Early History of Hmar;
Prof. Lal Dena
The
Hmars are found today in Cachar and North Cachar Hills of Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. (These are some of the states in northeast India). Even
though Hmars do not have written records in the past, yet it is possible to
reconstruct their history. They have rich oral sources, folklores and
traditional songs which are handed down from generation to generation. These
oral sources juxtaposed with other sources, published or unpublished, contain
important sources of information from which their history can be reconstructed.
ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE TERM ‘HMAR’:
On
the origin and meaning of the term ‘Hmar’ there are two theories. The first
theory suggests that the term might have originated from the word ‘hmar’ which
happens to mean ‘north’[1].
The supporters of this theory argue that the Hmars live in the north from the
position of other Mizo Tribes and are therefore called Hmar (Northerners). This
implies that the term came into use only after the Hmars had settled down in
Mizoram.(one of the Northeast state in India). It should however be
pointed out that all the Hmars do not necessarily live in North
Mizoram. As a matter of fact, majority of them live outside
Mizoram and yet have been called Hmar. Therefore, the theory that they live in the North Mizoram and were called so does not have
substantial historical evidence. The second theory which is based on Hmar oral
traditions contends that the term was originally derived from ‘hmarh’ which
means “tying of one’s hair in a knot on the nape of one’s head.” According to
Hmar traditions, there were once two brothers- Hrumsawn and Tukbemsawm. Hrumsawn used to get his hair tied in a knot
on his forehead because of a sore on the nape of his head during his childhood.
After his death, his descendants continued the same hairstyle and the Pawis who
now live in South Mizoram are believed to be
Tukbesawm, the younger tied his hair in a knot on the nape of his head. The
Hmars who adopted Tukbemsawm’s hair-style are believed to be his proginees and
were called Hmars[2].
Colonial writers oftern used Mar or Mhar interchangeably to mean Hmar. The
supporters of this theory conclude that the term had already been in use when
the Hmars settled in Burma[3].(Myanmar).
Whatever may be the truth, this much is clear to us that the term as a common
nomenclature had only gained popularity and wider acceptance among the Hmars
living in different parts of North East India with the dawn of political
consciousness by the beginning of the 20th century.
ORIGINAL HOME OF HMAR:
Tradition
– 1. Theory of Jewish connection: The first tradition traces the Jewish origin
of Hmar. Surprisingly enough, there are some references in Hmar folk songs and
culture which tend to support this theory. One of the oldest festivals of Hmar
is called SIKPUIRUOI(Sikpui Festival) and the SIKPUI HLA for this important
occasion occupies such a sacred place that the festival could start only after
they sang it with rapt attention[4].
Let us cite the text of the song in Hmar and its English rendering:
Sikpui
inthang kan ur laia,
Chang
tuipui aw, senma hrili kang intang.
Kera
lâwn a, ka leido aw
Sunah
sum ang, zânah mei lâwn invâk e.
Ân tûr
a sa, thlu a ruol aw,
In
phawsiel le in râl feite zuong thaw ro.
Sûnra
zûla, ka leido aw,
Ke ra lâwn a, meisûm ang lâwn invâk e
Sun
ra zula, ka leido aw,
Laimi
sa ang chang tuipuiin lem zova
A
varuol aw la ta che,
Suonglung
chunga tuizuong put kha la ta che[5].
In English:
While we are
preparing for the Sikpui festival,
The big red sea
becomes divided.
As we march forward
fighting our foes.
We are being led by a
cloud during day
And by pillar of fire
during night.
Our enemies, O ye
folks, are thick with fury,
Come out with your
shields and spears.
Fighting our foes all
day, We march along
As cloud-fire goes
afore.
The enemies we fight
all day, The big sea
Swallowed them like
beasts.
Collect the quails,
And fetch the water
That springs out of
the rock.
The
above lines are self-explanatory and they vividly refer to their liberation from
the Egyptian bondage and the events that followed after they crossed the Red Sea[6].
The Hmars continued to celebrate this festival even after they had settled in
different parts of North East India and many monuments can also be seen in
Mizoram till today.
There
are other traditions also tending to support the theory of Jewish connection.
In one of the Hmar folklores, mention is made about the Great Deluge as found
in the Old Testament. According to this account, the big flood covered the
whole earth except one hill-lack where all the living fled to safety. Another
Hmar folklore also refers to what is known as TAWNG SEMZAWL meaning the valley
of the distribution of language resulting from an unsuccessful attempt to build
an exceptionally tall building beyond the reach of tall trees and providential
intervention leading to the confusion of the language among the people
involving in it. Like the Jews, the Hmars also had three important festivals in
a year. Their religious sacrificial rites and practices are also very similar
to that of the Jews in the biblical times. In pre-Christian era, the Hmars used to construct an altar
having four corners and sprinkled sacrificial animal’s blood over the floor on the platform of the
alter[7].
Hmar tradition also maintains that their first known ancestor was called
MANMASI. Wherever they moved and settled, they used to say that they were the
descendents of Manmasi or Manmasi’s man. Could this Manmasi be a corrupted form
of Manasse, elder son of Joseph in the Old Testament?
The
above stated facts and incident as found in the Hmar folklores and oral sources
tend to suggest that either the Hmars once lived together with the Jews in the past or came from one of
the branches of Jewish race[8].
Tradition- II. Sinlung Tradition: The second tradition maintains
that the original home of Hmar is called
SINLUNG which is frequently mentioned in their traditional songs[9].
Some of them may be cited thus:
My motherland, famous
Sinlung,
Home of my ancestors.
Out of Sinlung,
Jumped I out like a
Mithun;
Innumerable were
encounters, With the children of men
My father’s footsteps
were remarkably good,
Sinlung’s footsteps
were indeed remarkably good.
It
is difficult to ascertain the exact location of Sinlung today. A Hmar
historian, Hranglien Songate identifies it as Tailing or Sinlung in Southwest China[10].
Rochunga Pudaite is one of the views that this Sinlung might have been Sining
in Central China[11].
According to the most recent studies, the small township also called Sinlung
which is situated not very far from Yulung river in Szechuan
province must have been the Sinlung referred to in the Hmar folk songs[12].
Whatever may be the truth, it appears historically evident that the Hmars
originally came from Central China.
Equally
controversial is the approximate period in which Hmars entered China and
settled there. If Tradition-I is to be accepted, the Hmars might have entered China from the
northwest China.
Citing Chao Enti’s version, Hranglien Songate contends that the Hmars had
already settled in China
by the time Shi Huang-Ti(209-207 B.C)
established his suzerainty over the greater part of China[13].
He further argues that Hmars must have been one of those people who migrated
from Central China to South
China during the last year of Shi Huang-Ti’s reign. From the above cited songs, it may be
inferred that the Hmars were pushed out by a stronger power or people. It may
be noted that the Chin dynasty absorbed many of the tribes that were already in
China.
Those who refused to be obsorbed were pushed out and Hmars could perhaps be one
of them[14].
Tradition-III: Shan Tradition; After Sinlung, the next known
settlement of Hmar was at Shan. There are places both within China and Burma which
bear the word ‘Shan’. In China,
there are Min Shan (North Szechuan), Yunlund
Shan(Southwest Szechuan), Liang Shan and
Wuhana Shan (Yanan province). Speaking in terms of ethnicity, there are Taj
Shans. Lao Shans. Lao Shans, Yun Shans, Mau Shans, etc[15].
The Shan referred to in the Hmar traditional songs could perhaps be the Yunlung
Shan west of Sinlung mentioned above. Another Hmar traditional song says;
‘Kachin, my ancient land; and Himaloi(Himalaya).
The land of my forefathers’. This is to suggest that Hmars, after leaving
Sinlung, must have moved southward following the Yulung river and settled at
Yunlung Shan for some centuries[16].
Later on by crossing over the Mekong river and
the Salween river, the Hmars then lived among
the Mishmi tribes for over a generation. Here Sura, the well-known character
among the Hmars, got married with a Mishmi girl called Thaironchong with the
help of his two close friends, Devanngul and Devanthan[17].
From
Mishimiland, the Hmars made westward movement and settled at Kachin State
in Burma.
From Kachin they followed the Chindwin
River and entered Dimphai(valley of Dimapur). From Dimphai the Hmars had to
make further westwart movement by following
the Chindwin River again and
finally made their settlement at Kawlphai(Kawl-Burmese; phai=Valley) for
several centuries. According to Hmar tradition, Luopui of the Thiek clan
planted a banyan tree at Khampat, about 50 miles from Kalemyo on the road to
the border town, Tamu and this tree continues to survive and grow till today.
The Hmars sung about this;
On the South Lersi,
On the North Zingthlo;
In the center Luopui,
Luopui planted a
banyan tree;
The hornbills feed on
its fruits[18].
The
above song refers to three important personalities, namely, Lersi, Zinthlo and
Luopui of whom, Luopui appears to be the most powerful and supreme and in this
connection. L. Keivom comments thus: “So rich was he (Luopui) that he ate only
from golden plates. In his many priced possessions was a very rare and
expensive Burmese gong which could produce more than ten descending rhythmic
waves when struck. It was said that his servant Kimchal once stole the gong
with the intention of selling it with a high profit. He went from one chief to
another chief in the region but nobody dared to buy the gong as they knew that
it belonged to Luopui.[19]”
Under
what circumstances did the Hmars leave Burma-whether they abandoned it due
to famine or in search of greener pastures or they were pushed out by astrong
force. According to L. Keivom, the Hmars might have been forced to leave Burma by the
more powerful Shans[20].
After the death of Luopui somewhere in Thantlang (Than Range), the Hmars under
the overall leadership of Chawnhmang Hrangkhawl finally migrated in different
parts of North East India- Manipur, Mizoram,
Assam and
Meghalaya. According to Hranglien Songate, Chawnhmang further migrated to
Tripura which the Hmars called Rengpuiram and became a Hindu convert later on,
leaving behind his six territorial chiefs, namely, Tusing Faihriem(Northeast),
Lawipa Hrangchal(Champhai), Demlukim Hrangkhawl(Northweat), Neilal
Thiek(South), Fiengpuilal Biete(North Saituol) and Tanhril Saivate(West)[21]
Chawnhmang, it is said, continued to collect tributes from these chiefs for
some years and this fact is corroborated by J.W. Edgar’s report on 3 April,
1872 which runs thus; “The Rajah of Tiperrah indeed claims supremacy over the
villages west of the Tipai(Tipaimukh), but practically his authority was never
acknowledged east of the Chatterchoora range upto which he used to exact a
partial and, probably faithful obedience. Neither the Cachar nor the Manipur
chief had the slightest authority in the hills south of Tipaimukh, and it is
evident form all the early Cachar traditions that they did not claim any.[22]”
Concluding Remarks:
The
historicity of Hmar migration either from Middle East
or Asia cannot be studied in isolation and
must therefore be juxtaposed with the general movement of people from inner Asia
or mainland China
to South East Asia and North East India. From the available sources and
traditions, it is quite probable that the Hmars must have lived together with
the Chiang tribe which lived in the present day province of Szechuan
and mountainous regions of Kansu and Shensi in China.
The Chiang was the ancestor of the Tibeto-Burmans[23].
According to the earliest Burmese inscriptions, the Burmans were in upper Burma in the 19th
century A.D. Before them, the Mon and
the Pyus established their kingdoms but did not rule in Kabaw valley and
surrounding regions which were perhaps occupied by Luopui and other Hmar chiefs
as mentioned before. Then came the Shan invaders in upper Burma and
started conflicts with the Burman rulers during the 12th century
onwards. They penetrated into the Kabaw valley and occupied several townships
like Kale, Khampat, Tamu and THuangdut. It was from here that the large-scale
migration of Hmars and the other so called old Kuki tribes had started around 99 A.D. according to Hranglien Songate
C.A. Soppit, however, puts it between the 8th and 11th
century[24]
Professor G.H. Luce of Rangoon University, contends that it might be
between the 4th and the 8th
century A.D[25]. This
question needs further historical scrutiny and closer re-examination.
[1] G.A. Grierson, Linguistic Survey
of India, Vol.III part-3 (1976) Vumson Zo History, Aizawl(1986), p-72.
[2] Hranglien Songate, Hmar
Chinchin(Hmar History), Churachandpur, Manipur pp.6-7.
[3] Darliensung, The Hmars,
Churachandpur, Manipur(1988) pp.1-3.
[4] H.V. Vara, Hmar Hla Hlui (The Hmar
Folk Song, Lyrics and Chants). Churachandpur, Manipur(1985).
pp.36-37.
[5] Ibid. pp.36-37
[6] Exodus (Old Testament), Chapters
13,14,16&17.
[7] Z.Z. Lien, religious Beliefs and
Practices Among the Hmars though the Ages, Unpublished Ph. D thesis, Manipur University,
Imphal (1987) pp.18-82.
[8] Myer Somra’s ‘Judaism in Manipur
and Mizoram: by-product fo Christian Mission, University of Sydney,
Australia.
[9] H.V. Vara op. cit p.61.
[10] Hranglien Songate. Op.cit p.6
[11] Rochunga Pudaite, The Education of
the Hmar People, Sielmat Churachandpur(1963)p.21
[12] The Reader Digest Great World
Atlas(1962)p.69
[13] Hranglien Songate, op, cit. p.11-13
[14] Rochunga Pudaite, op, cit. p.22
[15] A.R. Colguhuon, Ethnic History of
Shans, Mans Publication, Delhi
(Reprint-1985) pp, XXI-LV and
300-352
[16] Darliensung, op. cit. p.13
[17] Hranglien Songate op. cit. p.17
[18] H.V. Vara, op. cit.p.22
[19] L. Keivom, Khampat and the Banyan
Tree. P.3
[20] Ibid.p.3
[21] Hranglien Songate, op. cit. p.25
[22] J.W. Edgar. Was a Civil Officer who
accompanied the Cachar Column of the Lushai Expeditionary
Force, on 3 April, 1872
to Tipaimukh, Manipur as cited by Alexander Mackenzie. The North East Frontier of India. Mittal Publication, Delhi(Reprint-1719),p.
347.
[23] Gangumei Kabui, Genesis of the
Ethnoses of Nagas and Kuki-Chins, published by the Naga student Federation (1993) p.28.
[24] Hranglien Songate, op. cit. p. 23
[25] C.A. Soppit, A Short Account of the
Kuki_Lushai Tribes of North East Frontier with an outline grammar, Shillong (1887) p.11. G.H. Luce,
Old Myaukse and the Coming of the Burmans, Journal of Burma
Research Soceity, Vol. 42 (1959), pp, 109. as cited by Gangumei Kabui, op, cit.
p.29
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