HILL TRIPURA AND DARLONG
HILL TRIPURA AND THE DARLONG: The Darlong (the
then Kuki) were said to be among the earliest settlers of present Tripura known
differently among different tribes; Kukis
to Bengalese and other plain living people, Lushais
to the Cacharis, Khongjais to the
Manipuris, Chins in Burma, Sikam to the Kokborok speaking tribes and
Kirats in the early Sanskritik text.
According to Mackenzie, “Kirat (the
hunter), exiled by his father ‘Yajati’, founded the city of Tribeg on the
banks of the Brahmaputra. To him succeeded Tripura, from whom the raj took
name, and who is execrated by the Brahmins historians as the opponent of Siva
worship, which was then alluring the imaginations and exciting the passions of
the people. Tripura’s efforts to suppress the rites of Siva were ineffectual
and to reward the devotion of the people, the deity of the Lingam vouchsafe to
Tripura’s widow a son, named after himself, Trilochun, devoted to the worship
of the fourteen gods, who increased in wisdom and stature and presented the
unmistakable royal marks ‒ a medium height, moderate nose, rounded body,
well-shaped ears, deep chest, modest paunch, elephantine neck, plantain tree
legs with arms turned like the stem of a palm” (The North East Frontier of
India. 269). Besides, the Rajmala[1] also
represents Shiva falling in love with a Kuki
girl who was in consequence put to death by a divine kick delivered from the
deity’s green-eyed spouse. The fact was further explained by Alexander
Mackenzie in his book The North East
Frontier of India;
“On the occasion of a visit paid by one of the kings of
Tripura to the abode of Siva,
it would seem that the Kukis brought trouble even in the celestial mansions; for Siva conceived a violent
passion for a Kuki woman in the Raja’s
retinue and that her neck was thereupon broken by a divine kick delivered by Parvati, the jealous spouse
of the enamoured deity” (270).
Further, “It is stated in the Mahabharata
that the Kirats were present at the Rajashuya ceremony. The kings of Tripura
had long before this conquered the Kirat country i.e. the present Tripura. The
Kirats were, therefore, there as retinue of the kings of Tripura”
(Bhattacharyya 3). The Rajmala gives
an account of the then maharajas of Tripura well aware of the presence of the Darlong
in varied encounters;
“Now,
there was a sacred place named Phalamatisvara in the extreme south of Tripura.
The king visited the place and issued some coins called jarab (or jarap) on
that occasion. Then he made conquest of Catigram[2]
and issued gold coins (mohar) as a relic or memorial and the democratic
government of Tripura even after the joining the India Union in 1950.
At that time the king got reports from the
Kukies as to the dealings of S’iva with the Kuki women (Kukini). He heard also
that gold was produced in the Kuki land. A son-in-law of the king was named
Hopa kalau. He was depicted to the Kuki land to bring the S’iva-linga from
there. He reached the Kirata land after some days and took the S’iva-linga with
great care. He put it into a betel case (panbata) and wrapped it in cloth. Then
he set a seal on the packet and sent it to the king in great haste. When it was
presented before the king, it was found that the S’iva-linga had already
escaped from the case somewhere in the way. It was learnt that the linga was
there in the betel-case upto the other bank of the river Manu. But while the
bearer was crossing that river, the linga returned from there to its original
site...He then went to the Kuki land in a palanquin called thangcang[3] to
bring gold from there. Then all the Kiratas met and conferred thus. If this man
takes gold from here, a thana (army station) will be set up here by the king.
During their conference the son-in-law was served with wine, when he was gone
off his senses as a result of the drink, the Kukis hacked him to pieces. The
king came to know the death of his son-in-law and then the Kukis were arrested
and punished” (Rajmala 78).
In the word of Ram Gopal Singh, the Kuki “probably came to this present area
of Tripura in different waves. The first wave which came into this land have
become a faithful subject of Tripura kings and was named as ‘Halams’. The
Halams are known as ‘Mila-Kuki’ in this state. The latter waves were presumably
that of the ‘Darlong’ and the ‘Lushais’. The Darlong and Lushais have their own
kings or chieftain whose titles were granted by the Tripura Rajah Darbar for
controlling and internal ruling of the communities. It was not as late as the
middle part of the 19th century that the Kukis caused series of
troubles to the British Government and the Tripura Rajahs” (The Kukis of Tripura
9).
The
nomadic journey of chief Thangura
(discussed previously) descendents was made in different directions. As such, “the
Thangluah and Rivung took a more southerly course. The latter penetrated into
what is now the Chittagong Hill tracts, and a chief named Vanhnaui-Thanga had a
very large village on the Longteroi Hill, between the Chengri and Kassalong
rivers. He died about 1850, and shortly after his death the village was
destroyed by Vutaia[4].
The remnant of the Rivungs fled to hill teperah where Lianthura, a great
grandson of Vanhnuai-Thanga had a village up till a few years ago, and there is
one small hamlet under a Rivung chief in the Aijal sub-division of the Lushai
Hills” (J. Shakespeare 4). The hamlet referred to in the quotation was known as
Dȃrlawn or Darlawng Tlȃng meaning mount of the Darlong. The hamlet yet exist
in the present Mizoram, India “with it unchanged name on the side of NH-54
which is 20 km south-west of Aizawl on a straight line” (L. Darlong 25). In
brief, the Darlong when looking back into the past never mentioned a king or
chief of their own but rather that of the Rivung
who often was found in constant battles with the Sailo chief, presumably the clan Mizo group follow.
On
the other hand, when an attempt to unfold the migratory tale of the Darlong to
the present state of Tripura may be made, one has to go back to 230 B.C in
China. Accordingly, it is assume that the Chinese king Shet Huang Ti who was well
known for his cruelty, engaged huge men power during the construction of the Great
Wall in B.C 228. Subsequently, the ancestors of the Darlong were considered and
claimed to be part of the enslaved labours. The death of Huang Ti in the year
212 B.C, led two-third of the labourers ran away to free themselves from the
bondage. “It is probably during this time that the Darlong (settlers of
Sinlung) were also forced to move out from their original inhabitants towards
the Himalaya Mountain. The tribe moved further south and came to settle in the
unoccupied areas of the Indo-Burman frontiers building many villages. This
further movement was attributed to their search for better security, shelter
and food. The tribe was prone to disease and was in instant fear of elements
ranging from the unseen spirits to the unpredictable enemies, which led them to
spirit worshipping and head hunting. In the latter part of their act, head
hunting turned into a social lifestyle and became the main game of men to prove
their manhood. However, this never ensure them security in their life and as a
matter of fact, it only reduced their number” (L. Darlong 21-24). The Darlong
also speaks highly of Khampat. In Mizo Pi Pute Leh Thlahte Chanchin, K.
Zawla argued that “the Zo people came to settle in the Khampat District in 1000
A.D. However, the term Khampat had no any connection with the early settlers”(6).
Khampat, at present is located in the
sovereign state of Myanmar. Probably, the tribe’s stay in Khampat district was longer than any other places like the Dȃrlawn or Darlong Tlâng16,
Arte Ser Tlâng17, Lȇnṭlâng18, Chawmphai19, Ngaibȃng Tlâng20 et al. The tribe once gain left the place which
was approximately believed to be 1250 A.D. However, prior to their leaving the place,
they planted a banyan tree as a sign saying “this is our land and we will
return” (Zawla 7). It was said that the return date was also specified with the
present Kawl tribe residing in Burma said
to be the witnesses of the assertion and was passed on to their descendents ‒ “when
the branches of the tree would touches the ground we will return” (Zawla 17). The
term Kawl till the present date is
use by the Darlong in varied circumstances such as Kawlkhawmong to mean world’s end, Kawlinlek to mean lightening, Kawl
to mean the view of the sinking sky, etc. In the early 2010s, the banyan tree
was broken up into two parts by natural calamity in which many of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribes lamented and shed
tears since the tree is and was considered to be the last remaining sacred
symbol of their ancestors.
From
Khampat the tribe moved toward
present Mizoram adjacent to Hri Li ‒ a lake. Tales about the lake and
its assimilation with the early belief, customs and rites were spoken of in the
Darlong mythology. Hri lake is the
present Rih Dil, surrounded with beautiful green mountains and hills, the lake
is located in the present Independent state of Myanmar, situated at distances
of about two miles from Tiau which is
the boundary river between Mizoram and Myanmar on the bank of Tyao River. It is
fourteen miles from Champhai in Mizoram and sixty three miles from Falam, a town of Myanmar. Since there
had never been accurate measurement, the lake remained all the more
inquisitives for many. The south-west part is said to be supposedly deeper than
the north-west part. Most of the area surrounding the lake is swampy and is
cover by water during the monsoons and different species of grass and
vegetation for the rest of the year. It is a marvellously beautiful lake that
had swallowed up many of its visitor yet enchanting due to its spectacular
vegetations and myths associated with it. The lake is consider to be a famous
passage of a deceased soul in the Darlong mythology where the spirits goes
across fountain of emotional numbness and flowers of abstinence that eventually
lead them to Thikhua, the abode of
death. Many of the elders in the Darlong claimed that the lake acted as a
mirror to the abode of death where people living beneath the lake could be seen
in spite of them being unaware of the fact happening above the lake. According
to the myth of the Darlong, the lake Hrili
was once a human but circumstance compelled the transformation;
“Once upon a time there lived a girl
named Hrili who had a cruel
stepmother and had to lead a life of domestic tortures and sufferings. One day,
the father took Hrili’s younger
sister deep into forest and cold bloodedly murdered her. Hrili cried for many days looking for her younger sister and
eventually discovered the fact about the death of her younger sister and was
inconsolably weeping alone in a green plantation field. The little girl,
drained, exhausted and unable to produce any sound fainted besides her sister’s
body. Magically as did in all fairy tales, a good spirit known as Zingngawrtenu[5]
appeared and found Hrili in a
miserable condition. She then asked the little girl the cause of her sufferings
and revealed to her the magical healing power of a particular tree. The good
spirit then asked the little girl to plucked the leaves of the tree and bring
her younger sister back to the mortal world. In spur of a moment, Hrili awakened her younger sister who
had been lying as a corpse for days. As a matter of fact, the younger sister
had become deadly thirsty. In order to quench the thirst of her younger sister,
Hrili had nothing to do but asked the
spirit’s favour for one last time, ‘Oh you most beautiful spirit of good-will the
Goddess of Dawn, grant me the power to transform myself into a lake so that my
little sister could drink from it’. In no time Hrili could turn herself into a small pool of water with the help
of a magical spell from Zingngawrtenu.
However, the magical spell could not retrieved Hrili back to her human form once she transformed herself into a
lake. Later, Hrili was compelled to
change herself into a white mithun, and wandered around in search of shelter
where she could safely rest. While she was wandering around from place to place
looking for a safe haven, her urine formed many small lakes wherever she
visited. She eventually decided to stay at Sanzawl
village not far from the river, Rȗn[6].
But the spirit of the river threatened to suck her dry if she happened to
settle there. Thus, having crossed Champhai valley, she finally settled in the
present location in the form that she cherished most – that of a lake. From
then on the lake stands till date with many fictitious and non-fictitious facts
embedded in it that relates to many tribesmen socio-cultural cult” (extract from
the myth of Hrili Dil).
C.
Lalsiamthanga of Mizoram in his paper, “Rihi Dil: A Lake that Lures” wrote,
“Believing that there would be ivory and other valuable treasures inside the
lake, a group of people believed to be Turkish or Portuguese traders, ventured
to drain the lake by digging the least formidable side, which was the
south-western side. This is believed to have been in around 1700 A.D. In the
course of their digging, when the water began to flow out, they saw a big, long
dragon facing them. Though it did not appear to be dangerous and aggressive,
the sight proved so dreadful that some of them later died of the trauma of the
sight, and no one ever dared to risk their lives for the same interest later”
(Indian Folklife 5). Further, according to some Lushai scholar places like Vawmlu Range, Zur forest near the village Natchhawng,
Bochung village, and Khawthlir all of which are in the
present Myanmar till date stand to have many small lakes as were mentioned in
the tale. Thereafter, tribe then moved to the present Aizâwl crossing the river
Tuirial. Many elders claimed that
Aizâwl was named by the early Darlong settlers. Ai stands for Aihria, a
plant akin to the wild cardamom and Zâwl
means city or a dwelling place. Thus, Aizâwl stands for a place where Aihria were found in plenty. “After
years of settlement, the people again move taking Northern course and settled
in the present Chawmphai District of Mizoram. From Chawmphai they moved to Darlawn
or Darlâwng Tlȃng which still exist as a small village with its unchanged name
on the side of NH-54, 20km South-West of Aizâwl. From the Darlâwng or Darlawn Tlȃng,
the people felt downward with their footing where they reach the present state
of Tripura and Manipur. It was believed that the Darlong were separated into
two groups from the Dȃrlawn or Dȃrlawng Tlȃng. One led by the Thangur and Palian
chief from the North and the other led by the Rivung chief from the West. The
Darlong thus, came to dominate the tract lying between present Unokuti district
of Tripura and Teliamura” (L. Darlong 25-26). The people also believed that
certain number of their kinsmen from the group h
eading North disappear
and settled in the present North Cachar hills of present Assam which is known
to the people as Ngaibȃng Tlȃng;
“Ngaibang Tlangpui
A
hnuaia pialrem khur sunga
A
mawi darlei-lawn
A
chiar nghian eh...”
(Translation: through the tunnel/ lying
beneath the Ngaibȃng mount/ runs a beautiful murmuring train/ on its harmonious
rattle).
On the 26th May 2016, a
declaration was made on the inclusion of the Darlong community in the list of
Schedule Tribe in Tripura by Union Cabinet despite of the fact that it had not
as yet been made in the govt. gazette. In the word of Radhacharan Debbarma, the
then chief executive member of TTAADC, “the Darlong in Tripura are a minority
tribal group and they deserved to be listed as such in the constitution but
somehow missed the bus; we in Tripura however extended recognition to the
schedule tribes and all due benefits were extended; this decision will help
them advance further” (Telegraph 26th may 2016). With the inclusion
of the Darlong, Tripura will have a total of 20 communities in the list. The
earlier 19 communities had been included in the constitution in 1950. S.K.
Darlong, a retired govt. officer concluded, “We have a separate language which
is similar to Mizo, a distinctive culture and lifestyle. We have progressed in
many respects but at time of inclusion of ST communities in the constitution we
had missed the bus. We are recognised as ST by the state government and get all
facilities. But our longstanding demand for inclusion in the central ST list
has now been fulfilled” (Telegraph 26th may 2016). Thus, the
community will be entitled to a number of benefits, including reservation in
jobs and education, scholarship after passing class-x, national overseas
scholarship for studies, national fellowship, soft loans and free residential
and food facilities in the student hostels.
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