The Kukis in Manipur
- Part 1 -

Lt Col M Ranjit Singh (Retd) *

The Kuki is a generic term for a number of mixed group of people who live in a large area of hilly country including Manipur bounded by Nagaland in the north, the State of Burma (Myanmar) in the east, the Chin Hills and Mizoram in the south and the District of Cachar in the west. There are few Kukis settled in the Chittagong Hill Tract also.

Captain Pemberton wrote in 1835 that "the Khongjuees, who under the more generally known names of Kookies, Koochungs, and Kuci, stretch from the southern borders from Muneepoor valley to the northern limits of the province of Araccan".

The word "Kuki" in fact is a Persian word. It was used by Shihabuddin Talish, the military historian of Mir Zumla while describing the Kukis of Tripura. That was in the last years of 16th Century. The origin of the word is best explained by EF Sandy in his article in "Bengal, Assam, Behar and Orissa" which was published in 1917.

In that article he wrote "A great deal of ingenuity has been employed to define and derive the name Kuki. The simplest, and apparently the correct derivation, is that from the Persian word Koh (a hill or mountain) and Ki (of). The word should therefore be Kokhi (of the mountain), that is, mountaineers or highlanders, who seem the world over to the naturally truculent marauders. The Persian Kokhi of the Moguls has been vulgarized by the Bengali-speaking inhabitants of neighbouring districts into Kuki, meaning the savages from the hills generally".

One would recollect that Maharaj Jai Singh (Bhagyachandra) signed an offensive and defensive treaty with East India Company on September 14, 1752 at Chittagong. The treaty was approved by the Governor General in Council on October 11, 1762.

As a result of the treaty, 6 Native Infantry Companies (4 from Calcutta & 2 from Chittagong) with Henry Verelst, Chief of Chittagong and later Governor General, Lieutenant Archibald Campbell, Column Commander, Lieutenant John Stables and Ensign Scotland left Chittagong for Meckley (Manipur) in December 1762 to get details of the State. The column reached Khaspur in Cachar but couldn't go beyond due to the early arrival of monsoon and they returned to their base.

The British authorities, however, sent one Subedar Romjani and 10 Sepoys accompanied by Nerher Dass Gossein to Manipur to find out details of Manipur. This party reached Manipur on December 20, 1762 and stayed in Manipur till April 15, 1763 and a report was submitted by Neher Das Gossein to the authorities at Chittagong.

Nerher Dass Gossein, Fukeer in this Account of Meckley (Manipur) written in 1763 and published later in Oriental Repertory Vol II in London in 1808 extensively used the word "Cookie". He used the word Cookie to describe both Kukis and Nagas as the word "Naga" has not been introduced in the vocabulary till then.

The word Kuki was, however, used for the first time in any major English publication earlier in a memoir called "On the Manners, Religion, and Laws of the Cucis, or Mountaineers of Tipra (Tripura)" in Volume II of Asiatic Researches published in 1790. The spelling used here is Cucis.

The Kukis are a very self-important persons and place a very high value on themselves. They always think they own country they inhabit and regard the other tribes as their underlings. Respect of other's property, both moveable and immoveable, they have practically none. They believe they are destined to be rulers of their earth and not to be submissive to anyone. They are migratory tribes.

Being migratory they attach little sentimental value to an old site which have been occupied for any length of time. They have the habit of splitting up their villages into scattered hamlets of two or three houses. When the mood takes him, they leave their house and goes elsewhere. They carry the name of their village with them.

They are always inclined to form small villages anywhere and everywhere with no respect to other's lands. Once settled in a new place, the Kukis invariably attacked the villages near his settlement areas and drove them out of their land. The above characteristics of the Kukis are from the book "The Thadou Kukis" written by W Shaw, ex SDO, Tamenglong.

In the not so distant past, the Kukis were known as Khongjais in Manipur. The word Khongjai was mentioned for the first time in Cheitharol Kumbaba (Edited by L Ibungohal Singh & N Khelchandra Singh) in 1741 AD (Manipuri Sakabda 1663).

The scribes of Cheitharol Kumbaba sometimes used the word Khagi Hao (Naga from South) instead of Khongjai while writing on Kukis. The entry of Saturday, the third of Ingen (June/July) of 1741 in Cheitharol Kumbaba reads - "It was reported that nine Haos (Old Manipuri word for Naga) from Chothe Paya had been abducted by the Khongjai". A few subsequent entries of the word Khongjai in Cheitharol Kumbaba were as under: 1. 1742 AD (Manipuri Sakabda 1664). Monday, the 10th of Phairen (January/February). The Guru set out to attack the Khongjai.
2. 1742 AD (Manipuri Sakabda 1664). Saturday, the 23rd of Phairen (January/February). The Guru who went to attack Khongjai returned.
3. 1784 AD (Manipuri Sakabda 1706). Sunday, the 29th of Mera (September/October). The Khongjai Hao (Naga) were received at the Royal Court.
4. 1786 AD (Manipuri Sakabda 1708). Tuesday, the 20th of Wakching (December/January). The King made a public avowal in the market that they should attack the Khongjais.
(The next day the army left for expedition. The routes the Meitei army followed was Lamangdong-Chaina-pung-Laimatak- Punamching- Nungsai-Kushu Valley- Tuikhat-Tuipui-Nungkai-Terapopkpi- Phulchong- yollum-Tuyang confluence.

The expedition started on 22nd of Wakching was concluded after 42 days on 2nd of Phairen (February/March). There were two Wakching months in that year. This expedition was covered in great details in the Cheitharol Kumbaba.

During this expedition, the King Chingthangkhongba (Bhagyachandra) erected victory stone pillar in Tuyai village. The Kuki Chief Haimang Marakheng surrendered and proclaimed that they were tributary to King's grandfather and also to him and gave few items as a token of submission. Maharaj Bhaigyachandra did spear dance and also sang Ougri in the centre of the village.

There is an entry in the Cheitharol Kumbaba of Tuesday, the 18th of Ingen of 1790 AD when 35 Kukis were allowed to settle at Waikok. The Khongjais till 1791 used to pay their due tributes to the Manipur King only when the King sent Army for collection of it. But things changed in 1792 AD.

The Khongjais' loyal tributes to Meitei King were received at the Court three times in the month of Kalen, Langban and Mera of that year. The meetings between the King and Khongjai Chiefs probably were for contribution of Kuki soldiers to Manipur Army as the King was going to Assam for helping the King of Assam.

One would recollect that Maharaj Bhagyachandra went to Assam with 500 cavalry and 4000 foot soldiers for helping King Gaurinath of Assam. Captain Thomas Welsh, first British Commander who came to Assam, in one of his tour diaries of 1794 mentions that he saw at Golaghat large Army of Manipuri King going to Assam for helping the King there.

He on that occasion saw presence of Kuki soldiers in Manipur Army. The first British officer who wrote in some details about the Kukis in Manipur was Major W McCulloch, ex-Political Agent in Manipur.

McCulloch in his book published in 1859 wrote that the Khongjais or Kookies until lately occupied the hills to the South of the Koupooees (Kabuis). Whilst in that position, little or nothing of them was known, but they caused fear from their numbers and the bloody attacks they sometimes made upon their neighbours. It must be noted that the Kabuis then occupied the hills between Cachar and valley of Manipur in their whole breadth, a direct distance of about forty miles.

To be continnued..