Some of the Socio-Cultural and Political Significance/Life of Chin Community

By Henry Nawl Thang Bik
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Though there were many socio-cultural and political significances of Chin community in the ancient period, here I would like to mention a few of them, short to the point as the followings:

Socio-cultural Background

The Village (Khua): - Chin polity was village-based.[1] The Chin (Lai) village[2] is not only a political unit but also a social and religious unit. Therefore, theologically, the term ‘Khua’ in the traditional Chin concept is a very significant and plays vital role concerning the religious practices. As Walu Walling rightly affirms, “The tribal community of the Chin has egalitarian and communitarian ethos and there was no place for individualistic ideas.”[3] So as the Chin people, for instance, every household in the village has to contribute and must participate in community works whether rich or poor.[4]

The Zawlbawk: - The author is not clear in your mind whether the Lai tribe had Zawlbuk. But the Mizo, in the West Chinram, Zawlbuk is nutshell of moral code. The Zawlbuk was the male dormitory. The Zawlbuk served as the educational, cultural and communal center for the village.[5] At the Zawlbuk young men learn love songs, folk song, war dance, poetry and even sports. Thus a Zawlbuk (Baan in Konyak Naga dialect) is for the Chin, a place where they learnt the ways of life.[6]

  

The Head-hunting: - The Chin practiced head-hunting. Hence the villages were at constant wars with each other. The motive behind the cruel practice was mainly for gaining personal prestige. W.C. Smith writes, “But the most deep lying motive seems to have been of a social nature, because a man’s social position depended upon his success in war.”[7]

Marriage: -Laws regarding marriage was extensive. The initiative was always from the boy’s side. His family sent a Lamkal (negotiator)[8] to the girl’s parent.[9] The marriage is usually endogamous regarding the clan, and exogamous regarding the family.[10] One significant privilege that the Chin women enjoy is that they are free from the dowry system.  Instead of the bride paying, the male’s family pays a marriage price of a bull or cow, or the equivalent in Kyats[11] (rupees in India),[12] to the girl’s family, and the girl goes to live with her husband’s family.[13]

Chin Khua Khai says, “Marriage according to Chin is not a mere sexual companionship and child bearing, but it is also a union between social groups of relatives of the bride and the groom.”[14] If divorce is the wife’s fault, the marriage price must be returned to the husband’s family[15] but the price was not to be paid back if the marriage was terminated from the husband’s side. In her new home the bride’s situation was one of testing—until she gave birth to her first child. Giving birth to a son would establish her as a mother and the couple would set up a home of their own, unless the husband was the inheritor of his parents’ property.[16]

Divorce: -Divorce was quite common, but unless the wife through a fault of her own[17] jeopardized her position she was protected by the customary law. The wife had rights of divorce equal with those of her husband and both were bound by specific conditions of the customary law. They would be equally liable to fines depending on who was judged to be at fault. N.E. Parry affirms, “The divorced woman was also not victimized by any social stigma and was free to remarry, which she usually did.”[18]

Thlawmngeihna/k: - From ancient times there was in (Chin or Zos) philosophy an ideal of service and manliness, which is called Tlawmngeihnak or Tlawmngeihna. Not translatable into English, it is sometimes explained as ‘Self-sacrifice for the good of the community.’ Donna Strom rightly comments, “A person possessing Tlawmngeihnak is ‘courteous, industrious, hospitable, and always ready to help others.”[19] It is the most important outcome of the Zawlbuk training[20] with lasting effect was the development and perfection of Tlamngaihna. Tlaawmngaihna is the term used for the Chin “Code of Morals”[21] a  “highly pride” virtue[22] and a “wonderful philosophy of life,”[23] which is rich in meaning and so wide in scope, so that it has been found virtually impossible to render it in any single word or phrase of another language.

Legendary Stories: - Only a few will be cited here for the purpose of showing how legendary stories contributed towards the moulding of the minds and character of the youth. First, there is the story of a treacherous Monkey and a Bear in which the story-teller impresses upon the listeners that ‘to cheat those who wish us no harm,’ as McCall puts it, ‘is to make trouble for ourselves needlessly.’[24] Second, there is story about Thinlang (One Whose Spleen in Out), a terrible evil spirit, who, nevertheless, was willing to help a girl heavily loaded with fire-wood if she promised never to disclose what she saw to others. Her inability to keep this promise resulted in her terrible death in spite of all efforts to protect her. This was a warning that ‘if heard in trust or confidence’ one should keep the matter to one-self.[25]

Political System

The Ram-Uk-Bawi/Lal (Chief): - Stevenson defines the term Ram-uk as ‘the lord of the soil.’[26] Literally, Ram-uk means ‘the ruler of the land,’ or ‘the country,’ and ‘they are the tribal chiefs’ or ‘country chiefs,’ as Lehman puts it. A village was, as it still is, a well-knit community over which the Ram-Uk-Bawi/Lal or chief ruled. The chief, in traditional Chin society, received the mandate of religious power and political authority from the Khua-hrum, therefore, the chief owned the village and its land. Because from the religious point of view, the guardian god Khua-hrum was the real owner of the land and the chief acted on behalf of Khua-hrum, called in Chin: ‘Khua nih a hnuai mi hna an si,’ and as Lian H. Sakhong states, “These powers should not be diverted to any other clan or family, but must be handed down generation after generation.”[27] The inhabitants of the village were his subjects and were implicitly bound by customary law to obey and execute his commands. The chiefs were generally wise and shrewd, knowing how to make their people loyal to themselves. The chief also had great responsibility for his subjects. As the guardian of the village, he was responsible for defending it from enemies. The chief was respected, admired and loved by his subjects.

The Upas (The Council of Elders): - Even though power was theoretically held by the chief, in fact the government of the villages had democratic elements. This was due to the appointment, by the chief of Upas (Elders) to assist him in the administration of the village. The chief was free to appoint whomever he deemed fit, but usually they were chosen from among the Thangchhuaks, who were reputed public figures and representatives of the different clans found in the village.[28] Cases were attended to immediately and justice administered speedily. While warfare and headhunting were commonly practiced, murder was very rare. So too was rape and other serious crimes. Therefore few cases were actually brought before the council.

Other Village Officials: - Besides the Upas, the chief also appointed other officials to assist him in governing the village. They were, (a) the Tlangau (village crier)[29], (b) the Sosertu/Thirdengtu (blacksmith)[30], (c) the Tlangbawi/Puithiam (priest)[31], and (d) the Ramhuals (advisors concerning land to be cultivated).[32]

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[1] Mangkhosat Kipgen, Christianity and Zo Culture., 58.

[2] Villages are built along ridges at tops of hills, where air is clear and breezes blow. In olden days these sites were chosen primarily for defensibility against surprise raids by other clans. However, water supply is a perennial problem and must be carried up in bamboo tubes from lower springs or carried on shoulders by women.

[3] C. Walu Walling, Sacrifice and Salvation in Ao-Naga Tradition: A Theological Perspective (Nagaland: C. Walu Walling, 1997), 3.

[4] In all social works of the village, widows are exempted and till today this practice is being processed.

[5] The Zawlbuk could easily be distinguished from other buildings due to its distinctive shape and large size—it had to be spacious enough to accommodate all the young men and boys of the village.

[6] L. Metjen Konyak, The Socio-Cultural and Political Significance of the Mornarchical System of the Konyak Nagas (Kashmere Gate: ISPCK, 2003), 29-30.

[7] W. C. Smith, The Ao-Naga Tribes of Assam: A Study on Ethnology and Society (London: Macmillian, 1925), 71. Among the Lai tribes, the Khuangli tribe and the Tiphul clan were who brutally and terrifically practiced headhunting.

[8] The Lamkal or Negotiator can be his uncle or one of his relatives and it can also be the nearest friend of the boy’s family.

[9] Kipgen, Zo’s Culture., 79.

[10] John Shakespear, The Lushei Kuki Clans., 49.

[11] Kyat is the money name of Myanmar, and 1$ is equivalent to 1000 Ks.

[12] This marriage price is distributed to the girl’s relatives, who then have a responsibility for the girl if she should fall into difficulties.

[13] When a man married a woman he had to give a marriage price to 1) the bride’s father, 2) one of her brothers, 3) one of her aunts and 4) the brother of her mother. The value of the marriage price depended on the caste of the bride. If the bride was from the noble class, a marriage price would be very high. A woman of this class was worth five times more than an ordinary woman.

[14] Chin Khua Khai, Dynamics of Renewal: A Historical Movement Among the Zomi (Chin) in Myanmar., 68.

[15] Donna Strom, Wind Through the Bamboo: The Story of Transformed Mizos., 11.

[16] The youngest son inherits most or all of his father’s property, and thus is responsible to look after his parents in their old age. In the absence of a son, the nearest male relative becomes the heir; Cf; Donna Strom, Wind Through the Bamboo: The Story of Transformed Mizos., 11.

[17] Such as failing to give birth to a son which was considered important in the Chin patriarchal society.

[18]N.E. Parry, A Monograph on Lushai Customs and Ceremonies (Shilong: Government Press, 1928), 42-49.

[19] Donna Strom, Wind Through the Bamboo: The Story of Transformed Mizos., 6.

[20] Mangkhosat Kipgen, Zo Culture., 64.

[21] N.E. Parry, A Monograph on Lushai Customs and Ceremonies., 19.

[22] J. Meirion Lloyd, “Harvest in the Hill,” History of the Church In Mizoram (Aizawl: Synod Publication Board, Gospel Centenary Series No. 1, 1991), 4.

[23] N. Chatterji, Zawlbuk as a Social Institution in the Mizo Society (Aizawl: Tribal Research Institute, 1975), 15.

[24] Anthony Gilchrist McCall, Lushai Chrysalis (London: Luzac & Co., 1949), 86-87.

[25] McCall, Lushai Chrysalis., 91-92.

[26] H. N. C. Stevenson, The Economics of the Central Chin Tribes (Bombay: The Times of India Press, 1943), 82.

[27] Lian H. Sakhong, In Search of Chin Identity., 36.

[28] Mangkhuasat Kipgen, Zo’s Culture., 58-59.

[29] The ‘Tlangau’ proclaimed to the village the chief’s orders.

[30] The Soser/Thirdeng repaired the village’s tools.

[31] There were two types of Tlangbawi/Puithiam, only one of which, the Sadawt, was appointed by the chief to serve as the official priest for the entire village. The other, the Bawlpu was appointed by the clan group to serve its needs.

[32] The office of Ramhual was coveted because quite a few could be appointed to it. They were experts in agriculture, and for the service thus rendered to the community they were given the privilege, next only to the chief, of choosing the choicest plot to cultivate themselves. Of course they also had to pay a heavier tax as unhushed paddy called Faanghum or Fathang (Fathang was a tax or tribute paid usually to a chief consisting of one or more Dawrawn—a closely woven basket of unhusked paddy, generally weighing about 40 kilos) to the chief than other cultivators. After the Ramhuals, other village officers selected their plots followed by the commoners, all of whom had to pay their tax to the chief. There were other dignitaries called Zalen, free citizens who were exempted from paying Fathang to the chief. They were respected citizens, friends of the chief, who helped him whenever he needed to entertain guests.