Hnamte. This clan lived to the east of the Tyao river. Their most famous chief was Chon-uma, their last village was at Tlāngkua, on the Lentlāng. Bad harvests and general misfortunes brought about their dispersal early in the last century.
Kawlni. A widely-distributed clan sub-divided into at least 12 families said to be connected with the Ralte, q.v.
Kawlhring. Kawl = Burma. Hring = Born. This clan had a big village on the Hringfa hill, where the remains of earthworks made by them in their final struggle against the Haka people may still be seen. Messrs. Carey and Tuck in their “Chin Hills Gazetteer,” p. 153, say:—“Having settled with their formidable neighbours on the north, the Hakas turned their attention to the Lushais, who at this time occupied the country as far east as the banks of the Lāvār stream, barely 20 miles east of Haka. Their chief centres were Kwe Hring and Vizan, two huge villages on the western slopes of the Rongtlang range, and to this day the sites, fortifications, and roads of the former town may be traced.” The Hakas, not feeling equal to attacking their powerful neighbours single-handed, called in the assistance of a Burmese chieftain, Maung Myat San of Tilin, who came with 200 men armed with guns and bringing with them two brass cannons. “The Haka and Burman forces were collected on the spot where Lonzeert now stands, and, marching by night, surprised Kwe Hring in the early dawn by a noisy volley in which the brass cannon played a conspicuous part. The Lushais, who had no firearms, deserted their villages and fled in disorder, and for several months parties of Hakas ravaged the country, eventually driving every Lushai across the Tyao before the rains made that river unfordable.”
The people called here Lushais were the Kawlhring. The last Kawlhring chief was Lalmichinga. The clan is now scattered among the villages round Lungleh. There are eight families, but I have not found any branches. The Zinthiang and Zinhnawm are omitted from the Naohri sacrifices.
Kiangte. This clan lived east of the Manipur river, from which place it was driven by the Chins. Kiangte are now found in small numbers in most of the villages in the North Lushai Hills. The clan is divided into seven families, without branches.
Ngente. Although this clan has been practically absorbed its members have retained in an unusual degree their distinctive customs. The Ngente were formerly a somewhat powerful clan living at Chonghoiyi, on the Lungdup hill, where about 1780 A.D. a quarrel broke out between their two chiefs, Lalmanga and Ngaia, and the latter set out with his adherents to form another village, but was pursued and killed by his brother. Shortly after this the clan was attacked by the Lusheis and broken up. The above particulars were given me in 1904, when I was near the Lungdup hill. They seem to account for the Koihrui-an-chhat festival, which is described below from notes supplied to me by Mr. C. B. Drake-Brockman in 1901, embodying information gathered by him from Ngente living at Lungleh, many days’ journey from Lungdup. This is an interesting instance of history being embalmed in a custom of which the origin has been forgotten, and I humbly recommend its consideration to those wise men who are ever ready to interpret every custom as affording evidence of their particular theories.
Marriage.—The Ngente young man is no more restricted in the choice of his wife than is the Lushei, but the price is fixed at seven guns, which are taken as equivalent to Rs. 140/-. Of this sum the girl’s nearest male relative receives Rs. 120/-, the remainder being distributed as follows:—Rs. 8/- to the “pu,” maternal grandfather or uncle, Rs. 6/- to her elder sister, Rs. 4/- to her paternal aunt, Rs. 2/- to the “pālāl,” or trustee. Should a woman die before the whole of her price has been paid, her relatives can only claim half the remainder.
Childbirth.—Three months before the birth, the mother prepares zu, which is known as “nao-zu”—i.e., baby’s beer, which must on no account be taken outside the house and which is drunk in the child’s honour on the day of its birth. Women are delivered at the head of the bedstead, and the afterbirth is placed in a gourd and hung up on the back wall of the house, whence it is not removed. The puithiam sacrifices a cock and hen, which must not be white, outside the village, and, having cooked the flesh there, he takes it to his own house for consumption. On the third day after the birth the child is named by its “pu,” who has to give a fowl and a pot of zu. A red cock is killed and some of its feathers are tied round the necks of the infant and other members of the family.
Death Ceremonies.—The Ngente do not attach any importance to burying their dead near their place of abode. They put up no memorials and offer no sacrifices, and make no offerings to the deceased’s spirit. The dead are buried wherever it is most convenient. This is a most singular divergence from the general custom.
Festivals.—The Khuangchoi, Chong, Pawl-kut are observed. In place of the Mim-kut they celebrate a feast called Nao-lām-kut, which takes place in the autumn. For two nights all the men and women must keep awake, and they are provided with boiled yams and zu to help them in doing so. On the third day some men dress themselves up as women and others as Chins, colouring their faces with charcoal. They then visit every house in which a child has been born since the last Nao-lām-kut and treat the inmates to a dance, receiving presents of dyed cotton thread, women’s cloths, &c., and much zu. Compare the account of the Fanai She-doi, p. 136 et seq. below.