The Lushei Kuki Clans 35

The Lushei Kuki Clans 35

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." [10]

 

The Purum celebrate the festival in August, and the unmarried girls

take a prominent part in the ceremony. 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

programme by drinking and dancing together on the fifth day. During

the festival the village is "sherh."

 

The Chawte, before cutting their jhums, sacrifice a pig and go down

to the stream and sharpen their daos--"Trust 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

celebrated 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 subsequently 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 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

consideration 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 important 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 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 virtuous 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 village 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 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 consumed.

 

3. Other Feasts.--Mostly annual, if necessary provisions are

forthcoming. Some of these probably have reference to the crops.