Marriage payment: An aspect of marriage institution practiced among the Chikimis in Manipur
- Part 1 -

Priyadarshni M. Gangte *

Lushai (Mizo) community presentationat the Chin-kuki Group Folk Dance Festival :: May 23 2009

The Chin-Kuki-Mizo is a grouping of people comprising of several ethnic groups who are closely allied to one another. For the purpose of this paper, Chin-Kuki-Mizo is clubbed together as the CHIKIM that literally means 'all nationalities'. These 'nationalities' have a common culture, tradition, language, custom, mode of cultivation, form of government, etc. They inhabit entire Chin Hills of Myanmar and are known 'Chin' in that country. These same groups of people are known as 'Kuki' when they are in the Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Assam, etc. and also Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

Similarly, in recent times, these people inhabiting erstwhile Lushai Hills District of Assam preferred to abandon the term and called themselves as 'Mizo' which is recognised by the Government of India and granted the state of Mizoram as belonging to the Mizo people. The present study will discuss the marriage payment, an aspect of marriage institution, among the following Chin-Kuki-Mizo people: Lushais, Thadou/Kuki, Lakher, Zomi/Chin and Old Kukis.

Marriage Payment

Marriage is a form of social arrangement by which a couple is legitimized in their physical relationship and their child is given a legitimate position in the society which is often determined by parenthood in the social sense . Marriage payment forms parts of the social institution of marriage. Making of payment of marriage by the bridegroom either in the form of kind or service to the bride's kin is an essential part of establishment of legality .

Marriage payment was held officially in South Africa as per native custom with payment of Mithun in general. Some people believe that 'bride-price' is a completed word of marriage payment, alleged to have been coined by British administrators during the colonial British period in India . In our study, marriage payment will be consistently used to mean marriage price or bride-price.

The Chikimis do not think of marriage necessarily, as a union, based on romantic love although beauty as well as character and health are always sought in choice of a wife. Secondly, in Chikimi society, a marriage involves making of payment by the bridegroom or his kin to the father or close relative of the would-be bride in case the father had expired.

Such system of understanding of the nature of marriage alliance was also prevalent in a great number of societies in ancient and modern times in all parts of the world. Among few Chikimi tribes, practice of marriage payment is prevalent and is known as 'bride-price', which is paid in cash, kind and 'mithun'. Our study of the marriage payment system among the Chikimi tribes has revealed that it is a widespread social practice in the northeast India and had significant sociological dimensions.

The Lushai

Marriage payment or bride-price or marriage price is the most important factor in a Chikimi marriage. No marriage can be performed unless part of marriage-payment is made in advance by the bridegroom to the bride's family. It was paid in terms of mithuns when barter system was practice of the time. A mithun used to cost rupees forty as fixed by the British India administration in 18th Century when currency system was first introduced in this part of the North East. Some clans had fixed the prices for their maids in the past . It varied from four to ten mithuns depending upon the antecedents, blood and beauty of the bride.

Marriage-payment for a chief's daughter was as many as ten mithuns or more for the Dulien (Lushai) speaking Chikimis. Minor concessions could be given during the time of payment. In this connection, marriage payments were practically never paid up in full at once at the time of wedding for the reason that hardly anybody had enough money to pay the same at once .

Generally there was the custom of marriage-payment only in instalments and the remaining to be paid after some time i.e. twenty years or more . The customary laws of Thadou, Gangte, Vaiphei, Paite, etc. in this regard are quite widely different from the ones described hereinabove.

Marriage-payment is a sacred institution prevalent in Chikimi society. It is however not to be understood as a sale-price . It is not a commercial transaction. Marriage payment was sometimes used as a weapon for a clever parent to reject a suitor . If it is really felt that the usual payment of any part of the same was unduly delayed or was not intentionally paid, the aggrieved party could seek the chief's permission to seize any of the property of the debtor against the claim .

The marriage payment consisted of two parts (i) the Manpui and the Mantang. The Manpui is the price that has to go direct to the girl's father or in his absence, to her brother. If she has none of them, it has to be received by her nearest male relative. The general rate of Manpui is five mithuns or Rs.100/- if the girl had dowry or 'Thuam' in the Dulien language but in case she does not carry, the rate of it was four mithuns each Mithun being fixed at Rs. 80/- by the British administrators. The custom of increasing Rs. 20/- was prevalent if the girl was provided with Thuam.

It is pertinent to mention that the Lushai (Dulien speaking Mizos) custom is slightly different from others in dealing with matters relating to marriage payment. It happened in circumstances where the girl was adopted by a man since childhood then the price went to him.
In cases where male relatives failed to receive the marriage payment, the mother of the bride did not marry again and had taken all the responsibilities for her daughter (bride) she would let her mother receive the payment or she could select anyone to receive her marriage payment. In case her mother remarried and had gone to live with her husband under whose care the girl was brought up could be entitled to receive the marriage payment . In case she is a 'Falak' or illegitimate child, her mother could receive the marriage payment.

During the course of our survey, we found that Parry was right about the 'Mantang' or the subsidiary price of the bride, which was normally distributed to different categories of persons.

(a) Sumhmahruai, Rs. 20/-, this price is payable to the bride's father or brother.
(b) Sumfang, Rs. 8/- is payable to the bride's father or brother.
(c) Pusum, Rs. 6/- goes to the bride's 'Pu' (the maternal uncle of the bride).
(d) Palal, Rs. 5/- is to be received by any person, selected by the bride as adopted father. The Palal in reciprocal has to give the bride a fowl and Zubel (pot with rice beer) as Lawichal (wedding feast given by recipients of Mantang).
(e) Ni-ar, Rs. 2/- has to be received by the parental aunt.
(f) Naupuakpuan, Rs. 2/- is entitled by the bride's elder sister in consideration of her having carried the bride about in her cloth when the child was a baby.

The above-mentioned subsidiary price or 'Mantang' are the integral parts of marriage payment. In addition to this, there are also two optional 'mans'- they are Thianwan and Lawichal.

(i) Thianwan Rs. 2/- or Rs. 3/- is payable to a friend of the bride, it is from the Manpui. Thianman is refunded in case the bride left her husband sumchchuah (divorce of husband by wife) or Uire (adultery).

(ii) Lawichal Rs. 2/- is a payment (not compulsory) payable only when the bride and the bridegroom are from different villages. When the bride is escorted by a group of friends and a man, who leads them to the bridegroom's residence. This man is known as 'Lawichal' in the language of Dulien speakers. He is sometimes rewarded Rs. 2/- which is also to be refunded in case the bride later leaves her husband 'Sumchchuah' or 'Uire'.

Moreover, the following rates of marriage payment are realized:

(i) Tlai means head of one mithun's price Rs. 20/-.
(ii) 'Tlai Sial' means half mithun Rs. 20/-.
(iii) 'Sepui' means a full grown mithun Rs. 40/-.
(iv) 'Seding' means a full grown mithun or Rs. 40/-.
(v) 'Senufa' means a mithun and calf or Rs. 60/-.
(vi) 'Puikhat' means Rs. 20/-.
(vii) 'Puisawnsial' means Rs. 20/-.

To be continued ....