Koihrui-an-chhat (They Break the Koi Creeper).—A party of young men, being supplied with hard-boiled eggs and fowl’s flesh, go off into the jungle equipped with bows and arrows. On the third day they return with the heads of some animals—for choice those of the “tangkawng,” a large lizard—and also a long piece of the creeper from which the Koi beans (v. Chap. II, para. 18) are obtained. They are received with all the honours paid to warriors returning from a successful raid, and a tug of war with the creeper takes place between the young men and the maidens. The heads of the animals are then placed in the centre of the village, and dancing, singing, and drinking go on round them all night, no young man or girl being allowed to go inside a house till daybreak, when the whole party adjourns to the house of a member of the Chonghoiyi-hring family—i.e., a descendant of one born at Chonghoiyi—and after further libations they disperse.
It is quite clear that this feast commemorates the victory of Lalmanga over Ngaia—compare the account of the reception of a raiding party given in Part I., Chap. III, para. 9. The use of bows and arrows is an interesting survival.
The tug of war with the creeper is found among the Old Kuki clans as one of the incidents of the spring festival, and in the Manipuri chronicle we find references to such amusements being indulged in. The Ngente evidently combined the play, intended to keep green the memories of their ancestor, with the usual ceremonies of the spring festival.[1]
The Ngente do not practise the Khāl sacrifices.
Language.—In the Linguistic Survey Dr. Grierson gives a translation of the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Ngente dialect supplied him by Mr. Drake-Brockman, and sums up his description of the dialect as follows:—“But in all essential points both (i.e., Ngente and Lushei) agree, and the difference is much smaller than between dialects in connected languages.”
Paotu. A very insignificant clan, of which I have found only one family. The clan formerly lived on a hill north of the Tao peak, to the east of the Koladyne, and were probably driven out by the Chins at the same time as the Kawlhring.
Rentlei. There are five families in this clan, which has long been absorbed by the Lusheis, but the Rentlei maintain that at one time, when they lived in a big village on the Minpui hill to the east of the Tyao river, they were the more powerful and showed their contempt for the Lusheis by throwing stones at the skulls of the pigs which the latter used to place on posts outside their houses after performing the Sakhua sacrifice, and this led to the Lusheis placing the skulls inside their houses, whereas the Rentlei to this day adhere to the custom of putting them outside. This clan is still looked on with respect, and chiefs frequently take Rentlei brides.
Roite. This clan is divided into seven families, one of which has a branch. There is nothing of interest to be noted about it.
Vangchhia. This clan has only three families and one branch. Its members are said to be generally wealthy, and therefore prudent parents strive to get them as “pu” to their children. Their Sakhua sacrifice is elaborate, a mithan being killed in front of the house, a cock at the head of the parents’ bed, and a boar at that of the children. There is a great feast, followed by nine days’ “hrilh.”
Zawngte. Now an insignificant clan, of which I have not obtained a single family name. Under a chief called Chengtea they lived on a hill north of Thlan-tlang, which is still known by their name. They were ejected by the Chins probably at the same time as the Kawlhring and Paotu. The eldest son inherits. They place their dead in hollowed-out logs in small houses outside the village, and leave them there for three months. In these particulars they resemble the Vuite. As among the Chawte, after killing a mithan the household of the giver of the feast wear some of the hairs of the tail on strings round their necks.