The humming activities of year round tribal life among the Mizos revolve within the ambit of earning bread for survival without consideration for future growth and development on an agro-based economic system which has no place for concept of ‘Saving’, consumption being conspicuous and community bias.
Such a life of routine nature becomes obviously monotonous which must find expression in various forms of social celebrations to give vent to their longing for a life away from sacrosanct. In doing so, their structural functions of life are made often manifest in more than one way which have become social institutions that are major components of their culture.
Two such Institutions are briefly given below:
I. Sawm or Zawlbuk (Bachelors’ Dormitory) :
“Sawm” or “Zawlbuk” is an institution of the youth which concerns only with able-bodied young boys of the village. It is a bachelors’ dormitory in which all the young boys of the village sleep together at night. The nature of hostility and practice of inter-tribal feuds necessitate existence of this institution so that in times of emergency the services of all able-bodied men might be available at short notice.
They have to offer their free and compulsory services to the village from external dangers. In times of peace they render every possible service to the village community whenever required. Moreover, it is an institution for recreation of the young boys.
In the ‘Sawm’, younger boys are taught all sorts of things from cutting jokes to taking responsibilities. Stories are told by the elder members and sometimes topics ranging from girls to war become subject matters of great interest.
This institution is also connected with the ‘Thih-Kheng’ office because the efficient mobilization of the village youth for defence depends mainly upon the ability of the ‘Thih-kheng’ to produce weapons. In a nutshell, it may be equated with modern system of ‘Informal Education’ and may as well be likened with that of Defence and Home Departments of modern administration.
The Mizo society is such that during the days when intertribal feuds were part of their way of life, every able-bodied youth of a village slept together as called for by customary law so that they might be readily available for deployment in times of emergency.
‘Sawm’ or ‘Zaulbuk’ is also considered as a place of learning. Boys of different age-groups are assigned various jobs and other sundry chores. The boys of younger age-groups learn things from the older groups.
They also learn social customs, customary laws and manners. It serves as an institution of learning discipline and other essential character formation necessary for a man to be responsible in future life. It has thus been considered as a very essential part of the village administration among the Mizos.
This is an organisation responsible for mobilization of the services of the young men to meet exigencies of situations. In this connection Roy[90] describes the bachelor’s organisation as:
... archaic form of economic, social and religious organisation. It must have been effective economic organisation for purposes of food gathering a useful seminary for training young men in their social and other duties, and an institution for magico-religious observances calculated to secure success in hunting and to augment the preventive power of the youngmen so as to increase the number of hunters in the tribe.
Thus, the young boys of the village are concentrated at a place for emergency service. In this connection a story is current, which runs as follows:
There was a time when every tribe was scared of the Pawis (Lakhers) because of their ferocity in warfare. But the Sitlhou Chief of Jampi village, the head of all the Sitlhou clan of the Thadous, arranged things in such a way that he and his collateral brothers must not move out from their place for fear of the Pawis[91].
He asked his two junior collateral Chieftains of Lhungtin and Aiyang villages belonging to the Hangsing and Chongloi clans to remain in their villages on condition that he as a senior collateral cousin would remain together with them. So, the three villages forming a confederacy remained in union where they were based.
Now, having stood their ground unitedly, Lhungtin and Aiyang villages acting as buffers between the Pawis and the Jampi village, became the thorn in the flesh to the Pawis, who could not stand any longer in the face of such combined force of the three confederate villages.
In order to relent situation and with a view to living side by side in peace and amity, the Pawis sought for the concurrence of the Jampi Chief to pacify his junior collateral two cousins of Lhungtin and Aiyang Chiefs. As a token of peace and amity of the proposed pact, the Pawi Chief came to him pleading that the Pawis were no longer able to live in peace because of fear for ‘Your brethren Singhangs[92] (Hangsings).
Please be kind and pacify them and ask them not to trouble us any more, so that we all might live in peace as good neighbours.” In proposing such a peace pact with the three collateral brethren Chiefs, the Pawis brought two shields to be used in front and back – ‘Lum Le Phaw’ – one big type bead, called ‘Khi-chang’, one spear, known as ‘Tiengcha’, one belt which has seven lines of one rare kind of bead, called ‘Paigen’, to the Chief of Jampi.
It was obvious, when one comes with such a peace and goodwill mission that the proposal was difficult to be turned down. Therefore, accepting the proposal of the Pawis in good faith, the Chief of Lhungtin and Aiyang villages relaxed and were at peace with the Pawis.
Obedience and veneration to the senior Chief were the mode of life in those days as formally incorporated in social etiquette per customary law. Thus, when a senior collateral Chief advised them to stand down, there was nothing but to abide by his wishes as provided for in the codes of customary laws, which they thought to be in their best interest.
Accordingly, the Pawis also ceased their hostility against the three villages. But this was a lull before the storm and it lasted only for the first year[93]. Believing in what superficially appeared as being reality of the situation with complete cessation of arms hostility on the part of the Pawis, the three collateral cousin Chiefs became complacent with over-relaxation.
On the other hand, the Pawis had been surreptitiously planning to attack the Lhungtin village by surprise. It so happened that one night, when all the able-bodied youngmen of Lhungtin village slept in their dormitory, the Pawis stealthily came and butchered them, killing instantaneously as many as eighty able-bodied young men.
As a result, the Hangsings were scattered and fled in different directions. Most of them were found to have settled down among the Paites. The one that gave a serious impact besides all other repercussions was that as provided for under customary laws the institution of ‘Sawm’ has to continue its existence in amended form as part of essential administrative structure of youth-wing of the Village under any circumstances.
The institution of ‘Sawm’ which was centralized took the character of a decentralized form due to defensive strategy. Such a different form of ‘Sawm’, though still continues, exists on small scale at different houses where there are young unmarried girls.
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to be continued ..
* Priyadarshni M Gangte wrote this article for The Sangai Express .
This article was webcasted on November 21 , 2007 .
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