Bukpui, the Traditional Institute of the Past Darlong
‘BUKPUI’, an
institutional house for the Darlongs:
Tracing the lost
elements of the Darlong ethnicity as imaged and imagined in the ‘Bukpui’ age.
ABSTRACT: The Darlong, belonging to
one among the many communities of the ‘Zo Hnathla’ nomenclature, had dairies of
folk traditions to be unfolded. However, the tribe leaping over a vast ocean of
time dropped almost their entire past cultures adopting a new ones thereby
leaving themselves almost in a state of blankness. ‘Bukpui’ was the traditional
institute of the Darlongs where the heritages are born and contained. The ethnic
institute had been acting as a wagon train in carrying out the orature,
artefact, the oral narratives and other ethnic elements or the folk traditions as
a whole in a varied form when writing and documentation was yet a mystery to
them. However, the ‘Bukpui’ failed to stand against the diverse cultural forces
encountered by the people incourse of their voyages. It is a matter of remorse
and emotional discourse that an institute which stood by the tribe throughout
the vast ocean of different environmental metamorphosis have lost its values
and significances to the people in the eclipse of the alien ideological
confluences. The article attempts to draw a minute observation upon the images
and imaginations of the people as quoted in the ‘Bukpui’ days. The materials of
the article is primarily the oral narrations collected from the community men
and women in addition to the secondary materials in a form of personal
interviews and govt. as well as non-govt. records available at my disposal.
I. INTRODUCTION OF THE
DARLONG: The Darlong tribe belonged to the Mongoloid
racial stock looking like the Manipuri in physiognomy but greater part bore
more resemblance to the Khasi[1],
having strongly marked the Mongoloid features with flat faces and thick lips.
Nevertheless, in the present Darlong many of the early racial features have
undergone through changes which probably might have been cause and effect of
the wide intermingling with other races. In the Preface of ‘The Kukis of
Tripura[2]’, “Darlongs
are none but ‘Kuki’ that entered the present state of Tripura[3] in
different waves at different times. They do not called themselves as Kuki but
‘Hre-em’ or ‘Hriam[4]’.
They are known as ‘Kuki’ to Bengalis, ‘Lushais’ to the Cachari, ‘Khongjais’ to
the Manipuris, ‘Skam’ to the Tripuris, ‘Chin’ in Burma and its adjacent
territories and ‘Kirat’ in the early Sanskrit text. As a result, they broadly
divided into two major groups i.e. the ‘Darlong Kuki’, who are also known as
‘Hmar Mi’ meaning ‘men of North’ and the ‘Rokhum Kuki’, who are known as ‘Sim Mi’
meaning ‘men of South’. The first wave that came to this land has become a
faithful subject of Tripura kings and was named as ‘Halam’, who later was known
as ‘Mila-Kuki’ in the state of Tripura. The second wave was probably that of
the Darlong tribe and the Lushais who have their own kings or chieftain whose titles
were granted by the Tripura Rajah Darbar for controlling and internal ruling of
the communities”. The language has been classified as belonging to the
Austro-Asiatic group of Tibeto-Burman family having many similarities with
other Kuki-Chin communities such as Lushai, Hmar, Halam, Mara etc. No doubt,
there are variations in all the language used by the Darlong tribe of Tripura in
accordance to the geographical location and the sub-clans. Nevertheless, the
most commonly used dialect among the Darlong tribe is the ‘Awmhroi’ dialect. Presently,
the Darlongs resides in the North District of Tripura with few villages found
to be located in the border of Dhalai District.
In other instance, the ‘Darlong’ as a community is read as belonging to
the ‘Zomi’ nomenclature whose anthropological roots goes back to the ‘Sinlung’
myth. The myth stated that human are born of a cave called ‘Sinlung’ located
somewhere in the present China thereby leaving a wide range of controversial
interpretation upon the statement. In fact, there are several interpretations
on the very appellation of ‘Darlong’ considering both the account of the
natives and other interpretations.
I.1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF
THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY: Several attempts had
been made by the missionaries to spread the gospel of God in the North East
India, but much could not be achieved due to strong objection from the people.
“In the year 1890, J.H. Lorrain, a Baptist Missionary from London attempt to
enter the present state of Tripura for twice but in vain. Eventually, under the
initiative of Rev. W.R. Roberts, a renowned London based evangelist, ‘Dohnuna’
was sent to Tripura who stationed himself at ‘Tlângsang’ located in the present
Jampui Hills of Tripura in 1917” (L. Darlong 229). As a consequence, Mr.
Ngurkhuma Darlong, Mr. Ngurdingliana Darlong and Mr. Hmuna Darlong are some of
the early Darlong tribe who first accepted Christianity. The new Christian had to
undergo many hurdles and difficulties as they were despised, hate and
discriminated by their other kinsmen especially from the chief. “The Christians
were asked to abandon the village but they were willing to face the
consequences then leaving the village. As a result, many of the Darlong chief
drove out the Christians from their respective villages. Thus, the Christians
created a new village called ‘Darchawi’ where from they begin to spread the
gospel” (L. Darlong 230). In this way, the Christian grew in numbers and
celebrated their Darlong Christians Jubilee in the year 1969 and translated the
Bible which was recently released. At present, the Darlong are confined into
these denominations; i) The Baptist ii) Roman Catholic iii) United Pentecostal
Church iv) Evangelical Free Church of India v) Presbyterian Church vi) Kuki
Christian Church.
II. BUKPUI AS AN
INSTITUTE: ‘Bukpui’ in the early ages was a
grand traditional house built in a structure of a dormitory where number of
young boys and girls can accommodate themselves. It was a sort of a community
hall having four sides, about 2/3 feet above the ground level climbed through a
wooden staircase. The house consists of rectangularly long windows with a small
gathering space at the front and at the back. Reaching a stipulated age, every
youth was admitted to ‘Bukpui’. In the process, the youths are enlightened with
the rich customary heritage where faculty of manners, discipline, cooperation,
unity, loyalty, trust, love, responsibilities etc. are given prime. The common
people anchored themselves to the benevolence of ‘Bukpui’ for their welfare in
every respect. For instance, whenever any calamities incurred harm in a
village, it is said that ‘Bukpui’ members would go out and rendered help to the
needy. According to the elders, the stronger the ‘Bukpui’ the longer the
village was believed to survive. It acted as an institute to the past carrying
out the orature and literature of the tribe thereby sustaining them from being
lost in the new environment. The religious priests, council of elders, and
almost all the leaders are the graduates of ‘Bukpui’.
Fig.1. Picture showing a traditional house built in
a format of the ‘Bukpui’.
II.1.
DARLONG IN THE BUKPUI AGE: During the ‘Bukpui’ age,
discipline, unity and obedience were some of the major virtues that commonly bind
the tribe without any written customary laws or laws directory. It was only
after the advent of the Christian Mission that the Tribe came up with the idea
of customary laws. In the traditional institute all kinds of instructions are made
to the young generations by the older one. It is said that the ‘Bukpui’ was
designed to accommodate all the youths of a village thereby teaching them the
ordinance of co-existence and mutual productiveness. In the words of Mr. Suaroidinga
Darlong, every activities taking from individuals to socio-cultural activities
were done by the ‘Bukpui’ youths. In addition to it, they act as a shield and
life line of the village concern. In the ‘Bukpui’, all matters were discussed
and strategies are made allowing nobody to leak out any secrets. All the youths
of a village are asked to report to ‘Bukpui’ after they have taken their
respective meal. Nevertheless, some the youths make the institute their home.
They spend their time singing, dancing, wrestling and other games that acts as
a medium for courting their love ones as well. Offenders were severely punished
and no parents could raise a voice against it once the punishment was
sanctioned. In short, Darlong ‘Bukpui’ is a Venice of every Rome. Besides, the
institute is also a platform where one can find and have every right to choose
his/her life partner from. It is said that if a girl is ready for a marriage,
she gets the opportunity to choose her partner by shooting a ‘Puantom[5]’
at him when all the young boys are ask to stand in a line. On the other hand,
love ones are also merely won by skills and strength keeping side the looks or
appearance. It was this same practice of ‘Puantom’ throwing that leads to the
suicide of ‘Ṭhuitlingi’ in the legendary love story, ‘Thuitlingi and
Pangama’ when she failed to hit her lover. The ‘Bukpui’ also act as a wagon
train for the oral tradition of the tribe for years. The elders, often, refer to the institute as
a guideline for code of conduct till today as the tribe had lost almost all of
its trace.
‘Bukpui’, no doubt, recognises the authority of the chief. During the chieftainship, the Chief was the
all in all powerful and was the verdict for all matters to his subjects.
However, as it is a fact that no man can be on his own. Thus, the chief had few
assistants like ‘Khawnbawl’, who are the advisors of the Chief, ‘Khawpa’, who
act as a what in modern term is called secretary and lastly the ‘Tartlang’ that
comprises a body of village elders. The ‘Khawnbawl’ functions as advisors to
the chief and also takes part in the village affairs like keeping a smooth
relationship with the adjacent village. The ‘Khawpa’ do not mind any of such
affairs but keep the records of every incident and happenings of the village.
He is the representative of the common people as well. Every meeting and
activities of a village was an undertaking of the ‘Khawpa’ with the consent of
the chief. Finally, ‘Tartlang’ is a compound word which means elder group. It
is solely up to the ‘Tartlang’ to see into the welfare of their villagers and
guide them to the part of their ancestors. In addition to these, there also are
‘Leikham’ who acts as a bridge when any dispute is to be settled between the accused
and the judges. “The last chiefs of the Darlong known are Palian chief,
Lallianthuama and his contemporary Lalhuavela of Ṭhangur clan who were ruling
in the Northern and Southern Division of the North District of Tripura
respectively in 1940s” (L. Darlong 108). However, it is stated that towards the
second half of the year 1933, movement to boycott the chieftains began where
Village Council (V.C) and ‘Hnam Committee’ were formed upon whom large amount
of power are invested. In the Council, the Chairman of the council was the
highest authority and President of the Hnam Committee act as the supreme power
over the entire Darlong tribe. However, “the two Committee body came into
function only in 1936” (L. Darlong 108). From then on, the customary laws has
been formed, revised and modified from time to time in order to suit the
cultural adaptations and changes. At present, an organisation called ‘DHI’
is the highest authority within the Tribe. Every circular made by the DHI
is accepted as final and carried out in every possible ways. Under it runs every
other organisation including the churches.
The
Darlongs, in the yester years, worshipped ‘Nature’ and some ‘Supernatural’
forces which came to an end with the acceptance of the Christianity in the year
1919. As such, the Darlong had ample of usual as well as bizarre religious culture
bringing about a wide pattern of sacrifices, offerings, prayers, rites and
rituals with some of their deities being ‘Khawbiak[6]’,
‘Lungtan Pathian[7]’,
‘Tuitarpa[8]’,
‘Ramhuai[9]’,
‘Si[10]’,
‘Khuachultenu[11]’,
‘Fapite[12]’,
‘Zingngawrtenu[13]’
and many others. For instance, “during illness the people called upon ‘Tara hei
Pafa’ usually known as ‘Tual Pathian’ meaning god of the Earth who was believed
to ensure healing and blessings” (L. Darlong 127). At other circumstances, if
the illness was cause by the ‘Ramhuai’, the parent of the victim had to go out
in the forest at midnight to challenge the spirit by making a conversational
rite thereby bringing a healing bond for his patient. However, if the parent
failed to overcome his fear instinct during the performance, he or she is entitled
to die. Besides these, it was said that the people also worshipped the likes of
‘Longtarai’ lately as a result of their encounter with other ethnic group.
Since the early
Darlongs were a nomad-like moving from one place to another, they looked for
places where the gods and goddesses have not spell their curse on. According to
the elders, the Tribe had this habit of taking a cock along with them in their
journey. When they stop at certain place, they would release the cock on its
own which is a process of checking the places. If the cock survives and crows
without fear in the morning then the people take it as a good sign. If in any
case, the cock do not survive or dare not to crow in the morning then they
abandon the place immediately. According to C. Thuamdinga, “this process of
checking the place was born when the people found a wandering domestic cock in
the hill range known as ‘Arte Sertlâng’. It is this cock that they takes
everywhere from thence. It is said that in the story of ‘Thaichimi Khua’, a
cock which crowed in the morning giving message to all the visiting guests to
leave the village immediately, was the same cock which the Tribe had found in
the mount of ‘Arte Sertlâng’. Every little thing they see, saw or dreams of
becomes a sign to them. For instance, sneezing during sickness, ants in a rainy
days, itching of palm, swinging of spider in front of a spinter, encounter of
tortoise by hunters, dog climbing the roof of a house, stumbling at doors,
crying of an eagle hovering around a village, shivering of eyebrows, running
away of pets and others have their respective interpretations by the people. It
is also claimed that whenever the chief die a boy is buried alive along with
the chief so that he can retain his chieftainship in the kingdom of dead. The
grave is dug in ‘Vakal’ style. However, this ‘Vakal’ system is no longer
practice in the present Darlong community and is replaced by another one called
‘Pangkhok’ which means digging side wise after reaching sufficient depth. According
to the Darlongs, there are two type of dead i.e. natural and unnatural. The
general custom the the people was that they decorate the dead body with
‘Thangsua Puan’ before final disposal, wash and anoint it with oil. A baby dead
in his pre-birth or so immediately after birth was called ‘Lairu’. The body was
placed in a pot and buried. However, if a child die before having teeth, they
are called ‘Ramte’ and the body was taken out of the house through window and
get buried by a lady. In another case, if an old person died of natural dead,
he is carried with a pair of bamboo called ‘Rilang’ where as one who does not
meet his dead naturally are carried with a piece of bamboo called ‘Langkhat’ to
be buried outside the village. During the dead of their chief, the Darlongs do
not bury them but rather put it in a wooden box and let it to decompose by
continuously heating the box for months. It is said that the box is often
opened to check the speed of decomposition of the body which was mainly done by
the ‘Tlangsasuan sub-clan’ for the people claim the sub-clan to be regardless
of any taboos. After the completion of decomposition, the bones are collected
and later buried or used it as a symbol of ancestors. No doubt, nothing can be
done before the ‘Thi Ni’ or ‘Ramdal’ which was observed just after week of a
person’s dead continuing till date. Erection of monuments and other
documentation was practice in the contemporary times as well. During the previous
days, the erected stones have writings and some sketches of animal. According
to Mr. Hrata Darlong, a residence of Talan village, “the sketch of animal on
the tombstones gives clue to the kind of ceremonies and feast organized at the
time of dead”. The ‘Roikhama Lungphun’, located in the present ‘Talan’ village
of the Darlongs, has a sketch of pig on the tombstone which means pig was slay for
his burial feast. In the Post-Christian period, the Darlongs bury themselves in
a coffin like that of the Western culture. However, the tradition of feast
during burial still continues to be a part of the present Darlongs rituals too.
Fig.2. Picture showing the tombstone of
‘Roikhama Lungphun’, presently at Talan village.
“The
Darlong believes in the life after death” (L. Darlong 129). According to my
research, “there exist three worlds in the Darlong psychology i.e. ‘Khawvel’ or
the ‘Mortal World’, ‘Thilkhua’ or the ‘Shrine of Dead’ and ‘Pialral’ or
‘Paradise’. It was their deed and status that decides a person’s life after
dead. Cruel and merciless murderer are avenged in the abode of dead by their
action’s victim as in the legendary story of ‘Chawngkuala[14]’
where ‘Chawngkuala’, the protagonist await the Lushai king, who shot him, in
order to avenge his dead while the good men and women are more likely to return
back to physical world with a mark. Hence, babies with a pierce mark on their
ears are considered to not to be a new born but the return of some good person
from ‘Thikhua’. However, ‘Pialral’ was inherited only by few privileged people
only as mentioned earlier. Regard to rites and rituals, all the prayers and
sacrifices are made by a mediator called ‘Thiampu’ or a priest who dictates the
medium and degree of sacrifices to be made for the gods that are done to
appease the over soul, who was the chief ruler of their life after dead and
other deities. In my journal, ‘The Darlong Folk Literature: A Study on
Deification of Characters in the Oral Narratives of the Darlong People during
the Pre-Christianisation Period’, I also stated the existence of another
world which was called the ‘Lungleng Tlang’ or ‘Lungtlaleng’, meaning the world
for lovers who could not unite with their respective lover and beloved. The
world had its mention in the famous love song sung by “Thuitlingi’ and
‘Tualvungi’ when they failed to be united with their respective lover,
‘Pangama’ and ‘Zawlpala’ in the physical world.
The
Darlongs, without any doubt, are also lovers of music and festivities. Some of
the famous festivals observed during the ‘Bukpui’ days are: i) ‘Ramzu Kut’ ii)
‘Khangdai Kut’ iii) ‘Thlantawi Kut’ iv) ‘Tharlak Kut’. Nevertheless, except for
the ‘Tharlak Kut’, other festivals have lost its significances and values. The
people had their own music instruments such as ‘Theitele’, ‘Tapual’,
‘Theikhang’, ‘Rosem’, Dar-teng’, ‘Dar-ribu’, ‘Darkhuang’, ‘Chawngpereng’,
‘Kaikawng’, ‘Tuithei’, ‘Khuangpui’ et etal which most of them by now has been
forgotten. The folk literature of the tribe entirely tends to create an ethnic
Darlong space both psychologically and culturally. As a matter of fact, the
tales and the songs entirely note down the historical past, rites and ritual,
customs and the rich legacy of the people which act as a wheel to communicate
the community’s past. “In the legendary love story of ‘Pangama and Thuitlingi’,
the protagonist, ‘Pangama’ defeated the mortal world and entered the shrine of
dead in order to meet her beloved ‘Thuitlingi’, who committed a suicide when
she fail to marry her lover. Reaching her beloved, ‘Pangama’ found that her
beloved was extremely lean and thin. After enduring a period of stay in the
shrine of dead, ‘Pangama’ returns back to the mortal world after which he made
food offering for his beloved that eventually becomes a widespread cultural
rite and traditional feast of the Darlong. Presently, the tradition is observed
annually as a grand festival of the tribe known as ‘Tharlak Kut[15]’.
Every festivity was initiated by the ‘Bukpui’ as a whole where ‘Lamzawl’ was
often created. ‘Lamzawl’ is nothing but a traditional hall for dance where all
the villagers are sealed for their presence. No doubt, the dances were usually
performed by the budding youths especially from the young girls which draw the
line of women importance in the community from time antiquity. Some of the
dances that the tribe has may be ‘Parkam’, ‘Chemlam’, ‘Vathu Indi’,
‘Pualvachang Lam’, ‘Sate Tual Phit’, ‘Fahrel Inkan’, ‘Khual Lam’, ‘Silai Lam’,
‘Lam Palak’, ‘Sumpui Inchawm’, ‘Riki Fachawi’ and few more. In short, ‘Bukpui’
to the Darlong act as a ‘Magazine’ in term of survival, ‘Multi-medium cannon’
in term of learning centre and a ‘Rest House’ for one who seeks. Despite of all
the fact, the present Darlongs have lost their ancestral appetite for music
that results in the amnesia of the cultural music instruments, folksongs and
desire to invent adventurous tales of their people.
Another
important infamous practice was the game of head hunting[16].
Despite the anonymousness of the genesis of the game, it was a popular practice
of the Darlongs during the pre-Christianisation that earned them the mark of
recognition from their kinsmen. According to the elders, the game of head
hunting was done to mark the birth of their flowering manhood that was believed
to eventually lead them to ‘Pialral’ or ‘Paradise’ after their dead. These
legendary hunters are known as ‘Ratha’ in the vernacular. “On the death of the
chief, several heads are buried alongside their leader as his company to the
Kingdom of Dead. The Chief or ‘Lal[17]’
who counts more murders at his credit and hunted heads attains greater
happiness in the life after dead as because all the heads he hunted and heads
buried with him becomes his slaves in the abode of dead. It is also said that
the favourite slave of the dead chief was half-buried leaving his upper portion
on the ground and keep on ringing a bell till his dead proclaiming the dead of his
favourite Chief. At other instance, the dead body of the Chief was placed in a
huge dug-out log and encircling the log with a ring of fire that was kept on
flame for ninety days. With the completion of ninety days, the bones and the
other remnants of the deceased are buried in a pre-selected hole with
ceremonies and grandeur alongside the heads hunted to commemorate his dead”
(Singh. 42). “Record has it that in the Jamatia Revolt of 1863 against the
Manikya[18]
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).
IV. CONCLUSION:
To the Darlongs, the very term is a symbol of a tribe with high esteem and
confidence. All aspects of lives and activities are changing rapidly making it
blurred to decipher what is good and what is bad from any perspectives. One
should not be too surprised to come across occurrence of undesirable stray
incidence as the turbulent waves are new to them and are learners in sailing in
the big world of crisis[19]. Even
so, none can be blame for this act of ignorance among the Tribe. Whatever may
be the reasons, the invaluable cultures has been out of practice for decades
and are being buried in the coffins of the dying elders. Looking from the
post-colonial perspectives, the Darlongs had been colonised physical and
mentally so much that their traditional entity is completely drenched in the
western influence resulting with the misconception of their glorious past as savage
pictures. No doubt, attempts are being made out to recover the lost and some of
them gain momentum where as other result in vain.
Fig.3.
Picture showing post- Christian Darlong girls in their traditional attire.
V. REFERENCE
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