ZATAIA, SAILO CHIEF AND FAMILY
The chief receives one hind leg of every wild animal shot by any of his men, and when the killing of elephants was allowed he took one of the tusks if his villagers were lucky enough to slay one of those animals.
The villagers build the house of their ruler, and formerly they also cut his jhum, but I regret to say that nowadays they have ceased doing so, and this is an unsatisfactory sign of how, without any desire on our part to do so, our rule has weakened the authority of the chiefs.
The chief held rather an anomalous position. Nominally he was a despot—I am speaking now of the state of things which existed prior to our occupation of the Hills—but in reality his power was very much circumscribed, and his subjects could so easily transfer their allegiance to some rival chief, who would probably be willing, for a consideration, to champion the cause of his last recruit, that every ruler had to use tact as well as force. In fact the amount of power he wielded depended almost entirely on the personal influence of the chief. A strong ruler, who governed mainly according to custom, could do almost anything he liked without losing his followers, but a weak man who tried petty tyrannies soon found himself a king without any subjects.
The chiefs naturally tried their best to stop people leaving their villages, and it was customary to confiscate the paddy of any person who left the village without permission, but leave was seldom refused if the emigrant intended moving to the village of a friendly chief; and if the fugitive took refuge with a more powerful ruler it was extremely likely that a demand for the prompt surrender of all his property would be made with such a show of force that it could not be ignored.
I add here two extracts from Colonel Lewin’s book, “The Hill Tracts of Chittagong and the Dwellers Therein,” page 100.
“The village system among the Kookis, i.e. (Lushais) is best described as a series of petty states, each under a Dictator or President. To illustrate the position of the chief or President I may mention that in 1866, when on a visit to the village of one of the leading chiefs among the Looshai, I was standing talking with him in the path that ran through the village. While we were thus standing a drunken Looshai came stumbling along, and finding us somewhat in the way, he seized the chief by the neck and shoved him off the path, asking why he stopped the road. On my asking the chief for an explanation of such disrespect being permitted, he replied, ‘On the war-path or in the council I am chief, and my words are obeyed; behaviour like that would be punished by death. Here, in the village, that drunkard is my fellow and equal.’ In like manner any presents given to the chief are common property. His people walk off with them, saying: ‘He is a big man, and will get lots more given to him. Who will give to us if he does not?’ On the other hand, all that is in his village belongs to the chief; he can and does call upon people to furnish him with everything that he requires.
“To collect his people, or in fact to authenticate any order, the chief’s spear, which is usually carved and ornamented, is sent by a messenger from village to village. Should the message be a hostile one, the messenger carries a fighting dao, to which a piece of red cloth is attached. Another method is by the ‘phuroi,’ which is a species of wand made out of strips of peeled bamboo, about eight inches long, in this shape (†). If the tips of the cross pieces be broken, a demand for blackmail is indicated, a rupee to be levied for each break. If the end of one of the cross pieces is charred, it implies urgency, and that the people are to come even by torch light. If a capsicum be fixed on to the ‘phuroi,’ it signifies that disobedience to the order will meet with punishment as severe as the capsicum is hot. If the cross piece is of cane, it means that disobedience will entail corporal punishment.”
The “Boi” Custom.—Among the Thados and Chins real slavery used to exist, and men and women were sold like cattle. Among the Lushais this has never been the case, but there is a class known as “boi” who have been miscalled slaves by those ignorant of their real condition.
Among the Lushais no one but a chief can have boi, who are divided into the following classes:—