Conclusion

In the traditional Kuki religion, rituals were considered to be the strongest element in their existence. It symbolises the integrating force, it is something shared by the whole commu­nity.

The role and ministry of traditional thempu and Christian priests are very important as they are commonly connected with those who offer prayer on behalf of the village or community, for good health, good crops, and so on. He is believed to communicate with the supernatural beings. Almost every moment in the life of a traditional Kuki the services of a thempu (priest) is required. His role and service is substituted by the Christian priests engaged in active pastoral ministry. We can see in today’s context the Christian priests are the chief intermediary between God and human like traditional thempu (priest).

From our ritual studies we find that not all rituals are relevant in today’s context. No matter whether the context be different, the ritual becomes so significant up to the extent that the status of a person in the society is determined by the kind of rituals one performs. The change and borrowing in the Kuki society is another aspect that gulfs between the traditional religion and the modern society. Therefore, in today’s context for the Kuki the transition from the old to the new is bound to bring certain changes to the traditional.

Notes

1 The term them signifies one who is expert in something. Lekha them would mean someone who is an expert in academic studies. Similarly, la them would mean one who is gifted in songs and music. The term signifies a respect accorded to a person for his/her mastery in a branch of learning or life experience itself. We shall use the term thempu in our discussion for the priest.

2 For simple ceremonies at home and in the field, the head of the family acts as priest and for cer­emonies which concern the whole community or clan, then service of an expert thempu is engaged.

3 According to the Kuki world view whatever happens to human beings has an origin in the super­natural world; the priest only can decipher and interpret the will and intentions of supernatural beings; can forecast impending dangers and advise corrective measures by way of rituals or sac­rifices in order to avert these impending dangers. A thempu may decipher what may happen to a person through the interpretation of the entrails of the sacrificed animals like the intestines, liver, etc. for example. Before sacrificing a cock, the priest holds it and gradually strangles it; he watches the movement and positioning of the legs and the toes of the fowl and can tell whether ill fortune or good fortune will fall on the person for whom the ritual is performed. There are other ways of deciphering good or bad omens. These may differ from one priest to another.

4 The idea was shared by Lamkhothang Lhouvum of Kangpokpi, Manipur through a telephonic talk on 5 September 2021.

5 Kuskis ask deities for good harvest, good health, good catch during hunting, etc. with the promise of rituals in exchange. In agriculture, they take a vow, for example of good crops; and even if it fails they perform post-harvest rituals like chavang kut, mim kut. It seems that they perform rituals as a matter of custom irrespective of fulfilment of vows or not. But rituals after crop failures are for the appeasement of deities in advance for next year’s expectation of good yields.

6 The different type of rituals normally practised by the traditional Kuki includes naopen thudol (birth rituals), lhakou (invoking soul of the departed), doibom (bundle of charms), phunsan (divi- nations/prognostic rites), chon (rituals of merits), lou chan (agriculture ritual), toltheh (sweeping ground/rituals of atonement), and thidam lhah (death and burial rituals). All these rites and rituals are based on all aspects of the Kuki life and are performed mostly by the thempu (priest). These rites and rituals are elaborate and continue for days, and procedures and rules are strictly adhered to; divinity is revered as handed down through generations; it is religiously observed in their day- to-day life. However, in the present day most of these rites and rituals are performed in a Christian way.

7 The practice of performing khopi changlha kou rite by the traditional Kuki was based on a story. According to the narrative, famine was rampant all over the earth. No one had anything to eat. Then a poor woman staggering with weakness came to one of Kuki villages and asked to be looked after, but no one would feed her at first because they themselves had not enough for them­selves. Eventually, she was taken in by an old lonely widow and in return for the kindness rendered to her, the old woman gave the widow some paddy which would never die, so that she (the widow) would never be want of rice.

8 According to Lhunkholun Doungel, the Kuki people migrated from different places. In the course of their migration they might have come in contact with the Japanese during the World War II. Hence, it is evident that they might have come across the paddy brought or used by the Japanese (Cited from Chongloi 2013:160).

9 Therefore, the full meaning of sa lhakou is, invoking/calling the spirit-soul of the wild animals.

10 The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip. The translation in English is our own.

The ritual is done to make the soul return to the person or for the release of the soul possessed by the spirits. In the second case, a kind of substitute is sent in the form of a chicken.

Chhim is name of the ritual; the word also literally means barrenness in women.

Black fowl is also usually sacrificed in the chhim ritual and eaten. The sherh are wrapped in a wild plantain before being placed under the bed in a basket; the feathers are bound with thread used for tying the woman’s hair and hung on the wall opposite the fireplace.

Sherh: This term is used to describe the portions of the animal sacrificed and which are reserved for the gods. These portions vary slightly in different sacrifices, but, generally they are the extremi­ties and some of the internal organs, such as the heart, liver, or entrails. In every case the extremi­ties are included. Sherh is also used in the sense of taboo. Thus, a house in which a sacrifice has been performed may be said to be sherh, meaning that no one outside the household may enter it. This chhim ritual is generally performed if a woman does not become pregnant during the first year of marriage. Mi Lhakou ritual is also performed for an issueless couple. In the strong patriar­chal Kuki society, having no male issue is considered to be the greatest misfortune that can befall on a couple. In such case the husband is called in gam (one whose house is ruined or destroyed) and as is believed, such a man does not find place in the list of ancestors.

The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip, the translation is our own.

Chongloi is a clan; and sub-clans within Chongloi are Lutsong, Loisei, Sandou, Haocheng and even within this there are sub-sub-clans i.e. lineage.

The religious symbol Indoi itself is a ritualistic practice. According to traditional belief, the ritual was mainly done for a family; so, each household installs its own Indoi. It was the tradition that the eldest son being the inheritor of the father’s property would inherit Indoi after his father’s death. However, for the younger sons it was customary for each of them, to install their own Indoi after marriage and setting up a new house. Installing Indoi was considered mandatory as the household is looked upon socially, economically, and religiously complete and fully-fledged. The owner of a household, who did not install Indoi was considered immature; and so one who was to set up a separate hearth would give first priority to accomplish it. Otherwise, the family is not recognised as a complete one.

Thinghe is a particular tree having almost similar property as the se tree. Se (it is of the oak family, commonly used for posts of house) is a particular tree singularly chosen for ritual post in rituals like selkhom for sa-ai, chang-ai, and chon. It is also the chosen one to serve as doikhom, sekon upon which the Indoi is suspended before being inducted by the family, or during hun days, in which case meticulous care is taken to ascertain the one chosen being free from infested by worms. So selected, that particular se becomes cosmic by virtue of remaining healthy, meaning free from worm.

Literally, khaopi means ‘the mother of all ropes’. It is a species of wild creeper and symbol of the strength of a rope made from this particular creeper. It has up to ten layers in a mature creeper. This rope is specially made measuring about nine to ten lams (an indigenous method of measure spanning between the tips of the left and right hands stretched horizontally straight at the shoulder level) to tie all the components of Indoi.

Vomgui is a wild creeper plant (wild grape), whose stem is used to bind the gopi and thinghe branches to the se trunk after the two have been attached to the trunk. Its stem as a rope is particu­larly used in certain rituals. In the preparatory stage of Indoi installation called sekon tun (erection of a post made from se tree; should not be confused with selkhom), this creeper rope is selected for binding Indoi to the post.

God’s blessing is on all human beings, but it shines more brightly over the saints. So too, God’s blessing shines in nature, but more brightly in the component of Indoi. So they can be called ‘saints of nature’.

For instance Baptism is a covenant or sacrament in the Christian beliefs and practice. It is believed that among the traditional Kuki people, even if a person sets up his own family and lives with his children, if he does not have or installed Indoi of his own, he is still considered immature in the society.

The ceremonial rite of hun-ahkang tha is normally held in the month of May for seven days after the sowing of paddy seeds in the jhum field are over. For performing this ceremony every house hold is required to contribute two posts of Ju: one for the husband and the other for the wife and posts are called sekhom/doikhom (shething and thinghi trees are used for the ritual post). The post has two projecting horizontal arms, one near the top and the other near the ground, if the branch faces towards the east it is much preferable. This ritual post is meant to hang Indoi or Doibom.

25 The uniformity of the institution of family council, called Tucha-Sunggao-Becha, is clearly expressed as they follow MBD (mother’s brother’s daughter) rule of selecting the bride. Let us look briefly into the structure with one reference point. Mr. X’s. Sunggao relatives are the mater­nal family member related through his mother. The mother’s brother or son as sunggao is entitled to claim long-man, (a token acknowledgment of the mother as the progenitor. It is the price of a dead body, the death of every son born out of the sunggao relatives have the right to charge the long-man on death. Worth of each long-man is a Mithun and the people who get the price over the corpse are only the tucha relatives of the sunggao. The X sunggao relatives are passive partici­pants in the religious undertakings of X, contributing in kind as per norms, offering sound advice (but never involved directly in the family affairs). If X is not the eldest among brothers, his eldest brother will appoint two or more tuchas for him, one of them being tubul, literally translated as head tucha. They are taken from families who have procured brides from the family line of X. The head tucha is one closest in this bride giver-receiver reckoning. Two or more bechas for X are also appointed from families who are neither tucha nor sunggao relatives. The bechas are taken from any clan, but usually from X’s clan members. The head becha becomes the spokesman for X in all undertaking and decision making that concerns X. As in a patriarchal society the Kuki also trace their genealogy on the male side, but certain social relationships are built on the female side as well. Nulam is a term used for the relationship between households who have married wives from the same family. These households formed a close-knit unit in the social structure of the Kuki. Great importance is also given to the status of women in the sunggao (mothers) relations, and as noted above the recipient of long-man is reckoned on this relationship. In fact the bond between the tucha and sunggao relationship may be the strongest in Kuki kinship structure. In this system all households in the village are connected through the network of tucha-sunggao-becha relation­ship.

26 Another divine being mentioned is Noimangpa, believed to be ruler of the underworld region. This name also occurred in many incantations, paired with Pathen as Chunga Pathen nalhaiyin, noiya Noimangpa nalhaiyin (May Pathen above be pleased; may Noimangpa below be pleased). The name Noimangpa is invoked in incantations of rituals which involve disturbances of the soil, e.g. digging of holes for sekon, doikhom, selkhom etc. (they are different posts erected in connection with the performance of different rituals). In the origin myth, it is narrated that Chongthu and party escaped from the underworld region ruled by Noimangpa. Noimangpa is declared in charge of affairs below but ultimately Pathen grants permission.

27 The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip (2000), the English translation is our own.

28 The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip (2000), the English translation is our own.

29 The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip (2000), the English translation is our own.

30 The incantation in Kuki is from Letkhojam Haokip (2000), the English translation is our own.

31 After accepting Christianity as their new religion, the Kuki people gradually do away with some of their ancient traditions due to influence of Christianity in the 20th century. For any primal or tribal society or community, like that of the Kukis, traditional rituals and ceremonies reflect the culture and the soul of it. The feelings remain that the tradition which is soul deep is bound to come back since the influence of Christianity is only a skin deep. Whether a person is a Christian or not one cannot do away with his/her tradition and culture.

32 Precisely, the problem faced by the present day Kuki Christians is a lack of understanding of the context of change from old religion to new religion. Unfortunately, in the early times the Christian missionaries had no idea what truly and exactly are the practices of the people; they framed certain dos and don’ts and new ideas were introduced to them. This is one of the main causes of the chang­ing of the Kuki mentally resulting in a total change in their social system. The traditional religion of the Kuki and its significance has been almost rejected in preference of a religion from the west.

33 One visible sign of Kilha lho is Sa O and Saleng. In today’s context replacement is made i.e. in place of Sa O and Saleng a necklace with cross or a chain is received, but some still prefer to use Sa O and Saleng. From the response received, a large percentage of respondents agreed that its performance depends on the family who is performing this ritual.

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