The Lushei Kuki Clans

by John Shakespear

COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THADO AND LUSHAI LANGUAGES, WITH NOTES ON THE OTHER CHIN LANGUAGES AND MANIPURI OR MEITHEI.

Thado.	English.	Lushai and Remarks.
Ā	Fowl	Ar. Old Kuki dialects, Ar.
Ā-eng or A-yeng	Turmeric	Ai-eng. Beteh, Aishel.
Āi	Crab	Ai. Beteh, Iae.
Ā-le	True, right	Awle, all right.
Ashi	Star	Arshi. Old Kuki dialects the same.
Bān	Arm	Bān.
Bat	To owe	Bat.
Be	To beat a drum	Beng.
Be	Pulse	Be, all sorts of peas and beans.
Bon	To wrestle	Buan.
Bong	Cow	Se-bong.
Bong-hlo	Mud	Bol-hlawh.
Bu	Paddy	Buh.
Chem	Dao	Chem. Same in Old Kuki dialect.
Chep	To suck	Fep.
Chi	Salt	Chi; and in Old Kuki dialects also.
Chok	To buy	Chawk. In most Old Kuki dialects, Chok or Chak, and Purum has Lei, which is the commoner word in Lushai.
Da	To spread	Da, to put.
Chol	Tired	Chawl, to rest when tired.
Cham	Level	Cham.
Dang	Other	Dang.
Dai-tui	Dew	Dai.
Dāngka	Silver	Tāngka.
Deng	To beat	Deng, to pound, to hammer.
Ding	To stand	Ding.
Di	Correct	Dik.
Doi	Magic	Doi; and in Old Kuki dialects.
Doi	Weak	Doih, cowardly.
Dui	To love	Duh, to like, to desire.
Dum	Tobacco	Dum-ei, Dum-bawm, tobacco box; but the usual word is Vai-hlo.
Eng	Yellow	Eng.
Ga	Fruit	Ra; also Beteh.
Gam-la	Distant	Rām, country; Hla, distant. In Old Kuki dialects, La, Hla, and Lak.
Gam-mang	Forest	Rām. The Lushai Hills being covered with forest, Ram means both country and forest. Mang appears in the Manipuri, U-Mang.
Ge	To pass the night	Ria(k). Cf. Manipuri. Lek.
Gel	Hail	Rial. Manipuri, Lel.
Ghai	Pregnant	Rai.
Ghāl	Enemy	Rāl. Manipuri, Lāl; Beteh, Rāl.
Ghi	Heavy	Rit. Beteh, Rik.
Ghin	Sound	Ring, loud.
Ghop	Lean	Rawp, to become thin, to waste away.
Ghu	A bone	Ru; also in Manipuri and Old Kuki dialects.
Ghu	A thief, to steal	Ru; also in Beteh.
Ghul	A snake	Rul; also in Old Kuki dialects. Manipuri, Lil.
Gim	To worry	Rim, tired, toilworn.
Go	A bamboo	Ro, a particular sort of bamboo.
Go	To cremate	Rawh, to heat, to roast.
Ha	Tooth	Ha, and in all Old Kuki dialects.
Hāl	To set fire to	Hāl; also in Beteh.
Hām	Blow through	Hām, to play a wind instrument.
Hao	Rich	Hao-sak; the k is nearly silent.
He	To know	Thei to be able; Hre or Hriat, to know. Manipuri, Heiba, to know how to do.
Hem	Sharp	Hriam.
Hem	To soothe	Thlem, to pacify.
Hla	Month, the moon	Thla; and Manipuri and Old Kuki dialects, Tha or Thla.
Hla	Wing	Thla.
Hla	Song	Hla.
Hling	To suffice	Tling-tlak, to complete.
Hlut	To enter	Lut.
Hon	Garden	Huan.
Hot	To shake	Hot, to stir with spoon.
Hui	A dog	Ui. Hui or Ui in Manipuri and all Old Kuki dialects.
In	House	In; and in all Old Kuki dialects.
Kāl	To climb	Kāl, to go; also in Langrong.
Kalson	To walk
Kan	Dry	Kang, to dry up. Manipuri, Kangba.
Kāp	To shoot	Kāp.
Kel	Goat	Kel; and in all Old Kuki dialects.
Ket	To be broken	Keh.
Kha	Bitter	Kha.
Kha	Chin	Kha, the lower jaw.
Khel buk	Thigh	Khel, side of upper part of thigh.
Khoi	Bee	Khoi.
Khom	To collect	Khon. Manipuri, Khom-silba.
Khong	Drum	Khuang.
Kho-shi	To feel cold	Khua a shik.
Khu	Cough	Khuh.
Khubu	Knee	Khup. Manipuri, Khuk-u; Beteh, Rakhuk.
Khut	Hand	Kut. Rhangkhol, Gut; all other Old Kuki dialects and Manipuri, either Khut or Kut.
Keng	Leg	Ke.
Keng bai	Lame	Ke bai.
Ki	Horn	Ki. Manipuri, Chi or Ji; Beteh, Raki.
Ko	To call	Ko; and the same in Manipuri. In most Old Kuki dialects, Ko, Koi, or Kai.
Kol a phe	To lighten	Kawl a phe; and the same in Beteh.
Kong	The waist	Kawng, the loins.
Korka	A door	Kongkhar.
Ku	Village	Khua. Manipuri, Khul. Variations of this are found in all dialects.
Ku	To cover	Khum. Manipuri, Khumba.
Khul	A hole	Khur; and in Old Kuki dialects.
Kum	Year	Kum. Manipuri, Kumsi, this year. All Old Kuki dialects have Kum.
La	To take	Lak, with almost silent k. In all Old Kuki dialects the word is very nearly the same. It also has the meaning to bring, and so may be compared with the Manipuri Lak pa, to come.
Lai	Middle, navel	Lai; and in Beteh also.
Lai	To dig	Lai, to dig, to hoe.
Laili	Writing, the art of reading and writing	Lai-shuih, paper, reading and writing. Cf. Manipuri, Lairik laishuih, writing materials, and Kachcha Naga, Laishi.
Lam	Direction	Lam. Cf. Manipuri, Lom or Rom.
Lambi	Road	Lam-lian, though Kong, or Kāl-kong is the general word, Lam-lian being generally used for a made road as compared with a path. In Manipuri, Lambi; and in most Chin and Old Kuki dialects, either Lam or Lampi.
Le	Tongue	Lei. This word with very slight variations is found in Manipuri, Old Kuki, and all Chin dialects.
Le	Earth	Lei. Cf. Manipuri, Leipak, earth, country.
Lei-chung	Bridge	Lei, Lei-lawn.
Lei-ka	White ant	Lei-kha. Manipuri, Leisau.
Len	Net	Len.
Len	Big	Lian, contracted into Len. Beteh, Lien. Cf. Manipuri, Turel or Turen—i.e., Tui, water, and Len, big, though water in Manipuri is Ising.
Leng	To fly	Leng, to stroll or float in the air. In Manipuri the word means to walk, but is only used of the Rajah or very important persons.
Lim	Form, shape	Hlim, shadow, shape, picture.
Lo	Jhum, cultivation	Lo. This is another word which is found in nearly every dialect.
Lo	Medicine, drug	Hlo.
Lo	Suffix of negation	Lo, not.
Loi	Buffalo	Loi, Cf. Manipuri, Iroi; Beteh, Siloi.
Lu	Head	Lu. Common to all Chin and Old Kuki dialects. Cf. Manipuri, Luchingba, principal.
Lui	Old	Hlui; also in Beteh.
Lum	Hot, as water	Lum.
Lung	Heart disposition	Lung; also in most Old Kuki dialects.
Mai	Face	Hmai. Manipuri, Mai, and Beteh, Hmai.
Maiche	Vegetables	Mai, a pumpkin.
Man	Price	Man. Common to Manipuri, Chin, and Old Kuki dialects.
Māng	Dream	Māng; also in Manipuri.
Māng	To lose, to be spoilt	Māng, to die out; Mang ang, to be upset in mind. Manipuri, Mangba, to lose; Manghālba, to spoil.
Mao	Woman	Mo, a bride, daughter-in-law.
Me	Fire	Mei, another universal word.
Me	Tail	Mei; also in Manipuri.
Me	Cloud	Ro-mei, haze.
Me-hol	Charcoal	Mei-hol.
Me-khu	Smoke	Me-khu.
Me-tai	Widow	Hmei-thai.
Mel	Appearance	Hmel, face, appearance.
Min	Name	Hming. Manipuri, Ming.
Min	Ripe	Hmin.
Mi	Person	Mi. This word is found in all the dialects under consideration.
Mit	Eye	Mit, which with very slight variations is found in all dialects.
Mol	Hill	Mual, a hill, a spur of a hill.
Mom	To chew	Hmom, to put into the mouth whole.
Mu	Hawk	Mu.
Mu	Beak	Hmui, beak, upper lip. In most Old Kuki dialects, Mur.
Mu	To see	Hmu. Similar word used in all Old Kuki dialects except Anal, Purum, and Lamgang.
Mul	Feather, hair, fur	Hmul.
Mu mul	Moustache	Hmui hmul.
Mut	To sleep	Mut, lie down, sleep.
Na	Leaf	Hna. In Manipuri and Beteh, Na.
Na	Nose	Hnar. Manipuri, Chin, and Old Kuki very similar.
Na	Ill	Na, pain. Manipuri, Na.
Nai	Near	Hnai. Manipuri, Nakpa; Chin and Old Kuki dialects, Nai or similar words.
Nāl	Slippery	Nāl. Manipuri, Nālba, slippery, smooth.
Nam	To smell	Nam. Manipuri, Namba; Beteh Num.
Nām	A strap for carrying loads	Hnām.
Nau	Younger brother or sister	Nau. Found in Manipuri and in many Old Kuki dialects, sometimes Nai.
Nem	Soft	Nem, also in Beteh.
Nga	Five and Fish	In all Chin and Old Kuki dialects, Manipuri.
Ngai	To be customary	Ngai; has many meanings.
Ngoi	Fishing weir	Ngoi.
Ngol	Mad, foolish	Ngol-tawt, obstinate, uncontrollable. Manipuri, Ngaoba.
Ni	Sun, day	Ni. In all Chin and Old Kuki dialects and in Manipuri, we have.
Ni	Aunt	Ni; also in most Old Kuki dialects.
Noi	To laugh	Nui. Manipuri, Nokpa; Beteh, Inui.
Nom	To wish	Nuam, contracted into Nom.
Nau-shen	Baby	Nau-shen.
Nu	Mother, female suffix.	Nu, in nearly all these dialects. Appears in Manipuri in Nupi, woman, and “I cha nupi,” my child female—i.e., daughter. Nupi is especially interesting because it combines both the Lushai female suffixes Nu and Pui.
Nunga	After, behind	Nunga. Most dialects very similar. Cf. Manipuri, Back, Namgan.
Nunga	Girl	Nula.
Ole	Alligator	Awle. Beteh, Ove.
Pa	Father, and male suffix	Pa, in all these dialects and Manipuri.
Pa-gong	A widower	Parol; note the change of g into r.
Pasal	A male	Pasal, a husband; Pasal-tha (man good), a brave man, hero. The word is used for man in several Old Kuki dialects.
Paten	The creator	Pathian. With very slight variations common to all these clans except Manipuris.
Pe	To give	Pe. Very similar terms in all these dialects. Manipuri, Piba.
Pengpulep	Butterfly	Phengphehlep; Beteh Phelep. The Lushai may be Pheng, flat; Phe-phe, to move; Hlep, a slice.
Phai	Level	Phei.
Pho	To dry in the sun	Pho. In Manipuri the word has the same meaning and also means paddy.
Phung	Clan	Phung-chang, fellow-clansman.
Phut	To place upright in the ground	Phun.
Pi	Grandmother	Pi.
Pi	Feminine suffix for animals.	Pui. Found in many Old Kuki dialects. In Manipuri, “bi” is the feminine termination of adjectives.
Pi	Suffix denoting great.	Pui. Common in one form or other to nearly all these dialects.
Po	To carry	Paw, to carry on the back.
Pol	Straw	Pawl.
Pon	Cloth	Puan. The word in Chin and nearly all Old Kuki dialects is either the same or very similar.
Pu	Grandfather	Pu; and in Manipuri and all Chin and Old Kuki dialects. The word has also other meanings, such as maternal uncle.
Pu	To carry on the shoulder.	Puak, to carry on the back. Manipuri, Puba, to carry.
Pum	Body	Pum, belly. Manipuri Puk. There is a curious dissimilarity here in most Old Kuki dialects, in which Won or some such word is used for belly.
Pum	Raft	Pum.
Sa	Animal	Sa. The word is used generally for wild animals. In Lushai it is prefixed to the names of wild animals and to those of such domestic animals as are not indigenous. Thus, Sa-kor, a horse; Sa-kei, a tiger; while Kel, a goat, Shial, a mithan, Ui, a dog, have no prefix. Sa is used in the same manner in Manipuri—Sagol, a horse; Sangamba, an otter; Saji, a barking deer, &c. The word is found in Old Kuki dialects.
Sam	Hair	Sam. In Manipuri, Chin, and Old Kuki.
Sāng	Tall	Shāng. Manipuri, Sangba, long.
Sāng	Thousand	Shāng. Beteh, Shang.
Sa-ku	Porcupine	Sā-kuh. Manipuri, Sa-bu.
Sanga	Wild cat	Sa-nghar.
Sāt	To cut	Shāt, to chop.
Sāt	Hot, of weather	Sha. Manipuri, Saba.
Sha	To build	Shāt, to cut. As all buildings and bridges were originally of timber, building meant cutting, and a Lushai always says, “In ka shāt,” “I build a house.” In Manipuri, Sāba means to make or build.
Shai	Elephant	Sai.
She	To say	Shoi.
Shelda	Mithan	Shiel, but in conjunction She; Shepui, full-grown cow, mithan.
Shem	To make	Shiam. Manipuri, Semba.
Shi	To be cold	Shik.
Shil	To wash the body	Sil, to wash.
Soi, with “tu”	To converse	Thu, word; Shoi, to say.
Shok	A slave	Sal is the Lushai for a slave; but Suak, found in so many names, evidently means slave (v. Part I, Ch. IV, p. 6). All Old Kuki dialects have very similar words for slave or servant.
Sum	Goods	Sum. This word seems only to be found in Langrong among Old Kuki dialects. In the other dialects we find Nenun, Nei, Neina, which correspond to the Lushai Nei, to own; or Lal or Ral. Lal in Lushai means chief—i.e., the rich man; Cf. Hausa—in Lushai, rich, and in Thado, a chief.
Sunga	Within	Chhunga.
Tam	Many	Tam. In Aimol, Chiru, Kolhen, Kom, and Purum, Tam is a plural suffix.
Tangka	Rupee, silver	Tangka.
Tangval	A young man	Tlāngval.
Tāt	To kill	Thāt. Manipuri, Hatpa.
Te	To be permitted; to be able	Thei, to be able.
Tha	New	Thār. Beteh, Thur.
Thal	Arrow	Thal. Manipuri, Tel; Beteh, Thul.
The	Edible fruit	Thei. Manipuri, Hei.
Thi	Blood	Thi. Beteh, Thi; Manipuri, I.
Thi	Iron	Thir.
Thing	Tree	Thing. Cf. Manipuri, Sing, firewood.
Thou	Fat	Thao. Cf. Manipuri, Mahau, fat, grease, and Thau, oil.
Ti	To die	Thi. Cf. Manipuri, Si-ba.
Ti	To say	Ti. In most Old Kuki dialects, The.
Tin	Finger nail, claw	Tin.
Tou	A fly	Tho-shi, a mosquito.
Tui	Water	Tui. Ti, Tui, or Dui in all Chin and Old Kuki dialects. Cf. Manipuri, Tu-ren (Tui-len), a river.
Tunge	Nowadays	Tuna, now.
Tu	Grandchild	Tu. is found in this sense through all these dialects.
Ve	Left (direction)	Vei. Manipuri, Woi.
Vo	To beat	Vuak, or Vel. Aimol, Ve; Kolhen, Wel; Kom, Wuk; Purum, Wel; Lai (Haka), Vel; Siyin, Vat.
Vok	Pig	Vok. Manipuri, Ok. Vok or Wok are found in all Chin and Old Kuki dialects.
Wān	The sky	Vān.
Wa-phol	The pied hornbill	Va-pual. Va is a prefix denoting bird, employed as Sa is with animals. Wa is used in the same way in Thado.
Wat	Leech	Vang-vat.
Wompi	Bear	Sa-vom. Manipuri, Sa-wom.
Wu	To stink	Uih.
Wun	Skin	Vun. Manipuri, Un.
Wut	Ashes	Vut. Manipuri, Ut.
Ya-cha	To be ashamed	Zah-thlak, shameful.
Yan	Night	Zan.
Yeng	Yellow	Eng.
Ying	Dense, as jungle	Zim.
Yao	To complete	Zaw.
Yu	To sell	Zuar.
Yu	Rice beer	Zu, a word found in one form or other throughout the Hills.

The Lushai Clans

SKETCH MAP SHOWING THE LOCALITIES INHABITED BY THE DIFFERENT CLANS

John Bartholomew & Co., Edin^r.