CHAPTER IV

RELIGION

[1. General form of religious beliefs.] Practically all divisions of the Lushai-Kuki family believe in a spirit called Pathian, who is supposed to be the creator of everything and is a beneficent being, but has, however, little concern with men.

Far more important to the average man are the numerous "Huai" or demons, who inhabit every stream, mountain, and forest, and to whom every illness and misfortune is attributed. The "puithiam" (sorcerer) is supposed to know what demon is causing the trouble and what form of sacrifice will appease him, and a Lushai's whole life is spent in propitiating these spirits.

In addition to Pathian and the Huai there is a spirit known as Khuavang, who is sometimes spoken of as identical with Pathian, but is generally considered to be inferior to him, and more concerned with human beings. Khuavang sometimes appears to people, and his appearance is always followed by the illness of those who see him. A Lushai will say, "My Khuavang is bad," if things are going wrong with him, and he will also tell you that you are his Khuavang, meaning that his fate rests with you. I have also been told that there are two spirits called Mivengtu, watchers of men. One of these is a good spirit and guards people; the other is a bad spirit who is always trying to sell men to the Huai. Similarly each person is said to have two "thlarao," or souls, one of which is wise, while the other is foolish, and it is the struggles between these two that make men so unreliable. If a man hits his foot against a stone, he attributes it to a temporary victory of the foolish spirit.

In addition to all these spirits, there is another. Each clan has a special spirit presiding over its destinies. The spirit is known as "Sakhua," and all sacrifices to him have to be performed by a puithiam of the clan, and only members of the family can be present.

The Lushais believe in a spirit world beyond the grave, which is known as Mi-thi-khua--i.e., dead man's village--but on the far side of Mi-thi-khua runs the Pial river, beyond which lies Pial-ral, an abode of bliss. Access to this is not obtained by a life of virtue while on earth, but the due performance of sacrifices and the killing of men and certain animals and success in the courts of Venus. The following account of the common belief was written for me by a Lushai, who embellished his essay with a map. It will be noticed that in the latter he has inserted the Kristian's (Christian's) village and their heaven, the road to which is under Isua (Jesus), while the roads to the Lushai's Mi-thi-khua are watched by Seitana (Satan). This incorporation of the teaching of the missionaries with the indigenous belief is not without interest, showing a broad spirit of tolerance in the author, who, without abandoning the faith of his forefathers, is ready to admit the truth of Christianity and its suitability to those who profess it, and sees no difficulty in providing in the unknown lands beyond the grave a special country for each race, just as there is in the world he knows of.

Translation of a Lushai's account of the World beyond the Grave

"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 1 1/2 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." [2] 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. [3]

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.

Ah--h. Arise from the village. Aw--w. And accept our sacrifice. Ah--h. Arise from the open spaces in the village. Aw--w, And accept our sacrifice. Ah--h. Arise from your dwelling places. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the paths. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the gathering mists. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the yam plots. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from Bualchuam hill. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from Khawkawk hill. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from Buhmam hill. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from above the road. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from below the hill. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from Vahlit hill. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from Muchhip hill. Aw--w.

The spirits of three more hills are invoked.

Ah--h. Arise from the new village site. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the shelf over the hearth. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the village. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the floor. Aw--w. Ah--h. Arise from the earth. Aw--w. Ah--h. Spirits prayed to by our ancestors, Accept our sacrifice. Bless Luta's spirit (the householder's name), Bless us with sons, bless us with daughters, Bless us while in bed, bless us round the hearth. Make us to flourish like a sago palm, Make us to flourish like a hai tree. Bless us while the sun shines, Bless us while the moon shines. May those above bless us, may those below us bless us. Guard us from our enemies, guard us from death. Favour us with flesh. (May we have success in the chase.) Favour us with the produce of the jungle. For ten, for a hundred years bless us. Bless us in killing man, bless us in shooting animals, Bless us in cultivating our jhums, bless us in cultivating the beans. Guard us in the presence of men, guard us in the presence of animals. Bless us in our old age, Bless us when our heads are bowed down. Guard us from the spear, guard us from the dah. Those whom our grandmothers worshipped guard us, Those whom our grandfathers worshipped guard us. Bless us in spite of the faults in this our chant, Bless us in spite of the faults in this our worship."

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. [4]

[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.

Translation of Lushai Account.

"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.

Translation of a Lushai Account of the Sakei-Ai.

"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