THE
ECONOMICS
OF
THE
CENTRAL
CHIN
TRIBES
by
H.
N.
C.
STEVENSON,
F.R.A.I.,
Burma
FtontictService
With
a
Foreword
by
H.
E.
THE
RIGHT
HON'BLE
SIR
REGINALD
HUGH
DORMAN-SMITH,
G.B.E.,
Governor
of
Burma.
Published
by
order
of
the
Government
of
Burma
THE
TIMES
OF
INDIA
PRESS
BOMBAY
ad
To
my
son
JOHN
Who
brightened
our
days
in
the
Chin
Hilli.
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ad
Submitted
as
a
thesis
for
the
Diploma
of
Anthropology
at
the
University
of
London.
ad
FOREWORD
By
His
Excellency
the
Rt.
Honourable
Sir
Reginald
Hugh
Dorman-Smith,
G.
B.
E.,
Governor
of
Burma.
I
am
delighted
that,
inspiteof
the
alarums
and
excursions
of
war,
Mr.
Stevenson
has
been
able
to
complete
his
work
on
the
people
of
the
Chin
Hills.
Burma
has
been
backward
in
producing
such
works,
the
lack
of
which
I,
at
least,
felt
greatly.
When
I
was
appointed
Governor
of
Burma,
I
realised
that
I
would
be
responsible
for
theadministration
of
the
Shan
States
and
of
certain
tribes
w
T
ho
inhabited
the
Scheduled
Areas
of
Burma.
I
am
afraid
that
this
meant
but
little
to
me.
I
knew
but
very
little
about
the
Shan
States
and
must
confess
that
I
had
never
even
heard
of
the
Chins
or
the
Kachins.
Naturally
I
was
anxious
to
learn
all
that
I
could
about
these
people.
I
wanted
to
know
about
their
ordinary
everyday
lives,
their
customs,
their
aspirations,their
virtues
and
their
failings.
That
information
was
not
readily
available.
Pre-
sumably
it
might
have
been
found
in
the
dusty
files
of
the
Secretariat
but
for
the
most
part
it
was,
and
still
is,
locked
away
in
the
minds
of
those
devoted
Frontier
Service
Officers
who
have
lived
their
lives
among
the
hill
tribes.
The
Chins
and
Kachins,
as
well
as
the
Nagas,
have
come
into
the
limelightas
the
resultof
the
Japanese
invasion
of
Burma.
They
have
shown
themselves
to
be
sturdy
guerilla
fighters,
as
the
Japanese
have
very
good
reason
to
know.
What
is
to
be
the
future
of
these
tribesmen
?
The
whole
world
is
thinking
in
terms
of
Reconstruction.
What
will
that
mean
to
Chins,
Kachins,
Nagas
or
Shans
?
No
reconstruction
can
hope
to
be
successful
unless
and
until
we
thoroughly
understand
the
spiritual
and
physical
needs
of
thepeople
whom
we
earnestly
hope
to
assist
along
the
road
to
a
fuller
and
better
life.
Progress
will
not
necessarily
come
to
these
tribes
by
the
mere
imposition
of
OUT
Western
ideas
upon
what
to
us
may
seem
to
be
a
primitive
people.
Such
books
as
this,
which
are
written
with
a
deep
knowledge
and
love
of
the
people,
will
help
us
to
achievethenecessary
understanding
of
the
problems
which
face
us.
I
can
only
hope
that
Mr.
Stevenson's
example
of
putting
his
knowledge
and
experience
into
writing
will
be
followed
and
followed
quickly
by
other
officers
ofhis
Service,
who
have
much
to
contribute
to
the
future
of
the
Hill
Tribes
of
Burma.
Governor
of
Burma.
ad
PREFACE
THIS
paper
is
intended
to
serve
as
a
foundation
in
applied
anthro-
pology
for
my
brother
officers
on
the
frontiers
of
Burma.
It
is
by
no
means
perfect,
but
it
does
present
a
new
line
of
approach
to
our
problems,
and
on
its
basis
it
should
be
possible
to
produce
pro-
gressively
better
resultsinfuture.
Most
of
the
existing
monographs
on
the
customs
of
the
Burma
tribes
were
written
many
years
ago,at
a
time
when
amateur
ethnographers
were
apt
to
concentrate
either
on
technology
or
history
alone,
or
on
the
more
bizarre
aspects
of
culture.
Much
was
written
of
the
form
of
religious
ritual,
little
or
nothing
of
its
function
in
tribal
life.
The
humdrum
details
of
the
village
scene
took
second
place
to
the
more
titillating
minutiae
of
sex
life
and
the
robust
horrors
of
tribal
war,
head-hunting,
sorcery
and
slavery.
In
most
other
regions
in
which
primitive
peoples
are
found
this
stateof
affairs
has
long
since
been
remedied,
and
the
seeker
after
infor-
mation
has
at
his
disposal
a
wide
variety
of
modern
scientific
enquiries
into
almost
all
aspects
of
culture.
The
science
of
Anthropology
has
been
revolutionised
and
its
importance
to
the
administrations
concerned
with
primitives
raised
to
such
a
degreethat
most
governments
insist
on
their
executive
officers
having
some
anthropological
groundwork
in
their
training.
Many
go
further
and
employ
whole-time
anthropologiststo
provide
the
background
of
detailed
knowledge
of
tribal
customs
without
whichno
administration
can
deal
successfully
with
the
problems
of
this
changing
world.
Burma
hasreached
a
stage
at
which
she
can
no
longer
affordto
be
left
behind
in
this
respect
the
gap
in
the
library
shelf
is
a
standing
affrontto
our
energies,
and
an
admission
of
anachronisticnegligence
of
the
social
sciences.
To
fill
that
gap
a
start
was
neededsomewhere,
and
since
the
break
from
the
old
tradition
of
tribal
record
had
to
be
complete,
I
took
for
my
subject
the
most
utilitarian
and
least
exciting
aspect
of
culture
the
economic
aspect.
It
was
a
pleasant
surprise
to
find
that
even
in
this
sphere
ofhis
activities
the
Chin
could
provide
the
investiga-
tor
with
much
intensely
interesting
food
for
thought.
Since
a
knowledge
of
the
method
of
enquiry
is
essential
to
a
precise
appreciation
of
its
results,
I
recordhere
that
collection
of
my
notes
occupied
most
of
my
time
during
the
years
1934-36,
when
I
was
Assistant
Superintendent,
Falam.
My
questions
wereput
in
the
local
lingua
franca
the
Laizo
dialectof
the
Chin
language
and
my
informants
were
as
a
rule
men
selected
for
their
deep
knowledge
of
particular
aspects
of
tribal
life.
Having
made
notes
on
theoretical
reactions,
I
checked
them
against
the
actualities
of
daily
life
during
the
course
of
my
constant
tours,
which
covered
every
village
and
hamlet
in
the
Falam
Subdivision.
(vii)
ad
Just
beforeleaving
the
area,
1
invited
to
my
headquarters
the
elders
of
all
the
tribes
and
sub-tribes
concerned
and
readover
my
notes
to
them
in
the
local
dialect,
making
corrections
and
alterations
where
necessary.
It
can
be
said
with
truththat
no
responsible
man
in
the
whole
arealacked
an
opportunity
of
stating
his
views
at
one
time
or
another.
In
this
connection
it
is
worth
noting
that
there
has
always
been
a
strong
democratic
tradition
in
the
administration
of
the
Burma
Hills.
Pomp
and
circumstanceplay
little
part
in
the
settled
areas
;
the
frontier
officer
is
regarded
as
a
friend
to
whom
at
all
times
the
local
people
are
admitted
without
hindrance,
whether
their
purpose
be
to
'grouse',
todiscuss
legal
or
administrative
problems,
or
merely
to
gossip
about
local
affairs.
It
is,
however,
inevitable
that
part-time
enquiries
by
officials
will
lack
a
good
deal
of
the
documentation
in
terms
of
actual
behaviour
which
a
whole-time
scientist
can
collect
in
the
field.
But
the
administrative
officer
has
to
spend
years
(if
he
is
lucky)
in
one
locality,
and
therefore
is
oftenable
to
make
upby
long
term
observation
what
he
has
to
forego
in
detailed
observation.
This
is
especially
so
in
thesphere
of
economics,
because
the
effects
of
droughts
and
famines
are
often
felt
for
years
after-
wards
in
these
rural
communities,
and
experience
over
some
years
often
yieldsclues
to
economic
mysteriesthat
would
otherwise
remain
unsolved.
As
to
presentation
of
the
material
the
paper
is
divided
into
three
parts,
the
first
introductory,
the
second
dealing
with
production,
in
this
case
agriculture
and
its
ancillary
subjects,
for
less
than
i
per
cent,of
the
populationearn
a
basic
living
by
any
other
means.
The
third
part
is
a
detailedanalysis
of
the
distribution
and
consumption
of
local
products,
and
describes
the
intricate
system
of
social
reciprocities
that
forms
so
remarkable
a
feature
of
Chin
life.
Throughout
the
whole
my
main
preoccupation
has
been
the
ex-
traction
of
theadministrative
implications
contained
in
the
economic
situation
existing
in
the
hills.
It
will
be
seenthat
whereas
the
outstanding
inference
to
be
drawn
from
this,
as
from
all
other
modern
analyses
of
pri-
mitive
economics,
is
the
close
integration
of
all
aspects
of
primitive
culture
;
modern
administrative
practice,
based
on
the
increasing
segmentation
and
departmentalism
of
civilised
democratic
government,
seems
to
be
heading
in
the
opposite
direction.
In
the
closing
paragraphs
of
most
chapters
I
have
drawn
attention
to
the
local
dangersattendant
upon
this
trend,
and
to
the
increasingly
seriousresponsibility
devolving
upon
the
administration
to
see
that
all
effort
emanatingfrom
the
departmental
authorities
is
controlled
and
co-ordinated
to
the
fullest
possible
degree.
The
brief
final
chapter
was
written
in
an
interval
of
sick
leave
in
thepresentwar.
Where
it
falls
short
of
what
one
should
expect
of
a
summary
of
this
cultural
survey,
I
plead
the
exigencies
of
service.
The
complete
lack
of
sound
modern
analyses
of
the
rural
economies
of
the
Burma
Hills,
coupled
with
the
urgent
necessity
to
prepare
a
plan
of
economic
resurgence
to
take
back
into
Burma
with
us
on
our
(viii)
ad
reconquest
of
thecountry,
has
given
this
volume
an
ephemeral
value
out
of
all
proportion
to
the
normal,
and
publication
therefore
could
not
wait
upon
literary
or
scientific
excellence.
In
conclusion
I
would
like
to
add
a
word
on
the
1943
situation.
I
have
been
fortunate
enough
to
be
reposted
to
the
Chin
Hills
in
time
to
witness
the
great
effort
this
small
group
is
making
to
stem
the
tideof
Japanese
aggression.
That
they,
almost
alone
in
Burma,
have
escaped
even
temporary
slavery
under
the
heels
of
the
conqueror
is
due
largely
to
their
own
stout
efforts
and
to
their
loyalty
to
the
small
band
of
British
civil
and
military
officers
who
have
maintained
unbroken
continuity
of
normal
administration
throughout
most
of
the
district,
though
the
tide
of
Japanese
militarism
has
lapped
its
fringes
for
nearly
a
year.
Many
of
the
predictions
in
this
volume
are
already
half
way
to
becoming
facts.
The
scarsof
new
landslips
in
the
Manipur
River
valley
bear
mute
witness
to
the
urgent
need
for
control
of
destruction
of
the
forests
a
control
which
a
wise
administration
has
already
established
with
some
degree
of
success
during
the
past
few
years.
Pit
saws
have
become
an
essential
part
of
timber
extraction,
while
slate
and
tin
roofed
houses
are
many
times
more
numerous
than
before,
an
indication
thatthe
local
people
are
waking
up
to
the
part
they
have
to
play
in
forest
conservation.
The
enormous
increase
in
cash
in
the
local
economy,due
to
the
war
and
the
much
increased
wage
employment
it
has
brought
in
its
train,
is
exerting
great
pressure
on
the
old
economic
system.
Inflation
has
already
reached
a
stage
that
makes
the
day
to
day
sacrifices
of
the
animists
a
serious
burden.Their
lot
is
the
harderbecauseoccupation
of
the
contiguous
plains
by
the
Japanese
has
closed
what
were
in
the
past
the
only
outside
markets,
so
that
the
almost
complete
absence
of
alter-
native
avenues
of
spending
has
thrown
the
whole
weight
of
surplus
cash
on
to
the
restricted
market
of
local
products.
The
Chiefs
and
Elders
have
been
hard
put
to
frame
a
means
of
con-
trolling
further
rises
in
the
cost
of
living,
and
though
efforts
are
being
made
to
drain
off
some
of
the
surplus
cash
by
encouraging
the
formation
of
co-operative
societies
on
the
village
scale,
thetask
is
made
doubly
difficult
because,
whilethe
war
situation
makes
necessary
the
reduction
offloating
cash
surpluses,
the
same
situation
has
had
the
not
unexpected
effect
of
making
these
primitive
people
shy
of
relinquishing
hold
of
their
negotiable
assets.
Though
the
economic
situation
is
now
nearer
normal,
there
was
a
time
in
the
early
summer
of
1942
when
the
fearoflosingtheir
property
to
the
invaders
led
to
a
holocaust
of
mithan
and
pigs
hurriedly
sacrificed
to
the
guardian
spirits.
This
action
was
not
dictated
wholly
by
fear,
though
there
was
goodenough
cause
for
that
in
the
early
days,
but
was
due
at
least
as
much
to
a
desire
to
have
the
decks
cleared
for
action
should
the
enemy
succeed
in
penetrating
to
the
hill
villages.
It
was
felt
that
(ix)
ad
animals
so
sacrificed
had
been
added
to
the
spirit
herdsthepeople
would
find
waiting
for
them
in
the
Land
of
the
Dead,
and
thus
eternal
poverty
so
much
harder
to
contemplate
than
mundane
want
was
well
and
truly
averted.
But
the
most
important
fact
apparent
is
the
way
the
social
system
hasstood
up
so
far
inspite
of
these
difficulties.
The
Chiefs
and
Elders
still
exercise
their
authority
withundiminished
potency
;
law
and
order
still
prevail
and
a
child
could
walk
unescorted
through
most
of
the
district
in
perfect
safety.
The
Feasts
of
Merit
and
Celebration
still
hold
pride
of
place
in
the
eye
of
the
local
investor,
though
the
flood
of
cash
pouring
into
this
traditional
field
of
consumption
is
the
main
cause
of
the
risinglocal
prices.
The
fact
that
the
cost
of
current
feasts
is
thereby
increased
to
double
or
more
of
the
normal
may
result
in
efforts
to
get
the
traditional
ratesof
interest
in
kind
altered
to
suit
present
day
investors,
or,
far
worse
in
its
ultimate
effects,
appreciation
of
the
diminishing
returns
of
feast-giving
inrelation
to
its
cost
may
bringthe
wholesystem
into
disrepute.
A
possible
result
of
this
would
be
reversion
of
the
local
investor
to
the
short-term
loan
systems
instead
of
to
the
tefa
system,
and
since
these
systems
carryexorbitant
rates
of
interest
the
effect
on
the
distribution
of
wealth
would
be
immediate
and
disastrous.
In
this
connection
the
present
abundance
of
ready
cash
is
a
potent
danger,
for
it
is
resulting
in
a
general
trend
towards
cash
rather
than
kind
transac-
tions
which
may
in
itself
convert
the
Chin
to
more
direct
methods
of
employing
his
capital.
We
cannotsay
what
the
future
will
bring
to
this
remote
corner
of
the
Empire
it
may
yet
have
to
face
the
ordeal
by
fire
and
see
its
quiet
homesteads
reduced
to
ruin
and
ashes.
One
thing
is
certain,
and
that
is
that
the
Empire
as
a
whole
and
India
in
particular
owes
a
very
great
debt
to
these
sturdy
hillmen.
At
one
time
they
stood
virtually
alone
to
face
an
enemy
that
had
just
beaten
a
great
army.
Aided
only
by
their
mountainous
environment
and
asmall
irregularforce
composed
of
the
local
Frontier
Force
Battalion,
itself
largely
Chin,
and
disbanded
Chin
sepoys
of
the
Burma
Rifles,
the
people
have
succeeded,
in
spite
of
their
paltry
numbersand
inadequate
arms,
in
throwing
that
enemy
backfrom
their
borders.
It
is
not
easy
to
assess
the
service
they
have
done
us
by
that
lonelystand,
but
this
we
can
say
that
had
the
Chins
let
the
Japanese
pass
through
on
their
conquering
way
into
Manipur
and
Assam,
the
difficulties
that
would
have
befallen
India
are
beyond
computation.
H
-
N
'
Ct
STEVENSON.
ad
Acknowledgments
The
collection
of
the
data
for
this
paper
entailed
much
hard
work
on
thepart
of
the
local
wiseacres,
who
sat
patiently
through
many
hundreds
of
hours
of
enquiry,
jogging
my
memory,
correcting
my
vocabulary,
clarifying
my
questions
and
amplifying
the
answers
of
our
sometimes
rather
slow-witted
local
farmers.
That
they
were
willing
to
suffer
whatmust
have
been
to
them
the
excruciating
boredom
of
constant
repetition
of
facts
long
familiar
to
them
is
a
pointer
to
the
seriousness
with
which
they
regarded
my
mission,
and
a
tributeto
their
sense
ofresponsibility.
Though
most
headmen
played
theirpart,
the
bulk
of
the
strain
fell
on
the
five
tribal
chiefs,
and
in
particular
on
Thang
Tin
Lian,Chief
of
the
Zahau,
and
Khuang
Zal,
the
Court
Interpreter,
whose
zeal
and
determination
to
see
a
complete
record
made
did
much
to
maintain
my
own
standards
of
efficiency.
Presentation
of
the
facts
owes
much
to
my
friends
in
the
Department
of
Anthropology
in
the
University
of
London.
Prof.
Malinowski,
Dr.
Firth,
Dr.
Mair,
Miss
M.Lawrence
and
my
fellow
students
all
made
important
contributions
to
my
analysis
of
Chin
economicsthrough
their
friendly
and
constructive
criticism.
Their
wide
knowledge
of
primitive
societies
throughout
the
world
was
placedunreservedly
at
my
disposal
and
their
acute
perceptionsolved
many
of
my
problems.
Publication
of
the
book
I
owe
to
thegenerosity
of
the
Government
of
Burma.
I
am
greatly
indebted
to
H.
E.
the
Governor
of
Burma,
Sir
Reginald
Dorman-Smith,
G.B.E.,
forhis
gracious
encouragement
of
my
own
personal
efforts
and
his
much
needed
support
of
the
cause
of
social
investigation
in
the
hill
areas
of
Burma.
Last,
but
not
by
any
means
least,
I
acknowledge
the
constanthelp
and
inspiration
of
my
wife,
who
has
shared
with
me
for
so
many
years
all
the
trials
and
tribulations
of
a
rough
life
on
the
lonely
frontiers
of
Burma.
That
the
manuscript
survived
at
all
is
thanks
to
her
foresight,
for
all
else
disappeared
when
the
Japanese
overran
our
home.
The
loss
of
my
notes
has
meant
that
many
detailed
appendices
have
had
to
be
omitted,
and
I
have
not
been
able
to
document
the
arguments
in
the
paper
with
the
fullness
desirable
in
a
work
of
this
nature.
H.
N.
C.
STEVENSON.
(Xi)
ad
List
of
Illustrations
and
Maps.
Frontispiece
1.
Thang
Tin
Lian
A.T.M.
The
Zahau
Chief
as
a
young
man
Facingpage
2.
Ancient
dress
and
modern
housing
in
Bualkhua
...
.
..
3
3.
The
childrenare
hardy
and
used
to
exposure.
Small
boys
of
Lente
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
.
...
..
..
5
4.
The
countryside
is
a
tangled
mass
of
steep
mountain
ranges.
Looking
clown
on
Lumbang,
seat
of
the
Zanniat
Chief.
.
..
17
5.
The
village
of
Lente,
sheltered
between
Hanking
ridges
..
..
22
0.
In
Lente
the
gourd
pipes
play
a
great
part
in
courtship
and
dancing
.
.
..
.
.
.
..
..
.
..
.
.
27
7.
Zanniat
villagers
dance
in
the
courtyard
of
the
Tashon
Chief.
The
spectators
hold
their
breath
in
anticipation
of
the
howl
of
anguish
which
will
follow
a
false
step
and
a
trapped
ankle
...
..
.
34
8.
There
is
always
something
doing
in
the
courtyard
fronting
the
dark
cavern
of
the
eaves.
Bean
pods
and
cereals
drying
in
the
sun.
..
41
9.
The
men
of
Hmunli
dance
the
Mnalkhuav.
Their
plumes
are
feathers
of
the
hornbill
and
the
white
cocks,
the
tassels
oftheir
ceremonial
swords
red-dyed
goat'shair
.
..
.
.
..
.
44
10.
A
Khuaugtsciwi
feast
at
Zultu,
a
Zanniat
village.
Two
mi
than
lie
bound
ready
for
sacrifice,
while
the
women
on
the
right
help
their
men
to
beat
the
khuang,
the
large
wooden
xylophone
in
the
fore-ground
..
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
.
.
4S
11.
Lente
pottery.
The
whole
process
is
by
hand,
the
wheel
being
unknown
.
.
.
..
.......
.
..
.
75
(0
Cunning
Cotton
(u)
Spinning
(in)
Weaving
.
.
.
.
.
.
79
The
elders
of
Bualkhua,
pioneers
in
slate-roofed,
stone-walled
houses
..
.
...
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
90
14.
The
high-set
headcloth
is
thepride
of
the
Paun.
An
ex-soldier
takes
his
ease
...
....
..
.
....
..
105
15.
The
Headman
of
Parte
poses
in
front
of
the
posts
which
comme-
morate
his
many
feasts
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
....
US
1(5.
The
hostess
and
host
at
a
Zanniatkhuangtsawi
in
Zultu
...
.
137
17.
The
village
smiths
are
versatile
and
beauty
unashamed
to
be
adorned
.
.
.
.
..
...
.
..
.
...
142
18.
Chin
elders
are
men
of
dignity.
The
Headman
of
Lente
and
his
assistant
..
.
.
.
....
.
...
..
.
148
19.
On
the
khan
memorial
posts
is
carved
a
pocket
history
of
the
dead
person's
mundane
achievements
.
.
.
.....
..
161
20.
Van
Hmung,
K.S.M.,
A.T
M.,
Chief
of
the
Tashon
tribe
.
.
.
.
165
21.
Teasing
cotton
is
a
job
for
the
grandfathers,
it
is
the
only
operation
connected
with
weavingwhich
men
perform
.
.
.
.
..
166
22.
There
is
work
even
for
those
afflicted
by
the
gods
...
.
.
.
175
Maps.
1.
Geographical
position
of
Central
Chin
Hills
....
.
.
1
II.
Lines
of
migration
of
the
tribes
..
..
..
..
..
11
III.
Political
divisions
and
tribal
dispersion
.
.
..
.
...
15
ad
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
PART
I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Pages
CHAPTER
I.
The
Application
of
Economic
Theory
to
Chin
Culture
1
Need
for
a
plan
and
a
set
of
concepts
for
analysis
Economic
Man
a
creature
of
fiction
personalisation
characteristic
of
primitive
eco-
nomics
what
economic
postulatesareapplicable
Goodfellow's
definitionof
units
his
principlesof
disposal
of
resources
their
applicability
to
Chin
culture
the
Chin
units
management
goods
recognisable
as
production
and
consumption
goods
by
functionrather
than
form
value
of
economic
theory
in
administra-
tiveforecasts
lack
of
records
of
economic
facts.
CHAPTER
II.
The
Social
Background
11
Geographical
position
of
area
occupied
by
Central
Chin
tribestheir
ethnographical
position
and
relationto
surrounding
tribes
tribal
history
its
effect
on
migration
the
Central
tribes
their
political
framework
migration
and
assimilation
the
social
grouping
in
the
village
factors
affecting
it
the
religious
beliefs
their
controllinginfluence
in
all
cultural
spheres
the
village
scene
a
vignette
of
daily
life.
PART
II.
PRODUCTION.
CHAPTER
III.
Agriculture
29
The
physical
background
climatic
conditions
water
supplies
main
sources
of
food
the
divisions
of
land
regional
and
crop
rotation
supernatural
aid
and
the
limitations
of
technical
skill
crops
and
their
seasonsthe
division
of
agricultural
labour
hired
labourlabour
dues
to
headmen
and
specialists
voluntary
associa-
tion
in
labour
details
of
agricultural
technique
implements
the
agriculturalcycle
the
storage
of
crops
the
harvest
festivals
and
their
significance
the
uses
to
which
crops
are
put
and
its
effect
on
local
valuesthepresent
and
the
future
of
Chin
agriculture.
CHAPTER
IV.
Animal
Husbandry
47
The
types
of
local
stock
average
number
owned
breeding
customs
and
standards
of
quality
lawsregarding
killing
and
maiming
of
stockthe
uses
of
stock
economic
wastage
of
hides
methods
of
acquiringstock
their
effect
in
the
field
of
agriculture
damage
to
crops
by
livestock
laws
of
compensation
changes
due
to
adminis-
tration
and
foreign
contact
Gurkha
pastoral
settlements
experi-
ments
in
better
stock
selective
assimilation
inaction.
CHAPTER
V.
Hunting
and
Fishing
62
Types
of
animals
found
localclassification
technique
of
hunting
trapping
the
laws
of
hunting
public
safety
and
trespass
pay-
ment
of
huntingdues
personal
claims
and
rights
fishing
technique
effects
of
hunting
and
fishing
on
agriculture
and
land
tenure,
(xiii)
ad
Pages.
CHAPTER
VI.
Forest
Products
72
Religious
ideology
and
its
effect
on
collection
of
forest
produce
eatable
products
usable
products
saleable
products
and
their
effect
on
local
trade
local
salt
panning
lac
extraction.
CHAPTER
VII.
Land
Tenure
78
Salient
differences
between
tenures
in
autocratic
and
democraticgroups
rights
and
claims
in
autocratic
group
of
chief,
head-
man,
specialists,
the
whole
community,
the
individual
resident
and
the
individual
cultivator
the
principles
governing
these
rights
and
claims
the
rights
and
principlesof
tenure
in
democratic
group
land
tenure
in
practice
the
bul
ram
individual
tenure
and
its
effects
communal
land
possiblesolutionsto
landproblems.
CHAPTER
VIII.
Trade
and
Wage-earning
101
Why
money
came
to
the
hills
theancient
channels
of
trade
local
partial
price
system
present
directions
of
flow
of
trade
partnership
in
trading
ventures
effects
of
wage-earning
on
local
economy
future
trends.
PART
III.
DISTRIBUTION
AND
CONSUMPTION.
CHAPTER
IX.
The
Economics
of
the
Household
106
The
household
as
the
basic
unit
of
local
economy
relative
position
of
individual
members
their
duties
and
responsibilities
table
of
debits
and
credits
of
normal
household
what
is
used
in
thehouse-hold
the
types
of
cooked
food
relishes
thetypes
of
beer
and
the
traditional
methods
of
serving
the
household
practically
self-
supporting
the
nature
of
surpluses
above
household
use
the
lack
of
the
necessary
whole
time
enquiries
into
householdconsumption.
CHAPTER
X.The
Economics
of
SocialObligations
118
Feasting
as
main
means
of
disposing
of
surpluses
the
complex
and
well-balanced
nature
of
feasts
household
as
point
ofintersection
of
four
main
social
groups
super-tax
on
feasts
indicative
oftheir
capital
value
diagram
of
effects
of
household
and
personal
sacrifices
marriage
reciprocities
consisting
of
three
groups
the
marriage
ceremony
the
marriage
price
Yawl
han
ceremonies
connectedwith
birth
the
mutual
obligationsat
mortuary
ceremonies
the
voluntary
feasts
theFeasts
of
Celebration
of
hunting
successes
theFeasts
of
Merit
the
diagram
of
effects
offeast-giving
the
four
groups
of
flesh
dues
at
feasts
the
perquisites
of
the
Feaster's
Club
the
penalties
of
non-payment
the
economic
effect
of
the
social
obligations.
CHAPTER
XI.
The
Economics
of
Justice
148
The
motivation
of
obedience
to
custom
objective
examination
of
the
Chin
viewpoint
essential
the
three
types
ofoffencesoffences
against
the
person
offences
against
property
and
property
rights
offences
against
the
spirits
and
against
spiritual
values
the
tradi-
tional
Zahau
fines
disposalof
fines
simple
process
of
execution
of
legal
decrees
the
local
effect
of
application
of
the
Penal
Code
the
necessity
of
understanding
local
economy
as
pre-requisiteof
evaluat-
ing
Chin
Justice.
(xiv)
ad
Pages.
CHAPTER
XII.
The
Economics
of
Religious
Ritual
156
The
economic
significanceof
religious
ritual
is
constant
throughout
the
central
tribes
the
three
main
categories
the
personal
sacrifices
the
communal
sacrifices
the
agricultural
sacrifices
the
effect
of
mission
activities
the
significanceof
the
Pau
Chin
Hau
cult
the
economic
effects
of
religion
future
trends.
CHAPTER
XIII.
Wealth,
Poverty,
and
Debt
164
Wealth
means
spending
rather
than
accumulating
the
types
of
property
and
the
gradations
of
value
the
persons
and
groups
entitled
to
own
property
the
laws
of
succession
and
inheritance
the
extent
and
nature
of
poverty
public
relief
and
private
aid
debt
the
traditional
forms
of
borrowing
the
tefa
system
and
the
effect
of
Christianity
on
local
credit
the
borrowing
of
the
future.
CHAPTER
XIV.
Conclusion
182
The
need
for
a
common
basis
of
record
in
comparativeeconomics
Firth's
list
ofindices
the
dominant
technique
of
local
production
the
system
of
exchange
the
price
system
the
control
of
the
means
of
production
the
regulation
of
consumer's
choices
possibilities
andmethods
of
local
economic
development.
GLOSSARY.
191
INDEX.
194
(XV)
ad
ad
MAP
I.
D0
e
100
INDIAN
EM.PIRS
BAY
OF
BENGAL
ad
PARTI
CHAPTER
I
THE
APPLICATION
OF
ECONOMIC
THEORY
TO
CHINCULTURE.
It
is
difficult
for
the
practical
administrative
officer
to
escape
a
certain
amount
of
suspicion
when
he
enters
the
realms
of
scientific
theory.
There
is
a
general
belief
that
theory
in
administration
belongs
to
thephilosopher
and
the
politician,
and
practice
alone
to
the
executive
officer,
despite
the
fact
that
in
most
otherspheres
of
human
endeavour
progress
in
theory
usually
arises
out
of
practical
experiment.
In
the
case
of
the
ScheduledAreas
of
Burma,
however,
theadministrator
has
a
good
excuse,
for
here
philosophers
arefew,
and
the
politician
has
as
yet
no
place,
the
present
principle
of
administration
being
Indirect
Rule
through
the
traditional
political
hierarchy.
Be
that
as
it
may,
if
we
are
to
prove
that
some
measure
of
predic-
tion
is
possible
in
the
field
of
Chin
economics
and
that
is
the
object
of
thepresent
writer
then
we
must
analysethe
local
system
to
the
fullest
possibledegree.
Analysis
of
so
involved
a
subject
naturally
demands
theuse
of
some
plan
and
the
acceptance
of
some
range
or
another
of
verbal
labelsfor
theconcepts
necessary
to
disentanglerelevant
factors.
It
is
to
the
socialscientists
whose
terminology
so
affrights
us
that
we
are
indebted
for
the
only
adequate
plans
of
analysis,
and
whether
we
like
it
or
not,
we
must
use
their
concepts
and
their
labels
or
invent
another
set
which
may
well
prove
even
more
fantastic.
But
here
we
come
against
the
first
of
our
difficulties.
The
Chin
culture,
with
its
simple
technology,
undifferentiated
means
of
livelihood,
limitedresources
and
markets,
and
absence
of
a
writtenlanguage,
falls
into
the
category
of
the
primitive
,
and
the
scientific
world
itself
seems
still
undecided
as
to
the
degree
to
which
the
assumptions
of
western
exchange
economicscan
be
applied
in
the
primitive
field.
There
is
still
some
doubt
as
to
whether
our
economic
theory,
if
it
is
to
be
held
valid
at
all,
must
be
proved
susceptible
in
some
degree
of
universal
appli-
cation,
or
contrarily
whether
there
should
be
a
separate
set
of
concepts
for
advanced
and
primitive
economies.
Ina
recent
book*
an
attempt
has
been
made
todefineindices
whereby
the
economist
might
classify
primitive
economies
into
various
categories
and
thereby
facilitate
the
study
of
comparative
economics.
It
is
not
my
purpose
here
to
go
deeply
into
the
validity
of
all
econo-
mic
assumptions
in
thesphere
of
Chin
economics.
It
can
be
accepted
that
some
of
the
finer
adjustments
of
theoretical
reasoning
will
not
be
Primitive
Polynesian
Economy
by
Raymond
Firth.
Routledge
1939.
Page
356.
ad
found
applicable
where
modern
economic
institutions
such
as
Stock
Exchanges
and
limited
liability
companies
do
not
exist.
This
short
chapter
is
designed
simply
tooutline
a
basis
of
those
general
assump-
tions
which
do
seem
applicable,
and
which
might
assist
my
contempora-
ries
in
administrative
servicesin
thetask
of
recordingthe
economic
processes
of
the
numerous
other
races
of
Burma,
thereby
increasing
the
chances
of
administrative
foresight.
Much
remains
to
bedone
in
per-
fecting
our
schemes
of
record
of
local
cultures,
and
we
need
all
thehelp
we
can
get.
I
would
be
more
than
repaid
for
my
trouble
if
this
monograph
succeed
in
directing
towards
our
primitive
peoplethe
scientific
attention
for
so
long
concentrated
on
the
African
and
the
Polynesian.
Nothing
is
more
certain
to
my
mind
than
that
the
development
of
comparative
economics
will
discover
a
much
closer
relationshipbe-
tween
the
motivation
of
primitive
and
civilised
economiesthan
is
generally
conceded
at
present.
It
is
atruism
to
say
that
all
men
are
equal
under
their
skins,
nevertheless
this
very
fact
demonstrates
that
the
funda-
mental
human
reactions
in
the
field
of
economics
are
not
likely
to
differ
any
more
widely
than
they
do
in
other
aspects
of
culture.
Human
beings
will
always
have
desires
they
want
to
satisfy,
and
not
until
the
Millennium
will
they
be
able
to
do
so
without
exercising
choice
from
a
given
range
of
preferences,
for
we
have
not
yet
found
a
race
with
every-thing
it
wants.
EconomicMan,
with
his
complete
freedom
of
choice,
his
rational
evaluation
of
resources,
his
absence
of
sentiment
in
business
and
his
vacuumised
individuality,
is
a
handy
but
unreal
creature.
The
dis-
coveries
of
anthropological
research
indicate
that
psychological
factors
arising
out
of
the
social
environment
exercise
a
profound
influence
on
primitive
human
conduct
in
all
spheres,
in
which
we
must
include
the
sphere
of
economic
choice
and
behaviour.
There
is
no
reason
to
doubt
that
this
influence
is
exercised
also
(though
in
a
lesser
degree)
in
western
cultures,
and
therefore
western
economic
individuals
are
in
thib
important
sense
similar
to
their
primitive
contemporaries.
Comparative
study
proves
that
all
peoples
are
brought
up
from
childhood
to
accept
a
certain
set
ofsocial
values,
including
economic
values,
and
that
all
strive
to
attain
the
maximisation
ofsatisfactions
having
regard
to
that
set
ofvalues.
The
degree
to
which
the
psycho-
logical
satisfactions
outweigh
the
purely
economic
satisfactions
seems
to
beara
direct
relation
to
thedegree
of
isolationof
the
community
con-
cerned.
The
more
isolated
thegroup,the
more
personalised
are
its
economic
processes,
and
the
more
the
personalisation
the
greater
the
predominance
of
psychological
over
economic
satisfactions
seems
to
be.
This
rule
holds
good
also
for
isolated
European
communities,such
as
existin
remote
country
districts,
where
every
man
knows
his
neighbour
intimately,
where
to
lose
popularity
and
reputation
is
often
considered
more
serious
than
to
lose
money,
and
where
people
must
often
help
ad
ad
their
neighbours
at
the
cost
of
their
own
personal
profit.
Depersonalisa-
tion
is
characteristic
not
of
the
European
economy
as
a
whole,
but
of
industrialisation
and
urbanisation.
To
hold
therefore,
that
the
theory
of
western
economics
is
inapplicable
to
primitive
communities,
is
to
rule
out
its
application
to
many
of
the
rural
communities
of
Europe,
a
sugges-
tion
which
no
one
would
accept.
What
we
must
try
to
determine
is
thedegree
of
applicability.
The
Chins,
while
they
are
in
limited
contact
with
outside
markets,
occupy
an
isolated
block
of
mountain
territory
with
very
imperfect
communications.
We
thus
find
theirs
to
bea
borderline
economy.
The
small
contact
with
open
markets
has
led
to
some
degree
of
imper-
sonal
trade
and
the
acceptance
of
the
concepts
of
wages,
capital
invest-
ment,
profit
and
price.
Isolation
tends
towards
personalisation
and
a
considerable
reliance
on
social
institutions
to
regulate
economic
processes.
Description
of
the
economic
function
of
these
social
institutions,
how-
ever,
demands
an
examination
of
the
economic
labels
to
be
used
in
outlining
the
factscollected,
and
we
must
now
proceed
to
a
study
of
these
labels
and
their
relationto
our
facts.
To
start
with,
let
us
consider
the
economic
disposal
of
resources.
Given
a
common
meaning
of
resources
,
which
I
will
deal
with
later,
does
this
not
postulate
the
disposal
of
available
resources
to
the
best
advantage
to
secure
the
maximum
satisfaction
of
the
needs,
both
phy-
siological
and
psychological,
which
determineour
economic
ends
?
And
does
this
effort
to
make
the
most
of
things
not
exist
as
much
in
any
primitive
community
as
in
a
western
state
?
We
shall
see
later
that
it
does.
It
might
be
argued
that
stress
on
maximisation
of
gains
rather
than
money
gains
is
the
only
.essential
difference,for
as
we
have
noted,
there
is
less
emphasis
on
pure
economic
gain
in
primitive
than
in
civilised
communities.
The
term
available
resources
implies
restricted
means,
and
there
is
no
evidence
in
any
Burma
tribe
of
so
great
a
superabundance
of
resources
that
all
needs
can
be
satisfied
without
the
exercise
of
choice
of
the
most
careful
and
heart-searching
nature
between
alternative
methods
of
disposal.
Even
the
scarcest
means
can
be
dis-
posed
of
economically,
and
so
we
can
accept
the
fact
that
economic
disposal
of
resources
has
the
same
basic
meaning
in
Chin
economy
as
in
western
economy,
and
go
on
to
the
next
label
economic
value.
There
is
a
regrettable
lay
tendency
to
regard
price
as
an
essential
concomitant
of
economic
value,
and
to
suppose
that
where
no
price
system
exists
there
is
no
economic
value
as
we
know
it.
This
is
of
course
absurd.
Economic
value
arises
out
of
the
impact
on
a
given
field
of
resources
of
agiven
range
of
needs.
Since
these
needs
are
necessarily
conditioned
by
the
physical
and
cultural
environment,
it
stands
to
reason
that
both
the
needs
and
the
economic
values
arising
out
of
them
will
vary
from
one
cultureto
another.
For
instance,
the
need
for
speed
intransit
manifests
itself
in
economic
wants
such
as
automobiles,
ponies,
orcanoes,
the
local
value
of
which
will
depend
largely
on
the
physical
ad
environment.
The
mere
fact
that
one
riverine
community
pays
a
craftsmana
price
for
its
canoes
while
another
acquires
them
by
acomplicated
series
of
exchanges
of
labour
and
time
through
a
social
institution
obviouslydoesnot
mean
thatthe
one
lot
of
canoes
has
an
economic
value
and
the
other
has
not.
It
follows
then
that
economic
value
also
has
the
same
meaning
in
the
world
of
the
primitive,
though
the
medium
of
expression
of
that
value
may
not
necessarily
be
money
or
a
primitive currency.
It
is
the
assessment
of
the
relative
worth
of
local
goods
in
terms
of
alter-
native
local
needs
and
available
local
resources.
This
brings
us
to
the
postulate
of
waste,
for
one
too
often
hears
of
the
waste
of
resources
in
primitive
sacrifice,
and
so
on.
Is
not
waste
as
variable
a
concept
as
value,
and
isit
not
affected
by
precisely
the
same
factors
of
material
and
social
environment
?
I
may
pay
5
for
a
pair
of
comfortable
shoes
to
a
Chin
this
is
waste.
Hemay
hold
a
sacrifice
to
me
that
is
waste.
Yet
he
regards
his
sacrifice
as
an
essential
to
a
full
life,
and
so
do
I
regard
my
good
pair
of
shoes.
Waste,
like
value,
exists
in
the
eye
of
thebeholder,
and
we
must
get
this
point
firmly
fixed
in
our
minds
if
we
areto
understand
the
Chin.
We
must
see
his
values
as
he
sees
them
if
we
are
to
know
why
his
economy
works,
and
to
understand
his
values
we
must
understand
his
cultural
setting
as
well
as
list
his
material
resources.
So
far
then,
we
find
that
economic
disposal
of
resources/'
eco-
nomic
value
and
waste
areuseful
labels
for
our
study
of
the
Chin,
but
that
these
depend
for
definition
on
his
physiological
and
spiritual
needs.
We
must
therefore
examine
the
nature
of
these
needs.
First
come
the
basicor
primary
needs,
for
which
we
will
accept
Malinowski's
list
protection,
shelter,
sustenance,
procreation,
air
to
breathe
and
room
to
move,
and
a
range
of
spiritual
beliefs.
For
the
Chin
as
for
other
men,
satisfactionof
thesepostulates
thederived
needs
of
defensive
organisa-
tion,
houses
and
bodily
covering,
an
agricultural
system,
a
form
of
mar-
riage,
land
boundaries,
religion
and
ritual
observances,
and
so
on.
For
him
also
the
greater
his
resources
the
better
his
chances
of
fulfilling
all
his
desires
like
any
westernpeasant
he
must
face
the
basic
equation,
re-
sources-7-needs=satisfactions.
We
shall
see
that
his
wants
are
arrang-
ed
in
a
rational
scaleof
preferences,
thatthe
eagerness
ofhisdesire
in
one
direction
modifies
his
chances
in
another,
and
that
the
apportioning
of
his
time,
energy
and
resources
calls
for
careful
judgment,
although
his
personal
actions
are
to
a
greater
or
lesser
degree
circumscribed
by
the
cultural
institutions
which
he
has
evolved
to
regulate
the
satisfaction
ofhis
needs.
The
disposal
of
resources
brings
us
to
the
next
important
point
does
the
term
total
resources
mean
the
same
to
the
Chin
as
to
us
?
To
the
economist
the
application
of
time
and
labour
to
the
production
of
goods
are
just
as
significant
as
the
application
of
material
resources,
and
it
is
therefore
pertinent
to
examine
whether
the
Chin
regards
time
and
energy
in
any
sense
fundamentally
different
to
our
own.
ad
ad
It
will
be
seen
in
Chapter
VIII
that
in
his
barter
deals
the
Chin
does
not
put
an
exchange
value
on
the
time
spent
on
his
trading
trips,
taking
the
same
price
for,
a
pot
disposed
of
five
days
march
from
home
as
he
would
in
his
own
ivillage.
Superficially
this
would
seem
to
indicate
that
timehas
no
value
for
him,
but
when
we
ask
whether
the
trader
,\yill
trade
on
these
terms
at
any
season
of
the
year,
the
answer
is
in
the
negative.
To
indulge
in
the
favoured
pastime
of
visiting
he
will
travel
when
there
is
no
work
to
kee>
him
at
home.
For
the
same
reason
he
^ill
often
take
his
wares
to
the
buyer
rather
than
wait
for
the
buyer
to
come
to
him,
knowing
that
he
will
get
free
hospitality
at
villages
on
his
journey,
and
that
therefore
the
time
spent
away
from
home
will
save
a
proportion
of
his
consumption
goods
for
useanother
day.
He
will
hunt
or
fish
in
moments
of
leisure
but
will
not
let
thesepursuits
interfere
with
agricifl,-
tural
effort
during
critical
periods.
He
will
refrain
from
work
during
periods
of
ritual
abstention
because
he
believes
the
time
so
spent
in
idle-
ness
will
bring
him
benefit
through
the
supernatural
beneficences
of
his
tribal
spirits.
Thus
we
see
that
time
does
mean
something
to
him,
and
that
he
uses
it
to
what
he
considers
his
best
advantage.
In
other
words,
time
has
for
him
an
economic
value,
though
it
is
not
assessed
in
shillings
per
hour.
It
is
a
recognised
unit
in
his
total
resources,
consciously
utilised
in
the
maximisation
of
gains,
and
inthis
sense
identical
with
the
time-factor
in
western
economies.
In
the
same
way
we
can
see
by
the
payments
to
specialists,
etc.,
theprovision
for
additional
charges
where
extra
work
is
given
to
hired
agricultural
labour,
and
again
the
concentration
of
all
labour
oi>
certain
types
of
agricultural
work
at
seasons
when
delay
in
completion
would
entail
loss,
that
even
in
his
traditional
organisationthe
Chin
shows
a
clear
conception
of
the
value
of
labour,
a
conception
fundamentally
similar
to
our
own
though
againnot
always
precisely
assessed
in
pennies
per
unit
of
energyexpended.
His
use
and
variation
of
labour
groups
even
indicates
an
appreciation
of
the
Law
of
Diminishing
Returns.Total
resources
are
therefore
demonstrably
the
same
to
the
Chin
as
to
us
time
plus
labourplus
material
resources,
and
we
can
conclude
this
item
with
a
short
summary
of
these
last.
Part
I
of
the
monograph
deals
in
turrj
with
agriculture,
animalhusbandry,hunting
and
fishing,
and
the
collection
and
use
of
forest
products.
It
demonstrates
that
the
Chin
is
no
simple
happy
savage
waiting
under
a
tree
for
the
fruit
to
drop
into
his
lap.
The
forests
give
him
timber
and
thatch
for
his
house,
wood
for
'his
implement
shafts
and
his
fire,
meatand
honey
forhis
table,
and
wa
and
lac
fof
the
outside
markets
:
the
rivers
give
him
occasional
fish
:
his
fields
and
gardens
produce
the
bulk
of
his
food,
tobacco
and
cotton
for
his
clothes
:
his
herds
give
him
meat
and
open
the
way
to
social
advancement.
But
all
these
products
are
gainedonly
by
hard
work
and
the
judicious
use
of
time,
and
energy.
ad
His
two
main
materialshortages
are
salt
and
iron,
and
much
of
the
existing
trade
between
villages
and
with
contiguous
plains
areas
has
resulted
from
his
desire
to
obtain
these
essentialsupplies.
The
form
in
which
they
passed
from
hand
to
hand
led
to
their
adoption
as
units
of
a
partial
price
system
before
the
advent
of
money.
Ingots
of
iron
and
packets
of
salt
are
two
of
these
sen
or
units.
Let
us
now
consider
the
actual
working
of
Chin
economy
and
see
to
what
extentthe
concepts
of
economic
units,
entrepreneurs,
economic
choice,
production
and
consumption
goods
are
applicable
to
it.
To
start
with
the
economic
units.
In
this
we
are
fortunate
that
in
a
recent
book*
Dr.
Goodfellow
has
done
us
the
service
of
refuting
certain
fundamental
concepts
of
pure
economics
and
formulating
others
which
facilitate
especially
the
analysis
of
a
primitive
economy.
His
chapter
on
The
Significance
of
Economic
Units
attacks
the
assumptions*)-
that
there
are
two
categories
of
wants
collective
and
individual,
and
two
distinct
economic
subjects,
the
State
and
the
Individual,
having
characteristically
different
reactions
to
eco-
nomic
stimuli.
He
argues
firstly
that
all
wants
are
of
one
kind,
being
socially
conditioned
and
having
their
ends
in
individuals/'
and
secondly
that
there
is
butone
type
of
economic
subject,
the
human
groupthrough
which
decisions
are
almost
invariably
made.
From
these
two
assumptions
he
goes
on
to
define
two
principles
by
which
the
disposal
of
resources
are
governed,
saying
First
is
the
prin-
cipleof
economic
application
of
resources
according
to
the
subjective
evaluations
of
the
functioning
unit
or
subject
,
and
second
is
the
prin-
ciple
that,
the
unit
seldom
or
never
being
an
individual,
resources
are
disposed
of
not
only
in
the
market,
but
within
every
group
which
for-
mulates
economic
decisions,
and
that
this
involves
some
practical
com-
parison
of
the
needs
of
the
individuals
makingup
eachgroup.
We
need
not
go
here
into
the
lengthy
arguments
by
which
Goodfellow
supports
his
conclusions
it
will
suffice
to
say
that
on
the
basis
of
these
assumptions
and
principles
it
is
possible
to
give
a
clear
outline
of
the
economic
aspect
of
Chin
culture.
For
individual
disposal
of
resources
in
De
Marco's
sense
is
almost
non-existent
in
the
Chin
world,
the
household
being
the
basic
economic
unit.
Again
though
economic
choice
exercised
in
disposal
of
household
resources
is
moulded
by
the
social
environment
in
which
the
family
unit
functions,
itis
conditioned
in
an
equally
potent
manner
by
inter-personal
comparison
of
the
wants
of
each
individual
member.
For
instance
the
decision
whether
or
not
livestock
and
grain
should
be
used
for
the
marriage
price
of
a
son's
wife,
for
a
religious
ceremony,
for
a
Feast
of
Merit,
for
repairs
to
the
house
or
for
loan
or
sale
involves
a
typical
example
of
this
inter-personal
comparison.
*
Principles
of
Economic
Sociology
by
D.
Goodfellow.Routledge,
t
In
De
Marco's
First
Principles
of
Public
Finance.
6
ad
The
son
might
argue
that
his
need
was
the
greatest
and
point
outthe
labour
value
of
an
extra
woman
in
the
house
;
the
father
might
want
to
redeem
his
promise
to
the
spirits
that
he
would
complete
the
series
of
the
Feasts
of
Merit
without
undue
delay
;
the
mother
might
stress
the
need
for
a
sacrifice
to
cure
an
ailing
child
;
all
might
suffer
from
a
leaky
roof,
and
so
on.
Each
of
these
wants,
having
its
end
in
and
beingexpressed
by
individual
members
of
the
family,
is
subject
to
the
final
decision
of
the
head
of
thefamily
who
will
reach
that
decision
only
after
comparison
of
the
others'
claims.
All
of
the
claims
are
also
conditioned
by
the
customs
which
regulate
the
amounts
payable
as
marriage
price,
the
nature
of
the
resources
used
at
each
stage
in
theFeasts
of
Merit,
and
the
tra'ditional
sacrifices
for
various
types
of
illness.
But
this
influence
of
custom
on
economic
choice
is
not
absolute,
even
in
the
sphere
of
feasts,
in
that
such
simple
factors
as
a
bad
harvest
can
throw
the
normal
economic
processes
out
of
gear
and
create
phenomena
like
thekawlthah
feasts.It
is
sufficiently
strong
however
to
be
of
importance
to
the
administration,
since
everyinnova-
tion
introduced
by
thecontact
of
civilised
and
primitive
peoples
which
involves
economic
choice
tends
to
alter
traditional
usage
of
local
resources
and
therefore
must
be
watched
with
care.
We
shall
see
in
later
chapters
that
this
is
particularly
the
case
when
such
innovations
inter-
fere
with
the
incentives
to
production.
To
revert
to
our
units,
next
in
the
ascending
scale
after
thehouse-
hold
come
the
reciprocity-exchangingkinship
groups,
the
Hunters'
and
Feasters'
Clubs
described
in
Chapter
X,
theveng
or
hamlet,
and
the
village
groups,
the
last
of
which
forms
the
main
agricultural
and
public
servicesubject.
Finally
there
is
the
tribal
area,
which
functions
as
an
economic
subject
only
on
the
rare
occasions
when
an
outsize
in
public
works
is
necessary,
or
a
crushing
calamity
overtakesa
whole
village
and
external
assistance
is
required
to
rehabilitate
its
fortunes.
In
all
of
these
groups
we
find
economic
decisions
being
reached
by
the
leader
after
inter-personal
comparison
of
the
needs
of
component
units
in
the
larger
group,
just
as
the
head
of
the
household
arrivesat
his
decisions
after
considering
the
needs
of
individuals
in
his
family.
The
reader
may
ask
about
the
individual
worker
is
he
not
to
be
regarded
as
an
economic
unit
at
least
in
the
sphere
of
production,
when
many
opportunities
might
occur
for
single-handed
effort
?
It
is
here
that
we
need
to
refer
again
to
Goodfellow's
definition
of
the
one
type
of
unit.
For
although
a
man
may
go
alone
to
sell
pots,
or
hunt,
or
carry
rations
for
Government,
he
is
not
acting
in
a
vacuum.
He
must
consult
others
in
the
family
before
disposing
ofhis
time,
arrange
for
the
carrying
out
of
his
work
at
home
by
someone
else
in
thefamily
during
the
period
of
his
absence,
and
finally
share
with
his
family
the
proceeds
of
his
enterprise,
whether
it
be
meat
or
cash
or
barter
goods.
Though
the
desire
to
follow
a
certain
course
of
action
may
be
indi-
vidual,
the
decision
involves
thefamily
and
therefore
we
can
say
with
ad
GoodfelloW
that
while
the
want
has
its
end
in
the
individual
it
is
satis-
fied
through
theco-operation
of
the
human
group
the
family
to
which
the
individual
belongs.*
Thus
it
would
be
distorting
the
true
situation
to
regardthe
individual-
as
a
separate
unit,
having
the
right
to
decide
his
own
actions
and
seek
his
own
satisfactions
with
no
restraint
or
guidance
from
others.
,
,
It
might
be
argued
that
the
same
appliesto
the
larger
units,
each
of
which
must
take
into
consideration
the
controlexercised
by
still
larger
ones.
But
there
is
no
denying,
at
least
for
the
Chin,
that
the
disposal
6f
individualresources
is
much
more
closely
supervised
by
the
family
than
is
the
disposal
of
family
resources
by
the
village
council
or
the
kinshipgroup.
There
is
no
comparison
between
the
responsibility
devolving
on
the
head
of
the
household
to
regulate
consumption
within
the
household
and
that
of
a
headman
tocontrol
consumption
withinthe
village.
The
former
has
to
decide
between
what
is
essential
to
life
an$what
can
be
set
asideas
surplus
for
the
satisfactionof
less
immediate
needs
;
the
latter
deals
almost
entirely
in
thesphere
of
this
surplus.
This
brings
us
to
thequestion
of
management,and
the
entrepreneur.
All
Chin
groups
have
their
traditionally
recognised
leader
the
head
of
the
house,
the
headman,
or
the
chief
and
in
the
field
of
economics
these
leaders
assume
the
functions
of
the
entrepreneur
and
manage
the
group
resources
to
the
mutual
advantage
of
all.
This
management
is
much
more
real
thana
casual
onlooker
would
imagine
;
anyone
analy-
sing
the
actual
process
of
decision
between
alternative
methods
of
disposal
in
a
Chin
village
couldnot
fail
to
beimpressed
by
the
common-
sense
and
ingenuity
brought
to
bear
on
problems
of
this
nature.
And
skill
inthis
field
is
an
important
asset,
not
only
to
the
house-
holder,
who
may
find
himself
deposed
by
his
sons
if
senile
decay
clouds
his
judgment,
but
especially
to
the
political
leaders,
for
unless
they
can
prove
the
soundness
oftheir
judgment
in
controlling
village
resources
their
villagers
may
^ell
migrate
to
the
domain
of
a
wiser
man.
Chap-
ter
X
will
give
some
insight
into
the
complexity
of
economic
manage-
ment
on
the
village
scale,
and
demonstrate
the
varied
ways
in
which
participants
in
a
joint
enterprise
are
rewarded
for
their
efforts.
It
is
not
merely
a
case
of
one
member
of
a
group
organising
its
efforts
and
taking
a
slightly
larger
share
than
others
of
the
proceeds
of
their
joint
labour
;
the
nature
of
the
rewards
gained
is
different
and
specific
provi-
sion
is
made
for
executives/'
The
will
of
the
leaders
is
astrong
determinant
in
economic
choice
within
each
group,
and
their
position
in
this
respect
is
worthy
of
close
examination
jn
relation
to
its
stabilising
effect
on
the
economic
system.
But
here
we
have
to
clarify
our
position
in
regard
to
what
is
rational
choice,
and
take
into
consideration
again
the
personalisation
charac-
teristic
of
primitive
economies.
We
have
noted
that
physical
and
sbcial
environment
between
them
play
a
large
part
in
determining
local
'values
and
arranging'
'the
local
scaleof
preferences,
and
on
this
ad
premise
we
can
assume
thatthe
local
concept
of
what
is
rational
choice
will
vary
from
one
culture
to
another,
and
that
we
can
expect
to
find
in
Chin
economics
many
examples
of
economic
choice
which
appear
irrational
to
us
though
they
are
sound
enough
to
the
Chin.
The
physical
setting
of
the
Chin
naturally
restricts
his
range
of
economic
choice,
and
it
will
be
seen
in
Chapter
X
that
thisrestriction
has
resulted
in
a
complicated
system
of
distribution
within
the
kinship
and
village
groups.
The
system
is
such
that
the
Elders,
by
virtue
of
having
given
more
feasts
than
theirjuniors,
etc.,
have
a
greater
stake
in
the
village
resources.
The
almost
inevitable
result
is
a
strong
desire
on
the
part
of
the
former
to
preserve
the
status
quo
in
village
economics,
so
that
there
will
be
no
interference
with
the
flow
of
interest
accruing
to
them.
If
one
adds
to
this
thestrong
position
occupied
by
the
Elders
from
a
political
and
educational
standpoint,
we
see
clearly
the
main
reason
for
the
resistance
to
innovations
affecting
local
economics.
Youth
is
brought
up
to
regard
asrational
the
economic
choices
which
will
place
their
resources
on
local
markets
in
a
manner
beneficial
to
thevested
interests
of
their
seniors.
We
can
now
turn
to
the
utilisation
of
goods
in
production
and
con-
sumption
spheres.
It
has
been
stated*
that
though
the
undifferentiated
character
of
primitive
economies
sometimes
means
that
there
is
no
sharp
physical
distinction
between
important
production
and
consump-
tion
goods,
this
doesnot
mean
that
a
distinction
cannot
be
made.
In
so
far
as
the
Chin
is
concerned,
agricultural
activity
is
the
main-
spring
of
his
economic
system.
Grain
is
eaten
in
thehousehold,
and
as
such
is
a
consumption
good
;
it
is
given
as
food
to
hired
labour
in
the
fields,
and
as
such
is
a
production
good
used
to
produce
more
grain
;
it
is
used
in
the
Feasts
of
Merit,
from
which
accrues
a
lifelong
interest
in
the
form
of
shares
of
meat
at
subsequent
feasts
given
by
others,
and
in
this
sense
acquiresthe
character
of
capital
invested
to
produce
in-
terest.
Indeed
in
the
Feast
of
Merit
one
finds
a
triple
combination
of
ends
consumption
of
food
and
drink
for
pleasure,capital
investment,
and
finally
use
of
the
whole
organisation
of
feasting
as
a
means
to
secure
supernatural
assistance
towards
increased
production.
These
facts
underline
the
important
point
long
recognised
by
anthropologists,
that
it
is
the
function
of
the
good,
and
not
its
form,
that
is
the
prime
factor
in
determining
its
place
in
the
local
economy.
Of
course
goods
used
almost
solely
for
production
do
exist,
such
as
agricultural
implements,
and
the
Chin
attitude
to
these
will
be
examined
in
a
later
chapter.
But
we
shall
not
see
in
this
volume
any
indication
among
the
Chins
of
a
strongly
developed
effort
to
increase
production
through
improvement
in
the
means
and
method
of
production,
though
signs
exist,
such
as
the
purchase
of
pitsaws
to
replace
adzes
in
the
making
of
planks
and
so
increase
the
yield
from
their
forests,
that
they
*
Goodfellow.
Principles
of
Economic
Sociology,
page
66,
Chapter
IV.
9
ad
are
not
unaware
of
the
possibilities
in
this
direction,
and
are
held
back
rather
by
lack
of
contact
with
better
methods
than
by
an
innateconservatism.
Let
us
now
summarise
the
arguments
put
forward
in
thisbrief
survey.
Firstly
we
have
outlined
the
nature
of
the
variations
in
economic
reaction
between
the
Chin
and
the
Economic
Man
of
theory,
naming
isolation
and
the
personalisation
arising
out
of
it
as
the
prime
causal
factors.
Secondly
we
have
indicatedthat
in
the
basic
factsof
his
economy
the
Chin
in
no
way
differs
from
Economic
Man
:
his
resources
are
insuffi-
cient
to
meet
all
his
needs
:
because
he
must
exercise
choice
intheir
disposal
his
resources
are
grouped
in
a
range
of
preferences
:
in
making
his
choice
he
takes
account
of
time
and
labour
as
well
as
material
goods.
We
have
added
to
this
anote
that
in
formulating
his
preferences
he
is
guided
by
his
social
upbringing
and
restricted
to
some
degree
by
his
physical
environment.
Lastly
we
have
suggested
that
his
economic
groups,
from
the
family
to
the
tribal
area,
areunits
of
a
single
economic
type
and
similar
in
function
to
the
units
of
western
economics
:
that
the
entrepreneurialfunctions
of
the
traditional
leaders
differ
quantitatively
rather
than
qualitatively
from
our
own
:
and
that
his
resources
canbe
divided
in
function
if
not
inform
into
production
and
consumption
goods.
All
thesepoints
force
us
to
two
useful
conclusions
:
firstly
that,
givena
knowledge
of
the
local
cultural
determinants
in
economic
choice,
them
is
no
reason
why
the
fundamentals
of
economic
theory
should
not
be
applied
to
the
Chin
economy
with
all
thepossibilities
of
forecast
that
makes
the
science
of
economics
so
valuable
to
western
administrations,
and
secondly
that
there
is
a
prima
facie
case
for
believing
that
without
a
knowledge
of
these
determinants
sound
economic
guidance
cannot
be
given
to
the
Chins.
It
is
asoberingthought.
We
have
occupied
the
Chin
Hillsfor
fifty
years,
but
there
is
as
yet
no
record
of
these
vital
facts.
10
ad
MAP
II.
Red
.
.
Lines
of
Migration
of
LUSHEI-KUKI
tribes
from
SEIPI,
below
MUSHIP
KLANG.
Green
..
Lines
of
Migration
of
LAI
tribes
from
KHAWRUA.
Mauve
..
Lines
of
Migration
of
SIYIN,
SOKTE
and
related
tribes
from
CHIMNWE.
Yellow
..
Lines
of
Migration
of
SHIMHRIN
from
SUNKHLA.
Blue
.
.
Lines
of
Migration
of
NGAWN
and
KAWLNI
from
KAWLNL
Blue
..
Lines
of
Migration
of
ZANNIAT
from
andback
to
LOTSAWM
neigh-
bourhood.
?OMRA
1
TRACT
KACHAR
M
A
N
XP
U
R
BURMA
I
FALAM
SU8DVN
ad
CHAPTER
II.
THE
SOCIAL
BACKGROUND.
The
great
area
of
tangled
mountain
ranges
that
separates
Burma
and
Assam
is
populated
by
many
diverse
tribes.
Excepting
the
plains-
men
of
Manipur,
those
living
closest
to
Burma
have
been
classified
into
three
main
groups
:
The
Nagas,
the
Lushei-Kukis,
and
the
Chins,
and
it
is
one
small
section
of
the
last
group
to
which
this
monograph
refers.
The
Nagas
occupy
the
northernmost
position,their
territory
extend-
ing
from
the
fringesof
the
Upper
Brahmaputra
valley
down
to
the
Plain
of
Manipur.
The
Chins
occupy
the
southernmost
area,
from
a
line
roughly
coinciding
with
the
eastern
extremity
of
the
Manipur-Burma
Road,
to
the
borders
of
Arakan
on
the
sea.
The
Lushei-Kuki
group
peoplesthe
centre
the
Aijal
area
with
along
tail
of
Kuki
villages
extending
riorth-east
between
the
Nagas
and
the
Chins
to
the
Somra
Tract
west
of
Homalin
on
the
Chindwin
River.
The
FalaniSubdivision,
in
which
live
the
people
whose
customs
are
dis-
cussed
in
this
monograph,
is
situated
in
the
cent
re
of
the
Chin
Hills
District.
Map
I
shows
this
area
in
relation
to
the
surrounding
country,
and
it
will
be
seen
that
its
position
alone,
many
days
march
in
either
direction
from
the
nearest
mechanical
transport
on
the
roads
of
India
and
Manipur
or
the
rivers
of
Burma,
must
result
in
a
great
degree
of
economic
isolation.
Though
known
to
us
as
the
Chins,
the
people
themselves
do
not
recognise
the
name
;
they
are
very
closely
relatedto
the
Lushai
in
the
Assam
Hills
to
the
West,
the
Haka
andLakher
tribes
to
the
south,
and
the
Kuki
tribes
to
the
north.
Ethnographically
and
historically
the
area
is
of
considerable
importance,
as
almost
all
the
villages
claimed
by
the
tribes
mentioned
above
as
theiroriginal
homes
are
either
within
or
close
to
the
borders
of
the
Falam
Subdivision.
Map
II
shows
these
mother
villages
and
traces
the
approximate
courses
of
migration
from
them
to
the
present
habitats
of
the
migrants,
in
so
far
as
these
movements
can
be
checked
by
tribal
and
recorded
history.
The
process
of
migration
by
whole
tribal
groups
has
continued
right
up
to
the
present
day,
very
many
Hualngo
having
come
into
the
Zahau
tract
since
the
annexation,
and
other
similar
movements
having
taken
place
throughout
all
the
tribal
areas.
Itslesser
counterpart,
migration
by
households,
is
a
constant
phenomenon
and
will
be
referred
to
later.
Most
of
the
earlier
migrations
were
occasioned
by
tribal
wars,
and
almost
all
resulted,
in
thelong
run,
in
the
tribes
which
were
pushed
out
from
the
centre
appearing
as
slave-raiding
and
pillaging
foragers
on
the
borders
of
the
civilised
plains
of
Bengal,
Assam
and
Burma.
These
forays
wereno
child's
play,as
may
bejudged
from
the
facts
recorded
in
the
Chin
Hills
Gazetteer
and
in
Mackenzie's
History
of
the
North-East
a
ad
Frontier,
and
their
natural
result
was
firstly
the
entry
of
punitive
columns
into
the
hills,
and
finally
administration.
Since
the
life
led
by
their
ancestors
must
obviously
have
conditioned
to
a
great
degree
the
culture
of
the
present
day
Chins,
some
account
of
their
tribal
history
is
desirable,
and
I
have
condensed
this
into
the
form
of
the
statement
which
is
shown
opposite
this
page.
(Statement
A)
I
do
not
claim
accuracy
for
the
dating
of
tribal
events
noted
in
my
chart.
Great
events
are
remembered
by
the
names
of
the
ancestors
who
took
part
in
them,
and
it
is
on
this
basis
that
I
have
divided
up
the
tribal
record,
counting
four
average
generations
to
the
century.
In
the
last
column
come
extracts
from
actual
recorded
history
which
can
be
taken
as
correct.
It
is
a
savage
record.
Tribe
after
tribe
fell
to
the
sword
of
its
neigh-
bours
as
these,
under
the
leadership
of
the
various
great
men
who
appeared
from
time
to
time,
combined
in
an
ever-changing
variety
of
political
alliances.
Heads
brought
honour
to
the
warriors,
and
slaves
wealth
to
the
villages,
either
in
the
form
of
increased
labour
power
or
by
the
consi-
derable
prices
they
fetched
in
the
local
markets.Tribute
poured
in
to
the
conquerors
and
the
conquered
had
perforce
to
find
still
weaker
ene-
mies
from
whom
to
recoup
their
losses.
Large
villages
stood
in
constant
danger
of
spoliation
by
jealous
neighbours,
and
small
hamlets
existed
in
the
very
shadow
of
death
and
slavery.
Of
course
conditions
were
not
always
so
terrible
that
it
was
dangerous
to
venture
from
the
protection
of
the
village
there
were
long
periods
of
peace
and
there
is
evidence
that
during
these
a
quite
considerable
trade
existed
between
villagesbut
internecine
strife
did
result
in
the
concen-
tration
of
fields
in
areas
easy
to
protect
and
close
to
the
village,
and
it
did
effect
a
division
of
labour
whereby
the
men
had
to
spend
a
large
per-
centage
of
their
time
on
defensive
and
offensive
effort.
Even
today
dues
are
still
paid
to
certain
quarters
in
the
large
villages
which
undertook
the
duties
of
sentries
for
the
whole
community
before
theannexation.
I
feel
that
here
we
have
an
explanation
of
much
of
the
alleged
lazi-
ness
of
Chin
manhood.
The
real
fact
is
that
they
have
but
recently
been
assimilated
into
the
new
economic
framework
wherein
slave-raids
and
killing
arebarred,
and
agricultural
labour
must
take
its
place.
For
years
the
old
warriors
have
rested,
as
it
were,
on
the
dole.
Their
sons
are
the
first
to
be
trained
from
childhood
in
the
new
ways
of
life.
Again
this
inter-
village
warfare
resulted
in
the
village
itself
becoming
a
vital
unit
in
all
spheres
of
life,
self-contained
and
self-preserving,
and
unquestionably
much
of
the
concentrationwithin
the
village
of
economic
exchange,
political
and
legal
power,
and
religious
observance
can
be
laid
at
its
door.
This
in
turn
has
undoubtedly
affected
the
relative
prestige
in
Chin
eyes
of
the
Headmen
as
opposed
to
the
Chiefs,
who
before
our
time
had
little
or
no
control
outside
their
own
villages,
and
whose
fellow
tribesmen
might
well
assist
their
enemies
intheir
destruction
of
the
mother
village,
as
did
the
outlying
villages
of
Khuangli
people
when
that
Chief's
seat
was
destroyed
by
the
once
paramount
Tashon.
12
ad
In
the
Table
below,
I
give
the
tribes
and
the
sub-tribes
at
present
inhabitingthe
Falam
Subdivision,
of
which
the
population
at
the
1931census
was
about
40,000.
Table
of
tribes
of
the
Falam
Subdivision.
Pawi
means
those
who
wear
their
hair
in
a
top
knot
and
includes
also
many
southern
tribes.
Mar
means
those
who
wear
their
hair
in
a
bun
at
the
nape
of
the
neck,
and
includes
the
Lushei-Kuki
clans,
and
the
Sokte
and
Siyin
Chins.
Biar
Dum
means
the
wearers
of
the
black
loincloth.
Biar
Rang
means
the
wearers
of
the
white
loincloth.
Note
/Although
the
Hualngo
are
a
Mar
tribe
they
are
included
in
the
Biar
Rang
becausethey
arc
believedto
be
descended
from
a
Tashon
ancestor.
The
chaotic
changes
that
took
place
prior
to
theannexation,
com-
bined
with
a
somewhat
precipitate
stabilisation
of
the
political
combina-
tions
existing
in
the
early
days,
has
resulted
in
a
situation
in
the
villages
which
makes
it
almost
impossible
to
use
any
of
the
known
terms
of
racial
division
without
qualification.
But
the
groups
that
I
have
named
tribes
have
this
in
common
cultural
and
linguistic
unity.
They
are
not
political
or
social
units
and
only
rarely
function
as
economic
units.
In
the
case
of
the
Shimhrin,
I
have
had
to
inventa
name
where
none
had
previously
existed.
For
the
four
sub-tribes
of
this
group
claim
a
common
emergence
from
Sunkhla,
and
their
customs
are
sufficiently
identical
witheach
other's
and
sufficientlydifferent
from
those
of
other
tribes
to
merit
their
being
combined
as
one
group
for
descriptive
13
ad
purposes.
I
had
some
difficulty
over
the
name.
I
suggested
tentatively
the
cognomen
Sunkhla-suak
or
Sunkhla-hrin
(meaning
come
out
of
Sunkhla)
but
the
first
three
sub-tribes
noted
in
the
list
objected
on
the
grounds
that
that
would
savour
of
subordination
in
a
sense
to
Sunkhla
village,
and
since
they
wereboth
more
numerousand
more
powerful
than
the
remnants
of
the
group
in
the
mother
village
and
had
long
since
established
themselves
as
independent
units,
they
did
not
like
it.
Eventually
we
decided
upon
Shimhrin,
which
simply
means
born
in
the
hot
lands/
1
All
the
Manipur
River
Valley
tribes
use
this
word
as
a
sort
of
generic
term
for
the
people
of
this
hot
valley
/
have
used
it
in
a
specific
senseapplicable
only
to
the
sub-tribes
listed
above,
simply
to
save
myself
having
to
say
throughout
and
the
same
appliesto
the
Zahau,
and
the
Khuangli,
and
the
Laizo
and
the
Sunkhla/'
I
feel
it
will
serve
no
useful
purpose
to
burden
the
text
with
a
detailed
account
of
all
the
clans
which
go
to
make
up
these
tribes
and
sub-tribes.
Differences
in
status
due
to
membership
of
greater
or
lesser
clans
are
of
degree
and
not
of
kind,
and
where
these
have
economic
importance,
such
as
the
higher
marriage
prices
payable
for
the
daughters
of
certain
Shimhrin
clans,
it
is
noted
in
the
section
dealing
with
marriage,
and
so
on.Prior
to
the
Annexation
the
Zanniat*
and
the
Tashon
were
demo-
cratic
tribes
whose
villages
were
ruled
by
councils
of
elders
(called
Nam
Kap)
selected
to
represent
village
quarters
or
in
some
cases
patrilineal
extended
families.
These
I
have
labelled
the
Democratic
Group.
The
remainderwere
ruled
byheadmen
from
time
immemorial
f,
and
I
have
called
them
the
Autocratic
Group.
While
there
is
a
fairly
strong
re-
semblance
between
the
cultures
of
both
groups
as
a
whole,
there
is
between
them
a
certain
difference
in
the
detail
oftheir
customs
traceable
totheir
respectively
democratic
and
autocratic
political
framework.
In
the
Autocratic
Group
the
headmen
of
each
sub-tribe
are
related
to
each
other,
often
very
closely,
whilethose
of
the
Shimhrin
sub-tribes
are
similarly
related
to
their
respective
chiefs.
This
gives
these
chiefs
and
headmen
an
added
authority
not
shared
by
their
contemporaries
of
Lumbang
and
Tashon.
As
to
the
relationship
between
these
tribes
and
their
neighbours
in
areas
contiguous
to
the
Falam
Subdivision,
the
Tawr
and
Khualshim
both
have
definite
cultural
connections
with
the
Haka
tribes,
the
Tashon,
Zanniat
and
in
some
respects
the
Ngawn,
with
the
so-called
Sokte
and
related
groups
in
the
Tiddim
subdivision
to
the
north,
and
the
Hualngo
with
the
Lushai
to
the
west.
The
Shimhrin
occupy
a
central
position,
*
In
some
extraordinary
way
this
large
tribe
completelyescaped
the
notice
of
theauthors
of
the
Chin
Hills
Gazetteer,
who
lumped
them
together
with
the
Tashon.
f
There
is
some
doubt
about
the
Ngawn
and
Lente.
There
are
indications
of
elective
headmanship
or
headmanship
passing
to
all
the
main
family
groups
in
succession
by
generations.
14
ad
MAP
IIIV
POLITICAL
DIVISIONS
TRIBALDISPERSION
HUALNGO
NGAWN
ZANNIAT
SHIMHRIN
TASHON
LENTE
1.
ZAHAU
TRACT
2.
KHUANGLi
TRACT
3.
LUMBANG
TRACT
4.
TASHON
TRACT
5.
LAIZO
TRACT
TAWR
SUBDVN
KHUALSHIM
HAKA
SUBDVN
ad
both
geographically
and
culturally,
and
readers
of
the
Assam
tribal
monographs
will
note
many
points
of
resemblance
between
them
and
the
Lakher,
Lushai,
and
Kuki
tribes.*
Map
III
gives
the
boundaries
of
tribal
dispersion
and
the
political
jurisdictions
of
the
Chiefs.
It
will
be
seen
at
once
that
there
is
little
relationship
between
thetwo.
These
political
jurisdictions,
mis-named
TribalAreas,
were
created
by
Government
in
the
early
days
after
annexa-
tion,
and
no
point
would
be
served
here
in
discussing
the
series
of
accidents
and
incidents
which
led
to
their
existing
in
their
presentform.
Those
interested
will
find
the
detailsin
the
Chin
Hills
Gazetteer.
It
is
impor-
tant
only
to
realise
that
these
non-coterminous
boundaries
mean
that
some
tribes
have
no
chiefsof
their
own
bloodf,while
all
chiefs
have
non-
related
tribes
other
than
their
own
to
rule.
This
artificial
mixing
had
one
effect
very
important
in
the
sphere
of
economics
it
increased
a
tendency
(which
tribal
history
proves
to
be
inherent
in
all
these
tribes)
to
migrate
from
one
village
to
another
regardless
of
the
tribeof
the
headman
or
chief
controlling
these
villages.
Except
in
the
oldest
villages,
particularly
in
the
Tashon,
Lumbang
and
Lente
groups
where
the
bul
ram
individual
tenure
made
it
impossible
for
any
newcomers
to
get
any
good
land
at
an
economic
price,
it
is
the
exception
to
find
all
the
villagers
of
one
tribe.
Almost
all
villages
have
a
sprinkling
of
foreigners,
and
in
some
cases
one
finds
as
many
as
five
differenttribes
represented
in
a
small
village
of
less
than
30
houses.
In
the
Tribal
Area
under
the
control
of
the
Zahau
Chief,
to
which
this
analysis
primarily
refers,
one
sees
many
examples
of
the
characterist-
ically
rapid
assimilation
of
these
foreign
immigrants
into
the
econo-
mic
life
of
the
tribeof
the
Headman.
It
will
be
shown
in
Part
II
how
great
a
part
is
played
in
Chin
economyby
the
Feasts
of
Merit,
and
these
have
a
profound
effect
on
this
process
of
assimilation.
A
newcomer
cannot
divide
his
sacrificial
animals
up
as
he
did
in
his
old
village,
since
to
do
so
would
deprive
one
or
other
of
the
local
notables
or
clubs
oftheirrightful
share.
Therefore
to
enter
fully
into
village
life
and
open
for
himselfthe
channels
of
social
advancement
available
to
other
resi-
dents,
he
must
give
feasts
on
the
local
model
andabandon
his
own
traditional
series.
Again
most
of
the
spirits
to
whom
the
Chins
offersacrifice
are
locality
spirits,
so
that
a
change
of
home
brings
with
it
a
change
of
religious
observance.
Often
the
only
traces
of
a
migrant's
original
custom
are
his
personal
and
household
sacrifices,
the
ritual
even
of
these
beingmodified
by
adjustments
made
to
fit
in
with
families
with
whom
the
newcomers
have
contracted
marital
ties.
When
whole
groups
migrate
the
practice
of
co-opting
new
spirits
is
often
combined
with
*
From
aneconomic
view
-point
there
is
a
remarkable
resemblance
between
the
central
Chin
tribes
and
some
Nagas.
f
The
Hualngo
and
Ngawn,
both
fairly
numerous
tribes,
have
no
chief
of
their
own.
The
Lumbang
and
Khuangh
Chiefs
share
most
of
the
Ngawn,
whilethe
Zahau
Chief
rules
the
Hualngo.
15
ad
retention
of
the
old,
thus
one
finds
in
the
Lushai
invocations*
to
old
locality
spirits
in
their
Feasts
of
Merit
what
might
almost
be
called
historical
evidence
of
tribal
migration.
There
is
one
important
exception
to
this
rule
of
rapid
assimilation
which
must
be
includedhere
since
it
affects
the
economic
aspect
of
religion.
I
have
noted
in
the
table
oftribes
that
the
Chin
divide
the
Chin
and
Kuki
world
into
two
main
groups,
Pawi
andMar.
There
are
certain
communal
sacrifices
in
which
Pawi
only
may
participate,
and
this
restriction
therefore
curtails
to
some
degreethe
communal
per-
quisites
to
which
an
immigrant
of
Mar
descent
can
aspire
in
a
Pawi
village.
However,
to
revert
to
migration.
The
restless
nature
of
the
people
canbe
gauged
by
the
wealth
of
detail
in
the
customs
facilitating
migra-
tion
and
protecting
migrant's
interests,
and
I
will
summarise
these
here
in
order
to
drive
home
this
vital
factor
in
the
make-up
of
the
Central
Chin.
Firstly,
under
the
custom
known
as
mi
vaih
thiar
the
headman
of
any
village
is
entitled
to
call
upon
his
villagers
to
build
a
new
house
for
an
immigrant
(if
there
is
no
good
empty
one
hecan
occupy),
to
carry
his
goods
free
of
charge
from
the
old
village
to
the
new,
to
clear
his
fields
for
him
(hlawh
suah)
and
if
necessary
to
supply
him
with
grain
(rawl
zaang).
For
these
services
the
immigrant
places
himself
under
an
obligation
to
hold
at
least
one
of
theFeasts
of
Merit
before
moving
again.
If
he
fails
to
do
so
the
value
of
the
work
done
for
him
is
worked
out
in
terms
of
labour
hire,
and
a
bill
is
presented
to
him
on
his
departure.
The
rule
applies
even
to
grain
given
on
arrival,
unless
the
immigrant
had
stayed
in
the
village
up
to
the
death
of
the
senior
member
ofhis
household.
This
provision
is
not
as
curious
as
it
looks
later
I
will
show
thatthe
mortuary
feasts,
particularly
of
a
patriarch,
involvethe
spending
of
a
good
deal
of
grain
on
beer
for
the
entertainment
of
fellow-villagers.
In
Chapters
VII
&
XII
I
have
recorded
what
happens
to
the
stock
and
land
of
an
emigrant.
It
is
interesting
to
note
that
there
is
even
provision
in
custom
for
the
return
of
any
man
dissatisfied
with
his
new
home.
Provided
he
has
no
quarrel
with
his
headman
he
is
entitled
to
the
return
of
all
his
fields,
including
saihremnam
land,
and
to
the
provision
of
a
new
house
for
him
to
live
in
if
his
old
one
has
in
the
meantime
been
given
away
orsold
for
the
village
funds.
Immediately
after
the
annexation
the
local
officers
were
so
dis-
concerted
by
theconstant
movement
of
the
villagers
that
they
instituted
a
fine
known
as
vaih
man,
amounting
to
Rs.
10,
which
had
to
be
paid
to
his
chief
by
any
emigrant
out
of
a
Tribal
Area.
Nowadays
the
fine
is
rarely
exacted,
but
another
restriction,
that
whereby
amigrant
*
See
The
Lushei-Kuki
tribes/'
page
71.
Wherein
several
places
are
mentioned
which
lie
withinthe
boundaries
of
the
present
village
of
Seipi.
16
ad
ad
forfeits
all
crops
standing
at
the
time
ofhis
departure,
has
been
estab-
lishedto
confine
migration
to
the
months
after
theharvest
when
moving
is
less
troubleto
all
concerned.
This
freedomunder
custom
to
migrate
is
now
realised
by
everyoneconcerned
to
be
a
major
safeguard
against
rapacity
on
the
part
of
chiefs
and
headmen,
but
from
an
economic
point
of
view
it
has
also
the
primeadvantage
that
it
enables
a
man
to
move
away
if
his
share
of
public
funds,
as
represented
by
the
Council
collections,
is
being
squandered.
I
have
no
doubt
that
successful
management
ofhis
communal
resources
would
overshadow
and
mitigate
many
faults
in
any
headman.
Naturally
the
effects
ofthis
migration
on
the
kinship
and
socialreciprocities
is
very
great,
but
in
all
cases
provision
is
made
for
broken
ties,
and
these
provisions
will
be
described
in
due
coursetogether
with
the
obligationsto
which
they
apply.
It
is
perhaps
time
to
look
over
what
has
already
been
written,
and
to
summarise
theforegoing
picture
of
disordered
order.
In
brief
I
have
described
a
collection
of
eight
tribes,
two
of
which
are
divided
into
several
sub-tribes,living
in
an
isolated
mountainous
country
and
until
fairly
recently
under
conditions
of
internecine
strife.
They
arerelated
culturally
to
their
neighbours
on
all
sides
save
the
plains
to
the
east,
and
they
have
been
administered
for
about
fifty
years.
Administration
superimposed
over
the
tribeschiefs
whose
political
borders
are
non-coterminus
with
the
tribal
groupings.
The
tribes
themselves
are
pri-
marily
cultural
and
linguistic
entities,
having
no
other
functions,
and
canbe
divided
into
Autocratic
and
Democratic
groups.Finallythere
is
continual
migration
between
villages
and
tribal
areas
coupled
with
a
large
degree
of
assimilation
of
immigrants
into
the
culture
oftheir
new
homes.
From
this
point
I
can
describeshortly
the
nature
of
the
power
exercised
by
the
chiefs
and
headmen
and
its
effect
on
thesphere
of
tribal
economics.
I
have
shown
that
the
democratic
tribes
were
originally
ruled
by
councils
of
elders,
and
it
will
therefore
be
obvious
thatthe
two
chiefs
of
this
group,
of
Tashon
and
Lumbang,
haveno
traditional
backing
for
their
authority.
But
this
has
little
effect
on
their
functions
as
chiefs,
for
as
already
noted
even
the
autocratic
group
chiefs
had
little
control
out-
side
their
own
villages
before
the
annexation,
in
contradistinction
to
the
democratic
Council
of
Tashon
which
once
exercised
political
sway
over
a
large
area
of
land
and
in
a
greater
or
lesser
degree
over
all
the
tribes
of
this
Subdivision
and
the
Tiddim
Subdivision.
Government
has
given
its
appointed
Chiefs
Appellate
powers
over
all
orders
issued
by
their
subordinate
headmen,
whether
executive
or
judicial
;
has
given
them
the
duties
ofcollectingtaxes,
for
which
they
receive
a
commission
of
10
per
cent.,
and
of
implementing
thewishesof
17
ad
Government
withinthe
villages.
As
a
corollary
they
have
assumed
the
functions
of
economic
entrepreneur
in
organising
such
tribal
activities
as
the
building
of
large
bridges
connecting
one
tribal
area
with
another,
the
relief
ofdistress
when
serious
fires
occur,
the
provision
of
cooliesfor
Government
work,
and
so
on.
Alone
among
his
fellows,
the
Zahau
Chief
hastaken
active
and
intel-
ligent
part
in
themodification
of
economic
custom,
in
consultation
with
his
headmen
and
their
elders,
when
economic
depression
and
other
factors
have
made
such
a
course
desirable.
But
the
really
significant
political
figures
are
the
headmen.
Not
only
have
they
judicial
powers
to
cover
all
offences
short
of
murder,
but
their
executive
powers
are
strengthened
by
their
positionas
organisers,
with
theircouncils,
of
almost
all
communal
activities.
They
control
the
daily
life
of
the
people
in
a
much
more
direct
way
than
the
chiefs,
all
of
whom
are,
incidentally,
headmen
(khuabawi)
oftheir
own
village
of
resi-
dence.
One
must
note
that
the
Democratic
headmen,
like
their
chiefs,
have
no
traditional
backing,
but
in
practice
this
simply
means
that
in
all
their
doings
they
lean
even
more
heavily
on
their
councils
than
do
the
Autocratic
headmen.
Almost
co-extensive
with
the
headmen's
powers
are
those
of
their
village
councils
(Klangpi),
without
consulting
whom
no
headman
would
organise
any
important
work
or
settle
any
caiise
celebre.
It
is
inconsi-
deringthepersonnel
of
the
village
council
that
one
comes
first
up
against
the
systemthrough
which
the
tribal
incentivesto
production
are
main-
tained
and
social
advancement
opened
to
all.
For
membership
of
the
council
(Klangsuak)
is
almost
always
gained
through
the
holding
of
the
Feasts
of
Merit,
and
since
the
Feasts
of
Merit
giveavast
deal
of
enter-
tainment
to
the
village
as
a
whole,
it
stands
to
reason
that
the
struggle
for
council
membership
brings
much
simple
joy
to
everyone
and
ensuresthat
even
the
most
irascible
members
give
solid
cause
forlocal
popularity.
To
our
previous
picturethen,
we
can
add
the
detail
that
the
village
is
a
more
important
economic
unit
than
the
Tribal
Area,
and
that
in
most
spheres
of
village
activity
the
headmen
and
councilsreign
supreme,
the
chiefs
standing
in
the
background
to
right
obvious
wrongs
and
to
under-take
public
works
beyond
thescope
of
village
resources.
It
now
becomes
necessary
to
discuss
the
social
framework
of
the
village
itself
and
describe
briefly
the
principles
and
laws
which
determine
the
way
in
which
certain
kinship
groups
act
towardsone
another,
and
thereasons
why
such
groupstend
to
form
the
personnel
of
villages
(khua)
and
quarters
(veng).
First
and
foremost
are
the
laws
of
succession,
descent,
inheritance
and
marriage,
and
the
principleofreciprocal
assistance
between
relatives.
Inheritance,
descent
and
successionare
patrilineal,
and
marriage
patri-
local.
The
first
observable
tendency
therefore
is
that
each
village
is
ad
contains
a
number
of
patrilineally
related
males
and
their
families,
among;
whom
the
material
resources
of
the
village
such
as
land,
houses
and
so
on
pass
by
inheritance.
But
if
the
race
is
to
survive
man
must
reproduce
his
species,
and
since
our
Chin
like
all
other
races
hasa
form
of
marriage
tie
carrying
with
it
certain
obligations,
the
nature
of
this
tie
becomes
important.
The
rules
of
consanguinity
are
few
only
marriage
between
patri-
lineally
related
first
cousins
and
nearer
paternal
relatives
being
barred
and
there
is
only
one
class
of
preferred
marriage,
that
of
a
youth
with
his
mother's
brother's
daughter
or
any
other
girl
paternally
related
tohis
mother.
It
will
be
seen
that
neither
of
these
rulesforces
a
youth
to
go-
far
afield
forhisbride.
Though
polygyny
exists,
it
is
very
rare
indeed
even
among
the
Shimhrin
and
is
frowned
upon
in
most
other
tribes.
For
this
reason
I
have
left
it
out
of
this
discussion
it
is
an
oddity
and
does
not
approximate
to
a
probable
economic
choice
which
might
effect
the
general
disposal
ofresources.
In
the
vast
majority
of
cases
the
household
consists
of
a
man,
one
wife,
their
children
and
perhaps
their
sons'
young
families.
DIAGRAM
OF
KINSHIP
RECIPROCITIES.
Nupu
Synchronous
reciprocities
Non-synchronous
reciprocities
13
Ego
D
Males
''
Re
'
Med
6y
birU>
O
Femalei
I
J
Married
The
diagramaboveshows
the
principal
figuresin
the
kinship
group
created
when
a
youth
marries,
and
the
lines
along
which
specific
mutual
obligations
flow.
In
it
are
EGO
(the
bridegroom)
with
his
father,
mother
and
maternal
uncle,
his
brothers
and
sisters,
and
his
wife
and
her
brother.
Itwill
be
seen
later
that
the
characteristic
difference
in
reciprocities
between
relatives-in-law
and
brothers
and
sisters
on
the
one
hand,
and
those
between
a
son
and
his
parents
and
brothers
on
theother
is
that
in
the
first
case
the
specific
obligations*are
balanced
and
synchronous
(occurring
at
Feasts
and
other
crises
of
life)
while
in
the
second
they
are
not.
Paternal
relatives
have
to
find
the
resources
for
a
man's
bride
and
*
To
disillusion
any
who
might
think
that
these
obligations
are
not
willingly
fulfilled,
I
may
add
that
during
my
time
in
the
Chin
Hills
murder
was
done
because
a
man
overlooked
the
claims
of
a
woman
to
act
as
farnu
at
his
feast.
19
ad
to
help
him
out
of
debt
or
trouble,
and
in
return
this
group
receives
flesh
dues
at
ritual
killings
by
the
man
for
as
long
as
-they
live.
This
point
will
be
mentioned
again
when
I
discuss
the
traditional
forms
of
debt
repayment.
For
purposes
of
kinship
obligations
there
are
certain
classificatory
groupings.
Paternal
unclesare
coupled
with
fathers,
paternal
male
cou-
sins
with
brothers
in
the
u
le
nau
group,
sisters
and
paternal
female
cousins
in
tliefarnu
group,
precedence
in
both
groups
being
based
on
closeness
of
relationship.
Grandfather-in-law
together
with
all
patrilineally
related
males
of
a
man's
mother
are
called
papu,
though
only
one
is
official
papu
at
the
crises
in
life.
The
closest
related
of
the
others
will,
however,be
available
in
order
of
bloodprecedence
to
take
his
place
should
death
or
migration
make
it
impossible
for
the
official
papu
to
carry
out
hisduties.
The
same
applies
to
the
nupu
group,
consisting
of
the
paternally
related
males
of
a
man's
wife.
The
effect
of
the
reciprocities
noted
in
the
diagram
is
two-fold--
firstly
those
pertaining
to
the
patrilineal
group
strengthen
the
tendency
already
noted
for
a
man
to
live
inhis
father's
village,
while
secondly
those
connecting
a
man
and
his
relatives-in-law
create
another
tendency,
that
of
marrying
within
the
village
to
facilitate
carrying
out
of
these
duties.
A
detailedanalysis
of
the
marriages
made
in
Klauhmun,
a
large
old
village
which
is
the
seat
of
the
Zahau
Chief,
confirms
these
theoretical
conclusions.
Out
of
a
total
of
165
marriages
checked,
134
were
between
residents
of
Klauhmun,
and
of
the
remainder
most
of
the
brides
came
from
villages
within
a
radius
of
very
few
miles.
The
picture
of
family
groupings
within
the
village
is
thus
thrown
into
perspective
as
a
conflict
of
forces
traditional
laws
of
mutual
exchange
between
relatives
encouraging
the
formation
of
endogamous
groups
of
patrilineally
related
extended
families
inter-connected
by
marriage,
and
migratory
tendencies
continually
threatening
to
break
theseup.
The
result
observable
is
thatthe
big
old
villages
tend
to
be
endoga-
mous,
while
the
small
new
villages,*
particularly
in
the
Zahau
Tribal
Area,
show
a
large
proportion
of
persons
whose
marriages
were
con-tracted
outside
the
village
ofresidence.
It
is
probable
that
when
all
vacant
land
is
settled
the
advantages
of
endogamous
grouping
will
reassert
themselves,
and
that
migration
will
decrease
considerably.
So
much
for
the
kinship
grouping
in
the
village.
A
few
wordson
the
village
specialists
will
complete
my
description
of
the
personnel
of
the
various
groups.
These
specialists
consist
of
the
priests
and
blacksmiths.
In
the
Autocratic
group
both
are
in
the
nature
of
hereditary
village
officials,
*
In
a
recent
report
on
a
Goitre
Survey
of
the
Chin
Hills
the
authors
deducedfroman
examination
of
six
of
these
particular
villages
that
46%
of
marriagestake
place
outside
the
village
of
residence.
Had
they
taken
Klauhmun
itself
the
figure
would
have
been
19%.
20
ad
since
they
work
for
the
village
as
a
whole
and
are
repaid
indirectly
by
labour
intheir
fields
and
shares
of
meat
at
various
sacrifices
in
exactly
as
the
same
way
as
the
headman.
In
the
democratic
group
they
arepiece-workers,
each
getting
a
direct
return
for
each
specific
job,
as
it
were
on
a
contract
basis.
These
payments
will
be
described
in
full
in
later
chapters.
In
all
cases
the
priests
are
concerned
only
with
the
sacrifices
of
the
community
as
a
whole.
The
village
group
is
now
nearly
ready
to
beput
into
its
material
setting.
We
see
a
number
of
households
generally
consisting
offather,
mother,
and
their
children.
These
are
grouped
inpatrilineal
extended
families
which
are
in
turn
bound
to
each
other
by
marriage
ties.
We
note
occasional
blanks
where
emigration
has
extracted
a
few
units
here,
and
excrescences
where
immigration
has
added
a
few
newcomers
there.
We
find
the
group
gets
its
implements
from
one
specialist
and
its
spiritual
protection
from
another,that
it
is
controlled
by
a
headman
(whose
office
has
become
by
law
hereditary
in
all
tribes)
who
is
assisted
by
a
council
consisting
of
those
members
of
the
group
who
have
risen
through
theFeasts
of
Merit
from
the
ranks
of
the
humble.
Where
the
village
is
very
large,
so
that
the
working
of
the
group
as
a
unit
in
all
respects
becomes
unwieldy,
we
find
that
it
is
divided
into
hamlets,
each
with
its
own
specialists
and
khiiate
bawi
or
hamlet
head-
man,
but
that
it
still
remains
a
village
withone
khuabawi
and
one
council.*
There
remains
another
important
factor
in
the
local
culture,
a
factor
which
plays
a
fundamental
part
in
regulating
all
spheres
ofvillage
life
religious
beliefs.
I
shall
deal
with
the
economic
effects
of
the
religious
ideology
in
a
later
chapter
and
here
content
myself
with
the
briefest
possible
summary.
Firstly
let
us
consider
the
beliefs
themselves.
The
Chins
believein
the
existence
of
supernatural
beings
with
human
characteristics
which
they
call
khuavang
and
rai,
in
evil
spirits
called
huai,
and
in
the
souls
of
living
men
and
theghosts
of
ancestors,
both
of
which
they
call
khla.
They
believe
that
all
these
spirits
appreciate
good
food
and
liquor
;
that
communication
with
them
can
be
established
by
means
of
sacrifices
for
which
mithan,
pigs,
fowls,
goats
or
dogs
are
killed
and
large
quantities
of
beer
consumed,
and
at
which
ritual
presentation
of
food
to
the
spirits
takes
place.
They
believe
also
that
the
spirits
live
in
thevarious
strata
into
which
the
earth
and
sky
are
divided,
this
belief
having
a
direct
bearing
on
certain
invocations
and
ceremonial
practices.
Pial
Rang
the
Plain
of
Heaven
attainable
only
by
great
effort
through
the
Feasts
of
Merit
and
Celebrationf
,
lies
in
the
sky,
whilethe
*
In
some
villages,
such
as
Klauhmun,
the
number
of
men
who
qualify
as
Klangsuak
becomes
so
great
asto
be
a
burden
to
their
fellows,
but
this
is
rare.
In
such
cases
the
headman
selects
a
small
inner
council
to
advise
him.
t
See
Chapters
IX
and
XI.
21
ad
abode
of
lesser
ghosts
the
M
ithi
Khua
or
village
of
the
dead
is
below
the
earth.
This
latter
place
is
divided
into
many
villages
to
which
the
Guardian
Spirit
allots
new
ghosts
coming
from
the
land
of
the
living
according
to
the
manner
of
their
demise.
Most
important
in
its
effect
on
temporal
lifeis
the
belief
that
a
ghost
retains
in
death
the
rank
attained
in
life.
All
ghosts
pass
through
Mithi
Khua,
and
there
is
a
special
system
of
examination
whereby
their
earthly
status
is
established
and
their
place
in
Pial
Rang
or
the
Mithi
Khua
determined.
It
stands
to
reason
that
this
belief
is
a
power-
ful
stimulus
to
temporal
effort
to
advance
in
rank,
and
since
this
advance
can
only
be
made
in
these
days
through
the
peaceful
Feasts,
which
inturn
demand
diligent
agricultural
effortto
produce
the
wherewithal
of
feasting,
the
diffusion
of
this
stimulusthrough
the
whole
economic
life
of
the
people
can
be
clearly
demonstrated.
In
the
following
chapters
will
be
found
many
details
of
the
various
ways
in
which
religious
ideology
determines
localactivities
from
the
rejectionof
Berkshire
pigs
(whose
whitepatches
render
them
unfit
for
sacrifice)
and
the
acceptance
of
territorial
restrictions
on
cultivation,
to
the
traditional
systems
of
disposal
of
capital
and
the
methods
of
repay-
ment
of
debt.
It
is
true
to
say
that
every
traditional
economic
choice
open
to
the
Chin
has
in
it
some
element
of
religious
bias,
and
this
fact
must
be
borne
continually
in
mind
when
analysing
thereasons
for
economic
decisions
in
the
hills.
With
this
brief
outline
of
the
religious
background
I
will
conclude
the
social
descriptive,
and
this
brings
me
to
the
village
scene
itself.
Most
central
Chin
villages
are
sited
part
way
down
a
hillside,
gener-
ally
in
a
position
easily
held
against
an
enemy
and
well
flanked
by
crags
or
ravines.
Outside
the
village,
lining
the
sidesof
the
entrances,
one
finds
the
carved
khanmemorial
posts
that
carry
on
them
a
pocket
his-
tory
of
the
life
of
thedeceased,while
further
afield
are
the
hnar
or
resting
places
flat
platforms
of
earth
and
stone
well
placed
to
rest
a
weary
back
after
a
stiff
climb.
These
too
are
memorials
to
the
dead.
The
village
itself
may
vary
from
a
small
group
of
about
ten
houses
to
a
powerful
collectionof
over
300
like
Tashon,
consisting
of
several
vengseparated
by
paths
orridgesor
ravines.
There
is
little
attempt
at
village
planning.Clustering
round
the
mual,
or
place
of
sacrifice,
the
houses
(except
in
the
case
of
Hualngo,
who
alone
build
on
thetops
of
ridges)
cling
to
every
indentation
of
the
soil
that
affords
a
hold,
with
their
length
across
the
slope,
the
uphill
half
of
the
house
having
the
earth
as
its
floor
and
the
downhill
half
being
raised
on
stilts.
Except
for
those
of
the
headman
and
a
few
rich
men,
the
courtyards
(tual)
in
front
of
the
houses
will
be
small,
perhaps
a
dozen
/
yards
square,
with
a
platform
of
planks
(zaute)
projecting
over
the
garden.
ad
ad
Below
each
house
is
a
smallgarden,
generally
enclosed
in
rough
hedges
of
cactus
or
shrubs
which
overgrow
and
over-shadow
the
tiny
sunken
lanes
that
twist
between,
often
worn
down
to
adepth
of
many,
feet
by
the
passing
generations
of
man
and
beast.
Though
there
are
minor
structural
differencesin
the
houses
of
each
tribe,
they
have
in
common
their
thick
thatched
roofs,
their
plank
walls
and
floors
set
together
without
nails,
theirtraditional
division
into
the
insung
(inner
room)
and
inleng
(outer
room),
and
their
position
athwart
the
slope
of
the
hills
with
the
fireplaces
on
the
uphill
half,
usually
resting
on
solid
ground.
Here
and
there
glimpses
of
thepast
are
found
deep
ditches
hidden
in
the
jungle
round
a
village
andgun
pits
at
strategic
points
on
the
natural
lines
of
defence
that
played
so
great
a
part
in
the
selecting
of
a
site.
Occasionally
the
future
obtrudes
itself
in
the
form
of
a
rough
slate
or
galvanised
iron
roof,
but
these
exceptions
are
still
rare
enough
to
prove
the
rule
of
thatch.
To
each
house,
radiating
from
a
central
aqueduct
that
is
in
some
villages
over
five
miles
in
length,
come
smallwater-courses
made
of
split
logs
supported
on
Y
posts,
each
emptying
itself
into
deep
tubs
set
under
the
shade
of
a
tree
in
thecourtyard.
The
supply
is
generally
adequate
and
clean*,
and
the
Hualngo
habit
of
living
on
a
hill
top
and
drinking
from
a
pollutable
well
is
not
appreciated
by
most
of
the
other
local
tribes.
Though
the
Goitre
Reportquotedbelow
comments
on
the
good
sanitation
of
Chin
villages,
givingthe
credit
to
the
pigs
that
clear
up
human
excreta,
and
on
the
absence
of
flies,it
must
beborne
in
mind
that
the
tour
about
which
the
report
was
written
was
made
from
January
toApril,
before
the
fly
season
reallystarted.
During
the
hot
weather
and
in
the
early
rains
flies
are
everywhere
I
have
a
note
in
my
diary
of
July
1935
stating
thatwhile
at
Vazang
writing
up
Ngawn
custom
one
of
the
elders
sat
all
afternoon
on
the
verandah
of
the
rest-house
playing
with
my
fly
swat,
and
that
in
the
course
of
it
he
separated
his
victims
into
seven
neat
piles
with
100
flies
in
each.
This
rest-house
is
above
and
outside
the
village,
and
the
flies
mentioned
were
merely
those
which
my
beer-laden
elders
had
seduced
from
the
thousands
round
thezu-pots
in
the
village.
But
in
the
later
rains
and
in
the
cold
weather
life
in
the
hills
is
pleasant,
the
villages
are
cool
and
relatively
clean,
and
the
people
happy
and
well
fed
on
their
new
crops.
Health
in
general
was
good
until
the
practice
of
using
local
coolies
to
carry
up
rations
for
the
Chin
Hills
Bn.
of
the
F.
F.f
was
introduced
on
the
large
scale.
This
was
done
as
an
act
of
kindness
to
inject
some
cash
into
the
local
economy
during
*
See
Report
on
Goitre
and
General
Medical
Survey,
Chin
Hills,
1940,
pp.
47/48.
Government
Printing
Press,
Rangoon,
t
The
Burma
Frontier
Force,
which
garrisons
theoutposts
in
the
Hills.
23
ad
theyears
of
the
great
depression,
but
the
thousands
of
men
and
women
who
went
to
Natchaung
and
Kalemyo
in
the
plains
brought
back
with
them
malaria
and
sometimes
more
dangerous
diseases.
When
epidemics
do
come,they
spread
and
die
with
dramatic
suddenness.
I
was
in
Haka
when
the
smallpox
came
in
1934
and
in
Falam
when
cholera
broke
out
in
1935.
In
both
cases
the
village
in
which
the
disease
originated
was
almost
the
only
sufferer,
though
damage
there
was
serious.
In
both
cases
the
spread
within
the
village
was
due
to
the
mortuary
ceremony
held
over
the
corpse
of
the
first
to
die,
when
by
custom
relatives
and
friends
came
to
the
house
to
drink
the
fly-infested
funeral
beer
and
to
paw
and
fondle
the
earthly
shell
of
their
friend
and
neighbour.
Lack
of
knowledge
of
the
way
to
recognise
dangerous
diseases
added
to
this
mortuary
feast
is
sufficient
guarantee
that
any
epidemic
introduced
into
a
Chin
village
will
soon
decimate
it.
Happily
other
factors
are
at
work.
Except
in
the
thickly
populated
area
of
the
Manipur
River
Valley,
villages
are
separated
by
miles
of
forest
and
it
is
therefore
relatively
easy
to
confine
epidemics
to
the
scene
of
their
first
appearance.
Taking
thearea
as
a
whole
the
general
impression
that
any
visitor
to
the
central
Chin
tribes
will
gain,especially
if
he
has
experience
of
other
hill
districts
in
Burma,
is
that
the
country
is
pleasant
and
open,thepeople
wellfed
and
hardy,
and
on
the
whole
happy
and
contented.
Let
us
see
what
a
day
in
the
village
brings
to
the
inhabitants
say
a
winter's
day
in
January,
with
the
night
temperature
in
the
high
villages
falling
below
freezing
point,
and
the
sun
rising
on
a
cloudless
horizon.
At
this
season
work
is
slack,
the
grain
bins
are
still
well
filled,
and
the
good
and
potent
milletbeer,asrich
in
cheerfulness
as
in
vitamins,
plentiful
and
freely
offered.
It
is
the
season
of
gossip
and
visiting,
of
the
Feasts
of
Merit
and
Celebration,
and
of
much
coming
and
going
of
hunting
and
trading
parties.
As
a
rule
the
Chins
are
not
particularlyearly
risers,
especiallyso
in
the
winter
when
the
sun
does
not
appear
over
the
mountain
tops
till
nearly
seven.
The
favoured
direction
for
a
village
to
face
is
east,
so
that
it
gets
the
sun
as
early
as
possible,
and
soon
after
the
smoke
of
the
morning
fires
rises
out
of
the
eaves
one
finds
the
menfolk
coming
out
to
sun-bathe
on
their
zaute
while
they
comb
their
long
and
much-treasured
hair.
In
the
meantime
the
wife
will
have
set
thebreakfast
cooked
the
night
before
on
to
the
fire
to
heat,
and
the
family
sits
down
to
its
first
meal
at
about
eight
o'clock.
By
nine
almost
all
the
adults
will
have
gone
to
the
fields
to
continue
in
a
desultory
fashion
the
reaping
or
the
threshing
of
the
thai
beans,
and
only
the
old
folk
left
to
mind
the
houses
remain,
warming
their
aged
bones
in
the
mild
sunshine.
The
herd
boys
loose
the
mithanfrom
the
pens
under
the
houses
and
follow
their
agile
charges
into
thescrub
jungle
on
the
hillsides,
while
their
lesser
brothers
and
sisters
play
catch
and
hide-
24
ad
and-seek
among
the
hedgerows,
or
Tiger-and-Hunters
and
other
bean
games
on
boards
scratched
on
the
dusty
surface
of
the
court-
yards.
Most
people
will
leave
their
fields
in
the
early
afternoon
and
return
to
the
village
to
enjoy
a
gossip
with
their
friends,
or
perhaps
attend
a
beer
drink
at
one
oftheir
neighbours'
houses.
The
young
men
go
hunting,
and
the
girls
sit
andweave
or
spin
with
their
mothers,
watched
with
keen
interest
by
their
little
sisters
all
of
whom
eagerly
jump
at
any
offer
to
try
their
hand
at
these
fascinating
pastimes
of
their
elders.
From
the
house
of
the
headman
comes
a
murmur
of
voices.
One
guesses
by
an
occasional
outburst
of
acrimonious
wrath
that
a
dispute
is
being
settled
by
direct
discussion,
and
thatthe
wily
elders
are
usingthe
judicial
beer
with
skill,
blunting
with
many
cups
the
keen
perception
of
those
likely
to
want
too
hard
a
bargain,
stupefyingthe
quarrelsome
as
rapidly
as
possible,
and
mellowing
the
moderates
to
thepoint
where
loss
and
gain
become
of
no
account,
and
peace
and
good
fellowship
the
only
realities.
From
the
ridge
a
mile
above
the
village
drifts
down
the
faint
echo
of
a
gun
shot,
followed
later
by
an
irregular
fusillade.
A
shout
from
far
above
electrifies
the
village.
A
bear
has
been
shot
a
sahrang*
The
lungpi*
emerges
in
a
trice
from
the
maudlin
gathering
in
the
headman's
house.
What's
that
?
he
bellows
asahrang
?
Confirmation
comes
from
all
sides.
It
is
a
man
ofhis
hamlet.
The
news
clears
the
fog
of
alcohol
from
his
mind.
By
thunder
A
sahrang
is
dead
There
will
be
a
great
feast
this
very
day
all
the
hunters
will
be
feted
and
fawned
upon
and
he
most
of
all
:
all
will
be
gloriously
merry
and
he
the
merriest.
A
new
man
again,
he
hurries
off
to
put
on
some
smarter
clothes,
the
betterto
shine
in
the
festival
to
come.
The
beat
of
gongs,the
bursts
of
gunfire
and
happy
laughter,
and
the
extravagant
boasting
of
the
khuate
hla
tell
the
world
that
a
sahrang
is
coming
to
the
village,
and
that
its
skull
will
adorn
the
wall
of
a
hunterwithout
questionthe
bravest,
the
cunningest,
the
mosthawk-eyed
and
the
most
lightning
swift
in
all
the
world.
The
wife
of
this
paragon
finds
herself
in
the
maelstrom
of
a
domestic
crisis
of
the
first
order
howmuch
beer
is
there
in
the
house
?
Not
much,
but
thank
goodness
Mrs.
Lai
Bik
down
the
hillside
has
just
started
getting
ready
for
her
husband's
khuangtsawtf
and
will
spare
any
amount
on
a
promise
of
replacement.
Then
where's
that
young
mithan
?
Almost
certainly
that
perishing
herd-boy
will
have
driven
it
up
on
to
the
highest
ridge,
where
hecan
laze
in
the
sunshine
and
survey
the
world
of
Chindom
spread
like
a
map
before
him.
Messengers
fly
in
all
directions
to
apprise
relatives
and
friends,
and
before
long
half
the
local
world
congregates
at
the
lucky
house,
and
the
fun
begins.
*
Sahrang,
as
will
be
seen
in
Chapter
V,
is
the
name
given
to
a
category
oflarge
game
animals
of
which
the
bear
(savawm)
is
one,
for
which
a
specially
important
Feast
of
Celebration
is
held.
Lungpi
is
the
title
of
the
greatest
hunter
in
the
village.
t
Khuangtsawi
is
the
final
in
the
series
of
theFeasts
of
Merit
see
Chapter
IX.
25
ad
In
a
cornerthe
hunter
and
the
man
who
drew
second
blood
ply
each
other
with
beer
as
rapidly
as
it
can
be
swallowed,
and
one
look
is
enough
to
be
certain
that
neither
will
survive
for
long.
The
courtyard
and
the
inleng
of
the
house
are
packed
with
people,
and
the
insung
scarcely
less
so.
Of
the
carcase
of
the
bear
and
the
mithan
sacrificedin
its
honour
soon
nothingremainsbut
a
few
bloodstained
leaves
and
scraps
over
which
the
village
dogssquabble
and
snap
among
the
feet
of
the
revellers.
All
has
been
divided
among
those
entitled
to
a
share.
Practically
every
male
is
shouting
at
the
top
of
his
voice
a
panegyric
on
his
previous
hunting
triumphs
he
wants
the
world
to
know,
but
nobody
listens.
All
are
too
intent
on
capping
their
rival's
tales,
all
anxious
that
their
own
claims
to
fame
will
not
pass
unnoticed.
As
the
night
wears
on
the
milling
crowd
dwindles
here
a
mother
with
a
suckling
child
slinks
off
to
rest,
there
a
maiden
and
her
lover,
the
latter
determined
that
if
he
may
not
seduceher
at
least
no
other
shall
take
advantage
of
her
beer-dulled
inhibitions.
The
patriarchs
lie
where
they
fall
asleep
in
the
house
and
in
the
courtyard,
carelessof
the
gathering
dew
and
the
bitter
cold
of
the
dark
hours.
They
have
forgotten
a
world
thatoften
used
them
harshly
;
the
lines
of
hardship
and
sorrow
are
smooth-
ed
from
their
faces,
and
their
peacefulsnores
punctuate
the
singing
and
the
chatter
of
the
hardy
spirits
who
keep
the
party
going
inside
the
house
until
the
dawn.
In
the
other
hamlets
of
the
village
which
lie
outside
the
circle
of
those
invited
to
the
feast,
the
afternoon
haspassed
with
a
more
usualquietude,
and
one
has
time
to
observe
the
normal
pastimes
of
the
villagers.
One
man
is
carving
a
khan
to
commemorate
abrother
while
a
small
crowd
watches
and
criticises
with
interest
:
another
demonstrates
to
his
stripling
son
the
cunning
set
of
nooses
and
snares
:
a
third
sits
idly
enjoy-
ing
the
spectacle
of
the
blacksmith
hammering
a
collection
of
old
broken
implements
into
new
and
serviceable
ones.
Here
a
basket-weaver
plies
his
craft
and
there
a
half-wit
girl
is
dully
cleaning
hemp.
In
one
hamlet
all
are
gathered
round
a
house
that
has
just
been
reroofed,
thirstily
gulping
thebeer
which
their
grateful
neighbour
presses
on
them
in
quantities
much
larger
than
custom
demands
because
his
helpers
have
made
so
good
a
job
of
it.
As
dusk
falls
the
last
loads
of
firewood
are
brought
in
and
dumped
in
the
yards
and
the
great
mithan
slip
noiselessly
into
their
pens.
A
pig
gulps
its
eveningfood
without
waiting
for
it
to
cool,
and
stands
suckingthe
chill
air
into
its
scalded
mouth.
Slowly
the
smoke
of
supper
fires
spreads
a
veil
over
the
village
and
for
a
while
there
is
quiet.
It
is
soon
rudely
shattered
:
yelps
of
dismay
are
followed
by
shrill
howls
of
delighted
laughterthe
ih
bur
leng*
groups
are
abroad,
and
on
*
Ikbur
leng
(Lit.
:
sleep
group
stroll)
groups
consist
of
small
parties
of
boys
who
sleep
together
in
the
house
of
one
or
other
of
their
girl
friends.
They
are
usual-
ly
youngsters
who
have
reached
the
age
of
puberty.
26
ad
ad
this
coldnight
the
weapons
selected
fortheir
armed
foray
are
crude
bamboo
pumps
to
squirt
icy
water
over
their
enemies,
and
hard
cobs
of
maise
to
batter
their
frozen
ears
and
backs
as
they
fly
madly
from
the
ambuscade.
These
occasional
night
games
are
the
true
image
of
Chin
warfare,
and
are
always
pre-arranged.
The
defending
group
aswellas
the
attackers
have
a
large
fire
going
attheir
headquarters,
at
which
to
dry
their
drenched
and
shivering
bodies,
and
their
lovers
come
to
watch
the
fun.
The
opening
gambit
is
the
despatch
by
the
attackers
of
their
ral
la
(Lure
of
the
Enemy)
usually
a
small
and
nimble
youngster
who
can
scamper
in
and
out
of
unnoticed
gaps
in
the
hedges.
His
is
a
dual
role
the
first
if
possible
to
creep
within
range
of
his
enemies'
home
fire
and
score
a
direct
hit
on
one
of
them,
or
better
still
on
one
of
their
girls,
thus
adding
insult
to
injury
:
secondly
to
make
good
his
escape
in
such
a
way
that
he
draws
his
pursuers
into
a
trap
from
which
theycannot
escape
without
at
least
a
ducking.
Once
the
first
blow
is
struck
the
fun
is
fast
and
furious,
capture
and
recapture
sway
the
odds
of
battle.
The
corn
cobs
whistle
through
the
air
and
landwith
agonising
thwackson
the
half-clothed
bodies
of
the
young
warriors,
hardly
felt
in
the
tense
excitement
of
the
moment.
Eyes
probe
the
darkness
and
ears
strain
for
the
faintest
rustleof
a
leaf
till
at
last
one
side
or
another
penetrates
its
foes'
defences
and
with
shouts
of
triumph
empties
its
water
squirts
on
the
girls
by
the
fire.
The
war
is
won.
The
breathless
youngsters
wring
their
clothes
and
warm
themselves,
generally
to
part
the
best
of
friends.
By
contrast
to
all
this
gaiety,
and
vastly
the
more
touchingbecause
of
it,
comes
the
nightly
homage
of
the
bereaved
to
their
dead.
Always
it
seems
the
same,
yet
always
is
it
different.
A
longdolorous
wail
echoes
through
the
night,
followed
by
the
pitiful
keening
of
a
mother
as
she
kneels
before
the
family
vault
and
cries
to
the
cold
stone
to
yield
up
her
first-born.
Step
by
step
she
recites
the
little
life
story,
the
endearing
ways,
the
happy
smile,
the
lingering
fight
with
death.
Others
take
it
up,
each
mourning
for
their
lost
ones,
and
for
a
while
the
village
rings
with
their
drear
sorrowing.
It
is
very
hard
to
listen
to.
Suddenly
it
ends.
But
life
goes
on,
the
more
fiercely
to
be
enjoyed
by
the
very
emphasis
on
its
narrow
span.
From
right
and
left
comes
the
gentle
strumming
of
the
ihingihang
and
a
queer
lilt
of
song
youth
must
be
served
and
maidens
must
be
courted.
Here
and
there
a
mother
settling
down
tosleep
has
a
last
peep
across
the
dim
glow
of
the
fireplace
to
the
khunral*
to
make
certain
that
things
are
not
going
too
far.
But
she
is
not
really
worried
for
she
knows
her
daughters'
favourite
friends
and
has
approved
of
them.
At
the
worst
it
will
only
mean
a
slightly
hastened
marriage.
So
let
us
leave
the
village
scene.
Its
characters
are
strangely
like
those
of
our
own
world
some
brave,
some
craven
;
some
good
and
just,
*
Khunral
is
the
bed
on
which
the
small
children
of
the
house
sleep,
and
the
un-
married
girls.
It
lies
across
the
main
fireplace
from
the
khunpi,the
bed
of
the
master
and
hiswife.
27
ad
others
deceitful
and
unscrupulous
;
vanity
and
cupidity
go
hand
in
hand
with
generosity
and
the
humble
heart.
In
it
there
is
the
universal
com-
pound
of
strain
and
ease,of
laughter
and
tears,
of
want
and
plenty,
and
of
living
and
dying.
But
let
us
not
forget
this
scene.
The
bare
bones
of
economic
fact
are
covered
by
its
many
coloured
mantle,
and
throughout
this
dry
tale
of
needs
and
the
satisfaction
of
needs,
of
economic
wants
and
economic
choices,
of
the
mysteries
of
capital
investment
and
the
profundities
of
scientific
theory,
I
would
have
thereadercarry
in
his
mind's
eye
this
vignette
ofreal
life
and
continually
set
my
facts
against
its
background.
28
ad
PARTH
CHAPTER
III
AGRICULTURE
In
dealing
with
this
first
part
of
the
economics
of
the
Chins,
that
is,
theproductive
aspect,
I
describe
intheir
order
of
importance
in
Chin
eyes
the
ways
and
means
by
which
he
obtains
raw
products
from
the
jungle
and
foodstuffs
from
his
field.
The
sequence
is
agriculture,livestock,
hunting
and
fishing,
forest
products
and
to
round
it
off
an
examination
of
thetenure
system
which
gives
political
and
legal
validity
to
these
pursuits.
So
far
as
the
first
three
are
concerned,
I
have
made
no
attempt
to
separatethe
religious
from
the
technical
activities,
as
to
do
so
would
distort
the
true
picture.
For
the
Chin,
like
most
primitives,
has
only
a
limited
scientific
knowledge
and
hisreligious
and
magical
ritual
is
in
reality
a
weapon
ofhis
own
forging
whereby
he
hopes
to
control
to
some
degreethe
imponderable
vagaries
of
Nature.
To
relegate
this
ritual
to
a
separate
part
of
the
monograph
would,
therefore,
result
in
a
lack
of
balance
in
the
agricultural
perspective.
Preliminary
to
the
survey
of
agriculture
as
a
whole
there
is
a
short
account
of
local
conditions
and
of
the
typical
divisions
of
labour,
with
notes
on
some
alternativevariations
that
are
found
occasionally.
The
group
combinationsconnectedwith
livestock,
hunting
and
fishing
are
described
in
the
sections
under
theseheadings.
While
the
general
trend
of
change
in
this
area
will
be
summarised
at
the
conclusion
of
Part
II,
each
section
contains
an
indication
of
the
special
tendencies
which
affect
these
particular
spheres
of
productive
and
distributive
activity,
so
that
the
reader
will
be
able
to
carry
forward
with
him
an
ever
widening
picture
of
the
actual
situationas
it
existed
at
the
time
these
notes
were
made.
Throughout
Parts
II
and
III
the
custom
of
the
Zahau
is
taken
as
theprototype,
variations
in
other
tribes
being
described
where
necessary
to
illustrate
fundamental
differencesin
social
values.
Physical
background.
The
height
of
the
mountains
in
the
Chin
Hills,
rising
as
they
do
to
8,500
feet
in
this
area,
naturally
results
in
wide
variations
of
local
conditions.
Dominated
by
the
parallel
ranges
of
the
Len
Klang
and
Letha
Klang
which
enclose
the
narrow
watershed
of
the
Manipur
River,
the
most
noticeable
characteristic
of
the
country
in
the
Falam
Sub-division
is
its
steepness.
Deep
valleys
rise
to
the
very
tops
of
the
ridges
and
leave
but
little
level
land
even
for
the
building
of
villages.
Indeed
a
small
plateau
of
a
few
score
acres
between
Khaw-
pual
and
Botsung
is
the
only
naturally
flat
area
in
the
whole
Sub-division.
29
ad
Climatic
conditions
differ
sharply.
The
valley
of
the
Run
Va
(Manipur
River)heavily
populated
from
remote
times,
with
its
longi-
tudinal
alignment
exposing
it
to
day-long
sunlight,
its
sparse
vegetation
and
enormous
rock
outcrops
suffers
from
a
harsh
climate,
grilling
days
alternating
with
shivery
nights.
But
the
east
and
west
of
the
sub-divi-
sion
are
very
much
milder,
aheavier
rainfall
and
stronger
growth
of
forest
keeping
the
temperature
equable.
Though
of
course
altitude
has
its
usual
effect,
the
divisionsin
the
natural
growth
of
forest
correspondroughly
to
this
climatic
variation,
pines
(Pinus
Khassias)
and
deciduous
trees
being
most
common
in
the
Manipur
River
Valley,
and
evergreen
species
in
the
rest
of
the
area.
Water
suppliesare
not
toogood,
especially
in
the
Manipur
River
valley,
where
annual
burning
has
thinned
the
jungle
so
much
that
there
is-
nothing
to
prevent
the
rapid
surface
run-off
of
most
of
the
rain
that
falls.
The
annual
rainfall
is
moderate,
varying
between
50
and
90 .
Sources
of
Food.
Excluding
food
received
in
barter
for
trade
goods,
which
I
will
deal
with
later,
the
Chin
has
threesources
of
food
supplies:
the
forest,
the
gardens
in
the
villages,
and
the
fields.
In
the
streams
and
forest
he
fishes,
hunts,
robs
the
wild
bees
oftheir
honey
and
collects
wild
fruits
of
many
varieties.
Pumpkins
and
melons,
indigo
and
tobacco,,
cucumbers
and
ginger,
chillies
and
mustard
leaf
make
up
the
major
part
of
the
mixture
of
edible
and
useful
plantsthat
the
gardens
hold,
root
crops
such
as
potato
and
taro
sometimes
being
included,
though
these
are
more
often
planted
inspecially
cleared
areas
by
the
sides
of
the
village
and
field
paths.
Nowadays
most
villages
in
the
temperate
belt
grow
good
varietiesof
plantain
and
orange
introduced
by
officers
and
missionaries
in
the
past.
Onions
and
leeks
are
usually
cultivated
in
a
tub
filled
with
earth
dug
from
beneath
the
house
rich
with
the
manure
of
the
mithan
and
pigs
penned
there.
But
it
is
from
their
fields
that
the
Chins,
essentially
an
agricultural
people,
derive
the
bulk
oftheir
staple
foods,
and
so
it
is
to
the
fields
that
I
devote
the
major
portion
of
this
outline
oftheir
productive
activities.
I
have
dividedthe
subject
up
into
the
followingparts
:
the
division
of
land
;
rotational
organisation
:
supernatural
aid
:
crops
and
their
seasons
:
organisation
of
labour
:
detail
of
implements
and
agricultural
technique
:
harvest
festivals
:
and
finally
an
examination
of
existing:
changes
and
future
trends.
The
divisions
of
land.
The
Pax
Britannica
has
made
it
unnecessary
for
the
Chin
cultivator
to
worry
whether
nightfall
will
see
him
safely
eating
his
evening
meal
at
home
or
lying
a
headless
corpse
somewhere
in
the
jungle,
or
perhaps
worst
of
all,
trotting
along
unfamiliar
paths-
towards
the
distant
village
of
his
captor.
The
cultivations
extend
to
the
limit
of
the
village
boundaries,
and
if
the
fertility
of
the
soil
permits
it
every
inch
from
the
mountain
top
to
the
valley
bottom
will
in
its
due
sequence
come
under
the
hoe.
As
the
variation
of
height
between
30
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