Symbolic burial ceremony held for missing Kuki-Zo volunteers
Source: The Sangai Express
Kangpokpi, May 24 2024:
Thousands of Kuki-Zo community, together with the family members and friends of the two Kuki-Zo volunteers brutally killed in the Phailengmol region on April 13, held a symbolic burial ceremony today at Martyrs' Cemetery, Phaijang, in Sadar Hills Kangpokpi district under the aegis of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) Sadar Hills Kangpokpi district.
Banana stems were placed inside the coffins of the two Kuki-Zo volunteers, Kamlengsat Khongsai and Kamminlal Lupheng, whose remains are still missing.
The practice of using banana stems in funeral rituals is not new for the Kuki-Zo community, as their customs, culture, and tradition sometimes involve using symbolic objects in the absence of a body.
Additionally, these ceremonies provide a space for mourning, where collective grief can be shared and supported.
It may be recalled that CoTU had organized a monumental 2 km long protest rally and imposed a 24-hour total shutdown in response to the gruesome Phailengmol killings.
Additionally, CoTU also closed down Government offices in the district which remains enforced till date.
Honouring their fallen comrades, CoTU enforced a 9-hour total shutdown throughout Kangpokpi district from 9 am till 6 pm today, while halting all Government and private operations, along with business activities.
Mourning, under the aegis of Kangpokpi Town Committee, KYU and KWWO began on Thursday night at Brig M Thomas Ground at Kangpokpi District Headquarters, where the coffins of the two missing Kuki-Zo volunteers were kept in the office of CoTU.
In Sadar Hills Phaijang's Kuki-Zo Martyrs' Cemetery on Friday, thousands congregate for a symbolic burial ceremony, paying their respects with heartfelt condolences and a reverent gun salute.
Dr Rev Satkai Chongloi, Secretary of the Kuki-Zo Christian Relief Committee, conducted the symbolic burial ceremony, resonating with the theme "You Sacrifice Your Today for Our Tomorrow" .