The Lhota Nagas

The Puthi. The priest of the village who takes the leading part in all ceremonies concerned with the welfare of the whole community is called by the Northern Lhotas Puthi and by the Southern Puki. Formerly every village had two Puthis, the one first elected performing the ceremonial acts, while his partner acted as his assistant and repeated the prayers after him. Nowadays in many places there is only one Puthi, the chief reason being that few men are eager to accept the post, which is a risky one, for verbal mistakes in the ceremonies may call down divine displeasure on the officiant. Where there are two Puthis the junior automatically succeeds the senior one on the death of the latter. An [122]awkward interregnum is thus avoided, for in the absence of a Puthi public ceremonies cannot be performed.13

Five days after the death of a Puthi the old men of the village meet at the late priest’s house and discuss the question of his successor. Ordinarily the man in the village who has done most social “gennas” is chosen, provided he is otherwise qualified. That is to say, he must belong to one of the clans who have provided Puthis for that village in the past, and he must never have been wounded by an enemy or wild animal, or have hurt himself by falling from a tree or rock, or have burnt himself. In other words, a man who has only just escaped an “apotia” death is not eligible. Nor must he be deformed or mutilated in any way. Once installed he holds office for life. The sole charge on which he can be dismissed is that of deliberately uttering curses instead of blessings at ceremonies. But even in this case the village must make good the expenses he has incurred during his time of office. He is forbidden to go outside the boundaries of the village, lest he should fall into the hands of enemies and be killed, for in some mysterious way the life of the village is regarded as bound up with that of its Puthi. On his death his successor must perform the ceremony of “making the village” (oyantsoa).14 The other occasions on which this ceremony is performed are at the first founding of a village, when a branch of the mingetung, or the mingetung itself, falls, and at intervals of nine or ten years, when the Puthi thinks it is time it was performed in order that the children, cattle and crops of the village may increase. It may take place any time during the cold weather before the rice is sown. The Puthi announces that the ceremony is to take place and goes round with his spear (phui) in his hand and his Yenga walking behind him, and collects a contribution of rice from every male in the village. When all have prepared “madhu” the ceremony begins with the killing [123]of a dog outside the Puthi’s house. The formalities are the same as at the building of a new “morung,” except that the man who decapitates the dog at once cuts off its ears and places them on the roof of the Puthi’s house, over the door. Next morning the unmarried men and boys of the village, having remained chaste for three days, go into the jungle and cut a log about six feet long and a foot and a half in diameter. This is trimmed flat on one side. One end is left square and the other end is sloped off from about two feet from the top. This they drag up to the village and set up just outside the village fence at the place (opyachama) which the tradition of the village ordains, with the flat side facing the village. No woman must see it dragged in, and for the three preceding days the village must keep strict emung, even sewing and weaving being forbidden. In front of the post, which is known as opya, all the males of the village in full dress assemble and feast. The women may look on from a distance, but may not mix with the men. Then the Puthi holds in his right hand a perfectly clean dao lent by an unmarried man who has observed strict chastity during the preceding three days, and in his left hand a cock. After the traditional prayer (dranda) for the prosperity of the village he cuts the cock’s throat with the dao and proceeds to take the omens from its entrails. A sharp stick is then run into the base of the bird’s skull at the back and it is set up at the foot of the opya. Then at a signal from the Puthi all, shouting as if in battle, throw mock bamboo spears at the opya. All then repair to the “morung” chanting shamashari, the chant of warriors who are bringing home heads, and hoiki enyam, a long-drawn high note followed by two short low notes. From the “morung” they go to the Puthi’s house, and after chanting there disperse. All men must refrain from sexual intercourse for this night. In some villages (e.g. Rephyim) a straw collar is fastened round the opya at the point where the flat side is sloped off towards the top. Only warriors and men of importance, who fasten a little tuft of red goat’s hair to the butt of their bamboo spears, may spear the opya above this collar.15 The opya [124]may be compared with the figure put up by the Quoireng and Kabui Nagas, who make a similar distinction between hits on the head and on the body.16 Whether the opya represents a human sacrifice or the killing of an old Puthi whose failing powers would involve disaster to the village is perhaps an open question. But it is significant that the opya is believed occasionally to groan after being speared. The next day the oha (lucky stones) under the mingetung are counted. The whole village having assembled at the tree, while the women look on from a respectful distance, the Puthi lifts up the oha one by one, and on the place where they were lays the two ears of the dog which were put on his roof. He then replaces the stones one by one, counting them as he does so, and announces the total to the village. If the stones have increased since the last counting it is a good omen. If they have decreased it is an evil omen. All then stand round the tree and flourish their spears and chant the shamashari. A light fence is next built round the tree, with a door which is, however, carefully kept shut. After much walking round the tree and chanting all go to their own houses. Some days later—in some villages after five days, in others after ten—the young men and the Puthi again repair to the mingetung to open the door in the fence. Before this can be done the Puthi squats in front of the gate in the fence holding a good dao with the unsharpened face17 of the blade upwards in his right hand and an egg in his left. Addressing the Potsos, he says, “I have remained chaste. I have eaten no unclean thing. Now help me and be favourable.” He then rolls the egg very slowly down the blade of the dao. It is an evil omen if it falls either over the edge or over the back. He sets the egg on its end on the ground and puts thirty tiny pieces of dog’s flesh on each side of it. The gate is then opened and after the usual chanting the ceremony is at an end. A [125]village which has done the oyantsoa “genna” must not allow any uncooked rice to leave the village till after the next Tuku “genna.”

After the oyantsoa “genna” and before the fields are cut for the next year’s cultivation, some villages perform a ceremony called Pyotsoja in honour of Tchhüpfu, the godling of rivers. On the appointed day the Puthi sets out from the village early in the morning, accompanied by all the grown-up men of the community. A bird-hunt is organized, and when one has been caught alive all go down to the Doyang. On the bank the Puthi kills a hen and lays out ten scraps of its flesh on his up-stream hand for Tchhüpfu and nine scraps on his down-stream hand. A miniature raft of bamboos is made, on which are put an egg, a little cotton wool and the live bird tied by the leg. The raft is then allowed to float down-stream. If it upsets it is a bad omen and it is believed that someone will be drowned during the term of office of the Puthi. A little poison is then pounded into the stream and the Puthi gets into the water and flounders about like a stupefied fish. His Yenga plunges in and seizes him and calls out, “I have caught such and such a fish! No, it is such and such a fish! No it is not; it is such and such a fish,” and so on, calling out the names of different kinds of fish. Of the fish killed the first is offered to Tchhüpfu as the chicken was, and the rest are divided up among those present.

Oyantsoa is followed by the ceremony of “calling the Rangsi” (Rangsitsa), which takes place when the rice has begun to sprout, before the season of thunderstorms sets in, for the thunder would prevent the Rangsis from hearing the voices of those calling them. The Puthi kills a big pig in his house, and taking a bamboo mat, some of the boar’s meat, an egg, a fowl and a little rice goes with the whole village a short way down the path up which the first Lhota settlers came to found the village. The chicken is killed and the omens taken and the egg and meat laid out on the ground exactly as in the Amungkam and Rangsikam ceremonies. The Puthi then spreads the mat in the ground and sprinkles a little unhusked rice over it. Then beginning with Honohoyanto, [126]Kisiyo and Dilungcham he calls out the name of every Lhota village, both extinct and existing, and summons its Rangsi to come and give rice to his village. Meanwhile the whole village, every man, woman and child having brought a rice basket, sets the baskets on the ground and beckons to the Rangsis who are supposed to be trooping up in obedience to the summons. The baskets are held as if someone were pouring rice into them and then covered quickly with a cloth. All go home in single file with much grunting, as if they were carrying heavy loads, the Puthi bringing up the rear. Arrived at the village everyone carefully pours the imaginary rice out of his basket into his rice house. Among the Northern Lhotas the young men of the village on the day before this “genna” make a point of trying to steal water from some other village’s supply to put into their own. If they are caught they must submit to a good hiding.

The Yenga. The assistant of the Puthi, who accompanies him at all ceremonies and carries his load, is called Yenga. He must be an old man who has done no social “gennas” and is appointed for life. In villages where there are two Puthis each has his Yenga. He receives a share of the meat at all “gennas” and one small basket of rice from every house in the village once a year. In cases where the only or both Puthis are ill the Yenga may perform ceremonies as if he were Puthi.

Minor Religious Officials. The post next in importance to that of Puthi is that of Wokchung (“pig-killer”), of which there are usually two in a village, though in big villages such as Tsingaki there are two for each clan. A Wokchung may carry a phui spear as the Puthi does. His duty is to kill animals at private sacrifices. Below the Wokchungs are two ’Nchuko (“hearth-bringers”), who bring the small stones with which miniature hearths are made at social “gennas.” Next below are two Sorhung (“meat-dividers”), who divide up the meat at all sacrifices and settle all disputes as to the respective shares. No one may act as Wokchung, ’Nchuko, or Sorhung unless he has performed all social “gennas” and dragged a stone. There is nothing to prevent the offices of Puthi, Wokchung, ’Nchuko and Sorhung being combined in the same person. [127]