The Lhota Nagas - free ebook by J. P. (James Philip) Mills

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The Lhota Nagas

J. P. (James Philip) Mills

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PREFACE

PREFACE

I have attempted in this monograph to give some account of the Lhota Nagas, a tribe whose dour attitude towards inquirers has caused them to be somewhat neglected in the past. Boasting no great knowledge of anthropology, I have avoided theories and confined myself to facts. During some three years’ residence at Mokokchung as Assistant Commissioner I have had considerable opportunity of becoming acquainted with the habits and customs of this tribe, many individual members of which are now my pers

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

and it must be admitted that the Naga, suspicious of strangers as he is, is a little apt to defend himself before he has been attacked at all. However that may be, I can state without reserve that Mr. Mills, during the three and a half years in which he has had to decide their disputes and deal with the Lhotas in various ways, has fully gained their confidence—without it this book could not have been written—and has doubtless found them, as I have myself, very pleasant companions, particularly o

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Origin and Migration.

Origin and Migration.

In colour the Lhota varies from light to medium brown, the inhabitants of the low ranges tending to be darker than those of high villages. The complexion even of the fairest girls is sallow, and the almost rosy cheeks one sometimes sees among the Angamis, and more rarely among the Semas, are unknown in the Lhota country. The hair is as a rule [ 7 ] straight, though wavy and curly hair is often seen in the villages near the Ao border, in which there is almost certainly a considerable admixture of

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Appearance.

Appearance.

The style of hair-cutting resembles that of the Semas, Aos and other tribes. The back and sides of the head are shaved all round up to a point level with the top of the ears, the hair on the crown of the head being left long enough to reach to the top of the shaven portion. 12 When asked why they have adopted this style of hair-cutting they say that their forefathers used to wear their hair long, but took to cutting it in the present fashion because it kept getting into their eyes and catching i

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Dress.

Dress.

Like the men, the women usually leave the upper part of [ 11 ] the body bare, though filthy waistcoats are nowadays commonly worn by both men and women in villages near the plains. When body-cloths are worn by women they are either flung loosely round the body so that the top outer corner lies over the left shoulder, or bound tightly under the armpits. Among the Northern Lhotas an unmarried girl usually wears a plain dark blue cloth ( muksü ). On the night of her marriage, however, when she goes

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Ornaments.

Ornaments.

Chamimo of Pangti A Northern Lhota with his two wives standing by the stone he has dragged. He is wearing the cloth called rükhusü . The full dress of the Lhota warrior closely resembles that of the Sema and Ao. Besides the ornaments already mentioned, he wears on his head a wig ( thongko ) either of the long hair from the neck and shoulders of the Himalayan black bear, or of the fur of the arms of the male gibbon. In his wig he may wear three king-crow feathers ( yizememhi ) if he has done the

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Weapons.

Weapons.

Daos are carried in a wooden holder ( lechap ). This, like that of the Aos and Semas, consists of a solid block of wood some eight inches long by two and a half inches broad, pierced from top to bottom by a slit about six inches long and broad enough to admit the blade, but too narrow to let the handle slip through. The holder is carried at the back attached to a loose belt ( lechapsü ), which may be either dark blue or white, and in the case of a man who has done the head-taking “genna” is embr

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Character.

Character.

1 Gait’s History of Assam , p. 162. ↑ 2 The Lhota villagers on the outer range relate that the Burmese visited them in a horde which moved on from village to village, looting everything they could find and eating all the food supplies and defiling the houses in a very Prussian way before leaving, the Lhota inhabitants having fled to the jungle on the approach of the Burmese. One Lhota, who related this to me, said that the Burmese ( mān ) must, in his opinion, have been some sort of spirit or g

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The Lhota House.

The Lhota House.

In a Lhota household each wife has a separate sleeping cubicle with a fireplace ( nchü ) in the middle. A well-to-do Lhota usually possesses three wives. The main building of his house therefore contains three sleeping cubicles and a little store-room ( bhuritheng ) at the back. The cubicle nearest the mpongki is called lhuhrui and is occupied by the third wife. The middle one is called olungo and is the abode of the chief wife. The back cubicle is called tachungo and is used by the second wife.

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Manufactures.

Manufactures.

Spinning Weaving Pottery. Though foreign articles are being used more and more Lhotas still make most of their own pots. They are round, and slightly contracted at the top, with a curved rim by which they can be lifted off the fire. The only ornamentation used is a string pattern which is applied by patting the pot while still wet with a flat piece of wood covered with coarse [ 41 ] string binding ( khuzü ). The clay is obtained from the banks of small streams. Two kinds are used, grey ( linyikc

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Agriculture.

Agriculture.

The Motharatsen ceremony. Among the Southern Lhotas a yearly ceremony called Motharatsen is performed by the Puthi and Yenga only when the crop is about half grown to prevent it being damaged by a small white grub ( ora ). On a certain day of which he has given previous notice the Puthi collects unhusked rice from the whole village and with some of it buys a pig. This he kills on the day of the ceremony, and going outside the village lays ten pieces of meat and ten pieces of ginger ( osing ) on

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Live-stock.

Live-stock.

Guns being comparatively scarce, the Lhota still hunts deer with dogs and spear as his forefathers did before him. Sambhur ( sepu ) are chiefly found in the flat river valleys, [ 64 ] and when hunted invariably make for the water, which they cross and recross repeatedly. Tracks having shown that a sambhur is in a certain piece of jungle, the dogs are worked through it by their owner, who encourages them with a shout like a loud laugh. With him goes a thin line of spearmen to guard against a brea

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Hunting.

Hunting.

A word on the taking of bees’ and hornets’ nests may find a place under this section. There are men who for some curious reason appear to be immune from stings, but the ordinary Lhota either smokes out the nest he wishes to take, or else kills all the occupants by taking a handful of the pounded skin of the chalmăgra fruit ( hmhmti ) and blowing the fumes into the hole. 28 Honey or the juice of the pounded leaves and bark of a certain tree ( tsungnung ) is often rubbed on the body as a protectio

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Fishing.

Fishing.

Fishing Pounding the “poison” into the water. Fish-traps are of various kinds. The most elaborate is that called osa , which is used on the Doyang and consists of a V -shaped bamboo weir pointing down-stream, with a long spout-like outlet, closed with stakes set closely together, and roofed at the end so that fish cannot jump out. The floor of the outlet is covered with bamboos laid lengthways, so that a fish once caught in the rush of water can get no grip to work up-stream, but is held by the

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Food.

Food.

To deprive a Lhota of his “madhu” ( soko ) would be like depriving a British workman of both his beer and tea. The Lhota only drinks water if he can get nothing else. He drinks “madhu” both at meals and between meals. It is made as follows. Rice is boiled in the ordinary way and spread on a mat to cool. A cake of yeast ( vamhe ) is then broken up and well mixed with it, and the rice put to ferment in a basket lined with leaves. Next day the liquor begins to run off and is collected in a bamboo “

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Drink.

Drink.

Illness is generally ascribed to evil spirits ( tsandhramo ) or the wandering of the patient’s soul ( omon ), who accordingly calls in a medicine man ( ratsen ) to extract from his body the bit of earth or wood or hair which the evil spirit put there, or causes a ceremony to be performed to call back his soul. A few medicines are, however, known. Fat pork is eaten as an aperient. For an emetic, chicken dung and rat dung are whipped up with water and the mixture is drunk—probably as effective an

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Medicine.

Medicine.

Home-grown tobacco is cured by drying the leaves in the sun for three or four days. They are then stamped and rolled with the feet and again dried. The result is a coarse-smoking tobacco, very hot to the tongue and difficult to keep alight. Hence the popularity of cheap cigarettes among boys nowadays. The short pipe ( tsintsanmukukhu ) is simply a short section of bamboo with a small bamboo tube stuck in the side of it, a few lines being sometimes scratched on the bowl by way of ornamentation. T

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Drugs.

Drugs.

Wrestling and running are not much indulged in, but both high jump ( untsongeyen ) and long jump ( eyenda ) are popular. For the former the competitors run straight at the jump and clear it with their feet together, the “scissor” style of jumping being unknown. A good jumper can clear a reed the height of his own chin. For the long jump a flat stone is put in position to take off from, and the mark which counts is that made by the jumper’s feet in landing, whether he falls backwards or not. For

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Games.

Games.

Besides songs, of which some account has been given in the section on language, the operations of reaping, threshing and carrying up the crop are accompanied by simple wordless chants. Only the proper chant which tradition sanctions may be sung. Were a man to use the wrong one, the reaping chant while threshing, for instance, the listening spirits of the fields ( Rangsi ) would be displeased and refuse him their blessings. Three varieties of musical instrument are used. Of these the simplest is

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Music.

Music.

The family get up before dawn, the wife being the first to blow up the fire, set the pot on to boil and open the door. After a meal all go down to the fields, taking with them “madhu,” cold rice and some cooked meat or vegetables. This the family eat while they take a short rest in the middle of the day in the field-house. The evening meal is eaten when they come back from the fields. After that it is soon time for bed. When the harvest is in there is less work, and men go away on short trading

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Daily Life.

Daily Life.

Exogamy—Polity and Village Organization—Property—Inheritance—Adoption—Settlement of Disputes—Oaths—Friendships—War and Head-hunting—Slavery—Position of Women. The Lhota tribe may fairly be said to have an exogamous system which is in the process of breaking down. There are three phratries divided into clans ( chibo ) which are in some cases further split up into kindreds ( mhitso , lit. “tail”). Strictly speaking a man ought to take his wife from a phratry other than his own. On this Lhota opini

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Relationships.

Relationships.

Note. —For the sake of clearness only one word for mother ( oyo ) has been given in the above list. But in speaking of women born in certain clans the terms opfu , opfuramo , and opfununghowo are invariably used instead of oyo , oyoramo , and oyonunghowo , irrespective of what clan [ 95 ] their husbands may belong to. These clans are all the clans of the Tompyaktserre phratry, and the Ezong clan of the Mipongsandre phratry. In speaking of women of the Nguli, Kithang, Sempinguli, Sityingonguli, S

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Polity and Village Organization.

Polity and Village Organization.

Cattle, houses and so on are the property of the individual, but land can be held either by the village, a “morung,” a clan, or an individual. The land close to a village is usually waste land and common property, as are the rights of “poisoning” in certain pools. Every “morung” owns land which is the property of the “morung” as a whole and not of any individuals in it. It is worked by the boys of the “morung” and the produce used to buy meat for ceremonies such as the rebuilding of the “morung.

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Property.

Property.

Property is inherited exclusively by the male heirs. Failing sons or grandsons, brothers, brother’s sons, first cousins in the male line, and so on, inherit in that order. The need of the heirs is the primary consideration, a system which in theory is almost ideal and in practice works excellently. An actual example taken at random will make the details more easily understood. A died, leaving a widow and three sons B, C and D, of whom B was the oldest and D the youngest. Of the rice, which was b

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Inheritance.

Inheritance.

Though so common among Changs and Semas, adoption is practically unknown among the Lhotas. One reason is that there are very few people poor enough to be willing to be adopted, and another that while among the Semas and Changs an adopted man and his descendants become practically the serfs of their adopter, among the Lhotas the chances of material gain for the adopter are few. Adoption of a girl seems to be unknown. There are generally relations of some kind ready to bring her up and get her mar

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Adoption.

Adoption.

When a quarrel arises between two villages, messengers are sent to fix a day, and if both sides so agree the elders of the respective villages meet on the path half-way between the two villages and settle the matter, exchanging drinks of “madhu” and eating together. If the responsibility for the quarrel can be fixed on any individual he is fined, and the fine either divided among the elders of both villages, or given to the village against which the wrong was done. In the old days villages such

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Settlement of Disputes.

Settlement of Disputes.

The oath is held in high regard among the Lhotas as it is among the Angamis. A man who is accused of an offence on suspicion may clear himself by taking an oath. The commonest form is for a man to bite a tiger or leopard’s tooth and to swear that if he did such and such a thing may a tiger or leopard kill him. The formula used is the same in all cases, excepting, of course, that whatever offence the man is accused of is inserted. For instance a man accused of adultery would swear— Ana I itsongi

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Oaths.

Oaths.

In other words, may he be killed “apotia” by a tiger and the whole village purify themselves with fire and keep emung for him. A few hairs from the swearer’s head, with a little earth, are often bitten instead of the tooth. In cases where the accusation is of stealing thread or some such thing, a skein of thread being said by one side to be stolen, and by the other side to be his own, a little of the thread is put with the hair and the earth. A very solemn oath which entails a day’s emung for th

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Friendships.

Friendships.

By putting a stop to head-hunting the British Government has profoundly changed the mode of life of all the tribes in the administered area of the Naga Hills . In the old days war was the normal and peace the exceptional state of affairs. War between Lhota villages was rare, and it was absolutely forbidden for one Lhota to take another Lhota’s head. 10 But unless peace had been definitely arranged, any village of another tribe was regarded as hostile and fair game. This never-ending state of war

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War and Head-hunting.

War and Head-hunting.

Mingetung Showing bamboo balls containing pieces of enemies’ heads and fence set up at the oyantsoa “genna.” Village Oha at the foot of Mingetung They have just been lifted and counted at the oyantsoa “genna.” On the sixth day after the heads had been hung up the Ramo “genna” took place. On the fifth day everyone who had taken a head or jabbed a corpse killed a small chicken and hung it up with some boiled rice and “madhu” rice wrapped in a leaf from the roof of his house in the mpongki on the l

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Slavery.

Slavery.

Were it to be suggested to a Lhota that he should go and consult his wife about something he would reply with a look of utter scorn: “What does a woman know about such things?” Nevertheless he would very likely not only ask his wife’s advice when he got home, but take it into the bargain. A Lhota’s wife is by no means a slave or chattel, but a very real companion. Her duties are nevertheless sharply defined. She must cook for her husband, look after the children, make the clothes for the family,

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The Position of Women.

The Position of Women.

1 The order given is that in which the first ancestors are said to have emerged from the earth. The three phratries are regarded as being of equal status. Tom-pyak-tserre is said to mean “forehead-scraping-clean-men,” Izumon-tserre “scattered-men,” and Mi-pong-san-dre “with fire-smoke-conquering-men.” ↑ 2 A big Sema village of the Asimi clan in the Doyang valley, south-east of the present Lhota country. ↑ 3 Another tradition says that the old man was of the Nguli clan. The Chorothui clan only

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Religious Officials.

Religious Officials.

An Opya bristling with bamboo spears thrown at it at the Oyantsoa “genna” Morung ( Champo ) at Pangti After the oyantsoa “genna” and before the fields are cut for the next year’s cultivation, some villages perform a ceremony called Pyotsoja in honour of Tchhüpfu , the godling of rivers. On the appointed day the Puthi sets out from the village early in the morning, accompanied by all the grown-up men of the community. A bird-hunt is organized, and when one has been caught alive all go down to the

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Public Ceremonies.

Public Ceremonies.

The Tuku ceremony. The agricultural year closes with the Tuku ceremony. Five days after he has given notice of the “genna” the Puthi goes round with his Yenga and collects unhusked rice from every house. Men married in the course of the year have to make an extra large contribution, and receive in return a special blessing from the Puthi when he visits them on his round. Two days later he collects husked rice in the same manner. With some of the unhusked rice he makes “pita madhu,” and with part

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Ceremonies for Rain.

Ceremonies for Rain.

The Potsokam ceremony. Many of the ceremonies performed by individuals, such as those connected with agriculture, have been described under their respective headings. Three main classes may, however, be considered here, namely, those performed regularly for the general welfare of the household, those which are connected with illness, and those social “gennas” on which the status of the individual Lhota depends. A “genna” called Potsokam (“present to the Potsos ”) is performed every year, or ofte

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Individual Ceremonies.

Individual Ceremonies.

A Lhota when sick usually attributes his illness to the malice of an evil spirit ( tsandhramo ), who has either introduced some foreign matter, such as hair or a little stone, into his body or has caused his soul ( omon ) to desert him at a certain place. In any case a ratsen has to be called in, who can see and “extract” any foreign body which may be the cause of the trouble, or can say at what spot his soul left him and is likely to be lurking. To enable the man to regain his soul a soul-calle

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Ceremonies for Illness.

Ceremonies for Illness.

There remain to be described the social “gennas,” which play such an enormously important part in Lhota life. Beginning from the first small “genna” they increase in costliness and importance till the ceremony at which two stones are dragged is reached. Almost every one of them entitles the doer to wear a distinctive cloth. The wealth and consequently the importance of a man is gauged by the number of these social “gennas” he has done, for the Lhota, like all Nagas and members of not a few other

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The Social “Gennas.”

The Social “Gennas.”

The Third Social “Genna.” The third social “genna” is called Etha . Nowadays the tendency is to combine it with the fourth social “genna” at which a mithan is killed, or even omit it altogether. The procedure is much the same as that of the Shishang “genna,” except that Humtso, Chami, Kikung, Pathong and Nguli clans claim that they alone have the right to sacrifice a bull, other clans being content with pigs. The performance of this “genna” confers the right of wearing the cloth called ethasü .

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Birth.

Birth.

Girls usually marry between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, and boys between seventeen and twenty-two. The ceremonies are intricate and differ in the northern and southern sections of the tribe. Among the Northern Lhotas the customary procedure is as follows. A man having decided that he wishes to marry a certain girl, he tells his parents, and either his mother or some elderly female relation goes and sounds the girl’s parents. If they are agreeable she goes again with a “chunga” of “rohi ma

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Marriage.

Marriage.

Among the Southern Lhotas there are certain differences of detail. The first ambassador is usually an old man of the bridegroom’s clan. If the girl’s parents drink the offered “madhu” negotiations are considered to have begun. Later the old man brings a present of meat and “madhu” and says, “This is so-and-so’s meat and ‘madhu.’ Will you eat and drink it?” If the girl’s parents say, “Yes,” the couple are regarded as engaged, and the man will help in his future father-in-law’s fields and make him

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Divorce.

Divorce.

In cases where the death agony is prolonged the Changs [ 157 ] cut a carrying-string on the threshold of the house in order to release the spirit, but there appears to be no such practice among the Lhotas. At death the nearest relation present closes the eyes and washes the face of the corpse. No hole is made in the roof to let the spirit out as among the Konyaks. A very old man ties a cowrie to a chicken’s leg and places it for a moment in the dead man’s hand. He then kills it in order that it

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Death Ceremonies.

Death Ceremonies.

Nritangpeng of a man who has killed an elephant Such are the usual funeral ceremonies, but under certain circumstances the normal procedure is not followed. An infant is usually buried in the mpongki , the reason given being the rather pathetic one that its parents do not like to think of it lying out in the rain and the cold. If a man was killed in war he was buried outside the village and no ornaments were put on his grave. Like all Nagas, the Lhotas regard certain forms of death with horror,

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Miscellaneous Beliefs.

Miscellaneous Beliefs.

A Dancer at the rebuilding of a Morung He has put on an imitation tiger’s tail as a joke. Every ratsen possesses a “familiar” ( sonyo ), which is usually a leopard, 47 but occasionally a snake. The Lhotas are perfectly familiar with the “leopard men” who are found among the Semas, and clearly distinguish them from their own ratsen . They say that the soul of the Sema “leopard man” actually enters his leopard, while the ratsen [ 165 ] is merely very intimately connected with his sonyo , which is

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The Wild Boar and the Tiger.

The Wild Boar and the Tiger.

One day an old woman set her rice on the fire to boil and went into her outer room to pound oil seed. Apfuho came along carrying another man’s dog which he had killed, and called out to the old woman, “Your rice is boiling over.” When the old woman went back into the inner room to look at her rice, Apfuho put the dog which he was carrying on her pounding table and called out, “A dog is eating your oil seed, old woman.” Then the old woman came running out to see, and hit the dead dog which Apfuho

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Apfuho and the Old Woman.

Apfuho and the Old Woman.

This is a tale of the olden days when men could understand the talk of animals. Apfuho and the tiger went across a river to hollow out vats from a log on the other side. When they had finished their vats and the time came to return, the [ 178 ] tiger asked Apfuho the best way to carry his vat across the river. Apfuho told him to carry it rim upwards, 9 and the tiger did as Apfuho told him. But Apfuho carried his own vat upside down and was able to cross the river, while the tiger, try as he woul

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Apfuho and the Tiger.

Apfuho and the Tiger.

The villagers, meaning to put an end to Apfuho, took him with them down to a big pond. Then when they got to [ 179 ] the water they all began swinging out over the pool on a creeper swing. They made Apfuho use the swing last and went away and left him, thinking he would fall off into the middle of the pond and be drowned. Apfuho kept swinging and swinging and could hardly hold on any longer, when he espied a man and a woman wearing fine ornaments and leading a mithan by a rope. He saw that they

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How the Villagers tried in vain to put an end to Apfuho.

How the Villagers tried in vain to put an end to Apfuho.

Long, long ago, before the Great Darkness came, there lived a man who kept wild dogs, as men now call them. With his dogs he killed and ate many deer. But at last he got so old that he could no longer go into the jungle with his dogs. So he called them all to him and brought them to his house. There he cooked enough rice for each to have a share, but when he divided it up it did not go round properly and the youngest dog got none. Then the old man said, “My dogs, I am very old and can no longer

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The Old Man and His Dogs.

The Old Man and His Dogs.

There were once two brothers. The elder was poor, but the younger was very rich. The younger brother ignored the elder and kept all his care and affection for his friend. One day the younger brother said to his friend, “My friend, to-day we will go and pick and eat red berries.” So saying they went. The younger brother climbed the tree, and while he was picking and eating the berries smeared himself all over with the red juice. Then he called out, “Friend, friend, I am falling,” and tumbled out

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The Story of the Two Brothers.

The Story of the Two Brothers.

Old men say that when the Lhotas settled at Nungkamchung 13 a widow had a big pig. One day the boys of the “morung” took the pig, promising to pay for it with rice. But they did not pay, though every day the widow came and said, “Give me back my pig which you bought for rice.” [ 182 ] At last she took her iron staff and poured magic powder 14 into it and walked round the “morung,” saying, “Give me back my pig which you bought with rice. Give it back. Give it back,” tapping the ground with her st

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The Widow and the Boys of the Morung.

The Widow and the Boys of the Morung.

One day a boy went down to the Doyang to fish. When he did not return home in the evening his parents became very anxious, and in the morning his father took some men down to search for him; but he was nowhere to be found. Then his father was sad at heart and went wandering alone along the Doyang, determined to find at least the dead body of his son. As he went he saw a hair on the ground, and picked it up, thinking it belonged to his son. But it was so long that he only picked up one end of it,

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The Boy and the Water Spirit.

The Boy and the Water Spirit.

Sityingo and Ngazo went to dig for bamboo rats. 15 Sityingo caught many, but Ngazo, though he dug all day, only got one. Then Ngazo said to Sityingo, “I have only caught this and you have caught so many,” and showed him the rat. Then Sityingo replied, “Even that you only got because I gave it to you.” To which Ngazo replied, “What, I have dug out this rat after digging all day and you say you gave it me!” “Then let it go,” said Sityingo, “and see whether I gave it you or not.” So Ngazo let it go

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The Story of Sityingo and Ngazo.

The Story of Sityingo and Ngazo.

A man took a company of children down to his fields to work. When they had worked all morning and it was time for the midday meal they asked him to give them their rice. But the owner of the field and his family said it was not yet time and would not give them any rice. Then the children said they were going to bathe and all went off, and said, “They would not give us our rice in time, so we will become catfish.” With these words they turned into catfish, calling out, “We are catfish, we are cat

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How Men became Catfish.

How Men became Catfish.

Once upon a time a man called Kimongthang called his sisters’ husbands’ relations together and gave them rice beer to drink and said to them, “I have cut a chentung tree ready for a sacrificial post. 16 Go and drag it in for me, but do not let a single leaf fall to the ground.” So they went and began to drag the tree, but the leaves were half withered and they kept letting them fall. Then, determined not to [ 185 ] let the leaves fall, they tied them onto the twigs and set to work to drag the tr

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How Men were turned into Gibbons.

How Men were turned into Gibbons.

One day a man of the Kikung clan named Yanzo took his nine dogs with him and went to hunt deer. But they would do nothing but jump and give tongue round a tree with a hole in it. Then Yanzo, knowing that his dogs would not give tongue for nothing, cut down the tree to see what was inside it, and found in it a jungle man. This man he took home and brought up and called Kithamo. Kithamo had a son called Mering, for whom Yanzo arranged a wife called [ 186 ] Khamdrio. Now Khamdrio had wonderful long

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The Story of the Kithang Clan.

The Story of the Kithang Clan.

Once upon a time wild pigs damaged a man’s crops very badly, so he went down to hunt them, and wounded one [ 188 ] with his spear. This he tracked and tracked till he came to the house of Lichao, the old man guardian of wild pigs. There he found two maidens feeding the pig he had wounded. They asked him what he had come for, but he was afraid to tell the truth and say that he was tracking a wild pig that he had wounded, so he replied, “Hearing that there were two beautiful maidens at your house

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The Story of Lichao and His Daughter.

The Story of Lichao and His Daughter.

A woman one day went down to her field to fetch some vegetables. She saw a fine gourd there and was just going to pick it, when a tiger saw her and said, “That is my gourd. Why were you going to pick it? I shall kill you.” With these words he caught her, but the woman, who was about to become a mother, said, “Do not kill me, and I will give you my baby when it is born,” so the tiger let her go. In due time a daughter was born to the woman. When the tiger heard of this he kept asking the woman if

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The Girl who Married a Tiger.

The Girl who Married a Tiger.

In the days of our ancestors there lived a woman called Lankongrhoni. She had a son who was very handsome. His name was Arilao. All the girls admired him only and wished to marry him. They cared nothing for the other men. So all the men of the village planned to kill him treacherously. They agreed that on any day when they should all go down to the river to poison fish, whoever failed to come was to be fined a big pig. Two or three days later they went down. Then Arilao’s mother said to him, “So

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Lankongrhoni and the Villagers.

Lankongrhoni and the Villagers.

A man and his wife lived together. Now at night the husband was a man, but in the day he turned into a hairy caterpillar. His wife did not know this. One night before she went to sleep she said, “To-morrow I am going to gather some leaves to eat.” Early in the morning her husband left the house first and turned into a caterpillar and nipped off the leaves and waited at the place. Then the woman came and at the sight of the leaves exclaimed, “Strange, a caterpillar has nipped off the leaves. I wi

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The Woman with a Caterpillar for a Husband.

The Woman with a Caterpillar for a Husband.

At the beginning of time what is now the sun was the moon, and what is now the moon was the sun. In those days when what is now the moon was the sun it was very hot, so that all the leaves and the trees in the jungle shrivelled up and died, and men suffered torments from the heat. Then what is now the sun said to the moon (which was the sun in those days), “Why do you shine so fiercely that you make all the leaves and trees in the jungle shrivel up and die, and cause men to suffer torments from

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The Sun and the Moon.

The Sun and the Moon.

Long, long ago, about the time that the Great Darkness came upon the earth, all the birds—for in those days the kinds were not as different as they are now—met in council [ 197 ] to decide how night should follow day. With one voice they called on the owlet to give his opinion. Then the owlet said, “Let there be nine days’ darkness and nine days’ light.” “No, no,” said all the birds, and smacked him on this side of his head and on that. That is why nowadays the owlet has a flat head. Then all th

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The Wagtail and the Owlet.

The Wagtail and the Owlet.

When the Lhotas were living at Longcham a tiger caused them grievous loss. One day it killed all of a party of nine women. Among them was Ramphan’s wife, who was about to become a mother. At this disaster all clamoured to abandon the village, but Ramphan said he would go and face [ 198 ] the tiger. First he put on each of his fingers a section of thin bamboo. Then he took his long dao and lay down among the corpses of the nine women and waited for the tiger. Soon the tiger came and went to each

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The Story of Ramphan.

The Story of Ramphan.

Not only have the Lhotas a number of traditional songs, but they are also experts at making up topical songs about any events of local interest. The singing is unaccompanied either by instrumental music or dancing. The following is given as an example of a traditional song. It is sung by men lopping the branches off trees when clearing jungle for new jhums. The Lhota version with a free prose translation is given, as no verse translation would give any idea of the swing of the song. It runs as f

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SONGS

SONGS

Zükitacho yakpowo echilato, Zükitacho yakwoina elhyu. The interpretation of this song is as follows:— On the tree that I am cutting May a cock minivet perch. On the tree that I am cutting May a cock hornbill perch. On the tree that I am cutting May a cock king-crow perch. [ 201 ] On the tree that I am cutting May taro and vegetables grow. The “madhu” is his who climbs to the top, The “madhu” grows at the top of the tree. On the tree that I am cutting May taro and vegetables grow. The “madhu” is

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Vowels.

Vowels.

There are no true diphthongs. The separate sounds of vowels which occur together can just be distinguished, though often very faintly....

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Consonants.

Consonants.

Article. For the indefinite article mătsanga is used both with persons and things, and nchyua with persons only. The article is, however, usually omitted unless there is some special emphasis on the singleness of the person or thing spoken of. The place of the definite article is taken by demonstrative pronouns. Gender. There is no distinction of gender except in the case of animate objects. For human beings epue , “male,” and elue , “female,” are added when the sex is not otherwise indicated; e

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Grammar.

Grammar.

The object immediately precedes the transitive verb governing it and is not inflected. E-na We soko “madhu” yuka. will drink. The direct object precedes the indirect. Ōtsi Rice to Chongsĕmo Chongsemo pia. give. The noun is not inflected for the genitive. The possessor precedes the thing possessed. Yănăsao Yanasao’s ’tsi rice Chongsemo to Chongsemo pia. give. Place and time are rendered by postpositions such as i , “to,” “in”; na , “from,” “with”; lo , “to”; theni , “with,” “from,” and many other

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Syntax.

Syntax.

Adverbs usually come first. Ochü To-morrow ana I otsi rice tsoka. will eat. [ 220 ] Interrogative adverbs, however, often follow the subject. Chongsemo Chongsemo kothang when rov? will come? Possessive nouns and pronouns precede the thing possessed, but adjectives follow the noun they qualify. Ana I Chongsemo Chongsemo’s ’tsi rice mhōna good tsoka. will eat. In compound sentences the principal clause stands last. Ochi There nyanya a goat vāna is ana I ntsiala. know. In reporting the words of a t

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Abuse and Nicknames.

Abuse and Nicknames.

An English mother who says to her baby, “Didums wantum’s bottleums denums?” uses language sufficiently like that in ordinary use to be intelligible to a mere bachelor, but the Lhotas have a curious custom, when addressing small children, of using words which are in no way connected with the speech of every-day life. For instance, “boiled rice” is called mama , “madhu” is koko , “rain” is tsetse , “eat” is hamto , “go to sleep” is shoboto , “get up” is hoksi , “sit down” is phato , “go along” is

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Baby Language.

Baby Language.

1 Linguistic Survey of India , Vol. III., Part II., pp. 284 sqq. ↑ 2 The name of an Ao-Konyak village. ↑ 3 A Sema name for the Sangtams. ↑ 4 A similar tradition is to be found in many Naga tribes as well as among the Padam Abors and possibly other tribes on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.—J. H. H. ↑ 5 Dr. Witter gives -katola as the suffix of the apodosis. I am myself inclined to think that the word tsokatola is the ordinary future form tsoka , plus a suffix -tola . ↑ 6 The Kayans of Bo

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APPENDIX A THE LHOTA CALENDAR

APPENDIX A THE LHOTA CALENDAR

There is no standard of weight in use throughout the tribe, but in every village there is kept a stone ( ephwa ) which is used in apportioning the shares of meat at feasts. The weight is generally nine to ten pounds. For trade a balance of the bismar type is used, notched to weigh in Indian seers and fractions of seers. The standard measure for rice is chukoluk , which is regarded as one man’s wage for a day and usually weighs about six pounds. The table would be as follows:— Two baskets ( etek

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APPENDIX B MENSURATION

APPENDIX B MENSURATION

Major Butler gives the following account 2 of a human sacrifice: “About the 27th July, 1850, Lieutenant Vincent succeeded in effecting, for thirty-seven rupees, the ransom of Tooleram, a Cacharee boy, who had been carried off from the village of Loongee-jair on the 18th February by a marauding party of Angahmee Nagahs. Two other children were at the same time carried off, but had been sold to other villages; a little girl was sold to some Nagahs at Beereh-mah, but could not be traced. The fate o

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APPENDIX C HUMAN SACRIFICE

APPENDIX C HUMAN SACRIFICE

As far as possible Naga-Assamese words have been avoided. For the following, however, no convenient English equivalents exist. apodia. From the Assamese āpăd (“misfortune”). Certain forms of death by misadventure are spoken of as “apotia” deaths (see p. 160). chunga. A section of bamboo with a node left intact at one end. Used as a drinking vessel or for carrying water. dal. Lentils. dao. A heavy bill used by Nagas both as a weapon and for agriculture. deo-bih. Literally “spirit-poison.” The jui

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NAGA-ASSAMESE GLOSSARY

NAGA-ASSAMESE GLOSSARY

machan. A bamboo platform. madhu. Rice beer. mithan. Bos frontalis (domestic) and bos gaurus (wild). morung. The “bachelors’ hall” in which the boys and unmarried men of a khel sleep. pan. A leaf which is chewed with betel nut and lime. panji. A bamboo spike stuck in the ground to impale enemies or game. [ 233 ] 1 Opposite each month I have given the traditional derivation of the name. The correspondence with the English months is only approximate, of course. ↑ 2 Travels and Adventures in the P

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Abbreviations

Abbreviations

Overview of abbreviations used....

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