Economic life of Koren/Koireng tribe

Pr Kungsong Wanbe *

Koireng :: An Ethnic Doll display at Mutua Museum Cultural Heritage Complex, Andro

The scattered Koren/Koireng settlements do not have different types of economy. Wherever they settle they enjoy the same common features of their economy. The following are the economy practised by the Koireng villages. Let us see them one by one briefly hereunder.

1. Land Ownership and Land Use Pattern
2. Agriculture
3. Cottage Industry
4. Trade and Commerce


1. Land Ownership and Land Use Pattern

Despite the dispersed settlements, land ownership system is identical among the Koireng villages. There are three types of land ownership and land use patterns Koireng villages: community land, individually owned land and individual lands with heritable possessory rights. Theoretically, the village community represented by the village council (Khuo in Koireng) is the owner of land in a Koireng village. There is a belief that the village land is watched and protected by the spirits of the ancestors who in the past owned and cultivated the land.

The community land consists of the village's open or forest land wherefrom the villagers can collect firewood, thatching grass, bamboo for domestic purposes. They can also extract other forest products such as fruits, herbs, leaves and vegetables for both domestic and commercial purposes. The second category of community land is the reserved forest of the village where valuable trees, cane and bamboos are grown which are the properties of the village community. The villagers cannot cut the trees within the village reserved forest without the permission of the village council/Khuo.

The forest products can be sold by the village council and the sale proceeds will be kept as a fund of the village which can be utilized for common activities and festivals of the village. The jhum lands are owned by the village council but due to long usage, second category of land ownership has emerged namely, the individual owned lands with heritable possessory rights. This category includes individual homesteads, garden and horticulture farm.

Jhum fields may be utilized by the individual families so long as they live in the village. They have no right of transfer to an outsider. If the family has to leave the village, this possessory right will automatically vest in the village council which may grant the land to other families. The third category is the individual ownership of land which includes the wet and permanent cultivable lands. There are several Koireng families who have land in the valley and rent them out to tenants belonging to both Koireng and other communities of the surrounding villages.

The institution of private property has taken deep roots in Koireng economy. Even in the homestead lands where permanent buildings are constructed the land permanently belongs to the owner. The villagers still have hunting and fishing rights in the village forest lands, though the demarcation of forest has greatly diminished such area. Only the village forest areas popularly known as Uyok (tree reservation) are well kept and reserved.

2. Agriculture

Agriculture is the main occupation of the Koireng people. During their long period of migration, the Koireng practised shifting cultivation. When the Koirengs left their villages from high/uphill and their villages are situated in the foothills they got the opportunity to acquire wet cultivable land in the plains. It is therefore shifting cultivation for paddy is no more practised since long time.

In the present days, the Koirengs use Jhum cultivation to grow/plant such as maize, soya bean, arum, chilli, potato, ginger, mostly for domestic consumption. The Koirengs have taken to wet cultivation both in the terrace and plain land. The plough drawn by bullock or buffalo has been widely used. The wet cultivation has necessitated the provision for irrigation facility, introduction of improved variety of paddy and improved technology in the form of use of scientific equipments and fertilisers and tenancy system.

The Koirengs lend their land to tenants both Koireng and non-Koireng for cultivating plain land. Despite attempts for introduction of irrigation facilities, the Koirengs depend, like other people of the region, on monsoon rains. The improved varieties of paddy like I.R. 24, China paddy, Ratna were introduced and they produced higher yields than the indigenous varieties, but people preferred the local rice to other improved varieties due to its taste. The Koirengs keep horticultural farm in their backyards. Fruit trees like banana, orange, lemon, papaya etc are grown so also 'parkia' popularly known as yongchak in Meitei/Manipuri.

3. Cottage Industry

Cottage industries provide secondary occupation to the Koireng peasants. The cottage industries which constitute the household industries are basketry, cane works, weaving, pottery, blacksmith, carpentry and manufacture of musical instruments. The Koirengs are undoubtedly great basket makers both of cane and bamboo. Various types of baskets locally known as Lilei, Tiengkho, Phur, Haikhup (Yangkok, Phoura, Sam, Thumuk in Manipuri) are produced both for domestic use and sale in the market. Some fishing equipments are also made of cane and bamboo.

Pottery is an old industry for the Koirengs. They manufacture earthen jars and pots mostly for domestic use. Black smithy is also prevalent. The blacksmith manufactures spear heads, daos, axe, and silver and copper arm rings mostly for domestic use. Musical instruments are also produced by the Koireng artisans such as Rusem, serangdar, Theili and Khuong. In Manipuri the above mentioned musical instruments are known as Khung, Pena, Bashi and Pung.

Weaving is popular among the Koireng womenfolk. Loin looms are available in every Koireng household. In the past, the Koirengs planted cotton which was spun into yarns for use in weaving. But these days, the mill yarns rather than the house-spun yarns are used for weaving their clothes. The Koireng girls and women weave their traditional clothes in their loin looms though some weavers have manufactured them from the fly shuttle looms. The Koireng female weavers produce shawls, wrappers, short dhoti for domestic and festive occasions. The Koireng girls acquire the knowledge of weaving from early childhood.

4. Trade and Commerce

In the past the Koireng economy did not depend much on the external supply of goods and services. Each village was a self sufficient economic unit. Every household produced enough paddy; the womenfolk produced clothes both for male and female for which yarn was spun out of the cotton grown in their fields. All other tools and implements are locally produced. But their contact with outsiders especially with the Meiteis of the valley and other hill people grew both for trade and commerce and for more administrative purposes.

When human needs have increased, the supply has to be provided by the people who are great traders. The need for modern implements with the coming European technology and food grains and other consumer goods for domestic purposes the commerce has grown. Trade with the Meiteis centred on food stuff, grain, crops and basketry and the commerce with the hill people centred on necklaces made of seeds and leads and sale of wine etc. The Koirengs keep domestic animals like buffalo, cattle, pigs, and poultry both for commerce and home consumption.

Food habits of the Koirengs have not changed for centuries. It is believed that the Koirengs have a very sophisticated taste of rice and it is still their staple food. Meat, fish and vegetables are the common food for the Koirengs.