Chapter III (4)

No hospitality is shown to a stranger visiting the Naga country, unless he visits the Khonbao in the first instance: he is unable, even under the greatest distress, to obtain shelter or provision elsewhere. On the arrival of an embassy it is conducted to the residence of the Khonbao, who gives audience immediately, and returns a reply by the messengers on his own responsibility, if the object of the visit is of no great importance. But, on the other hand, should the embassy be for the purpose of obtaining redress of wrongs committed by the clan of the Khonbao, the embassy is retained and entertained hospitably till the Sundekae, Khonsae, and principal elders of the people can be assembled in the moorung; when the grievance is stated and inquiries made, each member stating openly and candidly his opinion on the matter at issue. The Khonbao propounds what is, in his opinion, expedient and best for the public good; but if there appears any irregularity, the people express their disapprobation to the Khonbao, and he is constrained to abide by the will of the community, to give orders to the embassy, and allow its departure to the place whence it came. In this manner all affairs and discussions are regulated amongst the Nagas. Any attempt to travel through their country, unaccompanied by a person acquainted with the roads, villages, and Naga language, would be the height of folly; as the traveller would not be supplied with water, food, or fire, neither would any shelter be afforded him, and his life would be in imminent danger.

Omens.

The superstition of the Nagas is strikingly exhibited in the great attention paid by them to all signs of good and evil, before they attempt the execution of any project: whether it be to prepare the land to receive the seed, to proceed on hunting or fishing excursions, or to enter upon any war expedition. On these occasions the Khonbao, Sundekae, and Khonsae, assemble the people, and a grand consultation is held between the chief ruler and the elders of the village, in order to divine the most auspicious moment, and to ascertain whether the affair under consideration will turn out favourably or otherwise. To aid the deliberation, new-laid eggs are procured, which they address in these terms:--"Oh eggs, you are enjoined to speak the truth and not to mislead us by false representations." The eggs are then perforated and roasted on a fire, and the yolk is minutely examined: if it appears entire, the omen is considered good; if broken, the reverse, and auspicious for their enemies. In this conclusion the senate are likewise confirmed by a peculiar appearance of the white of the egg. Another simple mode of divining the propriety or expediency of carrying out certain plans is by burning the Bujjal bamboo. Should it crackle and fall out of the fire on the left side, it is a good omen; should it fly out on the right, the event is accepted as a warning of failure and disaster. By these simple and strange proceedings are the acts of these people guided.

Husbandry.

In their agricultural operations, the implements of the Nagas are simple and rude in the extreme; but bullocks and buffaloes are used as in Assam. At the commencement of the season, the Khonbao having assembled the people after the usual ceremonies of consulting the omens, the land is apportioned out to each clan, the jungle is cleared, and sowing commences. Konee dhan, a small grain, and Indian corn, or goom dhan, is sown in January and gathered in about June, when the Behoo is celebrated with great festivities; resembling the old English custom of harvest-home. After the goom dhan and konee dhan is cut, ahoo dhan is sown; and after this crop, kuchoos, a kind of root resembling the arrow root, are planted; so that in the course of the year three crops are raised from the same land. This is done for three successive years; when, the land being impoverished, new land is broken up for the same period, until the usual time of fallow admits of the old land being again resumed. Yet, with all the means of avoiding famine, blessed with a fertile soil and a wonderful rapidity of vegetation, so improvident are these savages, that in a few months the whole produce of the land is consumed, and they are compelled to subsist on roots and leaves of the forests till the return of harvest.

Salt Wells.

In different parts of the Naga territory many salt wells exist, and being worked by some of the tribes an immense quantity of salt is produced. This is sold or bartered to the people of Assam for rice, and by this means, doubtless, the miseries attendant on a scanty supply of food are greatly lessened. We have no means of judging of the extent of the salt trade between the Assamese and Nagas, but the commerce might doubtless be increased by greater vigilance, to the mutual advantage of both parties.

Preparations for War.

When the Nagas purpose taking vengeance on a neighbouring tribe, the Khonbao assembles the elders of the village; and, in accordance with established customs, the omens being consulted and proving propitious, a plan to cut up their enemies by surprise is decided on. Each man provides himself with a spear, sword, bamboo choong, a hollow joint of the bamboo filled with water, and a small basket of rice; and, the party being formed, set out in the day towards the frontier of the enemy who is to be attacked. At night they cross over and occupy a favourable position in ambush, surrounding the enemy's village. There they take their repast, and when the cock first crows on the following morning, they rush, with great shouting, into the village, and cut up every body they meet with; sparing neither old infirm men, nor helpless women, nor children: even the cows, pigs, and poultry of the foe are slaughtered. Sometimes the victors remain on the spot two or three days, but generally return to their own village on the same day; taking with them the heads, hands, and feet of those they have massacred: these they parade about from house to house, accompanied with drums and gongs, throwing liquor and rice on the heads, and uttering all manner of incantations: saying, "Call your father, mother, and relations to come here and join you in eating rice and drinking spirits, when we will kill them with the same sword." They then sing, dance, and perform all manner of anticks; pierce and mangle the heads of their enemies, and again with curses enjoin them to summon their whole race to suffer the same ignominious treatment. In the massacre, one of the Nagas may have, perhaps, particularly distinguished himself by evincing great ferocity in cutting off more heads than any of his party; which circumstance he fails not to bring to the notice of his assembled friends. Stalking out before them he challenges them to mark his deeds, and with many songs of boisterous mirth and audacious boasting, he drags the heads of his enemies about in the most contemptuous manner, proclaiming his own triumph somewhat after this fashion:--

"In the world I am the most powerful and courageous; there is none equal to me. I am the greatest of all men. No one" (pointing to the skulls of his enemies) "can perform such deeds. Like to the clouds that thunder and hurl down fire-balls into the water to the destruction of the fish,--like to the tiger who leaps out to seize the deer,--like to the hawk who pounces down on the chickens and carries them off, do I cut up every one, and carry off their heads; and with these weapons" (dashing them together, to produce a clashing noise) "I have killed such and such persons: yes, I have killed them. You know my name. The greatest beast of the forest, the elephant, I first destroy, and after that all other animals too insignificant to mention. Such a hero am I, there is no one equal to me," &c. &c.

The same scene is enacted for three or four successive days; when the heads being hacked and sufficiently danced about to satiate Naga revenge, they are suspended from the branches of Nahor trees. After this, the ceremony of tattooing the body is performed, and a most severe operation it is. The burnt ashes of a pot are pricked into the skin with the thorns of the cane: a great quantity of blood exudes, and the body swells to a great size. Being previously thrown into a state of stupid intoxication, the patient is left to welter in the dirt and blood for three days, unconscious of his condition. After this operation, the young sprouts of the Bhat-teeta tree being well pounded, are smeared over the wounds, and in the course of twenty-five days the patient is able to resume his avocations; upon which a number of pigs and fowls are killed, and a great feast is given; the heads of the enemies being brought down from the trees and strewed out upon a platform before the populace in the court, or Raj Moorung. For a whole month from the day of the massacre, the Nagas daily sing the war song quoted above, and dance and manifest the greatest excitement and delight.

All villages are not entitled to the honour of retaining the heads of their enemies; they must be kept in the village of the Khonbao.

In some Naga villages it is the custom, for a man who has committed murder in cutting off the head of a foreigner, to be joined by ten or a dozen Nagas in submitting to the operation of tattooing; which in such cases is an indispensable ceremony. The tattooing is pricked round the calves of the legs in ten or twelve rings or circles interspersed with dots; the thighs, the breast, the neck, the fingers, the back of the hand, the arms, the forehead, and nose, the vicinity of the eyes and the ears being similarly decorated. The poorest Naga peasant deems it an honour to have his body thus embellished with stripes, figures, and dots; and the omission of the ceremony would entail on him eternal disgrace and censure. Indeed, the tattooing determines the character and consequence of the individual; for by certain marks on one arm it is apparent that he has killed a man; when both arms and body are scarred he is known to have murdered two individuals; and when the face and eye-sockets are indelibly impressed with the tattoo, he stands proclaimed the assassin of three of his fellow-creatures, and is thenceforth esteemed a valiant warrior.

On the question being once put to the Nagas whether they would like to become the subjects of the Company, they promptly replied,--"No: we could not then cut off the heads of men and attain renown as warriors, bearing the honourable marks of our valour on our bodies and faces."

If a Naga happens to be suddenly surprised, and cut off by the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, his corpse is quickly taken up by his friends and placed on a platform in the jungles near the road. At the expiration of three or four days they perform some ceremonies, and wait till a favourable opportunity occurs for avenging his death. The purpose is never relinquished, though its execution may unavoidably be tardy: by day and night they lie in ambush in the jungle, or on the plains near the roads, till they can pounce upon some unwary individual of the enemy. His murder is then communicated to his friends in a singular way. Forty or fifty Nagas, armed with wooden clubs, strike a large hollow piece of wood called a tomkhong, from which a loud, terrific sound proceeds, which gives token to the enemy that one of their tribe has died in acquittance of the debt of revenge. To such an extent does this vindictive spirit prevail, that the Nagas will wait for two or three generations devising plans for decapitating a member of a tribe who has murdered one of their clan; and when the opportunity of vengeance offers, they are sure to take advantage of it, regardless of the personal innocence of the man whom they select as the victim of their fury. The death of the victim is hailed with dance and song, and the liveliest demonstrations of joy: even the old men, women, and children seem in raptures at the announcement of the joyful tidings that their tribe has succeeded in taking revenge.

Naga Customs from Childhood until Marriage.

Ten days after the birth of a child the hair of the infant is shorn off, and the parents perform several ceremonies, inviting all their friends to a grand feast, on which occasion the child is named. On proceeding to field work the mother ties the child to her back, and whilst at work the infant is placed on the ground. When the child is about a year old it is left at home in the village, and the parents pursue their avocations unattended by their little charge. At the age of five or six years, some of the Nagas wear a lungtee (a small piece of cloth) round the waist. On attaining the age of nine or ten years the boy is called a Moorungea, and from that time no longer resides with his parents, but, with all the youths of the village, takes up his abode at the Moorung, a large building set apart for this especial purpose. The parents, however, still continue to provide him with food, and he is obedient to their will, assisting them in cultivating their fields. He carries a sword and spear, and wears the Naga habiliments. At fifteen or sixteen years of age he begins to be dissatisfied with his existence in the Moorung, and makes arrangements for taking a wife; generally selecting a cousin, the daughter of his mother's brother. On these occasions the parents collect as much rice and liquor, and as many cows and buffaloes, as their means will admit. The girls all live together, like the boys, in a separate Moorung or house allotted for them; sometimes they reside in a house in which a corpse is kept, probably from the greater sanctity such an inmate would confer on their habitation. The youth is not restricted from visiting the damsel of his choice, and he adopts a well understood stratagem to ascertain her sentiments regarding himself. Whilst he is talking to her companion, he carelessly puts down his pipe, and narrowly watches her actions. If the damsel entertains any regard for him she instantly takes up his pipe and smokes it; from that moment the youth is satisfied of his conquest, and hastens to communicate the result to his parents, who arrange matters with the girl's relatives. Presents of ornaments are sent for the girl, which she immediately wears; and an offering of liquor and tumbool pan (or betel nut leaf) to chew, being accepted by her parents, the marriage is decided on. After this, cows, buffaloes, rice, and liquor are forwarded to the house of the intended bride, and all her relations and friends are invited to a grand feast. An old Deodhunee (or priestess) accompanies the youth to the party with a basket of ginger, and the youth then addresses the chosen damsel, thus:--"This day I take you to be my wife. I will not desert you, neither will I take another; eat this ginger in pledge thereof--henceforth we are husband and wife." The woman on this eats a bit of the ginger, and then the youth sits down; whereupon the girl, in the same strain, taking up a piece of ginger, says--"I am your wife, and you are my husband, and I will obey you as such. I will not take another husband, for we are husband and wife; in token of which you will eat this ginger." The marriage ceremony being thus concluded, the youth, after partaking of the feast, returns home to his parents, and in the evening his wife joins him with baskets of food for her husband's parents and his brothers' wives. She thenceforth resides with her husband. From that day the husband ceases to abide at the Moorung, and after the lapse of two or three days, according to the village roll, takes his tour of guard duty at the Moorung. From the day of his marriage he commences the preparation of a separate house, upon the completion of which, in a few months, he quits the parental roof. Some Nagas will, however, continue to cultivate the land, and share the produce of their labour with those of their parents; but on the birth of a child the families separate.

Amongst the Nagas, marriage is contracted with near relatives, such as cousins, in preference to other women. A widow, having no children, cannot marry a stranger, but must marry her late husband's brother; and if he happens to be a mere boy, she will still live with him as his wife; nor can the boy take another damsel: he must marry his brother's widow. The custom is one of great antiquity, and apparently cannot be infringed. If the widow has one or two children she cannot marry again, but must remain in her own house. No Naga marries more than one wife, and if she dies he is at liberty to marry again.

The crimes of adultery and seduction are treated with the utmost severity: the offenders are brought before the Khonbao and the people assembled to investigate the offence; on proof of which, the Khonbao, or his Ticklah, decapitates the man in a conspicuous part of the road, between two or three villages; or he is tied with cane cords to a tree and there crucified. In some clans it is the practice to deprive both the seducer and seduced of their lives; in others, the former is placed in a basket, his hands and feet tied together, and he is rolled many times from the summit of a hill until life be extinct.

Funeral Ceremonies.

The Nagas consider sudden death as particularly unfortunate: even if a person dies after one or two months' sickness, the period is still deemed too short to be lucky; and his corpse is instantly removed and placed in the jungles on a platform four or five feet high, where it is left to decay. For three or four days after a death, the relatives do not leave the village; neither do other villagers resort to the village in which death has occurred during the same period. If a person dies who has been afflicted with a long illness, a platform is raised within his house, and the corpse being folded in clothes is placed thereon. By night and day the corpse is watched with great care, and as soon as it begins to decompose, large quantities of spirituous liquor are thrown over it; and whatever the deceased was in the habit of eating and drinking in his lifetime (such as rice, vegetables, and liquor) is placed once a month on the ground before the body. The virtues of the deceased are frequently rehearsed; the heirs and relatives throw themselves on the earth, and make great lamentations for many months after the death has occurred. At the expiration of the period of mourning, a great feast of liquor, rice, buffaloes' and cows' flesh is prepared by the survivors; and an immense number of people, armed with their swords and spears, and dressed in the most fantastical garb, as if preparing for a war expedition, are assembled to partake of it. They commence the festival by repeating the name of the deceased, singing many kinds of songs, dancing and cursing the deity or spirit in these words: "If to-day we could see you, we would with these swords and spears kill you. Yes, we would eat your flesh! yes, we would drink your blood! yes, we would burn your bones in the fire! You have slain our relative. Where have you fled to? Why did you kill our friend? Show yourself now, and we shall see what your strength is. Come quickly,--to-day, and we shall see you with our eyes, and with our swords cut you in pieces, and eat you raw. Let us see how sharp your sword is, and with it we will kill you. Look at our spears, see how sharp they are: with them we will spear you. Whither now art thou fled? Than thou, spirit, who destroyest our friends in our absence, we have no greater enemy. Where are you now?--whither hast thou fled?"

With these and similar speeches and songs, they clash their swords and weapons together, dance, and eat and drink throughout the night. On the following day the corpse is folded up in a cloth and placed on a new platform four or five feet high; and the whole of his weapons, swords, spears, panjees choonga (hollow bamboo joint, for holding water), rice-dish,--in fact everything used by the deceased in his lifetime, is now arranged round his bier, which is held sacred: no one would dare to touch a single thing thus consecrated. After this ceremony is concluded, the whole of the party disperse to their respective homes.

On the death of the Namsungea Khonbao, who, it is said, was one hundred and twenty years of age, his corpse was removed in December 1843, and according to an ancient custom, a tusk elephant was purchased from the Muttuck Bur Gohain, and killed, with three hundred buffaloes and pigs; when the Nagas enjoyed a magnificent feast. The usual practice of reviling the deity, while singing and dancing, was kept up with uncommon fervor, and the bacchanalian scene has perhaps seldom been exceeded. The heads of the slaughtered animals were suspended round the platform within a large enclosure, and the corpse was strewed over with an abundant supply of all kinds of forest flowers.

Theft is held in great abhorrence amongst the Nagas, and is consequently so rare that they leave everything exposed in the open fields. If any person is detected in committing the offence no mercy is shown: the Khonbao pronounces sentence of decapitation without a moment's hesitation. The Nagas are remarkable for simplicity, candour, and integrity; even the comparatively small vice of lying, to which the natives of British India are so seriously and universally addicted, is unknown among them, and will probably continue so until they have been corrupted by their more enlightened neighbours, the Assamese, or by the advance of civilization, refined arts, and manners. The Nagas have no names for the days of the week, and know not their own ages. Summer and winter are the only divisions of the year they recognise, distinguishing them as dry and wet seasons of six months' each. Time is counted by the moon, or by the number of crops they can recollect reaping. They believe in a God or Spirit called Rungkuttuck Rung, who created the earth and all things, but they have no hope of future rewards, nor any fear of punishment hereafter; neither do they believe in a future state of existence.

For the above information we are indebted to Bhog Chund, who is the son of a West Countryman of the Khetree caste, by an Assamese mother, and having lived many years amongst the Nagas, is thoroughly acquainted with them. He is now a resident and industrious cultivator in the plains. He reads and writes Assamese, and is a most straightforward character. He would be an invaluable companion and guide in travelling through the Naga territory.

I do not vouch for the correctness of the list of the Naga tribe inserted in a later page, but in the absence of more authentic details, it may be deemed worthy of consideration. The present account of the tribes is confined to the Nagas of Upper Assam; but it is supposed that very similar customs and habits prevail amongst those of central Assam. The Nagas bordering immediately on the plains are, for the most part, amicably disposed towards the British Government; and those on the Patkoe range have shown a desire for our protection against the marauding Singphoos. The Nagas residing on the hills most remote from the valley are said to be fine, stout, athletic men, of fair complexions; and unencumbered with the smallest strip of covering in the shape of clothing for any part of the body.

In 1842-43, the Namsangea, Bordoareah, and Borkhoormah Nagas invited a party of the Khetree to visit them as friends, but when they got them into their power they treacherously massacred twenty-four persons. Thageng, one of the Khetree party, being only wounded, fled and communicated the catastrophe to his tribe, who at the sight of his wounds prepared for revenge; and in a short time they were successful against the Nagas. The Khetrees, being ignorant of the Assamese language, were unable to pass through the territory of their enemies to report their grievances to the British authorities at Jeypoor. They accordingly went to Tomkhoomana, and lying in ambush, surprised and cut off the heads of twelve men of the Borkhoormah tribe, in revenge for the murdered of their own tribe. Upon this the civil authorities proceeded to the village of the Khetrees to endeavour to put a stop to these atrocious assassinations, but unfortunately the Namsangea and Bordoareah Nagas, contrary to strict injunctions, persisted in following in the wake of the British embassy of peace. The Khetrees perceiving the advance of their enemies, placed in the road a small basket of ginger kuchoos and a spear, as a token of submission to the British Government, but loudly protested from the summit of their hills against a visit being made to their village; dreading, as they did, the vengeance of the Namsangea and Bordoareah Nagas. The interpreter, Bhog Chund, who accompanied the party, entreated the Khetrees to remain quiet in their village, and to listen to terms of peace; but they indignantly rejected the offer, and threw down stones, and discharged a volley of spears, upon the advancing embassy. This being returned by a few rounds of musketry in self-defence, the Khetrees fled from their village to the neighbouring inaccessible hill fastnesses. The Namsangea and Bordoareah Nagas perceiving this, instantly rushed into the deserted village, slaughtered all the cows, pigs, and fowls, and burnt every house to the ground. After this untoward event a retreat was necessary, for the Khetrees came upon the party, throwing down stones and spears from their hills. A Sepahee having loitered in the rear, was speared to death, and his head and hands cut off and triumphantly stuck up on bamboos: the head in the village of Najoo, and the hands in Khoekting. After some difficulty the little detachment was extricated from its perilous position, and retreated in safety. Shortly after this lamentable affair, a larger military detachment was sent out; but to the present time an amicable settlement has been impracticable. Almost immediately after the last expedition, the Khetrees cut off the heads of eight men of the village of Bulatin; from which we may infer that their animosity continues unappeased, and that there is little hope of these savages being speedily brought to a sense of the advantages attending a reconciliation. Our intercession might be effectual for a time; but it is more than probable that it would be incompatible with a Naga's sense of honour to forego his greatest delight--revenge.

From the figured statement obtained from native authority, it would appear that there are one hundred and four Naga villages in Upper Assam, containing eleven thousand and ninety-five houses, with a population of forty-eight thousand five hundred and eighty-eight persons; but this estimate is probably erroneous. We shall perhaps be nearer the truth, if, assuming the number of houses to be correctly stated, we allow three persons for every dwelling: this gives a census of thirty-three thousand two hundred and eighty-five souls--a closer approximation to the apparent population.

LIST OF THE NAGA TRIBE.

---------+------------------+-------+--------+------------------
No. of |Names of Villages.|No. of |No. of | Remarks.
Villages.| |Houses.|Persons.|
---------+------------------+-------+--------+------------------
1 | Bur Dovar | 250 | 1000 |
2 | Namsang | 160 | 520 |
3 | Kea Mae | 140 | 500 |
4 | Poolung | 120 | 420 | Three villages of
5 | Panee Dooar | 160 | 520 | this name
6 | Choongpon | 140 | 500 |
7 | Khamgin | 120 | 420 |
8 | Kokil | 100 | 400 |
9 | Gophcha | 70 | 280 |
10 | Topee | 50 | 200 |
11 | Hungkal | 80 | 320 |
12 | Dadum | 250 | 1000 |
13 | Nerung | 200 | 800 |
14 | Bako | 300 | 1200 |
15 | Kekhyah | 200 | 800 |
16 | Nahoah | 180 | 720 |
17 | Nahoo | 220 | 880 |
18 | Khoncha | 50 | 200 |
19 | Lootong | 50 | 200 |
20 | Kotong | 70 | 280 |
21 | Nokphan | 80 | 167 |
22 | Choupcha | 120 | 480 |
23 | Choupnon | 180 | 567 |
24 | Runow | 200 | 800 |
25 | Rucha | 60 | 140 |
26 | Changnee | 220 | 880 |
27 | Changeha | 160 | 567 |
28 | Pokum | 80 | 167 |
29 | Loknean | 80 | 167 |
30 | Changnoege | 360 | 1340 |
31 | Changcha | 120 | 480 |
32 | Mangnoe | 120 | 480 |
33 | Mangcha | 60 | 167 |
34 | Picktoo | 80 | 320 |
35 | Pickta | 55 | 220 |
36 | Nakma | 70 | 200 |
37 | Moolong | 90 | 263 |
38 | Bhetur Namsang | 120 | 480 | Entirely naked
39 | Now Gawn | 160 | 540 |
40 | Kangchang | 100 | 415 |
41 | Dekahnoe Moong | 140 | 520 |
42 | Borachaemoong | 150 | 540 |
43 | Chamcha | 60 | 180 |
44 | Achuringea | 70 | 220 |
45 | Toormoong | 120 | 480 |
46 | Jamee | 100 | 400 |
47 | Moloo Thopea | 500 | 4000 |
48 | Akhoea | 270 | 2020 |
49 | Pocho | 120 | 480 |
50 | Bor Langee | 150 | 550 |
51 | Soro Langee | 100 | 400 |
52 | Bhuga Langee | 120 | 480 |
53 | Chenajow | 150 | 560 |
54 | Boora Gaea | 150 | 550 |
55 | Bur Dorea | 150 | 540 |
56 | Kula Barea | 200 | 800 |
57 | Soroo Durea1 | 20 | 470 |
---------+------------------+-------+--------+------------------

Nagas east of the Namsang River subject to the Political Agent, Upper Assam.

---------+------------------+-------+--------+------------------
No. of |Names of Villages.|No. of |No. of | Remarks.
Villages.| |Houses.|Persons.|
---------+------------------+-------+--------+------------------
1 | Khetree Gawn | 110 | 440 |
2 | Khena | 80 | 180 |
3 | Bottin | 60 | 120 |
4 | Namcha | 70 | 140 |
5 | Mooktong | 90 | 240 |
6 | Hakhoom | 80 | 280 |
7 | Konagaun | 150 | 550 |
8 | Khatung | 40 | 190 |
9 | Jankung | 60 | 420 |
10 | Ken Noean | 50 | 200 |
11 | Naktung | 60 | 240 |
12 | Lalrung | 60 | 240 |
13 | Koonum | 80 | 330 |
14 | Kootung | 70 | 340 |
15 | Mooaloo | 120 | 480 |
16 | Moacha | 80 | 320 |
17 | Tejhon | 80 | 280 |
18 | Chomjoo | 90 | 320 |
19 | Somcha | 60 | 240 |
20 | Kambao | 100 | 400 |
21 | Langchang | 100 | 400 |
22 | Sooroomungchang | 60 | 240 |
23 | Noanangchang | 50 | 200 |
24 | Tikhak | 50 | 200 |
25 | Gudie | 60 | 240 |
26 | Manbao | 110 | 440 |
27 | Eahung | 110 | 400 |
28 | Mookkhoop | 110 | 400 |
29 | Mookpe | 120 | 480 |
30 | Mookcha | 90 | 360 |
31 | Loongke | 100 | 400 |
32 | Namnie | 220 | 880 | On or near the
33 | Namcha | 130 | 520 | Patkoe range.
34 | Keme, No. 1 | 120 | 440 | ditto.
35 | Keme, No. 2 | 120 | 480 | ditto.
36 | Kintoonie | 100 | 400 | ditto.
37 | Mookrung | 120 | 480 |
38 | Joopee | 50 | 200 |
39 | Doedam | 70 | 280 |
40 | Noakhoorma | 50 | 200 |
41 | Chobang | 50 | 200 |
42 | Chilim | 40 | 160 |
43 | Bachowuk | 50 | 200 |
44 | Moung | 60 | 240 |
45 | Hadoot | 80 | 260 |
46 | Kaeah | 90 | 300 |
47 | Kaejou | 110 | 440 |
+-------+--------+
Total | 3,000 | 15,398 |
Total of Statement No. 1 | 8,095 | 33,190 |
+-------+--------+
Grand Total |11,095 | 48,588 |
+-------+--------+

GARROWS.

Of all the hill tribes bordering on the Assam valley, north or south, the Garrows near Goalparah, though not lofty in stature, are endowed with the most powerful herculean frames. The expression of their countenances is savage, and their complexion exceedingly black. In conversation they are loud, and remarkable for asperity. Passing through Lookee Dooar to the Jeypore stockade, at the foot of the Garrow hills, I met with many Garrows who reside on the low hills bordering Assam, and learned that they were frequently in great danger from the highland Garrows; who, feeling secure in their mountain fastnesses, made occasional incursions into the territory of the former, and committed acts of violence upon the British subjects located in the plains.

A savage custom exists amongst the Garrows, of commemorating the death of their relatives by massacring our inoffensive subjects whenever they can do so with impunity; whether in open day, in ambush, or by a sudden night attack in overwhelming numbers. In this respect they resemble other tribes of which we have already treated. At their festive meetings it is said the Garrows are guilty of great excesses in imbibing spirituous liquors. A dried excavated gourd, which does duty for a bottle, and holds about one quart and a half, is filled with an intoxicating liquor distilled from rice: this, at their jovial parties, is presented to each person, whose nose being seized, the gourd is applied to the mouth till the individual is perfectly satiated, or falls prostrate in a fit of intoxication. After this, the toper is immersed in a pool of water, or the river, that the temperature of the body may be cooled. In the choice of food few things come amiss to a Garrow palate. For example, a dog fed with rice and then roasted alive, is esteemed one of the most exquisite dainties. Every description of meat is consumed, even when perfectly putrid. Singularly enough, however, milk is considered unwholesome, and is never drank.

The Garrow women are remarkably coarse and ugly, with very dark complexions. They wear scarcely any articles of cloth covering, but, in common with most savages, they are particularly fond of showy ornaments. Their necks are adorned with a profusion of coloured glass beads; and if the lobe of the ear can only be distended to the shoulders by the weight of ear-rings, they consider that they have succeeded in rendering themselves peculiarly attractive. The Garrows to this day are independent of our rule, and are, therefore, free from any tax on their cultivation.

An immense quantity of cotton is grown on their hills. This, until 1843, was subject to a tax paid by the purchaser to Government, at the market, where the Garrows bring down their cotton for sale; but, owing to the mal-practices of the native collectors appointed to receive the customs, little profit accrued to Government after the expenses of the establishment had been paid. For the encouragement of trade and a freer intercourse with our people, the customs have lately been entirely abolished; but it is supposed that a plan for the assessment of the whole of the Garrow cultivation will, if possible, shortly be adopted. The climate of the Garrow hills, however, offers a serious obstacle to this measure; for, according to our present information, no European constitution could endure a lengthened residence amongst them; and without the constant presence of a British officer, armed with authority to arrange their affairs, neither the advancement of civilization, nor the realization of a revenue sufficient to defray the expense of retaining and settling the country, could be accomplished. It is supposed that a lac of rupees, or ten thousand pounds sterling, might annually be raised from the land; but our knowledge of the country and the resources of the people is so limited, that this estimate cannot be relied on. Moreover, from the known aversion of the Garrows to any sort of taxation, the undertaking can only be rendered successful by the presence of a large body of British troops; to whom the sword, spear, and poisoned arrows of the savages could offer but little effectual resistance.

COSSEAHS.

This tribe, although near neighbours of the Garrows, are unlike them in personal appearance. They are an athletic race, but by no means fond of more occupation than will suffice to give them a bare subsistence. This gained, their lives are passed in fishing, bird catching, and hunting, merely by way of pastime. Like all savages, they are untrustworthy.

In the year 1829 at Nuncklow, Lieutenants Beddingfield and Burlton were, by the Cosseah Rajah's order, barbarously massacred. A regular war ensued; consequent on which Rajah Teeruth Singh was deprived of the district of Bur Dooar, and the Rajah of Pantam having joined the Cosseahs, his district was also sequestrated. At this period, no protecting force being at hand, the Garrows joined the Cosseahs and invaded the districts of Bur Dooar and Pantam, accompanied by the people, who were compelled to join the insurrection. The movement, however, was quickly suppressed by military detachments. Since then the Cosseahs have been vigilantly watched by the Sylhet Light Infantry, stationed at Chirrapoonjie.

In the Cosseah hills a large supply of potatoes is annually raised and sold in the Gowahatty market, realizing to the Cosseahs no inconsiderable profit. The effect of this traffic being to promote a more frequent intercourse with the people of the plains, it is hoped that in course of time the Cosseahs may learn the value of peaceable commercial pursuits, and become a prosperous and civilized race.

BOOTEAHS.

The hills of Bootan, about two hundred and twenty miles long by ninety broad, form the northern boundary of Assam. The population of the country, including the Dooars, is assumed at 145,200 souls, the Bootan hills 79,200, and the Dooars or low lands at 66,000; but this calculation, made by the late Captain Pemberton, has been proved to be greatly in excess of the truth, as regards the population of the Dooars. In 1842 a census was taken of five Dooars: namely, Ghurkola, Banska, Chapagorie, Chapakhamar, and Bijnee, in the Kamroop district; when it appeared there were about 10,000 inhabitants, and the net revenue of the tracts amounted to 17,544 rupees 7 ans. 4 pice, or 1,754l. 8s. 11d. It may, therefore, justly be inferred that the population of the whole of the Dooars would not exceed 40,000 souls. Captain Pemberton, the British Envoy deputed to Bootan in 1838, describes the Booteah to be "in disposition naturally excellent; he possesses an equanimity of temper almost bordering on apathy, and he is seldom sufficiently roused to give vent to his feelings in any exclamations of pleasure or surprise; on the other hand, they are indolent to an extreme degree, totally wanting in energy, illiterate, immoral, and victims of the most unqualified superstition. The punishment of the most heinous offences may be evaded by the payment of a fine, which for murder varies from eighty to two hundred Deba rupees, or 40 to 100 Company's rupees, or from 4l. to 10l."

Polyandry, or plurality of husbands, prevails throughout Thibet and the northern parts of Bootan; and on the death of the head of a family his property becomes escheated to the Deba or Dhurma Rajahs, without the slightest reference to the distress entailed on the afflicted survivors. "The highest officers of state in Bootan are shameless beggars, liars of the first magnitude, whose most solemnly pledged words are violated without the slightest hesitation; who enter into engagements which they have not the most distant intention of fulfilling; who play the bully and sycophant with equal readiness, and are apparently totally void of gratitude, exhibiting in their conduct a rare compound of official pride and presumption with the low cunning of needy mediocrity; and yet preserving, at the same time, a mild deportment, and speaking generally in a remarkably low tone of voice."

Amongst the officers of the Deba or Dhurma Rajahs of Bootan, not one appears to have been entitled to the confidence of the Envoy. The habits of all classes are most disgustingly filthy, and in the mode of preparing their food little attention is paid to cleanliness, and still less to the quality of the meat they consume. On festive occasions they imbibe large draughts of the liquor called chong, which is procured by fermentation from rice. "The diet of the great body of the people is restricted to the refuse of wretched crops of unripe wheat and barley, and their food consists generally of cakes made from these grains very imperfectly ground; but the food of the Government officers and priests consists of the flesh of goats, swine, cattle, and rice, imported from the Dooars." The Dooars are large tracts of country leading up to the passes into the Bootan mountains. In January, 1842, they were all appropriated by our Government as a permanent measure; in consequence of the non-payment of tribute by the Booteahs, their "repeated acts of aggression in the murder and seizure of British subjects, and likewise for assisting to organize bands of robbers and sharing in the profits of their plunder." Whether the Bootan hills will furnish a sufficient support for their scanty population seems problematical; and if pressed by hunger it is not improbable the Booteahs will rush down and ravage the fertile plains of Assam. The measure was, however, indispensably necessary to prevent the frequent recurrence of oppression and systematic plunder of the people located at the foot of the Bootan mountains. The extensive territory denominated Dooars has always belonged to the Assam kings, and the Booteahs invariably paid tribute for the same. Their exactions and malpractices having imposed on the Government the necessity of depriving the Booteahs of a charge they were unworthy of retaining, this cannot be viewed as a harsh proceeding: it was most reluctantly adopted, and only when it became evident that the finest land in Assam had been converted into a desolate waste, overgrown with jungle and nearly depopulated, owing to the arbitrary severity of the Bootan rulers.

In December, 1842, a friendly meeting took place at Banska Dooar between the highest officers of the Bootan Government and the Governor-General's Agent. The Booteahs were attended by about two hundred followers; and during their few days' stay their complaints were fully entertained, and will probably be satisfied by the grant of a small annual sum as compensation for the loss they have sustained in the annexation of the Dooars to Assam.

During the interview the Booteahs were plentifully supplied with swine, the most acceptable gifts that can be offered to a Booteah; and an officer who was present on the occasion assured me that the incessant squeaking of the pigs, when roasting alive by these heartless barbarians, was most distressing, and the sight of the culinary process excessively disgusting. As soon as the animals had been partially roasted they were cut up, and, without any further preparation, re-toasted and speedily consumed.

The Booteah is a large, athletic man, of a dark complexion, with an unpleasant, heavy, but cunning countenance. Compared with other hill tribes in their neighbourhood, they are deficient in spirit and bravery. For example, in March 1836, A.D., a party of seventy-five Assam Sebundy Sipahees proceeded against six hundred Booteahs, who were posted in five masses, with a few men extended between each, at Soobunkatta, in Banska Dooar. When the Dewangerie Rajah was requested to retire with his troops; they answered the requisition with shouts of defiance and a simultaneous advance. Lieut. Matthews, perceiving the critical situation in which his little band was placed, instantly advanced to the contest, and, firing a volley and then gallantly charging with the bayonet, caused the immediate dispersion of the whole force, leaving on the field twenty-five killed and fifty wounded. The Dewangerie Rajah himself was closely pursued, and only escaped through the swiftness of the elephant on which he was mounted; his tent, baggage, robes of state, and standards, fell into the hands of the victorious Sebundies.

This trial of strength with our disciplined troops has taught the Booteahs to pay more respect to our power; and they are not likely to have recourse to arms again, unless greatly distressed for provisions, or urged by vain arrogance to imagine that a show of resistance may conduce to our resigning the Dooars to their rule.

SATH BOOTEAH RAJAHS OF KOOREAHPARAH DOOAH, IN DURRUNG.

Having given a brief outline of the Booteahs of Banska Dooar in Kamroop, we propose now to detail a few authenticated facts and incidents connected with the remaining tribes noted above; who are located in the northern mountains between the Bur Nuddee west and the Kochoojan east, bordering on the Luckimpore district, north of the Burrampooter river.

And first commencing from the Bur Nuddee west, we find the Kalling and Booree Goorma Dooars belonged, for eight months in the year, to the Booteahs subject to the Tongso Pilo, under the Deba and Dhurma Rajahs of Bootan; during which time they levied upon the people contributions, or black mail, in the shape of rice, Erea cloths, and cattle. During the remaining portion of the year, from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, the people of the Dooars reverted to the jurisdiction of the British Government; and for the protection granted to them they paid an annual revenue, at a certain rate per plough. A hearth tax was likewise realized. But this double rule was attended with the most disastrous results. No man under the tyrannical Booteah Government dared evince signs of affluence, or even of comfort: the people were compelled, for their self-preservation, to dress in the miserable garb of the lowest Hindoo peasantry; for the mere suspicion of a person being possessed of any wealth, entailed on him the strictest espionage, and not unfrequently the seizure of the whole of his property. Not satisfied with this, if the slightest idea were entertained that there was money or other valuable property concealed (for it is the custom of the Assamese to bury their wealth underground), torture was resorted to without the slightest compunction, until the unfortunate sufferer confessed to having a hoard, and surrendered the little savings of a whole life to his merciless persecutors.

Such was the condition of the inhabitants of the Dooars till 1838: hundreds annually retreated to the Pergunnahs (districts) of Assam under British rule, to enjoy the fruit of their labours in peace and safety. The beautiful, fertile Dooars were then rapidly reverting to a barren wilderness: fearful exactions and cruel oppressions rendering the existence of the few remaining communities precarious and unendurable; until an unlooked for incident occurred to deliver the people from the thraldom of their demi-savage rulers. Gumbhur Wuzeer having long been suspected by the Booteahs of disaffection towards them, and of possessing great wealth, the Tongso Pilo of Bootan, through the Soobah Rajah, gave orders for his destruction; and in December, 1838, he was barbarously murdered. The whole of his property, amounting to 50,000 rupees, was confiscated, and his wives, children, and adherents, in all twelve persons, were carried away into the hills.

This outrage justly aroused the British Government to redress the grievances of a long oppressed people. The Dooar was immediately attached to Assam; and the Booteahs have never, to this day, sought pecuniary compensation for the loss of their territory. The son of the late Gumbheer Wuzeer was permitted to return to Assam in 1844, and resume the fiscal charge of his father's villages; and ere long, probably, the Booteahs of this tract will see the folly of their past conduct, and be glad to accept such compensation as the Government may be disposed to make them for the privation of their power to levy black mail from the people. The annual tribute realized from Kalling Dooar previous to its annexation, amounted to 390 rupees, and was collected in the following articles:--

Rupees.

5 ponies valued at 60 rupees each 300
5 tolas weight of gold, at 12 rupees per tola 60
4 pods of musk, at 3 rupees each 12
4 cows' tails, at 1 rupee 4
4 blankets at 3 rupees each 12
4 daggers, at 8 annas each 2
---
Total rs. 390

From Booree Gooma Dooar the tribute of 232 rs. 10 ans. 8 pice was also paid in kind, viz:--

Rupees.

3 ponies, at 6 rupees each 180
3 tolas of gold 36
2 pods of musk 6
2 cows' tails 2
2 blankets 6
2 daggers 1
Bags 1

At the present day the net revenue of Kalling Dooar amounts to 2080 rs. 0 ans. 4 pice, with a population of 1634 persons. Booree Gooma Dooar is estimated to contain 7785 souls, with a net revenue of 5348 rs. 5 ans. 3 pice.

Proceeding eastwards from Booree Gooma Dooar, the next Dooar, called Kooreahparah, is under the Sath Booteah Rajahs of Naregooma, subject to the Towung Rajah, who is a tributary of the Deba and Dhurma Rajahs of Lassah.

The country of Towung being in Kumpa or Thibet, quite distinct from Bootan, south of the Sampoo river, it appears that a portion of the Thibet territory, or more properly the Chinese and British frontiers, are actually in immediate contact in the Kooreahparah Dooar, about twenty miles from the Burrampooter river. This Dooar, as we have said, was governed by these chiefs eight months in every year. During this period, the seven Rajahs paid periodical visits to the Dooar, and let loose many hundreds of their followers to range throughout the Dooars, and quarter themselves gratuitously upon the people: changing from house to house until they had consumed all the food the poor Ryots had to give them. The Sath Rajahs had usually a caravan of large herds of ponies, mules, &c., as far as Umerathal, one march from Oodalgorie. On their arrival there, the inhabitants of the Dooar were compelled to take care of the cattle, and be in constant attendance on the Rajahs, furnishing them with supplies of rice, cloths, spirits, pigs, &c.; and at the approach of the hot months, the ponies, mules, and donkeys were laden with the whole of the collections levied from the people of the Dooar, and the chiefs retreated to the mountains at Nareegooma.

Such was the annual visitation to which the people were subjected the moment the four months of British rule expired. A gradual decrease of the population of the Dooar was the natural result of this tyranny; but the grasping oppression of the Booteahs underwent no diminution. They made no remission on account of the decay of the population: the same amount of collections was still drawn from the remaining Ryots. The country became overgrown with jungle, and the malaria of these plains was so injurious to the constitutions of Bengalees or Europeans, that the tract could not be visited with impunity for above a few weeks in the year. The fevers were most fatal, and life was frequently extinguished in four or five days. Thieves, highway robbers, and murderers here sought and found a safe asylum under the shadow of Booteah rule, by administering to the rapacity of the chiefs. They surrendered a portion of their ill-gotten wealth in the shape of fines for the protection given them, in opposition to treaties and the laws of civilized nations.