IV THE THADO CLAN

193

sacrificial rites, of whichever family of the Thado clan they have
attached themselves to. Shongte and his younger brother
Kullon emerged from the Khulpi, which is the Thado equivalent
of the Lushai Chhinglung. Kulho, Thangneo, and Hanngeng
were sons of Shongte, the two latter being by a different mother
to the first. Henngar was Kulho's son. Kulho celebrated the
Chong festival, and invited his half-brothers, but Thangneo
refused to come, so Kulho disowned him, which angered
Thangneo, so that he proposed to Hanngeng that they should
kill Kulho, but Hanngeng refused, saying that the removal of
Kulho would make Thangneo head of the family, but would in
no way benefit him. This ancient quarrel is sometimes revived
even now, and blows are exchanged when representatives of
Kulho and Thangneo meet round the zu-pot.

The houses of the Thados generally resemble those of the
Lushais, but are less regular in their interior arrangements, a
big house sometimes having two or three hearths irregularly
placed. Zawlbuks are not built, the young men sleeping in the
houses of well-to-do people. The houses of the chiefs are
surrounded by palisading enclosing a courtyard, along one side
of which there is often a platform, which reminds one very
much of the Chin houses, and is one of the many trifles tending
to confirm the tradition of the southern origin of the clan.
The following extracts from Lieut. Stewart's notes on Northern
Cachar, written in 1855, show us the Thados as he knew
them:—

" Each of the four clans is divided into separate and
independent Kajahlics, of greater or less power and numbers,
consisting of one or more villages, each of which is presided
over by a hereditary chief or Rajah, whose power is supreme,
and who has a civil list as long, in proportion to the means of
his subjects, as that possessed by any other despot in the
world. All these Rajahs are supposed to have sprung from the
same stock, which it is believed originally had connection with
the gods themselves. Their persons are, therefore, looked upon
with the greatest respect and almost superstitious veneration,
and their commands are in every case law.

" The revenue exacted by these chieftains is paid in kind
and labour. In the former each able-bodied man pays annually

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