
 They were very comfortable together, and killed many mithan ; 
 they possessed many villages, and lived happy ever after. 
 Thus the story is concluded. 
 
 I condense the following tale told by the Kolhen from 
 the obviously embellished version supplied to the Babu : — 
 
 A widow had seven sons and one daughter, called 
 Ringchanghoi, who was very beautiful, and much beloved by 
 her brothers. To prove the truth of their professions of love she 
 sent them off to catch the sun and the moon, that she might 
 wear them as her necklace. Before their departure they built 
 her a fortified house, and told her to remain within it until their 
 return. They also left with her some unhusked rice, which had 
 magical properties, turning red whenever the brothers were in 
 danger. Ringchanghoi one day was sitting in the verandah 
 cleaning her hair when she was seen by the king, who quickly 
 added her to the number of his wives. The youngest brother, 
 returning alone, found the house empty, and at once rejoining 
 the others in the sky, where they were still hunting the sun and 
 moon, told them of the disappearance of their sister. They all 
 returned home, and on entering the house the youngest brother 
 was changed into a parrot, while the others fell down dead. 
 The youngest brother finds his sister and is captured and 
 presented to her, and tells her what has happened, whereupon 
 she sends off her husband, who by a powerful charm restores
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 183 
 
 the dead to life and the youngest brother to his original form, 
 and all ends happily. 
 
 In this tale there is some slight resemblance to the Liishai 
 tale of Rimenhoi, as also there is to the tales told by many clans 
 to account for eclipses of the sun and moon. The Kora, for 
 instance, say that the god Awk-pa was drying his rice when 
 the sun and the moon came riding by and scattered it ; this 
 vexed Awk-pa, who lay in ambush in a cave, and the next time 
 they came he swallowed them. The resemblance between this tale 
 and the Lushai explanation of an eclipse is very marked. The 
 name " Awk " is the same, and the idea of swallowing is 
 preserved. The Purum, while using the same word for an eclipse, 
 have quite a different story : — " Once upon a time there were 
 seven brothers who went into the forest to cut wood, and shot a 
 deer, and ordered the youngest brother to cook it while they 
 went on with their work. The youngest brother, having cooked 
 the meat, put it on some leaves till his brothers should return. 
 Some leaves from a tree fell on the meat, whereupon the deer 
 came to life again and ran away. The brothers returning got 
 angry and, not believing the tale told by the youngest, killed him 
 and put his body under the tree. Some leaves falling on the 
 corpse, it came to life, and the brothers were much astonished 
 and went home, taking some of the leaves, roots, and bark of the 
 tree with them." On their way they saw the body of a dog 
 floating in a river which they had to cross, and put some bark 
 on it and the animal revived. When they reached home they 
 put the bark, leaves, and pieces of root to dry in the sunshine, 
 leaving their dog to watch them. The sun and the moon, 
 perceiving the usefulness of the things, stole them all and were 
 chased by the dog. When the dog gets too near, the sun and the 
 moon hide, thus causing eclipses. The Kolhen have the same 
 name for an eclipse, and their explanation of the phenomenon 
 is much the same. The god Rikumpu left his dog to watch his 
 garden, and the sun and the moon came to steal, and are still 
 being chased by the faithful hound. The Lanigang say that 
 eclipses are caused by their god catching the sun and the moon, 
 who once stole liis tobacco as it was drying. The Anal have 
 much the same idea. The story is worthy of being given at 
 length : — " Once upon a time a very pious man who devoted
 
 i84 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 much time to worshipping God had a pet bitch. The sun and 
 the moon, being envious, tried to take his virtue from the man. 
 To accomplish their wicked purpose they promised to give him 
 their virtue if only he would first entrust them with his. The 
 saint fell into the trap and the celestial rascals ran otf with his 
 virtue. The holy man, finding himself defrauded, ordered his 
 dog to catch the thieves. The dog brought a long pole and 
 climbed up it to reach the fugitives, being followed by her master. 
 She reached the sky and still chases the sun and moon, and some- 
 times catches them. Therefore, when an eclipse occurs the Anal 
 call out, ' Release ! Release ! ' The poor pious man took so long 
 ascending the pole that, before he accomplished the journey the 
 white anbs had eaten up the lower end and the saint fell to the 
 earth and was killed." Thunder and lightning are accounted for 
 by some clans thus : — Wulai the lizard climbs a tall tree and 
 shouts defiance, whereupon God from the sky hurls his axe at 
 him and he runs down, but the tree is burnt up. The Anal and 
 Kom have also a more poetic explanation of lightning — viz., that 
 it is the glitter of God's sword as he plays with it in heaven, 
 while the Purum also say that it is the glitter of his robes. 
 
 Earthquakes are accounted for by assuming the existence of 
 another world below the surface of the earth. The Purum and 
 Kom say that Yangmal the earth worm took a present of a 
 piece of earth to the king of these lower regions. On the way 
 the earth was changed into gold and silver, much to the delight 
 of the monarch, who sent Yangmal back to fetch more, but the 
 worm made excuse that the upper world had been destroyed. To 
 test the truth of this statement the king shakes the world. 
 The Anal and Lamgang say that the people of the lower world 
 shake the upper one to find out if anyone is still alive up there, 
 and so on, an earthquake occurring the Anal and Lamgang 
 villages resound with shouts of " Alive ! Alive ! " Rainbows are 
 accounted for as the lips of God spread in the act of drinking, 
 or simply his glory. 
 
 Note. — I must acknowledge the assistance I have received in preparing the 
 account of these Old Kuki tribes from Babu Nithor Nath Banerji, head clerk 
 of the Manipur State Hill Office. My information regarding the Anal, Kom, 
 Purum, and Lamgang was chiefly from his notes, and in a lesser degree I am 
 indebted to him for details regarding the Kolhen and Chiru,
 
 I'ruuM. 
 
 KHAwri.ANr 
 
 l'^ 
 
 Lamgan(; Man and Woman. 
 
 Al.MOl,. 
 
 yjSffer 
 
 i^ 
 
 CiiiKU. Navtch 
 Hki.mkt ok Hidis. 
 
 CiiiRr, 
 
 ( 'lIlKT. 
 
 I<AN(,I K 
 
 A N A 1 .. 
 
 Anal. 
 
 IkaD^ 'II' KUKI Cl.ANS.
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 185 
 
 Old Kuki Clans — Khawtlang and Khawchhak 
 
 The Old Kiikis who appeared in Cachar about 1780 are 
 described by Lieutenant Stewart as being divided into three 
 clans called Rhangkol, Khelma, and Beteh. The first and last 
 are known in the Lushai Hills as Hrangchal and Biate respec- 
 tively, but the Khelma, whom Dr. Grierson identifies as the 
 Hallam, seem to have emigrated entirely. The Hrangchal and 
 Biate are two of many clans collectively known to the Lushais 
 as Hmar — i.e., North — from the position of their villages with 
 reference to those of the Lushais, and among themselves as 
 Khawtlang and Khawchhak — i.e., Western and Eastern Villages 
 I have found representatives of 16 clans in the Lushai Hills 
 and adjoining portions of Manipur. The most important are 
 Loitlang, subdivided into six families; Hrangchal, with four 
 families ; Thiak, with five families ; and Biate, with the same 
 number. The old village sites of many of these clans are still 
 called by their names. The Hrangchal are said to have had a 
 large village at Vanlaiphai, in the centre of which valley is a 
 large memorial stone with many carvings on it, which is said to 
 have been erected in memory of Chonluma, a famous Hrangchal 
 chief of bygone days. The Biate assert that when they lived 
 on the hill of that name they were attacked by huge eagles, 
 and had to build stone shelters in which to hide their small 
 children. These erections are still to be seen, and consist of 
 three rough slabs of stone with a fourth as a roof, the whole 
 structure being only about 2 to 3 feet high. It was the Biate, 
 also, who fed Rulpui, as has been described in Part I., Chapter 
 V, 8. The Lungthau, a minor family, attribute their downfall 
 to an attack by Chuckmahs, which led to thc'r seeking refuge 
 with the Sailo chief Lalsavunga, and forming a village at Kelsi, 
 near Aijal, where they were under his protection. 
 
 When the aggressions of the Thangur chiefs disturbed the 
 Khawtlang and Khawchhak one section fled through the 
 country of the Thados into Cachar, another took refuge among 
 the Chhinchhuan, a Thado ffimily in the southern portion of the 
 Manipur Hills, to whom they paid tribute, and a certain number 
 joined the Thangur villages. Between those who fled to the 
 Chhinchhuan and the Lushais hostilities were carried on until
 
 i86 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 our arrival in 1890, and, as in the case of the Viiite, we found 
 many of them living in a state of semi-slavery in the Sailo 
 villages, whence they have mostly rejoined their relatives, and 
 there are now 296 households of these people in the south-west 
 of the Manipur Hills and more in the adjoining parts of the Lushai 
 Hills. Lieutenant Stewart, in his description of the " Old 
 Kukis," states that ordinarily the dead are cremated, warriors 
 only being buried. I have never heard of any clan in these 
 hills which cremates its dead. The custom may well have died 
 out owing to the natural wish of the relatives to do honour to 
 the deceased by according him the honours of a warrior. 
 Lieutenant Stewart describes a regular marriage ceremony 
 conducted by the headman of the village, at the foot of a large 
 stone erected in the middle of the village. As far as my 
 enquiries go, the marriage ceremonies differ very little from 
 those of the Lushais. 
 
 The dress of the men is the same as among the Lushais, but 
 the women wear a petticoat with a broad white line between two 
 narrower blue ones, and dress their hair in a long plait wound 
 round the head. Zawlbuks are not maintained, but in other 
 respects their villages resemble those of the Lushais. The 
 village organisation is more democratic, the chief being replaced 
 by a headman. The honours of " Thangchhuah " and admission 
 to Pial-ral are obtained by three times celebrating the 
 Buh-ai festival. There is no restriction as to having windows. 
 
 When a young man wishes to marry he sends messengers 
 bearing a blue and a white cloth, a hoe, and a pot of liquor to 
 the girls' parents. This is called " In hawn." If the articles are 
 accepted the marriage takes place as soon as the necessary 
 amount of zu can be prepared. The bride's parents kill a pig 
 and the two families feast together. The girl is conveyed to 
 her husband's house by the men who arranged the marriage, 
 the party being pelted with dirt as among the Lushais. 
 
 In case of adultery, it is the seducer, not the woman's 
 relatives, who have to compensate the injured husband. This 
 is the common rule among non-Lushei clans. 
 
 A boy is named seven days and a girl five days after birth, a 
 red cock being killed and zu drunk. The maternal uncle gives 
 the name.
 
 Ill THE OLD KUKI CLANS 187 
 
 In common with many Old Kuki clans, the dead are buried in 
 a special cemetery outside the village. The corpse of a 
 " Thangchhuah," dressed in fine cloths and the head adorned 
 with a chaplet of the tail feathers of the hornbill, is carried round 
 the village on a bier by all the old people of both sexes, 
 encircled by a ring of dancers singing a dirge to the ac- 
 companiment of drums, and followed by the widow dressed in 
 the scantiest rags and raising loud lamentations. A halt is 
 called opposite the house of every person of importance, and the 
 inmate is expected to regale the party with zu. The circuit of 
 the village completed, the corpse is carried to the grave and 
 buried with rice and other eatables and a flagon of zu. A 
 rough representation of a house is built over the grave and 
 food and drink are placed in it for a year. The grave is fenced 
 round and the heads of any animals which have been killed in 
 the deceased's honour are placed on posts. At the close of a 
 year a cane is stretched between poles over the grave, and from 
 it are suspended pieces of cloth, small baskets containing 
 tobacco and linseed, and the bodies of small animals and birds. 
 This is the final ceremony, and the spirit is supposed to have 
 no further concern with this world. 
 
 The Biate in the Lushai Hills worship the images in the 
 Bhuban caves, but I am told that those in the North Cachar 
 Hills differ in this respect. The three images are called 
 Bolawng Raia, Chhinga Raia, and Maituki Raia, Raia being a 
 corruption of Rajah. A fowl, a pig, two eggs, and two kinds of 
 jungle vegetable called " chinghrut " and " hruitung " are offered 
 to these deities outside the village once a year. The following 
 tale is told to account for this worship of images, which is so 
 opposed to general custom : — Long ago Zatea stole a mi than 
 belonging to two Biate chiefs, Chonlut and Manlal, and on their 
 trying to recover their property they were severely wounded. 
 On their way home they noticed that the leaves of the "bung" 
 tree, a species of Ficufi, attached themselves to their clothes, 
 and at night they dreamt that the leaves spoke, saying, " Do not 
 throw us away ; we are sent by the gods of the Bhuban caves to 
 heal you." They applied the leaves to their wounds and were 
 soon healed, and then set off in search of these new gods.^ It 
 ^ Cf. the Purum talc of the eclipse given on p. 183.
 
 i88 THE NON-LUSHEl CLANS CH. in 
 
 is probable that in the course of their wanderings the Biate at 
 one time lived near the Bhuban, and in that case their adopting 
 the figures as local deities is quite in keeping with what has 
 happened in other clans. Thus the Chiru worship the god of 
 Kobru, though their settlement near that hill is of recent date. 
 The Zote, a clan very closely allied to the Biate, after sacrificing 
 a mithan, place bung leaves in a basket at the foot of the 
 memorial post and throw them away with the " sherh " after 
 three days. This clan pays special honour to Chhura, and after 
 a mithan sacrifice a knotched pole called Chhura's ladder is 
 placed against the gable of the house, and the skull, tail, and 
 entrails are placed over it for three days. The jawbones are 
 hung on a branch specially left for this purpose when the 
 memorial post is being trimmed'; a rough fence is made round 
 the posts, on which matting representations of pythons and a 
 bow with an arrow adjusted are hung. The latter is said to 
 drive off the Huai, and reminds one of the similar custom of 
 the Manipuris on the occasion of erecting the first post of a 
 house.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 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 " Lin- 
 guistic Survey " estimates the numbers as follows : — 
 
 InManipur 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 distiict 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 
 Maiiiy)ur," says, "About the names of those previous to Thado 
 there may be some d()ul)t, but from this great chief, from whom 
 
 189
 
 190 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 connec- 
 tion 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
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 191 
 
 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 over- 
 come 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 McCuUoch 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 con- 
 siderations.
 
 192 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 Mangy el 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 Than- 
 chhing. They are now to all intents and purposes Thados, 
 most of them having even adopted the Sakhua, or domestic
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 193 
 
 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 trifies 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 
 
 o
 
 194 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 remunera- 
 tion 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
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 195 
 
 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 man- 
 slaughter 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 
 
 o 2
 
 196 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 immor- 
 ality 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 break- 
 ing up of villages, coupled with the increased control by Govern- 
 ment 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
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 197 
 
 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 discharg- 
 ing firearms. Here, while passing, the animals are assailed 
 from above with long spears having huge iron barbs covered 
 Avith 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 service- 
 able 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
 
 198 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 chiefs 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.
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 199 
 
 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 
 repi'esentative. 
 
 " 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
 
 200 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 kno"wn 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
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 
 
 201 
 
 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 fore- 
 runner 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 under- 
 ground. 
 
 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.
 
 202 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 offer- 
 ing 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 
 
 )'
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 203 
 
 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 corre- 
 spondent 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
 
 204 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 then- 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 w^ar 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.
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 205 
 
 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 orna- 
 mented 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 lean- 
 ing 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
 
 206 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 
 
 
 iM - . Ill 
 
 
 <^mMiMM
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 207 
 
 well up the whole community goes to the j hums, 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 house- 
 hold 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
 
 2o8 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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."
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 209 
 
 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 pre- 
 pared 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 frontanel 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 Mien 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. The 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, bel'oic they were 
 
 P
 
 2IO THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS , chap. 
 
 born, while in their mothers' wombs, they loved each other. 
 When the bime 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
 
 IV THE THADO CLAN 211 
 
 himself, 'They will stop the holes in the baskets vnth 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 bui"' 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 
 
 p 2
 
 212 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CH. iv 
 
 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."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 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 treacher- 
 ously killed, and hence the feud which has led to so much blood- 
 shed. 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 
 
 213
 
 214 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 lati- 
 tude 22°3'. 
 
 Their villages are more permanent than those of the Lushais 
 though the houses are built of the same materials, the prox- 
 imity 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 compart- 
 ments 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
 
 LAKHER CHIEF AND FAMILY
 
 V THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN 215 
 
 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
 
 2i6 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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 ownei'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 obliga- 
 tion on the part of every male to marry the daughter of a house 
 of higher standing than his own, with the consequently dis- 
 proportionate advance in the amount of the marriage price. 
 Too frequently a male on coming into his inheritance is occupied
 
 V THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN 217 
 
 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 posi- 
 tion 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.
 
 2l8 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PARTICULARS OF MARRIAGE PRICE PAID BY A MARA FOR 
 
 HIS BRIDE.i 
 
 Name of Price. 
 
 0-Eia ... 
 
 Sei-pi-hra 
 
 Chaw chyu ... 
 
 Sci-chei-hra 
 
 N6-hla 
 
 Saw-lila 
 
 Kei-ina. 
 
 Lao-khyu ... . 
 Rai-pi-hra ... . 
 Aw-rua-baw-na . 
 
 Amount of Pbice.- 
 
 Common People. 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 
 Gong (7 spans). 
 
 Gun. 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 
 Gong (7 spans). 
 
 Gun. 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 
 Grong (7 spans). 
 
 Gun. 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 
 Gong (7 spans). 
 
 Gun. 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 sx>aijs). 
 
 Rs. 1/- 
 FuU grown hen 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 21- 
 Brass jiot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 span.s). 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 Ruling Clan. 
 
 Rs. 1.50/- 
 
 One slave. 
 
 Two Mithan. 
 
 Rs. 50/- 
 
 One Mitiian 
 
 (feiuale). 
 
 No. 
 
 Rs. 50/- 
 One Mithan. 
 Gun (syulo). 
 
 Rs. 50/- 
 One Mithan. 
 Gun (syulo). 
 
 Rs. 10/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ka-clia). 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 Rs. 5/. 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 Rs. 10/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Rai-pi). 
 
 Rs. 50/- 
 
 One Mithan. 
 
 Gun. 
 
 10 
 
 To WHOM PRICE IS PAID AND 
 OTHER PARTICULARS IN REGARD 
 
 TO THE Marriage Customs of 
 THE Mara Tribes. 
 
 When the whole family live in 
 the same house, none of the sons 
 having their own liouses, then 
 the Prices Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 
 Nos. 0, 10, 11, have all to be paid 
 to the fatlier of the bride. 
 
 If the family is divided and 
 the eldest son has a house of his 
 own, then the father has price 
 No. 11 and the eldest son must 
 have price No. I, while the 
 prices Nos. 2, 3,4, 5, 6, and Nos. 
 9, 10, are at the eldest son's dis- 
 posal and he may or may not 
 share with the youngest son as 
 he pleases. 
 
 No. 7 has to be paid to the 
 friend of the father of the bride 
 if the sons and father live in the 
 same house. But if the family 
 is divided, the eldest son liaving 
 his own house, then this must be 
 paid to his friend instead of the 
 father's. 
 
 No. 8 has to be paid to the 
 bride's mother's brother (bride's 
 uncle). 
 
 1 At the weilding the bridegroom has to kill half the number of pigs tliat are killed by the 
 bride's family, thus : — 
 
 Bride's family, 5 pigs killed ; the bridegroom kills 3 pigs=8 pigs. 
 10 „ „ „ „ 5 =15 pigs. 
 
 2 The amount of price in these columns are all equal to one another in value and the bride- 
 groom chooses only one out of each price according to what he has.
 
 THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN 
 
 219 
 
 
 KT.^.« »« T)«.»*. 
 
 Amount of Price. 
 
 No. 
 
 To WHOM PRICE IS PAID AND 
 OTHER PARTICULARS IN REGARD 
 
 
 Common People. 
 
 Ruling Clan. 
 
 TO THE Marriage Customs of 
 THE Mara Tribes. 
 
 ci 
 A 
 
 'S 
 
 
 *N 
 
 ci 
 
 CO 
 
 X! 
 
 'a TJ-thei-pa 
 
 a Lia-pa 
 
 a Sei-hnai-pa ... 
 
 Rs. 10/- 
 A "Sisa" bead. 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Brass pot 
 (5 spans). 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 A"Sisa" bead. 
 
 Rs. 10/. 
 A " Sisa" bead 
 
 Rs. 5/. 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 11 
 
 Note. — No. 11, divided into 
 three sums, has to be given on 
 engagement before the marriage, 
 and is kept by the father of the 
 bride. 
 
 PU-MA.i 
 
 A-mapi 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 
 Gong (7 spans). 
 
 Gun. 
 
 Rs. 150/- 
 
 One slave. 
 
 Two Mithan. 
 
 12 
 
 Aw-rua-baw-na 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 Rs. 50/. 
 
 One Mithan. 
 
 Guu. 
 
 13 
 
 N6-hla 
 
 Hs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 10/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 14 
 
 Saw-hla 
 
 Rs. 1/. 
 Full grown hen. 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 15 
 
 Kei-ma 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Beer pot 
 (Ra-oha). 
 
 16 
 
 Lao-l<hyu 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 (4 spans). 
 
 Rs. 5/- 
 Beer pot. 
 (Ra-cha). 
 
 17 
 
 
 'aU-thei-pa 
 
 Rs. 71- 
 A " .>isa " bead. 
 
 Rs. 20/- 
 A "Sisa "bead. 
 
 
 > 
 
 a Lia-pa 
 
 Rs. 2/- 
 Brass pot 
 
 Rs. 10/- 
 A "Sisa" bead. 
 
 18 
 
 C^ 
 
 
 (4 spans). 
 
 
 
 
 a Sei-hnai-pa ... 
 
 R.S. 1/- 
 A large fowl. 
 
 Rs. 21- 
 Biass I'Ot 
 (1 sjiaus). 
 
 
 Pu-nia has to be paid by the 
 bridegroom to the bride's 
 " Pii-p.*i," that is, the bride's 
 mother's brother (uncle). He 
 therefore receives the prices 
 Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15 and IS. 
 
 No. 10 has to be jaid to the 
 friend of the "Pu-pa" (bride's 
 uncle). 
 
 No. 17 has to be paid to the 
 bride's graniimother's brother on 
 her mother's side (bride's great 
 uncle), or it is somctiincs paid 
 to tlie " Pu-pas " (bride's 
 uncles) wife's father (father of 
 aunt by marriage on the 
 mother's side). 
 
 1 If the " Pupa " wishes for the.se prices to be paid he has to go to the bridegroom's house 
 after the marriage (some other day) and kill 11 big pig. Then the jirices have to be met quickly, 
 or at least some of them, and the bridegroom also has to go to the " l'u)iii's" lioiise and kill a 
 pig in exchange for the pig that was killed fur him. If the " Pujia " is deiid (or when dead) his 
 children can claim the prices in bis stead
 
 220 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 DEATH DUEJ 
 
 Namf. of T*RTnp. 
 
 Amount of Price. 
 
 No. 
 
 To WHOM Price is paid and 
 
 OTHER PARTICULARS IN REGARD 
 
 
 Common People. 
 
 Ruling Clan. 
 
 TO THE Marriage Oi'stoms of 
 THE Mara Tribes. 
 
 Ru 
 
 Rs. 10/- or more. 
 Gong. 
 
 This price is 
 often nearly as 
 heavy as the 
 " 0-kia." 
 
 Rs. 80/- or more. 
 
 One Mithan 
 
 (large). 
 
 This price is 
 often nearly as 
 heavy as the 
 "O-kia.' 
 
 19 
 
 At the death of a wife this 
 price has to be paid as a death 
 due by the husband to the dead 
 wife's father or eldest brother as 
 the case may be. 
 
 At the death of a husband the 
 eldest son of the dead 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 posses- 
 sions as a recompense, and he 
 will also care for the widow 
 unless she prefers to go to her 
 own family once again. 
 
 1 The death-due upon a woman is heavier than that upon a man. The death-due upon a 
 prosperous man is more than that ujion a poor man. 
 
 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) ( ine of the ruling clan has to give for his bride about Rs. 671/-, or £44 14s. Sd. 
 Then at death the death-due must be met, for No. 1, from Rs. 10/- to 20/-, or 13/4 to £1 6s. Sd. 
 
 for No. 2, from Rs. SO/- to 150/-, or £5 6s. Sd. 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 wliole. 
 
 Reginald A. Lorrain, 
 May ith, 1911. Pioneer Missionary to (he Lakhers' or Maras\ 
 
 Offences against property and person can generally be settleci 
 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
 
 V THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN 221 
 
 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 itall sorts of animals must 
 be killed and the Ai ceremony performed for each. The 
 Khuangchoi feast is also considered, if not absolutely nccessar}^, 
 at least very useful. Triumphs in the courts of Venus will not 
 help the spirit to pass to Pe-ra'. Women can onl}' reach that
 
 222 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 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, dur- 
 ing 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
 
 <
 
 V THE LAKHER OR MARA CLAN 223 
 
 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 house- 
 hold 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
 
 224 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS ch. v 
 
 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 sur- 
 rounded 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.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 LANGUAGE 
 
 The languages of all the clans dealt with in this monograph, 
 except the Lakher, are very similar, and also bear a strong 
 resemblance to those of their neighbours. 
 
 Dr. Grierson, in the " Linguistic Survey of India," uses the term 
 " Kuki-Chin " to describe all the languages spoken by the clans 1 
 have dealt with and their cognates, but he adds: — " Meithei-Chin 
 would be a better appellation, as the whole group can be sub- 
 divided into two sub-groups, the Meitheis (Manipuris) and the 
 various tribes which are known to us under the names of Kuki 
 and Chin." Dr. Grierson considers that all the Kuki-Chin 
 languages belong to the Burmese branch of the Tibeto-Burman 
 family, and he subdivides them as follows : — 
 
 I. Meithei,* or Manipuri. 
 
 II. Chin languages — 
 
 1. Northern group : Thado, Sokte,* Siyin,* Ralte, and 
 Paite or Vuite. 
 
 2. Central group : Tashon,"^ Lai,* Lakher, Lushai, 
 Banjogi,* and Pankhu.* 
 
 3. Old Kuki group : Rhaugkhol, Bete (Biate), Hallam, 
 Langrong, Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Lamgang, Kolren (Kolhen), 
 Kom, Purum, Mhar (Hmar or Khawtlang), and Cha.* 
 
 4. Southern group : Chinme,* Welaung,* Chinbok,* 
 Yindu,* Chinbon,* Khyang or Sho,* Khami,* 
 
 With reference to the connection between the different clans, 
 Dr. Grierson writes : — " The terms Old Kuki and New Kuki are 
 apt to convey the idea that the tribes so denoted are closely 
 ' Clans marked * are not dealt with in this monograph. 
 
 226 ^
 
 226 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS chap. 
 
 related to each other. But that is not the case. Not only do 
 their customs and institutions differ considerably, but their 
 languages are separated by a large group of dialects in the 
 Lushai and Chin Hills, and the so-called New Kukis (Thados) 
 are, so far as we can see, a Chin tribe, most closely connected to 
 the inhabitants of the northern Chin Hills, while the Old Kukis 
 are related to tribes more to the south." 
 
 The account of the causes of the Old and New Kuki 
 incursions into Cachar, given in Part I, Chap. I, Section 8, 
 which was written before I had read Dr. Grierson's book, agrees 
 entirely with his conclusions. 
 
 A detailed account has been given in Part I of the Lushai 
 language, and, considering the full manner in which the dialects 
 of all these tribes have been dealt with by Dr. Grierson in the 
 " Linguistic Survey of India," it seems superfluous to attempt to 
 give outlines of them, and therefore I propose only to draw 
 attention to the many points of similarity between them. The 
 works I have consulted are : — " The Linguistic Survey of India," 
 Vol. II, Part III, Lorrain and Savidge's " Grammar and 
 Dictionary of the Lushai Language," Mr. T. C. Hodson's 
 " Grammar and Small Vocabulary of Thado," and the appendix 
 to Lieutenant Stewart's " Notes on Northern Cachar," 1855. 
 
 In going through Mr. Hodson's vocabulary of the Thado 
 language, the first thing that struck me was the absence of the 
 letter R. Further examination showed that where R is used in 
 Lushai and certain other languages G or Gh is substituted in 
 Thado. Many instances of this will be found in the following 
 comparative vocabulary. 
 
 In many cases F in Lushai, Rhangkhol, and Langrong is 
 replaced by Ch, sometimes softened into S in Thado, Manipuri, 
 and some Old Kuki dialects. I have so far only found the 
 following examples, but the material at my disposal is very 
 insufficient, and I have no doubt that, given complete 
 vocabularies, many more would be found : — 
 
 " Fa " in Lushai, " cha " in Manipuri and Thado, meaning 
 "child." 
 
 " Far-nu " in Lushai and Langrong, "char-nu" in Aimol, 
 Kolhen and Lamgang, " sar-nu " in Chiru, Kom, and Hallam, 
 meaning " sister."
 
 VI LANGUAGE 
 
 227 
 
 "F{lk"in Langrong, " chak " in Manipuri, " cha " in Aimol, 
 Anal, Kolhen, Lamgang, " shak " in Chiru, meaning '•' to eat." 
 In Lushai we have " chaw-fak-hnn," " rice-eat-time." Until I 
 found that " fak " meant " to eat " in Langrong, the Lushai 
 equivalent for dinner-time had always puzzled me, as the 
 Lushai word for " to eat " is " ei." 
 
 " Fa^vp " in Lushai, " chop " in Thado, " chup " in Purum, 
 meaning " to kiss." 
 
 "Fang" in Bete, "chang" in Thado, meaning "paddy," 
 while " fang " in Lushai means " a orain." 
 
 " Fep " in Lushai, " chop " in Thado, moaning " to suck," as 
 sugar-cane. 
 
 " Feh " in Lushai, " to go to the jhums," " feh " in Rhangkhol, 
 " to go " : " che " in Thado, Aimol, and Anal, and " chatpa " in 
 Manipuri have the same meaning. 
 
 " Fing " in Lushai, " ching " in Thado, " singba " in Manipuri, 
 mean " wise." 
 
 " Fu " in Lushai, " chu " in Thado mean " sugar-cane." 
 
 " Fang-hma " in Lushai, " fung-mat " in Bete, '• chung-mai " 
 in Thado, mean ''a pumpkin." 
 
 N in Lushai sometimes becomes " shi " in Lai or Haka 
 dialect, as " ni " in Lushai and " shi " in Lai, meaning both " to 
 be " and " aunt." 
 
 G and K are often interchanged and also R, L, and N. 
 
 In Liashai we have " lung " meaning both " stone " and 
 " heart," while in Manipuri we have " nung " meaning " stone," 
 and though " heart " is translated by " puk," we have " nung- 
 siba " "to be sad," evidently composed of " nung" and "siba," 
 " to die," and also " imng-ngaiba," meaning ' happy," showing 
 that " nung " once meant heart. 
 
 In many of these languages, similar words are used but have 
 slightly different meanings. For instance, " shang " in Lushai 
 means "tall," while in Thado and Manipuri we have "sang" 
 meaning " long." 
 
 " Leng " in Lushai means "to stroll," and "Icngba" in 
 Manipuri means "to walk," but is only used of important 
 personages who would be likely to move slowly and in a 
 dignified manner. 
 
 In Lushai "shat" means "to cut," but as a Lushai's iiouse 
 
 Q -2
 
 228 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS ch. vi 
 
 consists of timber and bamboos, he always uses " shat " when 
 he speaks of building a house, and we find " sha " in Thado 
 and " saba " in Manipuri mean " to make," " to build." 
 
 In Lushai the verb " ni," "to be," is conjugated completely, 
 but in Manipuri " ni " means " is " and has no other tenses. 
 
 Manipuri : Ma ai-gi i nau ni. 
 
 Lushai : Ama ka nau a ni. 
 
 English : He my younger brother he is. 
 The following comparative vocabulary gives in the first two 
 columns the Thado and English words as given by Mr. Hodson. 
 The first word in the column of remarks is always Lushai, and 
 where it has not exactly the same meaning as the Thado word 
 the correct meaning is given ; then follow, where necessary, the 
 equivalents in other dialects. 
 
 About one word in every three given in Mr. Hodson's 
 vocabulary has been found to resemble closely the Lushai word 
 having the same or a similar meaning. Mr. Hodson's 
 vocabulary has no pretensions to be a complete dictionary of the 
 Thado language. Were such available I believe the number of 
 similar words in the two dialects would be found to be even 
 greater. As regards the Old Kuki dialects the information 
 available is not sufficient to make a thorough comparison. It 
 is clear that they are very closely allied to Lushai and Thado 
 and to each other. The connection between Manipuri and 
 what Dr. Grierson calls the Chin languages will, I believe, be 
 found on further enquiry to be closer than at first appears.
 
 COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THADO AND 
 LUSHAI LANGUAGES, WITH NOTES ON THE 
 OTHER CHIN LANGUAGES AND MANIPURI 
 OR MEITHEI. 
 
 Thado. 
 
 English. 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 
 A 
 
 Fowl 
 
 .. Ar. Old Kuki dialects, Ar. 
 
 A-eng or A-j'eng 
 
 Turmeric ... . 
 
 .. Ai-eng. Beteh, Aishel. 
 
 Ai 
 
 Crab 
 
 .. Ai. Beteh, Lie. 
 
 A-le 
 
 True, right ... . 
 
 . . Awle, all right. 
 
 Ashi 
 
 Star 
 
 .. Arshi. Old Kuki dialects the same. 
 
 Ban 
 
 Arm 
 
 .. Ban. 
 
 Bat 
 
 To owe 
 
 .. Bat. 
 
 Be 
 
 To beat a drum . 
 
 . . Beng. 
 
 Be 
 
 Pulse 
 
 . . Be, all sorts of peas and beans. 
 
 Bon 
 
 To wrestle 
 
 Buan. 
 
 Bong 
 
 Cow 
 
 .. Se-bong. 
 
 Bong-hlo 
 
 Mud 
 
 Bol-hlawh. 
 
 Bu 
 
 Paddy 
 
 ■ ^"^^• 
 
 Chem 
 
 Dao ' 
 
 Chem. Same in Old Kuki dialect. 
 
 Chep 
 
 To suck 
 
 .. Fep. 
 
 Chi 
 
 8alt 
 
 Chi ; and in Old Kuki dialects also. 
 
 Chok 
 
 To buy 
 
 .. Chawk. In most Old Kuki dialects, 
 Chok or Chak, and Puruui has 
 Lei, which is the commoner word 
 in Lushai. 
 
 Da 
 
 To spread 
 
 .. Da, to put. 
 
 Choi 
 
 Tired 
 
 .. Chawl, to rest when tiix'd. 
 
 Cham 
 
 Level 
 
 . . Cham. 
 
 Dang 
 
 Other 
 
 Dang. 
 
 Dai-tui 
 
 Dew 
 
 .. Dai. 
 
 Dfingka 
 
 Silver 
 
 .. Tiingka. 
 
 Deng 
 
 To beat 
 
 Deng, to pound, to hammer. 
 
 Ding 
 
 To stand 
 
 .. Ding. 
 
 Di 
 
 Correct 
 
 . Dik. 
 
 Doi 
 
 Magic 
 
 Doi ; and in Old Kuki dialects. 
 
 Doi 
 
 Weak 
 
 Doih, cowardly. 
 
 Dui 
 
 To love 
 
 ,.. Duh, to like, to desire. 
 
 Duni 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 Dum-ci, Dum-bawm, tobacco bo.x ; 
 but the usual woid is Vai-hlo. 
 
 Eng 
 
 Yellow 
 
 .. Fng. 
 
 Ga 
 
 Fruit 
 
 Ra ; al.so Bclcli. 
 
 Gani-la 
 
 Distant 
 
 Ram, country ; Hla, dii^lant. In 
 Old Kuki dialects, La, Hla, and 
 Lak. 
 
 229
 
 230 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 Thado 
 
 English. 
 
 Gam-mang . 
 
 Forest 
 
 Ge ... . 
 Gel ... . 
 
 To pass the night ... 
 
 Hail 
 
 Ghai ... . 
 
 Pregnant 
 
 Ghal ... . 
 Ghi ... . 
 Ghin ... . 
 
 Enemy 
 
 Heavy 
 
 Sound 
 
 Ghop ... . 
 
 Lean 
 
 Ghu ... . 
 
 . ... A bone 
 
 Ghu ... . 
 
 A thief, to .steal ... 
 
 Ghul ... . 
 
 ... A snake 
 
 Gim ... . 
 
 . ... To worry 
 
 Go ... . 
 
 ... A bamboo 
 
 Go ... . 
 
 To cremate 
 
 Ha ... . 
 
 . ... Tooth 
 
 Hal ... . 
 
 . ... To set fire to 
 
 Ham ... . 
 
 . ... Blow through 
 
 Hao ... . 
 
 Rich 
 
 He ... . 
 
 . ... To know 
 
 Hem ... . 
 Hem ... 
 
 ... Sharp 
 
 .. To soothe 
 
 Hla ... . 
 
 . . . . Month, the moon . . . 
 
 Hla ... . 
 
 Wing 
 
 Hla ... . 
 
 ... Song 
 
 Hling ... . 
 
 . ... To suffice 
 
 Hlut ... . 
 
 . ... To enter 
 
 Hon ... . 
 
 ... (harden 
 
 Hot ... . 
 
 . ... To shake 
 
 Hni ... . 
 
 . ... A dog 
 
 In ... . 
 
 ... House 
 
 Kal ... . 
 
 . ... To climb 
 
 Kalson 
 
 . ... To walk 
 
 Kan 
 
 Kap ... . 
 
 . •• Dry 
 
 . ... To shoot 
 
 Kel ... . 
 
 . ... Goat 
 
 Ket ... . 
 
 . ... To be broken 
 
 Kha ... . 
 
 . .. Bitter 
 
 Kha 
 
 . ... Chin 
 
 Khelbuk . 
 Khoi ... . 
 
 . ... Thigh 
 
 . ... Bee 
 
 Khom ... . 
 
 . ... To collect 
 
 Khong 
 
 . ... Drum 
 
 Kho-shi 
 
 . ... To feel cold 
 
 Khu ... . 
 Khubu 
 
 .. Cough 
 
 . ... Knee 
 
 Khut ... . 
 
 . ... Hand 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 Ram. The Lushai Hills being 
 
 covered with forest, Ram means 
 
 both country and forest. Mang 
 
 appears in the Manipuri, U-Mang. 
 Ria(k). Gf. Manipuri. Lek. 
 Rial. Manipuri, Lei. 
 Rai. 
 
 Ral. Manipuri, Lfd ; Beteh, Ral. 
 Rit. Beteh, Rik. 
 Ring, loud. 
 Rawp, to become thin, to waste 
 
 away. 
 Ru ; also in Manipuri and Old Kuki 
 
 dialects. 
 Ru ; also in Beteh. 
 Rul ; also in Old Kuki dialects. 
 
 Manipuri, Lil. 
 Rim, tired, toilworn. 
 Ro, a particular sort of bamboo. 
 Rawh, to heat, to roast. 
 Ha, and in all Old Kuki dialects. 
 Hal ; also in Beteh. 
 Ham, to play a wind instrument. 
 Hao-sak ; the k is nearly silent. 
 Thei, to be able ; Hre or Hriat, to 
 
 know. Manipuri, Heiba, to know 
 
 how to do. 
 Hriam. 
 
 Thlem, to pacify. 
 Thla ; and Manipuri and Old Kuki 
 
 dialects, Tha or Thla. 
 Thla. 
 Hla. 
 
 Tling-tlak, to complete. 
 Lut, 
 Huan. 
 
 Hot, to stir with spoon. 
 Ui. Hui or Ui in Manipuri and all 
 
 Old Kuki dialects. 
 In ; and in all Old Kidii dialects. 
 Kal, to go ; also in Langrong. 
 
 Kang, to dry up. Manipuri, Kangba. 
 
 Kap. 
 
 Kel ; and in all Old Kuki dialects. 
 
 Keh. 
 
 Kha. 
 
 Kha, the lower jaw. 
 
 Khel, side of upper part of thigh. 
 
 Khoi. 
 
 Khon. Manipuri, Khom-silba. 
 
 Khuang. 
 
 Khua a shik. 
 
 Khuh. 
 
 Khup. Manipuri, Khuk-u ; Beteh, 
 
 Rakhuk, 
 Kut. Rhangkhol, <jlut ; all other 
 
 Old Kuki dialects and Manipuri, 
 
 either Khut or Kut.
 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 231 
 
 Thado. 
 
 English 
 
 Keng 
 
 ■• Leg 
 
 Keng bai . . . 
 
 Lame 
 
 Ki 
 
 . . . Horn 
 
 Ko 
 
 Kol a phe 
 Kong . . . 
 Korka . . . 
 Kii ... 
 
 Ku 
 
 Khnl ... 
 Kum . . 
 
 La 
 
 Le 
 
 Le 
 
 Leng 
 
 Lim 
 Lo 
 
 Lo 
 Lo 
 oi 
 
 To call 
 
 To lighten 
 The waist 
 A door ... 
 Village . . . 
 
 To cover... 
 A hole ... 
 Year 
 
 To take . . . 
 
 Lai 
 
 ... Middle, navel 
 
 Lai 
 
 ... To dig 
 
 Laili 
 
 ... Writing, the art 
 
 
 of reading and 
 
 
 writing 
 
 Lam 
 
 ... Direction 
 
 Lambi 
 
 Road 
 
 Tongue . . . 
 
 Earth 
 
 Lei-chung ... 
 
 Bridge .. 
 
 Lei-ka 
 
 ... ^Vhito ant 
 
 Len 
 
 ... Net 
 
 Len 
 
 .. Big 
 
 To fly 
 
 Ffinn, shape ... 
 .Iluiiii, cultivation 
 
 Medicine, drug 
 Suffix of negation. 
 Buffalo 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 
 Ke. 
 
 Ke bai. 
 
 Ki. Manipuri, Chi or Ji ; Beteh, 
 Raki. 
 
 Ko ; and the same in ]\Ianipuri. In 
 most Old Kuki dialects, Ko, Koi, 
 or Kai. 
 
 Kawl a phe ; and the same in Beteh. 
 
 Kawng, the loins. 
 
 Kongkhar. 
 
 Khua. Manipuri, Khul. Variations 
 of this are found in all dialects. 
 
 Khum. Manipuri, Khumba. 
 
 Khur ; and in Old Kuki dialects. 
 
 Kum. ]\Ianipuri, Kumsi, this j^ear. 
 All Old Kuki dialects have Kum. 
 
 Lak, with almost silent k. In all 
 Old Kuki dialects the word is very 
 nearly the same. It also has the 
 meaning to bring, and so may be 
 compared with the Manipuri 
 Lak pa, to come. 
 
 Lai ; and in Beteh also. 
 
 Lai, to dig, to hoe. 
 
 Lai-shuih, paper, reading and 
 writing. Gf. Manipuri, Lairik 
 laishuih, writing materials, and 
 Kachcha Naga, Laishi. 
 
 Lam. Cf. Manipuri, Lom or Rom. 
 
 Lam-lian, though Kong, or Kfd-kong 
 is the general word, Lam-lian 
 being generallj' used for a made 
 road as compared with a path. In 
 Manipuri, Lambi ; and in most 
 Chin and Old Kuki dialects, either 
 Ivam or Lampi. 
 
 Lei. This word with very slight 
 variations is found in Manipuri, 
 Old Kuki, and all Chin dialects. 
 
 Lei. Cf. Manipuri, Leii)ak, earth, 
 country. 
 
 Lei, Lei -lawn. 
 
 Lei-kha. Manipuri, Leisau. 
 
 Len. 
 
 Lian, contracted into Len. Beteh, 
 Lien. Gf. Manipuri, Turel or 
 Turen — ?'.e. , Tui, water, and Len, 
 big, though water in ^lanipuri is 
 Ising. 
 
 Leng, to stroll or final in the air. 
 In Manipuri the word means to 
 walk, but is only u.scd of the Rajah 
 or very imj)ortant persons. 
 
 TIlim, shadow, sluipc, picture. 
 
 Lo. This is another word wliich is 
 found in nearly every dialect. 
 
 Hlo. 
 
 Lo, not. 
 
 Loi. Gf. Manipuii, hoi; lietch, Siloi.
 
 232 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 Thado. 
 
 Lu 
 
 Head 
 
 English. 
 
 Lui 
 
 ... Old 
 
 Lum 
 
 . . . Hot, as water 
 
 Lung 
 
 . . . Heart disposition . . 
 
 Mai 
 
 ... Face 
 
 Maiche 
 
 ... Vegetables 
 
 Man 
 
 Price 
 
 Mang 
 
 ... Dream 
 
 Mang 
 
 ... To lose, to be spoilt 
 
 Mao 
 
 ... Woman 
 
 Me 
 
 ... Fire 
 
 Me 
 
 ... Tail 
 
 Me 
 
 ... Clond 
 
 Me-hol 
 
 ... Charcoal 
 
 Me-khu 
 
 ... Smoke 
 
 Me-tai 
 
 ... Widow 
 
 Mel 
 
 ... Appearance 
 
 Min 
 
 ... Name 
 
 Min 
 
 ... Ripe 
 
 Mi 
 
 ... Person 
 
 Mit 
 
 ... Eye 
 
 Mol 
 
 ... Hill 
 
 Mom 
 
 ... To chew 
 
 Mu 
 
 ... Hawk 
 
 Mu 
 
 ... Beak 
 
 Mu 
 
 To see 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 Lu. Common to all Chin and Old 
 
 Kuki dialects. Cf. Manipuri, 
 
 Luchingba, principal. 
 Hlui ; also in Beteh. 
 Lum. 
 
 Lung ; also in most Old Kaki dialects. 
 Hmai. Manipuri, Mai, and Beteh, 
 
 Hmai. 
 Mai, a pumpkin. 
 Man. Common to Manipuri, Chin, 
 
 and Old Kuki dialects. 
 Mang ; also in Manipuri. 
 Mang, to die out ; Mang ang, to be 
 
 upset in mind. Manipuri, Mangba, 
 
 to lose ; Manghalba, to spoil. 
 Mo, a bride, daughter-in-law. 
 Mei, another universal word. 
 Mei ; also in Manipuri. 
 Ro-mei, haze. 
 Mei-hol. 
 Me-khu. 
 Hmei-thai. 
 
 Hmel, face, appearance. 
 Hming. Manipuri, Ming. 
 Hmin. 
 Mi. This word is found in all the 
 
 dialects under consideration. 
 Mit, which with very slight varia- 
 tions is found in all dialects. 
 Mual, a hill, a spur of a hill. 
 Hmom, to put into the moutli whole. 
 Mu. 
 Hmui, beak, upper lip. In most Old 
 
 Kuki dialects, Mur. 
 Hmu. Similar word used in all Old 
 
 Kuki dialects except Anal, Purum, 
 
 and Lamgang. 
 
 Mnl 
 
 ... Feather, hair, fur... 
 
 Hniul. 
 
 Mu mul 
 
 ... Mou.stache 
 
 Hmui hmul. 
 
 Mut 
 
 ... To sleep 
 
 Mat, lie down, sleep. 
 
 Na 
 
 ... Leaf 
 
 Hna. In Manipuri and Beteh, Na. 
 
 Na 
 
 ... Nose 
 
 Hnar. Manipuri, Chin, and Old 
 Kuki very similar. 
 
 Na 
 
 ... Ill 
 
 Na, pain. Manipuri, Na. 
 
 Nai 
 
 ... Near 
 
 Hnai. Manipuri, Nakpa ; Chin and 
 Old Kuki dialects, Nai or similar 
 words. 
 
 Nal 
 
 ... Slippery 
 
 Nal. Manipuri, Nfdba, slippery, 
 smooth. 
 
 Nam 
 
 ... To smell 
 
 Nam. Manipuri, Namba ; Beteh, 
 Num. 
 
 Nam 
 
 ... A strap for carrying 
 
 
 
 loads 
 
 Hnara. 
 
 Nau 
 
 ... Younger brother or 
 
 Nau. Found in Manipuri and in 
 
 
 sister 
 
 many Old Kuki dialects, some- 
 times Nai. 
 
 Nem 
 
 .. Soft 
 
 Nem ; also in Beteh. 
 
 Nga 
 
 ... Five and Fish 
 
 In all Chin, Old Kuki dialects, and 
 Manipuri.
 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 233 
 
 Thado. 
 
 ^'gai 
 
 Ngoi 
 
 Ngol 
 
 Ni 
 
 Ni 
 
 Xoi 
 
 Nom ... 
 Nau-shen . . 
 Nu ... . 
 
 Nunga 
 
 Nunga.. 
 Ole ... 
 Pa 
 
 Pa-gong 
 Pasal . . . 
 
 Paten ... 
 
 Pe 
 
 Pengpulep 
 
 Phai 
 Pho 
 
 Phung 
 Phut . 
 
 Pi... . 
 Pi... . 
 
 Pi... 
 
 Po 
 
 Pol 
 Pon 
 
 Pu 
 
 English. 
 To be customary 
 Fishing weir ... 
 Mad, foolish ... 
 
 Sun, day 
 
 Aunt 
 
 To laugh 
 
 To wish . 
 Baby 
 Mother, 
 suiiix. 
 
 female 
 
 After, behind 
 
 Girl 
 
 Alligator 
 
 Father, and male 
 suffix 
 
 A widower 
 
 A male 
 
 The creator 
 
 To give ... 
 
 Butterflv 
 
 Level 
 
 To dry in the sun... 
 
 Clan 
 
 To place upright in 
 
 the ground 
 
 rirandmother 
 Feminine suffix for 
 
 animals. 
 
 Suffix denoting 
 great. 
 
 To carry 
 
 Straw 
 
 Cloth 
 
 fJranrlfather ... 
 
 Nu, in nearl}- 
 Appears in 
 woman, and '• 
 female — i.e. 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 Ngai ; has manj' meanings. 
 Ngoi. 
 Ngol-tawt, obstinate, uncontrollable. 
 
 Manipuri, Ngaoba. 
 Ni. In all Chin and Old Kuki dia- 
 lects and in Manipuri, we have. 
 Ni ; also in most Old Kuki dialects. 
 Nui. jManipuri, Nokpa ; Beteh, 
 
 Inui. 
 Nuam, contracted into Nom. 
 Nau-shen. 
 
 all these dialects. 
 
 Manipuri in Nupi, 
 
 ' I cha nupi," my child 
 
 daughter. Nupi is 
 
 especially interesting because it 
 
 combines both the Lushai female 
 
 suffixes Nu and Pui. 
 
 Nunga. Most dialects very similar. 
 
 Cf. Manipuri, Back, Namgan. 
 Nula. 
 
 Awle. Beteh, Ove. 
 Pa, in all these dialects and ^lani- 
 
 puri. 
 Parol ; note the change of g into r. 
 Pasal, a husband ; Pasal-lha (man 
 good), a brave man, hero. The 
 word i.s used for man in several 
 Old Kuki dialects. 
 Pathian. With very slight variations 
 common to all these clans except 
 Manipuris. 
 Pe. Very similar terms in all these 
 
 dialects. Manipuri, Piba. 
 Phengphehlep ; Beteh Phelep. The 
 Lushai mav be I'liom:, flat ; Phe- 
 phe, to move ; Hlep, a slice. 
 Phei. 
 
 Pho. In Manipuri the word has the 
 same meaning and also means 
 paddj'. 
 Phung-chang, fellow-clansman. 
 
 Phun. 
 
 Pi. 
 
 Pui. Found in many Old Kuki dia- 
 lects. In Manij)uri, "bi" is the 
 feminine termination of adjectives. 
 
 Pui. Common in one form, or other 
 to nearly all these dialects. 
 
 Paw, to carry on the back. 
 
 Pawl. 
 
 Puan. The word in Cliin and nearly 
 all Old Kuki dialects is either the 
 same or very similar. 
 
 Pu ; and in Manipuri and all Chin 
 and Old Kuki dialcrls. The word 
 has also otlier meanings, such as 
 maternal uncle.
 
 234 
 
 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS 
 
 Thado. 
 
 Pu 
 Pum . . . 
 
 Pum 
 Sa 
 
 English. 
 
 Sam 
 
 Shai . . . 
 She ... 
 Shelda 
 
 Shem ... 
 Shi ... 
 Shil .. 
 Soi, with 
 Shok ... 
 
 tu ''' 
 
 Sum 
 
 To carry on the 
 
 shoulder. 
 Body 
 
 Raft... 
 Animal 
 
 Hair 
 
 ^ang 
 
 ... Tall 
 
 Sang 
 
 . . . Thousand 
 
 Sa-ku 
 
 . . . Porcupine 
 
 Sanga .. 
 
 ... Wildcat 
 
 Sat 
 
 . ... To cut 
 
 Sat 
 
 . . . . Hot, of weather 
 
 Sha 
 
 ... To build 
 
 Elephant 
 
 To say 
 
 Mithan 
 
 To make 
 
 To be cold 
 To wash the body 
 To converse ... 
 A slave 
 
 Goods 
 
 Sunga . 
 
 Within 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 
 Puak, to carry on the back. Mani- 
 puri, Puba, to carry. 
 
 Pum, belly. Manipuri, Puk. There 
 is a curious dissimilarity here in 
 most Old Kuki dialects, in which 
 Won or some such word is used 
 for bell}'. 
 
 Pum. 
 
 Sa. The word is used generally for 
 wild animals. In Lushai it is pre- 
 fixed to the names of wild animals 
 and to those of such domestic 
 animals as are not indigenous. 
 Thus, Sa-kor, a horse ; Sa-kei, a 
 tiger ; while Kel, a goat, Shial, a 
 mithan, Ui, a dog, have no prefix. 
 Sa is used in the same manner in 
 Manipuri — Sagol, a horse ; Sa- 
 ngamba, an otter ; Saji, a barking 
 deer, &c. The word is found in 
 Old Kuki dialects. 
 
 Sam. In Manipuri, Chin, and Old 
 Kuki. 
 
 Shang. Manipuri, Sangba, long. 
 
 Shang. Beteh, Shang. 
 
 Sa-kuh. Manipuri, Sa-bu. 
 
 Sa-nghar. 
 
 Shat, to chop. 
 
 Sha. Manipuri, Saba. 
 
 Shat, to cut. As all buildings and 
 bridges were originally of timber, 
 building meant cutting, and a 
 Lushai always says, " In ka shat," 
 " I build a house." In Manipuri, 
 Saba means to make or build. 
 
 Sai. 
 
 Shoi. 
 
 Shiel, but in conjunction She ; She- 
 pui, full-grown cow, mithan. 
 
 Shiam. Manipuri, Semba. 
 
 Shik. 
 
 Sil, to wash. 
 
 Thu, word ; Shoi, to say. 
 
 Sal is the Lushai for a slave ; but 
 Suak, found in so manj^ names, 
 evidently means slave {i'. Part I, 
 Ch.IV,p.6). All Old Kuki dialects 
 have verj' similar words for slave 
 or servant. 
 
 Sum. This word seems only to be 
 found in Langrong among Old 
 Kuki dialects. In the other dia- 
 lects we find Nenun, Nei, Neina, 
 which correspond to the Lushai 
 Nei, to own ; or Lai or Ral. Lai 
 in Lushai means chief — i.e., the 
 rich man ; Cf. Hausa— in Lushai, 
 rich, and in Thado, a chief. 
 
 Chhunga.
 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 235 
 
 Thado. 
 
 Tarn 
 
 Many 
 
 English. 
 
 Tangka 
 
 ... Rupee, silver 
 
 Tangval 
 
 ... A young man 
 
 Tat 
 
 ... To kill 
 
 Te 
 
 ... To be permitted ; 
 
 
 to be able 
 
 Tha 
 
 ... New .. 
 
 Thai 
 
 ... Arrow 
 
 The 
 
 Edible fruit 
 
 Thi 
 
 ... Blood 
 
 Thi 
 
 ... Iron 
 
 Thing 
 
 ... Tree 
 
 Thou 
 
 ... Fat 
 
 Ti 
 
 ... To die 
 
 Ti 
 
 ... To say 
 
 Tin 
 
 . . . Finger nail, claw . . . 
 
 Tou 
 
 .. A fly 
 
 Tui 
 
 ... Water 
 
 Tunge 
 
 ... Nowadays 
 
 Tu 
 
 ... Grandchild 
 
 Ve 
 
 ... Left (direction) ... 
 
 Vo 
 
 ... To beat 
 
 Vok 
 
 Pig 
 
 Wan 
 
 . The sky 
 
 Wa-phol ... . 
 
 The pied hornbill... 
 
 Wat 
 
 . . Leech 
 
 Wompi 
 
 . Bear 
 
 Wu 
 
 To stink 
 
 Wun 
 
 . Skin 
 
 Wut 
 
 Ashes 
 
 Ya-cha ... . 
 
 . To be ashamed 
 
 Yan 
 
 . Night 
 
 Yeng 
 
 . Yellow ... 
 
 Ying 
 
 .. Dense, as jungle ... 
 
 Yao 
 
 . To complete 
 
 Yu 
 
 . To sell 
 
 Yu 
 
 Rice beer 
 
 Lushai and Remarks. 
 Tam. In Aimol, Chiru, Kolhen, 
 
 Kom, and Purum, Tam is a plural 
 
 suffix. 
 Tangka. 
 Tlangval. 
 That. Manipuri, Hatpa. 
 
 Thei, to be able. 
 Thar. Beteh, Thur. 
 
 Manipuri, Tel ; 
 
 Manipuri, Hei. 
 Beteh, Thi ; Manipuri, I. 
 
 Beteh, Thul. 
 
 Gf. Manipuri, Sing, 
 Mahau, 
 
 firc- 
 fat, 
 
 Thai. 
 
 Thei. 
 
 Thi. 
 
 Thir. 
 
 Thing. 
 
 wood. 
 Thao. Cf. Manipuri, 
 
 grease, and Thau, oil. 
 Thi. Cf. Manipuri, Si-ba. 
 Ti. In most Old Kuki dialects, The. 
 Tin. 
 
 Tho-shi, a mo.squito. 
 Tui. Ti, Tui, or Dui in all Chin antl 
 
 Old Kuki dialects. Cf. Manipuri, 
 
 Tu-ren (Tui-len), a river. 
 Tuna, now. 
 Tu. Is foxind in this sense through 
 
 all these dialects. 
 Vei. Manipuri, AVoi. 
 Vuak, or Vel. Aimol, Ve ; Kolhen, 
 
 Wei ; Kom, Wuk ; Purum, Wei ; 
 
 Lai (Haka), Yel ; Siyin, Vat. 
 Vok. Manipuri, Ok. Vok or Wok 
 
 are found in all Chin and Old Kuki 
 
 dialects. 
 Van. 
 Va-pual. Va is a prefix denoting 
 
 bird, emploj'ed as Sa is with 
 
 animals. Wa is used in the same 
 
 way in Thado. 
 Vang-vat. 
 
 Sa-vom. Manipuri, Sa-wom. 
 Uih. 
 
 Vun. Manipuri, Un. 
 Vut. Manipuri, Ut. 
 Zah-thlak, .shameful. 
 Zan. 
 Eng. 
 Zim. 
 Zaw. 
 Zuar. 
 Zu, a word found in one form or 
 
 other throughout the Hills.
 
 LOCALITIES 
 
 Fiinc 
 
 
 lUh Lo 
 
 tlnruj / 
 
 KH\ER 
 
 Z\_^
 
 The Lushai Clans 
 
 SKETCH MAP SHOWING THE LOCALITIES INHABITED BY THE DIFFERENT CLANS 
 
 Joha Bardiol.-TDc™ A Co. Xdu^
 
 INDEX 
 
 For u'ordfi not explained, hut having Roman numeraU set against them, 
 
 see Glossary. 
 
 Abortion, 2 ; Thado, 200 ; Vuite, 
 
 144 
 Adoption, 48, 54, 200 
 Agricultiire, 27, 28, 32, 139. See 
 
 under Jhum 
 Ai, xix, 78 et seq. ; Rangte, 147 ; 
 
 Thado, 20.5, 207 
 Aichhana, a Thado, 142 
 Aijal (Ai-zawl), 4, 5, 7, 12, 102, 108, 
 
 131, 139, 149, 151, 185 
 Aijal-Champliai road, 108 
 Aijal-Falain road, 62 
 Aijal- Lungleh road, 4 
 Aimol, Old Kuki clan, xv, xix, 8, 64, 
 
 89, 149 et seq., 160-1, 169 et seq. 
 Ai-mual village, 151 
 Ai-zawl, 77, 78 
 Allan, B. C, xviii 
 
 A-ma-pi, a Lakher marriage price, 219 
 Amber, 215 
 
 Ambush and pitfalls, 60 ; Vuite, 144 
 Anal, Old Kuki clan, 149 et seq., 161, 
 
 165, 167, 169, 171 
 Ancestor-worship, 65, 71, 89, 201 
 An-hmu, Lakher equivalent of 
 
 Uihring sacrifice, 223 
 Animals, domestic, 32 
 Anthrop<jlogical Institute, The, 2 
 Aohmun, branch of Chuaongo clan, 
 
 126 
 Arem, a Chiru festival, 168 
 Ar-kang-tha, a "I'liado birth sacrifice, 
 
 203 
 Arke-ziak, Lusliei head-dress, 11 
 Ar-Khiil sacrifice, 72, 73 
 Arracan, 7. 67 
 Arte-hring-baii (or khaw-hring-tir) 
 
 sacrifice, 81 
 Arte-luilum sacrifice, 81 
 Arte-puni-phelna sacrifice, 81 
 
 287 
 
 Asiatic. Dissertations, xix, 108 
 Awk, legend of the, 92, 183 
 Awk-pa, Kom legend, 183 
 Aw-rua-baw-na, a Lakher marriage 
 price, 218-19 
 
 Bailchi, branch of Hualbang clan, 120 
 Banerji, Babii Nitlior Nath, 176, 182, 
 
 184 
 Barak (Tualruang) river, 109 
 Barkhul, 4 
 
 Basilisk, myth of, 105 
 Basket work, 28, 29 
 Bawl, a Lakher sacrifice, 222 
 Bawl-pui sacrifice, 74, 223 
 Bawlte village, 136 
 Bear, superstition about the, 102 
 Beh-dieng-khlani, a S3'nteng (Kliasi) 
 
 custom, J 67 
 Bengalis, king of the, 96 
 Bengkhawia, tale of, 79 
 Benglama, equivalent of Lusluii 
 
 Chhura, 207 et seq. 
 Bete clan, 148 
 Betlu village, 131 
 Biiuban caves, the, 187, 188 
 Biate (Beteli) tribe, 6, 49, 108, 110, 
 
 185, 187-8 
 Biate tribe, 136 
 Birds entering liouses, superstition, 
 
 102 
 Birth. See under Child 
 lilacksmiths, 17, 30, 153 
 Bhickwood, C'aj'laiii, 5 
 Blue Mountain, the, 213, 214 
 Boar, devil poss(?ssed, 1 12 
 
 Sacrificed, 64 
 
 F.inai, 139 
 
 Khclte and Siakeng, 141 
 
 Vuite, 144
 
 238 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bochung, branch of Hualngo clan, 
 
 126 
 Bohmong tribe, 213 
 Boi, xix, 46-50 
 
 Old Kuki, 153 
 
 Vuite, 144 
 
 Thado, 198 
 Boklua, illegitimate son of Ngehuka, 
 
 3 
 Bolawng Raia image, 187 
 Borh, an Aimol she-demon, 158 
 Bouchesiche, Mons., xix 
 Brass- work, 29 
 British Government, 4, 5, 41, 49, 99, 
 
 149, 192 
 Browne, Sir Thomas, 106 
 Bualchuan hill, 71-2 
 Bualte {" Dipwell ") village, 140 
 Buh-ai feast, xix, 90-1, 110 
 
 Rangte, 147 
 
 Viiite, 145 
 
 Old Kuki, 186 
 
 Thado, 205 
 Buhman hill, 71, 72 
 Buh-za-ai, xix 
 Buh-za-zu feast, 91 
 
 Fanai, 137 
 Bulropa, Old Kuki puitham, 153 
 Bung tree, 187, 208 
 Bunkhua, a Chin village, 7, 59 
 Burkhal, 43 
 
 Burma (Kawl), 14, 15, 28-9, 125, 
 131. 132, 163, 173, 174, 175, 189, 
 214 
 
 Cachar, xiii, 1, 6, 148, 185, 187, 189, 
 
 190, 193, 197, 226 
 Carev, B. S., xiv, xvii, 131, 213 
 Cattle, 21 
 Chai dance, 84, 91 
 Chaichim, the mouse, 109 
 Chaita, a branch of Aimol clan, 153 
 Chalbuk, branch of Hualbang clan, 
 
 126 
 Chalthleng, branch of Hualngo clan, 
 
 126 
 Chamershi, a Kolhen festival, 169 
 Champhai, xviii, 3, 6, 77, 136, 140 
 Chang-do-ni, last day of feast, 88 
 Changom, branch of Ronte clan, 173 
 Changsan, brother of Thlangom, 192 
 Changte clan, 125, 127 
 Chansan, a branch of Thado clan, 
 
 192 
 Chap-char-kut festival, 86-7, 91, 169, 
 
 172, 223 
 Chapui-chol-lai, holiday, 159 
 Chaw Chyn, a Lakher marriage price, 
 
 215 
 
 Chawifa, a portent, 104-5, 224 
 Chawngthu family, 13 
 Chawn, a Vuite Thangchhuah sacri- 
 fice, 145 
 Chawntinleri, a spirit maiden, 68 
 Chawte, Old Kuki clan, 130, 135, 149 
 
 etseq., 165, 169, 170, 173 
 Chemhler, branch of Tochong clan, 
 
 127 
 Chemhler, branch of Vanchong clan, 
 
 127 
 Cheinsen boi, 46, 48, 49 
 Chengpui village, 4 
 Chengrel, branch of Vanchong clan, 
 
 127 
 Chengri river, 4 
 Chengtea, Zawngte chief, 135 
 Chenkhual, branch of Thangur clan, 
 
 125 
 Chenkhuala, ancestor of Chenkual 
 
 clan, 125 
 Cherlal, branch of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 Cherlalla, illegitimate son of Zadenga, 
 
 125 
 Cherra, 7 
 Cherput, branch of Hualbang family, 
 
 126 
 Chertluang, branch of Hualbang 
 
 family, 126 
 Chhak-chhuak ("Come out of the 
 
 East") family, 127 
 Chhakom, branch of Tochong familv, 
 
 127 
 Chhawng-chili, tale of, 107-8 
 Chhawndawl, Lushei head-dress, 11 
 Chhawthliak, branch of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 Chhira sacrifice, 76 
 Chimnuai village, 143 
 Chhinchhuuan, a Thado family, 185, 
 
 190 €t seq., 202, 205 
 Chhinga Raia image, 187 
 Chhinglung, hole in the earth whence 
 the world was peopled, 94, 139 
 Known to Old Kukis as Khurpui, 
 
 150 
 Chawte account, 151 
 Known to Thados as Khulpi, 193 
 Chhirbuk, Chiru zawlbuk, 168 
 Childbirth customs — 
 Lakher, 223 
 Lushei, 81-2 
 Old Kuku, 160 ef seq. 
 Rangte, 147 
 Ronte and Tarau, 174 
 Khelte and Siakeng, 142 
 Vuite, 144-5 
 Deaths in, 164, 166
 
 INDEX 
 
 239 
 
 Children — 
 
 Posthumous killed, 87 
 Still-born, 223 
 Tobacco smoking, 12 
 Chindwin (Upper) river, 174, 189 
 Chinese superstition about birds, 
 
 102 
 Chin Hills, xiii, xiv, xviii, 14, 126, 
 
 129, 140, 143, 150, 213, 226 
 Chin Hills Gazetteer, 131 
 Chin Languages, classification of, 225 
 Cliingiirut, a vegetable, 187 
 Chins, the, xiii, xviii, 4, 5, 8, 9, 20, 
 
 24, 46, 56-60, 95, 108, 110, 126, 
 
 129, 132, 133, 135, 136, 140, 
 
 146, 193, 198, 205, 213, 214, 215, 
 
 226 
 Chiru, an Old Kuki clan, 8, 9, 22, 
 
 131, 149 et aeq., 162, 165, 168, 
 
 169, 171 
 Chittagong, xiii, xviii, 5, 6, 75, 95, 
 
 96 
 Chittagong Hill Tracts, xiii, 1, 4, 6, 
 
 213 
 Chhoalak, brancii of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 Chhungte, dependants living in house, 
 
 46 
 Chhura, the shaper of the viforld, 92, 
 
 99, 188, 207 
 Chinza, tribe, 214 
 Chonchhon, branch of Chuachang clan, 
 
 126 
 Chonchir, branch of Chuachang clan, 
 
 126 
 Cheng, Thangur-chhuah feast, 87-8, 
 
 131 
 Fanai substitute for, 137 
 Ngente, 153 
 llangte, 147 
 'J^hado, 204, 207 
 (.'liongdur, a Chiru famil}', 154 
 Choiighoiyi village, 132, 134 
 Chonglal, branch of Pachuao clan, 125 
 Chonluma, a Hrangchal ciiicf, 185 
 Cliunglun, branch of tlie Changte 
 
 clan, 125 
 Cliongom, a branch of Aimol clan, 
 
 152^3 
 Chongpuithanga, a demon, 66 
 Chongte, Lushei clan, 126 
 Chongthleng, stone at, 100 
 Chongthu, a non-Luwliei clan, 93, 
 
 130-1, 167 
 Chongthu, nickname of Lersia, 131, 
 
 150, 154 
 Chonlut, a Biate chief, 187 
 Chonuma, a Huamte chief, 131 
 Christ's Village, 62 
 
 Chuachang, a Lushei clan, 126 
 Cliuango, Lushei family, 140 
 Chuaongo, Lushei clan, 126, 140 
 Cluuknuih tribe, 5, 7, 185 
 Chultuk, a Puruiu festival, 169 
 Chumkal, branch of Hualbang clan, 
 
 126 
 Chunithluk, branch of Chuaongo 
 
 clan, 126 
 Cloth, 30-1, 65 
 
 Legendarj' origin of, 140 
 Cock, sacriticed, 72. 73, 74, 77, 80 (t 
 seq., 90, 133, 159, 162 3, 169, 186 
 Cockatrice, Mytli of, 105 
 Combs, 13, 203, 215-16 
 Creeper, 
 
 Pulling the, 166 
 
 Tug of war with, 134 
 
 Use of, for sick children, 82 
 Crow, 104, 153 
 
 Dai-bawl, sacrifice, xix, 70, 73 et seq 
 
 Aimol and Chiru, 158-9 
 
 Thado, 201 tl xeq. 
 Daibun, a Thado J hum sacrifice, 202 
 Daikam, a Thado sacrifice, 202 
 Dailova, Tale of, 66-7 
 Dallesari river, 3 
 Dances, 38, 87, 169, 170 
 
 Fanai, 138 
 Daula, a Chiru family, 154 
 
 Old Kuki, 152 
 Dapa, Rangte legends of, 147 
 Darchao, branch of Pachuao clan, 125 
 Darchawa, illegitimate son of 
 
 Zadenga, 125 
 Darchun, branch of Changte clan, 125 
 Darlung peak, 3 
 Davis, A. W., xviii 
 Dwangbul, Ralte marriage price to 
 male and female paternal first- 
 cousins, 141 
 Dawngler, do, 141 
 Dead, Burial of, see under Funerals, 
 Memorial 
 
 Spirits of, 65, 78 
 
 Rangte, 147 
 
 Vuite, 144 
 
 Old Kuki, 157-8, 170 
 Deer, Barking, 64 
 Demagri, xv, 4, 95 
 Demons. See under Spirits 
 Deobi, 'I'hado poison, 197 
 Dil lake, 67 
 
 Dingthoi, a Chiru family, 151 
 iJipwell Village, 140 
 Divorce 
 
 Lushei, 52, 144 
 
 Old Kuki, 156
 
 240 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Dogs, 32, 
 
 eaten, 36 
 
 sacrificed, 75, 77, 102, 159, 168, 
 172-3, 175, 201 
 Dongel, Thado's elder brother, 142-3, 
 
 189 190 201 
 Drake-Brock'man, C. B., 132, 134 
 Dreams, 104, 224 
 Dress, 8 et seq. 
 
 Old Kuki, 186 
 
 Lakher, 14 
 Drinking feasts, 173 
 Drum-making festivals, 171-2 
 Dulian, the Lushei language, xiv, 114 
 Dungtlang river, 5 
 Dzo, xvii 
 
 Earrings, 13, 65, 143, 161 
 
 Vuite or Paihte, 143 
 Ear-piercing, 161-2, 174 
 Earthquakes, Old Kuki idea about, 
 
 184 
 Eclipses, Legends and superstitions 
 concerning, 92, 123 
 
 Old Kuki, 182 et seq., 187 
 Effigies, 74, 76, 88, 89, 109, 111, 175, 
 
 188 
 Elephants, 35, 44, 45, 64, 196 
 Eimun, Ancestor of Shit-hloh clan, 191 
 Endogamy, 50, 153, 154, 167, 173 
 Enlawk, Opening of coffin, 85 
 Epidemics, 74-6 
 Exogamy, 50, 153, 167, 173 
 Exorcism, 111-12 
 
 Fachirang, Tale of, 177 et seq. 
 
 Falam, tribe, 3, 126, 143, 151 
 
 Fanai, a Non-Lushei clan, 8, 89, 136 e< 
 
 seq. 
 Fangtet, branch of Hnalbang clan, 
 
 126 
 Fanodawi sacrifice, 80 
 Feasts, 65, 86 
 
 Ngente, 133 
 
 Old Kuki, 160 et seq. See binder Kut 
 Fielding Hall, Mr., 163 
 Firminger, W. K. , note by, xviii-xix 
 Fishing, 35-6 
 
 Thado, 198 
 Flood, Legends of, 95, 176 
 Folk-lore, Lushei, 92-112 
 
 Old Kuki, 176-184 
 
 Thado, 207-212 
 Foster, Wm., xviii 
 Fowls, Kinds of, 32 
 
 Legendary origin of, 94 
 
 Sacrificed, 80, 81, 133, 145, 147, 158, 
 159, 161, 167, 169 
 
 Superstitions concerning, 103 
 
 French Customs Department, 15 
 Frog, tale of, xiv 
 Funeral ceremonies 
 
 Fanai, 139 
 
 Khelte and Siakeng, 142 
 
 Lushei, 83-6 
 
 Lakher, 221 et seq 
 
 Ngente, 133 
 
 Old Kuki, 164-6, 187 
 
 Route and Tarau, 174 
 
 Vuite, 143 
 
 Zawngte, 135 
 
 Thado, 204 
 
 Games — 
 
 Kang-Sanaba, 39 
 Koi, 39 
 
 Vai-lung-thlan, 39 
 Gaonbura, Ghalim transformed into, 
 
 149 
 Garos, The, xiv, 70 
 Genua, xix, 69 
 Ghalim, Old Kuki elected headman 
 
 and priest, 149 
 Ghumoishe, Thado demon king, 200 
 Gibbon, 80, 145 ; legendary origin of, 
 
 93 ; superstitions concerning, 103 
 Gnura (Mullah), 140 
 Goat, 32, 151 ; sacrificed, 73, 130, 
 
 175 
 Golha, Thado "palal," 199 
 Grierson, Dr., 134, 143, 148, 185, 
 
 189, 225-8 
 Gurdon, Colonel P. R., 69, 76, 167 
 Gurkhas, the, 110 
 Gwite, son of Dongel, 143 
 
 Hair, method of wearing, etc., 2, 12, 
 
 82 f. ; Fanai, 137 ; Ronte, 174 ; 
 
 Old Kuki, 152, 166, 186 ; Lakher, 
 
 215, 222 
 use in witchcraft, 109 
 Haka village, 110, 131 
 
 tribe, 131-2 
 Hall, Captain, 110 
 Hallam (Khelma), an Old Kuki clan, 
 
 185 
 Hanngeng, a Thado, 193 
 Hanngeng, a branch of Thado clan, 
 
 192-3, 225 
 Haobul, a branch of Haonar clan, 126 
 Haobuk feast, 80 
 Haonar Lushei clan, 126 
 Haothul, a branch of Haonar clan, 
 
 126 
 Hats, 9, 215 
 Haubi peak, 150 
 Haukip, a Thado clan, 190 et seq., 
 
 201, 207
 
 INDEX 
 
 241 
 
 Hauhul, chief who swallowed the 
 
 moon, 92 
 Hausata, Chin chief, 4 
 Hawlthang, a branch of Haukip 
 
 family, 191 
 Head-hunting, 50, 157, 200, 220 
 Hearth superstition, 104 
 Heawood, E. , xix. 
 Hehua, co-ancestor of the Ralte clan, 
 
 139 
 Hen, sacrificed, 47, 147 
 Henngar, a branch of Thado clan, 193 
 Henngar, son of Kiilho, 193 
 Hilo, a Thado she-demon, 201 
 Hlarazuih (tirst-born dying shortly 
 
 after birth), xix, 62, 86, 223 
 Hlengel, a branch of Chuaongo clan, 
 
 126 
 Hmar (" North '"), Old Kuki clans, 185 
 Hmarchung sacrifice, 77 
 Hmarkhat sacrifice, 77 
 Hmar-phir sacrifice, 77 ; Siakeng, 141 
 Hniinga, a Lushei, 66 
 Hmnapel, branch of Chuaongo clan, 
 
 126 
 Hmongphunga's village, 35 
 Hmunklinga, a Lakher chief, 213 
 Hnuaipui ("great beneath"), Fanai 
 
 Sakhua sacrifice, 139 
 Hnuaite ("lesser beneath"), Fanai 
 
 Sakhua sacrifice, 139 
 Hodson, T. C, 105, 150, 226, 228 
 Homicide, Old Kuki, 157 ; Thado, 
 
 200; Vuite, 144. 
 Horn bill, 104 
 Houses, 
 
 Manipuri fashion, 151 
 Method of building 
 
 Lushei, 22 et .seq. 
 
 Old Kuki, 151 
 
 Lakher, 214 
 Superstitions connected with, 104 
 Thado, 193 
 Vuite, 145. 
 Howlong tribe, 5 
 Hpohtir, a Kuki, 179 
 Hrangchal, a Kuki man, 179 et acq. 
 Hrangchali, a Kuki woman, 178 et neq. 
 Hrangciiul, an OKI Kuki clan, 6, 185 
 Hrangkunga, a Lushei, 35 
 HrangUil hill, 150 
 Hrang-sai-puia, a magician, 109. 
 Hrangzova, Lushei chaprassi, 106 
 Hrasel, a Lushei clan, 126 
 Hrilh, xix, 69, 72, 73, 75, 78, 80, 87, 
 
 111, 135, 139, 202 
 Hring-ai-tan sacrifice, 75, 223 
 Hringfa liiil, 131 
 Hiinglang iiill, 03 
 
 Hri-pa, Lakher ei^uivalent for Ram- 
 
 huai, 221 
 Hruitung, a jungle vegetable, 187 
 Huai, xix, 61, 65 tt seq., 95, 102, 158, 
 
 159, 188, 200 
 Hualbang, a Lusliei clan, 126 
 Hualgno, a Lusliei clan, 3, 126 
 Huante, a non-Lushei clan, 131 
 Hun, a Thado feast, 207 
 Hunting, 33-5, 196 
 
 Sacrifices connected with 77 et seq. 
 Hweltu village, 59 
 
 Illegitimacy, 53, 54, 150 
 
 Images worshipped by the Biate, 187. 
 
 See under Pjffigies 
 Imphal, capital of Manipur, xv, 190, 
 
 192 
 Impuichhung (slaves), 46 et seq. 
 Imungshe, wife of demon Ghumcishe, 
 
 200 1 
 Incest, 142, 152 
 In-chhiashem-ni (house - repairing 
 
 day), 87-8 
 Infanticide, 
 
 Vuite, 144 
 Inhawn custom, 186 
 Inheritance, 54, 155, 200 
 In-thian (Thi-thin), funeral feast, 86, 
 
 89 
 Iron-work, 30 
 Irung, a Chawte family, 154 
 
 Jete family, 167 
 
 Jewels, 14 
 
 Jhum, xix, 17, 18, 44, 71, 80, 129 
 
 Festivals connected with, 86 et t>eq. 
 
 Chiru, 168 
 
 Old Kuki, 156 
 
 Thado, 194 
 
 Sacrifices connected with, 80-1, 
 169, 175, 202 
 
 Superstitions connected with, 101 
 et seq. 
 Job's tears, 87 
 
 Justice, decisions how administered, 
 55, 56 
 
 Old Kuki, 157 
 
 Thado, 195 
 
 Offences, Personal, 54-5, 220 
 
 Offences, Property, 54, 220 
 
 Ka«ui, a Naga tribe, 143, 166 
 Kairuma, a Lushei chief, 49 
 Kaithum, a branch of Vanchongclan, 
 
 127 
 Kamhau clan, 30,143 ,190 
 Kauizakhoi, Old l\uUi villaL^c ofiicer, 
 
 153 
 
 R
 
 242 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Kanghrmm village, 35 
 
 Kanujiipkhul village, 159 
 
 Kaiigmang hill, 150 
 
 Kaiigpuizam sacriHce, 74 
 
 Kang Sanaba, Manipuri game, 39 
 
 Karniindai, first day of Keidun 
 
 festival, 106-7 
 Kassalong river, 4 
 Kawl Burma, q.v. 
 Kawlehi, a branch of Changte clan, 
 
 125 
 Kawlhring (Burma-born). 131, 132, 
 
 135 
 Kawlnam, copy of Burmese dah, 15 
 Kawlni, a Non-Lushei clan, 131 
 Keichala, a sorcerer, 109 
 Keidun, Kolhen festival in April, 
 
 166-7 
 Keimi, a tiger-man, 177. 
 Kei-ma, a Lakher marriage price, 
 
 218-9 
 Kela, a Lushei, 102. 
 Kel-khal sacrifice, 73 
 Kelsi village, 185 
 Keng-puna, name-giving, 161. 
 Khill Sacrifices, xix, 70, 72 et seq. 
 Not practised by the Lakher, 223 
 Ngente, 134 
 nor by Rangte, 147 
 nor by Thado, 201 
 Vuite practise Uihring only, 145 
 Khal-chuang sacrifice, 73 
 Khalkhama, a Lushei chief, 7 
 Khasi people, The, 69, 76 (Synteng), 
 
 167 
 Kawchhak, an Old Kuki clan, 149, 185 
 
 et seq. 
 Khavvkawk hill, 71 
 Khavvhring, xix, 81, 111-12, 164, 223 
 Khawhring-hring-tir, a charm, 81 
 Khawpui creeper, 140 
 Khawtlang tribe, xiii, 6, 8, 40, 74, 
 
 96, 100, 147, 149, 185 
 Khawzahuala, Zadeng chief, 140 
 Khazang (Loitha), 220-1 
 Khelraa, Old Kuki clan, 185 
 Khelte clan, 140-1 
 Kheltea, a Ralte chief, 140 
 Kherpui. See under Chhinglung. 
 Khongzia clan, 190 
 Khonza = Thado, q.v. 
 Khuangchoi feast, 89, 94 ; Fanai, 
 137 ; Siakeng, 142 ; Ngente, 
 133 ; Lakher, 222. 
 Khuang-that, a Vaiphai Thangch- 
 
 huah ceremony, 171 
 Khuavang, xix, 61, 67-8, 95, 110, 
 
 111, \met seq. 
 Khuavang-hring sacrifice, 75, 223 
 
 Khuavangzawl, hypnotism, 110-11 
 
 Klmazim, liill, 140 
 
 Khul-lakpa, Old Kuki village officer, 
 
 153, 154. 164, 167, 172, 173 
 Khulpi, Thado equivalent of Lushai 
 
 Chhinglung, 193 
 Khupno, a branch of Hualbang clan, 
 
 126 
 Khupno, a branch of Hualngo clan, 126 
 Khulpu, Old Kuki puithiam, 153, 
 
 160, 161, 169, 174 
 Khulpu-in, a Route familv, 173 
 Kliuptingi, tale of, 209-11 
 Khyoung-tha, sons of the river 105 
 Kiang, a Chawte family, 154 
 Kiangte, a non-Lushei clan, 132 
 Kicheo (Kutsa-zawng), Lakher fes- 
 tival, 223 
 Kipgen, a Tliado clan, 190 eteeq., 201 
 Klangklang. See under Thlangtlang 
 Klongshai, Chin name for Lakher 
 
 clan, 213 
 Kobru hill, 159, 168, 172 188 
 Kochuk, 190 
 Koichung (Leivon), a branch of 
 
 Aimol clan, 153 
 Koihrui-an-chat, a Ngente festival, 
 
 132, 134, 168 
 Koku hill, 146 
 
 Koladyne river, 1, 7, 135, 136, 214 
 Kolheu, Old Kuki clan, 149 et seq., 
 
 162-3, 165, 166, 169, 171 
 Kom, Old Kuki clan, 8, 149 et seq., 
 
 163, 165, 166, 169, 171 
 Konglung village, 7, 136 
 Kongpuishiam sacrifice, 35, 77 
 Kuchom, Thado she-demon, 201. 
 Kuki, 1-2, 5, 6, 8 ; meaning of term, 
 
 xiii. 
 Kukis, the old, xiii, xvii, 6, 129-134, 
 
 147, 148-188 
 Kukis, the new, xiii, 6, 129, 189 ; 
 
 see under Thado 
 Kuki language, xvii 
 Kulho, a branch of Thado clan, 192- 3 
 Kullon. a brancli of Thado clan, 
 
 192-3 
 Kul-lo-nu (<■/. Thado Kulsanmu), 
 
 Rangte belief about, 147 
 Kulsamnu, troubles of thangchhuah, 
 
 dead, 147, 201 
 Kumpinu, the "Company's mother," 
 
 99 
 Kumpui, xix 
 
 Kungori, Legend of, 177 et seq. 
 Kurnaphili river, 1, 43, 95 
 Kut, xix, 86 et seq., 205 ; Vuite, 145 
 Kutsa-zawng, Lakher festival, 223 
 Kwe-Hring village, 131-132
 
 INDEX 
 
 243 
 
 Lackhia, a Lakher festival, 223 
 Lai-haranba, Manipuri "god-pleas- 
 ing " cerenioii}', 69 
 Laishel famil}', 167 
 Lfiita (Mangte), a branch of Aimol 
 
 elan, 153 
 Lakher (Mara), a non-Lushei clan, 
 
 xiii, xviii, 105, 129, 213-224 
 Lai, xix, 43, 153 
 
 Lalba-\vn,abranchof Pachuao clan, 125 
 Lalbiita's village, 66 
 Lalcliheva, a Thangliiah chief, 4 
 Lalchhung, dependents in chief's 
 
 house, 46 
 Lalia, a Lakher festival, 223 
 Laller, a branch of Chuaongo elan, 126 
 Lallianvunga, a Sailo chief, 140 
 Lallula, a Lushai chief, 7 
 Lalmanga, a Ngente chief, 132, 134 
 Lalmichinga, a Kawlhring chief, 132 
 Lalmanga, a Lnshai hero, 109 
 Lalsavunga, a Sailo chief, 185 
 Lalsukta (Lalchakla), a Palliun chief, 
 
 4,5 
 Lalul, a Sailo chief, 3, 5 
 Lamgang, Old Kuki clan, 149 et seq., 
 
 162, 165, 167, 169, 171 
 Lamkut, a Kava feast, 169 
 Lamleia, egg-hatched chief, 142 
 Language, Lushei, xiii, xviii, 113-124 
 
 Non-Lushei, 225-235 
 Lashi, xix, 6S-9, 158 
 Lanu, a branch of Aimol clan, 153 
 Lanu, a branch of Route clan, 173 
 La-pi, Thado funeral chant, 204 
 Lathang, a branch of Chuachang 
 
 clan, 126 
 Lavar river, 131 
 Leiven (Koichung), a branch of Aimol 
 
 clan, 153 
 Lemba's wife, a Fanai queen, 137-8 
 Leng hill, 176 
 Leng village, 99 
 Lentlang river, 131 
 Lcplupi, co-ancestor of theRalte, 139 
 Lersliia, a Chongthu chief, 131 
 Lewin, Ll.-CoL T. H. ("Thangliana"), 
 
 vi, xiii, xiv. xvii, xviii, 6, 7, 45, 
 
 60, 105, 109, 177, 178 
 Lianchi, a Lakher chief, 213 
 Ijiaiiglunga, tale of, 68 
 Liaiikhaiiia, a Lushai chief, 7 
 Lianphunga, a Lushei chief, 55 
 Liangthang, a Thado chief, 192 
 Liangthang, a Thado clan, 192 
 Liangthangi, a hyjinotic niediuin. 111 
 Lianthawgna, a huai (spirit), 60 7 
 Liantliung, a branch of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 
 Liantliira, a Lushei chief, 4 
 Lianughor, a branch of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 Lingvuni village, 99 
 Lister, Colonel, 21, 140 
 Lizard, 134, 184 
 Lo-an-dai, an Aimol feast, 169 
 Lohnian sacrifice, 80 
 Loi, a marriage ceremon}', 83 
 Loilang, an Old Kuki clan, 185 
 Loitha, Lakher equivalent for 
 
 Pathian, 220 
 Longnam, a Thado funeral price, 199 
 Longteroi hill, 4 
 
 Lonte (Rente), an Old Kuki clan, 173 
 Lorrain, H. J., xviii, 113, 217,220, 
 
 226 
 Lukawng, a fine pai<l on death, 82, 
 86, 145, 199; Old Kuki, 166; 
 Rangte, 147 
 Lunganai, ceremony, 172 
 Lungdawh, platforms to commemorate 
 
 the dead, 85 
 Lungdup hill, 132-3 
 Lungkhera, a Lushei clan, 127 
 Lunglai family, 167 
 Lungleh, 4, 7, 8, 95, 110, 132, 136 
 Lunglo river, 63 
 
 Lungthau, an Old Kuki clan, 185 
 Lungte, a branch ofChongte clan, 126 
 Lunkim, a Thado chief, 192 
 Lunkim, a branch of Thado clan, 192 
 Luplakpa, an Old Kuki village officer, 
 
 153, 167, 168 
 Lur precipice, 68 
 
 Lushai, derivations of the name, 
 42, 60 
 
 Distinguished from Lushei, xiii, xiv 
 
 Expedition, 5 
 
 Nomadic habits of, 23, 27 
 
 See Contents 
 Lushei affinities — 
 
 Habitat, 1 
 
 History, 2, et seq. 
 
 Language, 113-124 
 
 Racial characteristics, 2 
 Lutu, a Lushai householiU-r, 171 
 Lyall, Sir Charles, xiv 
 
 Mackenzie — , 4 
 
 Maibi tribe, 111 
 
 Maitc family, 167 
 
 Mait-thuk-kai, Rfingto Thangchhuah 
 
 feast, 147 
 Maituki Raia image, 187 
 Maize, 87, 139 
 
 Makan, a Chawte family, 154 
 Makong hill, 15!) 
 Malun clan, 143 
 
 R 2
 
 244 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Mancala Bao, a game, ."9 
 
 Manchester goods, 17 
 
 Mandu, price of bones of dead, 166 
 
 Mangami, a Lushei woman, 66 
 
 Mangkhaia, a Ralte chief, 140 
 
 Mangpura, a Sailo chief, 3 
 
 Mangle (Laita) branch of Aimol clan, 
 
 153 
 Mangthawnga, a Rfdte chief, 140 
 Mangyel, a branch of Thado clan, 
 
 192-3 
 Manipur, xiii, xv, xvii, 3, 4, 5, 6, S, 
 9, 13, 21, 39, 69, 89, lOo, 106, 
 111, 126, 130, 132, 142, 143, 146, 
 148 et seq., 166, 173, 174, 175. 
 176, 184, 185, 188, 189, 190 H 
 seq., 201, 225 et seq. 
 Manipuri Chronicle, 134, 149, 191 
 Mankang, marriage price to bride's 
 
 paternal uncle, 146, 199 
 Manlal, a Biate chief, 187 
 Manpui, marriage price paid to 
 nearest relation on bride's father's 
 side, 51 ; Rangte, 146 ; Thado, 
 199 
 Manufactures, 28 
 Mara. See under Lakher. 
 Marem, a Chawte family, 154 
 Marriage, 50-53, 82-3 
 bj' servitude, 155, 163 
 prices, among Lusheis, 51-52 
 Lakher or Mara, 216, 220 et seq., 
 
 224 
 Ngente, 133 
 
 Old Kuki, 153 et seq., 163, 167, 186 
 Rangte, 146 
 Route, 173-4; Tarau, 173-4; 
 
 Thado, 198-9, 203 
 Vuite or Paihte, 143-4 
 Mat river, 1 
 Maung Mj^at San, a Burmese chief, 
 
 132 
 McCabe — , 7 
 McCrea, Surgeon, xix. 
 McCulloch, Colonel W., xvii, 13, 106, 
 
 111, \^9etseq., 201, 203 
 Measures and weights, 19-20 
 Mei-awr-lo sacrifice, 73 
 Meitheis, the, 89, 105, 150, 159, 224, 
 
 225 
 Memorial posts, Feasts, 88, 90 ; 
 funerals, 85, 165 
 Old Kuki, 170 
 
 Khelte and Siakeng, 141 ; Thado, 
 205 
 Methei lumbu, Old Kuki village 
 
 otficial, 153 
 Mikhirs, the, xiv 
 Mikhir hills, xv 
 
 Mim-kut festival, 87, 169, 223 
 
 Ming-puna, name-giving, 161 
 
 Minpui hill, 135 
 
 Mirem family, 167 
 
 Mission, The London Baptist, 113 
 
 Mist, spirits of the dead changed into, 
 
 222 
 Mithan, 30, 32 ; legendary origin of, 
 
 94 
 sacrificed, 130, 135, 138; Khelte 
 
 and Siakeng, 141 ; Rangte, 147 ; 
 
 Viute, 145 ; Ronte and Turau 
 
 (prohibit), 175 ; Thado, 204 
 Mivengtu, " watchers of men," spirits, 
 
 61 
 Mi-thi-chhiah, offering to cultivators' 
 
 parents, 65 
 Mi-thi-khua, xix, 19, 62 ct seq., 78, 
 
 84-5, 210-211 ; Old Kuki, 157-8 ; 
 
 Rangte, 147 ; Thado, 201 
 Mi-thi-rawp-lam, a Thangchhuah 
 
 feast, xix, 88-9, 221 ; prohibited 
 
 among Fanai, 137 ; not practised 
 
 by Siakeng and Khelte, 141 ; 
 
 nor by Old Kukis, 158, 170 
 Mizo, hill-folk, xiv, 110 
 Mongolian type. 1 
 Monkey, 123, 151 
 Monogamy, Vuite or Paihte, 143 
 Moth, the Atlas, superstition, 103 
 Mouse, legend of the, 109 
 Mrang clan, 213 
 
 Mualsavata, mythological hero, 100 
 Muchhip hill, 71, 126 
 Muchhip-chhuak, a branch of the 
 
 Chongthu clan, 126 
 Muchhip-chhuak, a branch of the 
 
 Tochong clan, 127 
 Mullah, Sailo chief, 140 
 Musical instruments, 28, 152 
 Mu-van-lai, a spirit who attacks the 
 
 departed, 64 
 
 Naga hills, xiv, 189 
 
 Naga people. The, xiii, xix, 11, 20, 
 
 21, 55, 69, 86, 90, 143. 170, 192, 
 
 199 
 Nairung, ancestor of Kolhens, 150 
 Nao-hri sacrifice, 70, 77, 130 
 Nao-lam-kut, Ngente substitute for, 
 
 133 
 Nau-bil-vu, a Thado birth sacrifice, 
 
 203 
 Nau-puan-puak-man, marriage fee 
 
 received by a sister from husband 
 
 of her younger sister, 52, 154 
 Naw-clawng, Lakher equivalent for 
 
 "hlamzuih," 223 
 Necklaces, 65
 
 INDEX 
 
 245 
 
 Nepal, 110 
 
 Ngaia, a Ngente chief, 13-2, 134 
 
 Ngai-ti, legend of, 95 
 
 Ngakchi, a branch of the Changte 
 
 clan, 125 
 Ngalchi, a branch of the Liuigkhua 
 
 clan, 127 
 Ngalchung, a branch of the Lungkhua 
 
 clan, 127 
 Ngamboma, tale of, 209-11 
 Ngaphawl, a branch of Lungkhua 
 
 clan, 127 
 Ngehguka, a Paihte chief, 3 
 Ngente, a non-Lushei clan, 132-3, 
 
 168, 173 
 Ngente hill, 173 
 Niinan, marriage price paid to bride's 
 
 aunt on father's side, 51, 154 
 Nimkut feast, 87 
 
 Ngente, 133 
 No-hla, a Lakher marriage price, 
 
 218-9 
 Nomadic habits, 27, 156 
 Nuengi, legend of, 95-6 
 Nongjai, supposed wife of Pathen. 
 
 200 
 Nu-hrili sacrifice, 77 
 Nuaijingmang, Thado evil spirit, 
 
 201 
 Numeina, Aiinol she-demon, 158 
 Nungchomba, a Manipuri god, 159 
 Nungshaba, a Chawte god, 159 
 
 Oaths, 55 
 
 0-kia, a Lakher marriage price, 
 
 218-9 
 Omens, 108, 146, 163, 203 
 Ornaments, 59 
 
 Lakher, 215 
 
 Old Kuki, 152 
 
 Vuite, 143 
 Owl, legend of, 94 
 
 Paciiaxa, a Pvonte family, 173 
 Pachuao, a Lusliei clan, 125, 140 
 Padaratu, a branch of Changte clan, 
 
 125 
 Pailite (Vuite), a non-Lushei clan, 3, 
 
 8, 41, 93, no, 142 4 
 Paihtea, sons of egg-hatched Lamleia, 
 
 142 
 Pakanglahpa, Old Kuki village 
 
 oHicer, 153 
 Pakhfingba, Manipuri snake-god, 106, 
 
 150, 158 
 I'aku, a Lakher festival, 223 
 Palal, Guardian, xix, 82-4 
 Marriage price paid to, 51 
 Ngente, 133 
 
 Pallian, a branch of Thangur clan, 3 
 
 4, 5, 13, 49, 125-6 
 Pamte, a branch of Changte clan, 
 
 125 
 Paotu, a non-Lushei clan, 134-5 
 Papek, a Ronte and Tarau festival, 
 
 175 
 Patel, Anal and Kolhen name for 
 
 Pathian, 157 
 Pathen, Thado name for Pathian, 200 
 Patheng, Kom name for Pathian, 
 
 157 
 Pathen-biak-na, a Thado sacrifice, 
 
 202 
 Pathian, xix, 50 et seq., 69, 94, 95, 99, 
 
 103, 109, 201, 220 
 Vuite, 144 
 
 Old Kuki, 157-8, 169, 177 
 Tarau do not worship, 175 
 Pawl-kut festival, 87 
 
 Ngente, 133 
 Pera, Lakher equivalent fur Pial-ral, 
 
 221 
 Phaileng village, 140 
 Phaizang hill, 146 
 Pheizaim, Thado Lashi, 201 
 Phun lu-buk hill, 95 
 Phungchi, a branch of Lungkhua 
 
 clan, 127 
 Phunkai, Thado adoption, 200 
 Pial-ral, xx, 62, 64, 186, 221 
 Pial river, 62-3 
 Pig, 18, 32 ; legendary origin of, 94 ; 
 
 sacrificed, 70, 72, 74, 77, 80, 102, 
 
 139, 145, 147, 158, 164, 166, 168, 
 
 168, 172-3, 175, 201, 202 
 Pi-leh-pu, Lakher "All-Father" or 
 
 "All-Mother," 221 
 Piler hill, 7 
 
 Poi people, the, 60, 95, 126 
 Poiboi, a Sailo chief, 146 
 Poison, Thado methods, 107 
 Polygamy, 50, 159, l«li 
 Polkut, a Lushai festival, 169 
 Portents, 104 5 
 Pottery, 29 
 
 Priests, 80. See under Viu-lhiam 
 Old Kuki, 149 
 Lakher, 224 
 Property in land, ideas of, 156 
 Pu, XX 
 Pu river, xx 
 
 Puanpui, a Lushei quilt, 31 
 Puggris, 9 
 Pui tliiam, xx, 44, 60, 75, 77, 80-1, 
 
 83, 90, lO-J, 13(1, Kin 
 Old i\uki, 153 
 Kangte, 147 
 Vuite, 14"
 
 246 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Pupawla, tale of, 62-3, 147, 158 
 
 Pumtek, 215 
 
 Purbura, a Lushei chief, 7 
 
 Purum, Old Kuki clan, 149 et seq., 
 
 162, 165, 168, 169 
 Pushuni, Marriage price to bride's 
 
 nearest relation on mother's side, 
 
 51 
 Python, superstition about, 224 
 
 Quail, 97-8 
 
 Raia, corruption of Rajah, 187 
 
 Raids, 56 et seq. ; Old Kuki, 157 
 
 Rainbow, Old Kuki idea about, 184 
 
 Rai-pi-hra, Lakher marriage price, 
 218-9 
 
 Ral, funeral feast, 84 
 
 Ralte, a non-Lushei clan, 87, 93, 94, 
 131, 139eC.seg.,190 
 
 Ramcharipu, Aimol name for Pup- 
 awla, 158 
 
 Ram-chawm, clay figures used in 
 sacrifices, 74 
 
 Ram-huai, spirits, 65 ef seq., 80, 221 
 
 Ramhual, advisers as to jhumming, 44 
 
 Rampus, Chiru demons, 159 
 
 Ramri, 213, 214 
 
 Rangthai, tale of, 177 et seq. 
 
 Rangte, ancestor of Rangte clan, 146 
 
 Rangte, a non-Lushei clan, 146-7, 207 
 
 Rao-chhiak, food placed aside for 
 spirits of the dead, 65 
 
 Rape, 55, 200 
 
 Rapu, Tanau substitiite for Pathian, 
 175 
 
 Rat, 205 ; eaten, 36, 1 53 ; Legend 
 and superstition, 94, 102 
 
 Ratek, a Chiru and Kolhen festival, 
 172 
 
 Rawi-ni, day in the Chong feast, 88 
 
 Rawlins, John, xix. 
 
 Red-dao-boi, 40, 48, 50 
 
 Religious beliefs, 61 et seq. See 
 ?mder Festivals, Funerals, Omens, 
 Sacrifices, Superstitions, Wor- 
 ship 
 Lakher, 221 et seq. 
 Old Kuki, 157 et seq. 
 Thado, 200 et seq. 
 Vuite, 144 
 
 Reni-ar, xx, 83 
 
 Rembual family, 167 
 
 Rennel (Rennell) Major James, 
 xviii-xix, 6 
 
 Rengpui, a chief of Tipperah, 98 
 
 Renthlei, a non-Lushei clan, 13, 135 
 
 Rezar, a Chiru family, 154 
 
 Rezar, son of Chongthu, 150 
 
 Rhangkol(Hrangchul) clan, 6, 148,185 
 
 Rhinoceros, superstition, 103 
 
 Rice, not cultivated in Zahao country, 
 
 139 
 Rih lake, 67, 72, 94 
 Rikampu, Old Kuki legend of, 183 
 Rimenhoiyi, tale of, 98, 183 
 Ringchanghoi, tale of, 182 
 Rivang, a branch of Thangur clan, 
 
 3, 4, 6, 42 
 Rivers, poisoning of, 36, 197 
 Roite, a non-Lushei clan, 135 
 Rokum, a branch of Thangur clan, 
 
 3, 42, 125 
 RoUira, a branch of Sailo clan, 5 
 Rongthlang hills, 132 
 Route (Lonte), an Old Kuki clan, 
 
 173 et seq. 
 Roreiluova, ancestor of Fanai chiefs, 
 
 136 
 Rotchem, xx, 28, 97, 152 
 Rothangpuia (Ruttonpoia), 4 
 Ru, a Lakher marriage price, 220 
 Rulngan, a kind of snake, 64 
 Rulpui, the big snake, 105 et seq. 185, 
 
 201 
 Rulpui-thlen, snake deity, 106 
 Run river, 201 
 
 Sacrifices, Lushei, 70 et seq. 
 
 Old Kuki, 158-60, 168 et seq. 
 
 Vuite, 145 
 
 Thado, 201 et seq. 
 
 Lakher, 221 
 Sa-huai, spirits, 94 
 Saiha village, 213 
 
 Sailo, a branch of Thangur clan, 3, 5, 
 6, 7, 13, 42-3, 56 7, 125-6, 131, 
 140, 142, 146, 185, 186 
 Sailova, ancestor of Sailo clan, 5, 43, 
 
 125 
 Sakei-Ai, 79 
 Sakhia, Lakher equivalent of Lashi, 
 
 221 
 Sakhua, xx, 221 
 
 Chant, 143 
 
 Sacrifices to, 54, 62, 66-7, 70 et seq 
 81, 89, 108, 130, 135, 138 
 
 Lakher, 222 
 
 Old Kuki, 158-9, 161 
 
 Khelte, 141 
 
 Vuite, 144, 158 
 
 Route and Tarau, 175 
 
 Thado, 192, 198, 201 
 Sakripung hill, 150 
 Sal, captives, 49, 50 
 Sa-lu-an-chhuang ceremony, 78 
 Sambhur, 64 
 Sangao, 136
 
 INDEX 
 
 247 
 
 Sangaisel, Manipuri portent, 105 
 Saiigvunga, descendant of Lalul, 5, 
 
 38 
 Sankhulairenma, a Manipuri deity, 
 
 175 
 Saphun. See tinder Adoption 
 Sar Tarau equivalent for *\Sherh" 
 
 175 
 Sar-thi, death by accident or wild 
 
 beasts, 86 
 Sa-ru-che-u-ni, third day of IShe-doi 
 
 feast, 88 
 Satan (Seitana) 62 
 Sa-thing-zar, collection of wood for 
 
 feast, 88 
 Savidge, F. W., xviii, 1.'^, 226 
 ISavung, descendant of Lalul, 5 
 Sawnchal hill, 190 
 Sawnman, xx, 53 
 Vuite, 144 
 Thado, 200 
 Sazah, a branch of Hrasel clan, 126 
 Seduction 
 Tarau, 174 
 Ronte, 174 
 Old Kuki, 156, 186 
 Vuite, 144 
 Thado, 193 
 Shaithatpal, ancestor of Kolhen clan, 
 
 15 
 Shanghong, a Purum feast, 109 
 Shangpa, a Chiru family, 154 
 Shans, The, 174 
 She-cha-chun, spearing of mithan 
 
 feast, 137 
 She-doi feast, 88-9, 137-8 
 She-lu-pum, a Memorial post, 170 
 Shendu people. The, xiii, xvii 
 Shenlai, a branch of Haeiiar clan, 126 
 She-shu-ni, 2nd day of She-doi feast, 
 
 88 
 Shen thing village, 21 
 Shepuia, a brancli of Hrasel clan, 126 
 Shepui rocks, 126 
 Sherh, xx, 69, pf jxin-nm 
 Sherh-an-long, Lamgang feast, 170 
 She-shun, a Vuite Thangchhuah feast, 
 
 145 
 Rhithloli clan, 190^7 seq., 201 
 Shongte, a Ijraiich Thado clan, 192-3 
 Siakeng, a V)rarich of Ralto clan, 140-2 
 Siakenga, ancestor of the Siakengs, 
 
 140 
 Sialchung, a branch of Hualbung clan, 
 
 126 
 Sialchung, a branch of Lungkhuaclan, 
 
 127 
 SickneRs and I''|iiil«mic8, Sacrifices, 
 
 74-6, 158 9,21)3 
 
 Sibuta (Sheeboot), a Pallian chief, 4, 
 
 5 
 Silchar, 1, 5, 6 
 Silk, manufactured by Lakher women, 
 
 215 
 Singaia, brother of Chongthu, 131 
 Si^an clan, 190 
 
 Slaves, 55, 142, 193, 198, 216-17 
 Sleeping arrangements, 24-5 
 
 Rangte, 146 
 
 Ronte, 173 
 
 Vuite, 144 
 
 Lakher, 214 
 
 Old Kuki, 152, 155 
 
 Thado, 193 
 
 See under Zaulbuk 
 Sleep-walking, lieliefs about, 112 
 Snake, 153, 
 
 worship, 105-8 
 
 Superstitions about, 224 
 Sneyd-Hutchinson, R., xviii 
 Sodomy, 55 
 
 Not known to Vuite, 144 
 
 Nor to Rangte, 146 
 
 Scarcely known among Old Kukis, 
 157 ; or Thados, 200 
 Sokte clan, 143, 190, 225 
 Soldeng river, 59 
 Sonai river, 66 
 Songchungnung, a Chongthu family, 
 
 167 
 Songs, 71, 143, 204 
 Soutlunk, a branch of Hrasel clan, 
 
 126 
 Soppitt, C. A., xviii 
 Spirits, 65 et seq. ; Old Kuki, 157-8 
 Stars, Names given to, 20 
 
 Omens, 108 
 Stewart, Lien/. R., xvii, 1, 2, 6, 148, 
 
 185, 186, W^et seq., 226 
 Stone-hauling, Naga custom, 86 
 Stone Memorial, 85, 87 ; Chonluma's 
 in the Vanlaiphai, 185 
 
 near Chongthleng, 100 
 
 near Leng, 100 
 
 Mangkhaia's, 140 
 
 Old Kuki Memorial, 17(1 
 
 Thado Memorial of Buh-ai per- 
 formed by a woman, 205 
 Stone platforms, l>iale account of, 
 
 185 
 Suaka, sub-inspector of police, 130 
 Suakhnuna, a Lushei chief, 66, 
 
 69 
 Suicide. 2 
 
 Sukpuilala, a Lushei chief, 47 
 Siiktc (;lan, 3 
 
 Siunkani, a Viiilc chief, 1 13 
 Sum-kmini, verandah, 21
 
 248 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Sumklum, a branch of Vanchong, 
 clan, X, 127 ; a branch of Hrasel 
 clan, 127 
 
 .Sutmanga, a Thado chief, 1-10 
 
 Superstitions, 101 et. ■•ieq. Lakher, 
 223-4 ; Vuite, 145 
 
 Sylhet, 1, 3, 5, 189 
 
 fSymons, General, 110 
 
 Taihhlum, a branch of Hualhang 
 
 clan, 126 
 Talching village, 150 
 Tamu, 130 
 Tangkhul Nagas, 90 
 Tan, precipice, 68 
 Tao hill, 59 
 
 Taran, an Old Kuki cl;ui, 173 et seq. 
 Tatooing, 12 
 Tegnopal village, 175 
 Teknonymy, 19 
 Thado, ancestor of Thado clan, 131, 
 
 189, et seq. 
 Thado, New Kuki clan, xiii, xvii, 
 
 xviii, 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 46, 49, 59, 
 
 93, 106, 129, 131, 140, 142, 143, 
 
 146, 147, 148, 150, 185, 189, et seq. 
 Thalun, son of Thado, 191 
 Thangbawgna, tale of, 79 
 Thangchhuah, xx, 11,62-5, 87,147; 
 
 Fanai, 137 
 Thangchhuah feasts, 69, 87 et seq. 
 Khelte and Siakeng, 141 
 Vuite, 145 
 Old Kuki, 158, 166, 170 ef seq., 
 
 186-7 
 Thado, 207 
 Lakher, 222 
 Thangkua village, 3 
 Thanghlum, a Rangte chief, 146 
 Thanglian Borh, Aimol siie-demon, 
 
 158 
 Thangluah, branch of Thangur clan, 
 
 3, 4, 42, 57 
 Thang-tei-nu, a prophetess, 111 
 Thangur, a Lushei clan, xiii, xiv, 3, 
 
 et seq., 8, 41, 125, 126, 143, 185 
 Thangura (Thangul), ancestor of all 
 
 Lushei chiefs, 2, 3, 5, 6 
 Thao, a Chawte family, 154 
 Thlanropa (Dapa), legends of, 147 
 Thaurang, Sailo chief's village, 56 
 Thawnglura, a Ralte chief, 140 
 Thefts, 54, 156-7 
 Thempu, Old Kuki puithiam, 153, 
 
 160, efseq., 168, 171, J 72, 198 
 Thenzawal village, 76, 99, 106 
 Thiak, an Old Kuki clan, 183 
 Thian, xx, 51 
 Thi-an-chhe, portion for the dead, 204 
 
 Thiang-lo, unlucky, 70, 74, 79, 101, 
 
 102 ct seq., 106, 108, 111, 142, 
 
 220 
 Thichhia, unnatural deaths (Thado) 
 
 205 
 Thi-duh cerenionv, 165 
 Thihla, Thado demons, 200, 201, 205 
 Thimasha, a Ronte family, 173 
 Thimzing, Legendary epoch of 
 
 eclipse and metamorphosis of 
 
 beings. 93, 103, 123-4 ; Old Kuki, 
 
 177 ; Thado, 192-3 
 Thingbulgna, Thado tree-spirits, 201 
 Thingel, Thado posts, 205 
 Thir-deng, xx, 44, 198 
 Thirsu, Thado Thir-deng, 198 
 Thi-thin, death offering, 86 
 Thlahzang, sleep-walking, 112 
 Thlako sacrifice, 76 
 Thlandropa, Mythical hero, 94-5 
 Thla-sui-pu, Lakher, efjuivalent for 
 
 Chawifa, 224 
 Thangneo, a Thado chief, 192-3 
 Thlangom, a branch of Thado clan, 
 
 110, 192 
 Thangsang, Siakeng name for Hmar- 
 
 phir sacrifice, 141 
 Thichhiat, Old Kuki equivalent for 
 
 Lushai Heamzuih, 166 
 Thla-ko, a sacrificial cock, 223 
 Thiang-tlang (Klang-klang) chiefs, 7, 
 
 213, 215 
 Thlan-thang, village, 139 
 Thlen, Khasi snake-demon, 69 
 Thompa, Aimol chief, 152 
 Thonglien, a Lakher chief, 12, 13 
 Thotche, jungle rat, 205 
 Thunder and Lighting, Old Kuki 
 
 idea about, 184 
 Thumvor, Method of interrogating 
 
 hypnotised. 111 
 Tiangsha, a Ronte family, 173 
 Tiante, a Chougthu family, 167 
 Tiddim village, 143, 201 
 Tiger, 14, 33, 34, 35, 56, 64, 73, 79, 
 
 86, 93, 97, 109, 110, 139, 150, 153, 
 
 177 et seq., 198, 202, 205, 208 
 Tikhup, Old Kuki clan, 89, 149 et seq. 
 
 163, 170, 172; do not sacrifice 
 
 dogs or acknowledge devils, 159, 
 
 166 
 Tilin, 132 
 
 Tipperah, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 58, 98-9, 149 
 Tlangkua village, 131 
 Tlangau, xx, 44 
 Tlangsam, Thado crier, 198 
 Tlip feast, 89 
 Tlong river, 3 
 Tlungbuta, a Lushei chief, 55
 
 INDEX 
 
 149 
 
 Tobacco, 9-11, 12, 31,214 
 
 Tobul, a branch of Toehoiig clan, 
 
 127 
 Tochong, a Lushei clan, 127 
 Tonring, co-ancestor of I'liruin clan, 
 
 150 
 Tonshu, co-ancestor of Purum clan, 
 
 150 
 Topui, a branch of Tochong clan, 
 
 127 
 Toung-tha, sons of the hill (Lewin), 
 
 105 
 Tuai, prostitutes, 55 
 Tualbung village, 140 
 Tuali, a Lushei girl, 11 
 Tualsumu, a portent, 104 
 Tuazol, a branch of Hualngo clan, 
 
 126 
 Tuck, H. M., xiv. xvii, 131, 213 
 Tuibual (Dipwell) village, 140 
 Tuibur, part of tobacco-pipe, 11, 12 
 Tui-chong river, 95 
 Tui-chongi, a girl, 95-6 
 Tuichhung, a branch of Chongte clan, 
 
 126 
 Tui-huai, spirits, 65 e.t seq., 158 
 Tuikhumnga, Thado water-spirits, 
 
 201 
 Tuikhumlen, king of water-spirits, 
 
 201 
 Tuiknachoi (Tui-huai) Ainiol name 
 
 of demons, 158 
 Tui-leh-ram. Water and land sacri- 
 fice, 73-4, 223 
 Tuilrampui river, 1 
 Tui-pathen, Thado spii'its, 201 
 Tuiruang (Barak) river, 109 
 Tuithang, a branch of Haonar clan, 
 
 126 
 Tuillin precipice, 66 
 Tukutboi, persons becoming slaves 
 
 by desertion to conquerors, 46, 
 
 49, 50 
 Tulthung, a Chongthu family, 167 
 Tumpha, a branch of Changte clan, 
 
 125 
 Tumtin family, 167 
 Tyao river, 1, 3, 62, 90, 126, 131, 
 
 135, 136, 148 
 
 Ui-HA-AWR sacrifice, 77; Chawte, 130; 
 
 Fanai, 139; Khelte, 141 
 Uihovi, son of Rimenhoiyi, 99 
 Ui -bring sacrifice, 75, '223 ; Vuite, 
 
 145 
 Ui-te-luilam Bacrifice, 77 
 Umbrellas, 13 
 Upa, XX, 44, 131 
 
 Va-en-la, a Raiitc feast, 175 
 
 Vahlit hill, 71 
 
 Vahlnk, a mythical bird, 64 
 
 Vahrika, tale of, 109 
 
 Vai River, 149 
 
 Vai-tui-chhun village, 149 
 
 Vaiphei, an Old Kuki clan, xix, 22, 
 
 146, 149 et seq., 163, 166, 171, 202 
 Vaki village, 7 
 Vambio family, 167 
 Vanchong, a Lushei clan, 127 
 Van-chung-khrd sacrifice, 73 
 Vandula, a Lushai head -chief. 7 
 Vangchhia, a non-Lushei clan, 93, 
 
 127, 135 
 Vanhrniai-Thanga village, 4 
 Van-lai-phai valley, 93, 97, 131, 185 
 Vanlung, a branch of Vanchong clan, 
 
 127 
 Vanpuia, ancestor of Vanpiiia-hriii, 
 
 125, 140 
 Vanpuia, ancestor of Vanpuia-thla, 
 
 126 
 Vanpuia-hrin, a branch of Pachuao 
 
 clan, 125 
 Vanpuia thla, a branch of Chuaongo 
 
 clan, 126 
 Varchuao, branch of Pachuao clan, 
 
 125 
 Vawk-te-luilam sacrifice, 77 ; Siakeng, 
 
 141 
 Victoria, H.M. Queen, 99 
 Villages, 20-4, 44-5 ; organisation of. 
 
 43-4 ; Old Kuki, 152, 186 ; Thado, 
 
 193, 198 
 Vizan village, 132 
 Vokngak, a branch of Changte clan, 
 
 125 
 Vok-pa, Fanai sacrifice, 139 ; Lakher, 
 
 222 
 Vok-rial, Fanai sacrifice, 139 ; Lakher, 
 
 222 
 Vok-tc-khrd sacrifice, 72 
 Vonghtu, 213 
 
 Vonodcl, descendant of Lalul, 7 
 Vuite, a non-Lushei clan, 41, 74, 90, 
 
 93, 135, 142-4, 158, 186, 190 
 Vuite, a son of egg-hatched 
 
 Lamleia, 142 
 Vuta, a Lushei chief, 58 
 Vutaia, a Sailo chief, 4, 47 
 
 War, 56-^60 
 
 War of the North and South, 
 
 Warri, a game, 39 
 
 Weapons, 14 16 
 
 Weights and nu-asures, 19 20 
 
 Whalley, Mr., 216, 220
 
 ■so 
 
 INDEX 
 
 " Whenoli," a chief, 126 
 Witchcraft, 109 ; Vuite, 145 
 Widowers and widows, 52-3, 163 
 AVindows, token of householder's 
 
 rank, 27, 186 
 Women, barrenness, 70, 76 ; Thado, 
 202 
 Chastity, 53 ; Vuite, 144 
 Confinement, 2, 70, 81-2 ; Fanai, 
 138-9 ; Lakher, 223 ; Ronte and 
 Tarau, 174 ; Old Kuki, 160 ; 
 Ngente, 133 
 Dress, 12, 31 ; Lakher, 215 ; Vuite, 
 
 144 ; Old Kuki, 152, 186 
 Occupations, 17-18 
 Ornaments, 14, 143 
 Possessed by spirits, 110 et seq. 
 Tobacco smoking, 12, 31 
 Woodthorpe, Colonel, xviii 
 Worship, Ancestor, 65, 71, 89, 201 
 Natural forces, 65 
 Snakes, 105-8 
 Spirits, 65 et seq. 
 Walai, the lizard, 184 
 
 Yangmal, the earth-worm, 184 
 Yau, a Purum Festival, 172 
 
 Zadeng, a branch of Thangur clan, 
 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 42, 125, 126, 140 
 
 Zadenga, Thangur chief, 125 
 
 Zahao tribe, 136, 139 
 
 Zakachhunga, Old Kuki village officer, 
 153 
 
 Zanghaki, courted by Labuanga, 69 
 Zankiiuan, four days' feast, 89 
 Zawl, liypnotised state. 110-11 
 Zawlbuk, XX, 18, 21, 22, 103, 168 
 
 Chiru, Kom, Tliikup, 151 
 
 Not built by the Ralte, 140 
 
 Nor by Rangte, 146 
 
 Old Kuki substitutes, 152, 168, 186 
 
 Ronte, 173 
 
 Vuite substitute, 143 
 
 Not built by Thados, 193 
 Zatea, an Old Kuki man, 187 
 Zawlnei, a hypnotic medium, 110-11 
 Zawlthlia, aThangchhuah, 98-9 
 Zawngte, a non-Lushei clan, 135 
 Ziki, a girl, 66, 68 
 Zinhawn sacrifice, 77, 132 
 Zin-thiang sacrifice, 70, 130, 132 
 Zo, Chin name for Lakher or Mara 
 
 clan, 215 
 Zomi, a Thado female spectre, 201 
 Zong-pam, a branch of Chuaongo 
 
 clan, 126 
 Zote clan, 188 
 
 Zu, a fermented drink made from 
 rice, 36 
 
 Method of distilling, 37 
 
 Use in Sacrifices, 73, 78, S3, 87, 91, 
 138 
 Zuhrei, the big rat, 94 
 Zupalba, Old Kuki village officer, 
 
 153 
 Zu-pui-ni feast day, 88 
 Zuting-ni, fourth-day, 87 
 
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