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Migrating from Burma, hundreds of years ago, the
Yimchungers literally searched for homing ground. They reached and
settled in Nagaland and graduated from being head hunters to
agriculturists. A look at their vibrant lifestyle.
Nagaland is rain-soaked
in August. Non-stop rain and landslides which company it can deter
any adventurous person from stepping out, but the yimchunger of
Nagaland. Matemeneo, the most important festival of the Yimchungers
falls in the first week of August amidst rain and thunder showers.
The festival heralds the coming of the new year. It is also the
occasion to bid farewell to the souls of those who died in he
previous year. Yimchungers believe that the souls of the dead do not
leave the earthly abode until the new year has arrived and formal
offerings have been made to the ancestors.
Sifting through the
ethnographic material on the Nagas, one finds very sketchy
information on the Yimchungers who are one of the fifteen tribes who
inhabit the hilly state of Nagaland. They occupy the middle eastern
region of Tuensang district close to the Indo-Burmese border. This
region has remained outside the administrated area during the British
occupation. Only occasional punitive expeditions were sent into this
unknown territory. It was only after the 1950s that administrative
machinery could reach into this area. Today Indian citizens, after
obtaining the Inner Line permit can venture into the heartland of
Nagaland. The region still remains closed o foreigners.
Yimchungers approximately
number 50,000 and are one of the six tribes that occupy the Tuensang
district. Yimchungers believe that their legends point towards Burma
as their place of origin. According to one such legend they emerged
from a cave in larger numbers. After numerous people had come out
into this world the mouth of the cave was closed with a huge boulder
lest too many people came out and overcrowded the land. One may only
conjecture that such legends perhaps point toward a pass in the
mountains which might have been crossed by the migrating Yimchungers
as well as other northern Naga tribes hundreds of years ago.
Yimchungers claim affinity with the neighbouring tribes-Ao and
Sangtam. Their respective legends of migration also point towards
Longa in Burma. In fact certain similarities in their dress and
language suggest an intermingling at some stage.
Yimchungers are divided
into four patrilineal clans: Changer, Janchinger, Chiphor and
Khiunger. Changer is the priestly clan; the village priest as a rule
hails from this clan; the village priest as a rule hails from this
clan. Each village has a chief known as Kiulonser, literally village
head. He is assisted by a group of subordinates who represent each
clan or khel (section of the village). With the coming of new
administrative set up the chiefs have been appointed as head gaon
bura (village elder), an office which was introduced by the British
to bring out subtle changes in the political system. Selection of the
chief depended on certain criteria, viz wealth, valour and
administrative ability of the individual. A chief of known valour
often commanded the respect of not only his tribesmen but also from
those of other neighbouring tribes.
Until Tuensang region
came under administration, Yimchungers, like most other Naga
communities, took pride in collecting human heads as trophies. The
heads hunter or the warrior could then wear certain ornaments and a
specific kind of cloth which indicated his status as a warrior. Once
the head was bought inside the village, the taker would climb up the
youth dormintory known as change and give a cry of victory. This
would be followed by beating of the huge log drum, sang kang, with
wooden pestle, a practice which has been discontinued.
The head taking raids
have ceased due to the efforts of a new administrative policy. A
number of Yimchungers have become Christians giving up the traditions
of their forefathers. A church with a gleaming tin roof is an
essential part of every village. Modernization in a limited sense has
made inroads into this area; the traditional thatch roofing has given
way to corrugated iron roofs; modern education system has been
introduced as a result of which there are now primary schools in
almost every village.
Changes have definitely
taken place, but a number of things have survived from the past.
Yimchungers are largely slash and burn or jhum cultivators. The main
cops grown by them are millet, rice and maize supplemented with
several vegetables. Land ownership is individual and every two year
or so a new patch of land is cultivated by the villagers. The area to
be brought under cultivation is decided by the chief of the village
in consultation with other clan heads. All the available land already
belongs to someone but a new piece of land may be acquired in
exchange of a cow or mithun semi-wild bison) or presented as a
gesture of gratitude by a person whose life has been saved, to his
saviour.
Interestingly, a system
of bondage is prevalent among the Yimchungers. If a man does not
possess any land and has no other means to look after his family,
such a person may find a patron from his clan or sometimes even other
clans ho provides him and his family a piece of cultivable land,
clothes etc. in return the person is obliged to carry out any wok
which his patron may ask him o do. Such a person is known as mupur.
After the death of the mupur his property and family come under the
custody of his patron. The system goes on and once a mupur always a
mupur seems to be the rule. The custom is prevalent even now.
Related to cultivation
are several rituals which were assiduously performed by the
Yimchungers before they took up Christianity. One such ritual,
Metemneo, has continued to be performed by both Christians and
non-Christians. Performed after the harvest of millet, it literally
means celebration of harvest. The ritual lasts for almost nine days;
each day is earmarked for a separate activity. On the first day,
chine the first reaper, sephipu, and the first sower, yangtampu, kill
either a fowl or a pig. From that day onwards till the sixth day of
pig liver and six pieces of meat are kept. The plate is hen kept
overnight on the shelf on the wall. Next morning the contents are
examined for any markings on the meat and liver pieces. A marking on
the liver pieces portends ill luck int eh form of epidemic in the
village; absence of any such markings on the meat pieces is a good
omen for the village. Meanwhile, the Janchanger clan performs another
ritual called razasipu. A traditional fire with three hearth stones
is lit on which millet is cooked with water. The cooked millet in the
form of small round balls is offered to the agricultural implements
and o all three hearth stones by the housewife while praying to the
god. The purpose of the ritual is to ensure that no bad luck comes
upon the village. During Metemneo, prayers are also offered to
Richaba, the creator god. For this, six sticks of thumusang tree,
some fruits, ginger and liver and heart of a fowl are placed in the
field.
On the seventh and eighth
days of Metemneo, paths leading to the fields and the village are
cleared. On the last day everyone dresses up in traditional finery
and celebrates. The men wear their traditional warrior’s costume
complete with the head hunter’s regalia. We had the opportunity
to watch the final day celebrations. Although it had been drizzling
since morning, it did not deter the dancers from performing their
ritualistic dance. Onlookers either stood under the sheds of their
houses o under the umbrella to avoid getting wet. The men danced
separately from omen stitching from one dance formation to another.
All along they sang songs in praise of their warriors, interspersed
with piercing war cries. The women, to our disappointment, did not
wear the traditional clothes but preferred to adorn readymade shirts
and indistinct Assamese mekhala or sarong. After dancing in the main
village ground, the dancers took a break to eat meat and sip ice beer
from gourd containers. After a while they gathered again and marched
down to the chief’s hut and sang and danced with gusto. While
the elders performed a ritual dance in traditional dress, the young
boys and girls dressed in jeans and skirts, danced near by. After the
celebration was over everyone retired to their sitting places inside
to continue singing and consuming festival food.
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