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 left side as you go in. He then cleaned his dao and [[109]]took the omens by pouring the contents of a small “chunga” of “madhu” on the ground and splitting the “chunga.” Then he wrapped the two halves in a leaf, and opening the leaf suddenly let them fall to the ground. If one side fell one way up and the other the other, it meant that the omen was good and it would not be long before he did the head-taking ceremony again. If both halves fell the same way up no successful raid would be made in the near future. He then hid the pieces of split “chunga” in the roof of his house. Next day all the men in the village put on full dress and went round in procession singing from the Puthi’s house to that of every man who had taken or jabbed a head six days before. Vats of “madhu” and great wooden dishes of pork were standing ready outside each house, and everyone ate and drank as much as they could, which was doubtless a good deal. In the evening the little chickens and the bundles of “madhu” and rice were taken down and left in the Puthi’s house. He did not eat them himself, but gave them to old people.
It was most important that every Lhota should either take a head or at least touch an enemy’s corpse, for unless he had done so he could not put on the ornaments of a warrior: hornbill tail feathers in his bearskin wig, boar’s tush necklace, red-fringed gauntlets, red dao-belt, and dark blue lengta with red lines. One hornbill tail feather could be worn for each head-taking ceremony, but a man rarely wore more than six or eight at the outside, however many times he had performed the ceremony.
Whatever may have been the case in the past, at the time when Government first took over the Lhota country the aspect of a head as a trophy of war and proof of bravery had become subordinated to a view of it as something which would bring fortune to the village and enable those who took it or touched it to put on the ornaments of a warrior, no matter how it had been obtained. The result was that Lhotas were ready to descend to what was practically human sacrifice. The last head taken by Akuk, some time in the ’seventies, is a case in point. No heads having been taken for a long time, they arranged to buy a slave from Nankam. [[110]]On an agreed date a party of Nankam men set out towards Akuk, taking with them the unsuspecting slave, who was carrying a load. Half-way between Akuk and Nankam they were met by some men from the former village. All sat down and drank and talked. The slave was given a drink of “madhu,” and at a prearranged signal an Akuk man killed him with a blow of his dao from behind. The head was cut off, and pieces of the body sent as presents to various villages. Many men touched the head and these blossomed out as “warriors.” This horrible practice of buying and murdering slaves was, however, comparatively rare among the Lhotas, who were no worse than many other Nagas in this respect. Among the Phoms in unadministered territory it is by no means uncommon at the present day to sell slaves, or in some cases even troublesome freemen of a village. I have heard of a well-authenticated case in which a Phom sold his own brother.[17]
An interesting relic of war was the practice of mock fights which existed up to about fifteen years ago. A Lhota village such as Pangti would challenge an Ao or Sema village to battle on a certain day. Both sides used to turn up at the appointed place in full dress and feast together. They then separated and fought for say half an hour. Sticks and stones would fly, and then the two sides would close and attempt to tear off each other’s ornaments. Daos and spears were barred, but sticks and shields were carried.[18] At a signal the fight would cease and the late enemies would settle down to quench their thirst in amicable groups. Looted ornaments were not returned, however. Men were pretty badly hurt and occasionally even killed, but I believe [[111]]no report was ever made to the officials of the district; to have done so would have been considered unsporting. Men who took part in these battles were allowed to put on the ornaments of a warrior, provided, of course, they gave the necessary feast to the old men.
Slavery.
In common with their neighbours, Lhotas used to keep slaves (’ndri). A thief could be sold by the man whose property he had stolen if he could not return it, or a debtor could be sold by his creditors. The Aos were great slave-holders and were always ready to trade in slaves with the Lhotas. There is an old freed slave woman now in Nankam who was sold by Okotso. The usual price was two or three cows. Masters had the power of life and death, but slaves seem generally to have been treated more or less as members of the family, and for the purposes of marriage were regarded as members of their master’s clan. It was thus forbidden for a man to have immoral relations with his female slave. He would find a husband for her and take her marriage price. Her children were then free and regarded as ordinary Lhotas. If, however, a Lhota girl was arranged as a wife for a slave-man the children of the marriage were in turn slaves and had no right of inheritance whatever.