PART III
LAWS AND CUSTOMS
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 opinion is quite clear. On the other hand, marriage between members of different clans is allowed everywhere and is especially common among the Southern Lhotas, though it is viewed with a certain amount of disapproval by the conservative members of the tribe. In some villages, again, chiefly among the Southern Lhotas, marriage between members of different kindreds of the same clan is permitted. The reason for these innovations—for innovations of the last three or four generations they are believed to be—is that a man’s choice of a wife is limited, for he is almost forced by circumstances to take one from his own village, or at any rate from a neighbouring village. A man in search of a bride naturally thinks first of marriageable girls whom he knows of near home. The parents of a girl, too, usually much prefer that she should marry a man in their own village, sometimes because they are fond of her, but more often because they want her to come in and give a helping hand in the house or look after them when they are ill. The Lhota marriage-price system is another potent factor in reducing a man’s field of choice. The bridegroom naturally does not want to go and work for a father-in-law in a distant village where he will have to live [[88]]among strangers, with no chance of keeping an eye on his own fields and those of his parents. The money part of the marriage price too is always paid in instalments and never in a lump sum, for a father fears that were he to take a lump sum he would be regarded as selling his daughter, as indeed he is to all intents and purposes. It is therefore convenient to have a son-in-law close at hand, where his memory can be conveniently jogged when instalments get overdue.
The following are the phratries and clans of the tribe, the clans which are regarded by Lhotas as having an extraneous origin being marked with an asterisk:—
| Phratry. | Clan. | |
| Tompyaktserre. | Kikung. | |
| Ovung.* | ||
| Tsangsükikung.* | ||
| Pathong. | ||
| Chami. | ||
| Worore.* | ||
| Chongyichami.* | ||
| Tsoboi. | ||
| Kuwang. | ||
| Izumontserre. | Nguli. | |
| Sempinguli.* | ||
| Sityingonguli.* | ||
| Mozoi.* | ||
| Rangpang.* | ||
| Shetri. | ||
| Humtsoi. | ||
| Kithang. | ||
| Mipongsandre. | Muri. | |
| Othui. | ||
| Eni.* | ||
| Thangwe Eni.* | ||
| Lapung. | ||
| Chorothui.* | ||
| Ezong. | ||
| Tsangle. | ||
| Yanthang.* | ||
| Moyoyanthang.* |
The three phratries, Tompyaktserre, Izumontserre and Mipongsandre, are said to be descended from three brothers, Limhachan, Izumontse, and Rhankhantang, or Rankhanda,[1] [[89]]who were the first men to come out of the earth. The origins of the different clans, so far as tradition relates, are as follows. In the Tompyaktserre phratry, Pathong, Chami and Tsoboi are said to have been the three sons of Kikung. Pathong is said to have taken his father’s head at the instigation of a friend whose name is not recorded. The Kikung clan claim a vague headship over the phratry, and say that in the good old days they alone had the right to wear ivory armlets and keep mithan. The Ovung and Tsangsükikung clans, the latter of which is found chiefly at Yimbang, are said to be descended from “jungle men” caught by members of the Kikung clan long, long ago. Chongyichami and Worore are regarded as closely related to the Chami clan, the former being descended from Aos absorbed when the Lhotas invaded the Ao country. The Worore or “bird clan” are particularly interesting. They are found only in Pangti, the last Ao village taken over by the Lhotas, where tradition says that the two tribes lived together for some time. The story of the origin of the clan is identical with that told about the Ao “bird clan,” Wozakumrr, and there can be little doubt that the Worore are really Aos who have been absorbed into the Lhota tribe. The story is that a Chami woman was sitting weaving outside her house one day when a hornbill flew over her head and dropped one of its tail feathers in her lap. She tucked the feather into her waist, and by it became pregnant and bore a son who was the ancestor of the Worore clan. Among the Aos no member of the Wozakumrr clan may kill a hornbill or even see the dead body of one that has been killed. Nor may he eat its flesh or wear its feathers till they are thoroughly dry. In common with the rest of the Tompyaktserre phratry the Worore clan do not eat the flesh of the hornbill, but otherwise they are under no special prohibition with regard to it. There appears to be no tradition relating to the Kuwang clan, which is regarded as closely related to the Tsoboi clan, and is often called Tsoboi-kuwang. The names of the two kindreds of the Ovung clan—Worosaeromo and Worosanromo—mean respectively “those who make bird platforms” and “those who do not make bird platforms.” [[90]]One kindred makes a little platform on which the cooking-pot and remains of the chicken are left behind after a “genna” in the fields, and one does not. No reason is known for this divergence of custom.
The original clans of the Izumontserre phratry are Nguli, Shetri and Humtsoi, descended from and named after three brothers. The Sempinguli clan is only found in a few villages such as Pangti, Lungla, Yemkha and Lungithang, and is said to be descended from Sema fugitives who attached themselves to the Nguli clan. The Sityingongnuli form another small clan reputed to be descended from a “jungle man” caught in a snare. They have the reputation of being expert snarers. The Mozoi clan is said to be descended from another “jungle man” caught by some members of the Nguli clan who were “poisoning” a river for fish. The Rangpang clan in turn is believed to be descended from a slave or orphan brought up by one of the Mozoi clan, and is often called Mozoirangpang. The origin of the Kithang clan is obscure. One tradition classes them as Izumontserre and another as Tompyaktserre. They take wives from all clans but their own nowadays, and have no tradition that any phratry was ever forbidden to them.
In the Mipongsandre phratry the Muri and Othui clans are regarded as descendants of two cousins named Muri and Othui who lived when the Lhotas were settled near Lazemi,[2] and were the great-great-great-great-grandsons of Longchethang, the first man to dig himself out of the earth according to one tradition. The Eni clan is believed to be descended from a slave or “jungle man” brought up by Othui. Thangwe in turn are descended from a “jungle man” caught by Eni when he was in the jungle cutting a species of bamboo called ticho. It is believed that in the year when these bamboos seed and die a large number of the Thangwe clan die. Members of the Thangwe clan are not prohibited from using these bamboos in any way. The Lapung clan, which is practically confined to [[91]]Lotsü village, is regarded as closely akin to the Thangwe clan. The small Chorothui clan originated as follows. An old man of the Othui clan[3] was in the act of sacrificing a pig, when on drawing back his spear for the thrust the butt came in contact with someone behind. The old man looked round and found a stranger standing watching. He took the stranger to his house and fed him, but the only reply he could get to his questions as to whence he had come was the one word “Chorocho”—“I came down,” i.e. from the sky. From this the name of the clan is derived. Ezong and Tsangle are regarded as original clans, sprung from cousins or brothers of Muri and Othui. Yanthang means “Rengma,” and the clan is descended from Rengmas who rejoined the Lhotas after the two tribes had split up. The Moyoyanthang clan is only found in Lakhuti. Their ancestors are said to have been a wandering band of Rengmas who were only allowed to settle there on condition they never claimed any rights in the village. To this day they can never provide a Puthi and may not take any part in the dance at the building of a new “morung.” This is a unique example among the Lhotas of a particular clan being regarded as of inferior status. With this exception all clans have equal rights, whether they spring from a supposed extraneous origin or not.
The number of clans which tradition says sprang from “jungle men” (orakyon) is remarkable. These “jungle men,” as the Lhota word literally means, are said to have been like Nagas to look at. They are generally heard of in stories as being found hiding in trees or stealing from traps. Possibly they represent aboriginal inhabitants encountered by Nagas at some period of their migrations.