Bukpui to Church

     The Darlong tribe as a whole have undergone a drastic change after the acceptation of the Christian ideology. During the early days, every touch of cultural activities goes through the corridor of the ‘Bukpui’. The gradual acceptance of Christian ideologies toward the later part had endangered the cultural heritages of the Tribe. As a matter of fact, the community unconsciously abandon their identities, customs, religions and rituals blindly imitating the missionaries. No doubt, it is the missionaries that educated and upgraded the Darlong community in to their present state there by being unconsciously colonizing them in every aspect taking from their day to day activities to their intellectual set up. For instance, the Darlong dearly call themselves as ‘Sapa’ or ‘Sapi’, ‘Ngoii’ or ‘Ngoia’ which actually stand to mean ‘English’ or ‘white’. ‘Sap’ in the Darlong language also stands for ‘European’. This, in fact, is the psychological colonization laid down by the visitors some years back.

Secondly, the dress code and almost all the ceremonial rituals have been directly or indirectly influenced by the western thoughts. In the present Darlong society, the rituals performed during the burial of the Chief are no longer prevalent and have been replaced by the normal burial adopted after the Christian. Besides the rituals, ‘Vakal’ that used to be the grave design of the Tribe is not to be seen today. All the ceremonies are done in the Church where the Reverent or the Evangelist take up the spot of the ‘Thiampu’, the chanting rites replaced by gospel songs and Christian prayers and the funeral is completely shadowed by the Christian norms. In the ‘Bukpui’ days, the ‘Bukpui’ youth take up the initiative in the like of hunting heads and ornamentation of the grave where as in the present days, the young members of the Church take up the role with a dictation from the Church Leaders. It is probably because of the influence that the community abandoned their chieftain tradition in the year 1933 after which the Village Council was formed. Further, the Darlong had a number of marriage way that were carried out through many ages. For instance, in the pre-Christian period the marriage system permits them the practice of polygamy, ‘Chawngmoilak’ or the practice of child marriage and others. However, in the Christian period, the practice of child marriage and polygamy are completely annihilated where even the other marriage system had to undergo the recommendation of the Church or else consequence in being ex-communicated from the Church. Wine feast is no longer entertained by considering drinking as sin or an act against God.

Thirdly, traditional brand like the ‘Lamzawl’ and mutual learning are white wash. The children today are asked to attend the Sunday schools conducted by the Church where gospels of Christ are being taught to them. Besides, almost all the festival have been pushed away by Christian conference, workshops, seminars and assembly thereby paving the way out for the rise of organisation rather than traditional institute. Folksongs and tales are substituted by Christian songs and Biblical parable with every denomination giving a different interpretation. In contrast to these, the ‘Bukpui’ mould the Tribe together by injecting the cultural practises of their ancestors with no ideological or theoretical differences. The very ways of their ancestors today appears to be the savage way to them but never realizing the imagined progress is a regress on the other hand. Thus, the dances, musical instruments and other customs mention earlier are in the vanishing plight hence call for an immediate research programme.

Thirdly, the Church today acts as a functional institute to the people where one finds all of his asking through prayers and devotion. Worship of animalism had been altogether demolished along with its rites and rituals. It sad to note that the Tribe failed to documents it’s past but cemented almost every detail of the post Christianity. The orature, cultural artifacts and literature are not to be found in the Tribe post Christian generation while they are only equipped with the gospel business. The love for the Western thoughts and civilization has diminished the admiration they possess toward themselves resulting in the crisis of cultural identity. This, in fact, created the feeling of negation towards their own identity which, at present, the revive leadership are fighting against. In a nutshell, the Church dictates the decorum and diction of the people after 1919 where as ‘Bukpui’ have disappear in the bushy world of the Darlong Christian. At the same time, there also exist a vast ocean of silence as to why and what are the reasons that led to the drastic shift of the religious belief by the people. It is strange to note that the Darlong have almost completely abandoned their old past with which their identity lies.

Besides the growth in number, the Darlong Christian progressed educationally, socio-politically and evangelically “until the remaining non-Christians were Christianised in 1974” (KBCA Souvenir 31). Five years after 1974, the Darlong tribe celebrated the Darlong Christian Diamond Jubilee in 1964. There is no denying the fact that the Darlong tribe had undergone tremendous change since the embracement of Christianity in the year 1919. 

In the process of Christianisation, the Darlong tribesmen and women were enormously educated in English language. Christian evangelists and missionaries were instructed to impart education as “the missionaries often exalted the Bible as the ultimate source of authority and made it as a condition that if an individual had to worship god rightly, he must be able to read... According to them, educational institute served a double purpose: first, as a mean of teaching Christian truth and secondly, as means for recruitment in training of future native workers” (KBCA Souvenir 24). Education and evangelism were bestowed upon the tribe. With the help of Christian missionaries, the Darlong tribe learned the art of reading and writing while unconsciously burying their orature and tradition. Consequently, from the start of the year 1926 some of the Darlong tribesmen could make their candidature available for recruitment in the field of evangelism and alike. Further, from 1938 to 1943 three Darlong boys namely Hrengngura Darlong, Hakthuamliana Darlong and Tlanglawma Darlong and two girls were sent by a Christian mission to attend school at Churachandpur, Manipur and for nurse training at Durtlang, Mizoram. In the year 1939, the Darlong Christians asked the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society (the mission was then working at Brahmanbaria, Chittagong District of Bangladesh) for a missionary. But the missionary society sent a teacher to Darchawi Village saying, “we do not have a permit to enter the state of Tripura” (KBCA Souvenir 14). Towards the end of the year, the mission was granted a permit to establish its mission in the state of Tripura. In 1943, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society established the present St. Paul’s School where good number of Darlong young boys and girls were educated. “The NZBMS also started some school in the Darlong villages where the students who passed Class-II from the village schools were sent to St. Paul’s School to continue their study” (KBCA Souvenir 43). In the year 1946, the then Maharaja of Tripura established a boarding house for the tribe and handed over to the mission i.e. NZBMS. The boarding house was known as Darlong Boarding House⁴¹. Further, the Roman Catholic Church⁴² provided educational opportunities for the Darlong children at Don Bosco School, Shillong, Meghalaya. Within the span of seventy five years (taking 1919 as the base year), the growth of literacy rate of the Darlong tribe has its mark on the employment profile of the Tripura govt.

The introduction of Western education among the Darlong tribesmen and women may be defined as the genesis of psychological transformation among the same. With the rapid growth of the Western education, the concept of progress among the educated class changed. The tribe began to lead its life in the ways of the missionaries. In accordance to the present Darlong Christians, the Darlong tribe’s savageness was such that extinction was an unavoidable event standing in its way. In fact, the present Darlong society is nothing but a psychologically colonised society where the aboriginal philosophies, ideas and concepts of the people are manipulated for the welfare of the Christian religion. Further, in spite of the growth of Western education among the tribesmen and women the tribe at present has no literature except for the orally carried orature and the like of Ramhuai, Khawhri, Pupui, Tuitarpa, Rihli and many others continued to be fear. As such, many tabooed and superstitious subjects are yet retained which is very much against the teachings of Christian religion. Thus, the paradigm in which the Darlong tribe accepted the Christian belief may be considered contradictory to the intended Christian teachings and ideologies. 

Since the embracement of Christianity, the Darlong socio-cultural aspect has undergone changes. Prior to the advent of Christianity, the tribesmen and women were against the religion. There can be many probable causes as to why the Darlong tribe accepted Christianity en masse. In fact, the modern Christianised Darlong tribe takes pride in the fact that Christianity had saved the tribe from extinction. There also is no denying the fact that modern civilisation and education were brought by the religion while the ancient practices and traditions were formulated as being evil and uncivilised by the missionaries and the educated class of the tribe;

“The Darlong pre-Christian community experienced the practice of evil in their life by worshipping nature in different forms till 1918. They were Animists but the Darlong people of Tripura started experiencing the light of Christianity way back in 1919. After becoming Christians the Darlong people left their evil practices which were prevalent among them before the pre-Christian era. The social scenario at the time of the advent of the first missionaries among the Darlongs was full of inter-village feuds, nature worship and malpractices. The people were primitive, poor and totally illiterate. The coming of Christianity is a landmark which has brought a total change in the social, economic and educational life of the people. Today all the Darlongs are Christians’ who have been able to attain a commendable percentage of literacy within a short span of time. So, the Darlongs cannot help but praise the Lord⁴³ who has saved them from clutches of fear and ignorance and pay tribute to the missionaries who introduced the good News of salvation to them” (Transform the North East India 199).
The age-old tradition of chieftainship was completely erased after 1933. It was perhaps a policy formulated by the missionaries or the pro-Christian Darlong tribe in the process of colonising the indigenous faith. The movement was believed to begin as early as 1927, when a western educationist who educated the tribe during the time asked the Darlong language speaking contingent to write their surname as Darlong and not Kuki; “Pastor Tuakunga⁴⁴ of Muruai recollects that the Darlong students used to write letter only in Lushai language... ‘Ka pa du tak/ I dam chuan ka lawm e. Kei pawh ka dam eh etc./ ................. Kuki’. This means, ‘dear father if you are fine I am happy/ I am fine too/ Your affectionate son ............. Kuki’.  The missionaries however, insisted that they should write ‘Darlong’ in place of ‘Kuki’ as their history revealed that they are Darlongs and not Kukis” (Letthuama Darlong. 60).
In 1935, Upa Committee, (later renamed as Darlong Hnam Inzom) the Darlong Apex Court was established. The Apex Court brought out a Darlong Customary laws and Practices in which it attempted to restate the Darlong socio-cultural functions. Alongside the communal unrest, the people were made aware of the need to improvised their physical appearances, health and hygiene for “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away the new has come" (II Corinthians 5:17, Holy Bible). 
The teachings of the missionaries made the tribe to unconsciously abandon its early lifestyle, socio-political welfare, dress code and moral conducts. In the pre-Christian period, the Darlong men has marks, tattoos on the body drawn during their young days – tattoos on the shoulders, back and other parts of the body. According to Roitinkhami Darlong, “some of the tattoos were said to speak about life after death while some were mark of recognition of an individual’s bravery. The tattoos were also given in time of battles, wars and head hunting” (Personal Interview). Tattoos were possibly also given by the tribesmen and women at the attainment of titles such as Khuangchawi, Tawnsȃidȇm, Ratha, Samkhua, Sedawi, Zawlnei and others. In accordance to the tradition, an individual participated in the rite of head hunting in order to mark his maturity of age. During the performance of head hunting, a man had to eat the heart and drink the blood of the first person hunted by him. In the legendary story of Hriamchunglȗra, the hero was asked to kiss a corpse lying in a distance placed in order to test his bravery. While performing the traditional dances, the women generally wore a cloak dark in colour called Zȇmphal. The cloaks were all marked with strip called known as Zia. The Zia may be of different types such as Lȇnbuang Zia, Varualmit Zia, Hnipphua Zia, Puandungtial, Ngoitekher, Hmar Âm (borrowed from the Hmar tribe), Puanchei etc. These were also worn during observation of fest such as Pȃrkam, Thlantawi Kût, Ramzu Kût etc.). The male wore a cloak called Ipa Puan mostly brown in colour. In general, the Darlong girls generally wore a Ṭȃngbom (black cloth thickly weaved by the tribe). In a following stream or river the female takes bath naked putting the cloaks (Ṭȃngbom Puan) on their respective head since nakedness was never considered to be taboo subject at the time.
The Darlong men generally do not wear any shirt. However, the Thiampu when performing rites and rituals wore white cloak in order to honour the gods and goddesses he prayed or applauded to. The cloak can only be inherited by his disciple when the Thiampu felt that the disciple was worthy of it. At the time of hunting, the men would wear their best clothing and ornaments. Khuaibing, Chȇngkol, Tawnkil, Hȃifian hung on the hair knot, haversack on the back and striped in red, green, yellow, black cloak hanging diagonally from the shoulder. The shins were mostly covered with decorated weaved shins-guard in parrots, kingfishers, hens, hornbills’ etc. feather. The chief do not have any specified dress code or decoration. The bangles and bracelets ordinarily wore in the pre-Christian period were known as Kankan, Chȇngkol and Bala (ordinary bangles). The necklaces were called Ṭhi, Ṭhibeh or Beṭhisensiar, Zȗt, Zȗtṭhipawl, Khuaihnûr, Theibuang, Kȗtkhilian, Dawnkȗtkhi and Kȗtkhite, Tawnkil and Tawntil, Chȇngkol, Zȇmphal, Ipa Puan, Dumdir, headgear, Nȃnglukhum for women. Apart from it, the men also wore eleven yards long cloth for man’s hat, a Hraimzakua (shirt with no sleeves) and Korchung (a petty cot) was also fashioned in the later days.
A person when conferred the village titles such as Khuangchawi, Thangsua, etc. did have his own style of differentiating himself from the others. As such, in the tradition of Khuangchawi, an invitation was made by cutting down a tree that would surprise or obstruct the entire villagers’ passage. In the process, the villagers would enquire the reason behind the cutting of the tree. The men who cut the tree would reply, ‘my master is to be conferred the title of Khuangchawi and hence I am here to invite all of you to bless him with your presence on the auspicious day’. At certain circumstances, the inviters were feed with pork. During the observation of the Khuangchawi, a person dressed up himself with best clothing he has and the likes of Dâr (bell), Khuȃng (drum), Fei (spear), Silai (gun) and haversack. In most the time, Indoi Hlâ was sung by a choir that narrated the battles fought, victories won, the rite of head hunting performed, the recognition won by the particular person and the leanage he belonged to. The guns were fired in the empty air for many times to announced the attainment of the Khuangchawi title by the particular person. When the person who attained the title was about to come out of his house, a dance called Khual Lȃm was performed to entertained the attendants while wine was distributed in Khuaibing. As the person who attuned the title comes out of the house, things like Theibuang (a necklace), Ṭhibeh (earring), Dȃrkhuang, guns, spear, and coins would be thrown into the attendants. It was done to exemplify the greatness of the title achiever. The observance was often followed by the tribe observing at least five days of Ser to commemorate the success of the particular person. The observation of the Khuangchawi was mainly made in the month of October popularly known as Zingte in the vernacular. Hence, the tribesmen and women would often sing;

            “Zingte thla ki dam ni,

            Zingpui thla kit hi ni..”

 Similarly, the term Thangsua denotes a circumstance when a person had fulfilled his responsibility. In accordance to a folktale;

“Once there lived a lady who was known for her cruelty and meanness. The name of the lady was Laldȃrpuii. At the house of Laldȃrpuii’s father lived an orphan namely Sibuta. Since Sibuta was an orphan, Laldȃrpuii looked down and despised him in every aspect of life. As a result, Sibuta had to endured all the tortures and sufferings incurred upon him by Laldȃrpuii. One day, the torture went to an extent of Laldȃrpuii piercing Sibuta with a porcupine’s hair. Sibuta said to Laldȃrpuii, ‘What did you think of yourself? Do not incur such pain on me. I am human after all. There will be a time when I will be you and you will be me’. At this, Laldȃrpuii was further provoked to anger. She spit at the face of Sibuta and beat him the entire day. Sibuta in utter anger ran away to another village from the house to find a new beginning.

With the passing of time, Sibuta grew up and became a brave young man with qualities of leadership. He married a beautiful young girl. Because of the qualities Sibuta has, he was soon elected to the post of chief of the village having not less than two thousands and five hundreds household. Besides, he also belonged to the lineage of Thangur. The greatness of Sibuta spread far and wide and conquered the village where Laldȃrpuii and he once lived at.

One day, Sibuta asked his entire subject to take a day off from their busy schedule in order to observe Thangsua Ni. Accordingly, the subjects of Sibuta took a day off from their busy schedule and gathered together waiting anxiously for the chief to speak about the reason of the observation. However, Laldȃrpuii and her mother were absent from the gathering. Sibuta then ordered some of the young men present at the gathering to bring out Laldarpuii and her mother from their house, strip their clothes in public, tie them with Sehrui and were to be brought to the gathering The young men comply with the order of Sibuta. Laldȃrpuii and her mother out of exhaustion stopped and rest at Bȗktesuan. Sibuta asked the young men to pull them up and force them to walk by beating until they reach the gathering spot. Eventually, Laldȃrpuii and her mother, out of extreme pain and tiredness fell to the ground and were unable to move any further. Sibuta then ordered his men to pierce their hearts to death in the like of pig⁶⁸. Hence, Laldȃrpuii and her mother were pierced in the heart and torturously murdered. With the murder of Laldȃrpuii and her mother, Sibuta made a proclamation that he had accomplished his lifetime ambition. He was then honoured with a loincloth called Thangsua. Thangsua Puan was from thence conferred to acknowledge the lifetime achievement of a person or when a person proclaimed to accomplish his lifetime objective” (Translation of the legend).

In the present Darlong society, a person who can achieve the title of Thangsua has to be a person who “perform a social service for a mass benefit in different way rather the usual ways and succeed in his objective” (Darlong Hnam Ziadan Bu 66). The society no longer appreciates bravery, courage and valour as narrated in the tale. Hence, the title Thangsua is conferred to a person who achieves success in two ways:

i. Individuals who achieves high level of success in academic carrier and

ii. Individuals who achieves high level of success in professional carrier.

Apart from the discussed two, titles like Tonsȃidȇm and Samkhua were also conferred to individuals. Nonetheless, the tradition of conferring these titles was completely different from the above two. These titles were conferred to hunters at the time of Indon observation to appreciate the hunters’ dedication and willingness to feed the village with his bravery. Indon was an event observed at a village when a group of hunters go out to hunt for the entire villagers. Special wine was made for the hunters and was stored in a specially decorated pot called Dêng. The hunters drink the wine from the particular pot after their successful hunting. The title Ratha was given to legendary hunter inclusive of both animal and human. The term Ratha generally stands to mean legendary warriors who were said to have the power to hypnotize their opponents.

Domestication of animals was one of the most important and common occupation of the pre-Christian Darlong tribe. The domesticated animals (pig, goat, cow, buffalo, dog, ducks, fowl and many others) were usually kept beneath the house since the house was built two or three foot above the ground level. Houses for the fowls were also built with varied shape and size. Mithun was a special animal and in fact, symbolised the identity of the tribe till date. Thus, rearing of the animal was one most significant practice. The mithuns were domesticated in a distant land by the tribesmen. The men usually visit their respective mithuns twice or thrice a year. According to Ramdinpuii Darlong, a resident of Sâibual Village, “the reared mithun would visit the owner once a year. During the visit, the owner of the mithun would feed the mithun with salt thereby keeping the relationship intact” (Conversation). In the legendary tale of Liandoia Hei Unai, the two brothers brought their mithuns as the price of the bride, Siachawngi. The mithuns brought as the bride price had been reared by their father long time ago. In the present Darlong society, rearing of cattle and others have gone astray particularly of the mithun.

Decoration of houses and tombs with skulls was another significant social practice of the Pre-Christian Darlong tribe. In the legendary tale of Zawlpala nih Tualvungi, when Tualvungi enquired the whereabouts of Zawlpala’s tomb, she was informed by the children that the tomb of Zawlpala was decorated with the skulls and a Khuaiṭhuvang flowers. Tombstones at the entrance of village, Fungki⁶⁹ and other traditions were no longer to seen in the present Darlong villages. Prior to the embracement of Christianity, the Darlong men and women kept long hairs, wear earrings, bangles and necklaces made of animal skulls, teeth or alike. After the Christianisation years, the men were asked to keep short hair and avoid wearing earrings, bangles and necklaces. The tribe learned the art of modern agriculture to sustain their livelihood while the practice of shifting cultivation in traditional way was abandoned. This resulted in the lost of traditions such as Inbawl (a kind of puja), Hlawmber, Khawpuilamsât (yearly cleaning practice of a village surrounding), observation of a fest called Ramzu Kȗt, celebration of the different period of jhum cultivation and dances like Sate Tual Phit, Chem Lam, A Sialin Mo Aki Azar and many more. Subsequently, Darlong typical musical instruments such as Tapual, Kaikawng, Chongpereng, Theitele, Tuithei Khuang, Theikhang and others too were lost. Alongside the musical instruments, playful objects like Hothot, Vȗtvȗt, Khaprap, Sȃiphirdêp, Puakphet, Keilungzȋng, traditional sports like Ruapheikal (a sort of high heel shoe made of bamboo), Pawi Inkap (playing with seeds), Pi Pe Rai Nawka, Lâiluta, Ṭlângte Belem Lam (a sort of dance with a pair of stick), Tapo Insep (shooting at one another’s top), Rua Inhera (competition of strength by rotating bamboo at both end), Inbuana (wrestling), Inhnawla (pushing each other with a pestle), Thalsâia (archery), Sâihli – Rua Sâihli and Ret Sâihli (target shot with a bow), Arkhong Insik (cock fight), Fei Butong (spearing), and others have become extinct in the present generation of the Darlong tribe.

The nomad life was abandoned and the tribe settled at a place. In the pre-Christian era, the Darlong tribe lived a nomad life and abided by the traditional knowledge and philosophy passed down from the ancestral time. The grandmother or grandfather in an attempt to quench the thirst of the grandchildren about the outer world would rephrased the yellowish sunset atmosphere into the colours of life by composing tales, myths, legends and songs. At other times, they would chant, converse and sing to their ancestors and patrons on varied grounds and events. The narrators and tellers also transcended the happenings of their past present and their encounter with strange forces of nature relating it to the lives of the common folk, their beliefs, simple joy and sorrow and customs. However, there came time when the people saw their traditions and cultures as savage as they came into contact with other tribes particularly the race belonging to fair skin. As such, term like Sapi (used to denote a girl child) and Sapa (used to denote a boy child) became widely used among the Darlong men and women. The word Sap stands for English or rather European. The term in the present context is used to denote the dearness, loveliness and the beauty of an individual. Hence, Sapi or Sapa is used to mean my beloved daughter or son. With the change in the approach to life, rites and rituals of nomad life came to an end. Besides the rites and rituals, marriage systems like polygamy, Nghȃksak, Chongmoilȃk, Bȗrhul, Zutuikawk, Hrolkawng Intukpui and Tharthlȃk were abandoned while the present marriage dictums are dictated by the churches. The term like Thiampu, Zawlnei, Ratha and others are never talked about or mention in the present society. The term Zawlnei had been modified in the translation of the Darlong Bibles to denote a high priest while the aboriginal term meant to speak about a priest that had an infinite power of intuition. Further, the term Thiampu has been modified into Puithiam. The process of modification can be defined as acts of colonising the indigenous faith hence the thesis question the intention of the modification.

The word Ser meaning proscribe in Darlong language was used to denote a subject or discipline that was not sanctioned to be discussed in public. Subsequently, the term in the present day has been used with comparatively null and void minded neglecting its aboriginal truth. Etymologically, the word stands for a portion of meat reserved for the gods and goddesses such as blood, heart, liver, entrails et al. This proscribe was substantiated into a discipline in the tale of Khuangthli Rihli where the Rihli, the shadow of the tree Khuangthli came to be called a Ser – subject forbidden to speak about. The shadow of the tree was said to have the form of both serpent and human being. A person, to have a form of both the deity and devotee was something unexplainable, unquestionable and dare not to speak of. Hence, it was called Ser. To quote Sungi Darlong, a residence of Sâibual Village explanation;

“What the Darlong tribe considered Ser is one strangest thing to understand. Our elders often referred to certain happenings as Ser where the cause and affect cannot be justified logically. Thlaikunga of Lamkhuang Khuahlui Village was one I could remember. Some sort of spirit tortured his soul and eventually resulted in his death. Thlaikunga’s only wrong doing was building his house at the juncture of two valleys” (Conversation 2016).

Similarly, another incident of such happening may exemplify. In the year 2008, an incident took place at the present village of Deora, located in the Kailashahar Sub-division of Unokuti District, Tripura. A young boy claimed that he often see three ghosts who teases him every time he walk across an April tree. The tree was located by the side of the village road with old tube well adjacent to it. Deep pits and fissures were generally considered to be the abode of dark spirits by the tribe. They were known as Khursia. Out of utter fear, the boy fell ill. The parents consulted doctors and the church as well. In spite of the effort, the illness showed no sign of relief.  Eventually, the young boy succumbed after struggling for months. According to the Darlong tribe, there were as many as dozen number of taboo subject; a dog climbing on a house roof, a snake in a house, sitting of a pig, quivering of an eyelid, tortoise on the way of hunting, breaking of a tree without any wind blowing, stumbling down at a doorstep, running away of one’s pet, hovering of an eagle over a village or a house, crowing of a cock or crowing of a hen, seeing of a python’s limb, random placing of Bȇm in a jhum, building of a house at the juncture of valleys, planting of tamarind tree beside the house, hitting someone with a broom  etc. Besides, the subject of death was also considered to be a Ser. However, the tribe having accepted Christianity lost and trampled over such sacredism as it contradicted to the newly accepted faith.

Head hunting was observed and performed by the tribe to offer blood to the ancestors. Hence, losing heads also caused a deep grief among the tribesmen and women. On the death of the chief, the people say that the spirit of the chief needs men as his company to Thikhua. Hence, the tribesmen go for a head hunting rite so as to send companies for the deceased chief who will guide and serve as slaves at the Thikhua. “Record has it that in the Jamatia Revolt of 1863 against the Manikya Ruler, six hundreds Kukis were sent to fight against the two hundreds Jamatia Rebel who beheaded all the rebels and captured Parikshit, the leader of the revolt. The Kukis also brought all the female of Jamatia Tribe as a gift and slaves for the Manikya King. The Darlong were deployed in the fight and it was the last of their cruel headhunting game” (L. Darlong 168). The head hunting was usually followed by erection of monument and tombstone which in the vernacular was known as Lungdaw. The monument usually bears inscription such as names, ranks, date and picture of animal that was slaughtered to feast the people present at the funeral ceremony. In the present context, the practice of erecting monuments has become almost lost compared to what was frequently performed in the past. Erection of monuments to marked victory of battles, wars and festival had been replaced monuments erected by the Christian churches. The erection of monuments served the tribe in two ways; firstly, the monuments will be a witness to the latter generations and secondly, documentation of one’s deed for both the mortal and immortal. Further, since the tribesmen were then primarily hunters, they would sleep in the jungle waiting for their prey to approach them. In doing so, the unfamiliar noises created were feared and believed it to be sign of gods’ and goddesses’ theatricality. The god residing in a forest was known as Ramhuai.  Ramhuai was a formless deity and the most feared by the tribe. I can cause sickness, possess soul and even curse person to death. As a consequence, the guardian had to go out to the jungle in the middle of the night to challenge the evil spirits. If the guardian wins the challenge, the prize would be cure for the patient. However, if in any case the guardian failed to convince the spirit then the patient or the guardian is sure to die. Some of the gods and goddesses of the past may be discussed in the other post, "Darlong ethnic belief".