The Lushei Kuki Clans 33

The Lushei Kuki Clans 33

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 forefathers,

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 much on the Lushai system of the

theft of certain articles having a fixed fine 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 payment of compensation,

the amount varying 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 practically 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 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

Tikhup, 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 unknown 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 Pakhangba and Nungchongba,

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 mentioned. 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 Kangjupkhul, 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 flowers, eggs, and rice are made 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 misfortunes 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 confrère. 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 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 household gods--i.e., the Sakhua--are invoked and the soul of

the child is summoned. Among the Chawte the thempu attends on the