The Lushei Kuki Clans 38

The Lushei Kuki Clans 38

In this tale there is some slight resemblance to the Lushai tale of

Rimenhoi, as also there is to the tales told by many clans to account

for eclipses of the sun and moon. The Kom, 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 Lamgang say that eclipses are caused by their

god catching the sun and the moon, who once stole his 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

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 off 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 sometimes 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 ants 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.

 

 

 

Old Kuki Clans--Khawtlang and Khawchhak

 

The Old Kukis 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 respectively, 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, 3. The Lungthau, a minor family,

attribute their downfall to an attack by Chuckmahs, which led to

their 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 family 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 our arrival in 1890, and, as in the case of the Vuite, 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 girl's 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.

 

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 accompaniment 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 mithan

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

Ficus, attached themselves to their clothes, and at night they dreamt

that the leaves spoke, saying, "Do not throw us away; we are sent by