“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 1½ miles from the place where the Aijal-Falam road crosses the river.] To go there, 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.”

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 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 enumerated 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 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.

2. Ancestor worship. Though this can scarcely be said to be the religion of the Lushais, yet they firmly believe that the spirits of the dead are 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.

3. Worship of natural forces and deities. The Lushais do not worship the sun or moon or any of the forces of nature, though when wishing to emphasise a statement they frequently say, “If what I say is not true, may the sun 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 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 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 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.

Lashi.—Although the Lashi 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, 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.

4. Religious rites and ceremonies. In this part I propose only to deal with the various sacrifices which play so important a part in a Lushai’s existence, but the festivals described in para. 9 are, to a certain extent, 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.”1 I have found the Manipuri iron-workers when about to work a new deposit, also offer the hair from 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 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.2

The sacrifices made by Lushais may be divided into eight classes.

• 1. Sakhua.—A sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the clan or family.
• 2. Khal.—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. Sakhua. From the chant given below a good idea is obtained of what the word “Sakhua” 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 time they are “sherh,” and if they 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.

The spirits of three more hills are invoked.

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. Khal. There are many sorts of Khal. The following are some of the most important.

Vok-te-Khal.—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-Khal.—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 over the parents’ sleeping place. The sherh, consisting of the head, feet, heart and liver, and wings, are placed in a small basket and thrown away in the morning.

Kel-Khal.—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.

Van-chung-Khal.—A white cock is killed on the hearth and the flesh cooked inside the house. The sherh are placed in a winnowing 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.

Khal-chuang or Mei-awr-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.

3. Daibawl. The commonest of these is “Tui-leh-ram” (water and land). This sacrifice has to be performed at the outskirts of the village. It is to appease the demons inhabiting the woods and the streams.

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 ground. 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-pui.—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. Various sacrifices in case of sickness. Kangpuizam.—This is a very important and efficacious sacrifice, and can only be performed by a certain wise man of the Khawtlang or Vuite clans. It costs Rs. 40/- besides the cost of the 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 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.

Ui-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-tan.—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.

Khuavang-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.

Thlako (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.3

5. Sacrifices to remove barrenness in women. 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 egg, 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.

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.

6. Nao-hri. The following sacrifices are performed some time during 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-phir.—Cock and hen killed on entrance ladder.
• 2. Hmarchung.—Cock killed on entrance ladder.
• 3. Hmarkhat.—Hen killed on entrance ladder.
• 4. Vawk-te-luilam.—Small pig killed outside house.
• 5. Ui-te-luilam.—Puppy killed outside house.
• 6. Zinhnawn.—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.

7. Sacrifices connected with hunting and killing animals. Kongpui Shiam (Making a Big Road).—This ceremony is supposed to make successful hunting probable; it also foretells the result. It is performed before a large hunting party starts and also annually about April.

“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 Ri lake come, animals of the Champhai come, animals from the village come, animals of Ai-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 chief’s house, they say, ‘We are bringing men’s and animals’ heads.’ The upas who are collected in the chief’s 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 will 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, presumably 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, 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.

“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. Thangbawnga, 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” 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.

Haohuk 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. Sacrifices connected with jhuming. Lohman.—When the jhum house has been completed, the sacrifice has to be performed by the owner of the jhum. The puithiam has to be called and two fowls killed by him. A small hole is dug in the ground under the house and lined 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.

Fanodawi.—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. Priesthood. There is no regular priesthood; the nearest approach to 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 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.

6. Ceremonies connected with child birth. The particular sacrifices to be performed in connection with a child’s birth vary considerably in different clans and families. Within seven days of the birth, the sacrifice known as the “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 5) 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 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,4 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. Marriage ceremonies. A young Lushai as a rule chooses his own bride, but the arrangements are made by the parents. The would-be bridegroom’s parents select two male friends, called “palai,” who go to the parents of the selected girl and arrange matters. If the 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 bridegroom 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 palal. 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 “Inngaithlak.” 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.

8. Funerals. Different clans have different methods of disposing of their dead. The following is the custom of all true Lusheis, whenever the means of the deceased’s family are sufficient to meet the expenses.

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 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-lawk” 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 indiarubber-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 cheerfully superintended the feast, and a month later peacefully departed this life.5

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 by Pupawla. (See above, page 62).

Lukawng.—On a person’s death a sum, varying 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.

Sar-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. Festivals. There are three feasts connected with the crops. They are all known 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 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,6 they kill their pigs the next day after the Lusheis and the other ceremonies are postponed one day.

Mim-kut.—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.”

Pawl-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 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-lam.—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.

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 distinction. 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 continue 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 performed 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 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 projection 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 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.