CHAPTER I

CLANS INCLUDED IN THE TERM LUSHAI

THESE clans have adopted most of the manners and customs
of their conquerors, and to an ordinary observer are indistinguish-
able from the true Lushei. In many cases the only difference
is in the method of performing the Sakhua sacrifice. In few
cases some words of the clan dialect are still used, but, generally
speaking, there is but little difference noticeable. In cases
where the clan had attained considerable strength before its
overthrow by the Lusheis the process of assimilation has
naturally been slower, and there is more to describe. The
following list of clans does not lay claim to being complete, but
contains all the best-known names.

Chawte. Members of this clan are found in small numbers scattered
among the Lushei villages. They kill a goat as the Sakhua
sacrifice, and omit all the JSTaohri sacrifices except the Zinthiang
and Ui-ha-awr. When a mithan is sacrified it is killed in the
evening, and the giver of the feast wears some of the tail hairs
on a string round his neck.

In the hills between the Manipur valley and Tamu I found
two small hamlets of Chawte, who said that their forefather
had come from the hills far to the south very long ago. Their
language closely resembles Lushei, but they have come much
under Manipuri influence. The names of the families in no
case agreed with those given me by the Chawte in the Lushai
Hills. A detailed account of the Manipur Chawte will be found
in (3).

Chongthu. This cfen is very widely scattered. The following account of
the origin of the clan is given by Suaka, now Sub-Inspector of

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