BLACK MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT

AND OCCULTISM

Black magic, occult practices and witchcraft still evoke huge curiosity,
interest and amazement in the minds of people. Although witchcraft
in Europe has been a widely studied phenomenon, black magic and
occult are not yet a popular theme of academic research, even though
India is known as a land of magic, tantra and occult. The Indian State
of Assam was historically feared as the land of Kamrup-Kamakhya,
black magic, witchcraft and occultic practices. It was where different
Tantric cults as well as other occult practices thrived. The Khasi Hills
are known for the practice of snake vampire worship. The village of
Mayong is the village, where magic and occult is still practiced as a
living tradition. This book is one of the rarest collections, where such
practices are researched, recorded and academically analyzed. It is one
of those collections where studies of all three practices of Black Magic,
Witchcraft and Occult are combined in one single book.

Sajal Nag is currently a Senior Professor and Head, Department

of History and Dean, School of Social Sciences, Assam University,
Silchar. He is the author of The Beleaguered Nation: Making and
Unmaking of the Assamese Nationality (Manohar: 2016); and Contesting
Marginality: Ethnicity, Insurgency and Sub Nationalism in North
East India (Manohar: 2002); among others.
Black Magic, Witchcraft
and Occultism
Secret Cultural Practices in India

Edited by
SAJAL NAG

MANOHAR
2022
First published 2023
by Routledge
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Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh,
Pakistan or Bhutan)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 9781032522500 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032522517 (ebk)
ISBN: 9781003405764 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003405764
Typeset in Adobe Garamond 11/13
by Kohli Print, Delhi 110051
 The idea and inspiration of the theme of
this book came from my teacher and mentor
PROFESSOR IMDAD HUSSEIN
Retired Professor of History, North Eastern
Hill University, Shillong
This book is dedicated to him
 Contents

List of Illustrations 11
Preface 13
Introduction
Sajal Nag 15
PART I: TANTRA AND ESOTERISM

1. Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese

Society: A History of Acceptance and Defiance
ChaNdaN Kumar Sarma 35
2. Kec"aikh"at∂, Eater of Raw Flesh: A Profile of the
Multifaceted Goddess in North-East
jae-euN ShiN 61
3. Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the
Khasi Pnar Society
hermiNa B. laKiaNg 87
4. Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya:
Esoteric Practices in Assam
arChaNa Barua 103

PART II: PRACTICES OF OCCULT

5. Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East and
other Parts of India
j.h. huttoN 117
6. Remnants of Spiritual/Faith Healing System among
the Lepcha and Limbu Communities in Sikkim
maheNdra PraSad guruNg & e.K. SaNtha 133
7. Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills
j.h. huttoN 143
8 Contents

8 . U Thlen —The Snake Vampire: Belief and Practice

among the Khasi
TEJIMALA GURUNG NAG 157
9 . Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis
of North-East India
TINGNEILAM THANGEW 179
10. Human Sacrifice in Assam
EDWARD GAIT 197
11. Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context
VANDANA GOSWAMI 205
12. Mayong: The Land of the Occult
ASSADUZZAMAN 239

PART III: MAGIC, SUPERNATURALISM

AND DIVINITY

13. Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from

Medieval India
M. PARWEZ 265
14. The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings
KYNPHAM SINS NONGKYNRIH 279
15. Supernatural Belief of the Kuki: A Case Study of
Witchcraft and its Cures
D.L. HAOKIP 299
16. ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of
Jungle Mahals: A Different World View
NIRMAL KUMAR MAHATO 321
17. Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes of the
North-East India
PHOIBI LALNIROPUI TUOLOR 335
18. Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam
RAJIB HANDIQUE 353
 Contents 9
PART IV: WITCHCRAFT AND
WITCH HUNTING

19. Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in

Jharkhand: A Study of Witchcraft Practices and
the Anti-Witchcraft Law in Jharkhand
BASHABI GUPTA 367
20. Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos
DINA SWARGIARI 381
21. Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis of
Arunachal Pradesh
TAGE HABUNG & RANJEETA MANNOW 395
22. Society, Belief and Practice: Witchcraft and
Witch Hunting in Assam
JAHNABI GOGOI NATH 407
23. The Enchanted Community: Kaose and Doi
(Witchcraft) among the Kukis of North-East India
JANGKHOMANG GUITE 425
24. Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender and Property
Relationship
NIKITA SHANDILYA 485
25. Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer:
A Study of Contemporary Witch Hunting
OBJA BORAH HAZARIKA 509
26. Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper
Assam: A Case of the Santhals
OLYMPIA KURMI AND SARAH HILALY 523
27. Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos
ROHMINGMAWII 535
28. Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of
Arunachal Pradesh
SARAH HILALY 547
10 Contents
29. Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam
BARNALI SHARMA 565
30. Contextualizing Witch Hunting Practices in Assam
DEBARSHI PRASAD NATH 581
Contributors 587
 List of Illustrations

11.1. Divination with match sticks 211

11.2. A child being chanted on for fever to subside 214
11.3. Mantras chanted and blown into a client
The practitioner here was the Governor of Assam
at that time. People of all walks of life flocked
into his healing sessions at the Governor’s
Residence (Raj Bhavan) 214
11.4. Mantras chanted on a bell metal plate for
sciatica pain 216
11.5. Raw banana being chanted on for relief
from stomach problems 217
11.6. Local level texts 223
11.7. Local level text 224
11.8. Mantras and yantras pre-written on pieces of
paper and kept in neatly labelled boxes to
save time 232
18.1. A tree-worshipping temple at Balek Basti
(village), Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh 360
18.2. A tree-worshipping temple adjacent to the
Department of Petroleum Technology,
Dibrugarh University 361
 Preface

While Assam was known as the land of black magic, rest of the
north-east was known for occults and widespread practice of witch­
craft. Yet very little study has been made to examine such prevail­
ing ideas, practises and culture. With this aim in view this volume
was planned. Since it was difficult to get articles on the subject, an
international seminar was organized. The outcome of the seminar
is this volume. Some relevant articles which were not presented in
the seminar are also included to make the volume viable. Since the
volume is a pioneer project, the objective is to inspire and enthuse
scholars to come out with more research on the subject of black
magic, witchcraft and occult practices in not just north-east India
but rest of India as well. If it succeeds in the objective, the untiring
efforts to bring out this volume would be justified.
Silchar SAJAL NAG
21 March 2022
 Introduction
SAJAL NAG

The present State of Assam was ‘famed in Hindu traditions as the

land of magic and witchcraft’.1 It was known as a place of black
magic, witchcraft and occult practices. It was indeed a land of
Tantra, Tantric Buddhism, Tantric Hinduism, Yogini Tantra and
other occult practices. Its earlier name Kamrupa which ‘is better
known to Hindu India as a land of magic and witchcraft with its
famous Tantric shrine Kamakhya with which it is frequently asso­
ciated together (Kamrupa-Kamakhya)’.2 The land is dotted with
temples and ancient structures of mysticism, eroticism and Tantra.
Its adherents base their observances on the tantras, a series of reli­
gious works in which the various ceremonies, prayers and incanta­
tions are prescribed in a dialogue between Siva and his wife Parvati.
The fundamental idea is the worship of the female principle, of
procreative power of nature as manifested by personified desire. It
is a religion of bloody sacrifices from which even human beings
were not exempt. In the Kalika Purana, it is said that a man with­
out blemish is the most acceptable sacrifice that can be offered
and the manner in which the victim is to be dealt with is laid
down in great detail. When the new temple of Kamakhya was
opened the occasion was celebrated by the immolation of no less
than a hundred and forty men, whose heads were offered to the
Goddess on salvers made of copper. Similar sacrifices were also
offered to various aboriginal deities.3
While Kamrupa region has its origin in the legend of Kamadeva,
Kamakhya is built as one of the fifty-two pithas, where according to
Puranic stories, the reproductive organ of Sati had fallen when her
dead body was cut into in many pieces by God Vishnu to prevent
the desperate Shiva from devastation of the universe. ‘According to
the Kalika Purana, the genital organ of Sati fell here when her
16 Sajal Nag
dead body was carried hither and thither in frantic sorrow by her
husband Siva. The mountain represented the body of Siva himself
and when Sati’s genital organ fell on it, the mountain turned blue.
The goddess herself is called Kamakhya.’4 The same author also
feels that originally the region was known for its Saivite practices
and the female cult was a practice of the aboriginals who were pre­
ponderant in the region. In fact, Kamakhya was a goddess probably
of the matriarchal tribes like the Khasis and Garos.5 The Goddess
cult was legitimized by the state only to save the Saivite tradition.
That Kamakhya was a Khasi Goddess is recognized by the Khasi
tribe themselves. According to their claim, Kamakhya was a deriva­
tion of the word Ka Meikha referring to their Mother Goddess and
the temple was a site of pilgrimage for the Khasis even until the
nineteenth century before the absolute takeover of their religion
by Christianity. In fact, the worship of yoni (genital) in Kamakhya is
considered quite un-Aryan and a tribal practice by non-followers:
‘. . . the temple is unique from other temples of the Devi in different
parts of India in that it enshrines no image of the Goddess. Within
the temple there is a cave in a corner of which stands a block of
stone on which the symbol of a Yoni has been sculptured. The
stone is kept from the oozing of a natural spring within the cave.’6
In fact, in a year, three days in the month of May-June the doors of
the temple are kept shut and no one is allowed to enter. These
three days are called Ambubachi which are claimed as the days of
menstruation of the Devi. These three days are also celebrated
outside the door of the temple as a big fair where worshippers of
the Mother Goddess come from all over India and camp in the
temple vicinity. Such celebration adds to the mystic and magical
aura of the temple and province. The cult spread to other parts of
north-east India like Jaintia Hills and Tripura among others. In all
these places a Mother Goddess is worshipped and sacrifices of ani­
mal and even human beings were regularly made.7 There are many
other forms practised around the temple which are considered magic
and sorcery. It is said that ‘While mundane Tantra as louika is mostly
comprised of magical rituals and incantations with its aim to get
siddhi, eight great successes, the super-mundane Tantra, lokottara,
aim for non-reversible bliss. Both kinds of siddhi and s"adhya, either
at the mundane or at a higher spiritual level, are still within the
 Introduction 17
realm of desire and pravritti-m"arga, difference being what kind of
pleasure one looks for, mundane and carnal or spiritual and re­
fined. On the one hand, Mother Goddess K"amakhya " " is K"amesvar$û,
the blue and the mysterious Goddess of love-sex and power and on
the other hand she is the Great Goddess, who in her transcendental
and religious position can bestow liberation from the bindings of
desire and of K"ama.8 All these established Assam as a land of Tantra
and Tantric practises. Recently the Tantric form of practice has
been sought to be understood in modern concepts of power and
transgression.
Tantra in Assam centres around the release and harnessing of power—the
dangerous, awesome power that lies on the margins of the physical and social
universe. On the religious level, Tantra harnesses the dangerous power of the
Goddess—Shakti or Kamakhya—the terrible, violent female who alone can
conquer the forces of impurity in the universe. On the social and geographic
level, it harnesses the dangerous power of tribal peoples on the margins of
Hindu India. On the ritual level, it harnesses the power of violent practices like
sacrifice, specifically the beheading of animals considered impure by traditional
Vedic standards. And on the political level, it harnesses the dangerous power of
kingship—the power of rule, warfare, and the necessary violence that comes
with the office of the king.9

The province was earlier known as Pragjyotishpur marking it out

to be centre of astrological practices. While historians have no issue
on the etymology of the word Pragjyotishpur they offered differ­
ent explanations for the name. One of them wrote:
It is significant that to the immediate east of the town of Gauhati there is a
temple on the crest of a hill known as Citrachala and the temple is dedicated to
Navagraha or the nine planets (essential for any astrological study). It is probable
that this temple is the origin of the name Pragjyotishpura . . . the Citracala or
Arvak hill where the navagraha or nine planets are worshipped is one of the
many sacred places mentioned in the Kalika Purana. The place is not given
any prominence in the Purana or in local traditions to lend a name to a whole
province. The association of Assam to magic and incantation seems to be
covered by the term Kamarupa and not Pragjyotisha.10

Historian Edward Gait translated it as the City of Eastern Astro­

logy.11 ‘The name is interesting in connection with the reputation
which the country has always held as a land of magic and incantation
18 Sajal Nag
and with the view that it was in Assam that the Tantric form of
Hinduism originated’.12 Historians have established that the pro­
vince was called by different names during different historical
periods. Its earliest name was of course Pragjyotishpur. Another
version states the Kamrupa and Prgajyotishpur were alternative names
of the same province.13 However, it is by the name Prgajyotishpur
that it is referred to in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and
the Puranas.14 True to its name not just the plainsmen who prac­
tised astrology, even the tribals had their own interpretation of
stars and planets and accordingly developed their own astronomy.15
The most familiar constellations for example in Assam are those of
Orion and the Pleiades, which are visible throughout the cold
weather when the sky is clear. The Miri tribe of Assam appear to
regard these constellations as representing a young man or men
pursuing girls across the sky. Another familiar constellation in north­
east India is that of the milky way. This constellation is visible early
in the cold weather, it is generally associated with the cleavage
between the end of the rains and the beginning of the cold weather
by tribes. As far as sun and the moon are concerned there is a good
deal more uniformity. Both the entities are assigned gender. The
respective genders of the sun and moon vary from community to
community. The eclipses of the sun and moon have always troubled
the tribes. There seem to be quite different ideas about eclipse
among the inhabitants of the region. The next phenomenon in my
list is the rainbow which excited people in very many ways. Earth­
quakes cannot strictly be called astronomical phenomena but the
notion of earthquakes as caused by ghosts seems to be linked to
that of the responsibility of a god under the earth by the Kachha
Naga story. Other tribes view it differently.16
Talking of Tantra, magic, occult and sorcery brings the question
of mantras, sacred chanting for invoking good spirits/gods/god­
desses or propitiating evils. The mantras are also chanted for other
purposes as well, both spiritual and material. The mantras are known
as bej-bejali, jora phooka, tontro-montro. The religious and ritual
dimension of mantras is contextualized and used in much more
practical, immediate and almost clinical purposes by these practi­
tioners of these practises. Clients would come with a problem, the
 Introduction 19

practitioner would listen, diagnose and give a remedy, using man­

tras to interpret and resolve the problem. Mantras chanted on
everyday things like rice, sugar, water, a thread, an amulet, a fruit,
a pot, could make them into potent objects capable of immediate
action on someone or something. The results could be both be­
nevolent and malevolent depending on the intention. Mantras are
a combination of potent words, syllables and assorted sound units
with a specific pronunciation and intonation. It is said that the
right mantra, spoken by the right person in the right manner gen­
erates a power, which can be either positive or negative. This power
can in turn be harnessed and channelled by the practitioner for
various purposes—divination, healing illnesses, causing illnesses,
solving life problems and causing life problems.17
Medieval text and chronicles have testified the existence of many
such beliefs about Assam. One of them is that if anybody visited it,
they were converted into sheep by sheer magic, and hence, they
would never be allowed to return to their native place. The Mughal
invaders too felt the same way, ‘As no one who entered this country
ever returned and the manners of its natives were never made known
to any outsiders, the people of Hindustan used to call the inhabitants
of Assam sorcerers and magicians and consider them standing
outside human species. They say whoever enters this country is
overcome by its charms and never comes out of it.’18 The fame of
Assam as a land of magic and occult had preceded and coloured
the advancement and defeat of the Muslim power in the neigh­
bouring Bengal who invaded or planned to penetrate into Assam.
The practice of magic and incantation which prevailed in Assam
attracted the attention of the Persian chroniclers of the sixteenth
and sevententh centuries. The Ain-i-Akbari and Fathiya-i-Ibriyah
contain reference of Assamese magical rites. The author of the
Baharistan-i-Ghaibi written by Allauddin Ishfani alias Mirza
Nathan, a Mughal general who had accompanied the Mughal army
during the Ahom Mughal conflict in the early part of the seven­
teenth century dwells at length on the practices in the Khuntaghat
paragana in the present Goalpara district and narrates how the
people resorted to such practices to influence the course of war.
The Alamgir-namah states that whoever came to this country lost
20 Sajal Nag
his way and could not go back. Mayong and Pragjyotishpura (ancient
name of present-day Assam) find place in several mytho-logical
epics including Mahabharata. Chief Ghatotkacha of Kachari
Kingdom took part in ‘The Great Battle of Mahabharata’ with his
magical powers. Reference of such practice is found in the Baharistan­
i-Ghaibi. He stated ‘Muhammad Zaman Tabrizi who was appointed
as a Karori (revenue officer) in the pargana of Khuntaghat (which
falls in the present Goalpara and is a Rabha dominated area) was a
victim of such witchcraft. The incident has been stated as follows—
Muhammad Zaman was a hot tempered man and he began to oppress the ryots
and seize their beautiful girls and boys. This place is notorious for magic
and sorcery. Thus, if a man takes by force a fowl from a ryot and the ryot comes
to the judge for redress, and if that person is refused justice then the complainant
by means of his magic and sorcery could make the accused produce the voice
of a fowl from inside his stomach, and thus proves the falsity of the protestations
of the accused, if a bailiff of the judge stayed at a village in connection with the
work of the Dihidar or the Pattadar (the tenure holder or the revenue farmer)
and if in a state of drunkenness, he demanded fish with violence in the evening
or midnight when no fish was available, and persisted on his demand by torturing
the ryots, then they would bring some leaves of mango tree or another tree whose
name reads like lahsura and breathe on this leaves some words of magic
or sorcery. These leaves would forthwith turn into a kind of snail fish. When
these fish were cooked by him in a state of drunkenness, they turned into blood.
As soon as they were eaten by the baiiiff, he died.19

Even Muhammad Zaman was so bewitched by some person, that

for two or three days he used to produce sounds of beast like dogs
cats or other animals of that class, following which he died.20 Even
Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism had fallen prey to the magical
charms of Assam. Legend has it that, when Guru Nanak visited
Kamarupa in the late sixteenth century, the country was governed,
according to Sikh accounts by a woman called Nur Shah. There
is no evidence to corroborate the account. The name of the queen
sounds quite Perso-Arabic, which also seems scarcely possible
that any region of the neighbourhood of Kamarupa was hardly
governed by a Muslim woman. However, the general belief was that
Kamarupa was a land of sorcery and magic which was woven into
the story. Nur Shah was however, known in the folklore as a famous
 Introduction 21
witch mentioned in the Janamsakhi. Nur Shah and her women
were said to have approached the Guru and his follower Mardana
and tried cast the power of their magic spells. Since it did not
work, the women began to sing and dance which also did not have
any impact on the Guru. Following this they brought pearls,
diamonds, gold, silver, coral and such invaluable items from the
state treasury and placed them before him. When this too failed,
Nur Shah and her women fell at the feet of the Guru who gave
them the message of the Holy Name and advised them to renounce
magic. The Guru, then, left Kamarupa by the Brahmaputra River
and came back to Puri in Orissa.21
A similar corroboration of the fear of the practice of magic and
sorcery was found in the records of medieval invaders from the
west. ‘In 1337 Mohammed Shah Governer of Bengal sent 100,000
horseman well equipped to Assam, but the whole army perished in
that land of witchcraft and not a trace of it was left. He sent a second
army to avenge the former disaster but when they came to Bengal
they would go no farther and the plan had to be given up’.22 When
Mughal general Raja Ram Singh was ordered by Aurangzeb to
take an army to Assam and subdue the Ahoms in 1667, he picked
up the assignment with trepidation. He didn’t fear the Ahom mili­
tary might, but was afraid of Assam’s fearsome reputation as a land
of black magic. Mayong, a village some 40 km from Guwahati,
was the deemed capital of the occult. Ram Singh took along the
ninth Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur to ward off evil. Teg Bahadur inad­
vertently introduced the Sikh faith in Assam, but couldn’t save the
Mughal generalissimo from defeat. As stated by Macauliffe during
their visit to Dhubri, Guru Tegh Bahadur advised all the soldiers
of Ram Singh to ‘bring five shields full of earth to raise, in memory
of the founder of the Sikh Religion, a mound which could be seen
at a great distance’.23 This mound is the famed ‘Gurdwara Tegh
Bahadur Sahibji’ of Dhubri. As the legends go, a group of women,
expert in sorcery or black art, under the guidance of a washerwoman
known as Netai, were sent to do their best to frighten away both
Guru Tegh Bahadur and Raja Ram Singh. On the other side of the
Brahmaputra River, opposite Dhubri, where Guru Tegh Bahadur
had already camped, these women, began their magical skill of
22 Sajal Nag
destruction. These women violently threw a 26 ft long stone, which
came across the sky like an object thrown at a target. The stone hit
the ground adjacent to the camp of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The stone
hit the ground so forcefully that almost half of the stone went into
the ground and the remaining part lying out of the ground. Even
today the remaining half of the stone is lying in the same position,
which is known as the Netai Dhubuni Ghat.24 Then the women
threw a tree which dropped down near the camp of Guru Tegh
Bahadur. But the magical skill of those women failed to do any
harm to either Guru Tegh Bahadur or his companions. At last the
women admitted the truth of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s superior powers.
Ikhtiyaruddin Yuzbuk Tughril Khan, a sultan of Bengal invaded
Assam in 1256-7 and perished with his army there. The Mughals
were routed in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671 and Ram Singh did
a hasty retreat. He was lucky; a few others before him did not
come back alive. Alamgir Nama of Mirza Muhammad Kazim, a
chronicler of the first ten years of Emperor Aurangzeb’s reign, while
talking about an invasion by Muhammad Shah in 1332 with one
lakh horsemen, says, ‘The whole army perished in that land of
witchcraft, and not a trace was left’. Mention has been made in
the Tarikh-i-Aasham that anybody who came to this country, never
returned unless death overtook him. That is why an outsider did
not know very much about Assam and its people. The people of
Hindustan describe the inhabitants of this land as magicians and
consider them as beings out of the pale of human race. They be­
lieve that this land is a land of magic, which prevents them from
returning home.
The present Kamarupa district of Assam was an ancient kingdom
too. Early Kamarupa was known in northern India to be associated
with magical practices. The Kalika Purana and the Charyapadas
provide most of the evidence relating to the existence of Tantric
practices in early Kamarupa. There are references to such practices
in medieval Assamese literature as well. These references to Bud­
dha and Baudhamata in various Vaisnavite scriptures certainly point
to the existence of Buddhist Tantric practices in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries in Assam. According to the Haft Izlim, there
was in Kamarupa a class of persons called the Bhogis who were
 Introduction 23
voluntary victims of a Goddess named Ai who dwelt in a cave;
from the time when they announced that the Goddess had called
them, they were treated as privileged persons. They were allowed
to do whatever they liked and every woman was at their command,
but when the annual festival came round they were killed. Magic
also held an important place in the estimate of the people and
in the Ain-i-Akbari they were accused, among other practices, of
divination by the examination of a child cut out of a body of preg­
nant woman who has gone her full terms.25 This was an example of
the occult practices prevalent in the province. The prevalence of
night worshippers (Ratikhowa) who indulged in magico-religious
practices is also documented in literature. According to historian
K.L. Baruah ‘the Ratikhowa or purnadharia sect of Assam, which
continued till recent times, had its origin undoubtedly in the
system which was evidently a mixture of Tantric Buddhism and
tribal customs’. The medieval Assamese society in which a large
section of the people were going through the process of de-tribali­
zation due to extension of advanced plough agriculture and expan­
sion of Hinduism, provided enough space for the development of
nocturnal cults. In tribal and primitive worldview, natural pro­
ductivity was equated with human productivity and as such the
ritual association of sexual union with agriculture is universal. The
importance of sexual union prevalent among different sections of
the people in the Ratikhowa pratha must also have carried with
them some of their pristine and tribal beliefs. Assam is also the
habitat of myriad tribal communities. Among many of these com­
munities like the Bodos, Dimasas, Deuris, Tiwas, Kukis, Lushais,
Nagas there is widespread practice of witchcraft. They believe that
evil spirits are responsible for all sufferings of men like disease,
death, pain and trauma. They also believe certain human beings
often acquire these evil powers and cause disease and death to fel­
low men. These persons are then targeted and eliminated by calling
them witches. Often women are the targets of such labels who
are then brutally murdered. The Khasis practice thlen or snake
worship in which worshippers claim to receive material benefits.
The practice is dreadful and sends shiver and panic among the
ordinary Khasis:
24 Sajal Nag
The legend of U Thlen, or Thlen, is a living one and to this day people
talk about this man-eating, blood-sucking serpent as they would talk of the
plague, cancer, tuberculosis and any other killer disease. That is what this
monster represents now; the cause of a kind of deadly illness where a person loses
his natural colour, grows thin and weak, with a strange bloatedness about his
face and belly. They say the keepers of this creature and the killers in their
employment, whose business is the hunting of men for their blood, are still very
active in some parts of the Khasi Hills.26

Among the myriad tribes who inhabit the region, one common
occult practice is that of witchcraft and witch-hunting. There has
been a ‘prevalence of witches’ in Assam for a long time now. All
pre-mughal texts and Mughal accounts talk about the ‘magical’
land of Assam where a woman can transform a man to a goat.
According to Assam State Legal Service Authority, ‘witch hunting’
in Assam involved branding a woman as a witch or daini, mostly
based on declaration by an ojha or bez (quack). This usually hap­
pens when villagers approach the village ojha with a chronic ail­
ment and the ojha identifies a woman to be the source of the ail­
ment and is branded as a daini or witch. The woman identified as
a daini is dragged out and subjected to inhuman torture in the
form of beating, burying alive, paraded naked or even raped. If
the victim manages to survive, she is ostracized from the village
and is dispossessed of her property. Sometimes the village leaders
impose a heavy fine on the family of the woman in order to relieve
her of her misdeeds towards her fellow villagers.27 But witch-hunt­
ing is not confined to indigenous tribes only. It is widely prevalent
among the indentured labour migrants who have settled in vari­
ous tea gardens in Assam. One of the largest community of these
migrants are the Santhals. Within the Santhals cosmology centrality
is accorded to their belief in dains/dans/chudails (witches) or bongas
(spirits). It is said that ‘There is no genuine Santal who does not
believe in witches’.28 It is posited within the belief that human
beings can be intimate with and control evil spirits. Both men and
woman can, within this system cause harm and even kill their kin
as well as their fellow villagers. As women are considered ritually
inferior within society, any visible sign of them being in close con­
tact with the bongas could lead them to be perceived as a witch
 Introduction 25
and persecuted. Ritual specialists belonging to certain Hindu castes
would generally play the role of an exorcist, which is a pointer to
the hybrid cultural evolution, rendering women marginalized and
the sole gender identified as keeper of evil. It is to be noted at this
point of this discourse that neither the Santhal nor the Bhil have
words for ‘witch’ in their own languages.29 But witchcraft is not
associated with evil only, it is often used for faith healing too. The
Nepalese of Sikkim have belief in faith healing, the rational being
the belief in God as a supreme power. The shamans or priests as
faith/spiritual healer were perpetuators of religion. The same was
true of the Mizos, Nagas and other tribes, who healed diseases by
propitiating evil spirits where the village priests/exorcists arranged
elaborate ceremonies to propitiate the spirits which brought illness
to particular persons. There were even beliefs that certain agents
carry diseases with them. The Mizo tribe for example were terri­
fied of white Christian missionaries, who they believed were the
carrier of smallpox and, therefore, migrated to new villages to avoid
contact with these missionaries who pursued them. But Christiani­
zation did not rid these societies of certain occult practises. There
are a number of obscure and occult cults that emerged in these
recently Christianized societies. These cults were given the name
of Satanic cults by their people. Satanic cults and practices devel­
oped in recent times in the four states of Mizoram, Manipur, Naga­
land and Meghalaya among the Christian population. It could be
traced to the growth of this group and proposed that these cults
were set up as a resistant movement against the church and mis­
sionaries.30 Magic was not performed only culturally. It was used
politically. The attribution of magical power to the religious leaders
as well as the medieval rulers was quite common.
Magical attributes of saints impacted upon the society to bring
about social cohesion. A number of saints and millenarian prophets
had appeared in north-east India who were declared to have magical
powers. Dimasa prophet Sambhudhan, Naga prophets Jadonang
and Guidilu were all attributed with massive supernatural powers.
The numerous Sufi saints who appeared in north-east India also
claimed to have magical powers.
Among some other tribes totemism was also practised. Certain
26 Sajal Nag
persons were believed to have the power to transform themselves
in some animal form like tiger, cat, bear, dog and so on at night
and go on a prowl. All such secret cultural practices are gradually
dying out with modernization and state strictures against them.
With Christianization, a number of tribes have desisted from such
practices. Similarly, the religion of the Chutiyas was a curious one
where various occult practices existed.
They worshipped various forms of Kali with the aid not of Brahmins but
of their tribal priest or Deoris. The favourite form in which they worshipped
this deity was that Kesai Khati ‘the eater of raw flesh’ to whom human sacrifice
was offered. After their subjugation by the Ahom, the Deoris were permitted
to continue their ghastly rites; but they were usually given for the purpose,
a criminal who had been sentenced to capital punishment. Failing them, the
victims were taken from a particular clan, which in return was accorded certain
privileges. The person selected was fed sumptuously until he was in sufficiently
plum condition to suit the supposed taste of the goddess, and he was then
decapitated at the Copper temple at Saidya or at some other shrine of the tribe.
Human sacrifices were also formerly offered by the Tipperas, Kacharis, Koches,
Jaintias and other Assam tribes and it is thus easy to see how they came to
regarded favourably by the Tantric sect of Hinduism, which is believed to have
had its origin in this corner of India.31

In a bizarre example of occult practice a young boy was sacrificed

to Goddess Kamakhya to celebrate a victory. This was the time
when Bali Narayan, the brother of Parikshit, who had just been
defeated by the Mughal Sultan Muhammedans, took shelter with
the Ahom king Pratap Singh in 1615. Enraged by the murder, Sheikh
Qasim, the Governor of Bengal decided on a punitive expedition
and sent Sayyid Ali, an imperial officer along with Sayyid Abu
Bakr and Sattrajit, the son of a zamindar near Dhaka, and Akhek
Gohain. The invaders reached Koliabor. But the invasion failed
in the face of a determined counter by the Ahoms.32 The Ahoms
then expressed their gratitude to the Goddess Kamakhya for their
victory by sacrificing the prisoner Sattrajits’s young son to the
Goddess. The heads of the slain were then piled up in heaps.33 A
curious practice of animal sacrifice was also in vogue in the Siva
temples of the province. On the occasion of Siva Chaturdasi festival
castrated goats were strangled to death in the precincts of the
 Introduction 27
temples. The flesh is then cooked and a huge feast is held at night
in the temples. An exception occurs in the Kamakhya hill, where a
castrated goat is decapitated on the same occasion.34 In the same
temple the dance of the Devadasis was also quite a scary and erotic.
Thus the free use of wine, women and flesh scriptureally enjoined as accom­
paniment to varied modes of Siva worship in an atmosphere of infinite varieties
of aboriginal sexual relationship promised an easy deliverance which excited
the wrath of Yama [god of death] and led on to the expulsion from Saivite
temples of the four orders of Aryanised people.35

The growth and development of Tantric and Vamachari practices

in early medieval Assam have been widely discussed by several
scholars. The strong presence of Tantric practices in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries in Assam can be inferred from the fact that
the Yogini Tantra was composed in the latter half of sixteenth century.
The absence of Tantric literature in medieval Assamese literature
can be explained by the fact that the Neo-Vaishnavite movement
ushered in the development of Assamese language and literature
and the Tantric handed tradition followed by sections of the lower
caste people that remained on the fringes continued through oral
traditions in the succeeding period. The secret orgiastic practices
remained secret among the different communities and the reason
of their failure to emerge as organized cults can be explained in
terms of overwhelming presence of the Satra institutions in the
Brahmaputra Valley. In the seventeenth century, there were at least
1280 state-recognized satras in Assam. These Satra institutions
played the most important part in legitimizing and popularizing
the Hindu caste norms and practices. In an article published in
1851, Captain E.T. Dalton reported that, ‘There are in the Kamrup
district, one hundred and ninety five Shotros subordinate to that of
Barpetah. I do not know how many there may be in other districts’.
The proliferation of secret orgiastic congregational ceremonies in
the seventeenth and eighteenth-century Assamese society should
be studied in relation to the social outlook of the hierarchical caste
society. The critical study of the oral sources of these sects appar­
ently show that some of the rituals and practices express the idea
of rural protest and resistance against the hegemonic Brahmanical
28 Sajal Nag
social codes and ethics. The making of the social ideology of the
medieval Assamese society with its patriarchal and hierarchical caste
rules posed challenges to the tribal egalitarian ethos of the newly
Hinduized groups and also to the various Tantric beliefs and
rituals which were on the fringes of contemporary society. These
secret night ceremonies and rituals provided the space for the conti­
nuation of such traditions and these got a fresh lease of life in the
nocturnal ceremonies. Followers of these practices declared their
rituals to be outside the Vedic norms and asked fellow participants
to resist the upper-caste social codes and norms and thus this re­
sistance finds expression in the secret selective gatherings.
The remnants of the magical practices are still active in a village
called Mayong. There are several stories pertaining to the name
Mayong, a few say that it is the land of illusions or maya, therefore
the name Mayong originates from this aspect. There is also a legend
associated with the name, it is said that they are sacred parts of
Goddess Shakti, hence the older generation called it as Maa-R-
Ongo (parts of the Goddess), and later on it became Mayong.
Mayong was once called the Land of Black Magic, it is said that
during the medieval period in India, the ancient Mayong kingdom
occupied a very important place in magic. It remained the Indian
capital of black magic and witchcraft. Mayong is the famed ancient
place where sorcery and magic was practised in the past and is still
practised today. The village of Mayong can be found around 40 km
away from Guwahati, and is next to Probitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
Shrouded in myths and stories, it is said that almost every family
here has scriptures and manuscripts that have been passed down
from to ancient times. While some families have hidden them
skilfully, others have burned them for fear of the magical knowledge
falling into the wrong hands. Legend has it that the people here
can cure illness using mantras and can even turn leaves into fish.
An example of the place and its magical practices was provided by
an author

Imagine yourself a guest in any one of the numerous households of Mayong.

You have come unannounced, but your host is unperturbed. He is least anxious
about what to serve you at lunch of rice and kawai fish curry. The rice has
 Introduction 29
already been cooked, but the fish curry is nowhere in sight. The host goes to
the backyard, collects a few leaves from the mango tree and the khoeowah
tree, washes the leaves as if those were live kawaiu fish and puts them in the
frying pan. He asks you to watch very carefully. And just in front of your eyes,
lo and behold, you find that the leaves are not leaves; in fact these have
transformed themselves into jumping kawai fish and were sizzling in the frying
pan. You partake your lunch of rice and mango leaves, sorry, kawai fish, and
return happily to your home and hearth. This is one magical feat-to transform
leaves of the mango and ‘Khorowah’ tree into live kawai fish that almost every
other household of Mayong can boast of. The total bewilder-ment of the whole
feat would take anyone’s breath away! This is illusionary magic, which conjures
the manifestation of kawai fish out of mango leaves. Mayong still boasts of
many more magicians. In this age of globalization the honored magicians know
how difficult it is for them to keep their art alive. There is for instance one
Ramdhan Das, who possesses immense skills of a magician. He had studied in
Rajamayong Higher Secondary School and was a student of Sri. Akbar Ali, a
respected teacher of that locality. Sri Akbar Ali takes pride in extolling the
virtues of his ‘magician’ student. One extraordinary feat Sri Ramdhan Das can
still perform is to get the pyol (peerah, a flat stool) stuck to your bottom and
making it impossible for you to get up from the pyol on the ground. This
particular magical feat was one amongst the many such magic performed by the
Mayong bej in the ancient times.
This present volume includes articles to explore various aspects
of the occult practices like black magic and witchcraft in north­
east India. It tries to record, analyse and study these practices be­
fore they die out absolutely. The theme includes History of Tantric­
ism, Tantric Buddhism, and Shakti cults, black magical practices,
witchcraft among the hill and plain tribes, current practices, per­
formance of occultism, Mayong and its magical antecedents, Khasi
practices of thlen, totemsim, concept of tigerman, bearman, cat
women and so on practised by various communities.

NOTES

1. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub

1905, rpt. 1984, p. viii.
2. Bani Kanta Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Publication Board,
Government of Assam, Guwahati, rpt. 2004, p. 1.
30 Sajal Nag
3. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub
1905, rpt. 1984, p. 58.
4. Bani Kanta Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Publication Board,
Government of Assam, Guwahati, rpt. 2004, p. 34.
5. Ibid., p. 16 & 40.
6. Ibid., p. 34.
7. Ibid., pp. 62-3.
8. Archana Barua, ‘Elements of Magic, Esoterism and Religion in Shaktism
and Tantrism in the light of the Shakti Pitha Kamakhya’, Paper presented
in an international seminar on Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occult Practices
in North Eastern India, in Assam University, Silchar 5-6 November 2014.
Included in this volume.
9. Hugh B. Urban, ‘The Path of Power: Impunity, Kingship and Sacrifice in
Assamese Tantra’, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 69,
no. 4 (December 2001), pp. 777-816.
10. K.L. Barua, Early History of Kamrupa, LBS, Gauhati, p. 13.
11. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub
1905, rpt. 1984, p. 15.
12. Ibid., p. 15.
13. Bani Kanta Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Publication Board,
.
Government of Assam, Guwahati, rpt. 2004, p. 1
.
14. Ibid., p. 1.
15. J.H. Hutton, ‘Some Astronomical Beliefs in Assam’, Folklore, vol. 36, no. 2
(30 June 1925), pp. 113-31.
.
16. Ibid.
17. Vandana Goswami, ‘Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context’,
Paper presented in an international seminar on Black Magic, Witchcraft
and Occult Practices in North Eastern India, in Assam University, Silchar
5-6 November 2014. Included in this volume.
18. Shihabuddin Talish, Tarikh e Asham, cited in Edward Gait, A History
of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub 1905, rpt. 1984,
p. 148.
19. Mirza Nathan, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi, tr. M.I. Borah, vol. l, para 306,
p. 273.
20. Ibid., vol. I, para 307; p. 274.
21. Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, vol. 1, pp. 73-82 cited in
Maheshwar Neog, Religions of the North East: Studies in the Formal Religions
of North Eastern.
India, Publication Board, Government of Assam, Guwahati,
2008, p. 185
 Introduction 31
22. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Gauhati, original pub
1905, rpt. 1984, p. 37.
23. Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, vols. 3-4, 1909, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1909, p. 355.
24. This stone of Netai Dhubuni Ghat of Dhubri is lying even today in the
same position. It is said by people that a British officer tried to ruin the
stone, but he failed in his attempt, because blood exuded out of it.
25. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub
1905, rpt. 1984, p. 58.
26. Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, ‘U Thlen: The Man-eating Serpent,’ in India
International Centre Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2/3, Where the Sun Rises
When Shadows Fall: The North-east (MONSOON-WINTER 2005),
pp. 33-8.
27. Suryasikha Pathak, ‘The Prevalence of Witches and the Gender Question’,
Paper presented in an international seminar on Black Magic, Witchcraft
and Occult Practices in North Eastern India, in Assam University, Silchar
5-6 November 2014.
28. Olympia Kurmi & Sarah Hilaly, ‘ Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of
Upper Assam: A Case of the Santhals’, Paper presented in an international
seminar on Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occult Practices in North Eastern
India, in Assam University, Silchar 5-6 November 2014. Included in
this volume.
29. Ibid.
30. Phoibi L. Tuolor, ‘Satanic Cult in Northeast India’, paper presented in an
international seminar on Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occult Practices in
North Eastern India, in Assam University, Silchar 5-6 November 2014.
Included in this volume.
31. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, LBS Publication, Guwahati, original pub
1905, rpt. 1984, p. 43.
32. Ibid., p. 107.
33. Ibid., p. 108.
34. Bani Kanta Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Publication Board,
.
Government of Assam, Guwahati, rpt. 2004, p. 31
35. Ibid., p. 32.
 PART I
TANTRA AND ESOTERISM
 CHAPTER 1

Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval

Assamese Society: A History of
Acceptance and Defiance
CHANDAN KUMAR SARMA

abadi swarupe ochina swarupe

sajao bandhu sabar maj
amar banhu sabe ji aharma achare
chario vedare baj
(In known and unknown form we arrange a meeting of the likeminded;
whatever route or religion we prefer to follow is outside the Vedic
system.)

In the medieval Assamese society, especially in the eighteenth cen­

tury, one sees the emergence of Vaishnavite occult practices among
certain sections of the communities and the newly Hinduized
sections of the people. Though these secret occult practices have
been studied by some scholars, most of the studies are related with
the enumeration of the cultural practices and the oral literature
associated with them. These secret nocturnal practices have not
been studied as a resistant ideology, which provided the space to
question and contest the hegemony of privileged caste ideology
and ritual. This article is an attempt to understand the origin and
development of the secret orgiastic practices popularly known as
the Ratikhowa or Rati Sewa (ceremony held at night) as part
of ‘populart culture’ and ‘popular religion’ in the context of the
social ideology of medieval Assamese society. In these magico­
religious practices, one sees the synthesis of Vaishnavism, tribal
fertility rites and debased Tantric-Buddhist practrices, and these
36 Chandan Kumar Sarma
remained on the fringes of the medieval Assamese society. Such
practices developed in different parts of the Brahmaputra Valley
and their continuance in the twentieth century is reported from
different parts of Assam such as Goalpara, Sonitpur, Mangaldoi
and the upper Assam districts. Medieval Assamese sources contain
only stray references to the existence of such magico-religious prac­
tices. Most of the literature related to these beliefs and rituals are
in oral form and though some oral literature were codified in sub­
sequent times, it is very difficult to determine the exact time of
their composition. A critical study of the rich oral traditions associ­
ated with these secret practices provides us enough opportunity to
understand the complex process of Hinduization and the resis­
tance to the social ideology of the emerging caste society in Assam.
According to Sekhar Bandopadhay:
The hierarchical ideology of caste has been most vigorously contested in
the realm of ‘popular’ religion, which is often defined through ‘a process of
exclusion’ as the ‘other’ religion. It is discursively positioned in an oppositional
relationship to the established religion of the elite, which is supposed to
represent the classical tradition, legitimated by the ancient tests. This ascrip­
tion of an essential residual character to popular religion is the result of
an unconscious acceptance of the elitist stereotyping of certain practices
and beliefs as ‘popular’ or not confirming to the accepted ethical and moral
standards or epistemological norms of the elite. . . . In its wider sense, popular
religion means quite simply the religion of the vast mass of people; popular
in the sense of its ‘widely favoured’, and it incorporates also its ‘narrower uses’,
that of religion as an ‘oppositional form’.1
The practice of secret nocturnal ceremonies among certain sections
of Assamese people can be seen as a religion in the oppositional
form, opposed to the dominant and hegemonic ideology of a caste
society. Popular religion reflected the social protest of the subordi­
nated classes against their social superiors and the ideology of
domination. These esoteric practices reflect the resistant ideology of
the deprived castes and the newly Hinduized indigenous com­
munities against the ideology of a hierarchical caste-based society,
which was popularized and imposed through the neo-Vaishnavite
tradition in the medieval Assamese society. Popular religion, through
the process of creative appropriation, gradually develops a subversive
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 37
edge against the ideology of domination.2 Natalie Davis has argued
that people are always passive recipients of the values of their social
superiors; they also adapt and redefine them in their own way.3
The emergence of occult practices within the Vaishnavite fold
among certain sections of the people can be seen in the context of
the process of Hinduization and the consequent resistance to the
ideology of a caste-based society and social norms. Though these
deprived castes and the indigenous communities were initiated
to the Mahapuriusia fold and gradually brought within the
larger Hindu social framework, they brought in some deviant
social behaviour, which was against the dominant social order. The
practice of such deviant ritual and ceremonies could not pose any
meaningful challenge to the hierarchical caste-based society and
such resistant behaviour remained largely on the fringes of the
society.
Though the popular religion and practices provided a space out­
side the control of the upper castes and the elite for interrogating
and contesting the hegemonic ideology of a hierarchical caste-based
society, the popular religions themselves could not provide an en­
during alternative to the hegemonic ideology. According to Partha
Chatterjee, the failure of the popular religions to construct an al­
ternative universal to the dominant dharma was the mark of their
subalternity.4 In the late medieval period in Bengal, there was a large-
scale proliferation of heterodox sects among the lower sections of
the population and they posed a challenge to the orthodox social
ideology. According to Ramakanta Chakravarty, after the gradual
incorporation of the Chaitanya movement, which was largely com­
mitted to social equality, into the orthodox Hindu order, there
emerged at least fifty-six Vaishnavite and semi-Vaishnavite hetero­
dox sects in Bengal which became popular, specially among the
lower sections of the society.5 In medieval Assamese society also,
the deviant social practices emerged within the neo-Vaishnavite
fold and these were confined mainly to the newly Hinduized and
deprived sections of society. Though there are a number of in­
stances of secret nocturnal rituals and practices in Assam, these
failed to emerge as organized heterodox cults or formal sects as it
happened in Bengal.
38 Chandan Kumar Sarma
I
The secret esoteric sects in medieval Assamese society have been
studied by some historians in the context of the Moamaria rebel­
lion and such studies are confined mainly to whether the rebels
participated in such night congregations or not. References to the
participation of Moamoria rebels in secret occult practices are avail­
able in the Tungkbungia Burani, Satsory Asom Buranjio and Asomor
Padya Buranji.6 This association of Moamoria rebels with the
Ratikhowa sect is explained as a ‘pernicious campaign of vilifica­
tion’ by some scholars. Description of the ceremonies of these sects
is also available in the Assam Burunji by H.D. Phukan7 and the
Burunji Vivek Ratna by Maniram Dewan.8 In these references the
sect is referred to as Ritia, Aritia, etc. It was called Aritia as its rituals
are not sanctioned by the traditional upper caste social laws and
customs. The followers of these sects indulge in nocturnal feast,
music, dance, drinking and sexual orgies. The followers of these
practices worship Krishna and Shiva through bamachari or left
handed practices and pancha makara9 elements are essential ingre­
dients associated with the secret ceremonies. Different scholars
have tried to analyse the role of these secret nocturnal sects in the
Moamoria rebellion that shook the foundation of the Ahom ad­
ministration in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Some scholars
deny the participation of the Moamoria rebels in occult practices
totally and the association of the rebels with these sects is explained
as a derogatory campaign by the royal chroniclers.
In the Ahom chronicles, there are references to the secret cult
of nocturnal worshippers and one such reference is related to the
conspiracy hatched by one Panimua against Purnananda Borgohain.10
The chief of the cult was reported to be one Gajala Mahanta.
Pani-mua could enlist the support of neighboring villages in the
conspiracy against the Ahom royalty but they were dealt with
severely by the royal troops. Panimua was executed and Gajala
Mahanta, mentioned as a Brahmana, by the Tungkhungia Buranji
was exiled, Gajala Mahanta’s actual name was Sunandadeva and he
was the abbot of the Katanipara Satra. Though he was mentioned
in the Tungkungia Buranji as a Brahmin, actually he was not a
Brahmin by caste.11
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 39
Maheswar Neog stated that the rebellious Moamorias did not
perform any esoteric occult practices in the course of the revolt.
According to him, this reference to the Moamoria rebels perform­
ing occult practices is an example of the
[P]ernicious campaign of vilification, to which Kala Sangbarti in general
and the Moamorias in particular were subjected. . . . The Satras that
have been popularly associated with night worshipping of varied shades of
practices were all connected with another Kala Sanghati Satra that was pitched
in battle against the Moamorias behind the royalist front.12

In spite of prejudices against the Moamoria rebels in the royal

chronicles, the performance of night worshipping by the rebellious
masses cannot be denied. One of the terms used for these night
congregations in the Ahom chronicles is bor asuric mel (diabolical
assembly), and this term carries the echo of anti-royalism which
was increasingly being pronounced in the course of the Moamaria
revolt. It should be noted that in the course of the rebellion, a
large number of common people participated in it irrespective of
their caste, ethnic and satra affiliations.13 These secret nocturnal
sessions were forums for fomenting discontent and hatching con­
spiracies. These occult sessions must have helped the rebels in enlist­
ing the support of the common folk, as these practices carried with
them some magico-religious traits inherited from their tribal past.
These congregational sessions were highly egalitarian in character,
as casteist taboos in terms of food and religion were completely
forbidden in the ceremonies. These congregational egalitarian occult
practices were practised to express and enlist the solidarity of the
common folk in the rebellion. According to Amalendu Guha,
. . . during the phase of armed struggle, the peasant society, a tribe caste
continuum, therefore, solicited its spiritual inspiration and nourishment
no longer from the classic form of neo-Vaishnavism but from the age old
magico-religious cult of night worshippers, an admixture of tribal fertility
rites and debased tantricism long drivern under ground. (T)hus there was
a vigorous revival of the cult in the eighteenth century.14
It gave expression to the urge for an escape from the rigours of the caste
society into the millennium of primitive communism cherished in the
subconscious mind.15
40 Chandan Kumar Sarma
The participation of women in the Moamoria revolt was un­
precedented and in this case the role of these nocturnal congrega­
tions, which provided central positions to women in the rituals,
may also be investigated. Further writes to Guha, ‘Through
ceremonal participation in this bacchanalia, which was supposed to
cast a pro-tective spell around and rejuvenate the participants, the
Moamaria rebels were believed to have acquired the fighting acu­
men.’16 These occult practices were the result of the synthesis of
the earlier trend of brahmachari practices which probably contin­
ued among the less-privileged sections of the society, especially
the Kaivartas with the modes of social resistance of the newly
Hinduized converts from Ahom, Matak, Moran and other tribal
and semi-tribal groups against the norms and socio-religious codes
of the hierarchical caste divided society. Guha interpreted the
emergence of such practices among certain sections of the newly
Hinduized people in terms of the influences of Aniruddha Deva
whom he considers to be ‘unmistakably influenced’ by Sahajia
Tantricism. Guha writes that:
Literary evidences and subsequent events suggest that Aniruddha Deva, the
founder of the Moamoria cult was unmistakably influenced by the sahajia
tantricism of his day. He blended magic and miracles with the egalitarian con­
tent of neo-Vaisnavism and was said to have conceded to tribal ways of life in the
matter of food habits, caste and man-woman relations (anna-yoni-visara).17

This interpretation of Guha that Aniruddha Deva, the founder

of the Moamoria Satra, was influenced by the Sahajia Tantricism
cannot be corroborated by historical documents, and that he was
liberal in gender relations is also not based on any historical sources.
The Kali Sanghati Satra founded by Gopala Deva and his apostles.
Aniruddha Deva and Yadumani Deva were instrumental in bring­
ing large sections of the deprived castes, Kaivartas, Morans and
others within the Mahapurusia fold.18 Due to its liberal and re­
laxed outlook, this Sanghati had to face much ridicule and censure
from the other Sanghatis. Brahmanical outlook could not get a
foothold in this Sanghati and this certainly encouraged the de­
prived castes and the other tribes to be initiated into this fold.19
Some writers alleged that Gopal Ata introduced the cult of night
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 41
worshipping into the Vaishnavite fold. This explanation is also not
supported by any historical sources. This impression might have
begun as he was the founder of the Kala Sanghati which initiated
the process of bringing a large section of the people in upper Assam
within the Mahapurusia fold and as certain sections of these newly
Hinduized people retained some of their earlier tribal ritual and
practices. Moreover, it should also be taken into account that this
secret sect and its practices were not confined to certain sections of
the Kala Sanghati alone and followers of other sanghatis were also
associated with the secret nocturnal practices.20

II
The existence of the unorthodox practices in the medieval Assamese
society can be traced from the writings of a number of Vaishnavite
preceptors, as they had to face a lot of resistance and hostility from
the followers of these groups in the propagation of neo-Vaishnavite
texts. Shankara Deva’s writings contain stray references to his con­
tempt regarding such practices with Shakta tantric rituals. ‘They
are libertine by nature and tempted by worldly affairs. In the hope
of attaining heaven, they gladly dissect ganders and goats, perform
various gory deeds, worship various deities and after their virtues
are spent out, they again go to hell’ (Bhagavata 1/34). ‘They hold
vain discourses on the scriptures that speak of the worship of wine,
women and meat. They are all great fools. They do not worship
god and will rot in hell’ (Nimi-navasiddha sambada v. 335) in the
Namaghosa, Madhava Deva refers to this class of worshippers in the
following way: ‘There are persons who putting on the cloak of
Vaishnavism roam about transgressing the path drawn by the Vedas’.
They indiscriminately indulge in enjoyment of sex and palate and
thus put Kirtana Ghosa, Shankara Deva mentions that the Buddha
incarnated only to destroy the path of Vedas and made people
spellbound with vamachara shastra (v. 12). He describes the fol­
lowers of such practices as pachanda and warns the people to get
rid of their evil propaganda. Ram Saraswati, disciple of Shankara
Deva has also referred to such tantric practices in his Vyasasrama
‘the common folk will be fallen due to sinful deeds and Brahmana
42 Chandan Kumar Sarma
will propagate Buddhist scriptures’.21 In the Vansi Gopaldevar Charitra
written by Ramananda there is reference to such Buddhist persons
who harassed Vansi Gopaldeva several times. It is also stated that
due to his unflinching commitment to Vaishnavite ideology and
his persuasion these heterodox believers ultimately became initi­
ated in the Mahapurusia fold.22
These references to Buddha and Bauddhamata in various Vaish­
navite scriptures certainly point to the existence of Buddhist tantric
practices in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Assam. Ac­
cording to K.L. Baruah ‘The Ratikhowa or Purnadharia sect of
Assam which continued till recent times had its origin undoubtedly
in the system which was evidently a mixture of tantric Buddhism
and tribal customs.’23 The growth and development of tantric and
bamachari practices in early and early medieval Assam have been
widely discussed by several scholars.24 The Kalika Purana and the
Yogini Tantra provide most of the evidences relating to the exist­
ence of left-handed tantirc practices. The strong presence of tantric
practices in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Assam can be
inferred from the fact that the Yogini Tantra was composed in the
latter half of the sixteenth century. Even if tantric practices are
mentioned as stray references in the contemporary Vaishnavite lit­
erature, the continuity of tantric thought and practices in that
period can be inferred from the very composition of the Yogini
Tantra in that period. The absence of tantric literature in medieval
Assamese literature can be explained by the fact that the neo-
Vaishnavite movement which ushered in the development of
Assamese language and literature was totally against such practices
and the tantric left-handed tradition, followed by sections of the
underprivileged caste people, continued through oral traditions in
the succeeding period.
There are polemical discussions relating to the origin of Vaish­
navite occult practices in the medieval Assam. It is believed among
the certain sections that Ram Deva was the first Gosain to propa­
gate the cult of night worshipping in upper Assam through his
disciples. Ram Deva was the son of Sudarsana Deva and the eldest
grandson of Saru Krisna Deva, the founder of the Chaliha Barighar
Satra. The third and the youngest son of Saru Krishna Deva, popu­
larly known as Sunanda Deva, founded the Katanipar Satra. In a
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 43
number of oral mystical songs known as yuguta visara songs used
by the followers of this sect there are references to the names of
Sunanda Deva and Ram Deva as their preachers.25 Though the
followers of this Satra deny these two abbots as preacher of this
cult, the repeated reference to their preaching of this sect in a num­
ber of oral songs popular among the followers of the nocturnal cult
clearly show that they were important preachers and propagators
of these practices.
The introduction of these secret esoteric practices of night wor­
ship within the Mahapurusia fold can be explained in terms of
gradual incorporation of the followers of these ancient practices
within this fold. The process of Hinduization of the indigenous
communities through the Mahapurusia tradition in the medieval
period did not lead to a total change in the life and practices of
these groups and they retained much of their tradition, lifestyle
and practices. The diversity in the nomenclature and its varied
practices in different parts of Assam clearly suggest that the resur­
facing and growth of this secret orgiastic cult within the Vaishnavite
fold cannot be ascribed to one or two preceptors. Some other sects
of the night worshippers are known as Batibhagia, Chari Karania,
Digambaria, Karantipatia, Madhupuria, Purna Bhagia, etc., and
these sects have their presence in different areas of upper Assam. In
Sonitpur and Mongoldoi districts some sects performing such noc­
turnal sessions are known as Puthimechia, Thakura Kheli and Bara
Khelia. Most of the followeres of these sects are from the Bej or
Vaidya community. The oral devotional songs of these sects are
popularly known as Chia Geet.26 The origin of these nocturnal prac­
tices is spuriously ascribed to Shankara Deva and Madha Deva
and their names may have been incorporated in the devotional
songs of night worshippers to gain legitimacy among the wider
sections of the people. Through the process of ‘creative appropria­
tion’, at the popular level, the people assimilated deviant social
and religious rituals and customs within the larger Mahapurusia
cultural and religious idiom. The oral literarture associated with
the secret sects continue the fervour and flavour of the Vaishnavite
culture. It also demonstrates the level of religious syncretism at
the popular level. The rituals and practices of these nocturnal cults
demonstrate assimilation of divserse trends and streams, such as
44 Chandan Kumar Sarma
Vaishnavism, Tantric Shaivism, Vajrayani Buddhism, primitive tribal
rituals, Nathism and Bengali Sahajia Vaishnavism. The impact of
Shaivism and tribal rituals are dominant in the Borasewa sect of
the night worshippers and this sect is present among some com­
munities of the Mongoloid group such Ahoms, Morans and
Mishings. Only upgraded Bhakats are allowed to attend the noc­
turnal sessions. One special Bhakat named as eknami Bhakat is
selected to conduct the ceremonies and he is accepted as the Lord
Shiva and he is helped in the rituals by the dokani and the sevaki,
who are selected from the women participants. The pancha makaras
are essential ingredients in the rituals. In early Assam, Shiva wor­
ship was mixed with varied forms of tantric rituals. According to
S.K. Bhuyan, ‘In the Kalika Purana and in the Yogini Tantra Shiva
appears more often as a Vairava than as a normal god, and therefore,
bamachara practices could be legitimately held in Shaiva temples.’27
These currents which remained on the fringes of the society resur­
faced among some sections of the population due to mixing them
with the primitive tribal practices of the newly Hinduized sections
of the people. According to some scholars the kaivarta community
came under the influence of tantric Buddhism in the early medi­
eval period and even after their initiation to Vaishnavite Hinduism
in the later period, they must have retained some of the earlier
practices.
Some references to the secret practices of such sects will make it
clear that these practices were the result of social and cultural as­
similation and elements from diverse sources were blended in the
making of such esoteric sects. Among the Gopidhara and the
Gopikhela sects, the role the Radha-Krishna cult played, was central
one in the ceremonies. In the practices of these sects the chief
among the Bhakatas was considered the manifestation of Krishna
and one woman was selected to play the role of Radha. The followers
of these sects adored the couple as the primordial deities of Brinda­
van.28 All the elements of pancha makara are essential in the rituals
of the sect. Thr rituals can be compared with the Kumari Puja still
prevalent in the temple of Kamakhya. According to S.N. Sarma,
there may be an impact of the Kisori Bhaja sect in these rituals and
this Sahajia Vaishnavite tradition probably entered Assam in the
eighteenth century along with the musicians, artists and religious
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 45
persons imported by King Rudra Singha.29 The Sahajia tradition
‘discarded brahmanical rituals, deplored the intellectualism of the
learned theological debates, shunned the strict disciplines of ortho­
dox Hinduism and preferred instead to follow nature (sahajia)’.30
In the texts of the Sahajia Vaishnavites such, as Rativilasa Paddhati,
Sahajia Upasana Tattva, men and women are accepted as the re­
presentatives of the two streams of love and described respectively
as rasa and rati or kama and madana.31 All forms of tantric teachings
insist on the symbolical union of the male and female principle—
the efficient and material cause of creation. An impact of such
principles and ideas are also present in diverse sects of night wor­
shippers in Assam.
In the Dangaria Sewa ceremony tribal and village deities are
worshiped through bamachari practices.32 The village deities are
classified as Thalasai, Jalasai and Burha Dangaria. The names seem
to suggest that the Thalasai deity resides on dry land and his
permanent abode is believed to be the forest. The Jalasai deity is
generally associated with the Kaivarta community. Burba Dangaria
is worshipped in expectation of recovery from diseases and natural
calamity and this practice is generally confined to certain sections
of the Ahom community.
The Nath Panthis could also influence the occult practices in
medieval Assamese society. In Bengal and Assam the Nath Panthis
are known as the Yogi community. Nathism is highly syncretic in
character and its main tenets and concepts were influences by con­
temporary Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta and Buddhist tantras. Nathism
was associated with the less-privileged sections of the society and
it was anti-Brahmanical in character.33 The strong anti-Brahmanical
outlook expressed in the oral literature of these occult sects and its
prevalence among certain sections of the less-privileged class may
be due to the influence of the Nath Panthis, who had a strong
presence in certain areas of Assam.

III
Neo-Vaishnavite abbots (especially in the later period) and the
sections of privileged upper caste of the society, in spite of their
professed loyalty to the tenets of Shankara Deva, were highly
46 Chandan Kumar Sarma
reluctant to yield in the sphere of caste rules and practices. The
social ideology of medieval Assamese society, in spite of the neo-
Vaishanvite movement and its liberal outlook, was patriarchal in
character and in course of time, the privileged caste Hindu norms
and codes emerged as the model to be emulated by the poorer
orders. Ramakanta Chakravarty in the case of appropriation of the
Vaish-navite movement in Bengal by the privileged caste ideology
in course of time stated that,
The social aim of the Vaishnava movement was deflected from the removal of
caste distinctions towards the establishment of social and ritual parity between
the Vaishnava and the brahmana, Vaishnavism was projected as a form of neo
Brahmanism, the aim of which was to revitalize the moribund Hindu society by
lending substance to a neo-brahmanical order, nurtured in bhakti ecstasy and,
therefore, purer than the orthodox smarta order. The Vaishnava was described
as the new brahmanas.34

In course of time, the neo-Vaishnavite movement in Assam also

lost its original ethos of social and caste equality and the various
Satras situated in different parts of Assam emerged as the institu­
tions, which promoted and sustained the ideology of a hierarchical
caste- based society. In this respect, the role of the various Bengal
Brahmins brought by the Ahom kings may be also be re-examined,
as they were pioneers in propagating and popularizing the smarta
purna tradition in Assam in the eighteenth century. Raj Mohan
Nath in his Background of Assamese Culture explains the impact of
the social and religious ideology popularized in Assam by the
Parbatia Gosain Krishnaram Bhattacharya, who was brought to
Assam by Rudra Singha.
Since the time of Sena kings, Bengal had developed rigid hierarchical caste
divisions and these got further impetus from the codes of Ragunandan.
In Assam, Krishna Ram Bhattacharya was instrumental in introducing and
enforcing the same rigid social code.

Nath very clearly states that,

Krishna Ram came from this country (Bengal) and without considering for
a moment the past history the social framework of Assam, started to introduce
the suicidal customs of the country of his origin, by virtue of the power
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 47
and position he had luckily gained in this country . . . [h]e and his progeny
always retained an unbroken social connection with Bengal.35

In certain aspects his ideology and its subsequent acceptance by

the sections of the privileged castes among the people led to the
unmaking of the neo-Vaishnavite ideology in the long run. The
hereditary private secretary of Siva Singha, who was a Daivajna by
caste was removed from the respected post due to the insistence of
the Parbatia Gosain, as he thought that a person belonging to the
Daivajna caste should not be on such a post. This caste was not very
well placed in the social hierarchy in the medieval Bengali society.
The idea of a non-brahmin being a religious preceptor even as a Vaishnava,
was declared definitely repugnant, and the brahmin Goswamis became so
encouraged by the idea that they cut off all connections with the non-brahmin
Goswamis and began to disown even Sankaradeva. A move was to trace the
initiation of Damodar Deva to Sri Chaintanya of Bengal; for Chaitanya Deva
was a brahmin. Even in the matter of daily socio-religious observances Krishna
Ram wanted to introduce the Raghunandanian code prevalent in Bengal, with­
out taking into consideration that Assam had for centuries been ruled by Hindu
kings, who had their subject ruled by . . . certain codes suited to the country.36

It should be noted that this introduction of rigid caste norms

and ideology by the Parbatia Gosain were not only confined to the
Brahmins and the sakta cult propagated by them, but soon these
became the social ideology to be followed even by followers of all
the sanghatis of the neo-Vaishnavite movement except the Kala
Sanghati order.
The process of Hinduization and subsequent castification of dif­
ferent ethnic tribal groups in the medieval period, occurred through
the Shaivite Shakta tradition and this process was further acceler­
ated by the Mahapurusia tradition, especially by the Kala Sanghati
order in upper Assam. ‘The Siva Sakta tradition was acceped by
the diverse communities because of their perceived continuity be­
tween their own ancestral tribal religion and the one they were
adopting and adapting.’37 The Mahapurusia tradition, at the same
time did not compel them to depart completely from their com­
munitarian way of life. But this process of Hinduization and expo­
sure to the hierarchical caste-based society of the diverse ethnic
48 Chandan Kumar Sarma
group also developed a certain resistance to the casteist norms and
practices. Despite the exposure and initiation of these groups to
Hinduism, they maintained some of their original beliefs and rituals.
Though the social, religious and food habits of the privileged cast
were alien to their way of life, in due course of time these casteist
codes emerged as the established and dominant norms to be emu­
lated by them. The process of Sankritization among the newly
Hinduized groups demanded a gradual conformity to the norms
and practices of the sections of the privileged castes of the people.
This process of Hinduization of the indigenous tribal communities
by the Vaishnavite gurus continued throughout the nineteenth century.
The census of India report of 1891 enumerates the system of Hindu­
ization of the indigenous population like the Kacharis and the
Lalungs through the Mahapurusia tradition in Nowgong district.38
This exposure to the hierarchical caste-based society and to the
ideology of domination certainly created problems to their sense of
tribal equality and to their social customs and rituals. These occult
practices and rituals provided some avenues for these communities
to retain some of their past practices in a different way and also to
resist and interrogate the upper caste idea of purity and pollution.
It may be noted that the section of Ahoms, who have resisted to
conform to the casteist norms and regulations and have retained
some of their practices are known as bhitarpakia Ahoms. Different
historians have considered the presence of such non-Aryan reli­
gious cults and rituals in the medieval Assamese society as a sign of
religious syncretism and assimilation. But most of the writings on
medieval Assamese society have failed to analyse the conflict and
resistance to the processes of Sanskritization and imposition of patri­
archal and Brahmanical codes among the newly Hinduized groups
of people properly. The oral literature of these sects clearly point
out the resistance to the hegemonic Brahmanical social order and
the castiest discriminations. The oral songs associated with such
heterodox sects, which are integral to the rich oral folk tradition of
Assam can help one to reconstruct the complex and conflict rid­
den trajectory of social and cultural history of Assam. It should be
noted that the mention of opposition to the introduction of casteist
social and ethical codes among the different sections of society is
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 49
absent in the contemporary literature of Assam. In this context it
should be emphasized that the literature of medieval Assamese
society was influenced by the hegemonic Brahmanical social ide­
ology and even the followers of the Mahapurusia tradition failed
to get rid of the hierarchical caste-based ideology. The opposition
and resistenace to the caste-based ideology prevalent among the
deprived castes and the newly Hinduized groups are represented
in the oral folk tradition and this tradition provided the space to
offer a critique of the hegemonic Brahmanical outlook which was
not available in the literary tradition of the medieval Assamese
society. According to W. Scott, ‘History and social science because
they are written by an intelligentsia using written records that are
also created largely by literate officials, is simply not well-equipped
to uncover the silent and anonymous form of class struggle that
typify the peasantry’.39
Similarly, social conflicts and opposition to the privilged caste
normative codes of conduct imposed in the society in general can
be discerned mainly through the oral traditions as literary tradi­
tions convey mostly the ethos of the social elite. The language
used in the oral devotional songs associated with the secret noctur­
nal sessions were composed in enigmatic and coded language and
only those initiated into the nocturnal sessions could make out
their original meanings.40 The use of such enigmatic language was
also present among the Bauls of Bengal who belonged to the Sahajia
Vaishnava tradition. The Bauls also seriously interrogated the ortho­
dox social order and the caste hierarchy. ‘They not only overturned
the epistemological world of Hinduism; they challenged seriously
the notions of purity and the behavioural norms of established
Hindu society.’41 This unorthodox attitude of the Bauls was vehem­
ently criticized by the privileged caste sections. According to
Bandopadhyay,
(t)his opposition from the social establishment that drove the Bauls into their
well-developed web of secrecy: their songs were written in an enigmatic sandhya
bhasa or secrecy: their songs were written in an enigmatic sandhya bhasa or
a language that was open to various interpretations, and there guhya sadhana
or secret spiritual practices were only performed in the privacy of their akhras
away from the eyes of the uninitiated.42
50 Chandan Kumar Sarma
The use of ambivalent language in the oral songs associated with
the nocturnal sessions in Assam can also be explained in terms of
avoidance of direct confrontation with the established religious
and social order and to continue the practices surreptitiously. In
spite of the presence of hundreds of Satras, the secret ceremonies
of these sects were performed in the home of one of the senior
initiators and its specific place was known as sachang and the Satras
were not formally associated with such rituals.
However, in some of the oral songs of these sects, their anti-
Vedic traditions and outlook and aversion to caste regulations is
celarly reflected.43
Abadi swarupe ochina swarupe
Sajao bandhu sabar maj,
Amar banhu sabe ji aharma achare
Chario vedare baj.
(In known and unknown form, we arrange a meeting of the like-minded;
whatever route or religion, we prefer to follows outside the Vedic system.)
Abil Ramdev gribar kaje
sajale grihar kaj,
Krishnai rup dhari ji dharma achare
Dharma chari vedar baj.
(Ramdev arrived to arrange the residence and did so; in the guise of Krishna
whatever route or religion he follows, it is outside the Vedic tradition.)
Protest against the imposition of Brahmanical code of conduct
and the resistance to the upper castes rules and regulations are also
reflected in clear and unambiguous terms in some of the oral verses
of these sects.44
Acharna pravartan sape pheti gome,
Ihak acara tanbe.
(The introduction of upper castes’ behavioural codes can be compared with
snakes and reptiles; and it is difficult to conform to such codes.)

vaikunthar para guruye matile

ki kara bharastar lok
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 51
acharan pravartan sajat namarile
duarie nidie bat
(The Guru or preceptor asks the people of the world about their well being
from heaven; He reminds that if the establishment of [privileged castes’]
behavioural norms were not demolished, no one would enter heaven.)

IV
One of the most important aspects of the tantric bamachari prac­
tices that emerged in the early medieval period in different parts of
India is the centrality of women in the rituals. In the ratikhowa
pratha of varied groups in Assam, womenfolk play an equal part in
all the rituals along with the menfolk. According to N.N. Bhatta­
charya,
Of the existing modes of tantric worship the bamachari is so important that the
terms have become synonymous with the tantra itself. The conception of
dakshinachara as opposed to bamachara seems to be a latter development and it
is possible that the first word of the expression bamachara is not bama meaning
left but bama meaning women.45

The importance of women in the rituals and the production pro­

cess in the early period can be understood in the context of the
immediate socio-economic environment. Bhattacharya stated that,
The leading part played by women in religious life, their identification with
the mother goddess, the symbolism of varied concepts and relations as ascribed
to women, extravagant praises showered on them, insistence on the cult of
sex and the female organ as the sole seat of all happiness, the unction of women
as priestesses or shamans, the idea of the superiority of the goddesses over
the gods, the concept of the supreme being as a female principle must have
a social basis.46

The medieval Assamese society in which a large section of the

people were going through the process of de-tribalization due to
the extension of advanced plough agriculture and the spread of
Hinduism, provided enough space for the development of nocturnal
cults and fertility rites. In tribal and primitive world view, natural
productivity was equalled with human productivity and as such
52 Chandan Kumar Sarma
the ritual association of sexual union with agriculture is universal.
The importance of sexual union prevalent among different sect­
ions of the people in the ratikhowa partha must also have carried
with them some of their pristine and tribal beliefs.47
Through the neo-vaishnavite movement was associated with the
idea of equality and liberal outlook in the sphere of caste system in
the initial period, yet it always promoted patriarchal values among
its followers. The story of Sati Radhika48 enumerated in the charit
puthis and mentioned in the oral folk tradition demonstrates the
segregation of women and imposition of patriarchal values among
the women from the underprivileged caste. In the lower stratum
of the society, womenfolk played a very important part in the daily
walks of life and patriarchal values in terms of widow-remarriage,
equal participation in the production process, etc., had lesser im­
pact on their life. Through the story of Sati Radhika, the concept
of a sati or chaste woman, who fully conforms to the injunctions
of the Dhammashastras was popularized among the less-privileged
sections of the society and Sati Radhika was projected as the model
of a chaste woman to be emulated by the womenfolk in general. In
the tribal social set up and tribal economy, womenfolk played a
larger role and in the religious sphere also women were more privi­
leged which is absent in the caste-based societies. In the medieval
Assamese society, there was a continuous attempt to popularize the
patriarchal values both by the Brahmanical and the neo-Vaishnavite
traditions. Some of the preceptors of the neo-Vaishnavite move­
ment have portrayed the womenfolk as lesser human beings and
unworthy of trust in their works.49 Bhakti literature in medieval
Assam also equated women in many references with the shudras,
yavanas and people of low birth.50 In one of the references relating
to women, the Katha Guru Charit mentions that so long as every­
thing is provided to a wife, she is faithful and good, but as soon as
she does not get her desires, she begins to disregard her husband
and acts in a way, whereby the position of the husband is jeopar­
dized. 51
One of the most important aspects related to the vast amount of
literature in Assamese language, produced by the neo-Vaishnavite
movement is that there is hardly any work written by any woman.
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 53
Though there are stray references to educated women in the medi­
eval Assamese society, generally women and the lower castes were
prohibited from being instructed in the culture of the alphabet.
Moreover, the literary tradition enunciated and sustained this
ideology in the medieval Assamese society. The striking absence of
women as active agents in the contemporary religious discourse can
explained in terms of the emerging patriarchal values popularized
and sanctioned by the Brahmanical land and the neo-Vaishnavite
traditions. Neo-Vaishnavite ideology was quite Brahmanical about
the perception of women. The oral folklore on the contrary provides
a contrasting picture, where one finds the women-folk contesting
and interrogating patriarchal values. The oral domain presented
the women with the necessary space, where they could interrogate
the prevailing set up and at the same time emerge as active agents
in the popular cultures and the popular religious practices. The
vast amount of oral literature associated with the popular religious
and occult practices apparently show this contrasting picture. A
careful reading of these devotional songs makes it clear that most
of them were composed by the womenfolk. The process of Hindu­
ization of the different tribal communities in the medieval period
resulted in a gradual popularization of patriarchal values among
them. In the case of the Tiwas in middle Assam, which came under
the process of Hinduization, there was a transformation towards
patrilineal society from a matrilineal one. The gradual emergence
of patrilineal values among the newly Hinduized tribal groups
resulted in a transformation in their attitude towards the women­
folk and the rights and liberties enjoyed by them in earlier period
were substantially reduced under the changed circumstances.
But this ‘attempt to introduce the patriarchal Hindu code among
the predominately tribal population is persistently counteracted
by the pressures of tribal society working against the hierarchical
caste-dominated structure of Hindu society and [aspiration] towards
greater democratization in attitudes and observances.’52 Casteist
taboos and the idea of purity and pollution in terms of menstruating
women were interrogated and contested in the secret night congre­
gations practised by these newly Hinduized groups. Among the
practitioners of the Gopidhara and the Gopikhela sects of the night
54 Chandan Kumar Sarma
worshippers, the menstruating women Bhakats are held in high
esteem and they are not treated as polluting agents. It should be
mentioned that ‘the deeply ingrained dread of impurity and un­
holiness and the terms attached to the taboo on menstruating
women is not to be found in the primitive and original form of the
concept’.53 In primitive religion menstrual blood was visualized as
having regenerative power. ‘In the tantras also menstrual blood
has been regarded as so sacred that it is prescribed as an offering to
the great god Siva and his consort Devi.’54 This practice demands a
comparison with the Brahmanical and neo-Vaishnavite treatment
of menstruating women in general. In Barpeta Kirtan Ghar, women
are not allowed in en masse lest some menstruating women pollute
the holy shrine. Hinduization of the tribal communities in the
medieval period also demanded conformity to such gender-biased
codes.

V
Much of the indigenous communities in medieval Assam were in
the process of de-tribalization due to the process of extension of
wet rice cultivation and Hinduization and their tribal egalitarian
ethos and rituals along with gender sensitivity must have crept
into these occult congregational sessions. The histories of Hindu­
ization of the different ethic communities show the emergence of a
syncretic and multi-dimensional religious culture in the medieval
period. The incorporation of the different tribal groups within the
Maha-purusia fold resulted in the growth of rich and varied forms
of religious cultures within the neo-Vaishnavite fold. The critical
study of these subcultures provides the instances of resistance and
defiance against the ideology of the hierarchical caste society and
the process of Hinduization of the indigenous tribal groups in
Assam is not without conflict, as it is made out to be in certain
writings.55 Thus the emergence and proliferation of the medieval
caste-based society cannot be explained in terms of a simple narra­
tive of assimilation of Aryan and non-Aryan traditions. Most of the
indigenous communities in spite of the process of Hinduization
retained some of their beliefs and practices and refused to conform
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 55
fully to the casteist codes and regulations on commensality. During
the period of this study most of these communities such as Ahoms,
Morans, Mataks, Chutias, etc., remained suspended between a tribe
and a caste. The khel system of organising the population and the
related production system introduced by the Ahom administra­
tion provided the institutional mechanism with the help of which
these indigenous groups could maintain some of their communi­
tarian way of life and socio religious practices. Though these groups
lost their own languages and ultimately accepted and contributed
towards the development of Assamese language due to the process
of acculturation, yet they retained some of their distinct identities
and this helped them in asserting in the modern period as ethnic
communities as against caste identities in spite of being fully
Hinduized.
The secret orgiastic practices remained as secret practices among
the different communities and the reason of their failure to emerge
as organized cults can be explained in terms of the overwhelming
presence of the Satra institutions in the Brahmaputra Valley. In
the seventeenth century, there were at least 1,280 state recognized
Satras in Assam. These Satras played the most important part in
legitimizing and popularizing the Hindu caste norms and prac­
tices. In an article published in 1851, Capt. E.T. Dalton reported,
‘There are, in the Kamrup district, one hundred and ninety-five
Shatros subordinate to that of Barpetah. I do not know how many
there may be in other districts.’56
The proliferation of secret orgiastic congregational ceremonies in
the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Assamese society should
be studied in relation to the social ideology of medieval Assamese
society. The making of the social ideology of medieval Assamese
society with its patriarchal and hierarchical caste rules posed chal­
lenges to the tribal egalitarian ethos of the newly Hinduized groups
and also to the various tantric beliefs and rituals which were on the
fringe of the contemporary society. These secret night ceremonies
and rituals provided the space for the continuation of such traditions
and these got a fresh lease of life in the nocturnal ceremonies. The
followers of these practices declared their religious rituals to be
outside the Vedic norms and asked fellow participants to resist the
56 Chandan Kumar Sarma
social codes and norms of the upper castes and thus this resistance
finds expression in the secret gatherings. According to Raymond
Williams, ‘In every society there is space for alternative and oppo­
sitional views, which are tolerated and accommodated as they do
not, at least not openly challenge the fundamentals of the effective
and dominant culture’.57 The secret nocturnal sects with their de­
viant social behaviour could assert their place in the larger social
space of the Assamese society although in the long run they lost
the sharp edge of resistance and were accommodated within the
dominant social ideology.

NOTES

1. Sekhar Bandyopadhay, Caste, Culture and Hegemony, Delhi: Sage, 2004,

pp. 77-8.
2. Ibid., p. 78.
3. Ibid., 2004. p. 78.
4. Partha Chatterjee, ‘Caste and Subaltern Consciousness’, in Ranajit
Guha (ed). Subaltern Studies VI, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989,
p. 185.
5. R. Chakravarty, Vaishnavism in Bengal, Calcutta: CSSS, 1985, pp. 348­
50.
6. Tungkhungia Buruanji, ed. S.K. Bhuyan, Tungkhungiya Buruanji, 2nd
edition, Guwahati: Spectrum, 1964, pp. 169-99, Asamar Padya Buranji,
ed. S.K. Bhuyan, Satsari Asam Buranji, 2nd print, Guwahati: Lawyers,
1964, p. 101.
7. Holiram Dhekial Phukan, Assam Buranji, Guwahati: APB, 1962,
pp. 96-7.
8. Maniram Dewan, Buranji Vivek Ratna, ed. N. Saikia, Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh
University, 2002, pp. 207-8.
9. Pancha-makara or five elements means madya (wine), mamsa (meat) matsya
(fish), mudra (cooked or ripe food), and maithuna (sexual intercourse).
10. Tungkhungia Buruanji, ed. S.K. Bhuyan, Tungkhungiya Buruanji, 2nd
edition, Guwahati: Spectrum, 1964, pp. 169-99, Asamar Padya Buranji,
ed. S.K. Bhuyan, Satsari Asam Buranji, 2nd print, Guwahati: APB, 1964,
pp. 169, 199.
11. N.N. Dutta, Obscure Religious Practices, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1990,
p. 99.
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 57
12. M. Neog, Socio-political Events in Assam Leading to the Militancy of the
Moamaria Vaishanavas, Calcutta: CSSS, 1982, p. 71.
13. S.L. Baruah, Last Days of the Ahom Monarchy, New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal, 1984, pp. 60 ff.
14. Amalendu Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam, Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi,
1992, pp. 124-5.
15. Ibid., p. 125.
16. Ibid., p. 126.
17. Ibid., p. 127.
18. S.L. Baruah (ed.), The Life and Teachings of Sri Sri Aniduddha Deva,
Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh University, 2003.
19. Maniram Dewan, Buranji Vivek Ratna, ed. N. Saikia, Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh
Univesity, 2002, pp. 73-4.
20. N.N. Dutta, Obscure Religious Practices, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1990,
pp. 80-9.
21. Ibid., p. 81.
22. S.N. Sarma, The Neo Vaisnavite Movement and The Satra Institution of
Assam, Guwahati: Lawyers, 1999, p. 193.
23. K.L. Baruah, Early History of Kamrupa, 2nd edition, Shillong: Author,
1933, rpt., Gauhati, 1996, p. 203.
24. For the growth and development of Tantricism in early Assam See B. Kakati,
The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Guwahati: Lawyers, 1948.
25. Rahasya thanare rahasya bhakati
rasika sakale gai
Kaise Sri Ramdeve suna bandhu sabe
Ei ras Sankare gai
(It is the secret esoteric devotional worship performed at a secret place. It is
sung by the female devotees after taking the geet. This cult is preached by
Ramdeva, listen o’ friends; Sankar sings this bhakti rasa.)
Koise Sunanda Deve suna bandhu sabe
Diya sachangate thai
(So said Sunandadeva, hear friends, give a place in the sachang that is the
assembly of the devotees.) Quoted in P. Gogoi, Tai Ahom Religion and
Customs, Guwahati: APB, 1976, pp. 47-8.
26. A good collection of the chia geets are compiled in N.P. Bordoloi, Gopan
Sadhana Rati Sew, Dhemaji: Author, 2004.
27. B. Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Guwahati: APB, 1948,
p. 20.
28. N. Dutta, Obscure Religious Practices, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1990,
pp. 104-15.
58 Chandan Kumar Sarma
29. S.N. Sarma, The Neo Vaisnavite Movement and The Satra Institution of
Assam, Guwahati: Lawyers, 1999, p. 194.
30. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Caste, Culture and Hegemony, Delhi: Sage, 2004,
p. 84.
31. N.N. Bhattacharya, History of Tantric Religion, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999,
p. 279.
32. It should be pointed out that throughout the centuries some of the rituals
and practices have undergone various changes. At present the rituals of
Dangaria Sewa and Bura Sewa have lots of diversities and in most of the
places such practices are without fertility rites. But the existence of fertility
rights within these practices in certain areas is reported by N.N. Dutta. See
N.N. Dutta, Obscure Religious Practices, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1990,
pp. 104-15, 125-30.
33. N.N. Bhattacharya, op. cit., 1999, pp. 265-69.
34. R. Chakravarty, Vaishnavism in Bengal, Calcutta: CSSS, p. 302.
35. R.M. Nath,Background of Assamese Culture, Shillong: A.K. Nath, 1948,
pp. 145-6.
36. Ibid., pp. 145-6.
37. V. Nandi and V. Raman,The Long Transition: The Koch Rajbangshis of
North Eastern India, in From Tribe to Caste, ed. D. Nathan, Shimla: IIAS,
1997, pp. 452-3.
38. Census of India 1891 Assam: vol. 1, chapter X: Caste, tribe, etc.
39. James C. Scott,Weapons of the Weak: Eveready Day Forms of Peasant Resistance,
Yale University Press, New Heaven & London, 1985, pp. 36-7.
40. N.C. Sarma in his Introduction to N.P. Bordoloi,Gopan Sadhana Ratikhowa,
Dhemaji: Author, 2004.
41. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Caste, Culture and Hegemony, Delhi: Sage, 2004,
p. 88.
42. Ibid., p. 88.
43. N.P. Bordoloi, Gopan Sadhana Rati Sew, Dhemaji: Author 2004,
pp. 74-80.
44. Ibid.
45. N.N. Bhattacharya, op. cit., 1999, p. 279.
46. Ibid., 1999, p. 115.
47. ‘It must be remembered that these acts of ceremonial license are not mere
indulgences, but they express a reverential attitude towards the forces of
regeneration and fertility in man and nature, the forces on which the very
existence of society and culture depends’. Malinowski, Magic, Science and
Religions, quoted in Tradition to Modernity, Sivanath Barman, Bhabani
Book, Guwahati, 2013, p. 37.
 Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society 59
48. M. Neog, (ed.) Guru Charita Katha, Gauhati University, 1986, p. 138.
49. For the position of women in the medieval Assamese society see, J.G. Nath’s
‘Social Attitudes Towards Women in Medieval Assam’ in S.L. Barua (ed.),
Status of Women in Assam, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1992,
pp. 9-16.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid., p. 10.
52. A. Mahanta, ‘Women, Religion and Science in the Non Tribal societies of
Assam’ in S.L. Barua (ed.) Status of Women in Assam, New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal, 1992, p. 95.
53. N.N. Bhattacharya, op. cit., 1999, p. 136.
54. Ibid.
55. ‘Aryanisation of Assam came slowly but steadily without any trace of con­
flict and misunderstanding’. Cf. Bangagobinda Parampanthi, ‘Aryanisation
and Assimilation of Assam’, in Udayan Misra (ed.), Nation Building and
Development in North East India, Guwahati: Purbanchal Prakash, p. 112.
56. Capt. E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Mahapurusia: A Sect of Vaishnavas of
Assam’ published in Journal of Asiatic Society, 1851, Annexure in ‘Asomar
Samaj Itibasat Neava Vaishnavbad’ by A. Raychoudhury.
57. Raymond Williams, ‘Base and Superstructure in Marxist Cultural Theory’,
quoted in Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Caste, Culture and Hegemony, Delhi:
Sage, 2004, p. 79.
 CHAPTER 2

Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh:
A Profile of the Multifaceted
Goddess in the North-East
JAE-EUN SHIN

One of the most famous goddesses worshipped in the north-east

and one of the first to receive attention from British colonial officer-
scholars in the 1800s, is the Goddess Kec"aikhat$ " û, eater of raw flesh,
and her history should have been well-chronicled. This is, however,
not the case. She has been mentioned only in relation to human
sacrifice or represented as a typical bloodthirsty tribal goddess in
many works on the north-east.1 This article will look at the hitherto
little known history of Kec"aikhat$
" û in the period between the eleventh
and nineteenth centuries and will then attempt to contribute to­
wards a better understanding of her multiple identities created by
different social groups with their own intentions.

THE GODDESS OF THE EASTERN LIMIT

OF KÅMARUPA

The shrine of Kec"aikh"at$û has always been referred to as the T"amre­

«svar$û Temple in later times because it was covered with a roof of beaten
sheets of copper. The temple formerly stood at lat. 27° 56', long;
96° 21' near Paya in Arunachal Pradesh, about 8 km away from
Tebangkhunti on the Sadiya-Teju route.2 On the basis of the in­
scription of S® aka 1364 (AD 1442) found in the temple, which was
first noticed in The Annual Report on the Indian Epigraphy, 1957-8,
p. 56 (No. B 386), the goddess was identified as Digarav"asin$û. The
62 Jae-Eun Shin
name is, for Sircar, no doubt the same as or mistaken for that of
Dikkarav"a sin$û, residing on Dikkara, the eastern frontier of early
medieval Brahmaputra Valley where the kingdom K"amarupa " flour­
ished.3 According to the eleventh-century K"alik"apur"a^na (51.76-7),
K"amarupa
" is triangular in shape and also one hundred yojanas in
length from the Karatoy"a to the Dikkara and thirty yojanas in breadth
from the north to the south. It is black in colour and interspersed
with innumerable hills and hundreds of rivers.4 Here, the dwelling
place of Dikkarav"asin$û is deemed as the eastern limit of Kamarupa.
" "
This supposition is further supported by a reference in the sixteenth-
century Yogi-n∂tantra (1.11.16-7), describing the eastern end of
K"amarupa
" as the abode of Dikkaravasin$" û.5 However, her precise
location, Dikkara, is still uncertain: some scholars locate it at
Sadiya,6 while others locate it at modern Dikrang near Sadiya and
sometimes beside the Dik|sunad$û which is identified with the mod­
ern Dikhu falling in the Brahmaputra near Sivasagar in Assam.7
In any case, the area in which Dikkarav"asin$û resided seems to
have remained on the fringes of sedentary society, and was scarcely
absorbed in the Brahmanical social set up by the thirteenth century.
This view is corroborated by the distribution of material evidence:
while a growing number of inscriptions between the fifth and
twelfth centuries in the lower Brahmaputra Valley indicate steady
progress of the Brahmanical culture. Their woeful paucity in the
upper valley, especially in the two contiguous districts of Sivasagar
and Dibrugarh, shows that this process progressed at a much slower
pace. The extant ruins of the pre-thirteenth-century temple structure
are conspicuous by their absence in these districts. As Guha rightly
argued, the social conditions of early Assam are assumed to have re­
mained uneven in two parts of the Brahmaputra Valley. The Nagajari-
Khanikargaon, Negheriting and Deopani finds only suggest that
the Indo-Aryan thrust reached eastward up to Jorhat district south
of the Brahmaputra.8 Such different social conditions are well re­
flected in the spatial perception of K"amar"upa represented in the
Naraka story of the K"alikapurana.
" " ^ Naraka, the legendary progenitor
of K"amarupa,
" drove away the Kiratas,
" or forest tribes of the region,
up to the abode of Dikkarav"asin$û, when he established his kingdom
^ 9 It indicates that the worship
following the instructions of Vi|snu.
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 63
of Dikkarav"asin$û was already in practice among local communities
before the conquest of Naraka, and her place belonged to the realm
of the Kir"atas, a vast area of the upper Brahmaputra Valley. That
was in sharp contrast to the lower valley, especially the area of the
present city of Guwahati and its environs, which was the dwell-
ing-place of K"amakhya " " (kamakhya-nilaya),
" " " many Brahmins well-
versed in the Vedas and ®S"astras, and people in the var^na order.10
Despite being recognized as one of the seven goddesses of renowned
®Sakta
" p∂thas,
| her trajectory seemed different from that of Kamakhya " " "
due to the far-off location.11
In view of the above, Dikkarav"asin$û the eastern frontier of Kama­ "
r"upa was, in all likelihood, a tribal goddess though her name had
a Sanskrit tinge. The K"alik"apur"a^na (80.64b-5a) claims that the
goddess is called Dikkarav"asin$û because she resides on the sun and
Vi|snu,
^ both are youthfull (dikkara), but it is a preposterous philo­
logical interpretation. Her tribal character is well represented in
her terrible form called T$ûk|snak ^ "ant"a or Fiery Mistress, having a
black complexion, a pot belly, a braid of matted hair (ekaja|ta" ), and
ferociousness. In this form, she is famed as the Goddess Ugratar " a.
"
Dikkarav"asin$û has her other form called Lalitakanta " " or Charming
Mistress, but she is always worshipped in the former attribute by
votaries.12 Moreover, she is worshipped with a sacred circle (ma^ndala), ^
spells (mantras), eight door-keepers (dv"arapalas), " and six yogin∂s.
The sacrificial vessels, ritual object and others, and also the place
and seat prescribed in the Uttaratantra, should all be used for
worshipping the Goddess Dikkarav"asin$û in both her T$ûksnakanta |^ " "
13
and Lalitak"anta" forms.
It is important to note that Dikkarav"asin$û in the form of T$ûksna­ |^
k"anta" was compared to Ugratara " " or Fierce Tara," " one of the most
powerful goddesses in the Vajray"a na pantheon. It leads some
scholars to the strong suspicion that Dikkarav"asin$û was of Buddhist
origin,14 but that is not very convincing. As has been argued else­
where, a number of ferocious goddesses were gradually adopted
from Vajray"ana to Sakta ® " Puranic
" ^ and Tantric traditions of eastern
India in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. The terrifying forms
of T"ara" were identified with Kal$ " û or other fearsome goddesses of
the Brahmanical pantheon. For example, Ugrat"ara, " found at the
64 Jae-Eun Shin
Ugrat"ara" Temple in Uzan Bazar, Guwahati, is quite different from
any of her known Buddhist images. It rather represents the fierce
Goddess C"amunda, ^ ^ " who has an emaciated belly, sunken eyes and
a corpse as per vehicle (v"ahana). This adaptation inevitably in­
volved a conscious modification through which Buddhist attributes
of the goddess were removed or reinterpreted, and different features
were superimposed upon her.15 Ugrat"ar"a depicted in the Kalik " "a­
pur"ana
^ (61.63b-8) is not associated with Ak|sobhya, one of the five
Dhy"an$û-Buddhas, but has Saiva
® traits such as a wreath of shaven
human heads, a snake necklace, a tiger skin, bone ornaments, etc.
A close affinity between ®Siva and Ugratara " " is also emphasized in
another story of the same text (81.1-23), in which she is said to be
V"am"a, the goddess worshipped in the left-hand path (v"amac " "ara),
among mlecchas. The term ‘mleccha’ has been used to describe the
people, who do not conform to the usual Brahmanical norm such
as foreigners or people living beyond a sedentary society. Similarly,
v"amacara
" " has been regarded as unconventional, revolting or inde­
cent practices by Brahmanical traditions because their rites usually
contain five esoteric elements (pañcamak"aras), viz., liquor, meat,
fish, a gesture or seal, sexual intercourse. These practices were often
associated with the lower social strata, including tribal communi­
ties. Considering that, the goddess T$ûk|snakanta,
^ " " the ferocious form
of Dikkarav"asin$û, was not of Buddhist origin, though compared to
Ugrat"ara." Rather she had a strong local affiliation. It is laid down
in the Yogin∂tantra (2.9.10) that the local rites and practices and
also rules of drink are not to be transgressed.
The offerings made to the Goddess Dikkarav"asin$û demonstrate
her non-Brahmanical character even more clearly. According to the
K"alikapurana
" " ^ (80.49b-51), she in the form of T$ûksnakanta
| ^ " " specially
relished strong spirituous liquor among drinks, human flesh among
all sacrifices, sweetmeat (modaka), coconut, meat curry and sugar
cane. It talks about sacrifices including those of human beings
who were generally offered to T$ûk|snakanta.
^ " " The aim of sacrifices was
to accomplish worldly goals, such as killing one’s enemy, bring
prosperity to one, having long life, wealth, fame and destroying
the innumerable obstacles in one’s way. This transgressive practice
is given canonical sanction in the K"alikapurana.
" " ^ Chapter 67 in the
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 65
book, titled Rudhir"adhyaya " or Chapter of Blood, gives a long de­
scriptive list of sacrificial objects for the Goddesses Ca^ndik ^ "a and
Bhirava, including birds, tortoises, alligators, fish, nine species
of deer, buffaloes, big lizards, bulls, he-goats, mongoose, boars,
rhinoceros, antelopes, ®Sarabhas (a fabulous beast with eight feet),
lions, panthers, men and blood drawn from one’s own body. 17
Among them the best sacrifice was that of human beings. Therefore,
the goddess would be pleased for full one thousand years when a
man was sacrificed, and for one hundred thousand years when
three men were sacrificed.18
As Urban pointed out, this rather motley list of victims was
drawn less from a traditional Vedic rite than from a wide array of
local traditions and the many jungle animals sacrificed by diverse
indigenous people of the hills in the north-east.19 Tribal rituals
and customs exerted a strong influence on the framing of rules of
sacrifice, and brahmins of the region admitted it by saying that
®Siva himself created animals for the sake of being sacrificed. Kill­
ing for sacrifice is not murder.20 Such open recognition to sacrifice
notwithstanding, brahmins themselves tried to keep a strict dis­
tance from its actual execution. They were supposed to follow the
injunction that a brahmin should never offer a lion or tiger or man
and also the blood from his body and spirituous liquor to the
Goddess Durg"a. If a brahmin sacrificed either a lion or tiger or
man, he would go to hell and live for a short period in this world
suffering misery and misfortune. If a brahmin offered blood drawn
from his own body, he became guilty of killing another brahmin.21
Needless to say, brahmins should not be the victims of sacrifice,
and those who have already been given to brahmins should not be
sacrificed.22 These references lead one to assume that the sacrificial
ritual for Dikkarav"asin$û in the form of T$ûksnakanta
| ^ " " was presided
over by non-Brahmanical priests such as the Deoris among the
Chutiyas in later times. Moreover, no inscriptional evidence of royal
donation to the Dikkarav"asin$û Temple by any Kamarupa
" " rulers casts
strong doubt on the presence of br"ahmanas ^ on that sacred place in
the pre-thirteenth century. Considering the description of her seat
given by the K"alikapura
" " ^na, even the existence of a permanent temple
structure is uncertain. It is said that the holy stream of S$ûtaganga,\ "
66 Jae-Eun Shin
which is identified as the River Dikhu by Sircar, flowed by the
side of Dikkarav"asin$û, and she lived in the seat located on the ground
and was occasionally submerged under the water.23

THE TUTELARY GODDESS OF

THE CHUTIYAS

The period from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries saw a new
phase in the history of the north-east, characterized by the arrival,
growth and consolidation of a new power, the Ahoms, and the
establishment of many local powers—the Chutiyas, Kamatas,
Dimsa-Kacharis, Koches, Jayantias, etc. Among them a great deal
of importance is given to the Chutiyas in connection with worship
of the Goddess Kec"aikhat$ " û, mentioned as Digaravasin$
" û (i.e. Dikkara­
v"asin$û) in their inscriptions and later known as T"amre«svar$û. The
Chutiyas belonged to the Bodos, a linguistic group of the Brahma­
putra Valley, speaking Tibeto-Burman languages and having dif­
ferent cognate groups within them.24 They seem to have assumed
political power in the Sadiya area in upper Assam and the conti­
guous area falling within Arunachal Pradesh at some point of time
before the entry of the Ahoms there-in.25 However, the first con­
frontation between the Ahoms and the Chutiyas as a political power
was recorded in some Assamese chronicles such as the Deodhai
Assam Buranji only during the reign of King Sutupha (1369-76),
about hundred years after the death of the first Ahom ruler, King
Sukapha (1228-68). It is more likely that, if there was any Chutiya
state, it was of little significance till the second half of the fourteenth
century.26 Besides, the earliest known inscription of the Chutiyas
comes from that period. The Dhenukhana copper plate inscrip­
tion of 1314 s« aka (AD 1392) records, for instance, that King Nandin
(or Nandi), a great hero of many virtues, was the lord of Sadhay"apur$û
(sadhay"apur∂sa),
« and his son was Satyanarayana.
" " ^ Sadhayapur$
" û is
27
probably the same as Sadhiy"a or Sadiya of later times. It was the
political centre of the Chutiyas.
The aforementioned inscription on the T"amresvar$ « û Temple near
Paya, about 40 km east of Sadiya, is dated to 1364 ®Saka (AD 1442)
and written in five lines in the Bengali-Assamese character of
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 67
Sanskrit prose. It records that through the grace of ®Siva’s feet, the
doubly illustrious Mukt"adharmanarayana,
" " ^ who was the son of the
v|rddharajan,
" effected the construction of the wall of the doubly
illustrious Digarav"asin$û (i.e. Dikkaravasin$
" û) in bricks, etc., on the
date quoted above. Here v|rddharajan,
" the old king, mentioned with­
out disclosing his personal name, as the father of Mukt"adharma­
n"arayana,
" ^ seems to suggest that the prince was administrating the
state during the old age of his father.28 Neog considers that Mukt"a­
dharman"arayana
" ^ was Laksm$ | ûnarayana,
" " ^ the son of Satyanarayana,
" " ^
on the basis of the records of another inscription. In this case, the
old king was perhaps Satyan"araya " ^na, the son of Nandin, the lord
of Sadiya. According to the Barmurtiyabil copper plate inscription
dated to 1313 Saka
® (AD 1392), Muktadharmanarayana
" " " ^ was a val­
orous king and was much given to the worship of the goddess.29
Given these two inscriptional records, the temple of Dikkara­
v"asin$û seemed to be built, or rebuilt if there had been any earlier
construction on the site, in the period between the end of the
fourteenth century and the former half of the fifteenth centuries,
possibly in the reign of King Mukt"adharmanarayana " " ^ of the Chutiyas.
This temple is now completely in ruins, and we can-not help de­
pending on the accounts of modern explorers for a picture of the
temple and its features. Dalton mentions in his short note on the
Chutiyas of Upper Assam in 1848 that the T"amar Ghar or copper
temple was lately visited by Captain Vetch, probably in 1841-2.
He says:
It is described [by Vetch] as a small stone building, nearly square, built without
cement, the stones joined by iron pins not clamped. The roof was of copper, but
it has fallen in and now lies there. The interior is 8 feet square. The whole is
enclosed within a brick wall 130 feet by 200. Near the grand entrance in the
western wall is a small stone tripod.30

Major (later Col.) S.F. Hanny of Bengal Army visited the shrine
at a slightly later time, around 1848, which he calls Tamaseree
Mai or copper temple, on the right bank of the little stream, Dol
or Dewul panee. By citing the report of Francis Hamilton, he calls
the goddess of the temple ‘the eastern K"amakhya’.
" " Further details
of its structure are given as follows:
68 Jae-Eun Shin
The dimensions of the interior is a square of 8 feet, the walls being about
4.5 feet thick, excepting in front, where there are two recesses on each side of
the door, which is formed of three entire blocks of stone. The outer line of
wall therefore encloses a square of about 17 feet. . . . [The temple was] covered
over with sheets of beaten copper, laced together through copper loops
fastened on the edges of the different sheets; as the groins, however, are
not above 5 or 6 feet long, the roof must have been rather flat; a carved
vase-shaped block, now lying in the river, in all probability formed the centre
of the dome.31
Hanny adds the comment that the style of architecture is an­
cient, but the present temple was rebuilt in the middle of the
fifteenth century with the materials of an earlier construction.32
Judging from these two accounts, T"amresvar$ « û, another popular
name of the Goddess Kec"aikhat " $û, is probably derived from a unique
feature of her temple roofed with copper (Skt. t"amra; local pro­
nunciation t"amar). The reason why they covered the temple with
copper sheets remains obscure; it might have been chosen for pro­
tecting the building from heavy rains which often cause damages,
or showing the bloodthirsty nature of the goddess by red colour of
the metal. Bloch, on the other hand, points to the fact that very
often the first part of similar compound names of Indian deities
enshrined in a temple contains the name of the person who puts
up such particular deities. He further suggests that the name of
T"amresvar$
« û in all probability originally meant simply ‘the +I«svar$û,
33
or Durg"a, put up by Tamra’.
" Neog supports this view by identi­
fying T"amra as one of the seven sons of Naraka on the basis of a
reference in the Bh"agavatapurana.
" ^ For him, the Tamresvar$
" « û Temple
may have been set up by this very T"amra, and this was the point
up to which the aboriginal Kir"atas were expelled by Naraka.34 I
find both the arguments less convincing on two points. First, it
is rare to find goddesses named after their donors, though it is not
uncommon for ®Siva and Visnu | ^ in early medieval South and South­
east Asia.35 In many cases, goddesses are named after localities or
specific geographical features like mountains, rivers, caves, etc., be­
cause the locale of worship and its attributes are the most important
aspects of goddess cults, especially on a popular level. Second, T"amra
is not the son of Naraka but that of Mura, a demon (asura) having
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 69
five heads. His heads were cut-off by K|r|s^na, and his seven sons
including T"amra were put to death by Garu^da in charge of the
outskirts of the city of Pr"agjyoti|sa.36 The connection between the
T"amresvar$
« û Temple and the son of Naraka, therefore, cannot be
established. Notwithstanding that, the opinion expressed by Neog
leads one to consider an important aspect of goddess cults in north­
east India which had long been associated with demonic kings.
For instance, the Goddess K"amakhya " " is well-known for her close
association with Narak"asura or demon Naraka. As a son of the
Earth and Vi|snu^ in his Varaha
" incarnation, he had been the central
figure in the fabricated genealogy of K"amarupa " and the constant
source of political authority of three ruling families, the Varmans,
Mlecchas, and P"alas, from the seventh to the twelfth century. 37
The royal genealogy beginning with Naraka is not found in the
inscriptional records of the post-twelfth century. Nevertheless, it
does not mean that the tradition of a demon ancestor of ruling
families faded away in the north-east. According to the Dhenukhana
inscription (AD 1392), Satyan"arayana,
" ^ a son of King Nandin who
was the lord of Sadhay"apur$û (i.e. Sadiya), had his origin in the
womb of Daivak$û, Nandin’s wife, forming part of the lineage of the
38
enemy of the gods (suraripu-va^msamsa-bhuto).
«" ^ « " As mentioned ear­
lier, Mukt"a-dharmanarayana,
" " ^ who constructed the wall of Tamres­ " «
var$û (alias Kec"aikhat$
" û, Dikkaravasin$
" û) Temple or the temple itself
in AD 1442, was probably a son of Satyan"arayana " ^ belonging to the
lineage of the enemy of the gods. Neog interprets this lineage as
the asura dynasty.39
The reason for his demonic lineage is not explained explicitly in
the inscription. Also, it is not yet known whether this lineage had
some connection with demon Naraka of the previous tradition.40
It is, however, plausible that ruling powers of indigenous origin,
often represented as descendants of demons in the pre-modern
north-east, achieved political legitimacy and influence through the
royal devotion to tutelary goddesses and patronage to their temples.
The K"a mar"u pa rulers initiated this process between the ninth
and eleventh centuries, which proceeded in the fifteenth century
under the Chutiya kings and still later under the Dimasa-Kachari
kings around the eighteenth century. The Goddesses K"amakhy " "a,
70 Jae-Eun Shin
T"amresvar$
« û and Ranacand$
^ ^ ^ û attained their exalted positions in dif­
ferent places and time through this process. It can be seen clearly
that the sphere of influence of the goddess cults associated with
political powers extended from the nuclear area of the early state of
the lower Brahmaputra Valley to its periphery such as eastern Sadiya
and southern Cachar Hill where so-called secondary states emerged.
It was a continual, ongoing process. But it is by no means a repeti­
tion of the same exercise because the agents for each goddess cult
consisted of a specific social group and the way they interacted
with ruling powers differed in each case.

THE GODDESS SERVED BY THE

DEORIS, TRIBAL PRIESTS

In the case of T"amresvar$

« û Temple, the goddess was served by the
Deoris, the representatives of the priestly class among the Chutiyas.
They were permitted to continue their religious service to her in­
cluding human sacrifice even after their subjugation by the Ahoms
in 1523.41 In Brown’s study of the Deoris, they were presumed to
have preserved the language, religion, and customs which had come
down to them with comparatively little change from a period an­
terior to the Ahom period. They drank strong liquor and ate all
kinds of flesh except beef. There were four different kinds of priests
of whom each was attached to a particular division (khel ), viz., the
Bar Deori (Deori Dema) and the Saru Deori (Deori Surba); the
Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali. It was the duty of the two Bharalis
to collect the dues of the temple and to provide animals for sacri­
fice. The two Deoris performed the sacrifice; they alone entered
the temple and sung hymns, which were scarcely understood by
the common people. The Deoris had a great reputation among
ordinary Assamese for working black magic. They were believed to
be able to make their enemies die mysteriously of a wasting disease,
or resorted to in cases of loss of cattle and undetected robberies.42
Though the Deoris were well-known for their sacrificial ritual
for the Goddess T"amresvar$
« û, they also served as priests at the other
two temples. The first one was Girasi-gira or the Old Ones, called
Bura-buri in Assamese, always spoken of as a wedded pair and
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 71
worshipped by the Dibongia khel. Their original temple was on
the Kundil River. The second one was Pishadema or the Elder Son,
called Boliya-hemata in Assamese, and worshipped by the Tenga­
pania khel. His temple was on the Tengapani River. The Goddess
T"amresvar$
« û was called Pishasi or the Daughter and also known as
Tameshari Mai or mother of copper temple and Kechakhati or
eater of raw flesh. Her temple was somewhere around Chunpura
on the Brahmaputra. She was worshipped by the Borgaya khel.43
It is interesting to note that T"amresvar$
« û was considered to be a
member of the family of deities. She was the daughter of Girasi­
gira and the younger sister of Pishadema, even while renowned as
an independent goddess with her own identity. Pishasi, another
name of T"amresvar$
« û, may have been derived from Pisac$« " û (female
Pi«s"aca), a flesh eating demon in Hindu mythology. This name
retains the original features of T"amresvar$
« û such as demanding hu­
man sacrifice and eating raw flesh, and is no other than Kec"aikhat " $û.
According to the myths on the subject, human sacrifice was
originally a propitiation for the introduction of sin into the world,
offered by the daughter to the old ones, viz., Pishasi to Girasi-gira.
However, in effect, it become a sacrifice to her on behalf of the
whole nation.44 Such a shift added a political dimension to the
religious practice, closely tied to power, warfare, and royalty.45 As
Beane pointed out, ‘the sacrificial cults had royal patronage, and
sacrifices were demanded of the most royal officials. . . . [T]he occa­
sion tended to coincide with calamities such as war or for obtaining
wealth.’46 The Kalikapura^
" " " na already made it clear that royal mem­
bers and courtiers could offer human sacrifice, but it needed the
permission of the king.
Princes, ministers, counsellors and sauptikas (persons engaged in nocturnal
adventure or combat) may offer human sacrifice for the purpose of attaining
prosperity and wealth. If one offers a human being without permission of the
reigning king, he will find great misfortune. During an invasion or war, one
may perform human sacrifice at will, but only a royal person [may do so], and
no one else.47

A similar injunction is also found in second chapter of the Tikha

Kalpa, a manuscript found in Manipur State Library. It is said that
72 Jae-Eun Shin
human sacrifices [to the goddess living on the golden mountain]
were to be made, after the royal consent had been obtained, on the
occurrence of public calamities, such as war, or for the purpose of
obtaining great wealth.48 The Ahom kings, too, are said to have
the exclusive right to perform human sacrifice. The four chief Deoris
thus had to make an annual visit to the Ahom court in order to
demand and obtain the sanction of the king for their annual sacri­
fice of human beings. They were treated with much respect by the
Ahom kings on that occasion. It is said that when any Hindu
Gosain (the leaders of neo-Vai|s^nava order) appeared before the
Ahom king, the latter remained seated, while the Gosain put the
garland on his neck and gave blessing; but when the four chief
Deoris made an annual visit to the court, the king rose and stood
before them to receive their salutation.49 It shows the distinctive
identity and important position of the Deoris as the only priests
who actually carried out such a dangerous ritual for the king. They
were even exempted from compulsory labour service and provided
with guards and slaves in the same way as the leaders of neo-Vai|snava
^
institutions (satras) or brahmins of established Hindu temples.
The copper plate inscriptions mentioning land grants to some
Deoris were still extant at the end of the nineteenth century, al­
though their whereabouts are unknown to us.50
The Deoris offered human sacrifices to the goddess on certain
special occasions including their annual performance, and also to
avert special calamities such as cholera, small pox, and drought.51
According to some Buranjis, people even offered sacrifices of one
hundred men to Åi (Mother Goddess) of Sadiya for extending the
life of King Prat"apa Simha
\ (alias Susenghpa, 1603-41) in the last
moments of his life.52 Here, Åi of Sadiya is probably the Goddess
Kec"aikh"at$û of the Tamresvar$
" « û Temple. But it is not easy to know
precisely who the victims of that sacrifice were. In Dalton’s report,
the victims to be immolated should be of pure caste and perfect
form, the slightest blemish or mutation rendering them unfit to be
offered to the goddess. Brahmins and members of the royal family
were exempted as a privilege. Doms, Haris, Musalmans, and women
were excluded as unfit.53 The Tikha Kalpa takes a similar view on
the selection of victims:
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 73
A brahmin or a woman should never be sacrificed. Neither should one sacrifice
his own body, as then he will be guilty of the sin of suicide. A brother, a father,
a son, a wife’s brother, a sister’s son, a maternal uncle, none of these should
be sacrificed; nor anyone who is acquainted with the Vedas, or has renounced
the world, or is a student, or belongs to the royal family. An enemy, a sick person,
a eunuch, one who is infirm or has defects or scars should not be offered.54
These instructions, though canonical in character, show that
the selection of victims for human sacrifice was carefully made on
the basis of caste hierarchy, gender, religion, physical feature, etc.
They seemed to be far more elaborate than the ones given by the
^ of the eleventh century.55 In the latter part of the
K"alik"apur"ana
Ahom period, victims were usually chosen from among criminals
who were to be executed. When none such were obtainable, a
particular section of population or khel, known as the Baru"ali khel,
was called upon to produce one, in return for which certain privi­
leges were granted to the members of the khel, such as being ex­
empted from payment of ferry and market duties.56 Gait provides
further details of this custom.
On a woman of the khel becoming pregnant, the astrologers were called on to
say whether the child would be a boy or a girl, and if they predicted that it
would be a boy, the mother was carefully looked after, and the child was
anointed, as soon as it was born, with a paste made of tamarind and m"atikalai
"
(Phaseolus radiatus, mung bean). When a sacrifice was thought necessary,
volunteers were called for, and some person usually came forward of his own
accord; if not, a victim was taken by force. In either case, the victim was
shaved, anointed with the paste of tamarind and m"atikalai " , and decked
with gold and silver ornaments. He was then conducted before the image of
goddess, when he prostrated himself, and was promptly decapitated by
the Bar Deori or the high priest. The body was left on the spot until the
following morning, when it was removed. Victims were taken only from
amongst the juvenile male members of the clan; on attaining full age, they
became exempt, and were allowed to marry and settle down.57
These rituals continued till the late eighteenth century. But in 1794
in the reign of King Gaur$ûn"atha Simha
\ (alias Suhitpangpha, 1789­
95), Sadiya was taken by the Kh"amtis who had migrated from
Upper Burma some fifty or sixty years back. Their chief arrogated
to himself the title of Sadiy"a-khowa" Gohain,
" the officer appointed
74 Jae-Eun Shin
by the Ahoms since the early sixteenth century to administer the
area ruled by the Chutiyas. Human sacrifices in the temple of
" $û seem to have ceased to be performed from this time.58
Kec"aikhat
For the Deoris, this institution was abolished by King Gaur$ûn"atha
Simha
\ himself; who also, being unable to protect them from the
Mishmis and other tribes, removed them to the Majuli. Despite
that, their strong beliefs in the effect of human sacrifice remained
unchanged. The Deoris have remarked to Brown that ‘from the
abolition of this sacrifice, the Ahom kingdom began to go from
bad to worse’.59

THE GODDESS AND NEW IDENTITY

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHUTIYAS

Meanwhile, there has been an interesting change in perception of

the Goddess Kec"aikhat$ " û, especially in connection with a new iden­
tity of the Chutiyas. According to the chronicle found in 1850,
the Chutiyas traced their descent from Birpal (Skt. V$ûrap"a la),
a chief belonging to the lineage of Bh$û|smaka.60 Bh$û|smaka was a
legendary king whose daughter, Rukmi^n$û, was married to Krsna. ||^
Though he was known as the ruler of Vidarbha kingdom located
in the south of the Vindhya range in the epics and Pur"anas ^ , he has
gained much popularity in the areas around Sadiya. The name of
Ku^ndina,
^ the capital of Bh$û|smaka, is supposed to survive in that of
the Kundil River at Sadiya.61 The ruins of two forts in Lohit dis­
trict of Arunachal Pradesh are said to be the remains of his city,
viz., Bh$û|smakanagara.62 Some scholars, thus, claimed the ancient
presence of Bh$û|smaka’s kingdom in the Sadiya area,63 but there is
no conclusive evidence to support that. The earliest one found on
the site is an inscribed brick with the name of Sr$
® û«sr$û-Laksm$
| ûnarayana
" " ^
of the early fifteenth century, who constructed the wall of the
T"amresvar$
« û Temple in AD 1442.64
The prominence of Bh∂|smaka can be attributed to the Rukmin∂­ ^
hara^na, the well-known poem composed by ®S ankaradeva. \ He
interwove the two versions of story of the abduction of Rukmi^n∂
by K|r|s^na, as given in the Harivam« \ sa II, chapters 59-60 and the
Bh"agavatapur"a ^na, 10, chapters 52-4, and incorporated distinct
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 75
regional features in the poem. To the original tale he added scenes
of common domestic life, which transformed the Pur"anic ^ story
into a narrative of popular experience. Rukmi^n$û’s family was repre­
sented as a prototype of Assamese Hindu family in the poem, and
65
King Bh∂|smaka was recast as an ideal father and a devout Vaisnava.
|^
Considering the wide popularity of the poem among the people,
it is quite probable that the legendary places associated with
Bh∂|smaka were reproduced in the local landscape of the Sadiya
area at a later time, possibly in the seventeenth century. The neo­
Vai|s^nava movement seemed to play a significant role in transplan­
tation of the Bh∂|smaka legend into the area around Sadiya. Further,
this reproduction led to conscious identity construction of some
tribal groups including the Chutiyas and the Idu Mishmis of the
Dibang Valley. They claimd to be the descendants of Bh∂|smaka
and considerd Bh∂|smakanagara as the sacred heritage symbolizing
their past glory.66
Eventually, Bh∂|smaka was represented as the king who autho­
rized the right of the Chutiyas’ to serve the Goddess Kec"aikhat∂" as
priests in her temple. According to a popular local story, Kec"ai­
kh"at∂ assumed the form of a stone image and lay in the Dibang
River in order to reveal her identity to the people. King Bh∂|smaka
wanted to lift this image and install it in a temple, but his men
failed to do it. Thereupon, the king announced that one who could
lift the image, individually or collectively, would be given the right
to officiate as priests in the T"amresvar$
« û Temple. Many people at­
tempted to do it, but on their failure four Chutiyas having purified
mind and soul were able to lift the image and install it in the
T"amresvar$
« û Temple.67 This story illuatrates an important change
in the Kec"aikhat∂
" cult of the Chutiyas, from aniconic worship to
iconic adoration. It was a part of the gradual process of Brahman­
ization of a tribal group, which replaces indigenous practices pro­
gressively with mainstream traditions. In fact, the expansion of
brahmin settlements and diffusion of their influence were seen in
the areas ruled by the Chutiyas from the end of the fourteenth
century, albeit on a very limited scale.68 Dalton’s report said that
some brahmins of the areas moved the Ahom kings to send one of
their members to the temple of Kec"aikh"at∂ to superintend the
76 Jae-Eun Shin
rites. The Deoris would not admit for a long time the brahmin or
alter their ceremonies according to their instructions. Finally, they
consented to introduce some innovations, but continued with their
own customs and rites, declining the brahmin’s assistance or inter­
ference; he was, however, allowed to perform a p"uja of his own
during the season of the sacrifice.69
This shows how the Deoris tried to keep their religious hege­
mony over other social groups, probably including brahmins of
the areas, while accepting adoration of sacred images that was of the
upmost importance in Brahmanical mode of worship. Interest­
ingly, the person who authorized the priesthood of the Deoris of
the T"amresvar$
« û Temple in the aforementioned story was not the
Ahom ruler, the overlord of the Chutiyas, but Bh∂|smaka, the king
of the ancient kingdom of Vidarbha, renowned as one of the cul­
tural centres since the Mah"abharata.
" He was moreover the father­
in-law of K|r|s^na, who became one of the most significant deities
in the north-east after the sixteenth century. The close tie forged
between King Bh∂|smaka and the Deoris is not based on any histori­
cal facts, but nevertheless it discreetly connects the wider world of
the Epic and the local centre of the goddes worship.
This is further emphasized by another popular story about con­
struction of the temple by a Chutiya king. It is said that the
Goddess Kec"aikhat " ∂ revealed herself before a king who was the
descendant of Bh∂|smaka. She told him she would be his devotee
only on the condition that he could erect a temple with a copper
roof in one single night before the first cock’s crow in the morning.
In the case of the king’s failure to do it, their role would be re­
versed and the king would have to be her devotee. The king worked
all night, building a temple with a copper roof, and then, just be­
fore its completion, the goddess caused a magical cock to crow.
The king had to leave the work unfinished and become the devotee
of the goddess.70 A similar story is also told of Naraka, except in
this case the king wanted the Goddess K"amakhya " " as his bride and
constructed the incomplete staircase of the K"amakhya " " Temple.71
The Chutiyas seemed to remake this well-known story of Naraka
and K"amakhya
" " for explaining the origin of the Tamresvar$
" « û Temple.
In their version, the temple was built by a king descended from
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 77
Bh∂|smaka. This king, whose name was not mentioned in the story,
was possibly Birpal, the supposed progenitor of Chutiya kingdom,
belonging to the lineage of Bh∂|smaka. Scholars ascribed the Chutiya
chronicle beginning with Birpal to the early nineteenth century,
perhaps written by some members of the Chutiya aristocracy as an
attempt to legitimize their claim over a part of Assam during the
establishment of the Matak kingdom in 1805, or after 1826 when
the East India Company annexed the region.72 The lineage narra­
tive of Birpal links the peripheral power with established ones en­
dowed with all appropriate royal qualities and locates it within the
ambit of the Epic-Pur"anic
^ world of the mainstream tradition. Look­
ing at this, the above story appears to be made at a much later time
despite its antiquarian taste. The nexus between the goddess and
the king with sacred genealogy and its antiquity are not a given
fact but an imagined reality. A significant point to remember is
that it is part of a long religious process which has been ongoing
since the twelfth century when the image of Goddess K"amakhya " "
and King Naraka was made in the lower Brahmaputra Valley.

THE AFTERLIFE OF THE GODDESS

Kec"aikh"a t∂ still enjoyed her fame in the nineteenth century al­

though the human sacrifice to her ceased during the reign of King
Gaur$ûn"atha Si\mha (1780-95). Francis Hamilton in his report on
the survey of eastern India in 1808-14, refers to three important
pilgrimage centres of Assam, including the K"amakhya
" " Temple at
Nilachala, a temple (its name not defined) at Kaliyabar now in
Nagaon, and the Dikkarav"asin$û Temple at Sadiya.73 Dalton also
said in 1848 that the copper temple of the goddess was respected
by and had its votaries among all the hill tribes in the vicinity, as
well as by the Ahom and Hindu population of Assam. It was also
visited by pilgrims, who brought offerings from regions far more
remote, perhaps from Tibet and China, as well as from other parts of
India.74
When Bloch visited the site in 1905, however, the temple was
nothing more than a heap of broken stones past all repairs with
only a part of the wall standing; a huge tree growing over the
78 Jae-Eun Shin
debris. He identified the two figures on the lintels on the door in
the northern wall as images of Mah"adeva posing as Dvarapala. " " On
the east of the boundary wall he found some ruins of brick and
stone buildings, amongst which he could make out three statues
of Hindu deities: S"urya, Kal" $û dancing on ®Siva and the third prob­
ably represented Sarasvat$û, if the indistinct object, which she held
in her right hand was a musical instrument. Among other inter­
esting archaeological finds on the site was a line of tiles, about
three feet apart from each other, carved on the inner sides of the
walls, except the eastern one. These carvings represented figures of
men, animals, birds, flowers, and geometrical figures without any
religious bearing. The style was that of semi-tribal kind, as in the
carvings at Dimapur and other places of Assam. Remarkable among
these were the Durg"a image with the maneless lion, often found in
Assamese painting.75 It has not yet been possible to date these
images accurately, since none of stylistic features were scrutinized.
But in view of the fact that Durg"a puja" " with the earthen image of
the goddess was first introduced to the Ahoms by King Prat"apa
Simha
\ in the middle of the seventeenth century,76 these images
including Durg"a can be assigned to the eighteenth century.
In the 1950s, Debala Mitra explored the place and wrote a short
report suggesting that the temple was originally a catur"ayatana
having four shrines or cells.77 However, the temple site and structure
are now reported to be untraceable, probably because of the great
earthquake of 1950.78 In my observation in 2012, it was found
that the T"amresvar$
« û Temple located in Sadiya town at present is a
recent construction of not more than fifty years old. The local
people still consider the Goddess Kec"aikhat$ " û as a daughter of the
Old Ones called Bura-buri in Assamese or Girasi-gira in Deori
language. They offer buffalo sacrifice to her at this new T"amresvar$ « û
Temple every three years, and a Deori who comes from a specific
family performs the sacrificial ritual.
Some other goddesses with similar names and attributes are still
worshiped by different communities in different parts of the re­
gion. 79 For instance, K" achak" a nt$û (or K" a ncak" a nt$ û) has been a
renowned goddess of the Kacharis whose shrine is now at Udhar­
bond near Silchar in Cachar district. According to a local legend,
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 79
King K|r|s^nacandra (1773-1813) had a dream in 1806 and then
constructed a temple for worshipping K"achakant$ " û, one of the terri­
fying forms of S® akti. The royal preceptor pandit Sonaram Sarma on
hearing the description of K"achakant$ " û from the king made a four-
armed golden image and installed it in a temple inside a deep forest
near present Udharbond.80 Some scholars identify K"achak"ant$û of
Cachar with Kec"aikhat$ " û of Sadiya, based on the assumption that
when the Kacharis were in the upper Brahmaputra Valley Kec"aikhat$ " û
was their tutelary deity.81 The K"achak"ant$û Temple of Cachar was
also one of the principal places where human sacrifices were offered.
The ceremony was performed by a family of brahmin residents at
Udharbond, who were known as Deshmukhiyas. The practice is
said to have been put a stop to during the reign of King Kr| |s^nacandra
around 1818, in consequence of a brahmin having narrowly es­
caped being sacrificed by mistake.82 The possible association be­
tween Kec"aikhat$" û of Sadiya and Kachakant$
" " û of Cachar, though based
on very limited historical evidence, throws light on a proliferation
of goddess cults in the process of tribal state formation of the north­
east. It does not mean a unilinear development but a continuous
adoption from the past and retrospective redefinition from the
present.
To sum up, among a number of powerful goddesses worshipped
in the north-east, Kec"aikhat$" û was infamous for eating raw flesh as
the name shows. Her cult spot, later known as the T"amresvar$ « û
Temple near Sadiya, was almost always described as the most no­
torious place of human sacrifice in the reports of British colonial
officer-scholars in the nineteenth century. They repeatedly identi­
fied the practice of human sacrifice associated with Kec"aikhat$ " û as
one of the clearest signs of ‘degenerate Hinduism’ or of the bar­
baric characters of ‘impure tribes’ in the region. Sometimes, they
claimed that a wily and bigoted brahmin may have made it a price
for the liberty of proselytism to his creed.83 Even some Indian
scholars tend to internalize such a negative image of the goddess
coming down from colonial sources. However, the history of Kec"ai­
khat
" û$ over a prolonged period from the early medieval times to the
present rather shows her multiple identities represented in various
names such as Dikkarav"asin$û, T$ûksnakanta,
| ^ " " Ugratara,
" " Lalitakanta,
" "
80 Jae-Eun Shin
T"amresvar$
« û, Pishasi (Pisac$« " û?), Kachakant$
" " û and so on. Her attributes
and nature have neither been static nor monolithic, since different
social groups with their own interests, including tribal priests,
kings, brahmin and local people, participated in the making of
the goddess. Brahmanization of tribal custom and resistance to
Brahmanical dominance over tribal worship appear to go against
each other, yet the one does not necessarily negate the other. The
Kec"aikhat
" $û cult is indeed remarkable as a site of constant and subtle
negotiation between those two processes which has characterized
the religious traditions of the north-east.

NOTES

1. Neog’s article may serve as the most useful introduction to the Goddess
Kec"aikhat$
" û , see M. Neog, ‘Goddess Tamresvar$
" « û and Blood Sacrifices’, in
idem, Religion of the North-East: Studies in the Formal Religions of North-
Eastern India, Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984, pp. 109-72. For a
brief reference to the Goddess, see K.L. Barua, Early History of Kamar"upa:
From the Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century, Gauhati: Lawyers
Book Stall, 1933 (1966 repr.), p. 183; B. Kakati, The Mother Goddess
Kamakhya, Guwahati: Publication Board Assam, 1948 (2003 repr.),
pp. 55-63; S.N. Sharma, A Socio-Economic and Cultural History of Medieval
Assam, AD 1200-1800, Guwahati: Bina Library, 1989, p. 97; N.N.
Bhattacharyya, Religious Culture of North-Eastern India, New Delhi: Manohar,
1995, pp. 102-7; N.R. Mishra, Kamakhya: A Socio-Cultural Study, New
Delhi: D.K. Printworld, 2004, pp. 5, 18; Hugh B. Urban, The Power of
Tantra: Religion, Sexuality and the Politics of South Asian Studies, New York:
I.B. Tauris, 2010, p. 97; Mary Storm, Head and Heart: Valour and Self-
Sacrifice in the Art of India, New Delhi: Routledge, 2013, p. 80.
2. D.C. Sircar, ‘Pr"agjyotisha-Kamarupa’,
" " in H.K. Barpujari (ed.), The Compre­
hensive History of Assam, vol. 1, Guwahati: Publication Board Assam, 2007
(3rd edn.), p. 64.
3. D.C. Sircar, ‘P"aya" Tamresvar$
" « û (Dikkaravasin$
" û) Temple Inscription of
Mukt"adharmanarayana,
" " ^ Saka
® 1364 (AD 1442)’, in idem, Some Epigraphical
Records of the Medieval Period from Eastern India, New Delhi: Abhinav, 1979,
p. 3.
4. Biswanarayan Shastri (ed. and tr.), K"alikapurana,
" " ^ Delhi: Nag Publisher,
1991-2.
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 81
5. Biswanarayan Shastri (ed.), Yogin∂tantra, Delhi: Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan,
1982.
6. P.C. Choudhury, The History of the Civilization of the People of Assam to the
Twelfth Century, Guwahati and Delhi: Spectrum, 1959 (1987 repr.), p. 420.
7. D.C. Sircar, The Sakta ® " P∂thas,
| Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1948 (1998, 2nd
edn.), p. 17, fn. 3; D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Ancient and
Medieval India, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1971 (2nd edn.), p. 163.
8. Amalendu Guha, ‘Pre-Ahom Roots and the Medieval State in Assam: A
Reply’, Social Scientist, vol. 12, no. 6, 1984, June, pp. 71-2.
9. K"alikapurana,
" " ^ 38. 113-27.
10. K"alik"apur"a^na, 38. 128-30. As to the spatial extent and perception
of K"amarupa,
" see Jae-Eun Shin, ‘Region Formed and Imagined: Reconsid­
ering Temporal, Spatial and Social Context of K"amarupa’, " in Lipokmar
Dzuvichu and Manjeet Baruah (eds.), Modern Practices in North East
India: History, Culture, Representation, London and Routledge, 2018,
pp. 40-1.
11. For the seven Sakta® " P∂thas,
| see Kalikapurana,
" " " ^ 18. 41-50; for the trajectory
of the Goddess K"amakhya, " " see Jae-Eun Shin, ‘Yoni, Yogin$ûs and Mahavidyas:
" "
Feminine Divinities from Early Medieval K"amarupa " to Medieval Koch
Behar’, Studies in History, vol. 26, issue 1, 2010, pp. 1-29.
12. K"alikapurana,
" " ^ 80. 37-9a.
13. Ibid., 80. 40-5.
14. B. Kakati, The Mother Goddess Kamakhya, p. 60; M. Neog, ‘Goddess
T"amresvar$
« û and Blood Sacrifices’, p. 110.
15. Jae-Eun Shin, Change, Continuity and Complexity: The Mah"avidyas " in East
Indian S"® akta Traditions, London: Routledge; New Delhi: Manohar, 2018,
pp. 123-5.
16. C. Chakravarti, Tantras: Studies on Their Religion and Literature, Calcutta:
Punthi Pustak, 1972 (repr.), p. 55; N.N. Bhattacharyya, History of the
Tantric Religion, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999 (2nd edn.), p. 316.
17. K"alikapurana,
" " ^ 67.3-5a.
18. Ibid., 67.18.
19. Hugh B. Urban, The Power of Tantra, p. 63.
20. K"alikapurana,
" " ^ 67.39.
21. Ibid., 67.48b-50.
22. Ibid., 67.101-2.
23. Ibid., 80.32b-4a.
24. R.C. Buragohain, ‘A Note of the Morans, the Borahis and the Chutiyas’, in
H.K. Barpujari (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati:
Publication Board Assam, 2003 (2nd. edn.), p. 61.
82 Jae-Eun Shin
25. M. Momin, ‘Socio-Economic Linkages in Decline of Pr"agjyotisa-Kamarupa’,
| " "
in Fozail Ahmad Qadri (ed.), Society and Economy in North-East India,
vol. 2, New Delhi: Regency, p. 44. Ney Elias, on the basis of an old Assamese
chronicle found in the possession of a Burmese king, stated that when
the Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra Valley, it was inhabited by three
tribes, the Chutiyas, Morans and Borahis, of which the Chutiyas was the
ruling group and thirty three Chutiya kings had ruled in succession before
the foundation of the Ahom kingdom in the early thirteenth century un­
der the leadership of Sukapha (1228-68). See Ney Elias, Introductory
Sketch of the History of the Shans in Upper Burma and Western Yunnan,
Calcutta: Foreign Department Press, 1876, p. 61. Based on this, some
scholars tried to trace the history of the Chutiyas back to the middle of the
seventh century. See S.L. Baruah, A Comprehensive History of Assam, New
Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2002, p. 184. Yet no convincing evidence,
both archaeological and textual, asserts such an early presence of the Chutiya
kingdom. The inscriptions of K"amarupa " between the seventh and twelfth
centuries provide no reference to Sadiya and the names of people inhabit­
ing the area.
26. D. Nath, ‘State Formation in the Peripheral Areas: A Study of the Chutiya
Kingdom of the Brahmaputra Valley’, in J.B. Bhattacharjee and D.R.
Syiemlieh (eds.), Early State in North East India, New Delhi: Regency
Publications, 2013, pp. 24-5.
27. M. Neog, ‘Lights on a Ruling Dynasty of Arunachal Pradesh in the Four­
teenth and Fifteenth Centuries’, in idem (ed.), Pr"achya-sasanaval∂:
«" " An Antho­
logy of Royal Charters,etc. Inscribed on Stone, Copper, etc., of K"amarupa,
" Assam
(Saum"ara), Koch-Behar, etc., from 1205 AD to 1847 AD, Guwahati: Publica­
tion Board, Assam, 1974 (2008 repr.), p. 94, ll.8-10; p. 218.
28. D.C. Sircar, ‘P"aya" Tamresvar$
" « û (Dikkaravasin$
" û) Temple Inscription’, p. 2.
29. M. Neog, ‘Lights on a Ruling Dynasty of Arunachal Pradesh’, p. 216.
30. E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Chutiyas of Upper Assam’, 1848, manuscript
printed in W.B. Brown, An Outline Grammar of the Deori Chutiya Lan­
guage (Spoken in Upper Assam), Shillong: The Assam Secretariat Printing
Office, 1895, p. 76.
31. S.F. Hanny, ‘Notes on Ancient Temples and Other Remains in the Vicinity
of Suddyah, Upper Assam’, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 17,
pt. 1, 1848, pp. 465-6.
32. Ibid., pp. 466-7.
33. T. Bloch, Report of an Archaeological Tour in Assam in January and February,
Shillong: Assam Secretariat Office, 1905, p. 25.
34. M. Neog, ‘Goddess T"amresvar$ « û and Blood Sacrifices’, p. 115.
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 83
35. For some examples of Saiva
® and Vairsnava
|| ^ temples in which images of their
chosen god were installed, animated, and named after the donor kings, see
A. Sanderson, ‘The Saiva
® Age: The Rise and Dominance of Saivism ® during
the Early Medieval Period’, in S. Einoo (ed.), Genesis and Development of
Tantrism, Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, 2009, pp. 60, 274.
36. C.L. Goswami and M.A. Shastri (ed. and tr.), Bh"agavatapurana, " ^ Gorakhpur:
Gita Press, 1971, 10.59. 6-19.
37. As to Naraka and his relationship with K"amakhya, " " the tutelary Goddess,
see Jae-Eun Shin, Change, Continuity and Complexity, pp. 256-9. For Naraka
in the political genealogy of K"amarupa, " see Jae-Eun Shin, ‘Changing
Dynasties, Enduring Genealogy: A Critical Study on the Political Legitima­
tion in Early Medieval K"amarupa’, " Journal of Ancient Indian History,
vol. 27, 2011, pp. 173-87.
38. M. Neog (ed.), Pr"acya-sasanaval∂,
«" " p. 94, ll.10-12.
39. M. Neog, ‘Lights on a Ruling Dynasty of Arunachal Pradesh’, p. 212.
40. The socio-historical implication of this issue is beyond the scope of
this article. For further discussion, see Jae-Eun Shin, ‘Descending from
Demons, Ascending to Kshatriyas: Genealogical Claims and Political
Process in Pre-modern Northeast India, the Chutiyas and the Dimasas’,
The Indian Economic & Social History Review, vol. 57, issue 1, 2020,
pp. 49-75.
41. In 1523, Ahom King Suhungmung, alias Dihingia Raja (1497-1539),
conquered the Chutiyas and annexed their kingdom to his state. A new
officer of state, known as the Sadiy"a Khowa Gohain, " was appointed to
administer the area ruled by the Chutiyas. See E.A. Gait, A History of Assam,
Guwahati: Spectrum, 1905 (2011 repr.), p. 88.
42. W.B. Brown, An Outline Grammar of the Deori Chutiya Language, pp. iii-v.
43. Ibid., p. iv.
44. Ibid., p. vii. On the other hand, Dalton reported in 1848 that a yearly
human sacrifice was offered at these three temples. See E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes
on the Chutiyas of Upper Assam’, p. 75.
45. For more details on human sacrifice and kingship in the region, see Hugh
B. Urban, The Power of Tantra, pp. 88-98.
46. Wendell C. Beane, Myths, Cult and Symbols in Sakta ® " Hinduism: A Study of
the Indian Mother Goddess, Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1977, p. 59.
47. K"alikapurana
" " ^ 67. 116-17.
48. Cited in E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 67, pt. 3, 1898, p. 62. The Tikha Kalpa deals
with the mode of worshipping K"al$û or Tara " " including human and other
sacrifices. For a brief introduction of the Tikha Kalpa, E.A. Gait, Report on
84 Jae-Eun Shin
the Progress of Historical Research in Assam, Shillong: the Assam Secretariat
Press, 1897, p. 25.
49. W.B. Brown, An Outline Grammar of the Deori Chutiya Language, pp. vi-vii.
50. For the privileges of the Deoris received from the Ahom kings, see ibid.,
p. vi.
51. E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, p. 58.
52. Kasinath Tamuli-Phukan, Ås"am Burañji, p. 35; Gunabhiram Barua, Åsam "
Burañji, p. 105, cited in M. Neog, ‘Goddess T"amresvar$ « û and Blood
Sacrifices’, p. 112.
53. E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Chutiyas of Upper Assam’, p. 76.
54. Cited in E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, pp. 62-3.
55. According to the K"alikapurana
" " ^ (67.101-2), brahmanas,
" ^ candalas,
^ ^ " and
princes should not be sacrificed. But the sons of the enemy kings, who are
captured in battle, could be offered.
56. E.A. Gait, A History of Assam, p. 88; E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in
Ancient Assam’, p. 58; E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Chutiyas of Upper
Assam’, p. 76 .
57. E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, p. 58
58. Assam District Gazetteers, vol. 11: The Sadiya Frontier Tract Gazetteer, pt. 1,
Shillong: Assam Secretariat Press, 1928, p. 17; E.A. Gait, A History of
Assam, p. 214.
59. W.B. Brown, An Outline Grammar of the Deori Chutiya Language, p. vii.
60. It was found in the possession of some Chutiyas by William Robinson and
published in Assamese in the Orunodoi, December, 1850. It has been re­
produced in E.A. Gait’s Report on the Progress of Historical Research in Assam,
pp. 18-19 and in the Deodhai Asam Buranji, 1932 and the Satsari Asam
Buranji, 1960, both compiled and edited by S.K. Bhuyan.
61. E.A. Gait, A History of Assam, pp.15-16.
62. For more details on the sites, see Sukanya Sharma, A Sourcebook of Archaeo­
logy of the Himalayan Region: Arunachal Pradesh, Kolkata: A Centre for
Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India, 2014, pp. 77-80.
63. See P.C. Choudhury, The History of the Civilization of the People of Assam to
the Twelfth Century, p. 236; D. Sarma (ed.), K"amarupasasanaval∂,
" «" " Gauhati:
Publication Board Assam, 1981, p. 73.
64. M. Neog, ‘Lights on a Ruling Dynasty of Arunachal Pradesh’, p. 216.
65. For the Rukmi^n∂-hara^na, see M. Neog, Sa ® nkaradeva
\ and His Times: Early
History of the Vai|snava
^ Faith and Movement in Assam: Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, 1985, pp. 177-8; B.K. Barua, ‘®Sankaradeva:
\ His Poetical Works’,
in Banikanta Kakati (ed.), Aspects of Early Assamese Literature, Gauhati:
Gauhati University, 1953, pp. 88-90.
 Kec"aikhat∂,
" Eater of Raw Flesh 85
66. For the Bh$û|smaka legend and tribal groups, see Amrendra Kr. Thakur,
‘Pre-modern Accommodation of Differences and Modern Innovations:
Religion and Society of Arunachal Pradesh’, in Tripathy and S. Dutta (eds.),
Religious History of Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House,
2008, pp. 345-6.
67. The story is reported in N.N. Bhattacharyya, Religious Culture of North-
Eastern India, p. 103.
68. There are only two inscriptional records on this matter: the Dhenukhana
plate (AD 1392) mentions that Satyan"arayana " ^ gifted 600 putis | of land in
the village Ludumimari to the son of the brahmin N"araya " ^na; and
Pratyak|sanarayana
" " ^ made another such gift of 600 putis | in the village
Vyaghramari, and Ya«sanarayana" " ^ (or Yamanarayana)
" " ^ still another gift of
200 pu|tis to the son of Bhargava
" among brahmins. See M. Neog, Pracya­ "
s« "asanaval∂,
" p. 94, ll. 13-6; p. 96, ll. 34-6. The Ghilamara plate of
Lak|sm$ûnarayana
" " ^ (AD 1401) records his donation of 200 putis | of land in
the village Bakhana to the brahmin Ravideva, the son of Hari who was a
devotee of V"asudeva. See Ibid., p. 97, ll. 8-12.
69. E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Chutiyas of Upper Assam’, p. 76.
70. The story is reported in N.N. Bhattacharyya, Religious Culture of North-
Eastern India, p. 104.
71. For details of this story, see N.R. Mishra, Kamakhya: A Socio-Cultural Study,
p. 147.
72. D. Nath, ‘State Formation in the Peripheral Areas: A Study of the Chutiya
Kingdom of the Brahmaputra Valley’, p. 29.
73. S.K. Bhuyan, An Account of Assam: First Compiled in 1807-1814 by Francis
Hamilton, Gauhati: Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies,
1963, p. 57.
74. E.T. Dalton, ‘Notes on the Chutiyas of Upper Assam’, p. 77.
75. T. Bloch, Report of an Archaeological Tour in Assam in January and February,
Shillong: Assam Secretariat Office, 1905, pp. 92-4, cited in M. Neog,
‘Goddess T"amresvar$
« û and Blood Sacrifices’, pp. 113-14. See also Annual
Report of Archaeological Survey of India 1904-05, Calcutta: Superintendent
Government Printing, India, 1908, pp. 7-8.
76. For the early Ahom kings who adopted Brahmanical traditions, see L. Gogoi,
The Buranjis: Historical Literature of Assam, New Delhi: Omsons, 1986,
pp. 256-61.
77. D.C. Sircar, ‘P"aya" Tamresvar$
" « û (Dikkaravasin$
" û) Temple Inscription’, p. 4.
78. Census of India 2011: Arunachal Pradesh, Series 13, Part XII-A, Arunachal
Pradesh: Directorate of Census Operations, 2011, p. 52.
79. It is reported that there was a temple of Kec"aikhat$
" û in North Lakhimpur,
86 Jae-Eun Shin
though its historical connection with the Kec"aikhat$
" û temple in Sadiya has
not yet been examined. See N.N. Bhattacharyya, Religious Culture of North-
Eastern India, p. 103.
80. Gouri Sen, ‘Life in the Kachari Kingdom at Khaspur’, unpublished PhD
thesis submitted to the University of Gauhati, 1994, p. 117.
81. S.K. Bhuyan (ed.), Kachari Buranji, Gauhati: The Government of Assam
in Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, 1951, p. vi; J.B.
Bhattacharjee, ‘The Kachari (Dimasa) State Formation’, in H.K. Barpujari
(ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati, Publication
Board Assam, 2003 (2nd edn.), p. 393.
82. E.A. Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, p. 57; Gouri Sen, ‘Life in
the Kachari Kingdom at Khaspur’, p. 120.
83. S.F. Hanny, ‘Notes on Ancient Temples and Other Remains in the Vicinity
of Suddyah, Upper Assam’, p. 463.
 CHAPTER 3

Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism

in the Khasi Pnar Society
HERMINA B. LAKIANG

Before engaging in the socio-historical and conceptual case study

of witchcraft, sorcery and tantiricism in the Khasi Pnar society it is
required to look at some historical conjectures on Western societies
by Lynn Thorndike (History of Magic and Experimental Science in
the Middle Ages, 8 vols., New York, 1923-58) and Jules Michelet
(Satanism and Witchcraft, New York, 1965) where they postulate
that witchcraft was a product of the misery of the fourteenth century
with its black death and the Hundred Years War, among other
misfortunes.1 H.C. Lea (The History of the Inquisition in the Middle
Ages, New York, 1888, Materials Towards a History of Witchcraft,
New York, 1957), his disciple G.L. Burr (Narratives of the Witch­
craft Cases, New York 1914, Life and Selection, N.Y., Ithaca, 1943)
and A.D. White (A History of Warfare of Science with Theology, New
York, 1897) assume witchcraft to be due to church, due to wide­
spread superstition, due to the manipulation of the common people
by casuists and quibblers and because of the general oppression of
the few going hand in hand with the submission and fear of the
many. 2 The most perceptive and philosophical modern French
Historian, L. Febvre (Sorcellerie; sotisse ou revolution mentale, Annales,
economics, societies civilization, 1948) proposed that ‘the mind of
one age is not necessarily subject to the same rules of the mind of
another’. Many of the suggestions offered as explanations are valu­
able, but hardly adequate.3 The anthropological studies that shed
the most light upon witchcraft were pioneered by Bronislaw Malino­
wski (Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays, New York, 1954)
88 Hermina B. Lakiang
and were continued by Evans-Pritchard (Witchcraft, Oracles and
Magic Among the Azande, Oxford, 1937) and their students and
successors,4 by taking the African, the Oceanian and the English
societies as case studies. The excerpts of these two anthropological
works can be found in Max Marwick edition Witchcraft and Sorcery,
Penguin Education, 1970.5 Some sociological readings are also in­
cluded in this edition,6 which are used in the study of the Khasi
Pnar Society. It must be pointed out that historical works have
been done by N.N. Bhattacharya, on the Indian belief in tantric­
ism7 and on the religious culture of north-eastern India.8 Through
careful examination of these works done on tantricism, like the
work of C. Chakravarti,9 a materialistic approach to tantricism found
in D.P. Chattopadhyaya’s Lokayata10 and S. Kapur’s study,11 it is
discovered that Tantricism is one of the belief systems of Hinduism
relating mainly to the fertility cult involving the sexual union of
the male and female principles including the practice of magic-
witchcraft and sorcery, which involves rites, rituals, mantras, medi­
cine, charms, amulet, etc., used to attain ones’s desire for boon and
at the same time to destroy one’s enemy.12 But none of these works
finds any reference to the Khasi Pnar society except vaguely in
N.N. Bhattacharya’s Religious Culture of North-Eastern India.13 No
conceptual historical works has ever been done in this regard ex­
cept a stray mention here and there about the mystical belief in
witchcraft like U thlen and ka taro and the belief in tantricism.
Most information about witchcraft, sorcery and tantricism in the
Khasi Pnar context can be gleaned from books on religion, society
and folklore. This article is a result of one particular article by
H.H. Mohrmen, ‘The Khasi Pnar Beliefs in Curse and Witch­
craft’14 and a work in vernacular which is a critical narrative by
R.M. Mukhim, Ki Maraw ka Jingngeit Bieit15 in which she narrates
the Khasi Pnar superstitious belief in U thlen, ka taro, U noingaiksuid
and ka bih.
It must be mentioned at the onset that there are two kinds of
magic, white magic and black magic. White magic constitutes the
rites and rituals of all religious, which are engaged by the believers
for boons, blessings and at the same time for protection from one’s
enemy or from evil with the help of the gods and goddesses. Black
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 89
magic on the other hand is the degenerated form of rites and ritu­
als used to get one’s desire for materials gain or venegeance at the
expense of harming fwellow human beings. It is generally given
the term of witchcraft and sorcery and is being associated with
demons and seeks to control even the gods as in the case of ‘left’
tantricism. White magic is used as a counter-reaction to the practice
of witchcraft in any society including the Khasi Pnar society.
Tantricism is also viewed by some as a degenerated belief and prac­
tice system of a person of lowly socio-religious status. At the same
time, even within tantricism itself, the belief and practices are classi­
fied into the right and the left (vamacharya) paths, i.e. positive
and negative aspects respectively. Its positive aspect deals with
inner visualization of the sexual union of Shiva and Shakti. The
creative power of this union is applied to the cosmos itself, and
specially the elements of the earth.16 Through this act of procre­
ation of humans (representing gods and goddesses) it is believed
that it will bring forth the productivity and fertility of the earth
necessary for agriculture.17 In fact, this kind of magic is performed
in different parts of the world. On the negative side, when the
sadhaka acquires siddhis he sometimes chooses to use it in ‘black
art’ or witchcraft to harm others for monetary gain or vengeance,
forgetting the great goal of worldly detachment.18 The ‘left’ sadhaka
indulges in the actual physical pleasure of meat, drink and women.
In fact, the witches of the Western world are also accused of this
same indulgence in partaking of meat and sexual ritual involving
nude participants.19 In this light, the study of witchcraft and sor­
cery is conducted in link with tantricism or to be specific with the
degenerated form of it, as a result of which even human sacrifice
was made, even in Jaintia Hills in Nartiang before the colonial
period. Thus the question of whether the Pnars really practised
this gory sacrifice after their Hinduization, if there was no such
traditional belief and practice prior to the coming of tantricism
among them is hoped to be answered by the Khasoi Pnar belief
in the existence of human sacrifice done ‘directly’ to the thlen
and ‘indirectly’ to the taro to gain wealth and prosperity in all as­
pects of life.
H.H. Mphrmen began with the incident in Mawlai, where the
90 Hermina B. Lakiang
people stood up against a supposedly thlen keeper and a similar
incident that had happened in Mowtrychiah village in Jaintia Hills
(alleged taro keeper).20 The writer also talked about a personal in­
cident, where he was supposedly a victim of the evil eye (Ka She
Sabuit or Sakai ) and suffering from constipation. His father per­
formed a certain magic ritual by taking a pinch of lime and rubbed
it on a betel leaf. Then he chanted some mantras and spat on the
lime three times. Then he took a little of that lime on the forefin­
ger to make a tick mark on his forehead, moved towards his tummy,
unbuttoned his shirt and then drew a huge circle on his stomach
and finished it with another lime tick on his big toe. After that, he
drew another circle on the betel leaf with a cross inside the circle
and then placed the lime sketched pan leaf inside the circle and
then placed it on the nearest crossroad. He also mentioned about
the damage of the houses and the owners who were alleged to be
thlen keeper and taro keeper, who were also ostracized. Families
were detested by the village according to him because they were in
possession of the power of black magic or witchcraft and could cast
an evil spell (Ai Ksuid ) on their enemies. In Jaintia Hills, they
avoid mixing with certain families as they are accused of casting a
spell (ai bih in Khasi and ea kymbad in Pnar) on somebody having
food and the victim would fall sick. People’ suffering from Kymbad,
Jymbich I Bih lost their teeth unnaturally, also suffered from neck
pain. Even throat cancer was attributed to Kymbad I Ka Bih. Fami­
lies who are alleged keepers of Kymbad I ka Bioh are forbidden
from taking part in the preparation of a community feast for fear
that those who partake might suffer. The family is, however, not
forbidden from joining the feast, but people would avoid sitting
next to them or opposite them. He also differentiates between the
Pnar and the Khasi belief in nongaiksuid. In the Khasi context
certain families are alleged to possess the power of black magic
(nongaiksuid ), because they can cast a spell on their enemies to
make them fall sick. In the Pnar context, if any person wished to
cast a spell on his/her enemies, he would seek the help of a shaman
(Ksoh Stad I Pa Stad ) and pay him to do the job. It is believed that
the shaman can do a variety of things to make the enemy suffer,
similar to voodoo.21
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 91
Mohrmen’s article providers some valuable information about
witchcraft and some valuable insight in it but he did not give
a clear definition of it and also completely failed to mention its
relation to sorcery. First, witchcraft and sorcery are inter-linked,
there is a difference between the two. While witchcraft is psychic,
sorcery is practical. Second, though he mentioned the existence
of the evil eye in the Pnar society and described the episode of the
‘transference of evil into inanimate object’ as a remedy of the sick­
ness as a result of the evil eye, he was unable to give it a definition
which is found in J.G. Frazer’s work, The Golden Bough. 22 He seems
to mix up between Bih I Kymbad and the evil eye in the event of
any feasts amongst the Khasi Pnars. Avoiding of inter-dining with
certain people takes place in case of the evil eye, which is a psychic
ability causing stomach problems to those who eat near them or
sit opposite to them and eye them while they have the food. It
should be noted that Bih I Kymbad is a practical form of magic
which is sorcery which the accused administers through his finger
tips to the food (the ‘poison’ of ka bih resides supposedly in their
nails). In this case they are forbidden to take part in preparation of
the food in any feasts but not in inter-dining. He also states that,
when the Pnar resorted to witchcraft, they engage the help of a
shaman. It is again an error to say this on his part as witchcraft is a
psychic ability which is inherent in a person. At the same time,
shamanism as understood by its definition and explanation is in
fact a form of healing and knowing about certain confusing facts of
life in relation to a personal experience by employing mystical
means.23 So a person who resorts to Ai-ksuid (sorcery) or cursing
others especially enemies to inflict misfortunes like sickness and
death, engage the help of a sorcerer not a Shaman. It is necessary
to quote the definition of witchcraft and sorcery as defined by
Evans-Pritchard. . .
a witch performs no rite, utters no spell and possesses no medicines. An act of
witchcraft is a psychic act . . . sorcerers may do them ill by performing magic
rites with bad medicines.24

Hence, this article is going to examine the existence of witchcraft

and sorcery in the Khasi Pnar society according to the definition
92 Hermina B. Lakiang
of E.E. Evans-Pritchard in a historical and conceptual perspective.
From the time of the emergence of the traditional religion in the
Pnar society, witchcraft existed side-by-side with religion. In actu­
ality the first syiem of the Pnars, U Long Chyllong was deposed by
his nephew U Synriang as the common people accused him (the
former) of association with witchcraft and sorcery. The tarnished
image of U Long Cyllong, enabled Synriang later to win the trust
of the people at large who looked up to him since the days of his
youth as their promising leader. This incident, mentioned in the
Jaintia collection of myths and legends,25 proves that allegation of
wizardry sometime might be used as an instrumental technique
by persons to manipulate the social structure to their own advan­
tage.26 Max Marwick is of the opinion that witchcraft is a social
strain gauge resulting from a strained relationship in the society
‘. . . reflecting in part the fact that the accusation of sorcery is
often involved in a younger man’s bid for leadership’27 is also worth
considering.
This incident also pointed one important fact, that in the study
of witchcraft and sorcery in the Khasi Pnar society, social structure
must be taken into consideration. In order to understand, this it is
felt that the postulation of Monica H. Wilson in her paper, ‘Witch
Beliefs and Social Structure’, whose case study involved two African
societies Nyakyusa of Tanganyita and the Pondo of South Africa, is
needed to cite here as an example. Among the Nyakyusa, witch­
craft accusation was usually amongst neighbours as they have a
close relationship, in which social friction is most likely to occur
as feasts were usually given to their neighbours, while the Pondo
live-in close relation to their relatives. So, according to the Pondo
any pressure in came from their ancestors, they believed even in
that having to kill their cattle for the customary practice of pro­
viding feasts to their relatives.28 So, in this light the Khasi Pnar case
needed to be examined. This called for the attention to the social
structure of the Pnar before the emergence of syiemship amongst
them. The leader of the group was a headman, U Lakriah, who was
also at the same time a mediator (or priest) between the people
and God, looking after their socio-religious, economic and politi­
cal welfare.29 But, he functioned through a ‘dorbar’, constituted of
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 93
all the members of the group. During this time it seems that no
clan gained any importance over the rest. When he was too old
to carry on the task, he decided to appoint a syiem to take over.
Through the act of divination he selected the Chyllong clan. U
Long Chyllong, the eldest of the family of four siblings was pre­
ferred as the syiem. He was endowed with the responsibility of
retaining the customary laws which were given religious sanction.30
He was expected to deal equally with all his subjects. But, he showed
partiality to the rich, neglecting the plight of the less fortunate
‘neighbours’ which fermented resentment in the latter. So he was
alleged to be the lover of witchcraft. It seems that even during this
point of time the people associated prosperity and power with
some mystical power. So the allegation of witchcraft started amongst
neighbours in the society, the poor against the prosperous one, as
in the case of the African tribe, Nyakyusa. This was also reflected
in the Navaho saying, ‘He’s a witch. That’s why he has lots of sheep,
horses and cattle, and beads of all kinds, and all kinds of skins’. He
had everything, and because of that everyone knew him and was
afraid of him.31
Another related incident must be narrated here. The mother of
the younger bidder to power Ka Lysan Chyllong was cast away by
her brother U Long chyllong as a result of the ‘virgin birth’ of her
son, U Synriang. Her brother accused her of indecent behaviour,
Later the durbar of the people realized that it was a ‘diving’ preg­
nancy (getting information about this from a shaman), they sought
her forgiveness and reinstated her. When her son was of age, it was
seen that the uncle was depicted in the traditional sources as a syiem
whose arrogance grew by the day. He went against the custom of
the time by issuing an order regarding the community hunting ex­
pedition (Beh Kpong) of the Pnars, that the first one to shoot an
arrow at an encircled deer should be the privilege of the syiem
only. But Synriang defied this order and shot the deer first. When
Long Cyllong confronted him asking him who he was, his answer
was that he was the syiem. The tension broke and, ‘mystical battle’
started between the two, each having his own following later Ac­
cording to the legend a real battle broke out between them where
Long Chyllong was defeated by Synriang. Long Chyllong, Sin
94 Hermina B. Lakiang
Chylloing and Rah Chyllong were then exiled and portrayed as
dishonoured persons who associated with witchcraft and sorcery.32
Thus in the Khasi Pnar society only tainted persons turn to witch­
craft and sorcery. This is remarkably similar to the Indian belief in
general that tantricism is the refuge of those, who have fallen from
the Vedic way of life.33 With the study of this, it is realized that
accusation of witchcraft was used as a ‘political weapon’.34 Through
strong negative public opinion that was formed against U Long
Chyllong. Synriang won the favour of the people and was installed.
The social structure of the Khasi Pnar society is matrilineal and
that, through strong negative public opinion that was formed against
U Long Chyllong, Synriang won the favour of the people and was
installed. It must be noted here that the social structure of the
Khasi Pnar society is matrilineal and that the syiemship is passed on
from an uncle to a nephew in a selected clan (chosen for syiemship)
naturally, when the uncle has aged or is dead. It is difficult, there­
fore, not to come to the conclusion that the sequence of related
events could not have come about had the accusation which was
made not been made in the idiom of wizardry.35
That a person’s reputation and positive public opinion can be
ruined by accusing him of anti socio-religious behaviour was proved
true in the medieval period when the Pnar underwent steady
Hinduization. During this period one Jaintia Raja, whose name
was not mentioned in the traditional source, a contemporary of
the legendary Sajar Nagli Chadap no longer pleased his subjects
because he had accepted Hindu socio-religious beliefs and began
practising polygamy, even desiring to make Sajar Nagli Chadap’s
daughter one of his wives. As a consequence of this, the people
under Sajar Nagli Chadap rebelled against him. This action of his
also made the people accuse him of practices like taking the milk
of a young mother and using babies as cushion while sleeping.36
One social structure of the Khasi Pnar that is of utmost impor­
tance in studying witchcraft and sorcery is its tribal egalitarian
and cooperative base. But with the coming of the concept of pri­
vate property, a clan went and settled on the best land, staking
their claim on it and became known as the original or founding
clan.37 In such a society, a well-do-do person or family is expected
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 95
to be benevolent and share the wealth or possessions (like provid­
ing a feast for instance) with his relatives or neighbours. In such a
situation, a person or family claims to be in possession of witch­
craft or sorcery like Ka Taro or Ka Kymbad to keep their wealth
from being drained away by their neighbours, which makes the
Khasi Pnar case unique.38 This usually happened when rich, gener­
ous persons or families lent a hand to their neighbours in need,
they went unpaid for their efforts and debts were not cleared
by those concerned.39 Such frequent occurrences could hurt the
generosity of the spirits.
The belief in the evil eye and the adherence to ‘the transference
of evil’ into an inanimate object also points to the social relation
among the Khasi Pnares. It shows that in their society close rela­
tions exist not only among family but among neighbours as well.
The occurrence of feasts among the people takes place not only in
the family but in the neighbourhood too. These gatherings brought
in the fear of being the victim of the evil eye which caused consti­
pation and other stomach problem. So a person who is suspected
of being the culprit of having the evil eye is discouraged to sit
nearby or in the opposite direction. A person who is accused of
this witchcraft is usually a neighbour, who is not socially liked.
Even though witchcraft and sorcery had already existed in the
Khasi Pnar society, the allegation became predominant with the
coming of British colonialism. In fact, hearsay from the wife and
children of an indigenous Welsh Church minister pointed that
even missionaries had to believe in thlen and take part in chasing
away nongshohnoh (one who beats to death and throws away the
body).40 This was the result of the emergence of the struggle for
power between the noble founding clan or ki jaid bakkaru and the
small clan i.e., (the commoners). This was the result of the pros­
perity of the commoner clans as a result of their success in trade.
They were considered a threat to the position of the founding clan
(noble clan). To clarify the fact that allegation of witchcraft and
sorcery is a result of class struggle Cecile a Mawlong has written:
That tension and social conflict had emerged in the society as trade developed
is brought out in the endearing Khasi folktale of U Thlen. It is held that
worship of this evil spirit is often the reason for murders carried out by man
96 Hermina B. Lakiang
called Nongshohnoh (one who beats to death) with no apparent motive.
The Thlen is said to take many forms but seem to be especially partial to the
snake form. The Thlen which attaches itself to wealth and property must
be propitrated with human blood by its keepers in return for material
wealth. Persons and families suspected of keeping the spirit is socially
ostracized. Fear of this spirit is so stong that it survives to this day in many
parts of the Khasi Hills. The only way that its keepers can redeem themselves
in society is by discarding the practise which could be appropriated by the
Syiem on whom there were not taboo restrictions for such an action as he had
the sanction of custom. Among the Jaintias similar belief exists in the form of
the Taroh superstition.41
The significance of the Thlen and Taroh superstitions lies in the fact
that, they are a clear index of social tensions that had emerged in society in
response to the demands of new social relations as distribution of economic
power changed. This is inferred from the fact that persons and families
accused of harbouring such spirits were more often than not traders and
business folk. The thlen superstition is also a reflection of how dominant groups
of Khasi society sought to manipulate ideology to safeguard their interests.
These interests were probably linked with the control of profits from trade
particularly Khasi iron which going by British report and accounts appears
to have been substantial.42

In the post-colonial period, the accusation of witchcraft is less

but belief in the existence of sorcery is stronger than ever. Evidence
of the allegation of witchcraft as a political weapon is proved truer
by the occurrence of the allegation of witchcraft against families
coming from the founding clan or big clan (kmaikur). It seems
that the khian kur (small clan) uses the same weapon that the
noble clan has used against them during the colonical period, i.e.
the allegation of witchcraft to snatch away socio-political power
from them as at present some of them are richer and more edu­
cated than some members of the founding clans. The weapon is
thus, a two-edged weapon and is as useful in securing the reten­
tion of power in the face of a challenge as in securing the advantage
of a person seeking to challenge the established power.43 A close
observation of the Khasi Pnar society as a member and witness in
the society (‘Even in the same society there are as we all know
differences between what informants tell us and what, when we
are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, we see actually
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 97
happening’)44 shows that till now belief in sorcery is strong in any
strain that occurs amongst relatives or neighbours since sorcery is a
practical form of magic as rationalized by the modern people, which
involves the use of ‘bad medicines’45 against one’s enemies.
As both men and women are members of any society, it is neces­
sary to look into the position of women in the Khasi Pnar matrilin­
eal society in response to witchcraft, sorcery and tantricism. The
three traditional sayings of the Khasi clarify the social staus of the
three significant members of the Khasi Pnar family, ‘the mother
gives life’, ‘the uncle who can’ (all in all) and ‘the father gives
stature’. In such a background, it will be interesting to note that
the demons like the taro were given a feminine gender and the
thlen a masculine one. In the case of the tari superstition the
female members of the alleged family are believed to possess the
psychic power to harm the neighbours, if they are thought to hurt
the sentiments of the tari owners. If the mother connects with the
taro, to gain wealth, her daughters automatically inherits it though
the taro resides permanently with the youngest daughter (accord­
ing to the line of inheritance). The son of such a family on the
other hand, is never heard of practising this psychic act of witch­
craft even though he is a part of the suspicion that falls on the
family, as he manages the family affairs (as a brother and an uncle).
The psychic acts of witchcraft in practising kymbad/jymbieh, ka
bih (poisoning) and ka ske (the evil eye) are also attributed to the
female members excluding the male members of the accused family.
While in the act of propitiating the thlen, where human blood is
needed, murders are carried out by the male members, the female
performs the rituals of blood offering to the thlen. Regarding this
particular act of witchcraft, the male members of the suspicious
family are more feared than the females. The psychic ability of the
Pnar woman is extended to shamanism also. In the sphere of prac­
tical magic, i.e. sorcery, the practitioners are always men (leh stad/
ai ksuid ). So the fact that the woman gives birth (life) endows her
with supernatural power and psychic ability in comparison to men
while in practical and physical world (the one who can on the
whole and the one who gives stature) the men are more powerful.
Thus, in the Khasi Pnar society the allegation of witchcraft and
98 Hermina B. Lakiang
sorcery reflects its matrilineal social structure and the gender rela­
tions within it.
In accordance to what has been studied, it is found that in every
transitional phase in the Khasi Pnar society, witchcraft comes forth
to serve the purpose of allaying the insecurities consequent upon
the break-up of any social order of the day. In order to have a clear
picture of witchcraft and sorcery in the Khasi Pnar society, one
needs to examine its relation to social structure, social relations,
social function as a social strain outlet and its function as political
weapon; and also to its equivalent tantricims. It is safe to conclude
that tantricism has existed in every society including the Khasi
Pnar society. According to those in favour of it, it has its sanction
even in the Vedas,46 while according to Chakravarti it is universal in
character and is based in primitive beliefs.47 It, thus, paves the way
for the future adherence to tantric Hindu beliefs especially among
the Pnars of Jaintia Hills.
This subject matter is taken up with the intention that it will
serve the purpose for further in depth study by a social historian,
who is aware of the anthropological theory.48 This is considered
necessary because though witchcraft, sorcery and tantricism can
be flicked off as mere ‘superstitions’, they are real to those who
believe in them in any cultures in societies. Every society has its
own culture, which shapes its world view and ‘culture is the sum
total of the labours of the gifted minds which the group accepts
through the action of social selection’.49 If the culture has demons,
then the witch functions with the aid of demons.50 As in the case
of the Khasi Pnar culture, where the taro and the thlen are both
demons, it is also the objective to bring the readers to notice that
accusation of witchcraft and sorcery like U Thlen, Ka Taro, Ai-
Ksuid, Evil Eye (Ka Sabuit/Ka ske) and ‘the transference of evil; and
ka Bih/Kymbad/Hymbieh provide a short lived explanation or strain-
outlet of any unlikable, unsettling situations that occur in the
society leading to further aggravation of the ugly social strains and
tensions, which has disrupted the relation amongst relatives, family
and the society at large. Herein rests the problem because cultural
trait and belief already shape the human mind, which acts like an
already programmed computer in obedience to an input of values
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 99
and assumptions. However, at various times there emerge creative,
pioneering minds, a genius, who upsets the currents and proposes
new circuits, new values and processes so that progress ensues. A
historical approach to understanding superstitions and practices
in a society is perhaps a big step in the path of this progress.

NOTES

1. Mark Gradubard, Witchcaraft and the Nature of Man, Boston Way Lanham:
University Press of America, USA, 1984, p. 270.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., pp. 270-1.
4. Ibid., pp. 242-3, 270.
5. Max Marwick (ed), Witchcraft and Sorcery, Great Britain: Penguin Educa­
tions, 1970, rpt. 1975, pp. 210-16.
6. Ibid., pp. 201-369.
7. N.N. Bhattacharya, History of the Tantras Religion, New Delhi: Manohar,
1992.
8. N.N. Bhattacharya, Religious Culture of North Eastern India, New Delhi:
Manohar, 1995.
9. C. Chakravarti, Tantras, Stdues on their Religion and Literature, Calcutta:
Punthi Pustak, 1963, rpt., 1972.
10. D.P. Chattapadhyaya, Lakayata, Delhi: People Publishing House, 1959,
pp. 269-325.
11. S. Kapur, Witchcraft in Western India, Bombay: Orient Longman Ltd.,
1983, pp. 58-80.
12. Margaret Stutley, Ancient Indian Magic and Folkore, As Introduction,
London and Henley: Routledghe and Kegan Paul, 1980, pp. 1-6.
13. N.N. Bhattacharya, op. cit.
14. N.H. Mohrmen, ‘The Khasi Pnar Beliefs in Witchcraft and Curse’, The
Shillong Time, vol. no. 53, issue no. 322.
15. R.M. Mukhim, Ki Marw Ka Jingngeit Bieit, Shillong: Ri Khasi Press, 1982.
16. S. Kapur, Witchcraft in Western India, Bombay: Orient Longman Ltd.,
1983, pp. 60-8.
17. D.P. Chattopadhyaya, Lokayatra, Delhi: People Publishing House, 1959,
pp. 269-325.
18. S. Kapur, Witchcraft in Western India, Delhi: People Publishing House,
1959, pp. 56-8.
100 Hermina B. Lakiang
19. Ibid., p. 73.
20. H.H. Mohrmen, ‘The Khasi Pnar Beliefs in Witchcraft’, vol. no. 53, issue
no. 322, p. 6.
21. Ibid.
22. J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, London, 1922, pp. 706-98.
23. Comparative study based on Richard Cavendish et al., Man, Myth and
Magic, Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown, New York:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1995, pp. 2350-3.
24. A.D.J. Macfarlane, ‘Definition of Witchcraft’, in Max Marwick et al., Witch­
craft, and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 41.
25. Ka Khynroo-Khyllood committee Sein-Raij Jowai, U.Tree-Kirot ha U Niaw­
wasa, Khnroo-Khyllood Committee, Sein-Raj, Jowai, 1992, pp. 40-62.
26. J.R. Crawford, ‘The Consequences of Allegation’, in Max Marwick et al.,
Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 305.
27. Ibid., Max Marwick, ‘Witchcraft as a Social Strain—Gauge’, in Max
Marwick, et al., Witchcraft and Sorcery, p. 286.
28. Ibid., Monica H. Wilson, ‘Witch-Beliefs and Social Structure’, in Max
Marwick et al., Witchcraft and Sorcery, pp. 255-60.
29. Ka Khynroo-Khyllood Committee, Sein-Raij, Jowai, U Tre-Kirot ha U
Niaw-Wasa, op. cit., pp. 28-39.
30. Ibid., pp. 40-1.
31. Clyde Kluchohn, ‘Navaho Witchcraft’, in Max Marwick et al., Witchcraft
and Sorcery, op. cit., 1970, p. 236.
32. Ka Khynroo-Khyllood Committee, Sein Raij, Jowai, U Tre-Kirot ha U
Niaw—Wasa, op. cit., pp. 40-62.
33. N.N. Bhattacharya, History of the Tantric Religion, op. cit., p. 3.
34. Op. cit., Max Marwick, et al.,Witchcraft and Sorcery, Great Britain: Penguin
Education, 1970, pp. 144, 371, 192-4, 210-31, 234-5, 305, 318,
317-18.
35. J.R. Crawford, ‘The Consequences of Allegation’, in Max Marwick et al.,
Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 305.
36. Donbok. T. Laloo, Riheh, Shillong: The Author 1991, pp. 3-4.
37. S.N. Lamare, The Jaintias Studies in Society and Change, New Delhi:
Regency Publication, 2005, p. 35.
38. R.M. Mukhim, Ki Mraw ka Jingngeitbieit, op. cit., p. 20.
39. Ibid.
40. Interview with C.M. Lyngdoh, the daughter of (Late) Rev. Mania Lyngdoh,
Shillong, 14 September 2007.
41. Jaintia Hills in M. Mumin & C.A. Mawlong (ed.), Society and Economy in
North-East India, vol. 1, pp. 47-8.
 Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society 101
42. Ibid., p. 48.
43. J.R. Crawford, ‘The Consequences of Allegation’, in Max Marwick et al.,
Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 318.
44. Max Marwick’s article ‘Witchcraft as a Social Strain—Gauge’, in Max
Marwick et al., Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 283.
45. A.D.J. Macfarlane ‘Definitions of Witchcraft’, in Max Marwick et al.,
Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 41.
46. C. Chakravarti, Tantras, Studies on their Religion and Literature, op. cit.,
p. 11.
47. Ibid., pp. 7-9.
48. Monica H. Wilson, ‘Witch-Beliefs and Social Structure’, in Max Marwick
et al., Witchcraft and Sorcery, op. cit., p. 2062.
49. Mark Graubard, Witchcraft and the Nature of Man, op. cit., p. 238.
50. Ibid., p. 240.
 CHAPTER 4

Magic, Religion and Mother

Goddess Kamakhya: Esoteric
Practices in Assam1
A RC H A N A B A RU A

In the overall religious mosaic of this vast country called India,

religion has played its significant role in a manner that from Kash­
mir to Kanyakumari, from Gandhara to Kamarupa, the Indian
psyche has comfortably adopted the most accommodating and
harmonious attitude to life and its mysteries. There is a harmonious
co-existence between the profane and the sacred, the human and
the divine, to such an extent that religion has become a way of life­
style and a pattern of thought. As Cramb puts it: ‘India is not only
the Italy of Asia; it is not only the land of romance, of art and
beauty. It is in religion earth’s central shrine. India is religion.’2 In
this overall religious mosaic each region has contributed its own
distinctive share, thus keeping room for a kind of creative dialogue
between the text and its sub-texts. Assam has enriched this reli­
gious tradition with the pure Vaishnavism of Sankaradeva, its cult
of Eka Sharana Naama Dharma, religion of absolute surrender to
the One. And interestingly enough, Assam also remains the land
that has contributed immensely to the magico-religious cults of
the tantrikas, the prime centre of Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath,
the Tantric Siddhas, whose descendants and followers came to be
known as the kanphata yogis. Perhaps, the most important figure
for the early development of both Hindu and Buddhist Tantra in
South Asia, Matsyendranath has received his esoteric knowledge
in Kamarupa while living among the many powerful female yoginis
104 Archana Barua
who dwelt here. Among their four pithas, Kamrupa-Kamakhya is
prominent. As per Tibet’s Pang Sam Jon Zen book, Sarah or
Rahulbhadra was born of a Brahmin and a dakini in eastern Assam
in a place called Ranjni, a place identified as Rani in Nowgaon
district of Assam.

SACRED AND SECRET RITUALS IN

| HA KAMAKHYA
THE YONI-PIT

At a time when the ancient land Pragjyotishapur came to be known

as K"amarupa,
" with its centrality of one of the most venerated Shakti
shrines in medieval India, the Devipitha Kamakhya, the Devi here
becomes completely transformed into the eroticized form of yoni
of Sati or Parvati, the Goddess who fulfils all desires at Nilachala,
her permanent abode in which, like a sixteen-year old (sodasi ),
still passionately in love, Sati as Kamakhya waits for her beloved
husband Siva for fulfilling her sexual desires, and also to bless her
devotees. According to the Kalika Purana, the genital organ of Sati
fell here when her dead body was carried hither and thither in
frantic sorrow by her husband Siva. The yoni (pudendum), no
sooner had it fallen on the hill, turned into stone, and Siva himself
finding no corpse on his shoulder, sat down and became a stone.
Inside the temple, there is a cave and in the cave stands a block
of stone resembling yoni and the block of stone has always been
kept moist from the oozing of a natural spring within the cave.
The Kalika Purana, a work composed in ninth century AD in an­
cient Assam for glorifying Kamakhya, gives a description of
Manobhava Guha. It says, ‘Inside the cave there exists a very lovely
pudendum on the stone which is 12 angulas (9 cm) in width and
20 angulas (16 cm) in length gradually narrowing and sloping. It
is reddish in colour like vermillion and saffron. On that female
organ the amorous Goddess Kamakhya, the primordial force re­
sides in five different forms. The Goddess is supposed to have her
annual period in the month of Ashadha (June-July) for three days,
there after the summer crop is planted in Assam. A comparison is
drawn between human female becoming pregnant after menstrua­
tion and the mother earth getting heavy with crops after divine
menstruation in Ambubasi festival. Yoni-puja, or womb worship is
 Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya 105
the cornerstone of Kamakhya worship. The red colour closely asso­
ciated with Goddess worship is the red seed or menstrual blood
that flows out of the body of a fertile woman, who is not carrying a
child. Metaphorically, the womb represents prakriti, (nature), the
material world, full of fragrances and fluids that can take various
forms. This is the world of death and fear and life and love; it is the
world of desires and passions and ambitions and attachments. Shiva,
the hermit, shuns both, the literal as well as metaphorical aspect
of the Goddess.’3 At Nilachala, Shiva who takes the form of Bhairava,
inadvertently becomes the guardian of the Goddess.
The cave is called Manobhava Guha (the cave of Cupid) be­
cause, according to mythology, this was created by or belonged to
Kama. ‘The name manobhava itself is comparatively new, which
means Madana or Kamadeva (eros) Guha and it is originated from
Tantra. Manobhava is in the lajja seed syllable hrim.’4 Scholars
note the phases and layers of the temple’s early associations that
do not rule out early association of the shrine with some primitive
group.
Thus, the Kalika Purana explains the origin of yonimandala
located inside the temple on the Nilachala, and identifies the hill
both as a graveyard and a scene of the secret love-tryst of the God­
dess. This narrative makes Nilachala both a graveyard and a place
of Shiva Parvati’s amorous pastime. It is this graveyard motif which
provides the occasion for Banikanta Kakati to speculate on the
deity’s Khasi connection. In an attempt to substantiate a folk origin
of the Goddess or an origin independent of Sati’s limb story, Kakati
draws attention to the lack of mention of Kamarupa-Kamakhya as
a pitha in the Devi Bhagavata.The folk origin of Goddess Kamakhya
is also reaffirmed by the fact that neither the Umachal Rock In­
scription of 500 AD (which is situated so near it), nor the travel
records of Hiuen T’sang made any mention of the shrine.5

THE BLUE GODDESS AND TANTRIC RITUALS

IN THE YONI-PITHA KAMAKHYA

As Devi Kamakhya, the blue Goddess of the Tantras, dwells on the

blue mountain Nilachala, Siva also becomes blue here. ‘Among
the Bhairavas, the Nilachala Bhairava on the Nilachala and the
106 Archana Barua
Mahabhairava of Tezpur became the most famous ones and mag­
nificent temples came to be built in their honour. One of the
principal idols inside the main temple, identified as Kameshvara
Mahadeva, is actually a statue of Bhairava.’6 To quote Pranav Jyoti
Deka: ‘In Nilacala, we have Hinduized Buddhist Tantras. Statues
found here do not carry an image of Dhyani-Buddha on or near
their head. The transformation of the Goddess took place from
Chinnamunda Vajrayogini to Vajrav"arah$ " û, then to Vajravairochani
and ultimately to Kamesvari Kamakhya, but Hetuka-Bhairava is
the only link where the essence did not altar with the change of
goddesses.’7 The seed incantation of the Tantra for the Goddess
Kamakhya are addressed to Vajrayogini, Varav" arahi and Vajra­
vairochani, who later became closely associated with the Shakti in
the form of Chinnamasta and Bauddha Chinnamunda.
These two parallel Tantras came up only in the nineteenth cen­
tury. Gradually, Chinnamasta merged with Bouddha Goddess
Shveta Kurukulla and Hindu Rati, Goddess of sex, and a new
Goddess Sodasi emerged, who is the progenitress of medieval and
post-medieval Yoni cult. If it is assumed it took roughly one
hundred years to modify the Chinnamasta cult to Kameshvari-
Kamakhya cult, the cult could not come up before late tenth or
early eleventh century. One has to remember that in India, Vajravarahi
statues are the first deity showing vaga mudra, i.e., exposing her
sex organ to view’.8
‘Ash adorned Shiva’, the patron deity of the previous king Kumara
Bhaskarvarma, who once declared that he would not bow his head
before nay one except ‘ash adorned Shiva’, was of the form Jyotirlinga
Lingeshvara; subsequently the white Sv"attika Shiva was replaced
by the royal, red form of Shiva, the K"amesvara Shiva at a time
when the Mah"a Gauri concept came up from unification of Visnu­
m"aya" and Durga. Deka submits: ‘The Shiva was no more “the ash
adorned Shiva” (Lingaraja) but became Kameshvara, who though
was still smeared with ash, is to be propitiated with red flowers
and kum-kuma (saffron, an item of luxury). K"amesvara is a rajasika
"
(royal) Shiva, while Lingaraja is s"attvika and Bhairava is the Tantric
form of Shiva’.9 K"amesvara Mahadeva replacing Lingaraja resurrec­
tion of madana (eros), acceptance of one form of Tara as Shveta
 Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya 107
Kurukulla Tara (equivalent to Rati) shows that society has become
a fertile ground for seeds of Kameshvari-Kamakhya cult, where
Kameshvari is the Goddess of desire and K"amakhya
" " is the deity of
cessation of all desires.’10
During the rule of the Varman dynasty, types of Shiva prolifer­
ated in Kamarupa as Rudreshvara, Siddheshvava, Kedareshvara,
Ishana and many local Shivas as Harupeshvara, Hatupeshvara, etc.
As the Tantric branches of Hinduism gained strength, the tamasika
or t"antrika Shiva, the blue Shiva Bhairava came into force. Tantric
"
rituals specially associated with the cult of power and harnessing
of it in all its forms, dangerously leaning toward transgression of
normal laws of purity and impurity and redefining it, to an extent
that Tantra and also Yoni-Tantra remained specially attractive to
many kings and rulers and the royal, in the context of Assam.’11
Originally constructed in the eighth century during the P"ala dy­
nasty in Kamarupa, renovated by Cila Rai and King Naranarayana
is the present temple of Kamakhya as the ancient Kamarupa temple
was destroyed in natural calamity and the ‘templeless Goddess’
was brought to ‘new roofless one’, the roof of which was later pro­
vided in 1565 AD renovated by Koch king Naranarayana and his
general Cila Rai’.12 One also finds that a divine lineage to the
Koch royal-dynasty was acknowledged during that time by the
Brahmanical order. ‘Certain late Medieval Tantras and other works
dealing with Shaiva and Shakta cults (e.g. Ånandamangala, Vangavasi
edn. p. 78) represent Shiva as an ardent lover of Koch girls. This
trait is not found in earlier works, no doubt resulted from the
identification of Siva with a tribal deity of the Koch people after
their Hinduization in the medieval period. . . .’13
‘Thus, we find that different ethnic elements contributed to­
wards the development of esoteric sadhana in India; the proto-
Australoids contributing sadhana with wine and flesh; the Homo-
Alpinus (?) an erotic form of sadhana; and the Mongoloids, the
sadhana with wine, flesh and women. Matsya, or fish which was
added later on with this worship is interesting for custom shows
that fish is offered to in the bhoga or daily meal of the Devi in
Bengal only. The Mahanirvanatantra ‘recommends three species
of fish for sacrifice which are found especially in Bengal, while
108 Archana Barua
mudra or fried rice is a favourite food primarily in eastern India,
and these might have been added when the practice spread to
Bengal.’14

MAGICAL AND RELIGIOUS ELEMENTS

IN THE YONI PITHA KAMAKHYA
The cult flourished also with royal patronage in various forms till
it finally led to confrontation with traditional priesthood of the
temples in general, represented by Vashishtha, the Goddess, ‘heart­
broken’ at the unkindness shown, disappeared as per Vashishtha’s
curse against the whole Yoni-mandali.15 In her second phase of re­
appearance in the shrine, she is none other than the strong God­
dess Camunda and K"al$û who can be propitiated with sacrifices and
with blood. Strong goddesses like Chamunda, have been portrayed
as ‘extreme in its violence and eroticism’. Decapitated at the cop­
per temple at Sadiya, or at some other shrine of the tribe, human
sacrifices were also formerly offered by the Tipperas, Kacharis,
Koches, Jaintias, and other Assam tribes.16
There was this period of the Devi’s disappearance from the shrine
as per the curse of the traditional priest of the Hinduized Goddess
Tara as Kali and Chamunda and in her second phase of appearance
Kamakhya became indisguishable from these strong Hindu god­
desses that also justified sacrifices being offered to her. In this phase
of her re-appearance the Devi remained completely indistinguish­
able not only from some other strong Hinduized goddesses of the
Hindu pantheon like Chandi and Chamunda and Kali, but also
other local strong goddesses like Kechaikhati, Ugratara and others.

RE-VISITING BOUNDARIES BETWEEN

MAGIC, ESOTERISM AND RELIGION
How can these two opposite aspects of the Devi be combined in a
harmonious manner? Krishnaram Nyayabagish, the preceptor of
the Ahom king, Shiva Simha, better known in the history of Assam
as the Parbatiya Gosain, was a well-known Shakta theologian of his
time. A native of Nadia, Bengal, he was the last philosopher of
 Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya 109
eminence to offer an explanation on the ‘composite character of
the Goddess Kamakhya-Kamesvari.’ ‘She will put on red clothes
and red and yellow flower garlands and bestow sexual pleasure to
her devotees. During the war and danger, she will throw away her
clothes and flowers and will take khadga (sword) in her hands
to protect her devotees and will take revenge.’ (Sri Sri Kamakhya
Tirtha, M. Bhattacharya, p. 15). ‘According to Krishnaram Nyaya­
bagish the Goddess has two forms, the erotic one when she seats
on the red lotus (sodasi ) and the destroyer-cum-preserver form
when she stands on the lion, (Durga Katyayani ) or sits on the
dead body (Candi C"amunda).’17 Deka comments:
The duality did not work with the Assamese psyche. . . .’ God­
dess K"amakhya
" " remained benefactress and protectress,
that is the role Goddess K"amakhya
" " is playing for the last 500 years. In
the minds of a large section of the people of Assam, irrespective of creed and
language, K"amakhya
" " is the mother and they generally approach her either
to work for a boon or when in distress. In dire distress, people may offer her
a goat or even a buffalo as a sacrifice. That is primarily a primitive a quid pro
quo policy.18

But ‘she is not a blood thirsty Goddess. She is a three faceted

Goddess synthesized from the Hindu Sakti Tantra and Buddhist
Anuttra Tantra or Vajratantrapath. She protects her devotees by
destroying the enemies as Shakti, bestows prosperity on them as
Lakshmi, can grant emancipation from the cycle of rebirth as
Vajrayogini, also sexual pleasure as Vajravairoc"ani.19 She remains
a bitter sweet combination of Buddhist klesha as suffering and
Hindu "ananda. She is both Kameswari,
" kamaisvari,
" the goddess of
desire, and the expiration of all the desires, and K"amakhya-kamma=
" "
khyaya.
While mundane Tantra as Laukika is mostly comprised of magi­
cal rituals and incantations with its aim to get siddhi, eight great
successes, the super-mundane Tantra, lokottara, aim for non-revers­
ible bliss. Both kinds of siddhi and sadhya, either at the mundane
or at a higher spiritual level, are still within the realm of desire and
pravritti-m"arga, the difference being what kind of pleasure one
110 Archana Barua
looks for, mundane and carnal or spiritual and refined. On the one
hand, Mother Goddess K"a m"a khy"a is Kameshvari, the blue and
the mysterious Goddess of love-sex-and power and on the other
hand she is the Great Goddess, who in her transcendental and
religious position can bestow liberation from the bindings of de­
sire and of K"ama. ‘How does Kamakhya-Kameshvari, a Shakti God­
dess, assure her devotees release from the cycle of rebirth, which
generally does not fall in the domain of a Shakti deity?’ Deka won­
ders.20 Can the Goddess in the Shakti and the Agama scripture
bestow salvation or can simply fulfil desires of the devotees, not
taking them to a desireless state?
For this the Goddess had to imbibe the Kamakhya aspect, a
blend of pravritti and nivritti in one, and finally she remains a
combination of all these aspects in these various aspects; Scholars
submit: ‘Hindu Tantra borrowed the goal of emancipation from
rebirth from Bauddha Tantra, and Bauddha Tantra, in turn, adopted
the concept of visualization (dhyana) and to merge with the deity,
from the Hindu Tantra.’21 In order to understand the mystery of
this mysterious combination of the magical with the religious, of
desire and power and bondage in the level of triguna prakriti and
the ability to bestow on her devotees the mantra of rising above
that very bondage by rising above the mundaneness of the mun­
dane, Mother Goddess K"amakhy " "a remains a bitter sweet combi­
nation of Bauddha klesha as suffering and Hindu ananda, she is
both Kameshvari, kama = isvari, the Goddess of desire, and the
expiration of all the desires, and K"amakhya—kamma
" " = khyaya.’22
She is a three-faceted Goddess synthesized from the Hindu Shakti
Tantra and Bauddha Anuttara Tantra or Vajra Tantra path. She
protects her devotees by destroying the enemies as Shakti, best
prosperity as Lakshmi, can grant emancipation from the cycle of
rebirth as Vajrayogini, also sexual pleasure as Vajravairocani ’.23
Balabhadra the earth-tiller, and Bhumi the Earth-mother,
remained dominating myth of the agrarian cult and K"am"akhy"a
cult added the sex-based cult to this agriculture centric fertile land
of K"amarupa.
" Assam underwent another form of Vaishnavite re­
form movement in the time of mahapurusha Sankara Deva and his
neo-Vaishnavite followers, that centred round agricultural God
 Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya 111
Vishnu-Krshna, Krishna is depicted here as the sun rather than
Tantra based Radha centric moon of Sri Chaitanya sect, with more
focus on Buddha-Mahavira centric ‘non-violence’ and glorification
of family centric virtues of dasya and vatsalya. Being accommoda­
tive and flexible in her position, the Goddess in the Yoni-Pitha
already opened herself for change in the basic key concepts that
defined her belief systems when the two major scriptures, the Kalika
Purana (KP ) and the Yogini Tantra (YT ) put divergent interpreta­
tions about the yoni circle as a symbol of sex, and as a symbol of
creation. The Yogini Tantra modified the eroticised form of the
Goddess with focus on creativity of the ‘eros’ than its sex centric
newness. The Yogini Tantra has also recorded certain local customs
prevalent in different parts of ancient Assam, and the Goddess in
the Yogini Tantra also adopted the most catholic attitude not only
to local and regional cults and practices, but also toward accom­
modating the other as a foreigner, allowing them flexibility on
codes of conduct and rituals in its un-Hindu like attitudes and
practices. Rather, she herself sought to imbibe some such ‘different’
norms in her own persona! It also simplified religion with its catho­
licity. In the myth of the Yogini Tantra, there is nothing to show
that the yoni circle or Kamakhya had any connection with Durga
or Parvati the etymology of KP refers to a later fable based on
imported ideas. As Mother Goddess, she definitely absorbs all pre­
vious forms of worships in her.
Now at this juncture of the neo-Vaishnavite reform movement,
Mother Goddess Kamakhya concentrated more on her motherly
love despite retaining the centrality of the eros centric Yoni-Cult in
its Hindu-Buddhist forms. This neo-Vaishnava cult has become
the second most influential cult on the modern Nilachala hills
and influencing profoundly the Kalika-Kamakhya-Kamesvari cult.
To quote Deka, ‘Benediction in K"am"akhy"a nowadays ends with
words like ‘Hari-bol ’ (invoke the name of Hari/Vishnu). Animal
sacrifice is no more a festive occasion. It is done virtually-surrepti­
tiously behind walls as if it is the fulfilment of an indecent private
contract between the gods and the devotees’.24
112 Archana Barua
NOTES

1. A revised version of the article was subsequently published in an academic

journal. This is the original version presented in the seminar organized in
Assam University, Silchar in 2015.
2. Bhagavan Das,The Essential Unity of All Religions, Theosophical Publish­
ing House, Adyar, Madras, 1940.
3. Rajib Sarma, Sri Sri Kamkhya Temple: A Socio Religious Perspective (Online)
http://www.jaimaa.org/articles/sri-sri-kamakhya-temple-a-socio-religious­
perspective/(retrieved on July 2014).
4. Pranav Jyoti Deka Nilachala Kamakhya: Her Story and Tantra, Guwahati,
Pranabjyoti Deka, 2004, p. 14.
5. Kali Prasad Goswami Kamakhya Temple, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation,
Guwahati, 1998.
6. Pranav Jyoti, Deka, Nilachala Kamakhya: Her Story and Tantra, Guwahati,
Pranabjyoti Deka, 2004 , p. 14.
7. Ibid., p. 92.
.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., p. 9.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid., p. 14.
13. Ibid.
14. Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, Reflections on the Tantras, Motilal Banarasidas,
Delhi, 1990, p. 59.
15. Not against K"am"akhy"a as such, but the whole set up there and its Tantras
and rituals and its ‘new ness’ and secretiveness as such which differed from
the already accepted Hinduised Buddhist Goddess worships, including
Hinduised Goddess T"ar"a as K"al$û.
16. E.Gait, quoted in Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, Reflections on the Tantras,
p. 60.
17. Quoted in Pranav Jyoti Deka, Nilachala Kamakhya: Her Story and Tantra,
Guwahati, 2004, pp. 20-1.
18. Pranav Jyoti Deka, Nilachala Kamakhya: Her Story and Tantra , Guwahati,
Pranabjyoti Deka, 2004, p. 98.
19. Ibid., p. 43.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid., p. 40.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
 Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya 113
REFERENCES

Bhattacharya, Benoytos, Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism, 2nd edn., Varanasi:

Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1964.
Deka, Pranav Jyoti, Nil"acala Kamakhya:
" " " Her History and Tantra, Guwahati:
Pranav Jyoti Deka, 2004.
Dold, Patricia A., ‘Reimagining Religious History through Women’s Song Per­
formance at the K"amakhya
" " Temple Site’, in Re-Imagining South Asian Reli­
gions, ed. Pashaura Singh and Michael Howly, pp. 115-54, Leiden: Brill,
2013.
Goswami, Kali Prasad, K"amakhya
" " Temple, Guwahati: A.P.H. Publishing Corp,
1998.
McGee, Mike. ‘Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath are Revealed’, volesoft.com/
20 11/01/29/matsyendranath-and-gorakhnath/.
Urban, Hugh, ‘The Path of Power: Impurity, Kingship, and Sacrifice in Assamese
Tantra’, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 69, no. 4, 2001,
pp. 777-816. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/69.4.777
Wilson, H.H., tr., The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradi­
tion, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak.
 PART II
PRACTICES OF OCCULT
 CHAPTER 5

Some Astronomical Beliefs in the

North-East and other Parts of India*
J.H. HUTTON

There is no part of the world in which, there is so striking a diver­

sity of tribes and tongues as in Assam. In the administered portion
of the Naga Hills alone there are eleven different languages, not to
mention dialects often so diverse that one village cannot under­
stand that of its neighbours. The other districts of Assam are not
quite so heterogeneous as that, but that is a fair type of the pro­
vince as a whole.
Along with this diversity in language, there is a similar diversity
in customs and beliefs, and it is the purpose of this article to re­
view some of the views held by different tribes regarding a few
astronomical phenomena, so as to see, how far they are traceable to
some common origin or, are beliefs held independently by the
tribes that hold them in order to explain familiar but mysterious
experience. Some instances of similar beliefs in other areas outside
Assam are also pointed out. The tribes dealt with, extend from the
north of the Assam province, where it merges with Tibet, to the
south, where the Lushei Hills reach down almost to Arakan and
the Bay of Bengal.
The most familiar constellations that can be seen in Assam are
those of Orion and the Pleiades, which are visible throughout the
cold weather when the sky is clear. The Miris of the north bank of
the Brahmaputra regard these constellations as representing a young
man or men (Orion’s belt) pursuing girls (the Pleiades) across the

*Reproduced from Folklore, vol. 36, no. 2 (30 June 1925), pp. 113-31.
118 J.H. Hutton
sky.1 The Sema Nagas also regard the Pleiades as girls, but girls
who were caught and killed in a raid.2
On the other hand, they regard Orion’s belt as the Rooftree Car­
riers,3 as do the Angamis,4 an idea that seems to recur among the
Abors on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, as the Galong Abors
call it karig-ipe, ‘the star roof-tree’, though the Pasi, Padam, and
Minyon Abors speak of it as a ‘quiver and arrows’.5 The Lhota Nagas
again describe it as three men searching for lost cattle. As for the
Pleiades, the Angamis regard them as men, who were killed while
digging out rats, and the Thado speak of them as seven brothers
who had only one cloth between them and had to cover them­
selves with it at the same time. Others speak of it as a hen and her
chickens, and the Khasi as the Hen-man. The Thado describe the
belt of Orion as a kind of rat which digs a very straight deep hole
at first, and then turns off at right angles, this part being repre­
sented by Orion’s sword. The Lushei associate Orion with the square
of Pegasus, and regard the whole as representing a game prevalent
in Assam played with the big flat beans of the creeper entada
scandens. There is, therefore, very little uniformity as regards Orion
and the Pleiades among the Assam tribes, though the idea of the
roof-tree appears in two places among tribes widely separated and
with very different customs and language.
Another obvious and familiar constellation visible in Assam is
that of the milky way. This constellation is visible early in the cold
weather and it is generally associated with the transition between
the end of the rains and the beginning of the cold weather. The
Lushei call it Thla Sikkong (the way of winter), and the Abors
‘The cold weather guide’; the Miri too call it ‘Winter and summer
boundary,’ and the Ao Naga the ‘cold-weather-rains-divider’. With
the Chang Nagas it has the same association, and its appearance in
the cold weather is welcomed with joy indicating that the rains are
over. The Angamis too regard its appearance as indicative of fine
weather, though they speak of it as ‘pfiu’s water channel’, which is
also the name given to the Barak River, which, like the milky way,
runs from north to south. The Sema Nagas, on the other hand,
speak of it as the ‘soul river’.
In the case of Venus, no two tribes seem to agree on the subject,
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 119
though several have names which are picturesque enough. The
Angami call the evening star ‘the thief watcher’, as it shines at the
time thieves and housebreakers are busy, while the Abors call it
‘fish eye’ and say the fish do not feed till it sets, or ‘fish-blink’,
because it looks this way and that to avoid the net of the sun, or
the ‘moon’s nurse’ (Abors employ small children to carry their
infants for them), while they call the morning star ru-pun (Blos­
som of Dawn). The Semas apparently recognize the identity of
these two aspects of Venus, but one is doubtful whether most
tribes do. Except for the Semas, the ones mentioned have, at
any rate, different names for the two appearances, and the Lushei
definitely regard the morning star as a girl and the evening star as
a chieftain, who, they say, meet in the zenith and marry.
When one comes to the sun and the moon one finds a good deal
more uniformity. There seems to be no worship of the sun or moon
at all, though they are called on to witness oaths, ‘since they see all
that takes place’, as a Naga put it. On the other hand, the Chang
Nagas, like the Aos, attribute virtue to the rising sun. They are
also careful to observe the place where the sun rises, marking it by
the alignment of some familiar tree or post in the village against
the peaks on the horizon, and there are also amongst the Angamis
certain persons who observe the sun and note the day on which it
turns back from its northern course, and J.E. Tanquist said that a
man of Kohima named Sitsalie, who made such observations, as­
sured him that the sun had not of late years risen at quite so north­
erly a point on the horizon as it used to do in the days of his
youth. He also said that the method of co-relating the solar to the
lunar year, which the Angami, like the Chang Nagas, do by the
insertion of an intercalary month, is done by guesswork. The
Terhengi festival begins on the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month.
When this festival, which celebrates the completion of the harvest,
seems to fall much too early, an extra month is thrown in ‘only
after much wrangling in which the whole village takes part’. The
Cherama clan of Kohimna village observe a calendar different to
the other six clans, apparently regulating it by observations of the
sun, while the others have the lunar system.
The respective genders of the sun and moon vary. According to
120 J.H. Hutton
the Galong Abor they are both neuter and a sort of objets d’art. The
Lhota Naga is more explicit, and describes the sun as a flaming
plate of hard metal, the size of the ground on which a basket of
seed is sown.6 The Pasi, Minyon, and Padam Abor, as also the Miri
and apparently the Mishmi, regard the sun as male and the moon
as female, which, for some reason seems very natural and proper
allocation of gender, though the Aka regards them both as mascu­
line. On the other hand, many, if not, most of the Assam hill
tribes, including the Dafla,7 the Khasi, and nearly all the Naga
tribes, regard the moon as the male and the sun as female.
Underlying both views of the genders of the sun and moon,
there is a story of an interchange of functions between them which
links together the two views and shows how the one may have
arisen from the other. The bare outline of this tradition is that the
moon performed the functions of the sun, and a great deal more
vigorously than the sun does now, but something being thrown in
his face, his heat was abated and he was reduced to the inferior
function of lighting the night. This tradition of the interchange of
functions appears in a more or less garbled form throughout the
various accounts of the luminaries. For example, the Miri state
that the marks on the moon are caused by human dung thrown at
her by another deity in a quarrel. The Mishmi state that the sun
and moon were husband and wife. The moon demanded a share of
the heat of the sun, who got angry at her importunities, saying he
had to keep it all for his children, the mankind, and threw the
moon down into a pond, the mud of which still clings to her face.
As a result of this she is afraid to venture out by day and waits till
the sun has gone behind the hills.8
The Rangpang Nagas of the Patkoi have a story which links
these versions to the other ones. At first, the sun and moon were
sister and brother, and the moon told his sister of some herbs
which would turn to meat when cooked, enjoining strict secrecy.
She, however, told the monkey, who went round and told every­
one else. The moon was angry and abused the sun, who took it to
heart and relieved his feelings by drying up everything on earth
and killing all things with excessive heat, but, when a dry branch
from a dead tree fell on the moon and killed him too, the sun
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 121
herself died of grief and ultimately the two were re-born with the
sexes reversed.9 This inversion of the sexes, however, does not form
part of the usual Naga story, which is content with saying that on
account of his excessive heat a man threw ashes or cow dung in
the moon’s face, and told him to shine at night only, when it was
cooler, instructing the sun, who till then had lit the night, to
shine in the day, as she was less harmful. The Angamis add a point,
which indirectly recalls the Mishmi version in saying that the sun,
being womanly, is afraid to go out at night, which the male moon
did not fear to do. The story about the basis of the interchange of
functions also appears partly in the Khasi view that the moon falls
in love monthly with his wife’s mother, who throws ashes in his
face,10 and more clearly in the version recorded by Col. Gurdon,11
in which the ashes reduce the moon’s heat, which was previously
as strong as the sun’s. The Garo story12 likewise records an inter­
change of functions of a very similar description. So, too, the Thado
Kuki record that the moon and sun had their functions inter­
changed, though the mountains visible on the moon’s surface are
described by them and by some Ao Nagas, as a tree,13 and not, as
by the Semas,14 Lhotas15 and most Aos,16 dung, nor, as by the Khasi,
ashes. This tree which the Thado see is no doubt the same tree
as that which the Rangpang Nagas, as already noted, regard as
having fallen on the moon and killed him. The Angamis regard
the markings on the moon, which they say is as big as a field, as a
giant nettle-tree.
When one turns to the eclipses of the sun and moon, there seem
to be two different ideas. The prevailing notion is the familiar idea
that the sun is eaten up by a monster of some sort. With the Sema
and the Ao Naga it is a tiger that eats up the orb. According to the
Kabui Nagas,17 the Manipuris, and the Lushei18 it is a dog. Ac­
cording to the Singpho it is a frog19 and according to the Khasi20 it
is a toad or frog. One has seen in a Konyak Naga morung a carving
representing a frog eating the moon, though one could obtain no
further information as to its significance. According to the Miri, it
is a demon that eats the moon and they call him Raghon. The Aka
call him Tsipzebhu, and describe him as a god who quarrels with
the orb and tries to eat him. The Dafla have a more circumstantial
122 J.H. Hutton
version, which strikes one as combining the notion of the orb be­
ing devoured with the idea that it is obscured by its passage through
a building. They relate that the god Tammui built a house on the
spot crossed by the moon from east to west just after his creation.
Tammui asked the moon to make a diversion, but the moon in­
sisted on cutting her path straight through Tammui’s house, on
which they quarrelled. Tammui shot an arrow at the moon’s right
eye, and ate him up slowly. The moon passed on, however, and
out through Tammui’s body. Later the sun, following the moon,
took the same path, and Tammui ate her up too. This he contrived
to do to both orbs from time to time, and it is a portent of disaster
to mortals. The other idea of the cause of eclipses is found in an
ingenious notion of the Angami that it is due to the eclipsed orb
having to repay to the other one a loan of borrowed light. This
idea does not occur elsewhere in Assam, though it seems, perhaps,
to have influenced Mishmi ideas, seeing that, as already stated,
they ascribe the marks on the moon to mud that stuck to her
when he threw her into the pond because she begged him for a
share of his heat. Parhelia are regarded as portents of disaster by
the Sema,21 the Ao, and the Manipuri.22
The next phenomenon to be considered is the rainbow. As to this
one has not been able to obtain much information about beliefs in
Assam, but among the Naga tribes it appears to be regarded as the
heavenly bridge used by the spirits in the sky in their communica­
tions with the earth. At any rate the Semas call it Kungumi phuku,
which can be translated as ‘Sky spirit’s leg’, but which could equally
mean ‘Sky spirit’s bridge’, and that, in the light of the parallels to
be adduced shortly, is what one is convinced it does mean. More­
over, they say that the spot at which it touches earth is one at
which some offering has been made in the fields to the sky spirits,
while if it touched the earth at any village a noted warrior of that
village would die, his spirit, passing up the rainbow to the sky.
This, too, is the point of putting imitation rainbows on the graves
of great men in the Ao and Chang areas, though Mills said he
could obtain no specific reason for it among the Aos and the Changs
asked, they would not say more than that it was the custom. Among
the Angamis also, they say it is the path of a god, and regard it as
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 123
fatal to approach the foot of the rainbow. It is, perhaps, the same
idea which made the Meithei of Manipur see the rainbow form
about the head of his Raja,23 though the old Kuki idea of the rain­
bow as the lips of God spread to drink, picturesque as it is, seems
little to the point.24 Among the Angami, Sema, and Ao Nagas, the
rainbow must not be pointed at, lest the finger wither.
Earthquakes cannot strictly be called astronomical phenomena,
but one has taken the liberty of including them in this article.
Here again, the beliefs fall into more than one category, some tribes
associating them with the ghosts of the dead, others again with
the subterranean movements of a great serpent, and others with a
god of the lower world. Thus, the Dafia regard earthquakes as caused
by the spirits of the dead clearing the jungle from their path on
their way to the underworld. When there is an earthquake the Dafla
stands up, fearing that if he remains seated disease will attack him.
The Memi division of the Angami Nagas regard earthquakes as
caused by the souls of the dead men throwing their spears at Pirhe,
or Pekujikhe,25 who is the guardian of the world of the dead, and
wrestling with him,26 while one was told, rather vaguely, by a Khasi
that the Khasis ascribe them to war somewhere or other, possibly
the same idea.
This notion of earthquakes as caused by ghosts seems to be linked
to that of the responsibility of a god under the earth by the Kachha
Naga story given by Soppitt,27 in which a dead king going to para­
dise married the daughter of the god. A struggle took place in
consequence of the dead king’s attempt to set himself up as his
father-in-law’s equal, and the king, having been defeated by the
aid of his wife, who tied his feet together with her hair, was impris­
oned in the centre of the earth, from where his struggles to free
himself, are felt by men as earthquakes. In a Kabui Naga version of
the same story, the wife snatches a lock of her husband’s hair and
throws it in the fire, thus causing him to be worsted,28 as Samson
by Delilah. The other Kabui account of earthquakes given by Hod­
son29 is that a deity under the earth named Bangla-ong sent a grass­
hopper to bring him fire from above. This grasshopper reported
that men were all dead. The deity shook the earth to see if they
were alive, so, when an earthquake takes place, they say, ‘We are
124 J.H. Hutton
alive’. This is virtually identical with the story of the Akas on the
lower Himalayan slopes, who accuse the mole-cricket of burrow­
ing down into the earth, and telling the God Phumbadega the
same lie with the same results. The Singpho (or Kachin) have ap­
parently the same story, substituting a beetle for the cricket. 30
Among the Semas, earthquakes are attributed to spirits shaking
the earth to find out how the crops are going and its general pur­
port. This is usually followed by a poor harvest, the reason for
which is to be found in the Ao practice (reported by Mr. Mills) of
holding the basket of cooked rice steady during an earthquake in
order that the rice spirit may not be frightened away. The Lhota
Naga, likewise, hold the meat rack over the fire and the bin with
the daily rice supply steady.31
No doubt the same fear of the spirit of the rice, etc., being fright­
ened away by the earthquake is present, when the Manipuris call
‘Fish! Rice!’32 as there are tremors, perhaps, not as suggested by
Hodson33 in order that the spirit shaking the earth may hear and
desist, but addressing the fish and rice to keep the soul of them
from being frightened away, just as those attending on a dying
Naga keep calling his name into his ear, as they also do when a
man faints, to cause the soul to return to the body, a view which is
possibly supported by the consideration that, in the case of the
Lhota at any rate, the cause of the earthquake is not exactly the
deliberate act of a god, but the movement of a great serpent coiled
round the world, a legend shared in Assam by the Abor in the
north and the Lushei in the south; so the Thado Kuki too attri­
bute earthquakes to this serpent’s succeeding in biting his own
tail. The Ao legend, however, is that an anthropomorphic being
called Ningtangr holds up the post that supports the sky, and
when he gets hungry and leaves his post to pluck certain leaves to
eat, the post shakes and there is an earthquake.34 The Garo legend
recorded by Playfair35 also refuses to fall into line with any other
known Assam legend. It is that the earth is square and slung on a
rope, or supported by a leg, at each corner. In the former case, a
squirrel gnawing the rope, in the latter a mouse moving up the
leg, causes the earth to shake. The Khasis tap their children’s backs
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 125
during an earthquake and say ‘grow quickly’, but one has been
unable to obtain any explanation of this.
So much for the beliefs within Assam. One can now turn to
their parallels insofar as one can able to locate them outside that
province, and begin as earlier with Orion and the Pleiades. The
Miri legend of youth pursuing maidens is apparently linked to a
Hindu tale of Bengal. This would not be unnatural, as the Miris
have of late been considerably influenced by Hinduism. The same
idea, however, is found among the Karens, who regard the three
stars on Orion’s belt daughters of the Pleiades who are seized and
forced to become wives.36 The only other external parallel one can
offer is the Khasi name of ‘the Hen-man’ for the Pleiades. This,
Hooker points out,37 is distinctly reminiscent of the Italian name
for that constellation, ‘the Chickens’, and he might have gone fur­
ther and added that the Lincolnshire term was ‘hen and chickens’,
though one is unable to quote any specific authority for this. Prob­
ably it is the twinkling elusive aspect of the individual stars of that
constellation which suggests the sudden erratic movements of little
chickens. There is, however, a curious parallel between the Naga
and the Greek in the matter of the number of the Pleiades. Whereas
the Angami, like the Mech tribe, see seven stars in the constella­
tion, the Sema see only six, but state that there used to be seven
once, just like the Greeks, who stated that there had been seven
but the seventh star, Sterope, had become invisible because of
shame, so that only six could be seen.38 The Milky Way is inter­
preted as the division of the seasons somewhere in East Africa.
Turning to the sun and moon, one finds the ascription of a mascu­
line gender to the moon and a feminine one to the sun widespread
outside Assam. The Semang of Malay consider the sun female.39
The Oraons of Chota Nagpur see the moon as masculine40 and so
do the Fijians;41 as also some of the early Scandinavians,42 while the
moon is looked upon as masculine and the sun feminine in west
Germany; so also the Eskimo, who appear to follow the Khasi in
ascribing to the moon an illicit desire for the sun, in this case his
sister, who throws soot instead of ashes in his face.43 This story
brings one back again to the interchange of functions between the
126 J.H. Hutton
moon and the sun, on account of the great heat thoughtlessly if
not maliciously radiated by the former. There seems to be an echo
of the Mishmi version in the Santhal story of the sun and moon
recorded by Bompas,44 though, as with the Mishmi, they consider
the sun masculine. The Nicobarese have the story of the inter­
change of functions45 and the Malays have a tradition which sug­
gests it.46 The Igorot of the Philippines clearly though the same
way47 as Lumawig turned one of two suns into a moon for the
benefit of mankind.
The dung or ashes of the Naga version becomes a hare else-
where—(there are no hares in the Naga Hills). In Sri Lanka it is a
hare which is thrown (by Buddha) at the moon,48 as also in Mexico,49
while the hare is associated with the moon in Burma and Japan, as
well as apparently in parts of Africa. In Melanesia, however, where
again there are presumably no hares, the thing thrown is a yam
mash50 or hot leaves.51 The underlying idea is, however, the same
throughout. The orb of day was much too hot and so he had his
face daubed and his functions exchanged with those of the orb of
the night. Moreover, the idea seems hardly of a kind to originate
independently in many different places. On the other hand, the
description of the objects seen in the moon’s face as a tree, which
has been here noted among the Thado Kuki and the Angami,
Rangpang and some Ao Nagas in Assam, appears to be the sort of
idea that might easily arise simultaneously in different parts of the
world with no connection at all. One cannot, therefore, attach
much importance to the fact that the Polynesians also regard the
markings on the moon’s surface as a tree.52 It is worth noting in
this connection, that a remarkable coincidence seems to exist be­
tween the Maori story of a man in the moon and a Scandinavian
version, that in both versions the victim seems to have been fetch­
ing water by night at the time of his abduction. In the Maori
version the water fetcher climbed a tree to escape the moon when
the tree fell on to the moon’s surface with the climber. Can the
introduction of water be traceable to something suggested by the
vivid reflection of the moon so often seen in that element? If so, it
seems suggestive again of the Mishmi theory of the moon having
got her face muddy by being thrown into a pond. Further, the tree
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 127
stories seem linked up with the interchange of function stories
related to the Palaung view of the fierce heat of the moon as inter­
cepted and kept from damaging the earth by the banyan trees
growing on the moon’s face.53
Turning to the reason behind eclipses, the Angami notion that
an eclipse takes place when the orb is repaying a loan of borrowed
light or heat, seems possibly to be present in a garbled form among
the Munda of Chota Nagpur, who state that the eclipse is caused
by the orb being surrounded by the emissaries of God, dunning
the orb for the debt of the Mundas,54 though why there should be
debts due between the orb and mankind and of what sort they are,
is not stated. Whether the idea is to be found anywhere else or not
one does not know, but the idea of the orb being devoured is
common enough. In China,55 Siam,56 and among the Subanos of
the Philippines,57 and the Semang of the Malay Peninsula58 it is a
dragon that devours it.
In Manchuria, 59 in China again, 60 and among the Karens of
Burma61 it is a dog, as in some parts of Assam, while the idea that
it is a spirit that devours the orb spreads from Hindustan62 through
the Malay Peninsula, where it is held by the Besisi,63 Mantra,64
and the Negrito Sakai,65 to Polynesia,66 and the same idea seems to
have extended to Italy, where Livy67 writes to frighten the spirit
into letting the moon go, exactly as is done in the Assam hills.
Perhaps, the real key to this explanation of eclipses is in the Palaung
view of the sun, the moon, and the dark orb which crosses them,
as the three heavenly orbs, originally brothers, who fought over
their food.68 While on the subject of the moon, one may refer in
passing to the fact that the growth of plants in Assam, as all over
the world, is considered to vary with the phases of the moon. This,
however, would again seem to be merely the result of common
observation of a natural process, since the latest researches into the
germination of plants seem to show that polarized light, like that
of the moon, hastens the dissolution of starch grains and so aids
the germination of seed. Indeed, it seems just conceivable that the
theories of the one time excessive heat of the moon may have been
falsely deduced from some actual knowledge of the conduciveness
of lunar light to germination. This idea seems less extravagant when
128 J.H. Hutton
one realizes that the Chinese practised or practise it as an ordinary
method of testing in court the legitimacy of offspring a coales­
cence of blood test69 of the same sort as one recently suggested for
that purpose as a result of the most modern investigations of the
human blood.
As some Assam tribes mentioned, the Chinese regard parhelia
as portents of evil.70 One should also perhaps notice in passing the
Naga theory of successive layers of sky worlds. This view is held
by the Ao71 and by the Lhota Nagas72 and it is also held by the
Chinese73 and by some Polynesians.74 One is, of course, familiar with
the expression ‘Seventh Heaven’, but the Chinese and Polynesians
agree in making it ten.
As regards the rainbow, as mentioned, it appeared to be regarded
by Nagas as the ‘Bridge of the spirits’. This is probably a wide­
spread idea. It is found in the Andamans, where it is regarded as
the bridge by which the dead visit their friends on earth75 and the
same idea appears to be held among the Dusun of Borneo.76 In the
Society Islands the Heavenly Twins descended from the sky to
earth on the rainbow,77 which is likewise familiar to us in classical
mythology as the path of Iris, the messenger of the gods. Similarly
in Teutonic mythology the rainbow appears as the bridge of the
gods to heaven,78 and also of the dead.79 It is, no doubt, this aspect
of the rainbow as the path of spirits that causes it to be forbidden
to point a finger at it. The spread of this taboo seems much the
same as that of the belief that the rainbow is the path of the spirits.
One finds it forbidden in Germany (Brunswick), and China,80
among the Karen of Burma81 and the Dusun of Borneo82 in the last
two cases the penalty being a lost or withered finger as with the
Nagas, and also among the Lifuans of the Loyalty Islands,83 where
the penalty is the death of the offender’s mother.
In the case of earthquakes the explanations given in Assam seem
to have no particular relation to those elsewhere, unless the one
which ascribes it to the movements of a great serpent encircling the
earth is to be connected with the great serpent Mitgard of Scandi­
navian mythology, which does not seem impossible. The results
ascribed to an earthquake all over Assam do, however, reappear in
the Loyalty Islands, where again earthquakes lead to short crops,
but not, as one is told, owing to the flight of the frightened rice
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 129
spirit, but the actual abstraction of the yam roots by the spirit
below who shakes the ground in the process.84
The question now arises as to whether any conclusion can be
drawn from the rather heterogeneous information collected in this
article. At any rate one or two facts seem to emerge. As regards the
constellations, there seems to be little cohesion or identity of ideas
among the various Assam tribes and such ideas as exist seem to
have comparatively little connection with the ideas of other people.
It is further obvious, that those ideas which show the most cohe­
sion and the clearest trace of a wide distribution are ideas about
the sun, the moon, and the rainbow, which are more or less constant
phenomena, whereas the constellations are invisible for half the
year and consequently, except in certain localities, are not pheno­
mena of ordinary and frequent experience. Considering the isolation
of the Assam tribes, until quite recent years, one is perhaps justi­
fied in ascribing the former group of ideas to some pre-migratory
origin, the latter ideas with regard to less perceptible or less obvious
phenomena having been developed by different groups for them­
selves at a later date. Whether these pre-migratory ideas are Cau­
casian or Mongolian in origin, one does not knows for sure. Both
stocks are credited with having contributed to the racial composi­
tion of Assam, Indonesia and the Pacific, as well as of Northern
Europe. One school would perhaps attribute these ideas regarding
the sun and moon to gold-seekers from Egypt, and one can con­
ceive of the degradation of the moon to an inferior position being
interpreted as the survival of a tradition of the overthrow of a lunar
by a solar race, but the fact that the sun is so often the female seems
to militate against this, and one does not find either idea parti­
cularly convincing, and must be content to leave the question as it
is for the present, awaiting the collection of additional data.

NOTES

1. Communicated by E. Bardalai, as is the subsequent information, as to Miri

beliefs.
2. J.H. Hutton, The Sema Nagas, p. 251.
3. Ibid.
130 J.H. Hutton
4. J.H. Hutton, The Angami Nagas, p. 412.
5. Communicated by R.C.R. Cumming, as also is the other information as to
the Abors given below.
6. J.P. Mills, The Lhota Nagas, p. 172.
7. Communicated by Capt. Nevill, as are other particulars as to the Aka and
Dafla.
8. Communicated by T.P.M. O’Callaghan, who provided the other informa­
tion regarding the Mishmi as well.
9. Communicated by R.N. De.
10. Sir J.D. Hooker, Himalayan Journals, vol. II. p. 278.
11. P.R.T. Gurdon, The Khasis, p. 172. Cf. K.U. Rafy, Folk-Tales of the Khasis,
p. 18.
12. A. Playfair, The Garos, p. 85.
13. J.P. Mills, The Lhota Nagas, p. 172.
14. J.H. Hutton, The Sema Nagas, p. 250.
15. Communicated by Mills.
16. T.C. Hodson, The Naga Tribes of Manipur, p. 124; Ibid., The Meitheis,
p. 121.
17. J. Shakespear, The Lushei Kuki Clans, p. 184. But a Lushei told the author
that it was the spirit of a Chin chief.
18. O. Hanson, The Kachins, p. 119.
19. K.U. Rafy, op. cit. p., 17, where ‘U Hynroh ’, translated as ‘toad’, may
equally well mean ‘frog’.
20. J.H. Hutton, The Sema Nagas, pp. 226, 252.
21. Communicated by Mills.
22. T.C. Hodson, The Meitheis, p. 121.
23. Ibid.
24. J. Shakespear, op. cit., p. 184, and he adds that the rainbow is also regarded
as simply God’s ‘Glory’.
25. Cf. Sir G.A. Grierson, Linguistic Survey of India, III.ii, p. 461.
26. J. Shakespear, in Appendix II to The Angami Nagas, p. 341.
27. C.A. Soppitt, Short Account of the Kachha Naga (Empgo) Tribe, p. 16.
28. T.C. Hodson, The Naga Tribes of Manipur, p. 128
29. Loc. cit.
30. O. Hanson, op. cit., p. 120
31. J.P. Mills, The Lhota Nagas, p. 172.
32. J.M’Culloch, Statistical Account of Munnipore, p. 3.
33. T.C. Hodson, The Meitheis, p. III.
34. Communicated by J.P. Mills.
35. A. Playfair, The Garos, p. 88.
 Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East 131
36. H.I. Marshall, The Karen People of Burma, p. 53.
37. Loc. cit.
38. W. Smith, Smaller Classical Dictionary, s.v. ‘Pleiades’.
39. W.W. Skeat and C.O. Blagden, The Pagan Tribes of the Malay Peninsula,
vol. ii. p. 202.
40. Man in India, vol. I, p. 303 (December 1921).
41. J.G. Frazer, The Belief in Immortality etc., vol. I, p. 67.
42. N. Kershaw, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, pp. 25, 223 n.
43. Peschel, quoted by Skeat and Blagden, op. cit., vol. II, 203 n.
44. C.H. Bompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas, pp. 402 et seq.
45. The Indian Antiquary, August 1921.
46. F. Ratzel, History of Mankind, vol. I, p. 478.
47. A.E. Jenks, The Bontoc Igorot, p. 216.
48. The Statesman, 12 September 1923.
49. Man, vol. XVIII,(1918), p. 169.
50. R.H. Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 348.
51. E. Hadfield, Among the Natives of the Loyalty Group, p. 232.
52. W. Ellis, Polynesian Researches, vol. III, p. 171.
53. L. Milne, The Home of an Eastern Clan, p. 365.
54. Sarat Chandra Roy, The Mundas and their Country, p. 489.
55. G. Tradescant Lay, The Chinese as they are, p. 199.
56. La Loubere, Royaume de Siam, tom. I, p. 523.
57. F. H. Sawyer, The Inhabitants of the Philippines, p. 359.
58. W.W. Skeat and C.O. Blagden, op. cit., vol. II, p. 203.
59. J.G. Frazer, op. cit., vol. I, p. 460.
60. S. Kidd, China, p. 301.
61. H.I. Marshall, op. cit., pp. 231, 289.
62. F. Bernier, Lettre & M. de la Mothe le Vayer.
63. W.W. Skeat and C.O. Blagden, op. cit., vol. II, p. 298.
64. Ibid., p. 319.
65. J.H.N. Evans, Studies in Religion etc. in British N. Borneo and the Malay
Peninsula, p. 208.
66. W. Ellis, op. cit., vol. III, p. 171.
67. Cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist., II, XII.
68. L. Milne, op. cit., p. 365.
69. S. Kidd, op. cit., p. 303.
70. N.B. Dennys, The Folk-Lore of China, p. 120.
71. Communicated by J.P. Mills.
72. J.P. Mills, op. cit., p. 172
73. S. Kidd, op. cit., p. 158.
132 J.H. Hutton
74. W. Ellis, op. cit., vol. III, p. 169.
75. A.R. Brown, The Andaman Islanders.
76. J.H.N. Evans, op. cit., pp. 51 et. seq.
77. Sir J.G. Frazer, op. cit., vol. II, p. 267, and cf. p. 269.
78. J.S. Stallybrass, Teutonic Mythology, vol. II, p. 731.
79. Ibid., p. 733.
80. Ibid., pp. 732-3.
81. H.I. Marshall, op. cit., p. 228.
82. J.H.N. Evans, op. cit., p. 15.
83. E. Hadfield, op. cit., p. 113.
84. Ibid., pp. 48, 113.
 CHAPTER 6

Remnants of Spiritual/Faith Healing

System among the Lepcha and Limbu
Communities in Sikkim
MAHENDRA PRASAD GURUNG &
E.K. S A N T H A

INTRODUCTION

Modernity and scientific advancements have not been able to up­

root the age-old customs, practices and supernatural beliefs from
the minds of the people completely. It is true that the relevance of
traditional practices, have decreased to a large extent, among the
communities; but the ‘secret chambers’ are still active. It is a fact
that rich traditional knowledge is intertwined with these customs,
beliefs and practices, which are either undervalued, understudied
or on the verge of extinction along with the fading away and dilu­
tion of these practices; hence this article is not an attempt to scorn
at these practices but to analyse their relevance among these com­
munities in the present-day context. This article looks into the
spiritual/faith healing system, the practice of exorcism and other
shamanistic practices among the Lepcha and Limbu communities
in Sikkim.
As this article deals with the shamanistic principles of two ethnic
communities in Sikkim, it is pertinent to define shamanism at the
outset. The Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture de­
fines shamans as, ‘intercessors who diagnose and treat afflictions
that trouble their clients using ritual practices incorporating a
mastery over spirits’.1 Shamanists have strong belief in the spirits
134 Mahendra Prasad Gurung & E.K. Santha
and the evil powers that trouble people; one of the reasons, they
imply is that it is the human beings that knowingly or unknow­
ingly cause the imbalance; the disrespect and disturbances is caused
to the spirits due to human activities. The shamans, it is believed,
have the power to communicate with the spirits and they can pro­
pitiate the spirits by offering prayers, chanting and through animal
sacrifices.
While one largely agrees with the definition of the shaman by
Shirley Kurz Jones that, ‘a shaman is a person who at his/her will
can enter into a non-ordinary psychic state (in which he either his
soul undertake a journey to the spirit world or he become pos­
sessed by a spirit) in order to make contact with the spirit world
on behalf of the members of the community’.2 As far as the bongthing
and mun of the Lepcha community and the Limboo shamanistic
priests are concerned, they have a large role to play among their
communities, They have mastered the power over spirits—good or
evil—‘who at their will can introduce these spirits into themselves
and use their power over the spirits in their own interests, particu­
larly helping other people who suffer from the spirit. . . .’4 carry
out enormous rites and rituals other than exorcism and they are
also the medicine men of the community.
The Shamans were known by different names like phedangma,
samba, yeba, yema, satteyhangma, bongthing and mun; but their
work is the same. The common thread is that they all carry out
animal sacrifice to propitiate the spirits, they connect with super­
natural beings such as ghosts, spirits and demons and their activi­
ties are supposed to be transcendental. They are healers (main
medicine men) and they have the power to forecast the future.

BONGTHING AND MUN: SHAMAN, AMONG

THE LEPCHA COMMUNITY IN SIKKIM

Lepchas are an indigenous community in Sikkim. The Lepchas

call themselves rong kup (children of snowy peak) or rum kup
(children of God)4 and the Kanchenjunga peak is their presiding
deity. The Tibetans and Bhutanese call them rong pa which means
ravine (narrow valley) folk. Lepcha in Parbatiya dialect (a dialect
 Remnants of Spiritual /Faith Healing System 135
of Nepal) means unintelligible, (inarticulate) speakers—lap = speech
and cha = unintelligible which originally had a derogatory conno­
tation. No authoritative/authentic history of Lepchas is available.
The Lepcha folklores, especially the oral tradition are the main
source of information.5
The primitive religion of Lepchas was of pagan type (not a part
of any established religion). Lepchas paganism encompasses a
diverse community with some groups concentrating on specific
traditions, practices or elements, such as nature, witchcraft tradi­
tions or certain gods. To be precise, the Lepchas were shamanistic
until they came under the influence of Buddhism (more precisely,
Lamaism) in the seventeenth century thanks to the exodus of
Tibetan Buddhists to Sikkim. Even after the conversion to Lamaism,
Lepchas did not get rid of shamanistic practices.
Lepchas who live amazingly close to nature, have numerous rums
(gods) whose abode is huge trees or rocks or most difficult and
inaccessible places. They perform numerous rituals and rites to
propitiate these supernatural forces. The popular belief is that if
they fail to please the rums, then they will turn into mung, evil
spirits and will show their wrath on the people. The gods and
goddesses mingle with their day-to-day life and its hardships. Hunt­
ing in the deep forests have made them vulnerable to the attacks of
wild animals; so they perform the mutrum ceremony to please the
hunting god. They please the fertility God called Sakyuo Sakyuorum
who looks after all seasonal crops and vegetables through the me­
dium—bongthing, the spiritual healer, to have a good harvest; there
are ceremonies to prevent accidental death, suicides, ceremonies
to please Run Si Mung who worries children and make them cry
at night and so on.
Spiritual healers—bongthing (always a male) and mun (may be
from either sex)—are indispensable part of Lepcha life from birth to
death. The origin of these spiritual healers is yet to be ascertained;
but the position is mostly hereditary. The legendary The Kong-
Tek (bongthing) and his wife Nye-Kong-Nal (mun) were men­
tioned in the royal chronicles connected to the origin of the Bhutia
dynasty in Sikkim. This is assumed to be in the first half of the
fifteenth century.6 In the primitive religion of the Lepchas, the role
136 Mahendra Prasad Gurung & E.K. Santha
of bongthing and mun were very important as a shaman (spiritual­
ist), a medicine person and exorciser. People believed that the
bongthing had the power of prop and grant boons.
From birth to death, Lepcha life is enamoured with numerous
ceremonies and bongthing and mun carry out these ceremonies as
mediums between the people and a large number of supernatural
powers—gods and goddesses.
The services of the Mun are continuously necessary in the life of every Lepcha.
They must always be present at birth, at marriage they are the only essential
priests, and at the death of laymen their roles is more emotional than the
Lamas. Throughout the life, they are necessary for cleansing from supernatural
danger, for blessing and solemnizing different undertakings, and above all,
for expelling devils.7

Though both of them are healers, only mun can conduct the
death ceremony. It is an elaborate one. The three day long and
strenuous journey of a soul (A-Pil ) to Kanchenjunga for final rest
is assisted by a mun. Before reaching the destination, the belief is
that nobody from the village should meet the soul, as it would be
hanging around the favourite places of the deceased. The soul would
enter the mun and through the medium it will disclose his/her
unfulfilled desires, unpaid debts and unfinished tasks and so on in
the full view of the relatives and villagers. The mun will promise
the deceased that she would see to it that these will be taken care.
Then the mun would instruct the soul to the ancestors whose abode
is somewhere in the mystic Kanchenjunga. The mun also conducts
the ceremonies related to birth. It is basically a thanksgiving func­
tion where everyone from the village is invited. The birth god Tang
Bong Rum is invoked on the occasion; beaten rice, chicken, ginger,
dry bird meat and dry fish are offered for the safety and for the
bright future of the child. If a boy child is born after three or four
girl children in the family, an ox is sacrificed. At the end of the
ceremony, the spiritual leader would put a drop of chi on the tongue
of the new born baby.
The mun also exorcise the evil spirits, who possess unfortunate
victims. The mun identify the supernatural spirit, which possess
the victim and contact the spirit through performing rituals. He/
 Remnants of Spiritual /Faith Healing System 137
she exorcises the evil spirit by pleasing it through offerings and
animal sacrifice. Interestingly, apart from ceremonies for appeasing
the supernatural beings, there is a ceremony called Thorsu to please
the quarrel gods (Soo Maang—enemy of speech, Ge Maang—en­
emy of thought, Thor Mang—enemy of action) to prevent ill-will
and maintain harmony in the community.

SPIRITUAL HEALERS AMONG THE LIMBOO

COMMUNITY IN SIKKIM

Limboo, an ethnic tribe in Sikkim has a very distinct tradition,

ritual, belief and way of life. It is believed that Limboos lived in
Sikkim even before the arrival of Tibetan Lamas in Sikkim and the
subsequent commencement of Namgyal Dynasty in AD 1642. They
had been living not only in Sikkim but the land they called ‘Lim­
buwan’ covering parts of the present Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal.
‘. . . the land mass lying in between the Arun River in the west to
the Tista River in the east, prior to the establishment of Namgyal
Dynasty in Sikkim was known as Limbuwan (the land of Limboos).8
The Limboos ‘have a distinct religion of their own which is known
as yuma samyo (samyo = religion)’. They believed in a female God­
dess named ‘Tagera Ningwaphuma’. ‘Literally, Tagera Ningwa­
phuma means the primordial mother goddess and she is believed
to be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, infinite and eternal
and is also worshipped in her earthly form as a household deity—
Yuma Sam (spirit of Yuma)—Samyo means religion that is Yuma
Samyo means Yuma religion or Yumaism.’10 They have a unique way
of preserving and passing their history to their children with the
practice of Mundum. ‘. . . they have a long tradition of narrating
or reciting Mundums and performing rituals and observing cere­
monies in their own distinctive ways. Mundum is a legend, a
folk-lore, prehistoric accounts, sermons and moral or philosophi­
cal exhortations in poetic language. It is a scripture living in oral
tradition.’10
One of the distinct and unique practices of the Limboo that
brings them into discussion here is the practice of shamanism like
the Lepchas. The Limboo believes in gods, as well as the evil forces
138 Mahendra Prasad Gurung & E.K. Santha
and they have several myths connected to it. The popular belief
is that, ‘the supreme goddess Tagara Ningwaphuma gave away
various ways or sources of secured knowledge and scripture to the
eight wise leaders’, ‘these religious resource persons were expert in
the practice of ritual exorcism to get rid of the invading evil spirits
as the illness were believed to be the result of possession by evil
forces or not observing the propitiatory rites duly and properly’.11
J.R. Subba, himself a Limboo, described the belief among his
community and the rationale behind the practice:
Limboos believe that God is almighty and a benevolent deity who does good
for the people irrespective of whether he is worshipped or not. The trouble
is with the evil spirits who hover around and are responsible for diseases,
accidents, etc. These evil spirits are to be regularly appeased so that they
may not cause harm to the people. Whenever there is any disease, accident
or an indication of bad omen, the particular evil spirits responsible for the
same, are traced out by the Shamanistic Priests through the performance of
magico-religious rites who appease these spirits by uttering incantations and
sacrificing fowl and other animals and offering Cha-thi to them. The Limboos
believe that the soul cannot die, it leaves a body to visit the land of the dead
(probably heaven) or ‘Khema Yongsong Phanbhey’ (probably hell) according
to its work in this world where too it again comes back.12

In the Yumaism of the Limboos, there are different spiritual lead­

ers known as: Phedangma, Samba, Yeba, Yema and Sattey-hangma,
and together they are also called ‘Limboo shamanistic priests’.
These are resource persons of Limboo culture, tradition and oral literature. They
are religious preachers, conveyers of traditional messages from generation to
generation, perpetuators of age old values and belief system, healers of illness,
diseases and personality disorders in their own unique way of diagnosis and
treatment. They are also astrologers, foretellers and performers of various rituals
for the welfare of the households.14

As in the Limboo belief ‘phedangma’, a priest performs the rituals

of the dead. During the process the priest helps the soul of the
dead for returning to the source; means the origin of the soul the
forefathers at Sangram Pedang Den in the village of the ancestors
of the dead. During the process of rituals of dead, the phedangma
conveys the message to soul of dead in this way,
 Remnants of Spiritual /Faith Healing System 139
You have done nothing wrong, this is the way of life and death. One who
comes to this physical consciousness with the body in the temporal world has
to go like this only. Now, you are shedding your physical consciousness or the
body here in this temporal world and leaving with the spiritual consciousness
and joining your origin or your forefathers at Sangram Pedang Den in the
village of your ancestors. This is for the last time you are being fed by
your family members and close relatives in this physical word. Now onwards,
they will not be able to feed you. You will not be dining together now
onwards. They will not be with you; you have to travel with us in the soul
journey in the Akashic field to Sam Yukna Den. Please take the food, drinks
etc. offered by your family members, relatives etc. now. After this you will
be leaving etc. . . .14

CONCLUSION

Modernity, of course, has brought down the intensity of these

rituals and rites, but these are still very much part of the lives of
these communities. Since the villages were electrified, the roads
were laid, educational facilities were increased and communication
between other communities were made possible, the relevance of
some of the gods and spirits have faded away from the lives; so has
the intensity of some of the ceremonies. However, their life is domi­
nated by ancient beliefs and customs. For instance, the Lepchas in
the Dzongu Reserve, the protective area of Lepchas in the Kanchen­
junga Bio Reserve, visit the bongthing or mun first when they get
unwell. They are still the primitive medicine persons. They visit a
doctor only on the advice of the spiritual healer. Likewise, before
the first seasonal planting (cultivation), the spiritual leaders still
carry out the rituals to please the fertility gods to have a good
harvest.
On the religious front, those who converted to Lamaism, practise
a mixed religion of both Lamaism and shamanism. The Lamas are
part of most of the ceremonies; however the ceremonies are initi­
ated by the bongthing or mun before the lamas conduct the poojas.
Lamas do not take part in the animal sacrifices which is an exclu­
sive domain of the mun.
The most significant aspect is the traditional knowledge of these
spiritual persons in herbal medicines and there is all probability
140 Mahendra Prasad Gurung & E.K. Santha
that this rich oral tradition and knowledge may disappear along
with the traditional practices of the spiritual healers. Hence, pro­
tecting these traditions, custom and beliefs while refraining from
the redundant rituals, is much needed.
Shamanism is an oral tradition and the initiation to these cus­
toms and transfer of traditional knowledge from one generation to
another used to take place through oral transmission. It was a long
process that took years. As modernity began to claim the areas of
tradition, believes and customs, these are facing extination. In the
recent times not many are coming forward to learn them, even the
practice of worshipping patrilineal gods is gradually vanishing from
the tribe.

NOTES

1. Mariko N. Walter & Eva Jane Neumann Fridman, Shamanism: An Encyclo­

pedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture, vol. II, California: ABC-CLIO
Inc., p. 767.
2. John T. Hitchcock, Spirit Possessions in Nepal Himalayas, chapter by Shirley
Kurz Jone, Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1996, p. 16.
3. Ibid.
4. Yishely Doma, Legend of Lepchas: Folk Tales from Sikkim, Sikkim, 2010.
5. It is said that they originally migrated from the Assam-Burmese border
around thirteenth century but there is no authentic proof. They speak
Tibeto-Burman Language. Lepcha Alphabet was invented in the seven­
teenth century and the grammar was written by General Mainwaring in
1876.
6. The legend about the origin of the Namgyal Dyansty in Sikkim is that on
the advice of the Lamas from Sakya Monastery, Kye-Bumsa (son of Guru
Tashi of 25 lineage of Mynak House of Kham, Eastern Tibet who migrated
to Sikkim) travelled to meet Lepcha leader The-Kong -Tek Bongthing). The
legend says that he met with The-Kong-Tek and his wife Nye-Kong-
Nal (mun) and the chief blessed that Kye-Bumsa would have three sons and
also predicted that his descendants would become the future rulers of Sikkim.
They established their friendship by swearing blood brotherhood in an
elaborative ceremony.
7. Geoffrey Gore, The Lepchas of Sikkim, New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House,
1996, p. 380.
 Remnants of Spiritual /Faith Healing System 141
8. J.R. Subba, The Limboos of the Eastern Himalayas; with special reference to
Sikkim, New Delhi: Ambica Printers, 1999.
9. Ibid., p. 321.
10. Ibid., p. 303.
11. Ibid., p. 309.
12. Ibid., p. 308.
13. Ibid., p. 308.
14. Ibid., p. 24.
 CHAPTER 7

Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills

J.H. HUTTON

Speaking of leopard-men, it should first of all be made clear that

the word ‘leopard’ is usually the animal associated with Naga
lycanthropists. The tiger, however, is similarly, as well as one or
perhaps more of the smaller wild cats. For all of these animals
there is a generic term in most Naga languages, and when a Sema
Naga, for instance, speaks of angshu he may mean a leopard or a
tiger, between which he makes no clear distinction, or even a smaller
animal such as a clouded leopard, a caracal, or the golden cat. The
same applies to the word tekhu used by the Angami Naga. On the
other hand, the Chang Nagas have different words, and refer to a
tiger as saonyu, the leopard as khonkhii and a civet cat as khii.
All Naga tribes seem to regard the ultimate ancestry of man and
the tiger (or leopard) as very intimately linked. The Angamis relate
that in the beginning the first spirit, the first tiger and the first
man, were three sons of one mother, but whereas the man and the
spirit looked after their mother with the greatest tenderness, the
tiger was always snarling around the house giving trouble. Moreover,
he had his food raw, while the man ate his cooked, and the spirit
his smoke-dried. At last the mother got tired of family squabbles, so
put up a mark in the jungle and told the man and the tiger to run to
it, the one that touched it first, would be allowed to live in villages,
and the other to live in the forest and jungle. By an arrangement
between the spirit and the man, the former shot an arrow at the
mark while the other two were racing, and the man cried out that
he had touched it. The tiger arrived while it still trembled from
the impact of the arrow, and being deceived, went away angry to
live in the jungle.
144 J.H. Hutton
After this the man sent the cat to ask the tiger, when he killed a
deer, to leave him a leg on the village wall, in virtue of their brother­
hood. The cat got the message wrong and told the tiger to leave
the entire deer he had killed, which started hostility between the
man and the tiger. This story is found in a more or less identical
form among the Angami, Sema, Lhota, and Rengma Naga tribes,
the Sema making the tiger search for the corpse of his dead mother
to eat it.
Man and the tiger are, however, still regarded as brothers, and if
an Angami kills a tiger he says ‘the gods have killed a tiger in the
jungle’ and never ‘I have killed a tiger’, while the priest of the
village proclaims a day of abstention from work ‘on account of the
death of an elder brother’.
After killing a tiger or leopard the Angami wedges the mouth
open with a stick and puts the head into running water, so that if
the animal tries to tell the spirits the name of the man who killed
him, all that can be heard is an inarticulate gurgling in the water.
The Sema puts a stone, as well as a wedge, into the mouth to pre­
vent the tiger lying in wait for him after death and devouring him
on his way to the abode of the dead, while he also becomes en­
titled to wear a collar of boar’s tusks, the insignia of a successful
warrior, as though he had killed a man.
Among some tribes whole clans are associated with the tiger,
thus among the Changs the whole Hagiyang Sept of the Chongpu
clan is in some vague way intimately connected with tigers (not in
this case with leopards) and is apparently of lycanthropic tendencies.
At the same time it is taboo for all true Changs to touch tigers at
all, far more to combine, as men of other tribes do, to hunt them.
If a Chang meets a tiger in the jungle, he will warn it to get out of
the way before throwing a spear or shooting at it. Should he kill
one he is under a taboo for thirty days, and treats the head in the
same way as an Angami, putting it with its mouth wedged open
under falling water.
The Chang will eat leopard flesh, but not of course that of the
tiger. The Sema will eat neither, the Angami both—but it must be
cooked outside the house.
When it comes to the practice of lycanthropy one finds that the
Angami Nagas, though believing that the practice exists and can
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 145
be acquired, do not indulge in it themselves. Like other tribes they
believe in a village far to the east peopled solely by lycanthropists,
a belief, which is, perhaps, based on the claims of some clan like the
Choingpu-Hagiyang of the Changs, in which all members of the
community are believed to possess this faculty of taking the form
of a tiger or other forms in a greater or less degree. But the Angami
also believe in the existence of a spring, said to be by some, of blood,
or of reddish coloured water. Whosoever drinks from it, is supposed
to become a lycanthropist. They believe that the people of the
neighbourhood know and shun this spring, but that the danger is
greater for strangers. Moreover, when the children of that neighbour­
hood are peevish, it is customary, they say, to dip a blade of that-
ching-grass into the spring and give it to the child to suck. It stops
his wailings, but he grows up a were-tiger. The Angami, however,
does not practise lycanthropy himself, and the only Angami villages
in which persons who do practise it, are those on the borders of
the Sema country, where a large part of the population is Sema by
origin. The Sema is an inveterate lycanthropist, and it is in that
tribe that specific examples are the easiest to come by.
Both the Angami and Sema agree in believing that, there is no
actual transformation of the body of the lycanthropist into a leopard.
What he seems to do is to project his soul into a particular animal
with which his human body also, thus, becomes very intimately
associated. A leopard which is, thus, the recipient (from time to
time) of a human soul may be recognized by having five claws on
each foot, and is called by the a.ngaini mavi (which might mean
‘real man’) and angshu amiki by the Semas, an expression which
will be referred to again. I have myself seen a leopard with dew­
claws (making five instead of the usual four) killed in a Rengma
village, and at once asserted to be the recipient of a lycanthropist’s
projected soul. Incidentally, I have seen, and followed in the soft
bed of the Dayang River the tracks of a freak tiger, which had
apparently five toes on its forelegs.
The lycanthropic spring, in which the Angami believe, is some­
times said to be located in the Sema country, but the Semas give
an entirely different account of the way in which they acquire the
lycanthropic habit.
The theory and symptoms are clear and recognizable and perhaps,
146 J.H. Hutton
differ from most lycanthropists in other parts of the world. The
Sema undergoes no physical transformation whatever. The ‘posses­
sion’, if one may term it so, is not ordinarily induced by any external
aid, but comes on at the bidding of spirits, which may not be gain
said, and under whose influence the man possessed, loses his own
volition entirely. The faculty can, however, be acquired by very
close and intimate association with some lycanthropist, sleeping
in the same bed with him eating from the same dish with him
and never leaving his side for a considerable period. Two months is
said to be the shortest time, in which the faculty can be acquired
in this way. It can also be acquired, according to some, by being
fed by a lycanthropist with chicken flesh and ginger, which is given
in successive collections of six, five, and three pieces of each together
on crossed pieces of plantain leaf. It is dangerous, too, to have food
or drink that a lycanthropist has left unfinished, as the habit may
thus be unwittingly acquired. The animal, whose body1 the lycanthro­
pist makes use of, though sometimes the tiger proper (abolangshu),
is usually a leopard and is known as angshu amiki, a word which is
said to be derived from the verb kemiki, meaning to wander alone
in the jungle for days together, since men who do this are most
liable to be possessed. It may be observed, however, that the root
miki- also means ‘to bite’.2 Cowardly and worthless men, if they
acquire the habit, make use of the body of a red cat (angshu akinu,
probably = Felis aurata, the golden cat). The habit is very far from
desired. No one wants to be possessed by the habit and it is, on
the contrary, feared as a source of danger and a great weariness to
the flesh.
The soul usually enters the leopard during sleep and returns to
the human body with daylight, but it may remain in the leopard
for several days at a time, in which case the human body, though
conscious, is lethargic. It (i.e. the human body) goes to the fields
and follows the usual routine of life, but is not able to communicate
intelligibly, or at any rate intelligently, with other persons until the
possession expires for the time being. The soul, however, is more
or less conscious of its experiences in leopard form and can, to
some extent, remember and relate them when it has returned to its
human consciousness. During sleep, the soul is the leopard with
its full faculties, but when the human body is wide awake, the soul
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 147
is only semi-consciously, if at all, aware of its doings as a leopard,
unless under the influence of some violent emotion experienced
by the leopard.
The possession is accompanied by very severe pains and swellings
in the knees, elbows and small of the back in the human body,
both during and during the course of the possession. These pains
are said to be such as would result from far and continuous marching
or from remaining long periods in an unaccustomed position. During
sleep at the time of possession, the limbs move convulsively, as the
legs of a dog move when, it is dreaming. A were-leopard of the Tizu
Valley, in a paroxysm at such a time, bit one of his wife’s breasts
off. When the leopard is being hunted by men, the human body
behaves like a lunatic, leaping and throwing itself about in its efforts
to escape. Under these circumstances, the relatives of the were-leo­
pard feed him up with ginger as fast as possible in order to make
him more active, so that the leopard-body, on which his life depends,
may have the agility to escape its pursuers.
Were-leopards are particularly liable to possession between the
expiry of the old and the rising of the new moon. Those possessed
are liable to a special sort of disease, which is believed to attack
tigers and leopards generally, but no human beings except were-
leopards. When the leopard is wounded, corresponding wounds
appear on the human body of the were-leopard, usually in the
form of boils, and when the leopard is killed the human body also
dies. It is, however, apparently possible for the soul to throw off
the possession permanently as old age approaches. The father of
Inato, Chief of Lumitsami, got rid of the habit by touching the
flesh of a leopard. The village had killed one and he carried the
head home. After that, he explained, he could no longer associate
with the leopard kind. It is generally held, and doubtless not without
some substratum of truth, that a man under the influence of the
possession can be quieted by being fed with chicken dung. Probably
this produces nausea.
Possession is not confined to men. Women, also become were-
leopards and are far more destructive as such than men are. Men,
who have taken heads are most dangerous, and are believed to kill
as many men as leopards or tigers as they have done as warriors.
The actions of the leopard’s body and of the human body of the
148 J.H. Hutton
were-leopard are closely associated. As has been noticed, if the
human limbs are confined the leopard’s freedom of action is
restricted and troublesome were-leopards are said to be sometimes
destroyed in this way.
On one occasion, the elders of a large Ao village (Ungma) came
for permission to tie up a certain man in the village, while they
hunted a leopard which had been giving a great deal of trouble.
The man, in question, who was, by the way, a Christian convert,
also appeared to protest against the action of the village elders. He
said that he was very sorry that he was a were-leopard; be did not
want to be one, and it was not his fault, but seeing that he was
one, he supposed that his leopard body must kill to eat, and if it
did not, both the leopard and he himself would die. He said that
if he were tied up the leopard would certainly be killed and he
would die. To tie him up and hunt the leopard was, he said, sheer
murder. In the end permission was given by the elders to tie the
man up and hunt the leopard, but told them that if the man died
as a result of their killing the leopard, whoever had speared the
leopard would of course be tried, and no doubt hanged, for murder,
and the elders committed for abetment of the same. At this, the
elders refused un-animously to take advantage of my permission
to tie up the man. I was sorry for this, though I had foreseen it, as
it would have been an interesting experiment.
One’s information regarding were-leopards was obtained directly
either from were-leopards themselves or their relatives, friends,
and chiefs. Unfortunately, I have not so far succeeded in seeing a
man actually at the moment of possession. I have had the marks of
wounds shown by men who claim that they were the result of
wounds inflicted on their leopard bodies. Kiyezu of Nikoto, now
Chief of Kiyezu-Nagami, who used to be a were-leopard in his
youth, can show the marks on the front and the back of his leg
above the knee where he had been shot, as a leopard, long ago by
a sepoy of the Military Police outpost at Wokha with a Martini
rifle. The marks, in corresponding positions on the front and back
of the thigh, looked like marks caused by bad boils. Zukiya of
Kolhopu village showed me fairly fresh marks around his waist,
which he said were two months old, and caused by shot which
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 149
had hit his leopard body, and the marks looked as though they
might have been caused by a shot. Ghokwi, the Chief of Zukiya’s
village, said that Zukiya was in the habit of pointing out the remains
of pigs and dogs killed by him in leopard form, so that their owners
might gather up what remained. He said that, he had a quarrel
with his own brother, one of whose pigs he had killed and eaten by
accident. Ghokwi mentioned the names of various people whose
animals Zukiya had killed and eaten.3 Sakhuto, Chief of K-huivi,
showed a wound on his back, which was quite fresh on 1 March
1913, which he said was the result of someone having shot at him
when he was in leopard form a few days before. The wound in the
human body does not, under such circumstances, appear at once.
It affects the same place in the human body as the original wound
did the leopard, but takes several days to appear.
In March, 1919, an Angami interpreter, Resopu of Cheswezuma,
at that time working with me in the camp, wounded a large tiger
near Melomi. Three or four days later, the Head Interpreter of the
Deputy-Commissioner’s staff, a very well known, highly intelligent
and reliable man, Nihu of Kohima, happened to meet a sick Sema
road muharrir, Saiyi of Zumethi, being carried home. The man,
who was employed near Melomi, complained of having had an
accident, but on being pressed several times for details, admitted
that he had no external injury that could be seen, but was suffering
from the effects of the wounds inflicted by Resopu on his tiger
form, having very severe pains in his neck or shoulder and abdomen
and being haunted by the horrid smell of rotting flesh.
I have personally known a large number of Semas who are, or
claim to be, were-leopards or were-tigers. The Headman of Chipo­
ketami is one; Chekiye, Chief of Aichi-Sagami, is another; Inaho,
Chief of Melahomi, a man of great physical strength and endurance,
is perhaps the most notorious. Gwovishe of Tsukohomi and his
daughter Sukheli were only known to me by repute, Gwovishe’s
son Chekiye of Lukammi more intimately. Kusheli of Litsammi, a
second woman were-leopard, has her home inside the frontier, and
has a most unenviable reputation. The Sakhuto above-mentioned
died on 19 July 1916, as a result of the leopard which was occupied
by his projected soul4 having been shot by Sakhalu on 30 June that
150 J.H. Hutton
year. It was reported to the writer on 4 July that, Sakhalu had shot
a were-leopard, but it was then believed to be identical with one
Khozhumo of Kukishe, and it was expected that he would die
when the news reached him, as the death of the man concerned
does not actually take place till he hears that his leopard body has
been killed. It was, however, Sakhuto who claimed the leopard,
who had the honour of dying to prove his claim. The son of Yemithi
of Lizotomi, whose leopard-cat body was killed at Sagami, heard
the news as he was returning to his village and died on the spot for
no known reason—a curious example of the power of the Sema
mind over the Sema body.
Both Inato of Lumitsami and Inaho of Melahomi related to me
independently how, when they were going up together from Pusumni
to Lotesami, Inato managed to persuade Inaho to show his tiger
form. The latter lingered for a moment behind, and suddenly a
huge tiger jumped out on the path in front of Inato with a roar
and an angry waving of his tail. In a flash, Inato had raised his gun,
but the tiger-Inaho jumped in time to avoid the shot, and dis­
appeared. Since this Inaho has had an excellent excuse for refusing
to show his tiger form to anyone at all.
It is also told of Kusheli of Litsammi that she cured her husband
of making sceptical and impertinent references to her lycanthropic
peregrinations by appearing before him in leopard form. His name
is Yemunga, and he was returning from a business deal in Chatong­
bung when suddenly he saw a leopard blocking his path. Guessing
it was his wife, he laughed at it and told it to go away. It went on
and blocked the path a little further ahead. This time, he threatened
to spear it, and it slid off into the jungle, only to reappear behind
him unexpectedly with a sudden growl. This frightened him, and
he ran home as fast as he could, the leopard pursuing till near the
village, where it disappeared. When he entered his house his wife
at once started to mock him, asking why he was perspiring so and
whether he had seen a leopard.
The Sema were-tiger, or reputed were-tiger, with whom I was
best acquainted was Chekiye, Chief of Lukammi and a son of the
famous Chief Gwovishe of Tsukohomi. He would never admit to
me that he was a lycanthropist, but none of his Sema acquaintances
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 151
ever doubted that his reputation was well deserved.5 He came
nearest to admitting to me that he was a were-tiger on the occasion
of a tiger hunt in which I took part at Mokokchung on 29 March
1916. Ungma village ringed some tigers—there were certainly two
full-grown animals and two three-quarter—grown cubs present. The
old tiger himself broke out early in the beat, mauling a man on his
way; shortly after that Chekiye turned up, armed with a spear, but
no shield. The tigress broke near him and came within a few feet of
him, bit and mauled his next-door neighbour and went in again.
Chekiye, when remonstrated with for having stood quietly by and
not having speared the animal, said: ‘I did not like to spear her as
I thought she was probably a friend of mine’. After the beat, he
stated that the tigress killed was a woman of Murromi, a transfrontier
village in unexplored country where all the population are said to
be were-tigers. He also explained that the tiger in the beat was really
far more frightened than even the hunters themselves, which is pro­
bably true enough and shrewdly observed that the use of the tail,
which is stiffened up and out behind and swayed at the end from
side-to-side, is to make the grass wave behind the moving tiger, so
that the position of the tiger’s body is mistaken and the aim dis­
turbed accordingly, an observation which seems to be at least true
of the result of the waving tail. It was reported that he claimed in
private to be identical with the tiger that first escaped, but he would
not admit this to me, and there was indeed another and more
likely candidate to this rather doubtful honour. This was an Ao
named Imtong-lippa of Changki. While this beat was going on
three miles away, he was behaving like a lunatic in the house of
one of the hospital servants at Mokochung. During his possession,
he identified himself with one of the tigers being hunted and stated
that one of them was wounded and speared; that he himself was
hit with a stick (the Ao method of beating entailed the throwing
of sticks and stones and abuse incessantly to make the tiger come
out). He laid a rolled mat to represent a fence and six times leapt
across it. He ate ginger and drank a whole bamboo chunga (about
a bucketful) of water, after which he said that he had escaped with
two other tigers after crossing a stream and was hiding in a hole,
but that one tigress, a trans-frontier woman, had been speared in
152 J.H. Hutton
the side (in point of fact she was speared in the neck) and had been
left behind and would die. (We shot the tigress in the end.) He
said there were four tigers surrounded. Chekiye said six. Actually,
four were seen, two grown and two half- or three-quarters grown.
There might have been others, but it is not very likely. Some sixteen
cattle had been killed in two days. I got this account after returning
from the beat, on the same day, from an eye-witness of Imtong­
lippa’s exhibition, which was watched by a large number of men.
I have given these details as they show the Naga beliefs on the
subject clearly. Of course, among the Semas the idea of what one
might describe as the projectability of the soul is very pronounced.
It is a common thing for a sick person to ascribe his sickness to the
absence of his soul from his body, and under such circumstances
he takes food and drink and goes to the field or any other places
where he thinks his soul has got left behind and summons it,
calling it, of course, by his own name. When it has arrived he comes
slowly home, bringing his soul behind him. A case once came up
before me for adjudication in which an old man named Nikiye,
who had been ill for some time, went to the fields to call his soul.
It came, and he was climbing slowly back to the village occasionally
calling ‘Nikiye, Nikiye!’ over his shoulder to make sure that the
truant soul was following. Unfortunately, a personal enemy had
observed him, and lay in wait in the bush by the path with a thick
stick. As the old man tottered by he sprang from his ambush with
a yell, and brought down his stick with a thud on the path
immediately behind Nikiye’s heels. The frightened soul fled and
the old fellow himself died of the loss of it two days later. To avoid
losing the soul a Sema, who makes a temporary shelter away from
home, always burns it on leaving it, lest his soul, having taken a
fancy to it, should stray back there by itself.
To return to lycanthropy in particular, the practice described,
as distinct from the belief, seems particularly associated in Assam
with the immigration from the north-west—that is, from the
direction of Nepal and Tibet. The Changs probably have an
admixture of Singpho blood, and the Singphos are known to have
come from that direction; so, too, the Kacharis who, like the Changs,
have a clan of tiger men, and call it the Mosa-aroi, and the Meches
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 153
who have a corresponding clan called Masha-aroi, which also goes
into mourning for the death of a tiger—both came from the north
of the Brahmaputra. Among the Garos also, the practice is found,
and they too came from the same direction. On the other hand,
the Khasis, who seem to belong to a different stock—perhaps, to
the Kol-Mon-Annam race and have come from the east—say they
believe in the existence of tiger men, but appear to have absorbed
the idea from the Garos, who are their neighbours and do not
have it as an indigenous idea, neither belief that they indulge in,
nor the practice itself. The Angami, who does not practise lycan­
thropy, seem to have immigrated into the Naga Hills from the
south-east and are intimately connected with the Bontoc and Igorot
of Luzon in the Philippines. In other ways, however, particularly
in language, the Sema is connected with the Angami, though on
the other hand there are points of culture which keep suggesting a
connection between the Sema and the Garo. One of them is the
use of Y-shaped posts to celebrate feasts given to the village, similar
wooden posts being used by the Garo, though he is at present
entirely isolated from the Sema, while the Kachari ruins at Dimapur
contain the same bifurcated monuments in stone. Perhaps, the ex­
planation is that the present Sema tribe is the result of the amalga­
mation of a small Angami element which has imposed itself upon
another stock, a process which the Sema tribe itself is still carrying
on with regard to its neighbours to the east at a very rapid rate, a
Sema chief or adventurer grafting himself and a few followers on to
a Sangtam or Yachungr village; this in a generation or less becomes
entirely Sema in language and polity, though no doubt retaining
its former beliefs and certainly retaining much of its former cere­
monial events.
The theory that this form of lycanthropy comes from a northern
source is perhaps supported by the fact that the form which the
belief takes in Burma and Malay, as well as in the plains of India,
seems to turn on an actual metamorphosis of the body. Grant-Brown,
writing in 1911 about the Tamans, a tribe of Chinese origin in the
Upper Chindwin Valley, notes that they transform themselves into
tigers by making water and then, rolling naked on the earth they
have wetted.
154 J.H. Hutton
A nearer approach to the Naga belief appears to exist in Malay,
but here again actual metamorphosis seems to be essential to that
form of lycanthropy. O’May, writing in Folklore in 1910 (vol. XXI,
p. 371) says that in Burma and Sumatra an ordinary man may
turn into a tiger in the evening without any fuss, and he goes on to
describe a Malay game of turning into a civet cat, in which a boy is
actually hypnotized and caused to behave like a civet cat, becoming
(as the Naga were-leopard does) much exhausted when the trance
is over. So, too, Skeat mentions the case of one Haji Abdallah caught
naked in a tiger trap in Korinchi state in Sumatra (Malay Magic,
pp. 160-3), while Messrs. Skeat and Blagden note that the were-
tigers of the Malay Peninsula (most unlike the Nagas, here) cannot
be shot in their metamorphosed condition (Pagan Races of the Malay
Peninsula, p. 227).
Skeat also records the inverse of the Naga case, in the process by
which a possession of the human body by a tiger spirit is invoked
to cast out another and less powerful possessing spirit (Malay Magic,
p. 436), and similarly (p. 455), the induction of a monkey spirit
into a girl who, while thus possessed, is capable of the most
remarkable climbing feats.
In all these cases, however, the practice differs from that of the
Nagas in that either metamorphosis takes place, or it is the animal
spirit which possesses the human body, not the other way round.
For with the Naga were-leopard the soul is merely projected into
the body of the animal, while no metamorphosis of the human,
body takes place nor is any sort of hypnotism employed—unless,
indeed, it be self-hypnotism, and involuntary at that.
Sir James Frazer (G.B., vol. XI, p. 196) gives instances from Asia
of the location of the external soul in animals for the purposes of
ensuring its safety or for enhancing the power of the magician.
Neither of these two motives appears to influence the Naga were­
wolf in any way. It is recognized on all hands that the practice is a
dangerous one, and it is said to be rapidly decreasing owing to the
increased number of guns in the district, which make it still more
dangerous than it was. Lycanthropy is not practised by wizards, as
were-tigers are, as far as I know, invariably ordinary men who do
not claim to have supernatural powers of any sort. The nearest
 Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills 155
parallels seem to come from Africa, and Sir James Frazer mentions
several beliefs from Nigeria, which resemble the Naga belief pretty
closely. One other point may be added. In some cases, lycanthropy
among Nagas seems to be hereditary, or perhaps, rather one should
say that a tendency towards it may be inherited, as in the case of
many diseases; and indeed Baring-Gould6 described lycanthropy
as a disease, associating it in this respect with the mania for cattle-
maiming and with a morbid desire to devour human corpses. I
have met with cases of both of these in the Naga Hills, the latter,
however, being regarded by the Nagas themselves as symptomatic
of extreme insanity; whereas the former is, like lycanthropy, merely
a vice which is liable to be very troublesome to the neighbours of
those that practise it.7
Note on Ao Naga belief as to a certain form of relationship between
men and leopards. One Longrizibba of Yongimsen village was
haunted by a leopard, which very frequently came at night and
slept outside his house close to that place by the wall nearest which
Longrizibba himself was sleeping inside. Whenever the leopard
came, Longrizibba fell into a deep sleep and could not be aroused
by his wife, even though he had previously sharpened his spear
with a view to killing the animal. Then he took to sleeping on the
platform at the back of his house, when the leopard took to sleeping
underneath. On one occasion water was poured on to it, but with­
out discouraging it.
After this and other efforts to get rid of it, Longrizibba induced
the leopard to leave him alone by the sacrifice of a dog. This took
place in 1919, when I was on leave, and my attention was drawn
to the case by Mills, Sub-Divisional Officer of Mokokchung, one
of whose interpreters saw the leopard outside the house at night.
Apparently such associations of men with leopards are, according
to the Ao tribe, fairly frequent. The relations between the man and
the leopard are normally quite friendly and mutually harmless until
on an appointed day, they are brought to an end by the leopards
devouring the man.
If the haunting is caused by some ceremonial fault on the man’s
part, it can be ended by a ceremony, which includes the surrender
of a cloth, a dao sling and a piece of the man’s own hair. If, however,
156 J.H. Hutton
the relationship dates from a man’s infancy and has no cause that
can be specified, he is unable to break it off.
A mountain with twin-peaks is pointed out by Ao as a meeting
place of tiger-men. The practice of surrendering to the leopard a
piece of the haunted man’s hair is paralleled in the Chang tribe by
the practice, when a man loses himself in the forest, of cutting off
a little hair and putting it in the fork of a tree for the rock python
which is believed to have caused him to lose himself. After this the
lost man is able to find his way home. Semas cut a piece off the
fringe of their cloth instead of their hair under similar conditions.

NOTES

1. This article is reprinted from The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 50 (January-June 1920), pp. 41-51.
2. Incidentally, it also means ‘to tell lies’.
3. According to some a were-leopard who kills cattle may be found in the
morning to have bits of their flesh sticking to his teeth.
4. A The Sema word is aghongu, which primarily = ‘shadow’, but is used nor­
mally in Sema eschatology for the soul of a dead person.
5. He was, however, once caught out in a pure and demonstrable romance by
one of my Sema interpreters.
6. Book of Were-Wolves.
7. Professor Elliot Smith tells me that Egyptian boys practise lycanthropy in
association with the forms of the common cat. A bibliography on the subject
of lycanthropy will be found at the end of McLennan’s article in the ninth
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, but it relates almost entirely to the
European races.
 CHAPTER 8

U Thlen—The Snake Vampire: Belief

and Practice among the Khasi
TEJIMALA GURUNG NAG

In Meghalaya, several incidents of killing, including the burning

down of property in the Khasi Hills of so-called mensohnohs or
persons said to be practising human sacrifice to the snake serpent
called U thlen is reported by the media at recurrent intervals. On
5 March 1999, in Mawlai locality (in Shillong), a mob burnt two
people—Soben Kurbah and Phrosimai Ryntathiang on the suspicion
of being keepers of the mythical vampire snake. Such murderous
incidents were reported again on 17 June 2007 in Mawbsein village.
On 27 April 2011 again at Mawlai, in Shillong, a mob burnt the
house of suspected thlen keepers.1 On 7 October 2011, three men
were reported to have been lynched at Sohra (Cherrapunjee) by
villagers on the suspicion of being nongshohnoh—a term for people
hired by certain kur or family who offer human sacrifices to U
thlen. On 23 April 2013, a four thousand strong mob hailing from
various villages within Sawymper area torched the house of a promi­
nent businessman Tremlin Nongsiej of Mawryngkang village in
East Khasi Hills on the charge that, he was a menshohnoh as con­
fessed by his hired nongshohnoh. Nineteen people were arrested.2
In August 2013, three members of a family who were accused of
being menshohnoh at Smit village near Shillong were killed.3 Such
incidents frequently make media headlines in the Khasi Hills of
Meghalaya. Interestingly, among a tribe where the majority are
Christians, the belief in the prevalence of snake worship and human
sacrifice to it has been a recurrent source of crime and violence
158 Tejimala Gurung Nag
among the Khasi and people are legitimately frightened. They are
fearful of either being accused of being snake worshippers or be­
coming their victims.
What is interesting is that such instances of killing were re­
ported by British authorities even more than hundred years back
in Khasi Hills during the colonial period.
There have been two or three murders in the neighbourhood of Shillong this
year suspected to have been connected with the superstition of Rithlen . . . there
are persistent rumours of thlen murders in the neighbourhood of Shillong which
the district official do not hear of and which the Khasi police will not report.4
It has been brought to my notice that some of the Khasis in this district are in
a state of great panic as they are afraid of being murdered by Nongshohnohs. 5

What is important is the fact that the belief in thlen worship,

which dates back to the distant past continued to be prevalent
during the colonial period and has survived to the post-colonial
period. In the meantime the Khasi as a community has grown
from a conglomeration of village communities to a conscious na­
tionality, gone through a process of modernization, Christianization
and as a global community.

THE LEGEND OF SNAKE VAMPIRE

The legend of the snake vampire—U thlen among the Khasi, is

part of Khasi lore and history. There is a strong belief prevalent
among the Khasi of the existence of a serpent named U thlen re­
quiring appeasement by human sacrifice, who is worshipped by
certain Khasi kur (clan) or family. Periodically, U thlen is appeased
with human blood of the Khasis and the snake in turn, bestows
wealth and prosperity on the family that nurtures it. The family
that worships U thlen in the hope of acquiring wealth, are called
menshohnoh, and the persons hired by the family to capture hu­
man beings for the sacrifice to U thlen are called nongshohnoh
(literally ‘the beater’). Notorious for being branded for practising
U thlen, worship have been the clans of Kharkongor, Kharasawian,
Kurbah, Marbaniang, etc.6 These clans, because of their business
and wealth have been associated with the U thlen stigma and were
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 159
greatly feared and avoided by most others even in marriages. It is
believed that U thlen is still kept in some homes in the Khasi Hills.
Even in modern Khasi society, mysterious deaths and disappear­
ances are attributed to U nongshohnoh.

COLONIAL RECORD OF THE PRACTICE

The widespread belief in U thlen worship, and of its practice in

Khasi Hills was reported by the British. While the British admin­
istrators recorded it as a matter of law and order and acts of crime,
the colonial ethnographers recorded it as a matter of their religio­
cultural practice, which evoked immense academic curiosity. His­
torical record of U thlen practice also comes from writings of the
missionaries. Both, however, used the prevalence of the widespread
belief to depict the tribe as sorcerers and savages. It also provided
them with the opportunity to show the Khasi as demon worship­
pers in need of civilization and a higher religion like Christianity.
A Catholic missionary noted:
Here, as everywhere else, when the true faith does not spread its light, super­
stition grows apace with all its appalling consequences. Here, as in the Baptist’s
time, it is necessary to lay the axe at the root of the tree of evil and superstition,
and replace it with true faith in God. Thus a wide field of activity lies open
to the missionary in Assam.7

Despite the abhorrence of the practice by the Christian mis­

sionaries and even after the conversion of many Khasis to Chris­
tianity, the belief in the practice of U thlen continues to this day and
remains a source of great turbulence in the society, which is going
through a process of modernization, globalization and liberaliza­
tion.
In a monograph a colonial official cited a case that took place in
the capital town of Shillong:
A Mohammedan servant, not long ago in Shillong, fell a victim to the charms
of a Khasi girl, and went to live with her. He told the following story to one
of his fellow servants, which may be set down here to show that the Thlen
superstition is by no means dying out. In the course of his married life, he
came to know that the mother of his Khasi wife kept in the house what he
160 Tejimala Gurung Nag
called a bhut (devil). He asked his wife many, many times to allow him to see
the bhut, but she was obdurate; however, after a long time, and after extract­
ing many promises from him not to tell, she confided to him the secret, and
took him to the corner of the house, and showed him a little box in which
was coiled a tiny snake, like the hair spring of a watch. She passed her hands
over it, and it grew in size, till at last it became a huge cobra, with hood
erected. The husband, terrified, begged his wife to lay the spirit. She passed
her hands down its body, and it gradually shrank within its box.8

Further he stated that:

It may be stated that the greater number of the Khasis, especially in certain
Syiemships, viz. Cherra, Nongkrem and Mylliem still regard the thlen, and
the persons who are thought to keep thlens, with the very greatest awe, and
they will not utter even the names of the latter for fear some ill may befall
them. The superstition is probably of very ancient origin and it is possible
that the Khasi sacrifices to the thlen demon may be connected with the
primeval serpent worship.9

The above statement was made by P.R.T. Gurdon in his mono­

graph on the Khasis. The monograph formed part of a series on
the important tribes and castes of Assam, commissioned by the
then Chief Commissioner of Assam Sir Bampfylde Fuller. Gurdon,
who was also Superintendent of Ethnography in Assam and editor
of the whole series, was closely acquainted with the Khasi having
also served as Deputy Commissioner of the district. In the early
twentieth century, he mentioned how murders in the Khasi hills
have been attributed to thlen sacrifice. To quote him:
Many families in these hills are known, or suspected to be keepers of a thlen,
and are dreaded or avoided in consequence. This superstition is deep rooted
amongst this people, and even nowadays, in places like Shillong or
Cherrapunjee, Khasis are afraid to walk alone after dark, for fear of being
attacked by a nongshohnoh. In order to drive away the thlen from a house or
family all the money, ornaments and property of that house must be thrown
away, as in the case with persons possessed by the demon Ka Taroh, in the
Jaintia hills. None dare touch any of the property; for fear that the thlen
should follow it. It is believed that a thlen can never enter the Syiems or chiefs
clan, or the syiems house; it follows therefore, that the property of the thlen
keeper can be appropriated by the Syiem.10
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 161
ORAL TRADITION OF THE ORIGIN

The oral tradition of the origin of U thlen connected it with the

Khasi religion and cultural practice itself:
Legend had it that long ago there lived an important deity, U ‘Lei Mawlong,
near Sohra (Cherrapunjee). He had a daughter, Ka Kmat Kharai, who resided in
the crags and trenches, and was a strong and wilful child. She had the power
to assume any identity she wished and very often would assume the persons of
a comely woman and mingle freely with mankind. Ka Kmat Kharai was
admired all over the blei world and many deities sought her hand in marriage.
She was, however, besotted by U Lei Umwai and wanted to marry him. Her
father U Lei Mawlong strongly disapproved of this match. This so angered the
young goddess that, by way of retaliation, she encouraged the attentions of
strange and undesirable lovers and eventually became pregnant. She fled from
her home, fearing the wrath of her father and put herself under the protection
of her maternal uncle, who lived in the Pomdoloi cave. There, she gave birth to
a hideous monster, who had the likeness of a snake and the characteristics of
a vampire and became known as U Thlen.
In the make believe world of the Khasis, there was regular intercourse be­
tween the Bleis and mankind. Mankind were privileged to attend the Iew-blei
the fair of the Bleis—at Lynghing-khongkhen, the way to which passed the
Pomdoloi cave. Ka Kmat Kharai would assume various forms, entice, waylay
and kill many people, whenever U Thlen had to be fed. The common mode by
which people were lured to their doom was through Ka Kmat Kharai, who
approached them in the form of a woman merchant and dazzled them with
brilliancy of the jewellery she offered for sale.
Mankind sought divinations and offered sacrifices to the gods for the ending
of these atrocities, upon which a durbar of the Bleis was called. U Lei Mawlong
overruled the durbar, declaring that no authority could deprive the Bleis, or the
demons, of any power they possessed be it for good or for evil, but to mitigate
the distress of mankind the number of people to be devoured was restricted to
half the number of captives. If U Thlen captured two victims, one was to be
released, if he captured ten, five were to be released. However, this agreement
helped but little to allay the sufferings of mankind. Mankind again sought
divination and took counsel together and it was made evident that the only one
who could help them successfully was U Suidnoh (the fleeting demon), who
haunted the forest of Lait-ryngew to the north of Sohra. Known for his fugacity,
he consented to help. His only condition was that man should first seek the
formal blessing of a blei and a syiem before he set to work. The people agreed to
162 Tejimala Gurung Nag
go to Lei Shillong and Syiem Syrmoh both of whom willingly gave their support
and benediction.
U Suidnoh at first went and befriended U Thlen’s family, Ka Kmat Kharai
and her uncle. Then he, very cunningly, offered to be the procurer of U Thlen’s
food. Ka Kmat Kharai was most relieved and readily agreed. U Suidnoh with
the full cooperation of man managed to get fat pigs and goats whenever the
need arose. Through a big crack above the cave where U Thlen resided he would
shout, ‘cousin, here is a young, succulent one for you. Open your mouth so that
you may devour it’, and then he would shove the hapless animal down. The
Thlen, too sluggish and dissipated to even open his eyes leave alone move, got
very easily tricked in this way. Unlike his mother, U Thlen could not take any
form he liked but he could increase and decrease his size, whenever he wished.
After a while, however the procuring of fat animals became an ordeal. The
people met again to seek a solution. U Suidnoh suggested they should also ask
the famous giant, U Ramhah for his assistance. The giant, to show his usefulness
and strength, agreed to make a pair of tongs in his smelting house to destroy
U Thlen. When this was done and on the appointed day, U Ramhah, went to
U Thlen’s cave. From the same crack, where the food was usually delivered,
U Suidnoh called out, ‘Cousin, dear cousin, open your mouth, I have yet
another delicious dish for you’. It was then that U Ramhah thrust the red-hot
giant tongs into his open mouth. The vampire groaned and howled most
horribly and shook and convulsed with such force that the earth trembled
for many miles around. When the sound of tremor subsided, the people cried
with joy for they found U Thlen had truly been killed. They, then, dragged him
out of the cave and chopped him into pieces. Everybody was summoned from
all over the hills to be part of the macabre last rites. They believed that if
they neglected to do so, the particular family would be afflicted with some
misfortune.
There was a woman there, however, whose son had failed to turn up. She was
worried and apprehensive that bad luck would befall her family, and took a
piece for her son and hid it in her bag. When she reached home she put it in a
pot and covered it. When her son returned he brought news of many misfor­
tunes which he had met that day, which loss he attributed to his neglect of the
important feast. His mother was most upset, for the family had always been
tradesmen and she did not want her son to take to the plough. However, when
the son went to take the meat from the vessel there was only a tiny live snake
wriggling about. The little snake began to beseech not to kill him. He said he
was U Thlen, come back to life, and that he was there by the decrees of the Bleis
to bring them great wealth and prosperity.
Greatly tempted and without thinking of the consequences the mother and
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 163
son agreed to let the Thlen to live, harbouring it in secret. When U Thlen had
fully regained his vitality, he demanded human sacrifices from them. Gradually
U Thlen cast his sway over other families also, and as his devotees increased he
reproduced himself mysteriously, so now there arose many Thlens.11

The story of thlen was recorded by the British in their official

accounts which do not vary much from the oral narrative which is
of course much more detailed and nuanced. The following brief
account of the tradition appeared in the Assam Gazette, in August
1882:
There was once in a cave near Cherra a gigantic thlen who committed great
havoc among men and animals. At last, one man bolder than his fellows took
with a herd of goats, and set himself down by the cave and offered them one
by one to the thlen. By degrees the monster became friendly, and learnt to
open his mouth at a word from the man, to receive the lump of flesh which
was then thrown in. When confidence was thoroughly established the man
acting under the advice of a god called U Suidnoh having heated a lump of
iron red hot in a furnace, induced the snake at the usual signal to open his
mouth, and then threw in the red hot lump and so killed him. He proceeded
to cut up the body, and sent pieces in every direction, with orders that the
people were to eat them. Wherever the order was obeyed, the country became
free of the thlen, but one small piece remained and from this sprang a multi­
tude of thlens, which infest the residents of Cherra and its neighbourhood.
When a thlen takes up its abode in a family there is no means of getting rid of
it, though it occasionally leaves of its own accord, and often follows family
property that is given away or sold. The thlen attaches itself to property, and
brings prosperity and wealth to the owners, but on the condition that it is
supplied with blood. Its craving comes on at uncertain intervals, and mani­
fests itself by sickness, by misadventure, or by increasing poverty befalling the
family that owns the property. It can only be appeased by the murder of a
human being.12

CHRISTIAN MISSION AND MISSIONARY

PERSPECTIVE

Christian Mission reports and missionaries too who visited the

Khasi Hills noticed the belief prevalent of the so called ‘demon’
worship among the people. A missionary historian wrote:
164 Tejimala Gurung Nag
The Khasis have no idols or temples. A number of ‘house-gods’—spirits who
make their abode in gourds in the people’s houses are believed in very gener­
ally and sacrifices are offered to them on every occasion of importance. The
most dreaded of this class of demons is U Thlen. In form, it is supposed to
resemble a small serpent. The Thlen possess power to confer great riches upon
the family with whom it dwells; but it imperiously demands to be fed with
human blood. For a season, it may be satisfied with a kind of human hair or
a small piece of man’s garment, but blood must ultimately obtained. Having
strangled or clubbed his victims to death the murderer cuts off his eyebrows,
nostrils, lips and finger nails which together with his blood are presented as
an oblation to the demon.13

The missionaries too traced the origin of the practice from the
old Khasi legend:
The tradition regarding the Thlen is briefly as follows: in a cave near Cherra­
poonjee, a gigantic snake, U Thlen had taken up its abode and committed
great havoc among both Khasis and Plains people, who were obliged to pass
that way to the market. A great durbar was held to devise some means of
slaying the monster. One man U Suidnoh, renowned for his courage was
urged by the durbar to make friends with the Thlen; so he took with him a
herd of goats and having set himself down near the cave, he offered them one
by one to the great devourer. In time, the Thlen became very friendly with
Suidnoh and at the word of command would open its mouth to receive the
lump of flesh which he threw in. Having thus secured the serpent’s confi­
dence U Suidnoh built a smelting house and having heated a lump of iron
red hot in the furnace, he carried it with a pair to tongs to the cave and
as soon as the serpent opened its mouth to receive its daily quota of flesh,
U Suidnoh threw the red hot iron down its throat and thus killed the mon­
ster. A great durbar was again held to decide what to do with the body and
it was resolved that the Khasis should eat one half and the Plains people the
other half. The plains people being very numerous ate their half entirely
leaving not a scrap behind; for this reason there are no Thlen in the plain. The
Khasis being fewer in number were unable to consume their entire portion
and from the little pieces which they left, the Thlen species became
repropagated on the Hills. The belief in the Thlen and its power is very strong
in many parts of the country to this day.14
The name of the cave where the gigantic serpent resided was
Pomdalai, near the waterfall of Noh Kalikai. According to a second
version an old woman belonging to Mauphu village, west of
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 165
Cherrapunji forgot to eat her share and thus the thlen ‘grew again
and lives among them to this day’.15 Where the Thlen has made
its home, good fortune and wealth accrued to the family. This
creature was carefully preserved in a safe place and kept secret by
the families who possessed it (called nongri-thlen) and was only
seen by the family of the owner It was also maintained by some
that the thlen had the power to change into a cat, a cock or a stone
and live in any of these forms with his owner.16

VARIANTS OF THE THLEN STORY

There are many variants of the thlen narrative. The following was
given by Gurdon:
In the olden days there was a market in the village of Langhiang Kongkhen
and there was a bridge sacred to the gods there. All the children of men used
to frequent that heavenly market. They used to pass by Rangjirteh, where
there is a cave which was tenanted by a gigantic ‘thlen’ (Rangjirteh was
popular in those days for marketing lump iron to Sylhet). When they went to
that market, as soon as they arrived at Rangjirteh they were swallowed up by
the ‘thlen’. . . . When many people had been devoured, and when they saw
that all the children of men would be destroyed, whether they were Khasis or
plains people, they held a great durbar at Sunnai market to which both Khasi
and plains people came. . . . After they had deliberated for a long time they
decided to adopt the following plan. In the grove that is close to Laitryngew,
which is called ‘the grove of U Suidnoh,’ there was a man called ‘U Suidnoh’.
They counseled together to get ‘U Suidnoh’ to make friends with the ‘thlen’.
This Suidnoh was a courageous man who did not care for any one. The
people advised U Suidnoh that he should go and give the ‘thlen’ flesh every
day, either goat, pigs, or cattle. After he had done this for some time, the
‘thlen’ became tame, and became a friend of U Suidnoh. When both of them
became very intimate thus, the children of men advised U Suidnoh to build
a smelting house. So he had one built and in it made a piece of iron red-hot,
and, holding it with a pair of tongs, be took it to the ‘thlen’. When he arrived,
he said to the ‘thlen’, ‘Open your mouth, brother-in-law, here is some flesh.’17
As soon as he opened his mouth, he threw the red-hot iron down his throat.
The monster ‘Thlen’ struggled and wriggled so violently in its death agony
that the earth shook as if there had been an earthquake. . . . They then . . .
convened a durbar to decide about eating him. In the durbar they came to
166 Tejimala Gurung Nag
the following understanding i.e. that the Khasis should eat half, and the
plains people half (of the body). After they had come to this decision, they
went to take him out of the cave, and lifted him on to a rock. They then cut
the thlen’s carcase into pieces. The plains people from the East being more
numerous ate up their share entirely not leaving anything—for this reason
there are no ‘Thlens’ in the plains; but the Khasis from the West, being fewer
in numbers, could not eat up the whole of their share and they left a little of
it. Thus because they did not eat it all, the Thlen has remained with them.
U Suidnoh gained for himself fame and honour, which he enjoys up to the
present day.18

THE REALITY OF PRACTICE

The practice and ritual involved in sacrifice of the victims have come
from British and Christian missionaries According to Gurdon, the
U nongsohnoh:
Before he sets out on his unholy mission, he drinks a special kind of liquor called
ka ‘iad tang-shi-snem (literally liquor which has been kept for a year). This liquor,
it is thought, gives the murderer courage and the power of selecting suitable
victims for the thlen. The nongshohnoh, then, sets out armed with a short club,
with which to slay the victim; for it is forebidden to kill a victim on these
occasions with any weapon made of iron. He also takes the pair of silver scissors,
a silver lancet to pierce the inside of the nostrils of the deceased, and a small
bamboo or cylinder to receive the blood drawn there from. The nongshohnoh
also provides himself with rice called U khawtyndep i.e. rice mixed with tur­
meric after certain incantations have taken place. He throws a little of this rice
over his intended victim, the effect of which is to stupefy the latter, who then
falls an easy prey to the nongshohnoh. It is not, however, always possible to kill
the victim outright for various reasons, and then the nongshohnoh resorts to the
following subterfuge: he cuts off a little of the hair or the hem of the garment, of
a victim, and offers these up to the thlen . . . who soon falls ill, and gradually
wastes away and dies. The nongshohnoh also sometimes contents himself with
merely throwing stones at the victim, or with knocking at the door of his house
at night, and then returns home, and , after invoking the thlen, informs the
master that he has tried his best to secure him a prey, but has been unsuccessful.
This is thought to appease the thlen for a time. . . . It soon manifests his displea­
sure for the failure of his keepers to supply him with human blood, by causing
one of the latter’s family to fall sick. The thlen has the power of reducing himself
to the size of a thread, which renders it convenient for the nong-ri thlen, or
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 167
the thlen keeper, to place him for safety in an earthen pot, or in a basket which
is kept in some secure place in the house. When the time for making an offering
to the thlen comes, an hour is selected, generally at dead of night, costly cloths
are spread on the floor of the house of the thlen keeper, all the doors are opened,
and a brass plate is laid on the ground in which is deposited the blood, or the
hair, or a piece of the cloth of the victim. All the family then gathers round, and
an elderly member commences to beat a small drum, and invokes the thlen
saying, ‘koknikokpa (oh, maternal uncle, father), come out, here is some food for
you, we have done everything we could to satisfy you, and now we have been
successful; give us the blessing, that we may attain health and prosperity’. The
thlen then crawls out from its hiding place and commences to expand, and
when it has attained its full serpent shape, it comes near the plate and remains
expectant. The spirit of the victim then appears, and stands on the plate,
laughing. The thlen begins to swallow the figure, commencing at its feet,
the victim laughing the while. By degrees the whole figure is disposed of by
the boa constrictor. If the spirit be that of a person from whom the hair, or a
piece of his or her cloth, has been cut, directly the thlen has swallowed the
spirit, the person expires.19
According to the Salvatorian missionary C. Becker, in case of
illness, some non-Christians sought to recover their health by
seeking the protection of the thlen. This was done by giving to the
owners some of their belongings with money or food.20 The fol­
lowing detail of narration21 was given by a former thlen owner of
his experiences to Father Corbinto Bonheim, who had worked for
many years in Cherrapunjee. When a thlen keeper wanted to be
rid of the thlen called pyndud noh ia u thlen the family had to part
with their entire property. This involved a ceremony performed by
the priest of the village and with the cooperation of members des­
ignated by the syiem. Houses and furniture had to be burnt, the
valuables disposed off, even their clothes. Since the thlen was popu­
larly believed to be connected with the property, no one dared to
take anything disposed including the fields. Objects of value could
be taken only by the syiem as the thlen could not enter the syiem’s
house. The former thlen owner was given clothes; rice, and was
helped to build a hut to begin a new life. Becker stated:
As late as 1908, a Thlen worshipper at Cherrapunjee parted with his entire
property. He owned among other things, large orange gardens. No one among
the pagans would dare buy those gardens or take the fruit from them.22
168 Tejimala Gurung Nag
Becker referred to the ‘deep fear’ of the nongshohnohs among the
Khasis. This was specially to be seen in the himas of Cherra,
Mylliem and Nongkrem. People avoided the thlen keepers and
‘did not even dare to pronounce their name for fear of being af­
flicted’. A woman in Cherra believed to be thlen worshipper, as
noted by Becker had a house built of stone and roofed with metal
sheets in contrast with the neighbouring Khasi huts. On way to
faraway markets, the Khasi always went in groups. When they had
to go to larger markets, which were some days away from their
villages, they only went to specified ones where they had friends
on the way and with whom they could spend the night.23 The
missionaries were inconvenienced too. Even though only one coolie
was needed for carrying their load, the missionaries had to engage
and pay for two-the reason cited would be the Khasi fear of nong­
shonohs. Also, the missionary noted:
At certain times, when the ‘Thlen-worshippers’ are particularly active, we
ourselves have to keep guard over our orphanages for fear of the children
being abducted. Some attempts of this nature have been made. For several
nights the servant at our mission station at Laitkynsew had an exciting time
keeping guard over the mission house while the Father was away. The killers
tried to get him into their power. He was lucky indeed to escape.24

Becker further informed that to kill a nongshonoh was not con­

sidered a crime. However, a fine of 5 rupees along with a pig had
to be paid to the Syiem. In 1909, one nongshonoh who was appre­
hended in the act of killing at Nongrem village had his nose muti­
liated as punishment. The houses of ‘convicted’ thlen keepers were
burnt. Sometimes, lynching of the thlen keepers also happened.25
Instances of killings in official reports were ascribed to the thlen
belief. In most cases the guilty could not be found and punished
due to lack of witnesses. Becker, while mentioning of an incident
of killing about 10 miles from Shillong in the year 1890, noted
that the villagers did not dare to give information out of fear of
incurring the wrath of thlen.26
Another belief associated with the practice was only people of
sound mind and good health were to be sacrificed to U thlen; and
the victim should not be killed and hit from behind on the head.27
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 169
When a person is ailing and grows sick due to U thlen, he/she
could be cured only if a syiem belonging to the syiem clan took a
sword that was blunt and heated it in the fire and then burnt a
little bit of hair of the person who had been suffering.28

CHARACTERIZING THE OCCULT

The practice of thlen worship was characterized as demon worship
and human sacrifice. Characterizing the tribal religion, American
Baptist missionaries like P.H. Moore in 1886 had remarked: ‘. . . all
these hill people were demon worshipers; but each tribe has its
own demons and its own ceremonies, preserved in pristine purity
or largely modified by their environment’.29
The religion of Khasi was frequently described as animism or
spirit worship in which the worship of demons or evil spirits was
repeatedly emphasized. As far as the religious faith of the tribes
was concerned, it was repeatedly emphasized that their religion
was: ‘a crude form of demonology. Its main principle consists in the
endeavour to propitiate evil spirits by the offering of sacrifices’.30
These spirits were said to reside in caves, jungles, mountains,
large rocks and stones, trees and rivers; and sickness, or misfortune
were always attributed to the wrath of the demons, which could
only be appeased by the offering of appropriate sacrifices.31 The
colonial report characterized thlen worship as a form of human
sacrifice which was also connected with their religion. Referring to
human sacrifice in Assam, Edward Gait stated: ‘A peculiar form of
sacrifice was and still is, in vogue amongst the Khasis, but this is
based on purely non-Hindu superstitions, whereas amongst the
other tribes mentioned, the custom seems to be more or less closely
connected with the rites enjoined in the Kalika Purana’.32
A Resolution by the Chief Commissioner of Assam in the Ad­
ministrative Report of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills District for the year
1881-82 dealt with the thlen belief characterized as human sacri­
fices prevalent amongst the Khasi:
Of the cases tried this year, were three murders of singular atrocity, two of
them committed on inoffensive old women, and one on a boy; in none of
them was any adequate cause alleged, and at least two of them are believed to
170 Tejimala Gurung Nag
have been connected with the very remarkable superstition of the Thlen. . . .
When a Thlen takes up its abode in a family, there is no means of getting rid
of it, though it occasionally leaves of its own accord, and often follows prop­
erty of the family when given away or sold. The Thlen attaches itself to
wealth, and brings prosperity and wealth to the family, but on the condition
that it is supplied with blood. Its craving comes on at uncertain intervals, and
manifests itself by sickness among the family, by misadventure or increasing
poverty. It can only be appeased by the murder of a human bring. The
murderer takes the hair, the tips of the fingers, and a little blood from the
nostrils, caught in a bamboo tube and offers these to the Thlen, The belief is
that the demon then appears in the form of a snake and devours the body of
the murdered person, which is materialized from the portions thus offered.
After this, its craving is satisfied for a time, and the affairs of that house
prosper. Many families in these hills are known or suspected to be nong-ri­
thlen, or keepers of a Thlen, and are dreaded and avoided in consequence.
Whenever a dead body is found with the marks above described on it (and
particularly if it is killed with no wound, but by twisting the neck), it may be
presumed with almost absolute certainty that the object of the murder was to
appease a Thlen. This happened in one of the three instances referred to in the
others these marks were not found, but in the absence of any other cause for
the murder, it was more than probable that it was due to this dreadful
superstition. In each of the three cases one or two persons (though perhaps
not all the accomplices) were convicted; one man was hanged, and the rest
were sentenced to transportation for life or for a terms of years.33

Some indigenous scholars34 have opined that the thlen cult was an
outgrowth of Hinduism and it had nothing to do with the original
Khasi traditional religious faith and belief. It may be noted here
that, in neighbouring Bengal, snake worship was widely practised.
Especially, the worship of an anthropomorphic snake goddess called
Manasa was very popular. She was also worshipped for prosperity
by the trading community. Human sacrifice was however not un­
known in the region. The Jaintia Raja who had adopted Hindu­
ism practised human sacrifice to the Goddess Kali at Jaintiapur (at
present in Sylhet, Bangladesh). In fact, one of the excuses given by
the British for their annexation of Jaintiapur in 1835 was the sacri­
fice of three British subjects to the Goddess Kali by a subordinate
chief of the Jaintia Raja. The Jaintias also formerly used to offer
human sacrifice to the Kopili River, which the Jaintias worshipped
as a Goddess. In the past, human sacrifice is also said to have been
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 171
practised in raid Iapngar, raid Thaiang and other raids (cluster of
villages) in Ri Bhoi area.35 Besides belief in U thlen is not the only
‘satanic worship’ among the Khasis; there is also ka taro ka shwar,
(black magic) ka Bih, (poison put in food for purpose of gaining
wealth) ka lasam, ka tympiam, etc.
Historians studying the thlen legend have looked at it as providing
insight into or reflecting historical developments.36 In an attempt
to understand the prevalence of the belief and practice theoreti­
cally, Rengsi asserts that the legend cannot be relegated as some
witchcraft. It has to be understood as a dynamic aspect of the social
process—when the Khasi tribal structure was giving way to the
process of state formation. Society had reached a certain stage of
affluence by engaging in trade and plunder with neighbouring
Cachar and Sylhet and warriors had come to acquire significant
position within their society. The thlen legend was used to facili­
tate the entry of suidnoh as syiem a position not existing in the
clan-tribal system. He argues that ‘As the office of Syiemship was
created, apart from being alien to the original clan structure, it did
not provide any real power or privilege as society, in so far as its
laws were concerned, was intrinsically tribal and thus egalitarian
in nature. Power still remained vested with the clan heads’.37
The thlen legend was twisted so that it remained a menace to be
used as a system ‘to exploit the people’.38 The wealth derived par­
ticularly from trade was considered as elements of threat to the
existing system and power of the warrior class. The legend of U
thlen came to be used as a means to ensure that those who have
gathered a lot of wealth and become powerful should be checked
and put under control. The suspected thlen-keeper now ‘had to
relinquish all his belongings’ to the syiem’s family, since they were
the only ones ‘immune to the thlen’. Rengsi argues that that ‘Feasts
of Merit’, which existed among the Mizo and Naga had ‘served as
useful channels or means by which surplus (produced or acquired)
within the society may be dissipated in a very useful and func­
tional way while at the same time keep up the competitive spirit
between individuals’. It enabled people to elevate themselves in
society without endangering the existing power structure. In the
absence among the Khasis of an equivalent system like the ‘Feasts
of Merit’ the Khasi society:
172 Tejimala Gurung Nag
became one of hidden and disguised antagonistic, suspicions, and hostile
elements with the Syiem ruling in tyranny with a decadent group of clanheads.
There was total apathy in surplus production as condemnation, rather than
reward, awaited the person who showed up sign of having wealth—a whole
society waiting to point an accusing finger and stone him.39

Cecile Mawlong on a similar line links the thlen folk tale to the
emerging tension and social conflict in society as trade developed.40
Traditional sources have associated the emergence of the institu­
tion of syiemship in Khasi society with the struggle for power among
the ‘traditional elite’ or leading families (bakhraws) over the con­
trol of vital resources and trade. From colonial records of the eigh­
teenth century, it is evident that the Khasi traders or nongkhai were
playing an important role even as middlemen in the trade with
Sylhet, Cachar and Assam. Apparently in the Khasi-Jaintia society,
the development of trade and coordination of trading activities played
a crucial role in the rise of syiemships.41 Syiemship arose to deal with
crimes against authority particularly the violation of customs and
tradition. Such acts included among others claiming the wealth of
persons and families, who had accumulated it through wrongful
means, such as propitiation and worship of the thlen spirit; impo­
sition of fines, etc.42 However, the bakhraws continued to wield
their authority through the Syiem’s council, the highest governing
authority in the hima or state; which was dominated by them as
basans, lyngdohs, dolois, etc. As she argues:
The significance of the thlen and taroh superstitions lies in the fact that they
are a clear index of social tensions that had emerged in society, in response to
the demands of new social relations, as distribution of economic power changed.
This is inferred from the fact that persons and families accused of harbouring
such spirits, were more often than not, traders and business folk. The thlen
superstition is also a reflection of how dominant groups in Khasi society,
sought to manipulate ideology to safeguard their interests. Their interests
were probably linked with the control of profits from trade, particularly Khasi
iron, which going by British reports and accounts appear to have been sub­
stantial.43
The thlen legend is certainly interwoven with some historical
aspects and markers of change related to Khasi society during the
pre-colonial period. Their interaction with the Ahom state in the
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 173
north and particularly Bengal in the south, would certainly have
led to the elaboration of their polity formation and diffusion of
snake worship cults. This is indicated by references to markets, of
iron, importance of trade, new social groups like traders, syiems,
loan words such as darbar, etc. The territorialization of Khasi village
settlements into larger himas necessitating emergence of the insti­
tution of syiemship and of new avenues of trade generating wealth
were indicative of Khasi society undergoing political and economic
change. The emergence of Khasi belief in thlen worship may be
seen as their way to provide a rationale of their changing world or
to deal with the breakdown of the traditional moral values, the
lust for wealth, and anxiety of its members.
Historically, belief in magic and witchcraft and its practice has
been widespread across societies. Anthropologists who have studied
and analysed witchcraft beliefs have contributed to our under­
standing of it. They44 have also looked at the functional aspects of
the beliefs and practices that human needs (individual and social)
are fulfilled. It is understood that magic and witchcraft are related
to the human problem of control in cultures. Whereas magic may
be either malevolent or beneficial, witchcraft is invariably evil.
Pritchard in his classic ethnographic study of the Azande tribe in
Africa referred to witchcraft as a belief in an innate, psychic ability
of some people to harm others.45 Evans Clyde Kluckhohn defined
witchcraft as ‘the influencing of events by super-natural techniques
that are socially disapproved’,46 Witchcraft, magic and sorcery were
strategies for people to understand or deal with bad luck, illness,
injustice and other misfortunes that they cannot otherwise explain.
Certain phenomena that do not seem to have ‘natural causes’ are
explained in terms of witchcraft or sorcery. To the Azande, witch­
craft provided a natural philosophy by which the relations between
men and unfortunate events are explained.47 Witchcraft belief also
embraces a system of values which regulate human conduct. A
person who is very successful is accused of witchcraft. In early and
less stratified societies such accusations militate against any strong
striving of success. Socially, it may also absorb latent hostilities
through accusation and angers against witches. As for example
among the Navajo, economic differences were believed to be
174 Tejimala Gurung Nag
related to witchcraft—those who had more wealth had gained it
through witchcraft activities. The only way a person could refute
such an accusation was to share his or her wealth with friends and
relatives. Thus Kluckhohn hypothesized that the belief in witch­
craft had the effect of equalizing the distribution of wealth and
promoting harmony in the community.48 Belief in witchcraft also
has its dysfunctional aspects—it causes real fears and promote dan­
gerous conflicts.49
The belief in the worship and practice of the thlen continues to
be very much a part of the Khasi mind. Many Khasi, despite their
conversion to Christianity, still harbour deep fear and suspicion
in the existence of ‘satanic’ worship (U thlen) by some families.
Instances of families being socially ostracized or driven out of their
villages continue to be reported by the media. On this socially
sensitive issue, even the Church has been silent.50 As noted by
many who can be considered to be part of Khasi intelligentsia,
deep in their hearts the Khasi continue to be afraid of U non­
gshohnoh, and other ‘demonic’ practices. For this reason in every
jingiaseng (church gathering) it is announced that ‘These food stalls
are recommended by the church as safe (meaning that people can
eat without fear of ka bih or ka lasam).51 As Rev. Lyndem Syiem
has observed:
. . . the Thlen is firmly embedded in our collective consciousness . . . religious
intervention is often regarded as ineffective or at best mismatched. . . . Mission
anthropologists concede that it is extremely difficult to wean people away
from deeply rooted components of their traditional world view, especially
demonic spirits which they fear, like U Thlen. . . . No matter how much
mass awareness on the nonexistence or non-potency of the Thlen, people will
stubbornly cling to the familiar fear they have held for centuries.52

NOTES

1. ‘A Year of Superstitions and Lynch-mobs’, The Shillong Times, 30 December

2013.
2. Fabian, ‘Some Truths about U Nongshohnoh’, The Shillong Times, 25 April
2013.
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 175
3. ‘A Year of Superstitions and Lynch-mobs’, The Shillong Times, 30 December
2013. The village council did not even allow the victims Yesly Mawthow
(70), his son Entarsing Nongdhar (30) and Besly Mawthoh (65) to be
buried at their village.
4. Assam Secretariat, Judicial Department 1916, Police A, February 1916,
No. 25 G.E. Soames to Undersecretary, 10 September 1913, Assam State
Archives.
5. Assam Secretariat, Judicial Department 1916, Police A, February 1916,
No. 25, A.W. Dentith to Commissioner, 20 September 1913, Assam State
Archives.
6. Vanlalruata Rengsi, ‘ “Thlen” in Khasi Society’, Proceedings of the North East
India History Association, Doimukh Session, Shillong, 1994, p. 97.
7. C. Becker, Early History of the Catholic Missions in Northeast India
(1598-1890). Vendrame Institute, Sacred Heart College, Shillong, 1989,
p. 86.
8. P.R.T. Gurdon, The Khasis, New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House,
Reprint 2010 (first publication 1906), p. 101.
9. Ibid., pp. 101-2.
10. Ibid., pp. 101.
11. Bijoya Sawain, Khasi Myths, Legends and Folk tales, Shillong, 2006,
pp. 45-9, Moses Kharbitai, ‘“U Thlen”: Myth, Socio-Cultural Belief and
its impact on Modern Khasi Society’ Unpublished seminar paper pre­
sented on Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occult Practice, Department of
History, Assam University, Silchar 7-8 October 2014
12. Assam Gazette, 1882 in P. R.T. Gurdon, The Khasis, New Delhi: Akansha
Publishing House, Reprint 2010 (first publication 1906), p. 98.
13. J.H Morris, History of Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Foreign Mission to the end
of 1904, Liverpool, 1910, reprint, Delhi: Indus, 1996, pp. 65-6.
.
14. Ibid.
15. C. Becker, Early History of the Catholic Missions in Northeast India (1598­
1890), Shillong: Vendrame Institute, Sacred Heart College, 1989, p. 77.
16. Ibid.
17. P.R.T. Gurdon, The Khasis, New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, Re­
print 2010 (first publication 1906), pp. 173-6.
18. Ibid. Acording to Gurdon, the syntengs also have their thlen but he differs
much from the Khasi thlen. The syntengs also believe that he is a kind of
serpent, and there are some families and clans who keep him and worship
him like a god and in exchange the thlen gives prosperity to the family.
They sacrifice a pig to him; they do not propitiate him with human blood
as the Khasis do.
176 Tejimala Gurung Nag
19. P. R.T. Gurdon, The Khasis, New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, Re­
print 2010 (first publication 1906), pp. 99-101.
20. C. Becker, Early History of the Catholic Missions in Northeast India (1598­
1890), Shillong: Vendrame Institute, Sacred Heart College, 1989, p. 79.
21. Ibid., pp. 82-4.
22. Ibid., p. 82.
23. Ibid., p. 80.
24. Ibid., p. 80.
25. Ibid., p. 80.
26. Ibid., p. 86.
27. Magdalyne Syiemlieh and Naomi Carey Nonglait, ‘Thlen in Khasi
Society: Then and Now’ in The International Journal of Humanities &
Social. Studies in vol. 2, issue 7, July 2014, pp. 191-7.
28. Ibid.
29. P.H. Moore, ‘Need of a Native Ministry’, in Papers and Discussions of Jubilee
Conference of the American Baptist Missionary Union, held in Nowgong,
18-29 December, Gauhati, (1886) Reprint 1992, p.15.
30. J.H. Morris, The History of the Western Calvinist Methodists: Foreign
Mission, To The End of The Year 1904, New Delhi: Indus Publishing
Company, reprinted 1996 (First Published in 1910), p. 64.
31. Ibid.
32. Edward Gait, ‘Note on Human Sacrifice in Assam’, no. 2, G-5, 6 CB
no. 1, pp. 55-79, Mizoram State Archives, subsequently published in
Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, vol. LXVII, part III. no. I, 1898, pp. 64-5.
33. Edward Gait, ‘Human Sacrifices in Ancient Assam’, no. 2, G-5, 6 CB
no. 1, pp. 55-79, Mizoram State Archives, subsequently published in
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. LXVII, part III, no. I, 1898,
pp. 64-5.
34. Fabian, Our Reporter, Thursday, 25 April 2013; Barnes Mawrie, ‘The cult
of Nongshonoh’, The Shillong Times, 28 August 2013.
35. Fabian Lyngdoh, The Shillong Times, Thursday, 25 April 2013.
36. Refer Vanlalruata Rengsi, ‘Thlen in Khasi Society’, Proceedings of the
North East India History Association, Doimukh Session, Shillong, 1994,
pp. 92-7; Cecile A. Mawlong, ‘Megaliths and Social Formation in Khasi-
Jaintia Hills’, in Mignonette Momin and Cecile A. Mawlong (eds.), Society
and Economy in North-East India , vol. 1, New Delhi: Regency Publica­
tions, 2004, pp. 35-56.
37. Vanlalruata Rengsi, ‘Thlen’ in Khasi Society’, Proceedings of the North East
India History Association, Doimukh Session, Shillong, 1994, p. 94.
 U Thlen—The Snake Vampire 177
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid., pp. 96-7.
40. Cecile A. Mawlong, ‘Megaliths and Social Formation in Khasi-Jaintia Hills’,
in Mignonette Momin and Cecile A. Mawlong, (eds.), Society and Economy
in North-East India, vol.1, New Delhi: Regency Publications, 2004, p. 47.
41. Ibid., p. 44.
42. Ibid., p. 47.
43. Ibid., p. 48.
44. Bronislaw Malinoswski, Magic, Science and Religion, and Other Essays,
Beacon Press, Boston,1948; E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles and
Magic among the Azandes, 1937, New York: Oxford University Press, 1976;
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, Structure and Function in Primitive Society, 1952;
Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of The Religious Life, London,
1915; Clifford Geertz, ‘Religion As A Cultural Symbol’ reprinted in
William A, Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt (eds.), Reader in Comparative Religion:
An Anthropological Approach, fourth edition, New York: Harper and Row,
1979, pp. 78-89, Clyde Kluckhohn, Navaho Witchcraft, Beacon Press,
1967.
45. E.E Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azandes,
1937, New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. p. 52.
46. Clyde Kluckhohn, Navaho Witchcraft, Beacon Press, 1967.
47. William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, Reader in Comparative Religion: An
Anthropological Approach, fourth edition, New York: Harper and Row,
1979, pp. 362-6.
48. Clyde Kluckhohn, Navaho Witchcraft, Beacon Press, 1967.
49. A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, Reader in Comparative Religion: An Anthropo­
logical Approach, fourth edition, New York: Harper and Row, 1979,
p. 333.
50. Patricia Mukhim, ‘Conspiracy of Silence’, The Shillong Times, 14 October
2011.
51. Fabian Lyngdoh, The Shillong Times, Thursday, 25 April 2013.
52. Rev. Lyndam Syiem, ‘Dealing with Obstinate World Views’ The Shillong
Times, 28 August 2013, http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2013/09/05/
 CHAPTER 9

Chon Ritual and Head Hunting

among the Kukis of North-
East India
TINGNEIL AM THANGEW

Kukis are one of the major tribal communities of north-east India who
are known as one of the head hunting communities. While head
hunting was undeniably a part of the Kuki culture, where the heads
collected would be displayed outside the respective villages in the
Chon ritual, the nature of head hunting among them was that when
a head was obtained it became a part of the community, made part
of important social rituals to establish prominent social status. Like­
wise, the obtained heads were also buried along with the dead
body of an individual to accompany him in the Mithikho (resting
place of the deceased). This article will highlight the importance
of the Chon ritual mainly from secondary sources and give a basic
understanding as to who the Kukis were, where they had their
settlements, what were their beliefs and whether they still follow
their ancestral traditions at present.
According to Lalmaunpuii Khiangte, head hunting among the
Kukis prevailed, due to the claim on occupational land resulting in
land feuds with the neighbouring tribes.1 Among the co-existing
tribes, head hunting was resorted to in order to retain lands keep­
ing the contenders at bay. The method of attaining heads ranged
from surprise attacks, done on the grounds of taking revenge. The
origin of the tradition of head hunting among the Kukis is still
unknown. But the custom of collecting heads of women seems to
have originated among the Kukis of Tripura as narrated below.
180 Tingneilam Thangew
In ancient times it was not a custom among them to cut-off the
heads of the women whom they found in the habitations of their
enemies. But it happened once that a woman asked another why she
came so late to her business of sowing grain, the latter answered,
that her husband was gone to battle, and that the necessity of
preparing food and other things for him had occasioned her delay.
This answer was overheard by a man at enemity with her husband.
He was filled with resentment against her, considering that, as she
prepared food for her husband for the purpose of sending him to
battle against his tribe, so in general, if women were not to remain
at home, their husbands could not be supplied with provision,
and consequently could not make war with advantage. From that
time it became a constant practice to cut-off the heads of the enemy’s
women; especially if they happened to be pregnant, and therefore
confined to their houses. This barbarity was carried so far, that if a
Kuki attacked the house of an enemy, and killed a woman with a
child, so that he might bring two heads, he acquired honour and
celebrity in his tribe, as the destroyer of two foes at once.2
So basically head hunting was an individual practice which set a
trend among the hillmen’s warfare. However Shakespeare firmly
believed that the custom was originally invented by the Thado-
Kuki. Whereas William Shaw assumed that he was only a slave
hunter and taking of the heads was infused from the neighbouring
tribes. This was like the way in which the Kukis borrowed the
manufacture of guns and gunpowder from indigenous products
through one of the neighbouring tribes, Shendoos.3 The reasons
for head hunting among the Kukis had four motives for:
(a) for revenge
(b) as a tradition of the primal Kuki
(c) or war trophy
(d) for soul matter.4

THEIR SETTLEMENTS
The ancestors of the Kukis had dwelled in almost extensive areas of
north-east India. The Ahom government had practically no con­
nection with the tribes in the Lushai hills, though there is evidence
to show that they knew the Kukis through their envoys to Tripura,
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 181
who preceded through the Lushai hills.5 Traces of the Kukis in­
habiting the Cachar or Silchar district is found in fragments in the
form of accounts and theories as explained in the following para­
graphs. The compound word Hailakandi by which the southern
district of Assam is known derived its name from two words: Hallam
(a Tripuri term for the Kukis) and Kandi (paddy field) meaning
Hallam (and thus, Haila-kandi) means Hallam ram (land or terri­
tory) or land of the Hallam people.6 Again, a theory suggest that
the Kukis lived in different groups, in Hailakandi for example the
region was inhabited by the Kukis named as Halam and according
to the Kuki language Hala means God and Kundi means Almighty
Siva. So, Hailakandi means the country of gods renamed as Halpa­
kundi during Kachari kingdom and the present name Hailakandi
during the British rule.7 One theory suggest that:
Hailakandi was originally a part of the Kuki kingdom i.e.‘Hidmba Raja’ may
be explained by a linguistic derivation of the name itself. In Kuki Dialect
‘Hala’ means ‘Isvara’ and ‘Kundi’ means ‘Param Purush Shiva’ or ‘Narayana’.
So ‘Hailakandi’ means Kingdom of Lord Shiva or Narayana. Here it is impor­
tant to note that the Kukis (who are referred as Kirates/Mlechhas in the epics)
were originally Shiva worshippers.7

Interestingly, the History of The Biates by Ramdina Lalsim men­

tions the relations of the Kukis in Tripura. The king called as
Vairengpa to the Biate tribe offered a bala (bangle), to the Biates,
Sakecheps and Hrangkhols. After the presentation of the bala, some
years later, the Vairengpa again offered a tiny idol of Hindu deity
called Devi. Though the Hrangkhols and Sakachep accepted the
gifts and one of the Hindu deities called Devi was included in
their traditional pantheon of Chung Pathen (High God), they were
afraid that their own God might be angry with them. They also
feared reprisal from the King of Tripura who insisted on including
Hindu gods in their pantheon. As a result, due to the fear of the
wrath of the Vairengpa, the Biates finally left Tripura says the leg­
ends.8 Archaeological evidences of the Biates settlements in North
Cachar Hills is found in Kobak village.
The territory inhabited by the Kuki-Chin tribes extends from
the Naga Hills in the north down into the Sandoway district of
Mynamar in the south; from the Myittha River in the east, almost
182 Tingneilam Thangew
to the Bay of Bengal in the west.9 Inhabiting such vast territories
from time immemorial, it is safe to say the Kukis considered them­
selves to be safekeepers of the lands dwelled upon by them. When­
ever wrongful killings was done, steps were taken to ensure that
such incidents were curbed by exacting revenge, i.e. a life for a life
and for the proof of the kills, heads were taken. This was the
nature of revenge that the Kukis followed in order to retain territo­
ries and maintain their strongholds. Before the British came to the
region the entire valleys adjacent to the hills were virtually under
the control of the Poitoo Kukis over which the Tripperah Rajahs
claimed authority in theory but the former were practically inde­
pendent from its authority. They protected the whole valleys from
all intrusions.10 The character of revenge took shape in the North
Cachar Hills in 1850 between the Kukis and the Nagas, when
some Nagas had killed one Thado-Kuki Chief. The nature of ven­
geance was serious whereby the Thados, with 350 fighting men
followed up, at which all the villagers fled for safety. The Naga
Gangbura, being left alone, was killed by the Kuki.11 Hence, the
Kukis maintained their independence even during the time of the
Ahom rule and continued to do so until the ‘Anglo-Kuki War’
(1917-19), when the Kukis were subjugated by the British. It was
this belongingness and authority on the land which prompted the
Kukis to take necessary measures to safeguard their ancestors’
land, and one method to furnish their agenda was the method of
head hunting.
In the borders of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Kukis are known
by the name of Lushai. They extend in numberless hordes, north
and north-east, until they reach Cachar on the one hand, and the
frontiers of Mynamar on the other.12 The peculiarity of the Kukis
is that they have distinct differences in their languages, but can
understand each other well unlike the Nagas. They are known to
the Bengalis by the name of Kookie, and to the Burmese as the
Lankhe. Thus, for an individual, who does not have prior knowl­
edge about this community, it is but, natural to be confused. They
are again further divided into clans and sub-clans. In terms of
head hunting the Lushais were not far behind their neighbouring
tribes. In fact, the term ‘Lushai’ has been of debate among the
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 183
colonizers regarding the meaning. J. Shakespeare was of the opin­
ion that ‘Lushei’ was a combination of ‘lu’, head, and ‘shei’, long.
Earlier to him T.H. Lewin suggested that the name ‘Lushai’ was
from ‘lu’ (head) and ‘sha ’ (to cut). While Shakespeare believed
that head hunting was practised originally by the Thado-Kuki,
the Lushai-Kuki were raiders, who also did not hesitate to take
heads as a proof of killing during the raids.
Some specific raids carried certain importance, when a great
Chief or a Rajah died. The nature of these raids carried spiritual
and social value in the sense that it was a way of projecting the
significance of the late Chief, a kind of allegiance paid to him in
the form of heads which would be buried along with him. Simi­
larly, a head would mean an additional slave to serve him at the
Mithikho, whereas a common individual have to hunt heads for on
his own during war or as opportunity arose. The Kukis owned
specific weapons exclusively for hunting and war; a small bow with
poisoned arrows, a spear and a dao, or sword, a most destructive
kind of heavy short sword. They did not attack their enemies openly
in the day, but stole on them by night and having surrounded the
place to be attacked, at the break of day, rushed in on every quarter
and exterminated young and old, women and children indiscrimi­
nately. If they were completely successful, a few might be spared to
be kept as slaves. Previous to setting out on a hostile incursion,
they offered a pig as a sacrifice to the deity. If any one of the parties
was slain by the enemy, the corpse was buried on the spot without
burning, the customary ceremonies were dispensed with and
neither relatives or friends lamented together on the occasion. If
victorious, they brought home the heads of their enemies and on
reaching their villages the warriors dressed out in their war attire
had a dance, beat drums, played bamboo pipes and the instru­
ment called jhanjh, after which the heads of their enemies were
fastened to a pole and put up where three or four roads met to­
gether.
In a memoir on Sylhet, Cachar and other districts by the late
Captain Fisher, formerly Superintendent of Cachar, that officer
states . . . that the object of the Kuki inroads on the plains is not
plunder, for which they have never been known to show any desire
184 Tingneilam Thangew
but they kill and carry away the heads of as many human beings as
they can seize and have been known in one night to carry off fifty.
These are used in certain ceremonies performed at the funerals of
their Chiefs, and it is always after the death of one of their Rajahs
that their incursions occur. As narrated by T.H. Lewin on getting
the firsthand account of head hunting done by his housekeeper:
A young man, a Riang Tipperah, who lives in my house, was formerly a slave
of Rutton Poia’s (a Lhooshai Chief ), and I have heard from him many
accounts of raids made by his master. He used to accompany the Chief as the
bearer of his weapons. His first raid was in 1860, made on the Bengallee
inhabitants of Kundal in Tipperah. They fell upon the villagers at day-dawn,
according to custom; and the Bengallee man, with one consent, ran away.
The women, however, stood their ground, and abused their grim assailants
vociferously for breaking into honest people’s houses. The Lhoosai laughed
at their shrilled tongues at first, but later it was found troublesome, and
one young woman had to be caught down pour encourager les autres. The
Chief confided to my boy’s care two women, captives. All the prisoners were
fastened together by a chord through the lobe of the ears, and the Lhoosai
set out with their plunder on the return journey. Now, one of the captive
women was young and not accustomed to walking; so after the first day’s
march her feet swelled, and she was unable to go further. The Chief, there­
fore, ordered that she should be speared. ‘well,’ said the narrator, ‘I took the
spear and went towards her, and Rutton Poia said, ‘Do it neatly, I will look
on,’ for it was the first time I had ever speared anyone. When the girl saw me
take the spear and come towards her she fell a—weeping, and caught my
garments and my hands, and all my heart thumped, and I could not hurt her.
It was pitiful! So the Chief began to laugh at me and said, ‘o white-livered,
and son of a female dog, when we return to the village, I will tell the young
maidens of your courage;’ so I shut my eyes and speared her. My stroke was
ill-directed, and she did not die; so the Chief finished the work and he made
me lick the spear. The blood of Bengallees is very salty. Since then I have not
been afraid to spear anyone.13

The Lushais went a step further and indulged in mild cannibal­

ism, i.e. eating a piece of liver of the first slain enemy, which is
believed to give strength and courage to the heart.
The Kukis identified themselves as belonging to one tribe prior
to their dispersion on the basis of two virtual facts, one being archi­
tecture and the other a possession of flute called pheiphit. The former
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 185
concerns itself with the structure of the house built with particular
features known to an individual belonging to Kuki community:
The pheiphit is a bamboo flute without holes. One end of the flute is closed
by its natural knob. The other end is scraped a little for the player to hold it
easily between the lips while playing. It is interesting to note that a single
flute produces only one tone. Though, different players play on separate
flutes simultaneously yet they are able to produce a sort of harmony between
the notes of the several flutes like in a modern mouth organ. At the most,
seven to eight separate tones are simultaneously produced from the same
number of flutes.14

In the context of rituals around the world, Headhunting and the

Body in Iron Age Europe by Ian Armit portrays the various aspects
of head hunting during Iron Age in Europe. Of this, the most
interesting perspective was that of Richard Bradley, an anthropologist
who firmly separates ritual from religion; two concepts that are
frequently confused. Ritual acts need not be religious in character.
Though, they may involve interactions with the supernatural, ritu­
als may also be essentially secular, centring on communication
primarily between performers and the audience. But ritual acts do,
necessarily relate to one or more of the triad of religion, cosmology,
and ideology. He was of the opinion that decapitation may be
ritualized as a means of accommodating it within a religious, cosmo­
logical, or ideological framework. So ritualization in a way can
justify use of violence for a simple desire for personal power, slaves,
land or tribute and more or less involve taking of heads.15 In the
article, Heady Business: Skulls, Heads and Decapitation in Neolithic
Anatolia and Greece, Lauren E. Talalay states that, trophy head-
taking by Indonesian, Indian, and Malaysian head hunters, how­
ever, reifies ideals of masculine prowess, honour, pride, and heroism,
and procuring heads during warfare was officially sanctioned by
both the Romans and the Assyrians. However, the author is of the
opinion that the head was viewed as a discursive element of the
body it reflected and helped construct complex ideologies. Futher­
more, he adds that the head’s presence, absence, adornment, and
modification in various contexts and guises were regularly used to
affirm, deny, submerge or give voice to individual and collective
186 Tingneilam Thangew
powers or identities where fragmenting the body at the neck can
connect rather to the concept of continuity and rebirth.16 Anahit
Yu Khudaverdyan in the article, Ritual and ceremonial dismember­
ing bones in a burials in Bronze and Iron centuries from Armenian
Plateau says that the most common and widely distributed war
trophy was the human head and to acquire an enemy’s head was
the sign of utmost valour and humiliation to the defeated foes.
While deposition of human skulls has been interpreted as evidence
for a head hunting cult, the accumulated skulls were also believed
to provide symbolic protection. Also, the human skulls were used
to communicate with the deceased and were supposed to secure
power to the succeeding generations too. Adding to taking heads,
there were also other forms of humiliating the enemies such as
scalping. On some occasions, scalping took two forms—mourning
war and shame-aggression war. Mourning war was a mechanism
developed to externalize grief and hostility and was a cooperative
action, involving a war party. Male mourners organized a response
to death and disease, and the party did not establish an individual
target for their grief. The first member of the enemy clan or tribe
they encountered was killed and the scalp of the victim was brought
back to the village and rituals were performed.17
As far as perspectives were concerned, head hunting was assumed
as one of the primitive practices of the tribes around the world:
For early European colonialists, encountering previously unknown peoples
and attempting to come to terms with alien cultural practices and values,
head hunting was the epitome of savagery. Head hunting raids seldom obeyed
the proper rules of military engagement. They were often ambushes or
surprise attacks aimed at overpowering individuals or small groups with
little hope of defending themselves. Victims were often women, children
and the elderly, suggesting a rather ungallant approach to battle out of
keeping with the ethos (if not the reality) of Western modes of war. In
the absence of any real understanding of the cosmological background
that so often structured head hunting practices, most saw the removal and
display of heads as simple trophy taking—an abominable denigration of
the dead.18
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, images of head
hunting were an inextricable part of popular ideas of tribal peoples
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 187
around the fringes of the European colonial world. More recently,
however, head hunting has been effectively written out of the ethno­
graphies of many non-Western peoples. Not unnaturally, anthro­
pologists wishing to avoid stigmatizing their subjects have down-
played or simply omitted those behaviours that seem to align too
easily with the popular stereotype of the savage’. Phenomena such
as head hunting, cannibalism, and human sacrifice, which were
the staples of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century ethnographic
writing, and which helped form a persistent and pervasive popular
caricature of the primitive’, have, thus, almost disappeared from
view.19
Anthropologist Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf described the
head hunting rituals of the Konyak Nagas as follows:
Following the welcome of the returning headhunters by the village elders and
other men of the community, the captured head was taken to an area outside
the village, close to where the heads of ancestors were kept in their stone cists’
or pillars. There the trophy was pelted with raw eggs to blind the kinsmen of
the dead foe’. Rice beer was then poured into its mouth, accompanied
by invocations to the victim’s kin to come and surrender themselves to the
victorious headhunters. After this initial ceremony, the head was taken
into the village itself where there was period of dancing in front of the cult
house or morung’, and the headhunters were ritually washed. The head
itself was tied to a log gong, which was beaten during the festivities. Later
the head was placed on a post in front of the morung, accompanied by a
further period of dancing. On the day after its arrival, the head was taken in
procession by the men of the village, all bedecked in body paint and ceremo­
nial costume, to a ritual area specified for the purpose, where a priest’ (usually
the senior descendant of the village founder) cut off parts of the ears
and tongue and once again called on the victim’s kinsmen. This part of the
ceremony was accompanied by the sacrifice of a chicken and reading of its
entrails. The head was then hung from a tree and, for a period of a day, no
work was done and the village was given over to dancing and feasting. After
a month had passed, a further feast was held, during which the head
was taken down from its tree, given rice beer to drink’, and deposited in
the morung.20
However, there are certain exceptions, when it comes to keeping
of the heads collected and they are not treated equally as based on
how and why the skulls were accumulated. Such is the case of
188 Tingneilam Thangew
tribes found in Africa like the Kagoro, Attakka, Moroa, Katab and
Kajji namely:
Peoples of the same origin may fight each other —even different members of
a single family will do that—but they never keep the heads of their victims as
trophies of war, though they retain those of their enemies, and, even if taken
during the actual fighting, they are given back to the dead man’s relatives to
be buried with the bodies on the declaration of peace. If this were not done,
the ghosts of the victims would have to serve those of their slayers in the next
world, and although such a condition of affairs would be most desirable in
the case of war with an enemy, it is not considered good form to make one’s
own blood relations (or should I say spirits?) do such work. And in fact, it is
quite possible that such a ghost would work harm rather than good to the
slayer, since it, and only it, can worry any of its living relatives, a ghost of a
stranger being harmless.21

Feuds were of common occurrence among the groups which some­

times took a toll on the relations between them. One incident des­
cribes the gravity of the situation:
The people of Babban Gidda had a feast to which they invited a number of
Gannawarri, and having made five of their guests drunk, they shut them up
in a hut and killed them, the rest of the honoured guests managing to escape.
The heads of the victims were then cut off, and were set up by the chief in
his house as a memorial of the gallant deed.22

The tools used by the headhunters were as follows:

The weapons of the head-hunters were (1) a wooden club, (2) a knife,
(3) the bow and arrow, (4) the sling, (5) the spear for throwing or thrusting,
and (6) the shield. The club might be a mere thick stick, or a knob-kerry, or
it may be a heavy wide (flat surface) similar, as with the Kagoma, or a longer,
narrower one of light wood as with the Ayu. The knife might be of the usual
dagger shape, or the handle might be in the form of an oval ring, and it
would be bought from a Hausa trader, or else made in their own towns
by foreign blacksmiths. The bow was not strengthened in any way, being
a piece of merely bent wood some three to five feet long, but a ring might
be worn on the right thumb when drawing it, so as to give a better grip on
the missile. The arrows had iron heads with flanges and were poisoned, the
shafts being notched but not feathered, and usually about three feet in length,
but Jigya used some 4 feet 8 inches against the last patrol. The Toffs used
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 189
wooden-pointed arrows, the tips of which broke off on touching the target;
the object in both cases being of course to keep the poison-bearing material in
contact with the flesh as long as possible. Fire arrows are unknown, and this
was rather surprising, considering the fact that the burning of the enemy’s
town was one of the objects of every attacking force.23

The beliefs of Mithikho as perceived by the Kukis and Nagas of

north-east India were similar to those of the Kagoro group, Africa.
The group believed: ‘that the ghosts of the victims must serve that
of the slayer in the next world, every householder in addition in­
heriting in some way the benefits from the heads collected by
his ancestors, as well as from those he himself obtained’.24
Furthermore, there is evidence to prove that, amongst many
tribes, cannibalism arose out of a belief that eating a man caused
his good qualities to pass into the body of the host, which was
based on the idea that special foods had special effects on the body,
and then on the brain and nerves, carried a little further. So brave
enemies were eagerly sought out, and the more gallant the foe, the
more certain was he of providing a ‘joint of black brother’ for his
captors, if he were unlucky enough to be taken prisoner. Or again,
the victim might be one famed for his magical powers, or remark­
able in some other way above his fellows.25
Philippine Scholar Renato Rosaldo his discusses Ilongot Head­
hunting, 1881-1974: A Study in Society and History written by the
politics of head hunting in the following points:
● The taking of a human life with a view towards cleansing the
participants of the contaminating burdens of their own lives.
Once cleansed through participation in a successful raid, the
men were said to become ‘light’ in weight, ‘quick’ of step, and
‘red’ in complexion.
● Head hunting made an individual eligible to wear red hornbill
earrings mostly to gain the admiration of young women and to
be able to answer back when other men taunted. ‘Others will scorn
you if you marry without taking a head’. But it was not obligatory
for Ilongot men to take a head before marriage, a misconception
widespread in Philippine ethnography and popular culture.
● Taking of a human head initiated the young man, a first major
190 Tingneilam Thangew
step from his childhood and youth, centred in his family to mar­
riage. Head hunting and marriage were the two critical moments
in a period conceived of as the only significant rupture in the
otherwise continuous course of the life cycle. Celebrated in ritual,
story, song, and oratory, this change in social status was cultur­
ally elaborated to a greater extent than any other throughout the
Ilongot lifetime.
● Feuds between families, clans and groups resulting in revenge in
the form of head hunting.
Regarding the challenges in documentation of the oral tradition
of the Ilongot, in their stories of wandering in terror, people uni­
formly listed the names of every foraged item of food and where it
was found; every brook crossed and every hill scaled; every spot
where they stopped to rest or eat or sleep. Piling place name upon
place name, people’s sagas of 1945, as noted earlier, appeared
initially to be as irrelevant for Ilongot ethnography as they were
impossible.

HEAD HUNTING AND ITS PLACE IN

THE CHON RITUAL

The evidence of head hunting among the Kukis is mentioned

in one ritual of Chon performed by the Chongthu man named
Thangpi.
A large trunk of the tree named kheng-thing with its branches
left intact was erected on the outskirts of the village where the evil
spirits were believed to be living in subduement. Except for the
branches at the top, the ends of the other branches were chopped
off. At each end of the pruned branches, the skulls of the killed
enemies were kept transfixed.26
The second day Chon ritual known as gam-va-sa-neh-ni-galan
pehni set apart for giving a feast to the warriors, who fought in the
battles and also to the souls of the killed enemies.
On this day between sunrise and noon all the different kinds of animals were
killed by Thangpi himself. After dressing the meat the Bechas packed the meat
pieces into thirty-two bundles. A very strong kind of wine was prepared by the
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 191
Tuchas and was poured into thirty-two bronze jars. These thirty-two jars of wine
and thirty-two packets of meat were taken to the outskirts of the village by the
Bechas and the Tuchas. The party was accompanied by Thangpi along with
his priest named Sanglhu and the warriors. At a place in the outskirts, the
warriors were given a feast. The whole party consisted of thirty-two persons.27

THE WARRIORS DRESS

The warriors who presented to Thangpi the skulls of the enemies

and of the wild animals had attired themselves in the following
manner:
Each of them put over his shoulder like a baldric a shawl with
its ends knotted over the breast. They also wore the feathers of the
jungle crow and the tuhpahs, the quivers with arrows, the bracelets,
the arm plates and carried with them the sou (very sharp and pointed
spikes made from bamboo splits and dry bones. To escape from
the enemies these spikes were planted on the path to work as deadly
obstacles for the enemies). Besides, they had the armours and the
shields.
All of them led by Thangpi marched in formation to the out­
skirts of the village. At the head of of the column, the great Thangpi
stood. Behind him stood Sanglhu the priest. They were followed
by the warriors. Singing the song of the brave they marched to­
wards the village outskirts. They sang the following song:
Ka thange ka thange namtin
Khovai phei laija. Chong hi
Tu son ka thange. Ka jon ei choie
Nam cham pha bagl eichoi je
Chunin eichije aikep pha bang eichije
Translation:
I am famous, I am renowned amidst all the
People of the village. I am the descendant
of Chongthu and as such I am famous. My
father loves and praises me as he love and
praises a good two-edged sword. My mother
loves and praises me as she loves and praises
a conch shell.
192 Tingneilam Thangew
After reaching the selected place in the outskirts of the village, all
of them gathered round the ritualistic stone erected for casting
hyp-notical spell on the evil spirits to prevent them from entering
the village. All the persons stood encircling the Khengthing post
and observed the warriors transfixing the skulls of the killed enemies
(gal-lu) on the chopped out branches of the Khengthing. Looking
at the transfixed skulls of the enemies Thangpi said the following
words:
O my enemies! Come and have your food.
I have made a platform on the tree.
I am standing below with my sword in hand.

(Thangpi was inviting the spirits of the dead enemies to partake of

the food he had placed on the platform constructed at half height
of the Khengthing. This was actually a subtle warning given by
Thangpi to the spirits of the enemies that he was on his guard
with his sword below the Khengthing.)
He then said heroically:
I am the son of Chongthu.
Your grandfather Failed to vanquish
my grandfather. Your Father failed
to conquer my father and you
Were also unsuccessful in defeating me.

After saying that Thangpi slashed the surface of the ground with
a stroke of his sword with great force. This action was immediately
followed by singing of the victory song (hanla) and yells of the
victory that echoed and re-echoed.28
It is important to note that the warriors, who had failed to kill
enemies and wild elephants, were not allowed to participate in the
singing of the victory songs called hanla songs. In the Chon ritual
the process of performing ritual was done usually seven times but
in Sha-Ai it was done three times which was less compared to
Chon.29 The former ritual demanded everything to be done seven
times. Seven mithuns were to be killed and everything else must be
in multiples of seven. So rigorous was the Chon ritual that in a
generation only two or one individual was able to perform it. In
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 193
my opinion more than the Chon ritual itself the Sha-Ai ceremony
was of utmost importance since the latter prepared the grounds
for the former to take place. The origin of Sha-Ai was said to have
began when an individual had slain animals more than his re­
quirement. So, for the friends of the slain animals to prevent re­
venge on the hunter, a particular ceremony was performed. There
the remains of the hunted animals, and in most cases tigers, were
buried on the outskirts of the village and a tiger’s replica was made.
A song was sung by the individuals dressed in women’s attire,
which was suppose to mock the slain tiger. The song is as follows:
Nangin lamsah najot leh,
Ken lamlhang jot ingting.
Nang meipum, nang tin, nang ha;
Chu imacha hipontin.
Ka meipum thonda hen lang,
Ka kap leh nathin nalung tongkha henlang.
Tengle, napun lah eijou lou,
Napan lah kappa joulou.
Nangin lah kei neijou lou;
Nalung kachop a kachop khop jou,
Navai kachop a kachop khoplou.

Translation:
If you walk the upward path,
I will take the lower path.
Your guns, your nails, your teeth;
It is of no use then.
May my gun not lose its aim,
If I shoot it goes through your liver and your heart.
Then, your master could not defeat me
Your master could not defeat my master.
You could not defeat me.
I could easily jump above your heart,
Your length is not enough for me to jump over.

After this song, a stone was erected with chants for the tiger’s
kin to read lest they happen to take revenge on the village, while
passing by. It was believed that, if the tiger’s allies witnessed this
194 Tingneilam Thangew
ritual, it further dissuaded them from attacking the village. In
course of time, there must have been a scarcity of animals due
to excessive hunting. Conversion to Christianity also made the
Kukis stop using the chants during rituals, as it was considered
an abomination by the missionaries. Till the 1960s, Thonghao
Kholhou and Tongsai Haolai of Vattop Leikeh perfomed Sha-Ai
and Chang-Ai respectively.30 There is no mention of women war­
riors participating in head hunting.
With the coming of the colonial government to the Kuki terri­
tories, the people went through a gradual change, their rituals too
were considered an abomination with the coming of the Christian
missionaries. Thus, head hunting was controlled and curbed both
by the colonial government and the Christian missionaries to
achieve their respective propaganda, i.e. control the ‘wild’ tribes.
Decline of head hunting made the Kukis more approachable by
the colonizers. It impacted the oral tradition of memorizing their
ancestors’ name not mandatory since it was used during rituals
and head hunting. The modern era has ensured the Kukis better
living conditions in exchange of the genealogy of their ancestors
which was learned with much jest by the youngsters in earlier days.

NOTES

1. Lalmuanpui Khiangte, ‘Moving Community: An investigation into the

Migration and Non-settlement of the Kuki in North Eastern India (colonial
period)’. Unpublished PhD thesis, Assam University, 2010, Silchar,
p. 90.
2. John, Rawlins,‘On the Manners, Religion, and Laws of the Cucis, or Moun­
taineers of Tipra’, Asiatic Researches (vol. II, 5th edn.), p. 188.
3. T.H., Lewin, Wild Races of South-eastern India, WM H. Allen & CO., 1870,
first edn. Reprint 2018, p. 283.
4. Lalmuanpui Khiangte, ‘Moving Community: An investigation into
the Migration and Non-settlement of the Kuki in North Eastern India
(Colonial Period)’. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of History, Assam
University, 2010, Silchar, p. 90.
5. S.L., Baruah, A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers, New Delhi, 2013 (5th rpt.), p. 379.
 Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis 195
6. Jangkhomang Guite, ‘Raja Lalsuhkla: Legendary king of the Kukis in
Hallamram’, Souvenir: The 1st Barak Valley Chavang Kut, 2012, p. 28.
7. Amalendu Nag, ‘ Urban Self- Government and Town Development (a case
study of Hailakandi town)’. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of
Sociology, Assam University, 2004, Silchar, p. 35.
8. Ramdina,Lalsim, History of the Biates: One of the Oldest Hill Tribes of Assam,
first edition, Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes,
Guwahati, 2013, pp. 56-7.
9. G.A. Grierson, ‘Specimen of Kuki-Chin’, Linguistic Survey of India,
published by the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, Calcutta.
1904, p. 1.
10. Jangkhomang Guite, ‘Raja Lalsuhkla: Legendary king of the Kukis in
Hallamram’, Souvenir: The 1st Barak Valley Chavang Kut, 2012, p. 28.
11. A.J. Moffat Mills, ‘Jenkins letter to Moffat Mills’, Reports on Assam, Govt. of
Assam Calcutta, 1854, rpt., Assam Publication Board, Gauhati, 1984,
preface, p. CXXXVIII.
12. T.H. Lewin, Wild Races of South-eastern India, WM H. Allen & CO., 1870,
first edn. reprint 2018, p. 246.
13. Ibid., pp. 267-8.
14. Tarun Goswami, Kuki Life and Lore, first edition, Haflong: North Cachar
Hills District Council, 1985, p. 268.
15. Ian Armit, Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe; Cambridge
University Press, New York, 2012, p. 14.
16. Lauren Talalay, ‘Heady Business: Skulls, Heads, and Decapitation in
Neolithic Anatolia and Greece’, Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology,
December 2004, DOI: 10.1558/jmea.17.2.139.65540, p. 139.
17. Anahit Yu, ‘Khudaverdyan, Ritual and Ceremonial dismembering Bones
in a burials in Bronze and Iron centuries from Armenian Plateau’, Journal of
Antropologija, no. 2 (14), April 2018, pp. 163-95.
18. Ian Armit, Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe, Cambridge
University Press, New York, 2012, p. 48.
19. Ibid., p. 48.
20. Ibid., p. 54-5.
21. A.J.N. Tremearne, The Tailed Headhunters of Nigeria: An Account of an
Officials Seven Years Experiences in the Northern Nigerian Pagan Belt, and a
Description of the Manners, Habits and Customs of the Native Tribes, Seeley,
Service. London, 1912, p. 95.
22. Ibid., p. 154.
23. Ibid., p. 157.
24. Ibid., p. 180.
196 Tingneilam Thangew
25. Ibid., p. 181.
26. Tarun Goswami,Kuki Life and Lore, first edition, Haflong: North Cachar
Hills District Council, 1985, p. 269.
27. Ibid., pp. 270-1.
28. Ibid., p. 472.
29. See William Shaw,Notes on the Thadou Kukis, published on behalf of the
Government of Assam, Shillong, 1928,
30. Moungpao Thangew interviewed by Tingneilam Thangew, 25 October
2020, Songpijang, N.C. Hills.
 C H A P T E R 10

Human Sacrifice in Assam*

E D WA R D G A I T

The existence in Assam of the practice of offering human sacrifices

in ancient times has often been mentioned; but, so far as I am
aware, no detailed account has ever been given of the extent to
which the practice prevailed and the manner in which such sacri­
fices were carried out. The tribes amongst whom the practice is
known to have been common, are the Koches, Kacharis, Chutiyas,
Tipperas and the people of Jaintia. A peculiar form of sacrifice was
and still is, in vogue amongst the Khasis, but this is based on
purely non-Hindu superstitions, whereas amongst the other tribes
mentioned, the custom seems to be more or less closely connected
with the rites enjoined in the Kalaika Purana.

HUMAN SACRIFICES AMONGST THE KOCHES

The prevalence of the custom of offering human sacrifices amongst

the Koches is known from a statement in the Vamsavali of Raja
Lakshmi Narayana Konar, of which a fairly full summary was given
in my article on the Koch Kings of Kamarupa, which was pub­
lished in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (vol. LXII, pt. I,
p. 268). It is stated in this Vamcavali that, when Raja Nara Narayana
rebuilt the temnple of Kamakhya in AD 1565, he celebrated the
occasion by the sacrifice of no less than a hundred and forty men,
whose heads he offered to the goddess on salvers made of copper. It

*Reprinted from Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 61, pt. III, 1898,
pp. 56-65.
198 Edward Gait
is not stated there how the victims were obtained for the sacrifice,
but it appears from the Halt Iqlim that on some occasions at least
persons were found willing to come forward as voluntary victims.
Such persons were known as Bhogis, and from the time when they
announced that the goddess had called them, they were treated as
privileged persons. They were allowed to do whatevery they liked,
and every woman was at their command, until the annual festival
came round, when they were sacrificed to the goddess.

AMONGST THE KACHARIES

In Cachar, there is a legend that Raja Nirbhar Narayana, the forty-
fifth Kachari king was a very pious man according to the tradi­
tional list of kings. One day, while meditating in the temple, he
heard a voice, which said that, if he could go to the river next
morning at daybreak and catch hold of whatever he might find
there fearlessly, he would obtain the object of his worship in living
form. On proceedings to the river, the king saw a poisonous snake
swimming towards him; he caught hold of it, whereon it twisted
round his arm, and the king being alarmed tried to shake it off.
On this the snake changed into a sword, and the king took it to
the temple, where he lamented the loss, which he had sustained
through his fears. Soon he heard a voice, which told him that,
owing to his timidity, the object of his worship had assumed the
form of a sword; he was told to name it ‘Rana Chandi’, to worship
it regularly, and to offer human sacrifices to it annually. To this
origin is ascribed the practice which undoubtedly prevailed of of­
fering human sacrifices in the Kachari Raj. The victims were Hin­
dus of any caste other than Brahmanas, who were kidnapped for
the purpose from places outside the Hidamba Raj. The practices
said to have been put a stop to in the reign of Raja Gobinda
Chandra, in consequence of a Brahman having narrowly escaped
being sacrificed by mistake.

AMONGST THE CHUTIYAS

From a very early period, the practice of offering human sacrifices
was common amongst the Chutiyas, the pre-Ahom rulers of
 Human Sacrifice in Assam 199

Upper Assam, whose priests or Deoris were in the habit of offering

human sacrifices at the Copper Temple at Sadiya and elsewhere,
the object of their worship being Durga under the name of Kesai
Khati, the eater of raw human flesh.
These sacrifices were offered on certain stated occasions and also
to avert special calamities, such as cholera, small-pox, and droughts.
Kamakhya is one of the three deities to whom the offering human
sacrifices is enjoined in the Kalika Purana. The name of the God­
dess is there given as mother, and she was said to reside in a cave.
The same story is told as accounting for the partial discontinuance
of the practice of offering human sacrifice in Jaintia. Dalton, who
gives a very full account of this revolting practice amongst the
Chutiyas, conjectures that the sacrifices were originally offered to
some aboriginal deity and that it was only when the influence of
Hinduism began to be felt that, the name was changed to Durga.
In support of this view, he points to the fact that the officiating
priests were members of a Mongolian tribe and not Brahmans.
But this argument may easily be pressed too far. We known that
all the lower castes are ministered to by caste, and may not be true,
Brahmans and the same mingle easily be the case amongst the
Chutiyas, it is only in comparatively recent years. That the Chutiyas
and Ahoms have in large numbers embraced orthodox Hinduism
and placed themselves under the protection of Gohains, but it is
now known that the beliefs which they professes prior to this formal
conversion, were very largely of a Hindu character. This subject,
however, is one which requires separate treatment. After the sub­
jugation of the Chutiyas by the Ahoms, the Deoris, were still per­
mitted to continue their ghastly rites, but they were usually given
as victims criminals who had been sentenced to capital punish­
ment. When none such were obtainable, a particular section of the
population or Khel (known as the Baruali Khel) was called upon
to produce one, in return for which certain privileges were granted
to the members of the Khel. On a woman of the Khel becoming
pregnant, the astrologers were called on to say whether the child
would be a boy or a girl, and if they predicted that it would be a
boy, the mother was carefully looked after, and the child was
anointed, as soon as it was born, with a paste made of tamarind
200 Edward Gait
and matikalai (Phaseolus radiates). When a sacrifice was thought
necessary, volunteers were called for, and some person usually came
forward of his own accord, if not, a victim was taken by force. In
either case, the victim was shaved, anointed with the paste of tama­
rind and matikalai, and decked with gold and silver ornaments.
He was then conducted before the image of the goddess, when he
prostrated himself, and was promptly decapitated by the Bar Deroi
or High Priest. The body was left on the spot until the following
morning, when it was removed. Victims were taken only from
amongst the juvenile male members of the clan; on attaining full
age they became exempt and were allowed to marry and settle
down. According to Dalton, it was necessary that the victims to
be immolated should be of pure caste and in perfect form, the
slightest blemish or mutilation rendering them unfit to be offered
to the goddess. Brahmans and members of the royal family were
exempted as a privilege; Doms, Haris, Musalmans, and women
were excluded.
For some time preceding the sacrifice, the victim to be immo­
lated was detained at the temple, where he was fed sumptuously,
till in sufficiently plump condition to suit the supposed taste of
the Gucant. On the appointed day, he was led forth, magnificently
attired and decorated with gold and silver ornaments, to be shown
to the multitude that assembled on the occasion, then withdrawn
and led by a private path trodden only by the officiating priests
and their victims to the brink of a deep pit, where he was divested
of his fineries and decapitated, so that the body fell into the pit.
The head was added to a heap of ghastly skulls that were piled in
view of the shrine.

AMONGST THE TIPPERAS

As regards the Tipperas, the information is more scanty. Several

references are, however, made to human sacrifices in the Rajmala
or chronicles of the kings of Tippera. It is related there that Deva
Manikya, who reigned from AD 1522 to 1535, offered up some
slaves as a sacrifice to ‘the fourteen gods’, but the sacrifice was not
accepted, and the chief priest announced that Mahadeva had or­
 Human Sacrifice in Assam 201
dered the sacrifice of the best commanders of the army. Deva
Manikya obeyed and gave up his eight best commanders to be
immolated. His successor, Vijaya Manikya (AD 1535 to 1583), it
is said on two occasions defeated the Musalmans, and offered the
Pathans and ‘others’, who had been taken prisoners as sacrifices to
‘the fourteen gods’.

AMONGST THE JAINTIA

In the case of Jaintia, a very full account of the practice has been
sent by Babu Girish Chanda Dasa, Assistant Settlement Officer. It
appears that human sacrifices were offered annually on the Sandhi
day in the month of Ashvin (shukla paksha) at the sacred pitha in
the Faljur pargana. They were also occasionally offered at the shrine
of Jainteshwari at Nijpat, the capital of the country. As stated in
the Haft Iqlim to have been the case in Koch Bihar, so also in
Jaintia, persons frequently came forward voluntarily as victims.
This they generally did, by appearing before the Raja on the last
day of Shravan and declaring that the Goddess had called them.
After due enquiry, if the would-be victim or Bhoge Khaora were
deemed suitable, it was customary for the Raja to present him
with a golden anklet and to give him permission to live, as he
chose and to do whatever he pleased, compensation for any dam­
age done by him being paid from the royal treasury. But his enjoy­
ment of these privileges was very short. On the navami day of the
Durga Puja, the Bhoge Kharoa, after bathing and purifying him­
self, was dressed in new attire, daubed with red sandalwood and
vermilion, and bedecked with garlands. Thus arrayed, the victim
sat on a raised dais in front of the goddess and spent some time in
meditation (japa) and in uttering mantras. Having done this, he
made a sign with his finger, and the executioner forthwith cut-off
his head, which was placed before the Goddess on a golden plate.
The lungs were cooked and eaten by such Kadra yogis as were present,
and it is said that the royal family partook of a small quantity of
rice cooked in the blood of the victim. The ceremony was usually
witnessed by large crowds of spectators from all parts of the Jaintia
Parganas.
202 Edward Gait
Sometimes, the supply of voluntary victims fell short or victims
were needed for some special sacrifice promised in the event of
some desired occurrence, such as the birth of a son, coming to
pass. On such occasions, emissaries were sent to kidnap strangers
from outside the Jaintia Raj, and it was this which eventually led
to the annexation of the country by the British. In 1821, an at­
tempt was made to kidnap a native of Sylhet proper and while the
agents employed were punished, the Raja was warned not to allow
such an atrocity to occur again, Eleven years later, however, four
British subjects were kidnapped in the Nowgong district and taken
to Jaintia Chieftains. Three of them were actually sacrificed, but
the fourth escaped and reported the matter to the authorities.
The Raja of Jaintia was called on to deliver up the culprits, but
he failed to do so, and his dominions were in consequence annexed
in 1835.
The origin of human sacrifices amongst the Khasis is fully ex­
plained in the following extract from a Resolution by the Chief
Commissioner of Assam on the Administration Report of the Khasi
and Jaintia Hills district for the year 1881-2:
Among the cases tried this year, were three murders of singular atrocity, two
of them committed on influensive old women, and one on a boy; in none
of them was any adequate cause alleged, and at least two of them are believed
to have been connected with the very remarkable superstition of the Thlen.
Tradition is that there was once in a cave near Cherrapunji a gigantic snake, or
Thlen, who committed great havoc among men and animals. At last, one man,
bolder than his fellows, took with him a herd of goats, and set himself down by
the cave and offered them one by one to the Thlen. By degrees the monster
became friendly, and learnt to open his mouth, at a word from the man, to
receive the lump of flesh, which was then thrown in. When confidence was
thoroughly established, the man heated a lump of iron red hot in a furnace,
induced the snake, at the usual signal, to open his mouth, and then threw in
the red hot lump, and so killed him. He then cut up the body and sent pieces
in every direction, with orders that the people were to eat them. Wherever
the order was obeyed, the country became free of the Thlen; but one small
piece remained which no one would eat, and from this sprang a multitude
of Thlen, which infest the residents of Cherrapunji and its neighbourhood
(including Shillong). When a Thlen take up its abode in a family, there is
no means of getting rid of it, though it occasionally leaves of its own accord,
 Human Sacrifice in Assam 203
and often follows property of the family when given away or sold. The Thlen
attaches itself to wealth, and brings prosperity and wealth to the family, but on
the condition that it is supplied with blood. Its craving comes on at uncertain
intervals, and manifests itself by sickness among the family, by misadventure
or increasing poverty. It can only be appeased by the murder of a human bring.
The murderer takes the hair, the tips of the fingers, and a little blood from the
nostrils, caught in a bamboo tube and offers these to the Thlen. The belief is that
the demon then appears in the form of a snake and devours the body of the
murdered person, which is materialized from the portions, thus offered. After
this, its craving is satisfied for a time, and the affairs of that house prosper. Many
families in these hills are known or suspected to be R-thlen, or keepers of a Thlen,
and are dreaded and avoided in consequence. Whenever a dead body is found
with the marks above described on it (and particularly if it is killed with no
wound, but by twisting the neck), it may be presumed with almost absolute
certainty that the object of the murder was to appease a Thlen. This happened
in one of the three instances referred to in the others these marks were not
found, but in the absence of any other cause for the murder, it was more than
probable that it was due to this dreadful superstition. In each of the three cases
one or two persons (though perhaps not all the accomplices), were convicted;
one man was hanged, and the rest were sentenced to transportation for life or for
a terms of years.

CONCLUSION

The above is a summary of all that one has been able to gather
regarding the custom of sacrificing human being in Assam, one
has not referred to the taking of life for reasons other than sacrifi­
cial purposes, and so no reference has been made to the practice of
head-hunting so common amongst many of the hill tribes, or to
the old Ahom custom of slaughtering all prisoners taken in battle
and making of their heads a chaplet of skulls. Neither, has it been
attempted to discuss the subject of human sacrifices generally or
to trace its origin, as these general questions have already been
dealt with by more competent hands.
 C H A P T E R 11

Bej Bejali in the Assamese

Socio-cultural Context
V A N D A N A G O S WA M I

Bej is a very common word in Assamese everyday parlance. A bej is

a healer; but at the same time, the word invokes terror as the bej are
seen to cause utmost harm. It is an ambivalent term, shrouded in
mystery, the occult, as well as healing. The cultural category of bej
and the practice associated with this concept, popularly called bejali
is analysed in this article. An attempt has been to understand and
anthropologically interpret a cultural practice, why it continues
and what it says about the Assamese world view.
The paper is based on the author’s doctoral dissertation research
from Michigan State University conducted in the early 1990s and
the doctoral thesis that came out of that research.1 The study was
funded by the American Institute of Indian Studies. It was a pio­
neering work, using ideas of medical anthropology in the specific
cultural and geographical context of Assam. There was very little
existing academic writing on the topic at that time. The author
has since then moved on from anthropology to areas of education
and pedagogy, and this research stayed as is. Hence the findings
compiled here have not been presented before, except in the
doctoral dissertation. The purpose of the paper is to disseminate
the findings of the thesis to today’s scholars as well as to high­
light methodological learnings from the field experience. This
paper should therefore be considered in the context of a historical
development of an area of study in Assam that seems to be taking
up a lot of interest at the present times. The perspectives presented
206 Vandana Goswami
here are a steppingstone for future researchers working on medical
anthropology and issues of culture, religion, and healing in Assam.
The resources referred to reflect the ideas of that era of anthro­
pological thinking. It is up to the readerto take these insights to
newer directions.
From this point onwards in the paper, the narrative will often
move into the first person, the term ‘author’ replaced by the pro­
noun ‘I’. Situating the author in research writing has been a part
of anthropological tradition as seen in the works of Marcus and
Fischer2 as well as Clifford and Marcus.3 This paper follows that
tradition that emphasizes the juxtaposition of the ethnographer’s
subjective narrative with objective description.
The study was based on a combination of primary and secondary
research. Primary data was obtained from observations and inter­
views. Cultural ideas of bej and bejali were elicited through dis­
cussions, in-depth interviews, and casual conversations with a range
of informants from across Assam—lay people, practitioners, their
clients, as well as scholars specializing in Assamese society and
culture. Most of my practitioner informants allowed me into their
sessions with clients, enabling me to observe practitioner client
interactions as they went on. Secondary data was obtained from
available books and textual material, that I got from various sources.
The Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies of Assam
had a large collection of local level texts. All these provided valu­
able background to my observations and interviews.
At the onset, I want to clarify that I am not addressing issues of
does bejali work or not. As I observed and talked to clients who
came to consult these practitioners and sat through healing ses­
sions, it was obvious that what I was witnessing was something
that a lot of people from different walks of life believed in. I was
trying to understand that belief system what this system is, why it
make sense to the people who believed in it, and why it continues.

LESSONS ON THE DEFINITION OF DOMAINS

Assamese dictionaries define bej as a conventional physician (chikitsak,

vaidya), as well as a faith healer, as someone one who treats (chikitsa
kore) by incantations and medicines. But there are other references
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 207
to bej and medicine as well. The Assamese-English dictionary
Chondrokanto Abhidhaan4 defines an ojha as a bej, who uses mantras
to cure. Dhanantari is defined as a king who was an expert in medi­
cine, while vaidya is defined as a bej or a physician. Jyoti Anglo-
Assamese Dictionary 5 defines a healer as a bej, vaidya, physician, as
well as a religious physician (dhormiyo chikitsok)—a person who
deals with jora phuka, an ojha; their definition of healing, besides
the conventional one of curing or getting rid of illnesses, also includes
getting rid of enmity and antagonism (birodh aadi mitua), to
remedy, redress, retaliate (protikaar kora), and/or to bring about
good relations (somil mil kora).
This sense of blurred boundaries became apparent, when I reached
the field and tried to identify my subject of analysis—people who
did bejali. As a native Assamese speaker, I was aware that a prac­
tice, referred to as bejali and its practitioners, called bej, were a
part of common discourse. However, when I talked to people every­
where—at social gatherings, market places, temples, friends, acqua­
intances, scholars and strangers, no one could tell me exactly who
a bej was. The other related terms—ojhas, sadhaks, dhanantaris,
vaidyas, all came in the way, creating confusion. The conceptual­
ization of these terms was flexible, with overlapping definitions. I
ran into in disagreements among both practitioners and lay people,
when deciding who was to be termed what. The same person would
be categorized as bej by one informant, and as a sadhak or a
dhanantari by another. I was often referred to someone as bej, but
those persons did not see themselves as such. Some were clearly
offended by the label. When asked to explain why they were not a
bej, or what exactly did they call themselves, they were often unable
to give a specific answer. It was, however, apparent that many of
these practitioners did not want to be called a bej because of the
negative connotations of the term. Some said that they did some
bejali, but were not bej as they did not practise it full-time. Several
placed themselves in more than one category. It was clear that they
were practising something—their large clientele was proof enough
—but the boundaries were too hazy to allow any categorizations.
As I looked for a cultural category that was becoming more and
more elusive, I faced the dilemma of being unable to identify
a domain of analysis. At that moment of confusion, I took a
208 Vandana Goswami
methodological decision and started the inquiry process again but
this time with a different question. I started asking what a bej did,
instead of who or what a bej was. Instead of compartmentalizing
people into categories, I started paying attention to what exactly
was being practised. Suddenly, a whole new vista opened up in
front of me. A common thread connecting all of these practitio­
ners was the use of mantras and incantations (jora phuka). Once I
changed the label of my field—asking about the power of mantras
as opposed to the power of bej/bejali, an entire healing practice
emerged, consisting of practitioners who did tontro-montro or
jora-phuka. It was a practice consisting of individual healers who
had learned the art from their guru or a range of gurus. And as
each guru was different, and each practitioner often had multiple
gurus, each healer too was different, bringing in a great deal of
diversity to what each one did. But use of mantras was common to
all of them; it was mantras that was chanted in the form of incan­
tations, it was mantras that was the basis of any jora-phuka or
tontro-montro activity.
Nobody could give an exact definition of what tontro-montro
was, but the general idea presented was that it dealt with esoteric
mantras which can make things happen. Jora-phuka connotes cur­
ing through chanting mantras, while waving a hand or a blade of
grass in front of the person (jora) and blowing mantras (phuka)
into a person or an object. But bej are not the only persons dealing
with mantras. Ojhas, dhanantaris, vaidyas, all deal with mantras,
and most are seen to do tontro montro and jora-phuka too. Hence,
the confusion in labelling and semantics.
Anthropologically, this was a huge eye-opener to me on setting
the domains of study. I had been focusing on terms picked up
from everyday conversations and corroborated by the dictionary. I
created a cultural category, which I expected my informants to
confirm. I naively expected to find the field laid out for my scru­
tiny. The reality was much different. Even though, I had used local
terms, I had still started with a priory categories of what those
terms would imply and what my domain of study would be. It
was only when I allowed my informants to interpret the category
for me that my domain emerged—that underlying all these different
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 209
conceptualizations and terminologies was the use of mantras. The
ambiguity and its resolution showed me that cultural categories
can be meaningful only when reinterpreted in local terms.

THE CULTURAL PRACTICE OF

DOING MANTRAS

As my research progressed, the ambivalence that I started with

cleared and a cultural practice emerged. The practice was played
out as practitioner client interactions. The interactions came about
in times of affliction, misfortunes and dilemmas suffered by the
client, and could be roughly structured into divination, diagnosis,
and remedy. I explored the practice of ‘doing mantras’ by focusing
on three questions about it:
● What is the nature of this practice?
● What is the logic underlying this practice?
● How influential is this practice in dictating the thoughts and
actions of cultural actors?

THE NATURE OF THE PRACTICE

Examining the nature of the practice, I found that doing mantras is

a domain of culture that involves temporary associations between
practitioners and clients. In this context, I define a practitioner as
a person, who has the knowledge of doing mantras and one who
uses this knowledge as a service to others. Clients are defined as
the people who come to these practitioners to avail their services.
The interaction between the practitioner and the client constitute
the practice of mantras. The interaction is brought into play in
times of problematic life situations. It helps in managing suffer-
ing—the experiential dimension of affliction, misfortune, dilem­
mas, and crisis. These interactions help people to understand why
suffering occurs and how they can be dealt with or prevented. The
key element in these interactions is the use of mantras. The interac­
tions are generally structured in terms of divination of some sort,
diagnoses of the problem emerging from the divination and the
210 Vandana Goswami
remedy. I am condensing the entire process in this paper, but the
details can be found in the dissertation which is available freely
on line.6

DIVINATION

Divination is the main diagnostic tool used to understand the

nature of the clients’ problem. Most practitioners, I talked to saw
a distinction between normal illness (enei bemar), which a person
can get for no particular reason (enei hoi), and illnesses having
specific underlying causes, such as spirits (bhoot), bad winds (hawa
botah), bad mantras (ku-mantras), startling (sok-khowa), and evil
eye (nojor loga or mukh loga). Divination is used to find out the
exact cause so that the appropriate remedy can be given. The term
most commonly used to refer to divination is basoni soa (selecting
by looking). Various kinds of divination are used, each practitioner
having his favourite style. Some use only one form, while others
use more than one, depending on suitability. Some of these
divinations are done by the practitioner himself, and some through
a medium. The mediums could be ordinary people with special
capabilities or could be beings and forces (shaktis) that the practi­
tioner had been able to harness and control through rigorous training
(sadhana). Many practitioners claimed to have supernatural beings
under their control who gave them special powers to diagnose and
give reme-dies. A practitioner’s shakti can also be in the form of
objects like a bone or any other material made potent through his
sadhana.
I have put in a few examples of divination techniques used here,
but this is not exhaustive—each practitioner uses whatever technique
works best for him depending on the circumstance. One practitioner
asks his clients to pick up a few matches from a new matchbox
while thinking of the problem. He, then takes those picked matches
and throws them on the ground. The number of matches picked
and the way they fall when thrown on the ground told him the
cause of the problem (Figure 11.1). Another common form (nokhot
sowa) involved chanting mantras on the nails of a medium, who
could then make predictions based on what he ‘saw’ on his nails.
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 211

Figure 11.1: Divination with match sticks

(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

Mantras when chanted on a bowl of water (panit sowa), enables

the practitioner to ‘see’ the cause of the trouble. Similarly, mantras
chanted on grains of rice (saul jora), empty bowls (baati jora),
hands (hatot sowa), pot (tekeli jora), stick (bet jora), cowrie shells
(kori di sowa) are used to divine causes of problems. Several practi­
tioners used astrological calculations to divine. One uses horary
astrology (prasna tantra)—the calculations are based on the exact
time an agitated client puts forth his question (such as, will I get
well; will my daughter get married). The precise time the person’s
eagerness or agitation is articulated to the practitioner determines
the course of action. Another practitioner also uses numbers, but
his calculations are based on the first letter of the person’s name,
and a random number that cames to his head, which he says, is
suggested by his shakti. The first letter tells him the person’s
astrological sign, and each astrological sign has a number. Using
this number and the number his shakti has put in his head, he
212 Vandana Goswami
does some additions and subtractions (jog-biyog), and comes up
with a final number. The final number is the number of the page
in his text in which the mantra and the procedure for the remedy
can be found.
There are as many divination techniques and variations of techni­
ques as there are practitioners. All these methods are, however, a
means to an end. They aid the practitioner in counselling clients
and in answering their questions about the outcome of their
situation. They are the chief means of diagnosing problems, based
on which remedies are suggested.

DIAGNOSIS

No matter what form of divination used, the diagnosis followed

similar patterns—someone’s evil eye touching the person (nojor
loga), bad mantras done by others (kumantra), bad planetary con­
figuration (grohor doxh), normal illness (enei bemar). I observed
two other causes that was diagnosed frequently and seen to belong
exclusively to the domain of tantro-montro. One was startling (sok
khowa), which occurs when a person gets startled by a sudden fear
or surprise. Startling is caused by a sudden fright or shock, but can
lead to other illnesses, including madness. The person becomes
sickly, restless, delirious, unable to eat and sleep, constantly scared,
cannot stay alone at home, has frequent fevers, and sometimes in
children, a bloated stomach. There is a general idea among both
clients and practitioners that sok khowa can be cured only through
jhora phuka and not by a medical doctor. Another set of problems
seen to be diagnosed and cured only via tantro-montro is when
supernatural beings such as ghosts (bhoote dhora) and poltergeists
(bira loga) start residing in a person or in someone’s home. One
reason bej and ojhas are feared is because they are seen to be able to
inflict such supernatural beings on hapless victims. Though often
used synonymously, there is usually a conceptual distinction be­
tween the two. Biras are seen to be owned by a bej or ojha, who
deliberately inflicts them on people to cause harm. Biras can cause
problems ranging from simple, mischievous acts, like things dis­
appearing in front of people’s eyes, or beds forcefully shaken at
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 213
night, startling the sleeper, to causing conflicts, various kinds of
illnesses, as well as madness in the family.
Ghosts (bhoot), though sometimes owned by people, are usually
independent and may mischievously or accidentally inflict them­
selves on someone. They are often referred to as ‘winds’ (hawa botah)
or a ‘bad wind’ (beya hawa), because they touch a person suddenly
and unexpectedly, like a breeze. Such ‘winds’ can make a person ill
or behave in uncharacteristic ways or go insane. Ghosts may, among
others things, be attracted by or caught in the long, flowing hair
of a woman, especially if she is out alone at noon or at night, or by
a person who passes under a banyan tree late at night, or by a small
child left alone outside the house. A menstruating woman is espe­
cially vulnerable to ‘winds’, and women in that condition are
usually told not to go under large trees.
As I observed sessions and talked to clients, it became apparent
that though the practitioners differed in their methods, clients
came to them for relief from similar problems. The language of
diagnosis used by both clients and practitioners also came from
the same cultural world, so the remedies suggested made sense
and seemed logical.

REMEDY

Once the problem is diagnosed, the remedies are also similar. Al­
most all remedies involve chanting and blowing, jora-phuka, in
some form or the other. I am using the word potentize here to refer to
the practice of infusing something with supernatural power through
the use of mantras or any other means. Jora refers to potentizing
something by chanting mantras into it while waving a hand, or a
blade of grass, or some other item of supernatural power over it
(Figure 11.2). Phuka refers to potentizing something by chanting
mantras and then blowing the mantras into the object to be potenti­
zed. Jora phuka can be done directly on a person (Figure 11.3)—
clients claim to get relief when mantras are chanted on and blown
into the ailing parts of their body; on edible things like sugar,
water, herbal concoctions, which are chanted on and prescribed
like medicines to be ingested; or on non-ingested items like
 Figure 11.2: A child being chanted on for fever to subside
(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

Figure 11.3: Mantras chanted and blown into a client. The practitioner
here was the Governor of Assam at that time. People of all
walks of life flocked into his healing sessions at the
Governor’s Residence (Raj Bhavan).
(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 215
amulets, threads (jaap), seeds, rice, fruits and a range of other things
to be worn or kept in the house. There are also sessions in the
client’s premises to get rid of evil spirits or mantras residing there.
The most common form of jora-phuka is pani kota (cutting water).
The term gets its name from the procedure used to potentize the
water. The practitioner chants mantras over a bowl of water, while
making cutting motions over it with a blade of grass. ‘Cutting’ the
water with the blade of grass enables the power of the mantra to go
into the water. This ‘cut’ water, when mixed with normal water,
potentizes that water. The client has to drink sips of this potent
water and bathe with it. Rubbing this water into afflicted parts of
the body is said to give relief. Cutting water is the most basic bejali
technique with which all practitioners start their training. Pani
kota, also called pani jora, is used ubiquitously and for a wide
spectrum of problems—to counteract evil eye, bad mantras, startling,
ghosts and spirits, illnesses etc. as well as for problems like a client’s
trees not producing fruits.
The term medicine (aushad ) is often used for remedies. These
are usually mantras chanted on some form of medium, which is to
be ingested or be in contact with the person so as to get the power
of the mantra into the person. Mediums range from fruits, sugar,
honey, ginger, seeds, flowers to even harder substances like amulets
and wax. The choice of the medium differs with the practitioners
and with the power of the mantra. One practitioner told me that
his diabetes ‘medicine’ is a mantra chanted on a small piece of lac to
be worn as an amulet on the waist or arm. He said that, the medium
used for this medicine was lac because the mantra was too powerful
to be contained by a regular medium such as a copper amulet. His
medium for sciatica pain is a bell metal plate (Figure 11.4). Mantras
are chanted on the plate, and the client has to keep in the chanted-
on plate in contact with his or her body for about an hour or so
every day. One of his clients that I talked to claimed that the plate,
along with chanted on water that she had to drink three times a
day completely got rid of her chronic, excruciating pain. Another
practitioner uses olive seeds as a medium for five illnesses—high
and low blood pressure, diabetes, piles (haemorrhoids), ‘head reel­
ing’, and tonsilitis. Though the medium is the same, each ailment
216 Vandana Goswami

Figure 11.4: Mantras chanted on a bell metal plate for sciatica pain
(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

required a different mantra. This same practitioner sticks seven

date thorns into a raw banana in his popular cure for chronic
stomach problems (Figure 11.5). As each thorn is stuck into the
banana, a different mantra is chanted. The banana is then hung
over the cooking stove of the client’s kitchen. The practitioner’s
explanation is that stomach problems happen because the liver is
enlarged. The raw banana mimics the liver of the sick person. As
the banana shrinks in size from the heat of the stove, the mantras
make the person’s liver shrink too. This is a typical example of
homeopathic magic that students of anthropology study. Several
informants claimed that their own or their children’s stomach
problems were totally cured by this treatment.
A category of ailments frequently resorted to be cured by mantras
are bites, stings and pricks. Mantras are seen to be very effective in
curing snake bites, animal bites, stings and pricks from plants,
insects and fish, or fishbone sticking to someone’s gullet while
eating fish. These reflect a ubiquitous part of Assamese everyday
life. Snakes are rampart in the tropical landscape, as are insects like
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 217

Figure 11.5: Raw banana being chanted on for relief

from stomach problems
(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

hornets and bees, plants like stinging nettles, and the staple of an
Assamese diet—river fish, with its myriad bones that can get stuck
in the throat while eating. An inexperienced cleaner can be pricked
by the sharp protruding bones of common varieties of fish (singi
mas, magur mas), while preparing it for cooking, which can be
extremely painful. Caterpillar hair can cause intense itching, rashes,
weals and even hives. These are common experiences, seen to be
easily and often instantly cured by mantras. Usually, mantras are
chanted on a bowl of water. Some clients claim to see the offend­
ing bone or thorn, or hair jump out of the body and go into the
bowl. Others do not claim anything so spectacular—the welts and
rashes gradually subside, bringing relief to the person. Though,
218 Vandana Goswami
most practitioners have mantras for pricks, stings and bites in their
repertoire, not everyone has the knowledge of getting rid of snake
venom. Snake bites are seen to belong to a different category from
other bites. For these mantras to be efficacious, the practitioner needs
to reach a certain level of competence (siddhi), and this level needs to
be maintained through regular spiritual exercises. Such practitioners
are sought after for their capability, and clients come to them from
long distances or take them long distances to their homes.
Besides bodily ailments, medicines are given for a wide variety
of life problems. Potentized sugar, to be mixed with regular house­
hold sugar is given to bring in good relations between family
members, make children regular in their studies and obedient to
their parents, or daughters-in-law obedient to their mothers-in­
law. Potentized food items fed to a person can get that person
infatuated or attracted to someone. Medicines inside a medium are
often fed to a person, who has lost interest in life. Such a person
is believed to have been fed something through someone’s bad
medicine, and hence a good medicine is needed to reverse the process.
Mantras chanted on rice grains, mustard or other seeds, raw
bananas and a myriad other things are given to be kept inside the
house, in kitchens, scattered over and under beds, or even buried
under ground or under trees to protect from bad mantras, ghosts
and poltergeist, and from evil eye. Iron nails are chanted on and
buried in the four corners of a house to protect the family living
there from illness, evil eye, bad mantras and misfortune. Chanted
on rice or spice seeds like mustard, cumin, fenugreek, sprinkled
around a house can bring in good tenants into a house that an
owner is having trouble renting out. Mantras chanted into a wife’s
vermillion box can make her wayward husband come back to her
after she starts wearing that vermillion on her forehead and in the
parting of her hair.
Amulets (tabeej or kabash) are a very common forms of remedy.
Mantras are chanted or written into pieces of paper, a flower, rice,
or any other medium, stuffed into amulet shells, sealed and given
to clients. These are instructed to be worn around the neck, waist,
arm, kept in the home, in shop cash boxes, or wherever a solution
is needed. Often, the thread on which the amulet is worn needs to
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 219
be chanted on too. Empty amulet shells are available in the market,
and are made in a range of materials—bell metal, brass, copper,
silver, even gold. The nature of the mantra determine the material
used for the amulet shell—it needs to be powerful enough to contain
the mantra as well as porous enough to let the mantra do its job.
Sometimes, instead of an amulet, a thread is chanted on and a
medium like a root, a piece of lac or other material that can hold
the mantra is tied to it. Thread is a very common medium to hold
the power of mantras. A very common remedy using thread that I
saw over and over again is for the treatment for jaundice—a very
common waterborne disease in Assam, usually caused by some
form of hepatitis. The sick person has to wear a garland made of
flowers and thread, which has mantras chanted on it. The garland
starts as a small wreath to be worn around the head, but with each
passing day it becomes longer and longer and gradually travels
down the body. It reaches the feet when the illness has left the
person. The person then stepps out of it and disposes it as per the
instructions of the practitioner. Though, there are other remedies
for jaundice using mantras, this is one of the most common. I have
talked to people from all walks of life who have used this remedy,
including highly educated ones, as well as the westernized Assamese.
The remedies, to be efficacious, need to be personalized to the
person or persons on whom it has to take effect. Bejali mantras are
always chanted in somebody’s name. When the effect has be on an
entire family, for instance to bring harmony in a conflict situa­
tion, each members’ name needs to be chanted on. If two people
need to be joined together in a marriage, or separated due to an
unsuitable or illicit relationship, both their names are chanted on
the mantra. A mantra directed specifically for a purpose are called
baans (arrow), and the name is like the exact target the arrow needs
to strike.

MANTRAS AS A PRACTICAL TOOL

Most of the time, when we think of mantras, we visualize some­

thing sacred and religious. This dimension of mantras has been
extensively studied by indologists and other scholars, both Indian
220 Vandana Goswami
and western. In the practice of bej bejali, jora-phuka, tontro-montro,
however, the religious and ritual dimension of mantras is re­
contextualized and used in much more practical, immediate, and
almost clinical purposes by its adherents. In this context, they can
be said to be almost secular, the word ‘secular’ being used here to
mean this-worldly, everyday concerns. Clients come with a prob­
lem, the practitioner listens, diagnoses and gives a remedy, using
mantras to interpret and resolve the problem. Mantras chanted on
everyday things like rice, sugar, water, a thread, an amulet, a fruit,
a pot, make them into potent objects capable of immediate action
on someone or something. The results could be benevolent or
malevolent depending on the intention.
Mantras in this practical sense are seen to be a combination of
potent words, syllables and assorted sound units with a specific
pronunciation and intonation. I was repeatedly told that the right
mantra, spoken by the right person, in the right manner, gener­
ates a power, which can be either positive or negative. This power
can in turn be harnessed and channeled by the practitioner for
various purposes—divination, healing illnesses, causing illnesses,
solving life problems, and causing life problems.
This system of generating supernatural powers to solve practical
problems is contextual, similar to a doctor-patient interaction.
Clients seek a practitioner only in times of crisis, fear or worry.
However, these situations went far beyond curing illnesses. Mantras
were used to get rid of enmity and antagonism (birodh aadi mitua),
to remedy, retaliate, redress (protikar kora) and/or to bring about
good relations (somil mil kora). Once the situation is resolved one
way or the other, the interaction is over. Unlike the supplicant
stance of a temple priest, the mantra practitioner gives the impres­
sion of being in control of outcomes.
It is these practical purposes of mantras that my research ex­
plored. This quasi-religious dimension of mantras had not been
studied much at that time. It was seen to be in the realm of
the occult, of superstition (ondho bisakh), and hence, not worth
academic time and interest. But as my research showed, both the
religious and practical dimensions of mantras emerged as two
divergent branches coming out of the same roots.
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 221
SOURCES OF PRACTICAL MANTRAS

Most of these practical mantras came from three major kinds of

sources—the Atharvaveda, various Tantric texts, and local texts
with mantras mostly in regional languages. The Atharvaveda,
unlike the other three Vedas, consists largely of spells and incanta­
tions. Benjamin Walker7 differentiates between two kinds of man­
tras in the Atharvaveda—bheshajani, which are of a medicinal,
healing and peaceful nature, dealing with cures and herbs for treat­
ing fever, leprosy, jaundice, dropsy, and other diseases; prayers for
successful childbirth, love spells, charms for fecundity, for the re­
covery of virility, hymns for the birth of sons, as well as chants for
practical purposes like putting the household to sleep while the
lover (or perhaps a thief ) steals into the house at night. The other
kind, abhichara are of a bewitching and malevolent nature, such as
spells for producing diseases and bringing ill luck to enemies. There
are spells that can make a woman remain a spinster, spells to de­
stroy a man’s virility, hymns to serpents, demons, and other dark
forces.The Atharvaveda presents an entire pantheon of demons who
bring about bodily distress as well as the mantras needed to expel
these demons to cure the person.
As Kenneth Zysk shows,8 this world view of the power of incan­
tations is also seen in early texts of Ayurveda, where the healer
chants mantras, often by waving or stroking certain plants over the
patient, along with preparing and using medicines. The medi­
cines too are often consecrated by the mantras. It appears that
both Ayurveda and what I call the ‘practice of mantras’ had roots
in the Atharvaveda, but at some point during its development,
there was a doctrinal shift in Ayurveda from a magico-religious to
a more ‘rational’ form.
In his study of mantras in ancient Ayurveda, Zysk9 groups the
use of mantras in early Ayurvedic texts into several categories:
i. the treatment of swellings, tumours, wounds, and sores (sotha,
vrana)
ii. the treatment of poison (visa)
iii. the treatment of mental disorders (unmatta, unmada, apas­
mara)
222 Vandana Goswami
iv. the treatment of fever (jvara)
v. the collection and preparation of certain medicines.
Though Ayurveda does not use mantras in these contexts any
more, these categories, among others, were being used by most of
the practitioners I talked to, along with the technique of jora—
stroking some object like a blade of grass, a hand, or some other
object over the patient.
In the Tantirc texts, the practical dimension of mantras can be
seen in the performance of the Tantirc satkarmas, or the six acts by
which a Tantric practitioner can have control over the universe.10
These are:
● Maron (liquidation), the power to kill or maim by mantras.
● Vasikaran (subjugation), the power to infatuate, bewitch, cause
one to be subservient and controlled by another.
● Stambhan (immobilization), the power to paralyze, stop some­
one in their tracks, stop other’s actions, prevent the effects of
other’s actions even when they are already operating.
● Ucchatan (agitation, eradication), the power to torment one with
pain, shame, or material discomfort, make enemies flee in shame
and disgrace, remove an obstacle.
● Vidvesan (sowing dissension) power to separate friends, relatives,
spouses, potential lovers, creating ill feeling between two parties.
● Shanti (pacification) the power to get rid of evil influences brought
about by planets, spirits or other people’s mantras, cure illnesses,
bring peace and happiness.
These Six acts are performed through mantras and mystical
diagrams called yantras—a combination seen to possess immense
power, when directed by the right person in the right way. There
are innumerable kinds of mantras and yantras, and each practitioner
chooses, which one to use based on his own knowledge and his
clients’ needs. There is absolute agreement that a guru’s guidance
is needed to teach how to harness the strength of these instruments
of power in the most effective and safe manner.
Besides these pan-Indian, purely Vedic or Tantric texts, various
local level texts also exist, and are extensively used by both Tantric
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 223
and non-Tantric practitioners. The mantras are mostly in regional
languages, though sometimes mixed with Sanskrit words or bija
(root) mantras that a practitioner may have been initiated by his
guru with. At the time of my research, the literature on such texts
was very scanty. In Assam, they are called by the generic term
bejali puthi or simply montro puthi. These are unbound manu­
scripts, handwritten in an archaic form of Assamese, usually on
bark (saanchi paat), or on pieces of paper (Figures 11.6 and 11.7).
They are normally individual or family possessions. Most of the
time, these are the texts used by the practitioner in his day-to-day
practice, which he then passes on to his disciple or successor before
he dies. Very few of these puthis have been published, as there is a
fear that publication would lead to commercialization, which in
turn will make the mantras lose their inherent power and efficacy.
Though, I make a distinction between these three sources, it,
however, needs to be kept in mind that these are not clear-cut
divisions. The history of the present form of mantras have been
very eclectic, both in the context of source as well as in their use.
Most of the practitioners I talked to use a combination of Vedic,

Figure 11.6: Local level texts

(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)
224 Vandana Goswami

Figure 11.7: Local level text

(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

Tantric and local mantras. More than the source it is the specific
nature of these mantras which makes them distinctive. These are
mantras used for practical purposes and are selected by the practi­
tioner based on their immediate efficacy. These are usually not
mantras for worship.

THE CULTURAL LOGIC OF MANTRAS

The analysis of the conversations between the practitioner and the

clients, my own interviews with them and my discussions with
people in Assam brought out several assumptions about reality
and a world view that made these interactions make cultural sense
to both parties. The general picture that emerges is that of a world
consisting of various kinds of forces and dangers, which afflict hu­
man beings in various ways. There are supernatural beings lurking
around that can inflict themselves on people; there are also people,
who keep various supernatural beings to do their bidding, some­
times to harm others and sometimes to help people harmed by
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 225
others. Others’ words or envious thoughts are forces that can cause
damage. There are beings or powers that can startle and frighten
people and make them ill. Snakes and other creatures that can
bite, sting or prick. Dangerous mantras can bring about affliction
and misfortune to the victim and his or her entire family. There
are also configurations of planets that can cause problems in people’s
lives. Besides these forces, the human body can also get periodi­
cally ill for no underlying reason. All these dangers that the world
presents can be resolved in a culturally typical way—by mantras.
The force of mantras, which can be used to cause suffering, can
also be used to alleviate that suffering. Good mantras, when chanted
into people’s bodies or ingested, can help relieve affliction. They
can be contained in amulets and worn on the body. They can also
be contained in other mediums like mustard seeds or rice or water
and kept around people’s houses or premises to get rid of and
prevent problematic situations. Mantras are, thus, seen as a source
of power that can help people deal with affliction, misfortune and
the experience of suffering. This is a cultural logic that makes sense
to clients because it fits in with local notions of supernatural be­
ings who have the power to make things happen.

CULTURAL CONCEPTIONS OF POWER

The cultural logic of resorting to mantras for problematic life situa­

tions makes sense to the clients because it addresses indigenous
conceptualizations of power, or shakti. Susan Wadley’s analysis of
the two connotations of shakti in her studies of religion in northern
India is especially useful in understanding the logic behind the
practice of mantras in Assam.11 Wadley found that conceptually,
shakti ‘implies the female energy of the universe, the energizing
principle without which there would be no motion’,12 but it also
means power in general. ‘Shakti carries the concepts of strength,
energy, and vigour; but the strength is based on spiritual force,
not physical force’.13 The idea of Shakti is bound with ideas of the
supernatural. Wadley finds the notion of supernatural, as conceptual­
ized by her informants, a complex one, and not easy to define.
There is no bounded supernatural domain, and a supernatural
226 Vandana Goswami
being may be a god, a demon or a ghost. The basic characteristic of
any supernatural being, whether good or bad is in the shakti they
control or represent. Wadley states that as everything in the world
embodies some power, everything in the universe is potentially a
powerful being. She makes an analytical distinction between
‘unmarked’, or less marked deities and ‘marked’, or more marked
deities. Unmarked deities are those which under all conditions are
recognized as powerful beings, while marked deities are recognized
as powerful beings only under some conditions in defined circum­
stances. Wadley uses the distinction between marked and unmarked
not only in the context of deities, but also other power filled things,
like wheat seeds, or a plough, which become powerful in particular
ritual contexts. In the context of chanting mantras, this distinction
helps in understanding why ordinary words and ordinary objects
can be seen as potent item under particular circumstances—when
infused with the power of mantras by a competent practitioner.
Wadley’s analysis made absolute sense in the context of doing
mantras. All the practitioners I met, talked of some kind of shakti
behind their abilities. Mantras are thus seen as a source of power
that can help people deal with adversity and calamities. This cultural
understanding made resorting to mantras the logical outcomes for
certain kinds of life problems.

CULTURAL DISPOSITIONS

The importance of understanding the logic behind people’s actions

is not new in Anthropology. Evans-Pritchard has looked at the
cultural logic underlying Azande ideas of witchcraft.14 Comaroff
has emphasized the need to look at the logic behind medical
systems.15 The idea of cultural logic has been a key aspect of Pierre
Bourdieu’s influential body of ideas. Examining the schemes of
thought, perception and action in terms of logical categories which
make practices seem ‘reasonable’ or ‘common sense’, Bourdieu16
demonstrates how pervasive, unconscious, unarticulated cultural
logic influence people’s behaviour. His conceptualization of habitus
attributes a systematic character to ‘habit’ or ‘custom’, which in­
corporate many aspects of social life within one underlying logic.17
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 227
As he saw it, most behaviour is motivated by very general disposi­
tions, which are totalized in any culture into a habitus. He defines
habitus as a system of durable, transposable dispositions and central
tendencies, which give rise to and guide the infinitely varied ways
in which people respond to one another in a social setting. The
habitus is the unifying principle of practices of different domains,
and cultural practices make sense because of the habitus. It is the
product of early childhood experiences, unconsciously inculcated
through socialization and continually modified by the individual’s
encounter with the world.18
I have used a very simplified version of Bourdieu’s extremely
sophisticated analysis of society and social order to understand the
context of doing mantras. I see the conjunction of his ideas of
cultural logic, habitus and field as a means by which people ration­
alize their actions. Bourdieu indicates the notion of field to be the
social and cultural arena in which specific cultural logic gets played
out. Growing up in a particular milieu, certain ways of thinking,
certain beliefs get ingrained in us so much so that they become
‘common sense’, and thus sensible, acceptable ways to act in parti­
cular circumstances. In the context of doing mantras, Bourdieu’s
conceptualization of habitus is helpful to a certain extent. Most of
the clients operate on a tacit knowledge that mantras can do things.
This knowledge has come through socialization, common phrases
and everyday conversations. Children are often brought to practit­
ioners for ‘treatment’ or accompany family members who come to
seek their services. Most of the consultations are not private, but
open to all present at that time. Hence, the practice becomes a
part of the world view children grow up with. The practice makes
sense because once this cultural knowledge and world-view is
rationalized in a convincing manner in a person’s mind, it becomes
an unquestioned way of dealing with particular life situations.
Though I find Bourdieu’s ideas very useful for my analysis of
why the practice of mantras continues to make sense, his conceptua­
lization of habitus seems to assume that people socialized in similar
ways will have similar habitus, which in turn gets embodied within
the actors, making them act in particular ways. This way of looking
at cultural patterning appears to leave very little room for individual
228 Vandana Goswami
choice. They help in explaining why broader cultural frames
emerge, but they do not say why, within the same cultural setting,
people do not always follow the same logic.
This point came to my mind when, in talking to people about
bej bejali, I was perturbed by a personal quandary. As an anthro­
pologist studying my own society, I tried to understand why, in
spite of growing up in the same cultural setting, these interactions
were, in a sense, alien to me. I have been asked many a time whether
I myself would resort to a practitioner in times of personal crisis,
and my instinctual response had been a categorical ‘no’. But at the
same time, a lot of the ideas and cultural assumptions were familiar
—the fear of someone’s evil eye, wearing of amulets, or the role of
planet configuration in determining outcomes were notions I knew
well. These are also notions that I cannot emphatically say that I
absolutely disregard. During my fieldwork in Assam, I encountered
a broad spectrum of people who, though belonging to the same
cultural milieu, were semi-believing; sceptical, but not disbelieving;
or totally disbelieving of the practice of mantras. There were also
people who believed in the power of mantras in certain contexts,
but not in others. Some said they had heard of such practices, but
had no idea what they entailed till they saw someone else’s, or
their own crisis get resolved by a practitioner. Now they are not
very sure what to believe. The question that came to my mind was
how was it possible to have these different mindsets coexist at
different times in people from the same culture and going by
Bourdieu’s ideas, the same habitus. What made individual people’s
engagement with mantras so changeable and inconsistent?

CULTURAL SCHEMAS

I used Sherry Ortner’s notion of cultural schemas as a theoretical

framework to understand this shifting and contextual aspect of
people’s engagement with mantras for practical purposes. Cultural
schemas are organized ways of interpreting and executing culturally
typical relations or situations. These schemas shape human action
in particular ways, endowing them with particular meanings, so
that they unfold along more or less predictable lines. They are the
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 229
symbolic frames through which people understand and respond
to events.19 Calling them key scenarios in her earlier paper, she
says that ‘key scenarios, by prescribing certain culturally effective
courses of action, embody and rest upon certain assumptions about
the nature of reality’.20 For Ortner, cultural schemas are grounded
in particular practices, and are the patterns or frames within which
actors interpret and act upon their situation. They are found to be
sensible, useful and logical ways of understanding reality.21 Edward
Schiefflien talks of a similar concept, which he calls a cultural
scenario. He defines a cultural scenario as an event sequence, where­
by a people repeatedly approach and interpret diverse situations
and carry them to similar types of resolution. The situations them­
selves need not be similar; it is the similar manner in which they
are interpreted, carried forward, and resolved that is important.22
These works form part of a larger discussion in anthropology on
the role of cultural structures in patterning human life. But for
purposes of this analysis, I am only using the ideas of cultural
schemas and scenarios to explain how diverse problems are defined,
interpreted, and resolved in a similar culturally specific way, and
why individual people connect with them only at certain situations
and not others.
Schemas get into people’s minds through stories—myths, legends,
histories, folk-tales etc. As Ortner suggests, most of the time these
cultural stories will be just a story, with little relevance to a person’s
life. But at particular moments in an actor’s life, the stories seem
to make sense of his or her circumstances and take on a new
meaning. Not all stories make sense to all actors at the same time,
nor will two actors necessarily have the same relationship to the
schema. Actors have some amount of choice—they can take the
schema or leave it. Linkages made with the schema are temporary
and contextual. A key factor in the cultural schema is the human
agent. The schema shapes human action in particular ways by
suggesting culturally typical ways of interpretation and enactment.
Human action, in turn, is critical in shaping the schema. However,
different actors interpret the same schema in different ways,
depending on socialization, family ideology, life circumstances and
personality. This also makes the logic underlying these schemas
230 Vandana Goswami
very contextual—in certain contexts and situations they may make
sense, at other times they may not.
I saw Ortner’s ideas come to life in the context of bej bejali. A lot
of my information on the practice of bejali and power of the bej
came from stories—anecdotes, family legends, tales, even popular
and folk songs recounting these stories. People would constantly
narrate anecdotes of their own and other peoples’ experiences. Even
if one had not had any encounter with bejali, they had heard stories.
And at particular crisis situations, stories and the circumstances
connect, and the stories fit in with particular experiences. They
then become something more than just a story—they help inter­
pret what is going on, making a specific course of action the logical
thing to do.

BEJ BEJALI AS INDIGENOUS

COUNSELLING SYSTEMS

As I sat through practitioners’ sessions and talked to clients about

the problems they came for and their resolution, what was obvious
was that practices such as these serve as indigenous counselling
systems. A major role of the practitioners was to counsel and ad­
vice clients on a range of concerns, based on what they diagnose
through divination. Clients seek advice for myriad dilemmas where
they are unsure of what decision to take, the future outcome of a
crisis, or how to handle a life quandary. Whether to stand for a
forthcoming election or not, whether to accept a transfer to a new
place, whether to get a child married at that particular period,
whether to accept or reject a marriage alliance, where a missing
person will be found, whether a cow or a piece of jewellery is
stolen or lost, who has taken it, will it be found—the worries are
endless. Practitioners are also taken to their client’s premises to
decipher why a family is having bad times, why someone’s mill is
not making profits, where to construct a new building or set up
new machinery, or whether somebody has put something malevo­
lent in their homes.
The practitioner’s advice both gives direction to as well as vali­
dates clients’ own thoughts and course of actions in understanding
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 231
and coping in with these anxieties. These are coping mechanisms
that help people deal with life’s uncertainties. Whether the remedies
work or not, they provide a means to make sense of problematic
situations and often, provide peace of mind. A similar counselling
role has been attributed to astrology,23 which too people resort to
in times of stress situations. Indigenous counselling systems and
their role in maintaining mental health and well-being has a lot of
research potential in the context of Assam.

COUNSELLING SESSIONS AS A WINDOW

INTO A WORLD VIEW

The kind of problems people saw as afflictions to be counselled by

a traditional practitioner also opens a window into the Assamese
mind. I saw the areas of socio-cultural life that mattered enough
for someone to seek redress—a daughter not getting married, a
child not studying enough, illnesses, family quarrels, property dis­
putes, men suddenly deciding to stop earning (a very common
problem that I saw over and over), snake bites, in-law problems,
gold or cow getting lost, trees or animals, which are the main source
of income not thriving and a countless other issues that reflect
everyday life. One practitioner had his most frequently used man­
tras and yantras pre-written on pieces of paper and kept in neatly
labelled boxes to save time24 (Figure 11.8). Whenever a client needed
it, all he has to do is fill in the name of the person, chant the
mantra, and put the piece of paper inside an amulet. For a cultural
anthropologist, the analysis of materials such as these and the
interactions associated with them provide an understanding of
culturally important concerns and sources of distress that emerge
from the socio-cultural setting.
These cultural windows brought out the meta-medical frame­
work that several medical anthropology scholars have talked about.
Illness and health are experiential situations and are not often
differentiated from other life experiences.25 Hence, the compart­
mentalization of medical anthropology to only issues of health
and illness can be a distortion of what the reality is. Instead, there
must be an interplay between medical anthropology and broader
232 Vandana Goswami

Figure 11.8: Mantras and yantras pre-written on pieces of paper

and kept in neatly labelled boxes to save time.26
(Photograph taken by author during fieldwork)

issues of social inquiry. There was a growing sentiment at the time

of this research that we are first social and cultural anthropologists,
and hence, we need to look at social and cultural realities like mis­
fortune, suffering, and affliction.27 In Worsley’s words, we are deal­
ing, ‘not with illness but with misfortune and the prevention of
misfortune’.28 Scheper-Hughes has a similar opinion when she says
that ‘ours must be an anthropology of affliction and not simply an
anthropology of medicine’.29
These ideas all came together, when I started talking to people
in the field, focusing on healing and mantras rather than an a priory
category of bej. The term ‘healing’ went beyond just physical ail-
ments—these practitioners did not cure just illnesses. Informants
told me that people go through problems, dilemmas, maladies
and conflicts all the time in life. These are often deliberately or
accidently inflicted by others. Practitioners used mantras to iden­
tify and get rid of these problems, no matter what the nature or
source of the problem is. They come to these practitioners to get
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 233
help in coping with life problems, including illnesses. Through a
combination of clinical and counselling sessions, they bring peace
to a household made unstable by conflicts between the family
members, restore marital harmony, help an unmarried person get
married, a childless woman conceive, help secure a coveted pro­
motion, get interfering in-laws out of the way, turn a person’s mind
away from an unsuitable liaison as well as help in securing a good
outcome in marriage or property negotiations. Thus, the domain
of ‘doing mantras’ is not confined to the context of health and
illness. What these practitioners are dealing with can be termed as
problematic life situations, misfortunes, or afflictions—of which,
illness and health form one dimension.
Another insight into the local world view came about when
analysing how a mantra was used. To illustrate, one client was
reprimanded by a practitioner for asking for a ‘remedy’ that would
make her son-in-law take her advice instead of his mother’s. The
practitioner refused to give her the remedy. A few days later this
same practitioner willingly gave a mother-in-law a chanted-on
packet of sugar to make her daughter-in-law listen to her and not
to her parents.When I asked him about this discrimination, he
said that the happiness of a family depends on a large part on the
harmony between mother, son and daughter-in-law. In the previ­
ous occasion, his mantra would have broken that harmony, while
the in second occasion, it would enhance it. Similar interpreta­
tions could be seen in deciding who is an unsuitable marriage
partner for a child, what is a suitable job for a son that requires a
mantra boost and what requires a mantra to thwart it. These and
numerous such examples showed that the distinction is not really
between a good mantra and a bad mantra, and by extension, be­
tween black and white magic that anthropologists often make. It
is the purpose for which the mantra is used and the cultural con­
struction of that purpose, that makes a mantra good or bad. It is
from this perspective that the practitioners talked about the Tantric
satkarmas. These are mantras of power to be used for the good of
people, for protection against evil forces—there is nothing wrong
in harming evil. The cultural construction of evil in this context
would make a very interesting study for future scholars.
234 Vandana Goswami
FINAL THOUGHTS

The terms bej and bejali have always been clouded in a sense of
notoriety, mainly due to its association with a place in Assam called
Mayong. Though a small village, once surrounded by dense forests
and flooded rivers, Mayong earned itself the reputation of being
synonymous with evil mantras. The word Mayong, even today,
connotes greed, unscrupulous quackery, harmful deeds, and dis­
trust. Both bej and mantras from Mayong region (Mayongiya
bej, Mayon-giya montro) are feared all over the Assam. Bej are
seen to wield immense power which they often use to deceive,
and, if annoyed or angered, to deliberately hurt or destroy their
victim.
A lot of discourse about bej bejali are conducted in the form of
stories and legends about the fearsome bej of Mayong—most people
I talked to had no personal contact with a bej from Mayong village
or experience of the power of a Mayongiya bej. But the stories
abound, bringing in dread and unease. Among other things, the
bej from Mayong were supposedly experts in Mohini mantras—
mantras used to infatuate others. Both men and women from Mayong
could bewitch a person and keep him or her with them forever,
at their beck and call. These bej supposedly also had the capacity
to turn human beings into spirits, tigers, goats, or anything else
they wanted to. They had mantras that could ‘tie up’ a person by
inflicting intense pain or totally immobility. These mantras were
supposed to be carefully transmitted within families and not taught
to outsiders. All these tales and anecdotes add to the lore of Mayong.
Perhaps the practitioners of Mayong had a hand in keeping this
notoriety alive to advertise a particular kind of expertise. Because
Mayong was so isolated, the mystique continued.
For the last few decades, however, Mayong is no longer remote
and inaccessible. The forests of Mayong have been opened up to
the public as Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which has a high con­
centration of rhinoceros, along with dolphins, waterbirds, horn-
bills and other animals. Publicized by the government as a con­
servation success story, Pobitora is a tourism hotspot, close enough
to Guwahati for day trips. The road to Pobitora goes through
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 235
Mayong, which has seen a transformation from a sleepy village to
a tourism hub. It is almost as if Mayong has now reinvented itself
with tourism-related activities, with its aura of magic becoming a
part of that new avatar. There are bejali shows and demonstrations
of rituals with magical outcome, as well as healing sessions to attract
tourists. The scenic beauty of the area, a number of archaeological
relics found nearby, all add to the charm of practitioners demons­
trating their skills to visitors. The direction that the practice of
bejali will take in this transition from notoriety to exotic tourism
can open up new pathways for research.
I would like to end with one last point. The scope of my re­
search did not include an in-depth study of local texts. Not much
research has been done in these personal texts even in recent years.
Since these are manuscripts that were owned by practitioners and
each practitioner could modify these based on his experience and
needs, they do not have the status of the classical texts. However,
this I feel is an area that needs a lot of work as these montro puthis
and bejali puthis are fast disappearing. Practitioners lament that
the younger generation is not interested in the rigour needed to
keep the practice alive—the effectiveness of the mantras depend
on a lot of personal discipline. Besides, the mantras are said to be
ineffective without a guru to teach the exact nuances and inflec­
tions that would give it its efficacy. Many practitioners have died
without being able to pass down their knowledge to the next gen­
eration. A lot of the texts I was told, are now lost for posterity,
because it is believed that if a person died without teaching his
esoteric knowledge to a successor, then his puthis of potential power
need to be immersed in a river and destroyed. Many texts have
already been drowned in water, many of those that still survive are
moth eaten and mouldy, due to lack of usage. Being made of bark
and paper, they will not last indefinitely. These are pieces of Assamese
cultural heritage, which need to be studied with due respect be­
fore they disappear forever.
236 Vandana Goswami
NOTES

1. Vandana Goswami, Potent Words, Potent Objects: ‘Doing Mantras’ in Assamese

Everyday Life, PhD Thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
Michigan, USA, 1994.
2. George E. Marcus and Michael M.J. Fisher, Anthropology as Cultural
Critique : An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences, University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 1986.
3. James Clifford and George E. Marcus (ed.), Writing Culture: The Poetics and
Politics of Ethnography, University of California Press, 1986, republished
by Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1990.
4. P. Gordon, Chandrakanta Abhidhan, A Comprehensive Dictionary of the
Assamese Language, Assam Sahitya Sabha Jorhat, 1933, Guwahati Univer­
sity, 1962.
5. Pranavjyoti Deka, Jyoti Anglo-Assamese Dictionary, Hemkosh Printer,
Guwahati, 1990.
6. Vandana Goswami, ‘Potent Words, Potent Objects: ‘Doing Mantras’ in
Assamese Everyday Life’, PhD Thesis, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, Michigan, USA, 1994.
7. Benjamin Walker, ‘Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism,
vols. 1 and 2’, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1968.
8. Kenneth G. Zysk, ‘Mantra in Ayurveda: A Study of the Use of Magico-
Religious Speech in Ancient Indian Medicine’, in Harvey P. Alper (ed.),
Understanding Mantras, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1991, pp. 123-43.
9. Ibid.
10. Harvey P. Alper, ‘A Working Bibliography for the Study of Mantras’,
in Harvey P. Alper (ed.), Understanding Mantras, Motilal Banarsidass,
Delhi, 1991, p. 411.
11. Susan Snow Wadley, Shakti: Power in the Conceptual Structure of Karimpur
Religion, University of Chicago Studies in Anthropology Series in Social,
Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology, no. 2, Department of Anthropology,
University of Chicago, Chicago, 1975. ‘Power in Hindu Ideology and
Practice’, in Kenneth David (ed.), The New Wind: Changing Identities in
South Asia, Mouton Publishers, The Hague, 1977.
12. Susan Snow Wadley, Shakti: Power in the Conceptual Structure of Karimpur
Religion, University of Chicago Studies in Anthropology Series in Social,
Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology, no. 2, Department of Anthropology,
University of Chicago, Chicago, 1975, p. 55.
13. Ibid.
 Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context 237
14. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1937.
15. Jean Comaroff, ‘Healing and the Cultural Order: The Case of the Barolong
boo Ratshidi of Southern Africa’, American Ethnologist, 7(4), 1980,
pp. 637-57.
16. Pierre Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, Stanford University Press, Stanford
1990.
17. Pierre Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge. 1977.
18. Ibid.
19. Sherry Ortner, ‘On Key Symbols’, American Anthropologist, 75, 1973,
pp. 1338-46. ‘Patterns of History: Cultural Schemas in the Foundings of
Sherpa Religious Institutions’, in Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney (ed), Culture
Through Time: Anthropological Approaches, Stanford University Press,
Stanford, 1990.
20. Sherry Ortner, ‘On Key Symbols’, American Anthropologist, 75, 1973,
pp. 1338-46, 1342.
21. ‘Patterns of History: Cultural Schemas in the Foundings of Sherpa
Religious Institutions’, in Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney (ed.), Culture Through
Time: Anthropological Approaches, Stanford University Press, Stanford,
1990.
22. Edward Schieffelin, The Sorrow of the Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers,
St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1976.
23. Judy F. Pugh, ‘Astrological Counselling in Contemporary India’, Culture,
Medicine and Psychiatry, 7:1-21, 1983. ‘Concepts of Person and Situation
in North Indian Counselling: The Case of Astrology’, in E. Valentine
Daniel and Judy F. Pugh (eds.), South Asian Systems of Healing, E.J. Brill,
Leiden 1984.
24. There were 11 small, labelled boxes with pre-written mantras and diagrams
(yantras) to put into amulets. The labels were—kanna (to stop a baby’s
incessant crying), biye (marriage), vidya (education), gabondhini nozor
(to ‘tie up a person’s body as protection against evil eye), groh (planets), jvar
(fever), pohuta (a kind of ‘women’s illness), kola (banana—women with
menstrual problems are given chanted on bananas to eat for 21 days and an
amulet to wear), santaan (children—amulet given as part of the treatment
for childlessness), bicched (separate—break up unsuitable connections
between people), modhu (honey—bring in good relations between
conflicting people). Each of these amulets have their own ways of
administration and disposal. The details are available in the original thesis
(Reference 5 in this list).
238 Vandana Goswami
25. Several scholars have contributed to this perspective that illness and health
are life situations, and hence cannot be studied in isolation from other
kinds of human experiences. Jean Comaroff, ‘Healing and the Cultural
Order: The Case of the Barolong boo Ratshidi of Southern Africa’, American
Ethnologist, 7(4), 1980, 637-57. Peter Worsley, ‘Non-Western Medical
Systems’, Annual Review of Anthropology, 11, 1982, 315-48.
26. Judy F. Pugh, ‘Astrological Counselling in Contemporary India’, Culture,
Medicine and Psychiatry, 7, 1983, pp. 1-21. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, ‘Three
Propositions for a Critically Applied Medical Anthropology’, Social Science
and Medicine, 30(2), 1990, pp. 189-97.
27. Some of the scholars who shared this view are:
Peter Worsley, ‘Non-Western Medical Systems’, Annual Review of Anthro­
pology, 11, 1982, 315348. Robert A. Hahn, ‘Rethinking “Illness” and
“Disease”’, in E. Valentine Daniel and Judy F. Pugh (eds.), South Asian
Systems of Healing, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1984. Nancy Scheper-Hughes
and M.M. Lock, ‘The Mindful Body: A Prolegomenon to Future Work
in Medical anthropology’, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 1(1), 1987,
pp. 6-41. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, ‘Three Propositions for a Critically
Applied Medical Anthropology’, Social Science and Medicine, 30(2), 1990,
pp. 189-97.
28. Peter Worsley, ‘Non-Western Medical Systems’, Annual Review of
Anthropology, 11, 1982, pp. 315-48, 327.
29. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, ‘Three Propositions for a Critically Applied Medical
Anthropology’, Social Science and Medicine, 30(2), 1990, pp. 189-97,
196.
 C H A P T E R 12

Mayong: The Land of the Occult

ASSADUZZAMAN

Witchcraft and magic are the categories of beliefs and the system
of knowledge used within societies. Magic, sometimes known
as sorcery, is a very ancient art. Magic has been known in most
societies for thousands of years. Over the ages, witches have been
known variously as healers, gods, teachers, historians, priests and
priestesses. It has been often stated that India is a land of magic,
both supernatural and mundane. Hinduism is one of the few reli­
gions that has sacred texts like the Vedas, that discusses both white
and black magic. The Atharvaveda deals with mantras that can be
used for, both good and bad. The word mantrik in India literally
means ‘magician’, since the mantrik usually known mantras, spells,
and curses which can be used for or against forms of magic. In
Tibet, a ritual dance by the Buddhist monks portrays an evil spirit
from times which predate Buddhist beliefs and includes a Tibetan
Buddhist priest. The dance is an attempt to drive out evil. The
shamans of Sri Lanka treat maladies by the restoration of energy
balance within the body. The magical art of deng-shui was devel­
oped by ancient Chinese cultures. Magic is seen as a social pheno­
menon, by sociologists, akin to religion and science, yet a distinct
category. In practice, magic bears a strong resemblance to religion.
Magic has a strictly ritualistic implication that implements forces
and objects outside the realm of the gods and the supernatural
being. To some, including the Greeks, magic was considered a
‘proto-science’. The difference is that magic is more about the per­
sonal power of the individual and religion is about in the power of
God. Magic is something that is passed down over generations to
240 Assaduzzaman
a specific group while religion is more broadly available to the
community. In Britain, the ‘Witchcraft Act’ of 1735 established
that people could not be punished for consorting with spirits,
while would be magicians pretending to be able to invoke spirits
could still be fined. Further, in England, a revival of interest in
magic was heralded by the repeal of the last Witchcraft Act in
1951. Gerald Gardener published his first witchcraft-themed book,
Witchcraft Today, in which he claimed to reveal the existence of a
witch-cult that dated back to pre-Christian Europe.1 No matter
which place it originates in, magic is the power of the wishes.
Sigmund Freud emphasizes that, what led primitive men to come
up with magic was the power of wishes. Magic is sometimes known
as sorcery. The practice is often influenced by ideas of religion,
mysticism, occultism science and psychology. Although the entire
state of Assam was once known for its magical practices, the part of
the state which is known for the continuation of the tradition and
practices is a small village called Mayong.
Mayong is only 58 km from Guwahati. Beside wildlife, archaeo­
logy, ethnical, pilgrimage, ecotourism, cultural, river tourism, this
place is famous for magic and occult practices.2 It is situated in
Morigaon district in Assam in the southern bank of Brahmaputra
and on the north bank of the River Kalong. It is strategically situ­
ated in the highest hill of the Morigaon and Nagaon district.3
Mayong, the very name itself holds a history and ever unsolved
mystery. Though there are several stories about the origin of the
name Mayong, it is said that it is the land of illusion or maya. The
name Mayong originates from this concept of maya. It is also be­
lieved that Manipuris from the Maibong clan used to inhabit this
area. The name Maibong became Mayong with time. Since Mayong
is a hilly area, it is full of elephants, and in Manipuri language an
elephant is called Mayong, hence some believe that this was how
Mayong got its name. There is also a legend associated with the
name, it is said that the sacred parts of Goddess Shakti had been
preserved in this area. Hence, the older generation called it as Maa­
R-Ongo (parts of the Goddess) and later on it became Mayong.4 It
is also said that the great Mayong kingdom originated from the
days of Xuuyta Singha. There is a story, which said that this youth
was very handsome and possessed all qualities of a king. He came
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 241
across a few cowherds and when they asked him who he was, he
replied that he was from Gorya Rajya or kingdom which in fact is
from Maibong of Manipur. He said he had left his kingdom due
to some unknown reason. After that, the native village recognized
him as king and the complete ritual was done and the kingdom
was established. Some others say that the Maibong kingdom was a
part of the Koch Dynasty, and it was a Kochari kingdom, and they
believed that all Kacharies belonged to the family of Ghatotkach
the son of Bhima of Mahabharata and Hidimbesvari. It is indeed
difficult to trace the history of Mayong, but it is known as a land of
necromancy where scenic beauty and history is closely associated
with ingredients of mythology as a topping.5

KAMARUPA THE LAND OF MAGIC

Kamarupa was known throughout the middle ages as a land of sorcery

and magic. It is believed that the Tantric Buddhists are mainly
responsible for the spread and development of the culture of witch­
craft and magic. Babu Nandalal Dey has given us a clear account
about how the Mahayana cult ultimately developed into Tantricism
which further developed into mysticism and sorcery. K.L. Barua
writes, ‘It (Tantricism) ultimately spread into Kamarupa and esta­
blished for itself a strong-hold in Kamakhya. The Kamarupa Kings,
probably after Brahmapala, adopted Tantricism as their tenet and
as a result of this patronage Kamakhya soon became a renowned
centre of Tantric sacrifices, mysticism and sorcery’.6 The Katha­
gurucarita mentions two Badhua tatakiyas (Buddhist magicians)
who used to cast evil spells on people, while Sankar Deva was living
in Belaguri. The Thakur-Carita mentions a case in which a certain
person was reprimanded by Chaturbhuja Thakur, the youngest
grandson of Sankar Deva, for using a charmed cane to drive off evil
spirits. The Mayamara Satrar Vamsavali describes, how Aniruddha
Deva, the founder of the Moamoria sub-sect produced an illusory
cobra in an empty pitcher by his magical power in order to prove
the veracity of his statement before the Ahom king Khora Raja
alias Chukhampha, A biographical work entitled Adi Charit con­
firms the existence of a book called Dhatu-Tamraksari, popularly
known as Kalpataru Sastra in the custody of the Moamorias of the
242 Assaduzzaman
Kalasamhati sect. According to the biography, the book originally
belonged to the family of Sankara Deva. The story goes that Ani­
ruddha, the founder of the Moamoria sect had stolen it. It was
commonly believed that, Aniruddha could perform many wonder­
ful feats with the help of the incantations and spells contained in
the book. The monastery established by Aniruddha came to be known
as Maya-Mara Satra, as he had killed a serpent by his magic powers.
There are varieties of magical practices—high and low manifest
and subtle, divination and necromancy. There is also contagious
magic and sympathetic magic. Magic, in its numerous forms still
exists in Mayong. And, Mayong remains nestled amidst the sylvan
surroundings of Morigaon, with the hills standing tall as sentinels
to guard the secrets and spells of Mayong. Mayong has succeeded
in savings its rich, ancient traditions of religio-magical and fold-
magical past along with its progress and march into modernity.
Magic and modernity have well merged in Mayong.
The Tantras, Samhitas, and the Yamalas are the main source of
the mantras and spells with the help of which one can perform
miraculous feats. The Yogini Tantra is a remarkable Tantric work. It
mentions mantras called svapna-vati, madhumati, padmavati and
vasikarana. It also states how and when these incantation are to be
meditated, describing the supernatural feats one can perform with
the help of these mantras after getting mastery over them. There
are a number of manuscripts dealing with sorcery, magic and in­
cantations. Of these works, one called Kamaratna Tantra, pub­
lished by the Assam Government and edited by H.C. Goswami is
noteworthy. This is a translation of the Sanskrit Kamaratna Tantra
by Goraksanath. The manuscript describes, how by uttering in­
cantations and applying other methods a man can be subdued.
Charmed, made hostile, killed, freed from evils, etc., it also pre­
scribes the methods to be adopted for the performance of the above-
mentioned feats in the form of medicines, mantras and yantras
(talisman). Incantations are both in Assamese and the Sanskrit
language. Another manuscript called Mantra Aru Ausadh (Man­
tras and Medicines) contains both mantras and medicines. Some of
the mantras are for effecting joyous relationship between husband
and wife. The others are meant for curing of fever, driving away of
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 243
evil spirits and curing from the bites of rabid dogs. There is another
interesting work called Jvarjara Mantra Aru Birajara Mantra. In con­
tained incantations to conduct a bira, or/and evil spirit.

THE PRINCIPALITY OF MAYONG

Mayong was a principality from ancient times. Despite its absorp­

tion by various powers, it maintained its royal lineage and autonomy.
The present king of Mayong is Tarini Singha Raja and he is said to
be the direct descendant of a royal lineage, which goes back to
AD 1616. He is a Koch-Rajbonshi. The Koches are a branch of the
Tibeto-Burman people of a greater family called Indo-Mongoloid;
therefore, they are akin to the Kacharis, the Tipperas, the Garos,
the Rabhas, etc. The Sanskrit equivalent of Koch is Kuvaca and in
the Kalika Purana and in the Yogini Tantra, they are referred to by
this term. The present king is the fortieth in the line of descen­
dants. He was crowned on 17 April. Sunday, 2005, Raj Abhisheikh
was held on the third day of Bohag. The tenth king of Mayong was
Sarachchya Sinha (1590-1625). It is said that he was able to exer­
cise an immense power of his might. Mayong became a powerful
kingdom during his reign. It was he who first initiated the custom
of celebrating, the local festival of, Panchagossain. He was also the
first royalty to have demarcated the boundary of the kingdom of
Mayong. The present king is a nominal head today and has no
royal power whatsoever but he is the most honoured and respected
person of Mayong today. There were feudatory or dependent
rajahs in ancient Assam. The name of the Mayong rajah finds a
place of honour among the nine petty rajahs of Nohdooria. The
nine petty Rajahs of Nohdooria of early Assam were:7
1. Morapooria Rajah
2. Balogoria Rajah
3. Two Panborria Rajahs
4. Laloong Rajah
5. Dhing Rajah
6. Gorokia Rajah and the
7. Mayong Rajah.
244 Assaduzzaman
MAGICAL MAYONG
Once upon a time, magic was something which Assam famous was
for. Not very far from Nagaon, in the district of Morigaon, is the
place called Mayong. Mayong is the famed ancient place where
sorcery and magic was practised in the past and this ancient art is
still practised today.8 Imagine yourself a guest in any one of the
numerous households of Mayong. You came unannounced, but
your host was unperturbed. He was the least anxious about what
to serve you at lunch of rice and kawai fish curry. The rice has
already been cooked, but the fish curry is nowhere in sight. The
host goes to the backyard, collects a few leaves from the mango
tree and the khoeowah tree, washes the leaves as if those were live
kawaiu fish and puts them in the frying pan. He asks you to watch
very carefully. And just in front of your eyes, lo and behold, you find
that the leaves are not leaves; in fact these have transformed them­
selves to jumping kawai fish and were sizzling in the frying pan.
You partake your lunch of rice and mango leaves, sorry, kawai fish,
and return happily to your home and hearth. This is one magical
feat to transform leaves of the mango and khorowah tree into live
kawai fish that almost every other household of Mayong can boast
of. The total bewilderment of the whole feat would take anyone’s
breath away! It is illusory magic, which conjures the manifestation
of kawai fish out of mango leaves. Mayong still boasts of many
more magicians. In this age of globalization the honoured magi­
cians know how difficult it is for them to keep their art alive. There
is, for instance, Sri Ramdhan Das, who possesses immense skills of
a magician. He had studied in Rajamayong Higher Secondary
School and was a student of Sri Akbar Ali, a respected teacher of
that locality. Sri Akbar Ali takes pride in extolling the virtues of his
‘magician’ student. One extraordinary feat Sri Ramdhan Das can
still perform is to get the pyol (a low stool) stuck to your bottom,
making it impossible for you to get up from it the ground. This
particular magical feat was one amongst many such performed by
the Mayong bej in the ancient times.9 Once upon a time, Mayong
was a place full of wild animals. There was an abundance of tigers,
rhinos and elephants to be found in Mayong. The Pobitora Wild
Life Sanctuary is situated not very far from Mayong. Even today, it
is not very surprising to come across a stray rhino amidst one’s
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 245
paddy fields. The bej or medicine men of Mayong knew how to
tame a tiger, strange as it may seem to us today. 10 Through his
magical feat, he could shift one particular tiger from one particular
jungle to another part of the jungle; to keep a tiger confined within
one particular part of the jungle was also one of his other extraor­
dinary feats. The magical art of Mayong is passed down from mouth
to mouth. These have not been written down. This oral history is
a rich tapestry of magical knowledge which has been closely guarded
all through the ages.
Mayong is considered to be the capital of black magic and witch­
craft in India. Historically, entire Assam, earlier known as Prag­
jyotishpur (land of astrology) was known for its occult and magical
practices which have dwindled in time. Mayong remains the only
place where the occult is still practised in institutionalized form.
The place can be called to be a community of occult practitioners.
During its heyday, the magic of Mayong was feared so much that
the word magic became synonymous with Mayong. It is not known
exactly how magic entered this land. Still, the people of Mayong
are true followers of those beliefs, it is said that centuries ago, a
king of Nepal brought forth magic to the Brahmaputra Valley. He
established a small kingdom and Rajamayong became its capital
and the Burhamayong evolved as the firmament of radical Tantricism.
Later through the glorious era of the Ahoms the magic of Mayong
was diligently nurtured by the natives. Even today, the people of
Mayong are true followers of those beliefs which they consider as
god-gifted capability. For solving their day-to-day problems, they
still depend on the magic and their indigenous herbs.11 One can
witness in Mayong rare tricks, which may look unnatural to modern
men but are enough to shake one from within. Among many tricks
like fortune telling via cawries (sea shells), palmistry, future projec­
tion through a piece of broken glass is unbelievable. There are
practices to cure illness from a distance by cutting a handful of
plants, while chanting some mantra makes one feel the power of
magic. Perhaps, one of the most outstanding magic acts, which is
still prescribed for curing back pain is the one through which is
the village bej or the witch-doctor laminates the cure with magic
chant in a copper dish to track the pain. When the pain originates,
the plate gets stuck to the body and the pain disappears. The
246 Assaduzzaman
locals believe that this dish eats away the pain. The local witch
doctor performs the magic, and if the person is really suffering
from back pain, the copper dish becomes hot like fire and within
seconds it gets scattered automatically. Then, for the remaining
pain, if any, a new copper dish is put in place and the process
begins again. Another common magic in Mayong is the recovery
of a stolen item, which seem unbelievable but true. A metal bowl
is used when the quack puts a flower, which starts moving by itself
and it then move directly to the place where the stolen item is
kept. Sounds really doubtful, but is true, however, only a handful
of common magic is practised now. There are other mantras like
mohini mantra, bokhikaram mantra too which are performed to
create attraction between a male and a female. It is said that in the
olden days magicians could actually move to wherever they wanted
in minutes by the use of uran mantra. A few households at Raja­
mayong and Burhamayong still possess some of the manuscripts
and practise it in a milder from. The few who may be practising it
are reluctant to reveal anything. The former governor of Assam,
Loknath Mishra, was also a reputed Tantric who collected secrets
of and mantras from Mayong. Even P.C. Sarkar, the famous magi­
cian, reported to have acknowledged his indebtedness to lessons
learnt in Mayong for many of his performances.
According to legendary sources, during the Burmese invasion
of Mayong, magicians cast a spell around the boundaries of the
area and thus, prevented the Burmese from entering and plunder­
ing Mayong. Still now, many pilgrims and students of witchcraft
migrate to Mayong to learn tantra-mantra. Though the country
was filled with Hindu temples and Hindu immigrants from south
India, the tides of Buddhism and Buddhist Tantricism with magical
demonstration of supernatural power could not be stemmed and
waves of missionaries flocked to this place from the neighbouring
state Bengal.
The Buddhist Tantrics had now a stronghold on nearby Hojai
and Ojal (Durjoya), which they called Ojjiana or Oddiana. They
had other outposts in Goalpara districts where at Yogigtiopha,
Pancharatna and Sree-Suryyapahar, they established regular reli­
gious centres.12 There are also references that in ancient time, the
incarcerated Buddhists from other parts of India found a safe shelter
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 247
in this part of the country after being harassed by the Turks. They
infiltrated through Bengal and settled in the hill areas. Though
disorganized, they started propagation to the people, a form of reli­
gious idea made attractive with magical cures of diseases and other
ailments. Thus they took religion more as a means of living than a
mission. Already a hotbed of Shaktism and Buddhist Tantricism,
this place became a seat for this debased from of a religion to ger­
minate the seeds of what are now the secret societies of Rati-khown,
Tamul-nukhown and Gopidhara. Newly-formed chiefs who were
extremely zealous for culture on principle, but miserably poor to
judge or assimilate it, found the mystic cult highly appealing.
Something of the real old civilization mixed with the savage prac­
tice and sauced with supernatural magical demonstration of im­
mediate practical benefit, made up a dish palatable to everybody
who cared anything for religious order. There were stories devel­
oped to support the power of magic in Mayong and Kamarupa. It
is said that it was the power of magic that in 1337, the 1,00,000
strong cavalry of the valiant of Bengal perished to a man in this
land of witchcraft and when a second army was raised, not a single
soul would step beyond the border of Bengal into this dreaded
land of black art. Even as late as 1530, Guru Nanak, the founder
of the valiant Sikh faith, had the bitter anguish of finding his
brave Punjabi servant Mardana transformed into a lamb before his
very eyes by a woman of this place, who could as well transform
the young man again to his natural shape according to her per­
sonal and private needs. The faithful private secretary of the great
religious preacher diligently recorded this sad incident in his
memories, perhaps as a warning though without any effect to the
followers of his great master against future entry of any of their
progeny into this horrible place.13

GENESIS AND PRACTICES OF

TANTRA AND MANTRA

In this connection, references may be made of the vast mass of

writings in early Assamese known as mantra, which bear the
district stamp of ‘Vajrayana’ tenets. These mantra puthis (books
on magical charms) composed in mystical words and syllables
248 Assaduzzaman
contain magic formulas against snake bite, demons evil doers, etc.,
and various spells for healing of diseases and winning of good
future and desired ends. Most of these mantras bear the impres­
sion of the Buddhist Dharani Sutras. Another notable change among
the local residents of Raja-Mayong is transformation from the Nath
cult and Shaktism to Vaishnavism. In the pre-Vaishnavite era, the
people of Mayong were believers of the Nath cult and Shaktism.
All the followers of the Nath cult gave up their faith with beliefs
and practices and embraced Vaishnavism as preached by the
Vaishnava gurus—Chaitanya Deva and Shankar Deva. As a result
of this conversion, a lot of change took place in their beliefs and
practices. The practice of animal sacrifice was almost totally aban­
doned. People believed that even human sacrifice took place in the
past. As result of this, magical beliefs also dwindled to a great
extent through they could not be totally abandoned.14

CHRONICLING OF THE OCCULT

The practice of magic and incantation which prevailed in Assam

attracted the attention of the Persian chroniclers of the sixteenth
and seventeenth century. The Ain-i-Akbari and Fathiya-i-Ibriyah
contain references of Assamese magical rites. The author of the
Baharistan-i-Ghaibi dwells at length on the practices in the
Khuntaghat pargana in the present Goalpara district and narrates
how the people resorted to such practices to influence the course
of war. The Alamgir-Namah states that whoever came to this place,
lost his way and could not go back. The Alamgir Namah states
that Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlug invaded Kamrup (Kamata)
then under Durlabh Narayan (1350-60). Manpower was the greater
strength of any invading king. The huge army of 100,000 was well
organized. But could organization stand in the face of wizardry?
The Alamgir Namah states that the country of enchantment rele­
gated this huge army to oblivion.15
It further states that to avenge this defeat, Muhammad bin Tughlug
sent another expedition, but as the army arrived in Bengal, ‘it was
panic-stricken and shrank from the enterprise’. Mirza Nathan speaks
of the practice of augury resorted to by the Ahoms before the com­
mencement of any war. It was the custom of the Assamese that
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 249
whenever they engaged in a war, they performed some sorcery a
day prior to the battle. The way in which they practised sorcery,
has been described by the writer of Baharistan-i-Ghaibi. Some magic
objects were sent floating down the river towards the enemy’s side.
If it floated down towards the enemy’s side they took it as a good
omen. If it travelled upstream out of its own accord they took it as
a foreboding something against them, considered it a sign of their
defeat and did not go out to the battle.16 When Ram Singha at the
head of the Mughal army came to invade Assam, he brought with
him the Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur and five Muslim pirs to undo the
effects of the Kamrupi black art. The kings, nobles and the generals,
in those days, took kavacha, i.e. an amulet or a talisman. It was
believed that a soldier or a man with such a kavacha could not be
killed by his enemies easily. In the Darrang Rajvamsavali, it is stated
that King Nara Narayana and his brother Chila Rai received such
kavacha from their teacher Brahmananda Sannyasi of Banaras.
Deoraja, one of the Ahom princes had a powerful yantra (talis­
man) on the arm. Lachit Barphukan had a brahma kavacha. Badan
Barphukan also had a powerful talisman.17
Assam was, thus, feared and looked upon with awe as the land
of enchantment in the olden days. Even today, we are in awe of the
mayong bej or the medicine men of Mayong, who possessed, along
with his other magical powers, the uncanny power to turn human
beings into lambs in the ancient times. In fact, the culture of witch­
craft, magic and portioning is still in vogue in Assam, particularly in
places like Kamakhya, Mayong, and the Cachar district.

THE BEJ OF MAYONG

Medicine men (bej ) played an important role in treating different

kinds of ailments, both mental and physical. There are such
medicine men still in Mayong. The Mayong bej administer herbal
medicines, and also treat many diseases by chanting spells and
incantations. These bej are well-versed in a mass of spells and in­
cantations for curing snake bites. The magical power of the bej of
Mayong is endless.18 He has the superhuman power to subdue a
male person or to bring a woman under one’s control or to put an
end to the life of one’s enemy. To do mischief to one’s enemy,
250 Assaduzzaman
sometimes, the hair, nail or a piece of cloth used by the person are
taken away secretly and buried under the earth. The Mayong bej
knows how to find a stolen property or the culprit of any crime.
Sauka-chalowa, bati-cholowa or bachhari-chova are some such
tactics employed by these magiciens. Mischiefs to the health of a
man are perpetrated by the mantra of hera-dia and ban-mara. There
are even counter systems of hera-dia and ban-mara. Ban-mara
seems to be an affair of injurious incantation. The system of hera-dia,
employs the effigy of the enemy to cast a spell on him. Along with
the utterance of incantation karikas (spits) are thrust into the body
of the effigy. Many bej also domesticate an evil spirit called biera
with whose help they become powerful enough to do harm to a
man. The art of magic was not confined to Mayong alone. Magic
was prevalent among other hill tribes as well. The remark made by
Francis Hamilton in connection with the chief of the Dimaura
territory deserves mention. He writes, ‘In fact, he is a Garo chief
and the recent occupant is supposed to know many powerful magic.
On this account, he is very much respected and the Governor of
the province carefully avoids giving him any manner of offence.’
The system of determining the good or the evil by means of draw­
ing lines and circles on the ground was known as mangal cowa.
The Ahom foretellers used fowl-legs in calculating the future. They
had a system of their own, probably derived from Burma or Thai­
land. This system is still prevalent in Mayong.

THE HISTORICAL ORIGIN OF THE

BEJ OR OJHA OF MAYONG

Different tribal communities like the Karbis, Mikirs, Koch, Dimasas

reside in Mayong today. The Garos came to Mayong after Inde­
pendence. Most of the tribes have now been converted to Vaishna­
vism. The tribal people used to believe, and there are some who
still believe, in innumerable lesser divinities or natural powers which
are very often called, spirits, supernatural agents, bhuts, etc. These
elements are believed to have exercised power to move nature, guide
and control human action. Such faiths of the tribal people are the
results of uncommon circumstances. Most of the tribal people, since
time immemorial, lived in the midst of natural settings surrounded
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 251
by hills, thick forests, rivers, streams, mountains, rocks and boul­
ders of imposing character. These natural phenomena coupled with
environment ecology, etc., had certainly influenced the evolution
of their religious beliefs, as some wise men from amongst the masses
of each tribe slowly emerged who began to interpret the various
aspects and workings of nature in religious perspective and associ­
ate them with the happening in their day-to-day life.
Belief in spirits, ghosts and goblins were common during the
times. These were known as bhut, do’t, yakh, bak, danah, kandha,
daini, jigini, khetar and peret. When a person did something which
displeased any of these evil spirits or supernatural agencies, he was
supposed to be possessed by that invisible being. The identifica­
tion of a particular spirit possessing a person was generally done
by the bej or ojha and the habitations of some of the spirits were
also well marked. That the yakh generally haunted a cattle pen,
the kandha moved in the cremation ground, the bak in the fishing
pond, the bhut in a deserted cottage and the buda dangariya had
his habitation in a banyan or a similar tree. The Katha-Gurucarita
refers to a good number of yakhs, who lived at the outskirt of a
marshy land near Barpeta and were forced to abandon the place
due to constant congregational prayers conducted by Madhava Deva.
It is stated that the Ahom king Pratapa Singha (1603-41) was
frequently possessed by a spirit deo for which he was unwilling to
abdicate the throne. Having appeased Mahadeva by constructing
a temple he got rid of the spirit. Instances of such beliefs in the
existence of supernatural beings are found scattered in medieval
literature. The bej from the medieval period onwards was a man of
great knowledge, who was put on a pedestal by the commoners.
His magical powers remained unquestionable. The medicine men
occupied a respected and honoured position in society. People were
in awe of him. Gradually, however, due to rapid societal changes,
the development in science and technology made this institution
of the bej or ojha redundant. It was increasingly becoming difficult
to convince the common people of the magical powers of the medi­
cine men. It was, therefore, indeed heartening to find that here in
this pocket of Morigaon, Mayong houses the most enchanting of
all the medieval arts—the art and science of magic.
Many stories have been circulating all through the ages about
252 Assaduzzaman
the forefather of the magical art of Mayong. This wizardry of Mayong
is its most fascinating feature. The inhabitants of Mayong are fond
of recalling the Mikir Boora (old man) the Father of Magic of
Mayong. Story has it that the Mikir Boora had been in Mayong
for ages. It was whispered that he was as old as the hills of Mayong.
People dared not look at his face. Then one fine day a person from
far off Barpeta came to his household. The Mikir Boora took this
man under his wing. This man from Barpeta entered into a matri­
monial alliance with one of the kin of the Mikir Boora and very
soon, he learned and mastered the art of magic from the Mikir
Boora. After the death of the old man, he became the uncrowned
magician of the next generation, the famed mayongor bej—the
medicine man of Mayong.
Magical knowledge is passed on from one magician to another
through families or apprenticeships. The information usually trans­
ferred consists of instructions on how to perform a variety of rituals,
manipulate magical objects, or how to appeal to gods or other
supernatural forces, as it is a valuable commodity to which each
magician believes he has a right. In Mayong, strange as it may
seem, every household can boast of having some magical powers
inherited from the previous generation. The possession of magical
knowledge of every single household of Mayong is indeed unique.
The bej of Mayong knows very well that only certain words and
phrases or words spoken in a specific context are considered to have
magical power. Mayong language, according to C.K. Ogden and
I.A. Richards’ (1923), categories of speech, is distinct from scientific
language because it is emotive and converts words into symbols for
emotions whereas in scientific language words are tied to specific
meanings and refers to an objective external reality.19 Magical lan­
guage is, therefore, particularly adept at constructing metaphors
that establish symbols and link magical rituals to the world.

INFLUENCES OF MAGICAL AND MANTRA

PRACTICES ON THE SOCIETY

People believed that misfortune befell the evil doers through magic.
They cited the example of the infertility problem and mental dis­
eases of the children of some of the practitioners of magic. The
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 253
new generation in this region does not advocate the practice of
magic. Of course, they feel proud of their traditional rich heritage
of magic.
The magical practices continue to exist as a part of folk medi­
cine. Earlier the people of Raja-Mayong used to take help of a
traditional practice of medicine for seeking remedy for a disease.
In the event of a person suffering from pox, they would resort to
‘Ainam or Devinam’ of any kind, jorani (divine water), bhogsora or
prashada, etc. A physician also uses different mantras along with
the use of traditional medicines. He accepts a sum of Rs 1.25 along
with a pair of betel leaf and a betel nut. But, yet they choose to go
to the doctor for his advice and treatment. Of course, in the initial
stage of disease, they still use the magical practices in Raja-Mayong
village for treatment.
The bej commands a considerable amount of respect in rural
Assam. He is looked at with awe as he is believed to be adept in
black magic also. But most of the bejs interviewed, reported igno­
rance of black magic. They claimed to profess only white magic.
The bej believed that the practice of black brought misfortunes
upon the bej himself and he had to suffer towards the end of his
life. Moreover, his family also had to suffer the evil effects. It ruined
not only his own life but the life of his descendents also. The
possible misfortunes that might befall were madness, death of chil­
dren, prolonged illness, etc. The bej was regarded by the local people
as a specialist in folk medicine. The female counterpart is also known
as the bej. It has been noticed that besides the specialist, the com­
mon people also have a nodding acquaintance with the common
remedies.

MAGIC AS CURE

There is an opinion that folk medicine has popularity among the

uneducated as well as the educated people in Assam, which is not
totally devoid of truth. It has been observed that the unenlight­
ened section of the inhabitants of Assam first try the indigenous
methods of curing ailments by application of herbal medicine pre­
scribed by the medicine man, magician-priest or sorcerer. Failure
to cure maladies like child disease, child mortality and minor
254 Assaduzzaman
ailments persuades the victims to visit the holy places or temples
of deities for propitiation of supernatural power and benevolent
deities accompanied by divination and forecasts of oracles. The
educated people on the contrary, first try the modern available
means of curing acute diseases and maladies which overwhelm the
afflicted persons. Finally, however, they take recourse to supernatural
powers and agencies on their failure to get satisfactory result from
allopathic, homeopathic or Ayurvedic medicine.
According to the prescription of the bej of Mayong, japs are
worn as protection against evil spirits. Death and marriage in the
family are two occasions on which japs are worn by the members
of the family.20 Tabij or madali is worn as protection against evil
spirits, sorcery, snake bite, etc. It is a bundle of charmed objects
put into a metal case, mostly of copper, and huge around the waist,
neck, wrist or arm with a piece of string. Sometimes a jap is used
for hanging. The charmed objects may be roots, steams, leafs, etc.,
of trees, nails, scales, hair, excreta, etc., of animals and a leaf or a
piece of paper with a charm written on it. In a madali against snake
bite, the root of gumuni (Sensevieriaroxgurghiana) is used. The ob­
ject inserted into the small metal cylinder and mouth is sealed
with wax or lac. For disease believed to occur out of natural causes
empirical medicine and mantras are used extensively. There are
mantras for almost every disease and normally the mantra is named
after the name of the disease. Jora-phuka is the common Assamese
term for incantation of the mantra. The word Jora means winnow­
ing and phuka means blowing air from the mouth, in Assamese.
The performance of the bej while treating a patient with mantras
has some time to do with lashing and blowing air. He takes a few
bihlongoni plants (Polygonumsp) and lashes the patient while chant­
ing the mantra over the patient. In some cases blowing of air is
done thrice at the end of the mantra. This act is called phuka. The
word jara also implies both the acts and is used more commonly.
In some diseases, leaves of the castor (Ricinuscomunis) plant is used
in lieu of bhilongoni. This method is applied in chanting a mantra
over the patient. The act, jora is used in a wider sense to mean to
charm also. In case of chanting, a mantra over medicines and other
objects, only air is blown. In treating an upset stomach, ginger,
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 255
water, etc., are charmed with mantra. In treating pains, the affect­
ed part is massaged with charmed mustard oil. Sometimes, the bej
chants the mantra, while massaging the affected part with oil.
Sprains, stiff neck, headache, toothache, and backache are treated
in this way. For fracture and fissure of the bone, the harjorowalata
(Cissus uadrangalaris) is tied to the affected part. Some of the bej
make a paste of the ground harjorowalata and some other medi­
cines and plaster the broken part.
Treatment of diseases believed to be caused by the wrath of gods,
is normally done by propitiating the respective deities. No medi­
cine is taken in small-pox, chicken-pox, measles and mumps. It is
believed that taking medicine is like challenging the Goddess
Shitala, popularly is known as Ai. The disease is always referred to
in honorifics as Ai sakal, Air phul (flower of Ai ), etc. The Goddess
is propitiated with Ai nam, which is a variety of folk song, singing
praises of the goddess. Offering of raw fruits, gram, green gram,
flowers, etc., are made, while incense is burned. The singing of Ai
nam and making of offerings are done by the woman folk on the
third day of the occurring of the disease. If too many blisters erupt
and burst, the patients are made to lie on plantain leaves. The
patient is kept away from ritual impurities and cleanliness is main­
tained throughout the period of suffering. If any deformity occurs
in the patient after cure, it is believed to be the result of displea­
sure of Ai in the propitiation. Mumps is called Jodumoni Ai or
pithakhowa. A pie is made from powder rice and attached to the
swelling until Jadumoni is cured completely. Ai nam is sung for
mumps also. Sometimes, the patients are given a gold chain to
wear. In the event of other epidemics, such as cholera and other
misfortunes befalling the community, singing of devotional songs
known as nam is conducted in the namghar (community prayer
house) by the people. In some parts of lower Assam, a puja is
offered to the god of the disease and the offerings are floated
downstream on a plantain raft. This puja is known as the bheldiya
puja.
In cases of disease resulting out of the wrath of any particular
identified Hindu deity, which is found out through divination,
offerings are made to the god concerned. Every deity is offered his
256 Assaduzzaman
favourite item in the manner prescribed through tradition. Some
of the gods accept sacrifice of animals, while some accept only raw
fruit. The favourite offering of the god Shiva is the hemp (Cannabis
sative) while his wife Durga likes the sacrifice of animals. Offerings
are made to gods as promised while doing topolabandha or agkara.
Disease resulting out of non-fulfilment of this promise is treated
by fulfilling the promise. In diseases resulting out of spirit posses­
sion, the bej resorts to exorcism. In exorcising the bej uses a man­
tra. There are different mantras for different spirits. The bej chants
the mantra, which is to be pitted against the specific spirit. While
chanting the mantra, he lashes the patients with bhilongoni (Poly­
gonumsp) plant. The process is called jara in treating spirit posses­
sion. But in case of spirit possession, unlike other disease, the pa­
tient is beaten hard with the bhilongoni. The bej extracts a confession
from the spirit in the patient. The bej, after chanting the mantra
for sometime acts in a way as if he has overpowered the spirit in
the patient. He, then, starts talking to the spirit and goes on ask­
ing him questions. The possessed person answers his questions as
if he or she is the spirit and not his or her real self. Sometimes, the
patient talks in a voice which is not his or her real voice. The bej
tries to find out the identity of the spirit and drive it out. He
coaxes the spirit to leave the patient. If it does not agree, he threat­
ens it repeatedly. At last, the evil spirit leaves the patient and shows
a sign of leaving by making a loud sound or breaking or shaking a
branch or a tree, etc. The bej sometimes resorts to physical torture
of the patient, if the spirit refuses to leave it. It is believed that any
assault made on the patient hurts the spirit and not the patient.
This type of exorcising is done in case of possession by evil spirit.
But when a god possesses a person he/she is not exorcised. In such
cases the god is propitiated with sacrifices and sacramental offer­
ings. The possessed is then given the status of the god that pos­
sesses it. It is not thought to be an ailment and no remedy is
sought. After sometime the spirit or the god leaves the possessed
and he or she leads a normal life. Mukhbhanga (breaking of the
mouth): The remedy for Mukhlaga (Flacherie, It is a bacterial dis­
ease caused by Streptococci, bacilus bacteria) is mukhbhanga, which
literally means the breaking of the mouth.
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 257
There are a few mantras for Mukhbhanga. Mukhbhanga is done
in a number of ways with these mantras. In one method of Mukh­
bhanga the bej or bejini chants the mantra over a fire. While chant­
ing the mantra, mustard seeds and dry chilies are thrown into the
fire. It is believed the burnt chillies emit a strong smell, if the
mukhlaga is of mild degree. In case of severe mukhlaga, it smell
very little or no smells comes out at all. In another method, water
or ginger is charmed with mukhbhanga mantra. The ginger or
water is taken by the person suffering from mukhlaga. While charm­
ing, the ginger mantra is muttered and air blown over the pieces of
ginger. But while charming water, a knife is taken to cut the sur­
face of the water every now and then every while the mantra is
chanted over it. Some bej prescribe only drinking of this water,
while some prescribe drinking a portion of it and mixing the rest
with water and taking a bath with it.
The process of jora with the bhilingoni plant is also another
method of treatment of mukhlaga. Ailment arising out of sorcery
is cured with counter sorcery. If it is caused by a bira, then it is
expelled. Expelling of the bira is similar to expulsion of evil spirits.
Sometimes the bira is believed to enter a person. This is not like
spirit possession. The bira acts unnoticed by people and makes the
person its refuge. In such cases, the person is exorcised and the
bira is expelled. But the bira can act without entering a person
also. In such cases the bira is expelled by overpowering it by man­
tras.21 There are other forms of magical practices too by which
peoples’ sufferings, diseases, and misfortunes are countered. Ban is
one of them. Literally, ban means an arrow (in Assamese and Bengali
language). The belief is that an unseen enemy has thrown an arrow
to cause distress to a person. The antidote to this is done by means
of bankata and banphirani, as stated:
Bankata (The cutting of the arrow): Disease arising out of ban of
the enemy is treated in two ways. In one, the ban is inactivated.
This act is called bankata (cutting of the arrow), mantras are chanted
to inactivate a ban. If some objects are believed to be buried as a
part of the ban, the objects are found out through divination and
inactivated with a mantra and disposed of by burning it or throw­
ing it away.
258 Assaduzzaman
Banphirani (The throwing back of the arrow): The other method
of treating cases of ban is the banphirani (returning the arrow). In
this method, the ban is not inactivated, but sent back to the person
who had sent it. As a consequence, he suffers some effects which
were the intended for the victim. This redirection of the ban is
done with the help of mantras.
Treatment of maladies caused by animals: Maladies caused by
animal agents are treated with mantra and medicine. For curing
itching problems resulting from contact with a caterpillar people
put lime marks on the ear lobes and wear kal sosani (fibre from
plantain barks) around the neck. Apart from this, this practice of
jora with bihlongoni, a mantra for inactivating the hair of the cater­
pillar is also there.
For curing the bite of rabid dogs, foxes, etc., an edible medicine
made from herbs is given to the patient. The act of jora is also
simultaneously carried out. Certain vegetables are forbidden for a
person bitten by dogs or a fox. Two such vegetables are the kantal
urohi (sword bean Canavalia gladiate) and urohi (country bean
Dolichos lablab). Such a person is also forbidden to touch or even
go under an urohi creeper.
The same method with different medicines and mantras is ap­
plied in cases of biting believed to be of the tiger, the spider, the
centipede, the frog, the snake, the toad, etc. The snake bite is a
serious affair and great mystery shrouds the treatment of snake
bite by the bej. Snake bite is treated in many ways. The common
people, as a first aid to snake bite, tie a strong knot just above the
place where the snake has bitten. This is the done to prevent the
snake venom from mixing with the blood. In the meantime some­
body runs to the bej to fetch him. Sometime, the bej lands a strong
slap on the cheek of this messenger. It is believed that some bejs
can cure snake bite by merely slapping the messenger. The harder
the slap, the quicker the cure. This slap is also believed to be dharani
dhara that is arresting the poison. The bej comes and first he chants
a dharani dhara mantra and then begins his cure. Some of the bejs
suck the poison out with the mouth. Sometime they make an
incision on the bite for sucking out the poison. It is also believed
that some of the bejs bring the snake back with the power of the
mantra and make it suck out the poison. Sometime a charmed
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 259
stone is placed over the bite while on other occasions the bite is
merely washed with charmed water. A portion of this charmed
water is also orally administered.22

PRESERVATION OF OCCULT CULTURE

There is a museum near Mayong which has been established to

preserve the occult culture of Mayong. The Mantra Puthi written
in Sachipat are preserved in it. Besides other curios, the museum
possesses another unique thing. These are cannon balls retrieved
from Kajuulichookey. In the Battle of Saraighat, Lachit Borphukan
had wrested Guwahati back from the Mughals. On 22 August
1667, a large army had sailed down the Brahmaputra. Fixing his
base at Koliabar, Lachit had advanced towards Guwahati in two
divisions. It was the south bank of the river. The Ahoms had stormed
the forts of Kajali, Sonapur, Panikheti and Tatimara lying between
the Kapili and Guwahati. These cannon balls are the remnants of
a great war the brave Lachit Borphukan had fought. These cannon
balls in the museum near Mayong vary in size, from little balls
the size of ping-pong balls to those a little bigger than that. At
Kajalichookey, there are still hundreds and thousands of these can­
non balls buried deep in the earth. This is history and historical
evidence of the great general Lachit Borphukan. A number of an­
nual celebrations take place in Mayong. ‘Panchagossain’ is celebrated
on the fourth, fifth, and sixth of Bohag (April) every year. This
festival is in its 339th year today. The tenth king of Mayong,
Sarachchya Sinha, had first started the custom of celebrating this
festival. During the Zeth (May) month, nagaria kirtan is always
held. There are numerous thaans (holy pedestals) in Mayong-
Ganges thaan; where worshipping of Ganesh is performed at every
Ganesh Chaturthi; Siva Thaan; Boori Aair Thaan, Bhagavati Thaan,
where worshipping is done during the Aaahar and Zeth (May-
July) months; Kachaikhaiti Thaan, etc. Worship of these gods and
goddesses and the festivals associated with these celebration, have
continued right from the olden days, with traditional gaiety and
fanfare. The royal exchequer contributed generously for the orga­
nization of these festivals in the past. This royal generosity is still
traditionally maintained by the present king of Mayong.
260 Assaduzzaman
NOTES

1. Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today, Rider and Company, London, 1954.

2. Kamal Chandra Nath, Mayonght Mantra: Sanskritir Sadhana, Saidyasnata
Prakashan, Morigaon, 2009, pp. 10-11.
3. Anshuman Das (ed.), Morigaon Dapon, Souvenir of 88th Annual confer­
ence Srimant Sankardev Sangha, Morigaon, 2019, pp. 15, 16; M. Goswami
(ed.), Nidanam: Dr. Braja Mahan Goswami Commemoration Volume:
History of Medicine of Assam, Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati, 2012, p. 93.
4. Lokendra Hazarika, Mayong Itihas, Rodali Prakashan, Morigaon, 2011,
p. 23; M. Goswami (ed.), Nidanam: Dr. Braja Mahan Goswami Com­
memoration Volume: History of Medicine of Assam, Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati,
2012, p. 101.
5. Lokendra Hazarika, Mayong Itihas, Rodali Prakashan, Morigaon, 2011,
p. 23; Kamal Chandra Nath, Mayonght Mantra: Sanskritir Sadhana,
Saidyasnata Prakashan, Morigaon, 2009, p. 31.
6. K.L. Barua, Early History of Kamrupa, Author, Shillong, 1933, p. 23.
7. Lokendra Hazarika, Mayongor Itihash, Rodali Prakashan, Morigaon, 2011,
pp. 106-7.
8. Romesh Chandra Nath, Mayar Rajya Mayongor Kahini, Morigaon, 2008.
9. Dipon Nath, Mayongor Bej aru Romanchokar Gherjali, Morigaon, 1990.
10. Ibid.
11. Kamal Chandra Nath, Mayonght Mantra: Sanskritir Sadhana , Saidyasnata
Prakashan, Morigaon, 2009, pp. 18-19.
12. M. Goswami (ed.), Nidanam: Dr. Braja Mahan Goswami Commemoration
Volume: History of Medicine of Assam, Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati, 2012,
p. 101.
13. Guneswar Deka, Mantra Prahidh Mayong Aru Pabitara Itihas, K.K. Konwar,
Morigaon, 1995, p. 6.
14. Kamal Ch. Nath, Mayonght Mantra-Sanskritir Sadhana, Saidyasnata
Prakashan, Morigaon, 2009, pp. 10, 11.
15. Nathan Mirza, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi, tr. M.I. Borah, vol. l, para 306,
p. 273.
16. Ibid..
17. Ibid.
18. Dipon Nath, Mayongor Bej aru Romanchokar Gherjali, Morgaon, 1990 for
details.
19. C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, Meaning of Meaning, 1923, English tr.
H.B. Jovanaoavich, Harvest H.B.J. Book, Orlando, 1989.
 Mayong: The Land of the Occult 261
20. M. Goswami, (ed.), nidanam, Dr. Braja Mahan Goswami Commemoration
Volume: History of Medicine of Assam, Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati, 2012,
p. 93.
21. Ibid., p. 101.
22. Kamal Ch. Nath, Mayonght Mantra-Sanskritir Sadhana, Saidyasnata
Prakashan, Morigaon, 2009, p. 31.
 PART III
MAGIC, SUPERNATURALISM
AND DIVINITY
 C H A P T E R 13

Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses

from Medieval India
M. PARWEZ

Assam, located on the eastern fringes of Mughal India, seldom

received close attention of the Mughal rulers. Though, there was
some sort of trade and commerce, particularly supply of elephants
and wood, the region was not well known. However, there were
many invasions of the area. Most of the time, the invasion was
repulsed or they withdrew due to the inhospitable climatic condi­
tion. Still some part of the kingdom remained under control of the
Mughal state for a considerable time. Nevertheless the medieval
chroniclers remained curious about the region which got reflected
in their works. Except Shihabuddin Talish, who went there along-
with Mir Jumla’s army and Mirza Nathan, who fought several wars
in the region, none of the chroniclers had first hand information.
The medieval Indian chroniclers have rarely paid attention to
the better half of the society. In their endeavours to describe different
developments whether during Delhi Sultanate or Mughal India,
they went on to describe conquests, annexations and policies use­
ful for political purposes but ignored women’s contribution in the
society. Ziauddin Barani’s magnum opus, Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi does
not provide much information on women. However, there are some
references to women, when Amir Khusrau describes women with
spindles spinning yarn or Isami’s bitterness about Razia Sultan
reflected in his writings:
That woman is better, who engages herself with the (spinning)
Wheel (Charkha ) all the time.
266 M. Parwez
For a place of honour will make her lose her senses
Let cotton be her companion, sorrow her cup; and
Let the noise of spindle (duk) be her music1
Khusrau states that women should be involved in activities like
spin-ning than becoming a sultan. However, his bitterness reflected
his perception that by doing so, Razia Sultan had encroached into
domain solely confined to men.2 Most of the information on women
during Delhi Sultanate comes from the texts related to Sufism, bhakti
and Sikhism. However, the Mughal miniature paintings proved to
be a mine of information on women, particularly about the women’s
labour. It depicts common men and women involved in different
productive activities like cultivation, amusement, construction work,
handling tools and implements, participation in the religious and
secular ceremonies, etc. The accounts of European travellers also
supplement one’s understanding of women in the medieval society.
The description of Jesuits, Thomas Roe, Bernier, Manucci, Ralph
Fitch and the factory records provide some useful information on
the subject.
The eastern frontiers often attracted attention of medieval rulers
of Hindustan, especially the Mughal emperors, largely for eco­
nomic reasons. The empire used to get elephants, timber and other
produce from the eastern frontiers and this resource rich region
got imperial attention which led to long long drawn warfares.3
One of the prominent state formations in the eastern frontiers
of the Mughal empire was the Ahom state. Assam was ruled in the
medieval period by Ahoms, who were a branch of the Shan/Tai
race. The Shans were occupying the northern and eastern hill tracts
of upper Burma and western Yunnan,4 where they formed a group
of states called Mung-mau or Pong. In AD 1228, the Ahom pressed
by the Burmese in the Maulung district of upper Irrawadi, crossed
the Patkai range and entered the eastern part of the Brahmaputra
Valley and Sukapha was the chief of this marshall group of the
Ahoms.5 They had initially established themselves in the south­
eastern corner of the Brahmaputra Valley after subjugating the Moran
and Borahi tribes, who then got assimilated within the Ahom
system.6
In the Brahmaputra Valley there were established state formations
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 267
existing prior to 1228. The ancient kingdom of Kamrupa had
disintegrated into a number of tribal and non-tribal polities.
The State of Kamrupa existed between the rivers Barnadi and
Karotoya and in the east, there were two dominant states—Chutiya
and Cachari and in the west there were a number of feudal chief­
tains called Bhuyan.7 The political history of the Ahoms was, there­
fore, largely a struggle for the mastery between the new entrants,
i.e., Ahoms and these state formations. The subsequent centuries
were to witness intermittent conflict among the various powers
and in this power struggle, the Ahoms, at the cost of already exist­
ing state formation, were successful in extending their domina­
tion.8 Along with the political extension, the Ahoms kings also
adopted a policy of systematic settling down of Ahom families in
the newly conquered territories to strengthen their position. How­
ever, the main foundation on which the establishment of state, its
function and domination rested on intervention of Ahoms in the
production process, through which it strengthened state struc­
ture.9 Since, 1206, the Ahom state was involved in large number
of major conflicts with Bengal sultans and the Mughal rulers, which
finally culminated in the battle of Itakhuli in 1682. Besides, they
had constant warfare with other chieftains of the region. They faced
existential threat from the mighty Mughal state and its immediate
neighbour.
In this article, an attempt has been made to understand how
chroniclers of the Mughal period have viewed Assam, particualarly
Shihabuddin Talish, who had accompanied the invading army of
Mir Jumla.
Ain-i-Akbari talks about Kamrupa (Kaonrup), where the inhabit­
ants were good looking and addicted to sorcery. 10 It mentions
strange stories about houses in which the pillars, walls and roofs
were made of men compelled by the power of sorcery and crimi­
nals deserving death.11 ‘They also cut open a pregnant woman who
had gone her full term of months and taking out the child, divine
somewhat as to the future’.12 Abul Fazl further remarks ‘Bordering
on this country (Bengal) are the dominions of the Rajah of Asham
(Assam) whose great pomp and state are subjects of general report.
When he dies, his principal attendants of both sexes voluntarily
268 M. Parwez
bury themselves alive in his grave’.13 It indicates prevalence of a
variant of sati customs though here the women were buried along
with their husband. Shihabuddin Talish was the witness to excava­
tion of such graves in Garhgaon, which were excavated in the pre­
sence of Mir Jumla. He writes, ‘the noble and high ranking officers
prepare funeral vaults for their dead and also put some utensils
made of gold and silver, carpets dress materials and eatable items
necessary for a period of several years inside it. They also put wives
and servants of a dead person inside the crypt after having killed
them’.14 Our sources are silent as to whether all the queens or all
the women of the king’s harem were buried including women and
slaves.
In the late seventeenth-century, Manucci the Italian traveller, also
refers to Assam, He says:
The city of, Kharganw (Kamrup) is very large and fine, inhabited by rich
merchants—that is, according to the stories told me in Dhakah, when I
passed through it. The natives of those lands take four wives. Here, the
women are very lovely and they do all the work of the house, the men being
indolent, except in war-time, when they all go forth to fight.15
Manucci further mentions about engraving of wives along with
the Rajah to which Abul Fazl referred to earlier. He mentions,
. . . Mir Jumlah, after occupying the place (Guergao or Kharganw), caused
the tombs to be destroyed, which contained great treasures, it being the
Assam custom to bury with the defunct the wealth that he possessed. It is the
practice of the people that when the master of the house dies they bury with
him all his wives, concubines, and servants that is, the tailors, washermen,
barbers and others who serve in the deceased’s house, setting them all on fire
after binding their feet.16
Manucci’s account suggests forceful burials of wives, concubines
and others. The French traveller, Bernier too mentions Assam while
discussing Mir Jumala. He says, ‘It is a large and well-built city
(Guerguon), very commercial, and celebrated for the beauty of its
women’.17
A detailed account of Assam comes from Shihabuddin Talish,
who accompanied Mir Jumla’s army. 18 His account particularly
focused on the period spanning from 1661 to 1663. Mir Jumla
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 269
made deep inroads in Ahom Kingdom, and had captured the capital
city Garhgaon for a considerable time. His style of narrative appears
to be similar to Amir Khusrau, and is quite vivid and poetic. He
has used verses liberally within the running text. However, he des­
cribed the war and strategies adopted by the respective factions in
detail, but as he was a keen observer, he also provided information
on socio-economic, cultural environment as well as geography,
climate, flora, fauna economic resources of the region. The assimila­
tion of the Muslims, who came for conducting diplomatic relations,
or as soldiers or prisoners were so complete, that rarely anyone
went back to their original native place. Muslim settlers in Assam
adopted dress and customs of the local inhabitants. He says:
. . . As no one who entered this country (Assam) ever returned and the man­
ner of its native were never made known to any outsiders the people of
Hindustan used to call the inhabitants of Assam sorcerers and magicians
and consider them as standing outside the human species. The saying is
that whoever enters this country is overcome by its charms and never comes
out of it.19

That sorcery played an important part in their life, is further

described by Mirza Nathan. He informs us that, there was a custom
among the Assamese that whenever they engaged in a war, they
performed some sorceries a day previous to the battle. He said,
‘. . . they send some magic object floating down the river towards
the enemy’s side. If it floats down towards the enemy’s side, they
take it as a good omen. If it travels upstream out of its own accord,
they take it as foreboding something against them and consider it
as sign of their defeat and they do not go out to battle. According
to that custom, they built one raft of plantain trees, which is well-
known fruit of Hindustan, and performed puja, i.e worship of devils
on it in the following manner. They sacrificed a black man, a dog,
a cat, a pig, a monkey, a he goat and a pigeon, all black in colour.
Their heads were collected together and placed on the raft along
with many ripe banana, pan, betel nut, chuiwa, scents and rice paste,
red yellow and green colours cotton seeds mustard seeds, gee and
sindur (vermilion) and then the raft was pushed adrift.20
Talish further says,
270 M. Parwez
The people of Hindustan describe the inhabitants of this land (Assam) as magi­
cians and consider them as being out of pale of human race. They believe that
this land is a land of magic and talisman. They say that whosoever goes to that
country is charmed by magic, which prevents him from returning home.21

He further describes the region in details:

. . . the river Brahmputra situated in the north east of Bengal. The river
Brahmputra flows through its middle from east to west. Its east-west wise
length from Gowahati to Sadna (Sadia) is about 200 Karoh Jarib. Its north
south wise breadth from the mountain (inhabitated by) . . . different tribes
like Miri, Magami, Dafta and Landa (Naga?) to Naga hills is about a distance
of 7-8 days of hill journey. The southern range of hills of this country consists
of the Khasya (Khasi), Chachar (Cachar) and Kashmir (?) hills and adjoins
the Naga hill in the east. The land lying to the northern side of the Brahmputra
is known as Uttarkol and on the southern side, it is known as Dakhin Kol.

Mulla Darvesh Harvi, friend of Talish composed a verse on Assam.

The land of Aasham, which lies in the lap of China and Calthy.
It is a different world, where people and its geography are of different nature.
In this land, the humus becomes green without any external help.
The land of Aasham is totally cut-off from the main land like . . .
Its space is heart-rending like Fana (annihilation).
Its rivers like the thought of a wise person are very deep.

The rebels were sharp shooters, great warriors and equally quar­
relsome, similar to the eyes of Taraz’s beauties (a central Asian city
famous for beauty). The people of this land are very dignified hav­
ing superior qualities.22
The prosperity of the region was also testified by Talish when he
observed: ‘If this country was administered like the imperial do­
minion (Mughal), it is very likely that forty to forty-five lakhs of
rupees would be collected from the revenue paid by the raiyats,
the price of elephants caught in the jungles and other sources’.23
Similarly, he estimated an income of eight lakh of rupees from
the region of Kuch-Behar provided it was governed as per imperial
(Mughal) systems.24 Talish also described the environmental set­
tings of the countryside—right from the village of Kaliabor to the
town of Kahargaon. Fruit trees encompass the surroundings, on
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 271
both side of the road, there were high bamboo trees to provide
shadow, besides having large varieties of fragrant flowering trees.
He praises the agricultural fields, ‘the agricultural fields and gardens
are planted so systematically in the plains in this country that one
can not see any depression ot elevation in the field’.25 He found
Uttarakhol was more cultivated and flourishing, but from habita­
tion and strategic point of view the Dhakinkhol was preferred and
therefore, the king of Assam always resided in the Dhakinkol.26
The areas near the Brahmaputra River was fine for the invading
army but the interiors were dangerous climatically as the region
used to receive heavy rainfall for eight months and often even dur­
ing four months of winter.27 A keen observer like Talish described
the health aspects, where he pointed out that the native people
were not afflicted with deadly diseases like leprosy, elephantiasis,
varicose veins, pharyngitis and other communicable diseases that
were very common in Bengal.28 However, jaundice was deadly for
outsiders during summer than for the natives. About fruits, he
mentioned those that were also growing in Bengal and Hindustan,
but he was specific about those fruits and flowers which not found
elsewhere in Hindustan. He says,
other varieties of flowers and fruits, both wild and cultivated, noticed in this
country are not found in any part of Hindustan. The coconut and Neem trees
are somewhat rare. But saplings of Pepper, Sazaj (tezpat) and various kinds
lemon grow in abundance . . . pineapple found in abundance, is very juicy and
tasty. There are three kind of sugarcane, black, red and yellow. Ginger are very
big, soft and fibreless and have good flavor. Panyal a variety of Amla, is delicious
and tasty. The chief crop of Aasham is paddy.29

Talish found a general scarcity of salt and they used to get some
salt by burning banana trees into ashes. The ash was put in canvas
bag and water was poured over it to filter salt.30 While describing
birds like duck, goose and fighting cocks and animal like the
elephant, deer, stag, nilgai, ram and francolin, he described a con­
trivance he noticed in the capital city of Kahargaon. He writes,
. . . some cage like small but very strong structures supported by heavy wooden
posts at the four corner, are constructed. It appears that these are used for
different purposes. On enquiry it was found that there was some expert Mahuts
272 M. Parwez
of the Raja, who rubbed a particular herb on the body of a female elephant.
Then she was carried to graze in the grazing grounds, where wild and must
elephants live. As soon as the must elephant smelt that herb rubbed on the
female elephant, it became uncontrollably mad and followed her. Then the
Mahut skillfully brings back the female elephant to the cage like structure. The
moment the must elephant enters the enclosures it is trapped to be trained and
domesticated later on. The Nawab (Mir Jumala) tried his best find one of those
expert in this art but he failed.31

He had seen musk deer which were very big as well as noticed
different aromatic and heavy wood (agaru), which were found in
large quantity in the hills of Namroop, Sadna and Lakhogarh.
Animals like horse, donkey and camel were not seen in Assam and
they wanted to see these animals again and again. He mentions
that they were afraid of horses and if chanced to find horses they
used to chop the legs of the animal immediately. If one horseman
attack one hundred Assamese, they used to take flight throwing
their arms.32
About arts and crafts, he observed that the Assamese were expert
weavers of beautiful cloths of silk and velvet besides being good
carpenters. Weapons like guns, matchlock, cannon, iron arrow head,
long spears, bow (bamboo) and dao were known to native people
and all able person had to participate in the battle. However, about
twenty thousand young men formed the core of the fighting force,
who always remained prepared for the wars.33 Most of the time,
they considered Tuesday night as auspicious for battle and raid.
After capturing the capital city, he had observed the city and pro­
vided detailed description. Four doorways were constructed of mud
and stone. From each gateways the distance to the king’s palace
was three karoh. A high, wide road leading to the palace was con­
structed having habitation on both sides. The city was fortified
with cane field. But it seemed that the capital city was not planned
properly. 34 A river Dikhow flowed near the palace. Inhabitants
did not indulge in selling and buying food items which they
used for their own consumption.35 Though, there was a bazaar
with pan leaves sellers.
The king’s audience hall (soolang) was 120 cubit long and 30
cubit wide. It was supported by 66 wooden posts and every post
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 273
was about four zera (104 cm) thick. The posts were beautifully
carved as Talish says, ‘. . . there is no one in this universe, that can
construct, design or decorate wooden houses like the people of
Aasham’.36 About twelve thousand men worked for one year to
construct the palace. Besides, the king’s palace there were other
beautiful houses for the stay of the king. Bhukan also lived in
beautiful and comfortable houses but those having matrimonial
relations with the king got houses to live which were surrounded
by gardens and ponds full of clean and sweet water.37 The common
people due to humidity did not sit or sleep on the ground but they
used to prepare a machan (raised wooden plateform) and lived on it.
Talish also referred to belief about the divinity of Ahom Raja
and termed the belief as corrupt and mystified, that one of the fore­
fathers of this Raja (Jayadhawaj) was the sovereign ruler of the
angels, and he descended from the sky on a golden ladder and he
found the place so beautiful that he did not return to his abode.38
He describes Pran-Narayan, the ruler of Coochbehar as addicted
to alcohol, and was always desirous to be in the company of beautiful
and vivacious women. He lived in pleasure ignoring administration
of his kingdom.39 Then in a verse, he stated due to drunkenness
many countries were ruined so one should beware of drinks as it
has destroyed many kingdoms.40 The harem of the king has been
described as well planned and beautiful, full of gardens.41 He says,
‘The seed of beauty grows less on the face and physique of men
and women of this country’.42 According to him, Mir Junla strictly
ordered that the honour and property of every subject whether
present or absent must be protected. In case of defiance, he pun­
ished his own soldiers by passing an arrow through their nostril.
Such protection encouraged the inhabitants who had fled, to re­
turn to their homes. A similar proclamation was also issued when
Garhgaon was captured.43 Regarding Bhutan, he remarked, that
‘the Bhutia (ruler) was a healthy person and had a fair and pinkish
complexion. . . . His only cloth was a white lungi, which did not
cover his nudity properly. It is said that both male and female of
this community wear the same type of cloth and behave in the
same manner.’44
On 26 February 1662, the Simalgarh Fort was captured and
274 M. Parwez
Mir Jumla encamped at Kaliabar. He issued a farman (separate)
not to plunder the property and not to be cruel to the women and
children of the local inhabitants45 and it was so strictly enforced
that during the stay of one year, none of the officers and army
retainers could cast evil eyes on the property and honour of the
women.46
Talish then proceeded to compose a verse indicating the pangs
of army men desirous of meeting the charming women of Kaliabar
and Assam.
If you are desirous of Kaba, then walk in the desert enthusiastically.
And do not become distressed, if the thorn of the deserts pricks you.47

The beautiful women hoping for union with their beloved were
singing:
Be careful! when you pass through lane of my Ashiq.
Because even sidewall of his lane is notorious for breaking the heads.48

Talish observed that women of Miri and Majmi (Mishmi?) tribes

inhabiting Uttarkol were more beautiful and attractive than the
Assamese women.49
With regard to Raja Jayadhawaj Singha, he remarked that his
wife did not give birth to a male child and deprived him of a
successor due to his cruelty.50 He gives his impression about the
women of Assam. They have been described as beautiful, charm­
ing, having delicate body and black complexion. They also had
long black hair, attractive hands and legs.51
They looked beautiful and charming from a distance but from
near, they lacked grace and beauty.52 He found aristocratic as well
as common women roaming around freely without any cover in
the bazaar and streets.53
The polygamy appears to be general practice as only a few per­
sons had only two wives whereas majority of persons used to have
four to five wives.54 They also indulged in sell, purchase and even
bartering their wives amongst themselves.55
Talish’s description of Naga women indicate the tribal way of
life however, he has praised their physical strength.56 One also comes
across political acumen of mother queen of Darrang (mother of
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 275
Makardhawaj), who ruled ably after the death of Raja of Darrang
in establishing law and order, protected routes and showed com­
passion to subjects. She had requested Mir Jumla to restore the
kingship of Darrang to the son of Makardhawaj and accordingly, a
farman was issued.57 Later on she was awarded two shawls and
three clothes with gold and silk embroidery.58
Significantly, aristocratic Ahom women figured prominently as
an instrument of diplomatic relation. There are large numbers of
instances when royal women were sent to other kings as guarantee
to peace agreement except the case of Ahom woman Mula Gabharu
who fought to avenge the death of her husband.59 When peace
negotiation began with Mir Jumla, one of the conditions for peace
agreement was to send one of the daughters of the Raja into the
Mughal harem.60 On 4 January 1663, when the agreement was
signed one daughter of the Raja was given into the custody of
Amarat Panah for escorting her to court.61
The two women leader of Moamaria rebels, Radha and Ruknimi
also indicate the increasing role of women in political sphere.62
Legends ascribed them hawing occult power and endeared the
popular imagination for long.
Despite Assam’s attempt to remain in isolation, the recurrent
invasions brought the native into contact with outsiders. Some of
the areas particularly, Kamrupa and Kuch Hajo remained in the
control of invading armies for considerable time. During Mughal
occupation of the regions, several Mughal administrative institu­
tions were made operational like land revenue and collection of
revenue in cash or kind. Subsequently, when the areas were freed,
the altered system continued. This led to prevalence of two con­
tradictory systems. This was one of the important cause for the
eighteenth-century crisis in the Ahom state leading to British an­
nexation in the early nineteenth century.

NOTES

1. Quoted in Irfan Habib, Technology in Medieval India, c.650-1750,

New Delhi: Tulika, 2008, p. 41
276 M. Parwez
2. Ibid.
3. Amalendu Guha, ‘Medieval Economy of Assam’, The Cambridge Economic
History of India, vol. I, ed. Tapan Raychoudhury and Irfan Habib, Delhi:
Orient Longman, rep., 1984, pp. 487-90. See also Irfan Habib, The Atlas
of the Mughal Empire, Delhi: Oxford University Press, for economic products
of eastern India.
4. Edward Gait, A History of Assam, Guwahati: LBS, 1997, p. 66.
5. Ibid., pp. 71-3.
6. Ibid., pp. 73-4.
7. Ibid.
8. Amalendu Guha, ‘Medieval North-East India: Polity, Society and Economy
1200-1750AD’, Occasional paper 19, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences,
Calcutta, 1978, pp. 2-4.
9. Sajal Nag, ‘The Socio-economic Base of Medieval Assam in the Light of the
Asiatic Mode of Production’, NEHU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
1-1, Shillong, 1998, pp. 32-8.
10. Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari vol. II, tr. H.S. Jarrett, Low Price edn. Delhi,
rep. 1997, pp. 130-1,where Abul Fazl describes the account of suba Bengal
as part of the account of 12 subas.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid., p. 131.
13. Ibid.
14. Shihabuddin Talish, Fathiya Ibriya, University Collection no.98 Maulana
Azad Library, AMU, folio 38(b).
15. Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor 1653-1708, tr. William Irvine, vol. II,
Delhi: Low Price Publisher, rep. 1990, p. 93.
16. Ibid., pp. 92-3, Khafi Khan, Muntakhab-ul Lubab also mentions about
the practice.
17. Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mughal Empire AD 1656-1668, tr. Archibald
Constable,New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint, 1983, p. 172.
18. Shihabuddin Talish, Fathiya Ibriya, two manuscripts are preserved in
Maulana Azad Library, AMU, Aligarh. One manuscript is in the Abdus
Salam Collection, No. 307/77 having 118 folios and the other is in the
University collection No. 98 containing 102 folios dated 1173 A.H. got
107 folios. I acknowledge the help provided by Dr. Abdus Salam Jilani
STA Persian Language Department of History in reading and translating
passages from original texts.
19. Shihabuddin Talish, Fathiya Ibriya, cited in Sajal Nag, Roots of Ethnic
Conflict:Nationality Question in North-East India, Delhi: Manohar, 1990,
pp. 19-20.
 Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India 277
20. Mirza Narthan,Baharistan-i Ghaybi, vol. II, tr. M.I. Borah, Guwahati:
DHAS, 1992, p. 487.
21. Fathia Ibria, AMU collection f. 21-24.
22. S. Talish, Fathiya Ibriya tr. Mazhar Asif, Guwahati: DHAS, 2009,
pp. 46-7, Univesity Collection M.A Library no. 98. see also Irfan Habib,The
Atlas of the Mughal Empire, Oxford University Press, 1990.
23. S. Talish, Fathiya Ibriya tr. Mazhar Asif, Guwahati: DHAS, 2009,
pp. 46-7, Talish, Univesity Collection M.A Library, M.A. Library Collection
f. 66-7. Also cited in E. Gait, A History of Assam, Guwahati, 1997, p. 135.
24. Ibid., pp. 12-13.
25. Ibid., pp. 48-9.
26. Ibid., pp. 12-13.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid., p. 49.
29. Ibid., pp. 50-1.
30. Ibid., pp. 12-13.
31. Ibid., pp. 50-1.
32. Ibid., p. 56.
33. Ibid., pp. 59-60.
34. Ibid., pp. 59-60.
35. Ibid., pp. 61-2.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid., p. 54, see alsoAhom Buranji, Eng. tr. G C Barua, Shillong, 1930 for
detailed description.
39. Sihabuddin Talish,Fathiya Ibriya tr. Mazhar Asif, Guwahati: DHAS, 2009,
pp. 61-2.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid., pp. 13-14.
44. Ibid., pp. 14-15.
45. Ibid., pp. 31-2.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid., p. 32.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid., p. 52.
50. Ibid., p. 55.
51. Ibid., p. 56.
52. Ibid., pp. 61-2.
278 M. Parwez
53. Sihabuddin Talish, University Collection, Maulana Azad Library, A.M.U.,
Aligarh, folio 36(a).
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid., folio 37(a), see also Sihabuddin Talish, Fathiya Ibriya, tr. Mazhar
Asif, DHAS, Guwahati, 2009, p. 56.
56. Sihabuddin Talish,University Collection 98, Maulana Azad Library, AMU,
Aligarh, folio-41(a). He has given reasons why the women covered only
upper part and did not cover rest of the body.
57. Sihabuddin Tallish, University collection, 98, Maulana Azad Library,
AMU, Aligarh, folio 68(b), Talish Mazhar Asif, op. cit., pp. 119-20.
58. Ibid.
59. Cf. S.K. Bhuyan, The Military System in Medieval Assam, Guwahati:
Kamrup Anusandhan Samiti, 2010, pp. 32-4, for details of such exchange.
60. Ibid.
61. Sihabuddin Tallish, University collection, 98, Maulana Azad Library, AMU,
Aligarh, folio 68(b), folio 70(a).
62. Amalendu Guha, cf. S.K. Bhuyan, The Military System in Mediewal Assam,
Guwahati: Kamrupa Anu Sandhansamiti, 2010, pp. 32-4, for details of
such exchange.
 C H A P T E R 14

The Divine Origin, but Not

Right, of Khasi Kings
K Y N P H A M S I N S NONGKYNRIH

Naduh ki sngi ba rim ba jah,

Hangta ka trai ka jaid ka Spah:
Nangta ki ïeng ka Kñia ka Khriam,
Hangta ki seng ban long ka Niam:
Ka dei ka Ding ba rhem ha Dpei,
Nangta ki ïeng ban saiñ pyrthei. (Soso Tham)1

(Since the days ancient and lost,

There it rested their kinship their Wealth:
Then they raised their Rites their Rituals,
There they founded their Religion:
It was the Fire in the Hearth,
Then they raised their politics.)

Traditional Khasi democracy has been much spoken of—sometimes

extolled in poetry or essays, sometimes vilified in the most insensitive
terms. It seems that many of these adulators and vilifiers, however,
have made their cases for, or against, traditional Khasi polity with
little knowledge or understanding. Research-based analysis of the
subject is what is needed at this point when many eyes are trained
upon it.
As the quoted lines from Tham’s Ki Sngi ba Rim U Hynñiewtrep
may reveal, one has to draw on the oral tradition to realize that the
communal smithy of the Hynñiew Treps, ancestors of the Khasi
people, was the ‘Fire in the Hearth’ of the mother’s house, where
the uncles and fathers, that is, the lawmakers, had forged their
280 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
social and economic systems, their religion and their political
system.
It is not by accident that the poet had first mentioned the social,
economic and religious systems before mentioning politics. This is
in agreement with folk tradition, which maintains that the Khasis
had evolved their political structure, as it survives today, much later,
when the need to modify the then-existing set-up had been felt.
Before that, there was hardly any political structure. When Khasis
migrated into these hills thousands of years ago, there were
no syiems or ‘kings’. They were led by a legendary leader known as
Syiem Lakriah, who also featured in our creation myth, ‘The Sacred
Myth of Ki Hynñiew Trep’. But he was called a syiem because he
was the leader. It was a title of respect, not to be understood in the
sense that a syiem is understood now.
At that time, everything was very rudimentary. The Khasis organ­
ized themselves into groups of villages governed either by ki basan,
‘the clan elders’, or ki lyngdoh, ‘the high priests’. It was only much
later that they founded the himas, the democratic states, republi­
can in nature, monarchical in form. For thousands of years before
the birth of Christ, they had survived as provincial entities or raijs.
Nobody knows when the first himas were established, but by the
iron-manufacturing age, that is by 353 BC, it is definitely known
from stories that the himas were already there. From the story of
‘Ka Ïaw Shibidi’, for instance, it is known for a fact that the State
of Sutnga (which was later called the Jaiñtia Kingdom by the
Bengalis, Ahoms and other non-Khasis) and the State of Shillong
were already there before that time. And that means that the State
of Madur Maskut was also already there since these three were
among the very first democratic states to be established. In fact, it
was said that they existed side-by-side until the fifteenth century AD.
The State of Madur Maskut was right there between the states of
Shillong and Sutnga. It had territories both in Ri Pnar and Ri
Khynriam (Jaiñtia Hills and East Khasi Hills), as well as in Ri Bhoi
(northern Khasi Hills), Assam and East Bengal. Also in existence
by the iron-manufacturing age was the State of Sohra, which is
mentioned in the ancient stories of U thlen and ka likai.
These three, the states of Shillong, Sutnga and Madur Maskut
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 281
were supposed to be the very first to be established. Later, there
were about 30 states spread over areas in western, southern and
northern Ri Hynñiew Trep, or contemporary East Khasi Hills,
West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi, and only one big one in eastern Ri
Hynñiew Trep, or Ri Pnar. Before that, for thousands of years, Ri
Hynñiew Trep had simply been organized into independent pro­
vinces governed by basan clan elders and lyngdoh high priests in
Ri Khynriam, Ri Maram (West Khasi Hills) and Ri Bhoi; by
provincial chiefs like sirdars in Ri War (southern Ri Hynñiew Trep,
bordering East Bengal); and by dolois in Ri Pnar’.
Tham considered this aspect of his people’s culture so impor­
tant that he introduced it in the very first stanza of his book: ‘How
in ancient times the uncles, the fathers/had fashioned politics,
had founded states’. These lines serve to arouse the curiosity of the
reader, who would inevitably respond to them with his own ques­
tion, ‘How had the forefathers “fashioned politics” and “founded
states”?’ It has been seen how their politics had taken shape in the
mother’s house, but it is not till later in the poem (Section VIII)
that the poet explains the political set up of his ancestors. He de­
clares that it began Haba ki wad hangno u Syiem (When they sought,
where was the King), who would be responsible for all.
Tham’s line about the search for a king refers to the many leg­
ends about the emergence of the ruling ‘Syiem’ clan. The most
famous of these is ‘The Legend of Ka Pahsyntiew’ considered to be
the progenitress of the first kings of Shyllong. Before this, the areas
around what is known now as the Shillong Peak, were all ri raij,
‘community land’, and ri kur, ‘clan land’, organized into seven
separate provinces known as Saw Kher Lai Lyngdoh because four of
the provinces (Raij Nongkseh, Raij Nongumlong—both in the
south western periphery of Shillong—Raij Swer in the south and
Raij Mawlieh-Mawshai or Raij San Shnong in the west) were un­
der the control of basan clan elders and three (Raij Mylliem in the
south, but north of Raij Swer, Raij Nongkrem in the eastern peri­
phery of Shillong and Raij Nongbri in the south-east) were under
the control of lyngdoh high priests.2 The basan clan elders and
lyngdoh high priests governed their provinces independently with­
out any accountability to a central authority, for there was none.
282 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
And, because each of them was independent, it was inevitable for
them to quarrel with each other over trade, land and boundary
issues. Often these disputes, in the absence of a central authority
to mediate and reconcile, led to mutually destructive wars. It was
to end such divisive disputes and debilitating wars (that could
only make them easy prey for foreign invaders), that the provinces
finally decided to come together in a single state known as Hima
Shillong, though when exactly that happened, nobody can say.
The new State of Shillong was to be governed by a syiem, who
would not only conduct the day-to-day administration but who
would also bind each of the provinces together under his direc­
tion. But who would this syiem, this ‘king’, be? Choosing one
from among the founding clans of the state, ki bakhraws, ‘the
nobles’, was impossible as each clan wanted to project its own
member as the king. The elders were at their wits’ end. What were
they to do? How were they to solve the problem? It was at that
time that the legend of Ka Pahsyntiew 3 emerged.
A long, long time ago, it was said that spirits haunted the forests
on the hills around, what is now called Lum Shillong or Shillong
Peak. The chief of these spirits dwelled on the highest and most
thickly wooded hill. In those times, people of the villages sur­
rounding the hills did not know much about rites and rituals. It
was enough for them to pray to God, U Blei, morning and night.
Although they knew about the hill spirits and were afraid to go
anywhere near them, they did not think it necessary to make offer­
ings to them. It was not till a village elder, a man of great wisdom
and understanding of the mysteries of life had started making sacri­
fices to the chief of the spirits, that the villagers learned about
propitiating and paying obeisance to more than the one supreme
God that they knew.
The elder had learned the rites from the people of Sohra, who
worshipped God through the mediation of certain spirits. He had
seen how the people there prayed to U Mawlong Syiem, the guardian
spirit of the villages around Sohra; he had watched the religious
ceremonies performed for U Suidnoh, the god of health, at the
sacred forest of Law Suidnoh in Laitryngew; and so, he too wanted
his village to have its own guardian spirit. With that in mind, he
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 283
taught the villagers how to pray to the chief spirit of the hills,
whom he called Shulong, ‘the self-begotten’. From that time on­
wards, the chief spirit became known as U Lei Shulong or U Lei
Shyllong as he is known today. By and by, U Lei Shillong became
the patron god of all the villages within the seven provinces of Saw
Kher Lai Lyngdoh, and everyone began to pay homage to him.
That pleased U Lei Shillong so much that when he heard the
people of Saw Kher Lai Lyngdoh praying to him to show them the
way out of the impasse, they had found themselves in, he sent for
his daughter and directed her to go and live among his human
subjects. The nymph turned herself into a beautiful maiden and
went to live in a cave called Krem Marai, near the village of Pom­
nakrai on the slopes of Lum Shyllong. It was a lonely spot. Only a
few boys and girls went there once in a while, to graze their cattle
and goats nearby. But it did not take the exploring children long
to discover the beautiful woman sitting in the sun by the entrance
to her cave. The sight of the strange and beautiful woman, sitting
all alone in the middle of nowhere, struck terror into their hearts and
they fled the scene to report the matter to their parents and elders.
Soon word of the mysterious woman at Krem Marai spread like
wildfire to the four corners of Ri Hynñiew Trep. The people, who were
quite superstitious in those days, began to avoid the place for fear
of the strange woman whom they thought was some kind of spirit.
One man among them, however, was not afraid. His name was
Sati Mylliemngap, an elder from the village of Bisi, respected for
his wisdom and insight. The rumour about a beautiful woman
alone in a cave in the wilderness inspired his adventurous spirit
and he resolved, come what may, to visit her one day.
Sati set out for the cave on a splendid spring morning. Along
the way, birds sang their love songs; wildflowers nameless, rain­
bow-hued, danced in the breeze; the scented air seemed to urge
him on, as if to a predestined rendezvous.
Near the cave, he picked his way carefully through the under­
growth, now and then stopping to look for the maiden. Suddenly,
there she was, sunning herself at the cave’s entrance—just as the
children had described. She had a little orchid in her hand, a lamat
ïong, ‘the black-eyed bloom’.
284 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
Sati’s jaw dropped as he gazed in wonder at her strange loveli­
ness. Her skin was fair and smooth as spring water. Her eyes were
blue as the clear sky. Her long, flowing, brown hair cascaded down
her back. And stranger still, she was not dressed like a Khasi girl at
all! Her robe was a creamy yellow, of a cloth quite different from
the silk spun by the villagers. She wore no jaiñsem, outer garment,
which was quite unheard of for a local girl. As Sati stared at her,
she caught sight of him and, with a little cry, disappeared inside
the cave, which even bold Sati could not bring himself to enter.
But that was not the end of it. Sati stayed where he was, calling
out to her: ‘Dear Kong, why do you run from me . . . don’t be
afraid . . . I mean you no harm’.
When she did not come, he pleaded and coaxed her with gentle
words of endearment: ‘I’m an old man with neither strength nor
inclination to harm you. I’m old enough to be your father; come
talk to me … all I want is to help you’.
Nothing worked however, and exhausted, he sat down for a
while to think. It was not long before an idea struck him. He had
noticed some wildflowers called jalyngkteng blooming some dis­
tance away. Since the maiden seemed to be quite fond of flowers,
he quickly went to pick a handful and fashioned them into a bou­
quet, which he laid before the cave entrance. Then, he called out
to her and said, ‘I give up, I’m leaving, Kong, I’ll not pester you
again. But before I go, here are some flowers as a token of my
goodwill. Please accept them. I’ll put them here and go.’
That was exactly what he did. But having gone a little way, he
doubled back by another path. He hid quietly by the side of the
cave and waited. After a while, the shy maiden peeped out. She
looked around to make sure the coast was clear and stooped to
pick up the bouquet.
That was just what Sati had been waiting for. He ran up to her
and overpowered her in one grasp, while all the time trying to calm
her fears and crying, ‘I mean you no harm . . . don’t be afraid . . . I
just want to know more about you. . .’
After a while, the woman calmed down a little.
Sati begged her forgiveness for playing such a trick on her. Once
more, he told her that he did not mean to harm her, and that, on
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 285
the contrary, he had only wanted to help her. He said the people
in the villages had become very agitated and fearful, when they
came to know about her stay in the cave. It was only to prevent
anything untoward from happening that he had come, at the re­
quest of the council of elders, to find out more about her, and why
and how she had come to dwell in those lonely backwoods.
Reassured by the gentle manner of her captor and convinced that
she was talking to a true representative of the village council, the
nymph revealed everything to a very astonished and reverential
Sati. She told him how her father, happy with the people’s un­
bounded faith in him, had sent her to be the progenitress of the
Syiem clan, which would later become the ruling clan of the State
of Shyllong. For the time being, however, she urged Sati not to
disclose anything of all that except to the council of elders, which
must also be sworn to secrecy.
The now elated Sati made his obeisance to her, and promising
to do exactly as she had told him, took her home. At home, the
nymph caused quite a sensation. People, neighbours, friends and
relatives flocked to Sati’s house to catch a glimpse of the strange
woman. Sati introduced her to them as his adopted daughter, Ka
Pahsyntiew, ‘the one lured by flowers’. He chose the name, as the
nymph had not wished to reveal her real name to anyone.
Meanwhile, the council of elders met, and on learning every­
thing about the nymph from Sati, resolved to get her married to
the most eligible bachelor in the land: the bravest, the strongest,
the wisest and the most handsome youth they could find. After a
long, hard quest they finally chose a youth from the Ri Bhoi vil­
lage of Nongjri, a young man who came to be known later as
Kongngor Nongjri, whom they brought to Bisi for the wedding,
which was the biggest and the most memorable event of those
times.
The moon was new, the moon was full. Time flew by and life for
the couple slipped from one happy year to another. Pahsyntiew
gave birth to a charming son, named U Naraiñ, and a beautiful
daughter, named Ka Bamon Sari, who grew up to be strong, intel­
ligent and noble hearted. They were the pride of the land, loved
and respected by all. Kongngor, who doted on his divinely exquisite
286 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
wife and who dedicated his entire life to the welfare of his family,
thought their happiness could never end.
But then, one day, Pahsyntiew called her children to her. As
they sat before her with their father, she said,
My dear Kongngor, my beloved children, for so long I have hidden my true
self from you, thinking only of your happiness. Now the time has come when
I must go back to my own world. I am the daughter of U Lei Shillong, sent
by my father to give the people of Saw Kher Lai Lyngdoh their own rulers.
And rulers are what you, my children, shall be. I have done my duty and
must return. Your father is a capable man, my dearests. I leave you with him
with my blessing. . . .
Kongngor and his children were heartbroken. There was much
crying and questioning, but since it was decreed that Pahsyntiew
should return to her own kind, there was nothing anybody could
do about it. With a pained heart and tearful eyes, Pahsyntiew bles­
sed her children and left the house for her cave at Krem Marai and
was never seen again.
Kongngor and his children grieved for her for a long time. But
gradually, with the love and support of the people, they were able
to overcome their sorrow. By and by, true to the words of Pahsyn­
tiew, her eldest son, U Naraiñ Syiem, was made the king of the
new state of Shyllong formed out of the provinces of Saw Kher Lai
Lyngdoh. The new king ruled his people well. With the help of his
myntris, ‘the ministers’ elected from among the founding clans, his
state grew from strength to strength. In no time at all, it became
one of the most powerful states in Ri Hynñiew Trep.
The people were greatly pleased with their syiem, and together
they built the ïingsad, ‘the ancestral house’ of the Syiem clan, at
Bisi. Here they performed all the ceremonies of the state, and here,
in accordance with the customs of the land, lived the king’s eldest
sister, Ka Bamon Sari Syiem, as ka syiemsad, ‘the queen mother’,
since her sons will later inherit the throne from their uncle.
But this is only one side of the story. The legend also points to
the fact that Mylliemngap and some of the elders of the provinces
of Saw Kher Lai Lyngdoh had brought the divinely beautiful and
unusually fair-skinned young maiden from the plains of Sylhet
east bengal, and had made her stay in the cave for a while. Then,
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 287
they floated the story of a fairy living at the Krem Marai cave and
made a great spectacle of her capture. This, they had to do be­
cause, as mentioned earlier, they were looking for someone who
would lead their newly formed state as a syiem, their ‘king’. But
finding it impossible to choose such a man, who would have hith­
erto unheard-of powers over their lives, from any of the clans or
villages without causing a rebellion, they, in their wisdom, had
resorted to this stratagem. And in so doing, they had unwittingly
propounded one of the earliest theories on the divine origin—but
not right, as you shall see—of kings.
To bring their deception to its logical conclusion and to con­
vince the people that she had returned to her father, the patron
god of Shillong, they took her back to her own home in Sylhet.
Affirming this line of argument, R.T. Rymbai, in his essay, ‘The
Evolution of the Hynñiew Trep Polity’,4 discloses how the growing
need to have a person who would run the day-to-day administra­
tion and preside regularly over the dorbar hima (council of state)
had led to the invention of ‘the institution of families and clans and
the origin of titular heads of states called Syiems’. According to
him, the syiems ‘came not from the Bakhraw clans, the founding
clans of the Hima, or from the indigenous clans constituting the
citizenry called u babun u balang (the many the populace), in
whose hands is vested the ultimate authority for the governance of
the hima. As daylight comes after the dark night, we have the
legend of Ka Pahsyntiew, a fairy queen emerging out of the cleft of
a rock at Pomnakrai to found the dynasty of Ki Syiem Ka Hima
Shillong, and the legend of Ka Li Dakha, a mermaid, who trans­
formed herself into a beautiful maiden, to found the dynasty of Ki
Syiem Sutnga’, known later by non-Khasis as the Jaiñtia Rajas.
Li Dakha also founded the dynasties of Ki Syiemlieh (called
‘Safed Rajas’ by non-Khasis) and Ki Syiemïong (‘Kala Rajas’) of
the states of Nongkhlaw, Maharam, Langrin, Nongspung and others
in contemporary West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi District. The fol­
lowing is her story.5
In the nascent stage of its history, Ri Pnar was only organized
into a group of provinces without king or state. Each province
kept to itself under its own administrator, the doloi, who was elected
288 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
from a particular clan by a dorbar elaka, ‘the provincial council’,
comprising all eligible male representatives. The doloi was assisted
by elders known as basans, pators and sangots, as well as by lyngdoh
priests who were elected from each particular clan. The dolois ruled
their provinces independently and consulted each other only in
matters of trade. At that time in Ri Pnar, there were a total of
12 dolois. But soon, for very much the same reasons that had forced
the provinces of Saw Kher Lai Lyngdoh to unite under the State of
Shyllong, the dolois also decided to come together under one ruler.
But finding it impossible to elect this leader from among them­
selves, their resolution to unite under one state and one ruler had
to be put off for some time. It was then that the legend of Ka Li
Dakha emerged.
At that time, there lived in a hamlet called Umwi, a very hand­
some man known as Luh Ryndi, sometimes also called Loh or
Woh Ryndi. He lived alone, spending most of his time toiling in
his field from morning till night. Like all other men in the hamlet,
however, he was very fond of hunting and fishing and often in­
dulged himself in these pastimes whenever he could.
One autumn morning, when the sky was blue and the sun was
brilliant, Luh Ryndi took up his fishing rod and went striding off
in the direction of a river called Waikhyrwi. At the river, he took
his position by the side of a large pool and settled down for a day-
long stint. Very soon he could feel something nibbling at the bait
and tugging at the line. He took the strain and pulled. Dangling
at the end of the hook was a sizeable fish. Catching it with one
hand, he unhooked it, placed it inside the basket he had brought
with him, and went back to fishing. After that, he went back to
fishing. But strangely, although he tried till the sun sank below
the western hills, he did not catch another fish.
When night came, Luh Ryndi returned to his hut with his fish,
washed, made up the fire and cooked his meal. Then he took out
the fish, put it inside a bamboo basket and left it dangling above
the hearth to dry, meaning to boil it in the morning. But when
morning came, in his hurry to prepare for his day’s work, he forgot
all about the fish. Eating a hurried breakfast, he gathered his tools
about him, left for his field without a backward glance.
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 289
When he came back in the evening, he was in for a big surprise.
As soon as he opened the door, the warmth of the room embraced
him like a comforting companion. He could see the fire burning
in the hearth. The room was neat and clean, as if it had been swept
recently, and when he looked at his pots, his food had already
been cooked. He began to experience an eerie sensation of an un­
known woman’s presence in the house. But he brushed that foolish
thought aside and guessed it must have been one of his nieces who
had come to keep house for him during the day. Thus thinking, he
ate his food, which was exceptionally delicious that night, and
went to sleep. But the following day the same story repeated itself.
Curious, he went to his sister’s place to enquire if she had sent
one of her daughters to his house that day and the previous one.
The answer was no, she had not sent anyone to his house. That got
him worried. Who was it, then, who had been keeping house for a
lonely man like him? He could not think of any friend who would
do something as inexplicable as visiting his hut and do the domes­
tic chores for him while he was away. No, he said to himself, this
will not do. I must find out, by any means, just exactly who had
been at my place. Thinking about it, he suddenly hit upon a plan
and, comforted by it, retired to bed.
The next morning Luh Ryndi got ready for work and went to
his field as usual. But once out of sight of his house he doubled
back by another route and proceeded until he reached the back of
his hut, where he settled down to wait and watch through a hole
in the wall. He had a long wait, but finally, towards cooking time
in the afternoon, he saw, to his utter amazement, a stunningly
beautiful woman emerging from the fish in the basket. He watched
her for some time, gazing with wide-eyed wonder at the unusual
fairness of her skin, the brilliance in her eyes and the midnight
blackness of her hair which cascaded down to her heels. He knew,
of course, who she was. She could only be one of those fairies
called puri, and from the loveliness of her face and the snowy white­
ness of her jaiñsem outer garment and her clothes, he guessed that
she was a godly fairy or puriblei, and decided that there was nothing
to fear from her. Even as he watched, he saw her sweep the floor,
build up the fire in the hearth, clean the pots and prepare to cook
290 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
the evening meal. But at that point, his patience ran out and he
hastened into the house to confront her.
As soon as the creature saw him and realized that she had been
outwitted, she dashed towards the fish, meaning to shelter in its
scaly skin once again. But, surmising rightly, what she was about
to do, Luh Ryndi jumped forward, snatched the fish from her
grasp and threw it in the fire. Seeing her only means of escape
destroyed, the strange maiden submitted herself to his powerful
arms and listened to his eager questions: ‘Who are you? Where did
you come from? What do you want here?’
‘I am the daughter of a river nymph’, she said simply. I took a
fancy to you as you sat fishing in the river alone. . . I have come to
be your wife’.
Hearing this frank admission, Luh Ryndi stared at her, speech­
less. Presently, his face broke into a smile and he promised to return
her love in full measure by marrying her as soon as he had intro­
duced her to his relations. But first, she had to have a name. After
briefly ruminating on the strange manner of his acquaintance with
her, he decided to call her Ka Li Dakha, ‘the one who came from a
fish’.
After the introductions to his relatives were over and all the for­
malities had been completed, Luh Ryndi married Li Dakha in a
grand ceremony that the dolois of Ri Pnar organised for him. Over
the years they had three daughters whom they named Ka Rapungap,
Ka Rapubon and Ka Rapunga (also known as Ka Ngap, Ka Bon
and Ka Nga) and three sons, whom they named Shyngkhleiñ,
Bania and Tetia-ksaw. By and by, the six children, being the scions
of a nymph, grew up into exceptionally beautiful young men and
women. The girls were especially adored by everyone and were
constantly courted by the bravest and most handsome young men
of the land. Consequently, when the time for their marriage came,
the three had a very select band of admirers to choose from and
naturally picked the best grooms in the field.
Having seen her children satisfactorily married off, Li Dakha
determined to return to her pool. One day, while the family was
sitting together, gathered around the hearth, she dropped her plan
into their midst like a thunderbolt and said, ‘My husband, dear
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 291
children, it is time for me to return home. I can hear my mother
and the others calling me back. From now on, you must learn to
live without me’.
Stunned into silence, everyone could only gape at her in sheer
disbelief. At length, Luh Ryndi roused himself and said, ‘My dearest
wife, what foolishness is this? What are you saying? Surely you
cannot mean what you said?’
When she affirmed that she did mean what she said, the daugh­
ters joined in the general protest. ‘Our beloved mother, how can
you leave and render us orphans like this? Surely, you love us more
than that! Forget this silly notion, stay on and let us be happy
together’.
But despite many such earnest entreaties, and although they
cried and pleaded with her for days, Li Dakha could not be per­
suaded to change her mind, for she argued that it was against the
very nature of her being to stay on indefinitely in the land of mortals.
When Li Dakha had gone back to her magic realm, Luh Ryndi
tried to lead a normal life once more. But he found that impos­
sible. For him, it was as if the sun had suddenly set forever. He lost
all zest for life and began to pine away till one day, finding the
weight of sadness unbearable, and the longing in his heart un­
quenchable, he visited the pool with his fishing rod once again, in
a desperate attempt to win back his beloved. And win back his
beloved he did, but in a manner quite contrary to all his expecta­
tions. As he sat by the pool, toying with his rod, suddenly, a big
fish took his bait and pulled him headlong into the murky waters.
Luh Ryndi was never seen or heard from again, but his children
and their families prospered and grew in strength. Being the de­
scendants of a supernatural creature, they were looked up to and
loved by one and all. And this was like a God-send opportunity for
the dolois, who were looking for a syiem to unite every one of their
provinces under a single state. They sanctified a new Syiem clan
for the children of Li Dakha and Luh Ryndi, made Shyngkhleiñ
the first syiem of the State Sutnga and Ka Nga, the first syiemsad,
she, being the youngest daughter.
In later years, the daughters of Li Dakha became the proud mothers
of many sons and daughters, who spread throughout the land of
292 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
the Hynñiew Treps. From Ka Ngap descended the clans of Phyrngap,
Sutong, Pala, Huwa and Ïongrem among others. From Ka Bon
came the Syiemlieh and Syiemïong clans, whose descendants later
became the first kings of the states of Nongkhlaw, Maharam and
Langrin, and from Ka Nga came the kings of the State Sutnga.
But as with Ka Pahsyntiew, the legend says that this too was a
stratagem plotted by the dolois and Luh Ryndi. Luh had actually
married an exceptionally beautiful Hindu girl from the Jaintapur
Upazila, in East Bengal. When he brought her home, because her
beauty was like that of a godly fairy, the dolois, with the approval
of Luh, spread the story about a river nymph who had emerged
from a fish. Later, to bring their deception to a logical conclusion,
Li Dakha was supposed to have gone back to her pool in the river,
followed afterwards by her husband. In reality, both of them re­
portedly went back to Jaintapur, one after the other, to live there
for the rest of their lives.
Rymbai also narrated the divine origin of kings in many other
states,6 including that of Sohra. According to him,
We have also the story of the legendary sow which gave birth to a handsome
girl who founded the dynasty of Ki Syiem Ka Hima Malngiang [the kings of
the State of Madur Maskut] which disintegrated sometime in the fifteenth
century, whose syiems are found now in the state of Mawsynram. In the case
of Ka Hima Sohra, when the Bakhraws were at a loss where to look for a
syiem, there came a gentle woman of divine grace from nowhere who said
that her progeny would be the syiems of their Hima.

Of course, there were states founded without such a divine king.

In such a case, the founding clans had to go down to the plains of
East Bengal or Assam and kidnap the first couple they could lay
their hands on, so they could become the forebears of their ruling
Syiem clan. This was exactly what happened in the State of Mawïang
in West Khasi Hills, whose first king was actually the son of a
Muslim woman.
It is partly because of these origin myths and legends that our
ancestors, the Hynñiew Treps, attributed certain qualities to their
kings. For instance, they called them ki syiem ki blei, ‘the kings the
gods’; u syiem u kmie, ‘the king the mother’; and u syiem u mraw,
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 293
‘the king the slave’. As a god (or at least a person with a supposedly
divine origin), the king must be just and deliver equitable justice
to all citizens regardless of their wealth and position in society. As
a mother, the king must look after all his citizens with love and
tender care. And as a slave, the king must work selflessly and
untiringly for the welfare of one and all.
This is the kind of political wisdom that had made a poet like
Tham sing the praises of the old Khasis, ‘So they learned to forge
their politics; So they learned to found a State’. They had discov­
ered their first lesson in politics when they tried to find a ‘king’.
Having found him, they began organizing their provinces and vil­
lages into a ‘state’, which they vowed to protect at all costs. In this
way, ‘because their blood surges, Alive the Name the Glory stays’
(Section VIII, 116-17). In other words, because of their patriot­
ism, their states flourished and grew in name and glory.
On the subject of himas, S.S. Majaw7 says:
As Soso Tham sees it, the politics of the Khasis is founded upon the forma­
tion of Himas. And the formation of Himas is founded upon religion, which
in turn is founded upon the Covenant, that is, the agreement reached be­
tween u Hynñiew Trep and his Creator.

But what are these himas or states that form the basis of the
politics of the Hynñiew Trep people, for which the poet experi­
ences such a hiraeth?8 Writing on Khasi democracy, Hipshon Roy
states:
Their democratic system and way of life have carried them through the ages
for thousands of years in their small republics. Hon’ble Freeman Thomas, Earl
of Willingdon . . . during his visit to these hills as Viceroy and Governor-
General of India had this to say: ‘It is a proof of the stamina and virility and
competence of your people that when greater Empires in the East and in the
West have throughout the ages come and gone, you still maintain in your
pleasant Hills the freedom of your small republics, based on your ancient
ways and tenets of your race.9

Both Hipshon Roy and the Viceroy refer to the Khasi states as
‘republics’ implying a comparison between them and the Greek
city states. Rymbai explains why:
294 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
The political organisation of Ki Hynñiewtrep is basically democratic where
separate states, independent of one another, co-exist. Fundamentally they are
all republican in nature, but monarchical in form. Tradition tells us that there
used to be thirty States, each under a titular head called Syiem, twenty-nine
of which were in Khasi Hills and one in [the present-day] Jaiñtia Hills . . . in
Jaiñtia Hills originally there were twelve Dolois, independent of each other,
but later chose one Syiem to be their titular head.10

Expounding further on the republican nature and formation of

the Himas, he says:
The head of a Hima . . . is not invested with any power to act on his own
authority. Power lies with the people, the head or ruler is an agent to implement
the common will of the people. The people of a State are not subjects (raiyats)
of the head of the State, they are its citizens called U Khun U Hajar. Power
is distributed in a three-tier system. At the grassroots of the village level, there
is the Rangbah Shnong (Village Headman) who, with the help of the council
of elders of the village, administers all its affairs. Matters affecting the village
on the whole are referred to the Dorbar Shnong (the Village Council), to
which every adult male has a right to attend and participate. The headman is
the first among equals. He is elected by the common will of the people [at
the council].
A group of villages constitutes a Raij with a titular head called Syiem Raij.
Like a Rangbah Shnong he has no authority to act on his own. He is assisted
in his duties by a council of elders called Basans. He settles disputes between
inhabitants of different villages of the Raij or of the inter-village disputes
within the Raij. He is elected by the members of the clan from which alone a
Syiem may be elected. All matters are disposed of by consensus of members-in­
council. Matters affecting the Raij as a whole are referred to the Dorbar Raij to
which every adult male of the Raij is entitled to attend and take part in its
deliberations.
A number of Raijs constitutes a State, Hima. The number of Raijs varies
according to the size of a Hima. The Syiem of a Hima is normally accepted by
the Bakhraws (nobilities) if the members of the clan are unanimous in electing
him; and he must not be otherwise ineligible by reasons of serious physical
handicaps or moral turpitude. If the members of the Syiem clan or clans do not
agree on one candidate only, the matter is referred to the nobilities, and should
they also disagree, the choice is open to the male adults of the Hima.
According to Rymbai and Hipshon Roy, the republican nature
of the Khasi political system derives its strength from the social
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 295
structure of the society. In the social order, the Syiem clan (this
also applies to the founding clans of a state) is not higher than
any other clan since the Khasi society is strictly egalitarian. The
difference is functional and merely relates to the parts they play in
governance and administration. The king of a state is assisted in
day-to-day administration by a council of ministers whose mem­
bers are elected from the founding clans. In matters of ordinary
administration, he carries out the people’s consensus as conveyed
to him through members of his council in session, and in matters
of high importance affecting the state, as conveyed by the council­
lors in an open session of the council of state.
It is because of this republican nature of the Khasi states and
the fundamental role of the people in matters of governance that it
can be said with Tham:
U Syiem kam pher la dei ‘u Maw’;
Ka Hima kit u Rit u Khraw;
Bishar-khadar ryngkat bad ki;
Ha u ki ai ka Nar-bili:
Te kum u Tiew Myngngor Lyngsyun,
Kumta ka ïaid Dorbar pyllun. (Section VIII, 121-6)
(It matters not the King may be ‘a Stone’;
The State is borne by Small and Great;
Justice with them collectively;
To him the Fetters:
And so, rounded as Marigold,
It goes the Council of the State.)

The poet’s understanding of the traditional political set-up is

absolute. Since governance and the weighty issues of the state are
dealt with together with the ‘Great’ (‘Bakhraws’, ‘the nobles’) and
the ‘Small’ (‘U Khun u Hajar’, ‘the citizens’), it does not really
matter what kind of ‘King’ heads the state, as long as he is accept­
able to one and all. What is all-important is the dorbar. The
admiration of the poet for this dorbar is so great that he compares it
to a marigold in full bloom. The comparison is not only because
he is trying to describe the open air, circular seating arrangement
of a Khasi council but also because of its majestic magnificence.
296 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
Tham is not the only one brimful of love and adoration for the
democratic dorbar of the Khasis. Writing about it, Rymbai reveals;
This concept of Ki Hynñiew Trep about the role of their kings and the fact
that power lies in the hands of the people, form the cornerstone of the
democratic nature of their political organizations where the will of the people
is expressed by consensus. . . . In their case, goodwill prevails throughout the
deliberations, for or against, because each participant is guided and governed
by the ruling spirit of the motto—ïa kaba dei yn ïa bat, ïa kaba lait yn ïa bret
(‘we shall keep what is right, reject what is wrong’).12

It was this particular trait of the Khasi dorbar that impressed

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose into stating, in one of his speeches as
the president of the Indian National Congress, ‘that those who
wanted to see true democracy in action must go to Khasi-Jaiñtia
Hills and learn from the people out there its soul and spirit’.11
Evidence of such high praise can also be found in the British offi­
cial records relating to the proceedings of Nongkhlaw’s council of
state as it was discussing David Scott’s request for permission to
construct a road from Guwahati to Sylhet through Nongkhlaw’s
territories. According to Harry Inglis, a trader who was part of the
English delegation,
The attendants came up the Hills, armed with swords, bows and quivers.
The Rajah proceeded to explain the subject of the meeting and required the
different orators to express their sentiments on the proposition of the British
Government. The leading orator, on the part of the opposition, immediately
commenced a long harangue in condemnation of the measure, expressed in
a continuous flow of language accompanied with such animation of manner
and appropriate gesticulation. This was replied to by an orator of the Rajah’s
party and in this way, the ball was kept rolling until evening. I was struck
with astonishment at the order and decorum, which characterised these
debates. No shouts of exultation, or indecent attempts to put down the
orator of the opposite party [were made]. On the contrary, every speaker
was fairly heard out. I have often witnessed the debates in St. Stephen’s Chapel,
but that of the Cossya parliament appeared to be conducted with more dignity
of manner.12

This then is the politics of the Hynñiew Treps, ancestors of the

Khasi people, and the formation of their states based on demo­
 The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings 297
cratic values and republican principles that had drawn the highest
commendation from the fittest representatives of the best cultures
in the world, people like the Earl of Willingdon, and Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose. And this system founded since ‘the days ancient
and lost’ is still practised today almost in its pristine form. For
instance, the economic roles and functions of the king as estab­
lished by our forefathers are followed even now. The king can col­
lect tolls from markets and produce on the way to markets. He can
impose fines and try criminal and civil cases for certain fees and see
to the day-to-day administration, but he cannot impose taxes of
any sort since the land and its resources belong to an individual, a
clan, a village or a province and not to him.
The exception now, apart from the qualitative degeneration, is
that the District Council has assumed to itself a constitutionally
sanctioned supervisory role over and above the council of state,
and no king can be appointed without its stamp of approval. This
state of affairs has given rise to at least two conflicting demands—
one, calling for the abolishment of the District Council and the
restoration of these institutions to their former relevance and glory,
though subservient to the state government, and the other calling
for their replacement with the panchayati raj system.

NOTES

1. Soso Tham, Ki Sngi ba Rim U Hynñiew Trep, Primrose Gatphoh, 1976, All
quotations relating to poetry are from this book.
2. Homiwell Lyngdoh, Ki Syiem Khasi bad Synteng, D.P. Reade Diengdoh,
1938.
3. Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, ‘The Legend of Ka Pahsyntiew’, ‘The
Legend of Ka Li Dakha’, Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends, Penguin, 2007,
pp. 73-9.
4. R. Tokin, Rymbai, ‘The Evolution of the Hynñiewtrep Polity’, Khanasa­
mari—u Khun u Hajar ka Ri Hynñiewtrep, ed. Sumar Sing Sawian, Apphira
Publications, 1998, pp. xi-xxiii.
5. See n. 3 above, pp. 106-111.
6. See n. 4 above, p. xvi.
7. S. S. Majaw, Ki Syrwet Jingshai, S.S. Majaw, 1985.
298 Kynpham Sins Nongkynrih
8. Welsh word loosely translated as various forms of longing.
9. Roy, Hipshon, ‘The Khasis’. Where Lies the Soul of Our Race, Hipshon Roy,
1982, p. 1.
10. See n. 4 above. After their occupation of the Khasi highlands, the British
abolished seven states, which:
they turned into British territories. They also downgraded eight of the
states and placed them under lesser titular heads called Lyngdohs while five
others were placed under still lesser heads called Sirdars. The British territo­
ries comprised 31 villages in present-day Khasi Hills and the whole of
present-day Jaiñtia Hills. The territories in the Khasi Hills were placed
under Sirdars while those in Jaiñtia Hills were placed under Dolois. But
though the British interfered with the geographical aspect of Khasi himas,
they did not tamper with their democratic structure.
11. As quoted by Rymbai, See n. 4 above, p. xvii.
12. As quoted by Rymbai, ibid., p. xviii, David Scott was the British political
agent in north-east India.
 C H A P T E R 15

Supernatural Belief of the Kuki:

A Case Study of Witchcraft
and its Cures
D.L. HAOKIP

Edward Burnett Tylor defines ‘religion’ as supernatural. In this article,

supernatural is divided into religion and superstition. Ceremonies
to invoke Chung Pathen (God above) whose gender remain unde­
fined could be termed religious and other beliefs associated with
magical charms could be plainly termed as related to the supernatu­
ral or superstition (Gangte 1993). Witchcraft locally called kaose or
kao by the Kuki, constituted one of the supernatural beliefs of the
Kuki. Lhomi, (tigerman), demons, ghosts, or Thilha, the departed
soul of human were also believed to be supernatural. The Kuki
believed that there were human beings that possess the evil eye or
spirits that could enter the human body and cause illnesses or
suffering to the extent of death. Unlike other supernaturalism,
witchcraft is a secret culture whose existence can be traced to times
immemorial. But in the absence of contemporary records, it is
difficult to give it a time bracket regarding its origin, even today.
The priestly charms of the Kuki suggest two types namely—
gamkaose, that lived in the forest and inkao, these who inhabited
human beings. Unfortunately, not many wrote about it or even gave
a description of it for fear of being attacked by it or reasons not
known. This belief is handed down from parents to children mostly
and is still strong in the rural areas. In one’s interaction with forty
students of class I and II at Churachandpur in 2012, 99 per cent
were aware of it. This shows that oral tradition normally handed
300 D.L. Haokip
down from the remote past with exaggeration and modification to
draw the attention of younger generation is found very effective.
The dark side of it is the division of society into mitheng (holy) and
miboh (unholy or polluted). The holy section puts the blame for
most of their sufferings, diseases, like stomach aches, heartburn,
and skin allergy and even the cases of death on the unholy section
of the society. The Kuki believed that if kaose which cannot be
seen, touched or felt, licked someone with his or her tongue, the
victim’s skin started itching and their entry into one’s body caused
either heartburn, arthritis or stomach aches, etc. Now, was there
any definition or description of kaose among the Kuki? Among the
Kuki, the witch could be of any gender, but in English a witch is
always a woman.1 In the contemporary society it is called kaose­
mine, meaning evil spirits, who eat men. But being a silent culture
and tradition it will be difficult to answer without looking at the
different segments of their tradition. This article argues that the
origin of kaose among the Kuki of Manipur is rooted in practices
of cannibalism and the existence of it until today could be due to
lack of medical sciences, or infrastructure, fear of it’s attack and
lack of logical reasoning among them. The whole problem is that
one will not come across a witch among the Kuki despite a strong
indication of this belief.
To assess the origin of the Kuki and the traditional method of
curing illnesses caused by it, the oral traditions related with it,
and written accounts both in English and local dialects have been
taken into account. The biggest problem one has to encounter in
dealing with witchcraft among the rural population in general and
among the Kuki in particular, is due to the absence of registration
of the case at the concerned police station and courts. There is
report of trial but being conventional, it is difficult to accesses such
proceedings. According to Kathryn A. Edwards ‘the 19th and
20th century folklorists compiled volumes of “legends” about such
spirits and learned societies conducted censuses of apparitions,
historians distanced themselves from the academic study of ghosts
until the second half of the 20th century’.2
In his Notes on ‘The Thadou Kuki’, Shaw defines kaose ‘as those
people possessing the evil-eye and having magic powers of turning
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 301
into animals at wish and killing people’.3 T.S. Gangte’s work, The
Kukis of Manipur deals with the supernatural, rituals and ceremo­
nies as a chapter and categorizes them into aerial (Chung Pathen)
as benevolent and terrestrial deities like Gamhoise, Inmunse, Joumi,
Kulsamnu, Chomnu, Gamkao, Kaomei, Kaoseie, as evil spirits and
defines kaose as greedy spirits that can enter a person and convert
the victim into a different personality, like changing his voice, beha­
viour, strength and can be released by giving it what it wants.4
Among the Lushei Kuki (now Mizo), it is called Khawhring.
Shakespeare traces its origin to the wild boar. He claims that a
women who used its fat as hair oil acquired Khawhring and it got
multiplied among the women who shared her nam (a plaited cane
band for carrying loads) with the one who acquired it from wild
boar for the first time.5 The implication of it in the society and
how people killed a person accused of possessing Khawhringnei is
noted in this work. In his Monograph, The Lushei Customs and
Ceremonies, Parry defines it as ‘magic but of less deadly nature
than Dawi that is frequently found among women’. He states that
a Khawhringnei is a person, who possessed the evil eye and Dawi­
thiam is an active wizard. He also asserted that the chiefs were
never accused of being Dawithiam or Khawhringnei for they could
turn one out from his village and confiscate his property. 6 In
his work Thempu Ho Thu Lekhojam Haokips, accounted how it
originated from a Mithun that can speak, and got multiplied among
the Kuki from inter-marriage, and in different forms of social con­
tact among them. His works also recount the rites and rituals to
dispel the evil spirit from the body of the victims.7 Tarun Goswami’s
The Kuki Life and Lore claims that Vanthang, believed to be the
progenitor of Khongsai Kuki clans was an expert in witchcraft.8
Melford E. Spiro’s Supernaturalism in Burma deals with types of
supernaturalism, ghosts, demons, illnesses caused by them and those
who practised it. He claims that ‘epistemologically witches are not
different from ghosts, demons, and other spirits, and master witches
who are skilled in deception, acts like a pious Buddhist, saying his
beads, worshiping at Pagodas and so on’.9
Modern songs of 1980s, define kaose as cannibals. Based on this
premise, one would like to incorporate some works both in English
302 D.L. Haokip
and local vernaculars, that mention cannibal practices. One of the
songs sung by Jimmy Lamboi, contains the phrase tulai nungah
ho hi atamjo, kaose mine bang in achal sam atannun meaning ‘most
of today’s ladies cut their hair like a witch, who eat human flesh’.10
Gerini’s researches on Ptolemy’s Geography, trace the practice of
Cannibalism in Funan (Kamboya AD 245-50); eating lungs and
liver of dead foes, in Cochin in China by Salang or Halang tribes,
handing over of the assassin, Hwa-lu king Din to the populace to
eat in Tonkin in the year 1811, the practice of cannibalism among
the Wu-hu tribe of China, during AD 250-80. Famine brought
about cannibalism in China, 204, 138 and 114 BC and the practice
of it in Formosa, Java.11 The practice of it among the Kachins, or
Singphos (Chingphos) and Wab or Lawa also came to light at Fn. 2
of Gerini’s work.12 Local writer T. Haokip in his Thusim Le Lakoila
(Legends and Poetry) mentions how, Telthang, Thanglun and
Lunsong, a trio of hunters who set out to hunt wild games came
across kaosepu (male evil possessor), who took shelter in a mythical
cave, having the power to turn bones into a wild game and eat it
raw.13 Considering witches to be eaters of human flesh, it has one
common character called Lhomi (Lho = tiger and Mi = men). In
his Thusim Thum, Paokhohang Haokip, incorporated the story of
Ahshijolneng, Galngam and Moltinchan. The three stories recount
how they make friend with or encounter, a character half beast half
man, namely Hangsai, Khalvompu, and also Lhomi, who practise
cannibalism on and off.14 Lhomi is also related to the Kuki legend­
ary personality, like Ahshijolneng, Moltichan and also Lenchonghoi,
who were known for their beauty and good moral character. Yet, a
separate study on the supernatural beliefs of the Kuki awaits the
attention and interference of academicians till now.
The Kuki belief in supernaturalism has had one commonality—
witch and half-man half-beast, could transform from one form
to another. But on deeper investigation, one comes to know that
half- man or half-beast, locally called Lhomi, can transform into
either tiger or man but in the case of kaose, it can transform itself
into different forms, like insects, grasshoppers, snake, etc. But among
the Nagas of the Nagaland, half-man half-beast would mean those
people who can transform themselves into different forms as do
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 303
kaose, among the Kuki. The Meitei appellate Hingchabi (raw flesh
eater women) is also indicative of human flesh eater. The premise
shows that the word kaose appears to be an address to the people
who practise cannibalism. Even today, many people find difficulty
in keeping up with the doctors or dietician’s advice. Indeed, it is
difficult to give up one’s habit but stigmatizing the descendants of
cannibal practitioner if any, would be a wrong way or an erroneous
way of identifying. According to Kgatla, ‘Witchcraft is seen as a
manifestation of evil believed to come from a human source’.15

KAOSE IN THE ORAL TRADITIONS

OF THE KUKIS

Mention of kaose, in the oral tradition of the Kuki is vaguely re­

corded. Narrative on the account of the migration of Shongthu
from Khul 16 probably from a fortified village, a village towards the
rugged mountain, claim how they felt themselves tormented by
certain inexplicable spirits who they believed to have existed in the
surrounding environment. This story claims that Santhu, a stranger
was caught red handed in his attempt to steal the portion of meat
locally called Sachan, the customary meat division or portion at
the matrimonial ceremony of Thangpi and Seichin. Accusing him
to have possessed kao, Shongthu had cut-off his head but he was
brought alive by a flower based reptile chilchite nupa, and trans­
formed into a wild gibbon guldu.17 The informant whose name
appears at endnotes categorically, stated that ‘Santhu was a stranger,
who attended the matrimonial alliance and ate raw flesh’. On a
further query, he stated that ‘Santhu was Kaose, for he had eaten
raw flesh’. His version or notion indicates that a person, who ate
raw flesh was considered possessor of kao by the other who ate
cooked or boiled meat. Thus, this reminds one of the practice of
cannibalism quoted and mentioned in the Chin Hills region in the
early centuries of the Christian era. According to N.E. Parry, ‘such
tragic episode, warn them from taking the wild gibbon, but in
course of time, against the advice and counsel, of parents and grand­
parents, their descendant consumed wild gibbons and acquired
the dreaded evil spirits having the capability to cause harm to the flesh
304 D.L. Haokip
and souls of other normal human beings’. This version conveyed
certain information. Local historians, claim the emergence of
Shongthu between AD 900 and 950 on the basis of genealogical
chronicles.18 Considering the date of Shongthu migration as his­
torical events, it can be stated that the belief on ‘Kaose’ can be
dated much before the emergence of Shongthu.
The priestly charms to appease and/or terrorize kaose trace their
origin to mithun. This version claims that the kaose could enter
into the body of human beings after it was consumed. Paominlen
Haokip opines that, the mithun was cursed by the evil spirits of
the jungle gammangte leh gamgilte (spirits from the thick forest)
but the failure of caution on the part of people against consump­
tion of kao possessed animal that spoke like man resulted in the
spirit to reside the inside human body.19 If this is considered to be
the first time Kukis contact with kaose, one cannot push back be­
yond twelfth or thirteenth century AD.20 It contrasts sharply to the
theory mentioned above, but indicates how the priests structured
their charms though it had one thing in common—the origin of it
from animals. Vanthamjol or heavenly space also appears to be the
origin of spirits that can cause similar illness to mankind. The
priest while chanting his charms, says, ‘Thou had originated from
heaven, come across thick cloud, red cloud, and take shelter on
this tree, and cause harm to an innocent, who do not know that
thou have resided on this tree and cut it’.21 Attributing the origin
of evil spirits from heaven is not a unique thing to a particular tribe
but is a common phenomenon. Both the Jews and Christians trace
the root of Satan to lesser spirits or angels that rebelled against
God and were pushed down by the latter. According to Wikipedia
encyclopedia, the oldest references to demonic possession are from
the Sumerians, who believed that all diseases of the body and mind
were caused by ‘sickness demons’ called gidim or gid-dim. The priest
who practised exorcism in these nations was called ashipu (sor­
cerer) as opposed to an asu (physician). It is the spirits that shamanic
cultures also believe in demon possession. Shamans performed
exorcisms. In these cultures, diseases were often attributed to the
presence of a vengeful spirits22 (or loosely termed demons) in the
body of the patient. In the Lushei Hill version, the concept of
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 305
witchcraft first emerged from a woman who used the fat of an evil
possessor, a wild boar as hair oil, and later transmitted it to people
who subsequently came into contact with her in the form of hand
shake, sharing the same dress, comb and cane basket and nam, a
plaited cane fibred for carrying baskets.23
Another story narrated by Tonglam of Motbung, Sadar hills, claims
that a legendary personality of the Kukis. Galngam was believed
to have kept Doi-um (magic in gourd container) and Kao-um (Evil
spirit kept in gourd container). In one of his visited to another
village, he was left behind. He was put inside a stone by a woman
who practised black magic in the village he had visited and out of
helplessness, he collected the remnants of his own magic from his
nail, putting all those together, he was able to make a hole in that
stone with his fist, from where he conveyed a message to his wife
to bring his magic and witchcraft containers, to unfold the magic
done to him. His wife brought them to save him, but on her en­
quiry to locate the place where her husband was trapped, she was
told that Galngam had died longtime back. She returned home
and dropped those containers, in a river.24 The story claims that
the two gourd containers sang galngam in doi-um anei heya heya
heya he . . . meaning ‘Galngam has gourd magical containers Heya
heya he. . .’ Out of surprise, the Kom tribes collected the containers
from the water and summoned all the differently abled persons
from their village to break the magical gourd containers into pieces
and watch for the result. Thus, ‘they select differently able person­
ality having visual problem of their village, as for them to die is
better option. Against their expectation, all the differently abled
persons were cured by the magic, containers. The blind could see
and the lame could walk upright. The News of the miracle at­
tracted the rest of the population, who came forward and broke the
second gourd container, (witchcraft container). This version claims
that the kaose spread out from the Kom tribe to all other Kuki
in this way. The Kom tribe claims Shongthu/Chongthu as their
progenitor. The above discussion shows that there are different
stories for the origin of the same belief. But at what point of time
the events mentioned above had taken place, is absent in their
narration. The informers represent almost the entire hilly regions of
306 D.L. Haokip
Manipur. Now, based on their community or geographical location,
they narrated different stories relating it to the origin and evolu­
tion of kaose. This theory also holds some amount of reality
with respect to rituals. The Kuki priest compels people who have
problem’s with their vision to hit or break a gourd after he chants
his charms.
Their oral traditions were handed down by them in different
forms—legends, folklores and charms. It conveys but one clue with
regard to its origin and evolution. Santhu, a stranger, whose head
was cut- off, could be a man, who practised cannibalism. But how
did Shongthu who had identified him know that he was Kao? It
shows that the notion of it was already with them. In other words,
Santhu cannot be the first victim and or the originator of it. The
other problem here is how the dead body transforms into gibbons.
This simply shows how Shongthu and his subjects had encoun­
tered it and how people who despised, the counsel or advice of the
seniors or Upas, becomes kao by killing and eating gibbons. Now,
the story could be to induce one to obedience. It also hinted at pro­
tection of wildlife, particularly gibbons. The experience Shongthu
and his men acquired from the new environment laid the founda­
tion for some other rites and rituals as well. But those are not the
concern here. The belief is deeply embedded in their culture. They
believed that sharing of comb; hair-oil, and plaited canes, called
nam and matrimonial alliance, etc., are the mode of acquiring
it from possessors to non-possessors besides inheritance. If this
version is considered as the origin and multiplication of it, one
thing is certain. It is contiguous and by now everybody might
possess kao. Sharing of comb, hair oil, handshake sharing dresses,
salon, studying in the same school, etc., become a common prac­
tice with the advent of Christianity. Six senior citizens at Phailengkot
were interviewed in 2012 and they traced the origin of it from
travellers and a spring which suggest contiguity.25 The Naga and
Kuki believed that one who drank water from a specific spring,
consumed by ‘half-men, half-beast’ could be transformed as beast
in Naga Hills and Mani-pur. This also suggests contiguity.26
The word gam-kaose posed the belief on two types of kao. Forest
kao are identified with flying objects that bore fire,27 which seem
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 307
to be men bearing traditional torchlight in the forest or in the
village. Here one is concerned with those kaose who took abode in
the village. Attribution of a tree locally called Khengthing, to be the
abode of the kao, also made it more mysterious. One touch of it is
enough to get skin allergy. But, it indicates the role of environ­
ment in shaping their notions on kaose.

WITCH HUNTING AND PUNISHMENT

Witch hunting is the most secret part of this belief among the
Kuki. In brief, it can be said that identifying the villages, clans and
personality secretly was important. If one looks at witch hunting
in different parts of India and abroad, the kind of witch hunting
that were practised can be called nominal, though the consequences
can be felt in their customs, tradition and culture. According to
Galtung, ‘witch hunting is direct violence’.28 Silvia Federici says
that witch hunters are self-appointed persons who hunt women
resulting to the murder of accused and confiscation of their pro­
perties.29 In Europe, the absence of a trial of the witch by AD 1700
shows the decline of this belief.30 Recently, the involvement of land
mafias, who make use of superstition to grab the land and also rape
before killing the so-called witch came to light in news reports.31 It
is found that most people strongly believed in witchcraft and the
general perception is that it is the witchcraft practices that cause
all kinds of suffering, sickness and deaths in the village.32 The struggle
between science and superstition has been a long standing one
with each trying to overstep the other since centuries. A supersti­
tion is generally understood to be an irrational fear or reverence
for something which cannot be examined or testified by science.33
Superstition is associated with a wide range of phenomena, including
magic, ritual, myth, and occult practices commonly prevalent in
society and generally regarded as erroneous beliefs—irrational, primi­
tive and based on inadequate information. K.S. Singh, former Di­
rector General of the Anthropological Survey of India opines that,
the local people have larger view of shamanism (good and evil spirits),
but the European influence on it began to get identified with
black magic, white magic and witchcraft.34 Rupak Bhattacharjee
308 D.L. Haokip
opines that despite the arrival of Muslim migrants and the spread of
Christianity by American Missionaries it has not dispelled local
superstitions.35
In Northern Ghana, female traders have been accused of gain­
ing their wealth by turning souls into commodities.36 She traces
the influence of the European demonologies in Africa, likely re­
flecting on the influence of evangelization: associating it with night
flights shape shifting, cannibalism, the causing of sterility in women,
infant deaths, and the destruction of crops. In both cases, more­
over, the ‘witches’ are predominantly older women, poor farmers,
often living alone or women believed to be competing with men.37
According to Soma Chaudhuri, ‘explanations of intra-village mi­
cro-dynamics and conflicts, that went on before hunts provide clues
to answer the questions around witch problems. Indeed, personal
conflicts became manifest witchcraft accusations when individuals
involved in the conflict underwent some unnatural illness leading
to death’.38 Village-level quarrels between the women to control
household boundaries, feeding, child care, and other matters in
the domestic sphere were associated with witchcraft.39 The witch
was typically seen as responsible for causing illness or death in
small children, spouses, infants, or domestic animals. She had the
power to interfere with nature. She was capable of causing bar­
renness, miscarriages, or deformed birth. Petty conflicts, usually
between women, got transposed into a conspiracy of calculated
attacks of a witch hunt against the accused witch.40
What happens to the victim, when he or she is attacks by kaose ?
The attack results in loss of memories, change of personalities,
convulsions, fainting, vomiting, as if one were dying, and heart­
burn, drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, su­
perhuman strength and abnormality. They forced the kao to leave
once for all by giving inhuman treatment of varied degree to the
victim. The victim lay between life and death. The kind of treat­
ment given needs to be highlighted here. They cover the person
with a fishing net and use pliers or tongs to clip the victim’s thumb
or main toes. This is followed by interrogation to uncover, whose
kao or spirit has been responsible for attacking them. If the victim
sticks to his or her name, they upgrade the degree of torture, by
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 309
saying ‘we are not here to be fooled’. Tell the truth and we will
release you from punishment. When the victim comes back to his
senses, they say, the kao who attacked you is very clever, for it did
not reveals its identity. The same is the case among the the Rabha,
Hajong, Mishing, Bodo and the Adivasi community of Assam.
The Assam tribals also covere the victim with hunting net and
poked with a sharp object till he/she revealed the name of the
witch.41 Sometimes, when the victim whose memory is erased due
to the reasons not mention here, can tell them the name of a per­
son, whom he suspects to be a kaose possessor in the village or
neighbouring village. This inhuman treatment is purposely given
to identify the kaose. They believe that once the accused is identi­
fied, one can kill by changing the position he/she sleeps in his or
her bed. The statement indicates murder of the accused in the
past. Their belief gives one but a clue about the witch. They be­
lieved that the Kao possessor is asleep at his or her residence
while his or her kao is inside the victim’s body. Often the victims
were possibly tortured to the extent of death. On the death of the
victim, if the spies reported the death of the accused, the family
members were humiliated to the extent of pulling down, his or
her houses and immediately expelled from the village. The Tangkhuls
do not allow him or her to walk proudly in their midst, to curtail
their power.42 In the Lushai hills, boi females were identified as
‘possessed’ by evil spirits.43 It is believed that the anger on non­
performance of sacrificial offerings the kao could take over the bodies
of the non-sacrificer and consume human beings and livestock in
the neighbourhood. Such accusations were tantamount to murder.
When levelled against a deserted wife or ‘orphans’, who is not in a
position to sacrifice animals for the recovery of the illness, the person
often had to seek refuge at the chief ’s house. Unless the chief gave
protection to them, corporeal death did not restore such a boi to
personhood. For no family members dug the grave of such a per­
son, feed the ‘spirits’ that caused death with flesh or fruits of the
earth, or conducted the annual rakhatla ceremonies, the dead
person’s spirit remained excluded from the blissful condition to
which skilled hunters, warriors and commoner were gathered
(Pialral) or mithikho (hades). To be brief, witch hunting among
310 D.L. Haokip
the Kuki was very secret. First the accused evil possessor was
identified by torturing him or her. On the advice of learned man
(priest) the village council framed charges against him or her and
expelled them from the village. The accused families had to bear
the stigma wherever they settled. The implications were never taken
into account and like a silent river this belief killed the moral of
innocent and mostly poor family.

PROCEDURES OF CURING BY THE

VILLAGE MEDICINE MAN

Usually, the victim’s family engaged or called the priest to avert mis­
fortune through a ritual or form of exorcism.44 The ritual used to
drive it off from the body of a man suggests that kaose lived in the
village since it possessed mithun, (selpao) and from them went on
to men.45 The village priest performed the following rituals to avert
or dispel its attack. Nehboh (throwing off edible items): the priest
and kin of the sick person collected pieces of every edible item46
and placed them on a mat and threw them away after he chanted
his charms to appease the kaose. If, the victim did not recover after
this ritual, the rite of Sagojon was performed to drive away kaose.
Besides all the edible items, collected, they erected two posts on
the road that led directly to the house of the sick. A bamboo con­
tainer containing all the edible items and the sacrificial black
chicken was tied to the stick placed over the two posts at the height
of 8-9 ft. The priest asked the evil spirits to consume the displayed
items. He pleaded with the spirits to release the sick immediately.
Thereupon, the sick gradually became well. Otherwise, the last
option was to perform Khengsumlhah (to trap the kao in a pit).
They believed that this could kill kao. It was the highest and the
most powerful rite performed in favour of the victim. Interest­
ingly, the priest invited the kaose from different Kuki clans by
chanting his charms and putting pieces of meat47 in a pit prepared
for the purpose. He let his attendant hit and kill in case spiders,
grasshoppers and ants which entered the purposely dug pit.48 The
Kuki of Manipur believed that kaose 49 always came in the form
of insects. Otherwise, they put an effigy of the kaose (human
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 311
figurine) made of beewax inside a pit and struck with a wooden
club. The effigy is permanently buried at the ritual spot. This
ritual is similar to the magic practice among some tribes of
Arunachal Pradesh. This is the art of capturing the soul of living
and torturing him or her to die in course of time. This is an
instance of black magic.
According to Aung-Thwin:
Hindu-Buddhist notions of transmigration embedded in the doctrines
of karma coexisted with the veneration of ‘spirits’ in many Southeast Asian
societies precisely because there were always some deaths, which had not been
‘fed’ the appropriate libations by living kinsmen, and hence were believed to
trouble the living. Women boi remained especially vulnerable not merely to
charges of ‘assault sorcery’, but to charges of remaining hungry spirits roaming
the forests on earth in multiple temporalities. The vestigial traces of such
undignified deaths are encased in late twentieth-century tales, ‘who’ entwine
captivity, food-production and freedom into a single narrative. Such as the
one in which a mother spirit (phungpuinu), whose spirit children were killed
and who, herself captured by men, had to buy her freedom by conjuring up
implements that produced plentiful food for her captors. Without the ability
to conjure food for them, and at death, remaining unfed by the living, female
and male boi (Saibuanga, Liana and the woman Buangi) alike expressed to
Fraser their fears of ‘dying as a slave.

Rowlands’ translation of 1903 put it; this god’s invisibility was

explained in terms of his being a spirit. Chatterjee opines it to be
a watershed in the Christianization of the Lushai Hills that from
1907 onwards, the spirit that possessed was that of Jesus, the sac­
rificed son, the ritual lamb.50

THE IMPACT

The belief in witches was deeply embedded in their custom and

culture. Here one would like to highlight the implication of it upon
matri-monial alliance and also on the village polity. A marriage
proposal needed a lengthy introduction including narrating gene­
alogies from the remote past. This implied scanning of the parents
and their ancestors. If one of the families fell under suspicion, it was
rejected summarily. The in-depth investigation regarding marriage
312 D.L. Haokip
proposals to someone with a less known family background cor­
relates such beliefs. Scanning of evil possessor before marriage
proposals was found very intensive in the past. Such thorough
investigations could be one factor why marrying maternal uncle’s
daughter is strongly prevalent even today. This avoids intensive
scanning. But their gossip became secret and was ample reason to
give stigma to an innocent. For, if the parent to parent relation was
rough, stigmatization of an innocent youth could easily be made
to happen. As far as the impact in the society was concerned, mar­
riage as a social institution was one of the most affected one. Mar­
riage proposals took place only after thorough scanning. Parents
can force their sons and daughters to avoid loved ones on the ground
of a mere suspicion. If a man married a girl, whose parents or
ancestors were accused at one point of time, he is isolated from his
relatives and friend circles silently. Thus, it shattered human minds
and thence social bonds.
The belief also centred on the poor subjects of a villages belong­
ing mainly to other clans. Only poor subjects, women and clans
other than the Chief ’s clans are accused. The Chief and his rela­
tives, his council members, and friend circles, were never accused
of possessing the belief. This could be one of the reason why for­
mation of new villages, and migrations were very common during
the colonial period. The inter-clans conflicts among the Kukis
during the colonial periods can not be isolated from this belief.
When a village accused another village, of possessing it, inter­
village war or feud was sure to follow. Tribal feuds of course flared up
for other reasons as well. A village calling the other villagers kaose
could not be ruled out.51 Naturally, this notion of asserting oneself
as holy and others unholy would have characterized the Kuki villages
and many other tribes. Such beliefs would cultivate hatred, ten­
sions, bad relations between villages and communities, thereby
sowing the tendency of forming new identities, or separation from
one another, leading to complication of dialects and cultural fab­
rics. The present scenarios of the tribal situations in Manipur have
direct bearing on such an atmosphere. The language affinity among
the tribes of the Chin Kuki and Mizo shows one foundation upon
which division of rich cultural heritage took place. The Naga lives
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 313
in large villages, but each village dialects is different from others in
most of the cases. Thus, kaose as a supernatural belief would be a
stumbling block to socio-economic development.
Indeed, most of the ancient communities of the world traced
the origin of demonic or malevolent spirits to many mythical ani­
mals,52 assuming that they existed. Women cutting hair straight
on the forehead,53 putting too much lipstick, or appear very fash­
ionable; and people eating too much at odd hours; over consump­
tion of red meat or raw meat were some of the characteristics of
persons identified with kaose. In other words, these people were
already supposed to be possessed by evil spirits in normal condition.
They believed that these type of people having an odd status, posi­
tion and character are often possessed by the evil spirit irrespective
of clans or tribes. The belief in a large number of spirits, affected
the economy and society in a very deep-rooted manner. A person,
accused of possessing evil was given different treatment everywhere.
As mentioned above, people who were not in a position to sacrifice
animals or perform the requisite rituals were compelled to become
the household slaves or Boi of the chief, with a status, almost simi­
lar to those of Sudras and other undefined or outcastes. The worst
part of this belief was that if the possessor of evil or victim, if killed
in corporal punishment, his or her soul remained unfed and not
entitled to mithikho (heaven), a blissful place, where the soul
of warriors, common men, and skill hunters were.54 In the field
surveyed, data gathered that indicated killing of the victim while
driving out the demon or evil spirits, locally called kaose in many
of the Kuki villages.
This belief caused a hurdle to colonial rule. R. Kapzinga said
that it becomes a common problem to each and every household
and to villages. For, a possessor of evil was not allowed to live with
non-possessor during the colonial days. One had not heard expul­
sion and trial by the village authority for a number of decades but
the present Kuki Society witnesses expulsion and trial in some
villages.55 Thus, the victim, who was innocent, became a refugee
event in his/her own homestead, land and territory. The girl ac­
cused of it had to lost her beloved and parents had to part with
their disobedient son or daughter who married the accused. The
314 D.L. Haokip
hatred that developed was partly responsible for the formation of
many new villages as stated above. Inter-village feuds and cutting
off communication between one village and another could be a big
factor for the emergence of tonal differences among the Kuki. Lan­
guage expression and pronunciation in due course, could lead to
the growth of newer identities that stood against the formation
of larger feudal states or territories than what they controlled. It
narrowed their world view and contact with other ethnic groups
would perhaps be another problem that stood against develop­
ment. This was because the village chief and his kinsmen were
never charged of it. In a discussion with J. Guite, the Sukte and
Khongsai feuds that took place in the nineteenth century seemed
to be the repercussion of such belief system. The conversion of
the tribal to the Christianity also removed the position of the
traditional priest, who found out the culprits or kaose who was
behind it. The post-colonial society attempted to cure it, through
prayer.56

CONCLUSION

This belief is very demanding. The rich can afford whereas the
poor are reduced to the status of slaves in pre- and colonial days.
The chief protected them from corporal punishments. However,
the truth of it can be questioned here. Did the evil escaped from
the possessor when the victim took refuge in the house of the chief?
Was it a kind of recruitment processes for workforce; a tool for
parents to control headstrong children, and/or a mind game to
shatter the mind of helpless people; widow, orphan, etc. What
happened when the chief took boi females for marriage? Didn’t
their son become an evil possessor? Such purposefully social con­
structs and bias operated in the society in the past for many years
and is still persisting in the remote areas and among those with a
weak mentality. This is due to the ignorance of the innocent people
who are lacking basic knowledge in the field of sciences and social
sciences. This belief is a social construct with the help of which the
rich took advantage of the poor section. The above discussion shows
that, this belief sowed the seed of hatred and disharmony secretly
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 315
as it existed secretly in society. In due course of time, it became a
silent killer, thereby disintegrating the social fabric. It became a
big social barrier in the past and even today. As a belief system,
they considered many of their neighbouring community as im­
pure and thus become a barrier for them. The blames were mostly
shifted to the women, the poor and stranger and also killed many
in the process of healing or chasing out the spirits from the pos­
sessor. Thus, a study on it is related to ethnic groups, gender issue
and also issues related to human rights. The theories of the origin
of the kaose, among the Kuki do not hold validity to the concept of
kao they believe now. The mode of transferring or acquiring it,
was contiguous. For sharing of combs, hair oil, saloon, beauty par­
lor, taxi, buses, class rooms, etc., in the modern and post-modern
ages, would have served as an agent for spreading it. The worst
part is the possibility of people who do not believe in it but take
advantage of the belief for vested interest. This is because people
who strongly feared acquiring of it would avoid rape in the course
of witch hunting and also gain from the property of the accused.
Traditionally, the Kuki did not hold trial in the village court but
identified the accused and the latter took precaution against them
instead of ransacking their property. If a person was suspected to
be a witch, they wisely planned and of course expelled them from
the village. Perhaps, corrupting this belief system or taking advan­
tage of it for vested interest needs were rampant. The absence of
strong and vigilant laws to protect the victims were absence in the
customary laws of the ethnic community.

NOTES

1. Gerald B. Gardener,Witchcraft Today, United Kingdom First Scan, 2002,

p. 7.
2. Kathryn A. Edwards, The History of Ghosts in Early Modern Europe: Recent
Research and Future Trajectories University of South Carolina, History
Compass10/4/(2012): 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00840.x pp. 353-66.
3. William Shaw, Notes on the Thadou Kuki, Guwahati: Spectrum, reprint,
1997, p. 68.
316 D.L. Haokip
4. T.S. Gangte, The Kukis of Manipur, New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House,
1993, pp. 161-2.
5. Shakespeare, The Lushai Kuki Clans, Aizawl: TRI, 1988 p. 111.
6. N.E. Parry, The Lushei Custom and Ceremonies Award, Aizawl: TRI reprint,
1988, p. 18.
7. Letkhojam Haokip, Thempu Ho Thu, Churachandpur, Tribal Research
Institute, Imphal, 2000, pp. 47-52.
8. Tarun Goswami, The Kuki Life and Lore, North Cachar Hills, District
Council, Halflong, Assam, 1985, p. 295.
9. Melford E. Spiro, Burmese Supernaturalism, New Jersey: University of
Chicago, 1967, pp. 21, 23.
10. All India Radio Imphal Station, Thadou Modern Song Section, Date of
Recording, 18 May 1982, cut I(one).
11. G.E. Gerini, Researches on Ptolemy’s Geography, New Delhi: Oriental Reprint,
1974, pp. 827-8.
12. Ibid., p. 660 fn 2.
13. T. Haokip, Thusim le Lakoila, Imphal Manipur, 1998, pp. 2-3.
14. Paokhohang Haokip, Thusim Thum, Imphal 1998, pp. 45-50.
15. Kgatla, et al., Crossing Witch Craft Barriers in South Africa: Exploring witch­
craft accusation, Causes and Solutions, SANP AD Research report, 2003,
p. 5.
16. The word Khun or khul in Manipur still signifies villages. Perhaps the word
khun is a corrupted word from khul. Khulkhun is name of a village belong­
ing to caste or Loi near Leimakhong in Manipur.
17. Interview with Hemkhojang Haokip (90) of Kholmun village, Chura­
chandpur on 24-5 October 2012.
18. The emergence of Shongthu from the Khul between AD 900 and 950 is
calculated based on the generation that descended from him until the
present.
19. M. Paominlen, ‘They believed in Malevolent Spirit: In Kaose’, in North
East India History Association 32nd Proceedings, Agartala, 2011, p. 570.
20. William Shaw made a rough calculation on the birth of Thadou, Haokip
and Kipgen to be around this century.
21. Letkhojam Haokip, Thempu Ho Thu, Churachandpur, 2000, p. 33.
22. Barbara Ambros Reviewed of: Vengeful Spirits or Loving Spiritual Compan­
ions?: Changing Views of Animal Spirits in Contemporary Japan Author(s):
Source: Asian Ethnology, vol. 69, no. 1 (2010), pp. 35-6.
23. Shakespeare, The Lushai Kuki Clans, Aizawl: TRI, 1988 p. 110.
24. Interview with Tongkholam Singsit (90) of Motbung village Sadar Hills,
Manipur on the 20 October, 2012, at his residence. He was born and
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 317
brought up at Jampi Village, Tamenglong district and migrated to Motbung
in 1993 due to Naga Kuki conflicts.
25. Interview six senior citizens, on 20 October 2012 at Phailengkot village
Sadar Hills.
26. D.L. Haokip, ‘Mythical History: Lhomi (Half Tiger-Half Man)’, in A.
Koireng Singh et al., Knowing Manipur from the Endogenous Perspective,
Imphal: Centre for Manipur Studies, vol. I, 2014, p. 25.
27. T.S. Gangte, The Kukis of Manipur, New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House,
.
1993, pp. 161-2.
28. J. Galtung, ‘Cultural Violence’, Journal of Peace Research, vol. 27, no. 3,
1990, pp.291-305.
29. Silvia Federici, Witch-Hunting, Globalization and Feminist Solidairity in
Africa Today, New York, 2008, p. 1.
30. Jonathan Barry et al., Witch Craft in Early Modern Europe, Cambridge
University Press, 1996, p. 12.
31. The Sentinel.com, Guwahti, 10 October 2014.
32. Rachana Shrestha, Witch-Hunting: A Study of Cultural Violence against
Women with Reference to Nepal and India, The Hague: Institute of Social
Studies, Graduate School of Development Studies, 2004, p. 33.
33. Joya Chakraborty and Anjuman Borah, ‘Witch Hunting in Assam:
Strategising Alternative Media for Women, Empowerment and Overcom­
ing Supertition’, Journal of North East India Studies, vol. 3(2), July-Decem­
ber 2013, p. 16.
34. The Sentinel.com, Guwahti, 10 October 2014.
35. Ibid.
36. Silvia Federici, Witch-Hunting, Globalization and Feminist Solidairity in
Africa Today, New York, 2008, p. 8.
37. Ibid., p. 10.
38. Soma Chaudhuri, Women as Scapgoat: Witchcraft Accusations and Women
asTargets in Tea Plantations of India, http://www.sagepublications.com
p. 1219.
39. Ibid., p. 1220.
40. Ibid.
41. Joya Chakraborty and Anjuman Borah, ‘Witch hunting in Assam: Strate­
gising Alternative Media for Women Empowerment and Overcoming
Superstition’, in Journal of North East India Studies,vol. 3(2), July-December
2013, pp. 15-24.
42. Ng. Mataisang, ‘The Religious Life of the Naga Tribes of Manipur with
special reference to the Tangkhuls’, unpublished PhD Thesis, submitted
to the Department of History Manipur University, 2002, p. 97.
318 D.L. Haokip
43. Indrani Chatterje, ‘Slaves, Souls and Subjects in a South Asian Borderland’,
Rutgers University, pp.15-16.
44. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, accessed on 17 October 2012.
45. Letkhojam Haokip, Thempu Ho Thu, Churachandpur, 2000, p. 52.
46. They collect dried meat, fish, rice, chilli, salt, etc., and place on a mats. They
put beneath and above the roadside after chanting the charms. The sick
person spit his or her saliva over the ingredients and throws away by the
roadside so for the evil spirits coming from different directions to collect
and enjoy.
47. Holding the pieces of meat the priest randomly called the kaose from all the
different clans of the Kukis. After mentioning one or two clans the priest
would sing: chonpi akijil te, hanpi akijil te; mi akim tai, juchih aneng e, saba
aneng e; nang kalam me, tampi asu e, tamla asu e which means ‘People are
now going to perform merit feast; everyone have arrived, all the rice-beer is
ready, by now, pieces of meat are abundant, all dance, touch the front and
back door of the house’.
48. The priests attendant make a ‘log’ similar to chilly grinder from ‘Kheng­
thing’.The priest aggrandizes the animal sacrifice, cuts its liver into several
pieces to call forth the kaose that cause one’s sickness. The priest’s attendant
then makes a pit in which the log or grinder could be posted. While calling
kaose if spider or grasshopper enter the pits where pieces of meat is thrown
in, the priest attendant or helper who holds khengtum the smooth log
under his cloth/garment quickly places the log and hits vertically (Thempu
Ho Thu, pp. 51-2).
49. The word kaose has close bearing with the Meitei word hingchabi. Among
the Meiteis, this type of spirit is called lamlai forest or bad deities who
harm to human beings by giving malafic effects.
50. Indrani Chatterje, Slaves, Souls and Subjects in a South Asian Borderland,
Rutgers University, pp.15-16, p. 19.
51. When the writer of this paper went to another village for class II (two)
standard competition Organized by Sadar Hills Autonomous District
Council, in 1983, his aunty instructed him not to take any edible things in
the public, to avoid the evil eye. She said ‘all the villagers, where you are
supposed to go for examination are kaose. Take care and do not eat any
edible items in the public’. This advice still lingers in my mind.
52. Richard L. Dieterle, Buffalo Spirits, pp. 2-3.
53. All India Radio Imphal Station, Thadou Modern Song Section, Sung
by Jangkholam one of the top singer Date of Recording, 18 May 1982,
cut I (one).
54. Online Tribune, Chandigargh, India Jalhandar Edition 22 September 2012.
 Supernatural Belief of the Kuki 319
55. At K. Salbung village, Phailen and Pangshang of Churachandpur district,
Manipur there is report of trial. At K. Salbung village authority trial
there was a case related to a witch on 23 August 2014, 25 August 2014,
26 August 2014 and 29 August 2014 and the accused was forced to
leave the village. The trial was preceded by personal conflicts between
individuals.
56. The Kuki who are now Christian took the help of traditional priest
belonging to the Valley, particularly the Meitei Maibas, whenever they
felt they were attacked by witch or sorcerer. Maibas, traditional priest
and sooth sayers are against the doctrine of Christianity. Church pastor or
Christian leaders too look forward to healing ministry as alternative for the
sick believed to be caused by witch.
 C H A P T E R 16

‘White Magic’ Practices of the

Adivasis of Jungle Mahals:
A Different World View
NIRMAL KUMAR MAHATO

This article seeks to shed light on the magic rituals, the botanical
and pharmacological properties of folk medicines and psychic tech­
nique used by medicine men among the Adivasis1 (Oraon, Munda,
Kheria, Birhor, Santhal and Kurmi) of Jungle Mahals. On the na­
ture of magic, social science contains two main traditions: Edward
Burnett Tylor and James George Frazer observe that magic is
superstition—an evolutionarily early stage of science, inadequate and
misleading. According to Emile Durkheim, magic is immoral and
anti-social. Here, religion solidifies the group, so magic is indi­
vidualistic. Both traditions, thus, deny an analysis of the lives of
peoples where magic plays a significant role, However, the ethnog­
raphers have mentioned that the theoretical dichotomies of magic/
science and magic/religion do not features the real life of non-
Western societies. Max Weber perceived that a distinctive feature
of Western civilization is hostility to magic rooted in Judaeo-Chris­
tian religion. Sig-mund Mowinckel, Murray and Rosalie Waxes
argue that magic is best comprehended, not as rite or cult, but as
a world view quite different from the rational views of the world
distinctive of Judaeo-Christian religions or Western science.2 While
discussing the cultures of Jungle Mahals communities, Ranabir
Samaddar questions Frazerian concept of unilinear development
from magic to science via religion as it denies the authenticity of
the direct experiences of the colonized people. He argues that
322 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
magic, religion and science remain intertwined among these com­
munities in this region.3

MAGIC, MAGICIANS, BODY AND DISEASE

In general, for practical purposes, Adivasi magical practitioners may
be classified as follows:

A. PRACTITIONERS OF GOOD INTENT

(‘WHITE’ MAGICIANS)
1. Medicine Men or Healers or Folk Doctors:
(a) Physicians (they include herbalists, exorcisers, religious
healers).
(b) Physiotherapist
2. Other Magicians: Priests, Exorcists.

B. PRACTITIONERS OF EVIL INTENT (‘BLACK’ MAGICIANS):

WITCHES AND SORCERERS
Adivasi Notion of Body
A closer inspection of body as a physical or cultural construct has
become a scholarly inquiry. The scholarly interest in body and its
various states such as texts and artefacts help us to explore the
historical complexities related to human form and the relationship
between physical and social body. The serious scholarly enquiry
on the body is relatively new, and its incorporation into main­
stream historical research is also a recent phenomenon.4 The Adivasi
notion of body and disease has been least discussed from the his­
torical context. The aim of this article is to explore the ways in
which the Adivasi communities (Oraons, Kherias, Santhals) of
Jungle Mahals,5 engage with their bodies.

Various Bodies in History

The history of the Western body was constructed in terms of a
‘modern’ body, a ‘medieval’ body, a ‘classical’ body, and so on. In
sixteenth-century Europe, the body was perceived to be a material
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 323

case for the soul, which was related with the universe in microcosmic
way and located in a fractal condition. The body was viewed in the
nineteenth century as a functional material mechanism. A medi­
eval body was thought to be a microcosm which indicated the
excellence of God’s creation. As the modern body was described
like a machine, it was conceptualized as ‘bounded, interchangeable,
and formed of distinct, functional parts, first via the writings of
Descartes and others and anatomical dissection and, later, through
new practices of discipline and spatial bounding both at home
and at work’.6 Some historians of ‘the modern body’ sought to find
out the process of developments through which the body became
ever more civilized7 and disciplined.8 As factories, prison and en­
closures paved the way to create bounded and disciplined bodies,
people could easily perceive the body as a machine. The mechanistic
view of the body which was inherent in industrial discipline and
the emerging medical knowledge inherent in the ‘birth of the clinic’9
became widespread throughout eighteenth and nineteenth century.
In ancient Indian context, the body was generally thought be equal
with the cosmos. The Tantric understanding of body, as shown
by Sthaneshwar Timalsina, comprised of five essential concepts:
(i) The body of the deity is constructed with mantras.
(ii) As the deity emanates in the form of the mandata, the body
of the deity is the mandata itself.
(iii) The human body is thought to be a temple (deha-devagrha).
(iv) The human body is considered to be cosmos (pinda­
brahmanda).
(v) The body is an expression of bliss and awareness (cidananda).10
In Santhali language, horom means body. According to Kherwal
Bintis (oral narration), Marangburu is the creator of the human
being, animate and inanimate objects of earth. All human beings
are the po ponga (generation of offspring) of Pilchu Haram and
Pilchu Burhi who were regarded as the first father and mother of
the human race and gradually, they expanded their po ponga to
form the basis of human race.11
Men are born and all other things living or inanimate are born
side by side for the fulfilment of desire and realization of life by
324 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
the human being. Also happiness and sorrow to appeared on earth
like a life cycle. It is reflected in a binti 12:
Ot Janan lan
Dubighas janam lan;
Manmi janam lan,
Duck haun janam lan
Achur bihur janan lan
Manmi janam lan,
Raah jaung janam lan

[This song implies that the earth, plants and durba grass were born. Men were
born as well as the elements of sorrow and sufferings followed. Silver and copper
were created. Men were born as also feelings of suffering followed.]

With his protective weapon samanam kapi, Marangburu worked

for human well-being and prosperity. Jaher Era relieves people
from sorrows and suffering. According to a Santhal binti, Lita had
eaten and drunk in a house of a human being before the purifica­
tion ritual of childbirth was over. So Lita did not return home
as his elder sister Jaher Era disapproved of his activity. Jaher Era
was searching her brother and ultimately he was found at Jalapuri
as a king of that kingdom. She requested her brother to return to
their home but he refused. Lita argued that gods/goddesses have
to show a tolerant attitude towards human beings. As a human
being, he/she make minor mistakes and God forgave him for
that. 13
In the process from birth to manhood, every turning point of
the Adivasis was marked by ceremonies and magico-religious rites
which were designed to ensure safety and prosperity to the indi­
vidual, family and the community. Adivasi women tattoo their
arms, chest and neck below the collar bone and the legs just above
the ankles. They also tattoo their feet and forehead. At the age of
ten or twelve, Adivasi boys get nine cicatrices or scars raised on the
dorsal aspect of the radial side of their forearms, usually left fore­
arms. The old men claim that these marks distinguish their Adivasi
fellows. They followed some rites and ceremonies in order to pro­
tect them from evil influences and supernatural dangers faced at
birth and during childhood. The way one maintains one’s body is
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 325

the most fundamental aspect of health. Adivasi women maintain

long tresses which exhibits a remarkable efficiency. A song enu­
merates twenty distinctly defined tresses.14 For a long time, only
men could have their hair cut. Among the medical sciences, the
cutting of hair occupies a significant place in history. Therefore, it
can be argued that the Adivasi bodies were considered as socio­
cultural construct.

NOTION OF DISEASE

In the case of the San Community of South Africa, the supernatural

potency (n/om), as mentioned in their cosmology, is ‘unpersonified,
incorporeal, immaterial, invisible and powerful’ force. Lorna Marshal
compared it with the features of electricity. Like electricity, super­
natural potency is not visible and a powerful force and it to ap­
peared as light, heat and kinetic energy. This force does not spread
out either in the air or in the Universe. However, its presence is
seen both in animate and inanimate object. The concept of super­
natural potency of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals is very similar
with this concept. The Oraons belived that there were different
types of bhuts or spirits such as household bhut, sept bhuts, village
bhuts, village devtas, wandering bhuts, common devtas. The house­
hold bhuts were baranda, chigrinod, panchbal and nasre. The sept
bhut was khut nasan. Village bhuts were khunt, bhula and churil.
The village deities were Pat, Chala Pacho or Sarna Burhi. The com­
mon devtas were Dhartimai (the mother earth) and sun god or
Singh-bonga. They considered earth both as a devta and as a bhut.
The village priest dealt with both the deities and spirits of the
village landscape whilst the Ojha dealt with all the mischievous
spirits who were responsible for all kinds of sickness and some
spirits who had been disregarded by people.15 The tribal gods and
spirits resided in the forests, hills and rivers. Thus nature became
sacred to them. Every tribal village was governed by a sacred grove
(sarna /garam than) which was a part of the original forest. Every
tribal group had the concept of a sacred grove. Their deities were
usually in the form of unshaped stone lumps, old woods, water
bodies, etc. If anybody violated the rules and regulation of the
326 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
sacred groves imposed on their social institutions, it was believed
that the person would suffer from serious illness. They paid re­
spect and were afraid of gods and ancestral spirits. It was not only
a place of worship and performance but also served the socio-cul­
tural and religious purposes.16
As the belief in some unnatural or super or supra-natural entity
(such as ghost spirit, jin, etc.) by different communities was very
common, the acts of bonga (spirits) was the key factor for the
occurrence of any unbalance in the human body, i.e. disease. There
were three types of bongas:
(i) Singbonga (the supreme bonga) people thought if they would
perform their religious activities timely and properly they
might lead a decent life as good human beings;
(ii) Haparan Bongas and Simon Bongas: They were regarded as
the ancestral bongas or the benevolent spirit taking genesis
after death of their ancestors. They acted as the barriers of
body like skin which protected the body from outside envi­
ronment;
(iii) Bongas: The malevolent spirits (bongas) were always responsi­
ble for inflicting disease.17
There was a general belief in most tribal societies that unmixed
good or unmixed evil was not desirable in life of an individual and
also in the society. When this balance was broken in an individual’s
life, there was disease and ill health, followed inexorably by death.
Similarly when the balance was upset in society, there was a quarrel,
disharmony among families and groups in the villages and lastly
epidemics and calamities befell on the whole community. If an
epidemic came, men and cattle started dying. The villagers deserted
the entire village and migrated to a new place to avoid misery.18
When the Kherias observed that a draught was knocking at the
door, the white magician deonra or kalo would follow a ritual. At
first a jitia-pipar (Ficus religiosa) tree, possibly on the side of a rock
or another higher place was chosen. In the morning, the deonra
tied an unbleached cotton thread several times round the trunk of
the tree at the height of 4 ft above the ground. Village women
collected water with new earthen vessels from springs, tanks or
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 327

wells, led kalo’s wife and returned to the selected site with vessels full
of water. Kalo’s wife would first throw water over the tree from the
rock. Other women would then throw water five or seven times
over the tree which would fall on kalo’s wife’s head. It looked as if it
were raining. Kalo’s wife would do the same thing to the village
women. After it was done they returned home and prepared food.
The male members would go for the ceremonial hunt. The
worship of a rain god was also common among other tribes.19

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

The folk doctors or ojhas or mati or dewair (for Oraons) followed
three methods for treatment: Bhesaja chikitsa (herbal treatment),
mantra treatment (hymn treatment), daibya chikitsa (spiritual treat­
ment). The Kherias called the white and black magicians deonra
and dain bisha respectively. Some ojhas treated mental illness with
cures like isolation, restraint, threats and drugs.
Herbal treatment of the tribes may be subdivided into three
categories: (i) Oral administration: This treatment was performed
by using pills, powder and infusion. There are another kind of drugs
which are used externally. (ii) Massage or physiotherapy (iii) Con­
tact therapy: This type of treatment was adopted by hanging the
medicine (root, leave, plant part, hair, nail, any other part of an
animal’s body, etc.) directly or in some tiny package (e.g. maduli )
tied to cotton thread. From a folk song this type of treatment can
be found:
Bandhaake saile Jwar
Kaa haan pawha ojha ghar
Bandhe debon naagalila sikad
One sajane 20

[The song means ‘My darling is suffering from insane fever. The doctor is
not available now; I know that the unbeatable medicine of this fever is the
root of a tree named naagalia.]

The eminent botanist, Valentine Ball was astonished to realize

the deep knowledge of some folk doctors regarding the specific
virtues of certain plants.21 In the heat treatment method, a red hot
328 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
hoe was used for heating and a thick layer of leaves of calotropis
(Akand ) is placed on the spot.22
Mantra chikitsa (hymn treatment) was a treatment through chant­
ing mantras (hymn). 23 These are divided into four: (a) Para,
(b) Pasyanti, (c) Madhyama and (d) Baikhari. The ojhas had
created mantras on this type of treatment.24
When a man falls ill an ojha was called in to ascertain which
spirits are the cause of illness. He comes in the evening with his
winnowing fan and a handful of rice. He examines the patient
first, feels his pulse, and gives him some medicine. In order to
create a suitable environment, he follows some rituals and starts his
mantra treatment. He squats cross-legged on the ground. On his
lap he has the winnowing fan with some rice in it, and close at
hand an unlit lamp. His left hand holds the end of the winnowing
fan, and with his right hand, he stirs the rice, turning it round and
round as if to mix it up well. He shuts his eyes, throws back his
head, and in a low nasal voice, invokes all the local deities. Then,
he chants mantras and incantations for a long time. During the
time the house is quite silent and everyone watches and listens.
Suddenly the ojha gets excited and bursts into lively incantations,
turning his head right and left, and stirring the rice with frenzy
until he falls into a trance, in which it seems to him that he is
wandering about the fields, rocks and ravines of the village in search
of the spirits. As he sees them, he calls each by name. When the
guilty spirits shake the winnowing fan, he lights his lamp to make
sure that he has discovered the right spirits. This ritual is known as
ras-batti-kar na. When the sick man gets all right after his first
attempt, he asks for a fowl which he sacrifices to the spirits. When
other people of the house also get sick he concludes that the spirit
has taken possession of the house and would not leave without
being driven by force. This ritual is called niskari which is an ex­
pensive business.25
The physiotherapist followed the acupuncture method of treat­
ment with red hot sickle.26 The methods like massage therapy with
specific oil on regular basis are used. In the case of wrenches or
sprains, women experts are very popular.
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 329

METHODS OF COLLECTION OF
MEDICINIAL PLANTS
According to the tribal belief, the efficacy of the medicine would
automatically be reduced, if the ojhas did not follow the rules for
collection of medicinal plants properly. They followed some rules.
As the plants were supposed to take rest or sleep after sunset and
before sunrise the ojhas should not disturb them by harvesting
then. The Adivasis used to uproot some herbs at one breath. Ac­
cordingly, it the concentrated will force of the ojha. During the
period of harvest, the horopathist prefers to collect the exposed
roots only near the canal. They cut with a single stroke in the
absence of any person. The ojhas collect some rare drugs in early
morning even before attending nature’s call so that the work can
be executed in absence of any person. The medicine men has to
debark from a tree at one breath after cutting a branch from bot­
tom to top, i.e. in the upward direction. The shadow should not
fall on the plant during the time of digging a part. This method
(i.e. digging on one side only) keeps half of the root intact. The
medicine men went on an annual herb exploration. It was done
after scattering the seeds of plants. Without damaging or tapping
the trees, gum was collected from the trees. During the rainy sea­
sons, plants were kept free from extraction.27

PROCESS OF DRUG PREPARATION

Generally, medicines are taken on empty stomach. However, there
are some exceptions. Some ingredients, i.e. honey, rock salt, sugar
candy, black pepper, long-pepper, rice washed water, strong mahua
(Madhuca longifolia) liquor, etc., are administered with the medi­
cines.28 Colour matching is very important for enhancing the ef­
fectiveness of medicine. Combination of different parts of the same
plants is believed to be more effective than the single one. The
medicine men prepare the products in the form of pills. In case of
contraception, they advise the tribal women to use the pills at
a specific period; i.e. just at the end of menstruation period. It
is quite true that these medicines were quite potent in inhibiting
330 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
the implantation of the ovum for a certain period. The fertility of
ovum can be revived (restored) through some other pills made using
other ingredients in some cases.29 Some beliefs within the tribe
have persisted regarding the species of particular plants. Roots are
more effective than shoots of a plant. The size of the root is very
important, i.e. the thicker it is, the superior the quality of the
medicine. Quality of latex is regarded as a quality of medicine.
Different alternative herbal medicines are applied for different per­
sons with different receptivity to different medicines.30

HEALING FACTORS
The application of medicines should be in a proper way. Self-confi­
dence of the healer is the key factor for proper treatment. Full faith
of the patient in his healer also is very important. The blessing of
the God is very important. The medicine men recall him (the God)
during extraction of plants, during preparation and administra­
tion of the herbal medicine. The common belief is that the god­
dess manasa controls the snakes and if she is pleased snakebite can
be avoided. Manasa (Exphorbia nerifolia) plant was/or is still wor­
shipped by different tribes. This species is generally planted in the
courtyards of houses to prevent entry of snakes into their houses.31
The Adivasis had rich knowledge of taxonomy which enriched
the indigenous system of knowledge about practice of medicine,
pharmacy and pharmacology. The rules for collection of plants
signify the conservation of the species of medicinal plants. It indi­
cates their need based extraction to keep the herbal resources ever
sustained in nature. They warn themselves by their proverb:
Baday khanem ran/Bañkhan bir sahan.32
Any plant can be used as a medicine because each has some curing
potential, however if the user does not know it, he must use it
merely as fuel being deprived of the health service that could be
provided by the plant.

CONCLUSION
Adivasis lead a community life and their notion of body and dis­
ease is social, cultural and community centered. The human body
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 331

is related to the surrounding environment, as well as spirits. Their

bodies are not confined and disciplined like machines but related
to the eco-cosmic world. In all human societies, it is true that the
‘body is always a source of experience and something that is con­
ceptualized in a specific way, there are different ontologies of the
body’. Communities perceive different things about the body in
their own way. When the balance between the good and evil
spirits breaks down in individual life, there is disease and ill health
and in the case of Adivasi society there is disharmony. With the
colonial intervention in the Adivasi landscape, the environments,
their bodies and their medicinal system are also contested.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincre gratitute to Professor Sajal Nag, Department of History,

Assam University, for his valuable comments on the earlier draft of the paper
and his kind support.

NOTES

1. The word ‘Adivasi’ means original inhabitant. For details, see an excellent
study (Rycroft 2014) on assertion of Adivasis as indigenous peoples in
India. Recently scholars (Rycroft 2014) do not italicize the word in order to
normalize its use. See D.J. Rycroft, ‘Looking beyond the Present: The
Historical Dynamics of Adivasi (Indigenous and Tribal) Assertions in India’,
Journal of Adivasi and Indigenous Studies, I (1). (Online), 2014, 1.
2. For the entire debate see Wax, Murray and Rosalie, ‘The Notion of Magic’,
Current Anthropology, 4, no. 5, 1963, pp. 495-518.
3. Ranbir Samaddar, Memory, Identity, Power, The Politics in the Jungle
Mahals (West Bengal) 1890-1950, Hydrabad: Orient Longman, 1998,
p. 214.
4. T. Sarah and K. Fisher, ‘Introduction’, The Routledge History of Sex and the
Body, 1500 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2013.
5. In, 1805, according to the Regulation XVIII, a new district named Jungle
Mahals was created in Bengal Presidency consisting of twenty-three parganas
(means the present Purulia district and parts of Birbhum, Bardhaman,
Bunkura and Medinipur). For details of its concept and administrative
geography see Suchibrata Sen, The Santals of Jungle Mahals., Calcutta: Ratna
Publisher, 1994, pp. 18-22.
332 Nirmal Kumar Mahato
6. Oliver J.T. Harris and J. Robb, ‘Multiple Ontologies and the Problem of
the Body in History’, American Anthropologist, 114(4), 2012, pp. 668-9.
7. Norbert Elias, The Civilising Process: The History of Manners, tr. E. Jephcott,
Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978.
8. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, New York:
Vintage Books, 1977.
9. Michel Foucault, The Birth of the Clinic: Archaeology of Medical Perception,
London: Tavistock, 1973.
10. S. Timalsina, ‘Reconstructing the Tantric Body: Elements of the Symbolism
of Body in the Monistic Kaula and Trika Tantric Traditions’, International
Journal of Hindu Studies, 2012, 16, 1, p. 8.
11. Nityananda Hembrom, Austric Civilization of India: Pre-Vedic Kherwal-
Santal Civilization, Published by Dr Bangali Kisku and Dr Meenakhi
Kisku, New Delhi, p. 54.
12. Ibid., pp. 54, 59.
13. Ibid., p. 54.
14. Ibid., p. 54.
15. M.P. Dehon, ‘Religion and Customs of the Uraons’, Memoirs 1, Asiatic
Society of Bengal, 1907, p. 138.
16. P.P. Mahato, Bharater Adivasi O Dalita Samaj, Calcutta: Sujan Publica­
tion, 1995, p. 16.
17. P.P. Hembrom and A.K. Goel, ‘Horopathy: Ethnomedicine of Mundas’,
Ethnobotany, vol. 17, 2005, pp. 89-95.
18. P.P. Mahato, Bharater Adivasi O Dalita Samaj, 1995, op. cit., pp. 16,
89-95.
19. S.C., Roy, The Kherias. vol. 2, 1937, pp. 88-9.
20. Adikanta Mahanta, 2007, ‘Ecological Ideologies in Tribal Folklore of
Eastern India’, In Forest, Government and Tribe, ed. C.K. Patty, New Delhi:
Concept Publisher, p. 75.
21. V. Ball, ‘Notes on the Flora on Manbhum’, Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, No. 3, 1868, pp. 121-2.
22. P.P. Hembrom and A.K. Goel, op. cit., 2005, pp. 89-95.
23. Adikanta Mahanta, op. cit., 2007, p. 75.
24. Ibid., p. 75. Four stages of articulation of sound. An animate being make
sound either howling or zwingling human too. Pronouncement of sound
through vocal organ according to linguistic is a composite factor. Reference
to the objective appearance through sense organs are tremendously shuttle.
Traditionally, the above psychophysical process is divided into four
consecutive stages, i.e. (i) para (ii) Pasyanti (iii) Madhyama (iv) Vackhari.
25. M.P. Dehon, op. cit., 1907, pp. 141-9.
 ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals 333
26. P.P. Hembrom and A.K. Goel, op. cit., vol. 17, pp. 89-95.
27. Ibid., pp. 89-95. Oral history of tribal medicine collected from Sri Bhutnath
Mandi (Vill. Jaganathdi, P.O. Pabra, Dist Purulia, 6 June 2008), a Santhal
medicine man, practised indigenous medicine. He has profound knowl­
edge in this regard. He got it from his ancestors. He lamented for its deterio­
ration, Village Gaganathdi, P.O. Pabra, Dist Purulia, 6 June 2008. Mahato,
N.K.Sorrow Songs of Woods: Adivasi-Nature Relationship in the Anthropocene
in Manbhun, New Delhi: Primus, 2020, p. 75.
28. Adikanta Mahanta, ‘Ecological Ideologies in Tribal Folklore of Eastern
India’. In Forest, Government and Tribe, ed. Patty, C.K. Concept Publisher,
New Delhi, 2007, p. 75.
29. Oral history of tribal medicine collected from Smt. Nehari Baidya
who belongs to Bediya community. She has rich knowledge in this respect.
Vill. & Post Khairipihira, Purulia Disritct, 11 June 2006. I have also got
some information from some tribal women of this locality.
30. Oral history of tribal medicine collected from Sri Bhutnath Mandi.
31. Oral history of tribal medicine collected from Sri Bhutnath Mandi, & Oral
history of tribal medicine collected from Sri Bangshi Mahato who
also practised indigenous medicine. Besides, some women of my village
gave me some information in this regard. Vill. Boykara, P.O. Tara, Dist.
Purulia, 11 November 2006.
32. The Santhali proverb was collected by the author from Late Surja Hansda,
Vill. Chatarpada, P.O. Chandri, Midnapur (W).
 C H A P T E R 17

Satanic Cult among the Christian

Tribes of the North-East India
PHOIBI LALNIROPUI TUOLOR

INTRODUCTION

Scholars often use words like ‘satanic’, ‘ritual’ and ‘occult’ inter­
changeably. No attempt will be made in this article to define
satanism precisely. However, it is learnt that, for some individuals,
any religious belief system other than their own is termed as ‘satanic’.
From a Christian perspective, the word ‘satanism’ had been used
to describe the power of evil in the world. In this context, any act
which is wrong, especially those which are particularly cruel, bizarre
or repulsive can be termed as satanic in nature. As such it is difficult
to define satanism as it is to define any other complex spiritual
belief system.
Judeo Christian theology generally believes that there are only
two powerful supernatural forces in the world: God and Satan.
They regard the non-believers as satanists, as they believe that
those who do not worship their God and hold their beliefs must
be worshipping satan. According to them all other religions different
from their own are forms of satanism. Satanism is a broad group
of social movement comprizing of diverse ideological and philoso­
phical beliefs. Their shared features include symbolic association
with or admiration for satan, whom satanists see as a liberating
figure. It was estimated that there were 50,000 satanists in 1990.
There may be as many as one hundred thousand satanists in
the world.1
336 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
SATANIC PRACTICES IN THE
NORTH-EAST INDIA

The satanic cult is reported to be practised mostly in Christian

dominated states of north-east India, i.e. Mizoram, Nagaland,
Meghalaya and Christian-dominated areas of Manipur. The fol­
lowers of the satanic cult are teenagers, mostly drug addicts, who
do not want to obey the rules and norms of the Church, and they
are basically against the Church. They are known by different names
in different places like followers of the ‘Dark of Prince’ in Mizoram,
‘Black Bull’ or ‘Awakening the Horror’ in Nagaland, ‘Achik Under­
ground Cult, Dark Star and Outlawz’ in Meghalaya. The followers
include both male and female, they usually gather in the cemeter­
ies late at night to operate the practice wearing black T-Shirts.
According to reports the ‘satanic rituals’ includes unlawful, even
unnatural sex, incest and taking of psychotropic drugs.2 They did
it to attain supernatural powers and perform miracles. Most of
them offered their own blood by cutting their wrist, whereas some
offered chicken’s blood.3
According to reports there are various ways and methods to join
the satanic cult or satanism. The contract is initiated on mutual
accord between the person and Satan, solemnized by a cut. It can
be done in diverse ways. Three prominent methods found in
Nagaland are: first, the person has to cut himself/herself and pour
his/her own blood in places where the devil tells him/her to. Second,
the devil shows certain symbols with meaning to be tattooed on
the body. This is known as the tattoo covenant. Third, the devil
demands the person to sign on certain things and spell certain
demonic statement. Once the contract is finalized, the devil assigns
certain demons to the satanist according to desire or demand. The
demons work for the satanist. The satanist uses the demons in the
form of spell, charm and power. There are also ranks and clans in
satanism. The prominent clans in Nagaland are werewolf and
vampire. The demons mentioned are different from the ones seen
in media and are in spiritual form.4
Statistical reports from the Christian dominated north-east states
had shown that, since 2011 the satanic cult followers had increased
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 337
to a great extent. In Mizoram according to the General Census
2011, the total population of the state was 10,91,014 of which
86.97 per cent are Christians and 661 persons claimed to be without
any religion. Such groups of people were found in different parts
of the state such as 209 in Champhai district, 208 in Mamit
district, 114 in Aizawl district, 39 in Serchhip and Saiha districts,
32 in Lawngtlai, 14 in Lunglei and 6 in Kolasib.5 In 2012 accord­
ing to the investigation made by Rev. L.H. Rawsea, the then faculty
member of the Aizawl Theological College, it was estimated that
about 300 youths were involved in satanic cult in Mizoram.6 In
Churachanpur town of Manipur according to reports in 2011, it
was estimated that 500 to 700 people were involved in active satanic
practice including 180 women. In Kohima alone, which is capital
of Nagaland, Vatican’s Fides new agency in 2013 reported that
there are more than 3,000 young worshippers of satan.7 In 2014 to
prevent satan worship in Meghalaya, five alleged ‘devil worshippers’
were arrested and later released from Tura, the headquarter of West
Garo Hills, Meghalaya.8 Dr Jova Marak, an activist for counselling
such youth, states that such groups existed in Tura and Williamnagar
town and were using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter
to expand their network but the actual strength of satanic followers
is not easy to ascertain.9
According to FBI Report on ‘Satanic ritual abuse’ prepared by
Kenneth V. Lanning, Supervisory Special Agent Behavioural Science
Unit National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime, the satanic
or occult activity most often linked to law enforcement problems
are as below:10 (a) Vandalism; (b) Desecration of churches and
cemeteries; (c) Thefts from churches and cemeteries; (d) Teenage
gangs; (e) Animal mutilations; (f ) Teenage suicide; (g) Child abuse;
(h) Kidnapping; (i) Murder and human sacrifice.

MIZORAM
Such incidences have been reported in Mizoram as published in
The Hindu on 18 June 2000, where a group of high school students
were seen late at night inside a cemetery huddled together in a
circle, holding hands and chanting invocations to satan. In the
338 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
centre of the circle was placed the skull of a monkey with the
inscription Natas Si Dog, which in reverse reads ‘God is Satan’.
While performing the ritual, the worshippers offered their blood
to the ‘fallen angel’ by slashing their wrists one after the other.11
The ‘fallen angel’ referred here must be the Biblical fallen angel,
Lucifer. Again in 2006, Aizawl’s local weekly magazines published
a report that five youths were caught filming themselves nude inside
a non-functional United Pentecostal Church (UPC) on the outskirts
of Aizawl, a Christian majority town.12 The incident provides a clear
evidence of the prevalence of the satanic cult among the Mizo youth.
According to reliable sources, in the year 2013, Mr. Lalrinmawia
of Champhai district, Mizoram was arrested by Bawngkawn and
Vaivakawn police when he identified himself as a worshipper of satan
and also a swindler. On being interrogated, he confessed before
the police as to how he became a satanist or worshipper of satan.
According to his testimony, he was once a Christian counsellor
and a true believer of Jesus Christ, but while he was working as a
counsellor, he was tempted by the disciple of satan named ‘Belfatas’
to follow him. When Lalrinmawia refused to the offer, the disciple
of satan started to torture him and that compelled the latter to follow
Satan. The disciple of Satan, according to him was a handsome
and well built bodied man that is incomparable in the world. He
also revealed the names of two disciples of Satan namely ‘Belfatas’
and ‘Rainmen’ who used to appear in flesh. While Belfatas is active
among drug addicts, Rainmen is active among singers, he added.
Sources informed that Lalrinmawia worshipped the much powerful
and mightier kind of Satan than the evil worshipped by the majority
of Mizo youths. Lalrinmawia further confessed that they had a
group of satanic followers in Mizoram called ‘Dark of Prince’
comprising around ten members including both male and female.
They usually worshipped Satan and practised the cult specifically
on first Wednesday of every month.13

MANIPUR

Such incidents have also been reported in Manipur since 2007

when the Satanic-worshipping sect was accused of killing two
ten-year- old school children namely, Muheni Martin and Hriini
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 339
Hubert in Manipur’s Senapati district. The incident took place
when on 14 December 2006, the children were abducted and in
the next year on 27 March 2007 their bodies were found in a
gorge. A day after the bodies of the children were recovered, the
angry mob had set fire to the house of one of the suspects in the
case and amid the debris they discovered a wooden sculpture of a
head with the mark ‘666’ on the forehead which is attributed to
the antichrist in the Bible.14
According to the local news agency, on 28 August 2010, Satan
worshippers were reported in Manipur state when at least ten people
were detained by a rebel group at Rengkai village in Churachandpur
district of Manipur for allegedly ‘worshipping Satan’. They used
to allegedly congregate at cemetery and riverbank at night to per­
form their rituals.15
According to sources, in Manipur the satanic group is led by
three key leaders among whom one is from Paite community, one
is from Hmar community, and one is a non-tribal (Vai). The lead­
ers are no doubt brought up in a Christian family and one of the
members was a son of a pastor, who took the initiative of spreading
messages through internet against Jesus Christ. Reports also men­
tioned that, he gets financial assistance from some satanic wor­
shippers abroad in his satanic evangelism. The report further states
that this group would often meet on a particular hill beyond the
Muolvaiphei village, known as Cherep Tlang by the local people,
on a full moon night where they would perform their satanic ritu­
als. The worship ritual includes the following steps such as light­
ing of candles with a goat head in the middle and they would use
animal blood as sacrifice to satan. The participants performed
the rituals completely naked, intoxicated themselves with drugs
or dendrite and had sex freely. Reports were also found of such
moments of worship held inside a church as an act of defiance to
Jesus Christ.16

NAGALAND

Similar cases have also been reported from Nagaland since 2013,
amid intense speculations, a membership form of a group called
‘Awakening the Horror’ was made available to Newmai News Net­
340 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
work by a church pastor in Dimapur as recently as in first week of
July 2013. According to sources, to become a member of this group,
one had to submit the membership form; the members of
‘Awakening the Horror’ would support each other and fight jointly
in case any member was attacked by anyone. The members would
meet at midnight once a week at a place in Chumukedima in the
outskirt of Dimapur.17
According to Rev. Wati Longkumer, director of the Nagaland
Missionary Movement, some of the Christian youth who have re­
nounced Satan worship have confessed that they performed their
rituals after midnight at the Kohima War Cemetery and other
locations, wearing black T-shirts and were called by their new nick­
names. They named their group as the ‘Black Bulls’ and invited
youngsters to join their congregation.18

MEGHALAYA

In the state of Meghalaya too, instances of Satan worship as well as

practice of the occult has been reported. In the month of April
2014 in Garo Hills, residents of some areas of Tura have reported
sightings of people practising satan worship. The residents wit­
nessed a few youngsters dancing to satanic tunes in the middle of
the night giving rise to the fear that voodoo practice might be back
in the region.19
To curb the practice of satanic or cult worship, reports were
prepared by some organizations and through such reports; it was
found that there were several youths in Tura and Williamnagar
who were engaged in such worship. The first incidence of such
cult worship was first reported from Matchakolgre locality in Tura,
following which a vigilance committee was formed. No doubt
some of the satan worshippers had renounced such worship and
had confessed their involvements and ways of ritual performance.
Different Satanic groups were formed such as the A’chik under­
ground cult on Facebook, Dark Star, Outlawz and ETR. The
graffiti on the walls in different locality stand testimony of this
practice.20
Again on June 2014, five alleged ‘devil worshippers’ were arrested
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 341
and later, released from Tura, the headquarters of the West Garo
Hills. All the boys were high school students and had satanic images
tattooed on their bodies and they also had unique parallel lines
etched across their stomachs.21
On 19 July 2014, the Telegraph had reported that a group of
youngsters of Lumshyiap locality in Meghalaya had spotted a statue
of Jesus Christ with an inverted cross at the verandah of a Catholic
church located in a cemetery. The area falls under the St Peter and
Paul Parish, Pynthorumkhrah. The window panes of the church
were broken most probably in order to remove the statue.22

SYMBOLS AND SIGNS

In all the cases in north-east India the satanist used various sym­
bols and signs which denoted Satan, to whom they offered sacri­
fices and regarded as their god, who delivered them from their
sorrows and sufferings. The followers of satan used the symbols
while performing the satanic rituals and also made tattoos of such
symbols on their body. Such symbols and signs were also painted
on the walls, the graffiti on the walls in different locality stand
testimony of this practice. The following are the symbols and signs
along with their meanings compiled by Pastor Billy Bissell. Pastor
Bissell served as a Chaplain and Ritualistic Crime Consultant for
the Police Department in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Inverted Pentagram: Symbolizes the morning star, a

name Satan has taken. It is used in witchcraft and
occult rituals to conjure up evil spirits. Satanists use it
two points up and pagans use it one point up. Any
way it is used to symbolizes evil. It does not matter if
two points are up or one. It does not matter if it has
a circle around it. It is still a symbol of satan.
Baphomet: It is unique to satanism. A demonic deity
and symbolic of satan. The symbol is used as jewelry
such as rings, necklaces and earrings, etc. It is also
now being used by the masons. It can be seen on
342 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor

their buildings and the emblems they put on their

vehicles to identify each other.
Now it is also being used by the free masons. It can
be seen on their buildings and the emblems they
put on their vehicles to identify them.
Pentagram: It is a symbol used in witchcraft. Repre­
sents the elements, earth, wind, fire and water with
the spirit surrounding them.

Hexagram: It is one of the most potent symbols used

in the working of the powers of darkness. Used to
work magic. Satanism takes and misuses Christian
symbols. It is satanic when used in an occult setting
with a circle around it.
Ankh: It symbolizes fertility rites and the building
up of lust within a person. A spirit of lust is the power
of this union of male/female representations. Also
called the Long Life Seal.
Svastika or Sun Wheel: It is an ancient religious
symbol used long before Hitler came to power. It
was used in Hindu Buddhist rituals inscriptions, Celtic
monuments and Greek coins. In sun god worship, it
is supposed to represent the sun’s course in the heavens.
Tau Cross: It is a symbol of the god Mathras of the
Persians and the Aryans of India. To them, Mathras
was an ‘angel of light’ or the ‘heavenly light’. It is
used in modern masonry under the symbol of the T
square.
Italian Horn: There are other names Unicorn horn
and Leprechaun Staff. Introduced by the Lord Dru­
ids of Scotland and Ireland. It is associated with good
luck and good fortune. It is also used to ward off
‘Maluka’ or the ‘Evil Eye’. It also means Satan will
take care of your finances.
Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 343
All seeing Eye: It is believed to be the eye of Lucifer
and those who claim control of it have control of world
finances. Used in divination. Hexes, curses, psychic
control and all corruption are worked through
this emblem. This one is a symbol of the Illuminati.
Look at U.S. currency.
Upside Down Cross: It symbolizes mockery and re­
jection of Jesus. Necklaces with this emblem are worn
by many satanists. It can be seen on rock singers and
their album covers.
Zodiac: It is used in satanic and occult worship. Baal
is considered as a Christian demon and the first Princi­
pal king of Hell. It is often mentioned in the Old
Testament Bible as a pagan idol associated with the
evil goddess Ashtaroth. Whereas Lucifer is the Satan
himself. Beside this symbol, horoscope signs are also
included.
Goat Head: It is the horned goat, goat of Mendes,
Baphomet, god of the witches, the scapegoat. It’s a
satanist’s way of mocking Jesus as the ‘Lamb’ who
died for our sins.
Cross of Nero or Peace Sign: It is another sign that
mocks the cross of Jesus. Also known as ‘The Dead
Man Rune’. It appears on the tombstones of some of
Hitler’s SS troops.
Yin-Yang: In Chinese philosophy, these are two great
opposite principles or forces on whose interplay
everything depends. Yang is male, light and positive;
Yin is female, dark and negative.
Scarab Beetle: It is the dung beetle which is the Egyp­
tian symbol of reincarnation. It is also a symbol
of Beelzebub, Lord of the flies (Satan). Worn by
occultists to show that they have power. It is consid­
ered a source of protection.
344 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
Satanic ‘S ’: It represents a lightning bolt that means
‘Destroyer’. In mythology, it was the weapon of Zeus.
It is worn to have power over others. It was also
worn by the feared SS of the Nazi Germany.
Satanic Cross: It is an upside down question mark
that questions God. Within the occult it is the rep­
resentation of the three crown princes: Satan, Belial
and Leviathan. It symbolizes complete power under
Lucifer.
Udjat or All Seeing Eye: It is one of few symbols
referring to Lucifer (king of hell), whom it is thought
will pass the final judgement. Below the eye is a tear
because he mourns for those outside his influence.
Star and Crescent: It represents the moon goddess
Diana and the ‘son of the morning’, the name
of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). Witchcraft uses it the
way shown and satanism turns it in the opposite
direction.
Anarchy: It means to abolish all laws. In other words
‘do what thou wilt’ the law of satanists. Used by Punk
rockers and Heavy Metal followers. Also used in the
cover page of Noan Chomsky’s book on Anarchism.
Horned God: It represents the horned god of witch­
craft. Pan or Cernunnos. Note the thumb under the
fingers and given by the right hand.
Horned Hand: This is the sign of recognition between
those in the occult. When pointed at someone it is
meant to place a curse. Note the thumb over the
fingers and given by the left hand.
Witch Sign or Moon Sign: It is used to salute the
rising moon. Also used by surfers and football teams.
666 - The number of man. It is the mark of the beast
in the book of Revelation, the final chapter of New
Testament.
Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 345
Bad Company: It indicates that she is tied to the
temple of Psychic Youth.

Anti Justice: The Roman symbol for justice was an

axe upright. Being upside down it represents anti-
justice or rebellion. Feminists use a double axe up­
right as a symbol of ancient matriarchy.
Black Mass Indicator: It indicates a black mass has
taken or will take place. It mocks the Roman Catholic
mass. Holy items are defiled and the Lord’s Prayer is
recited backwards.
Church of Satan: It was founded by Anton LaVey in
1966.

Holy Earth: It is a symbol for mother earth. It also

appears as a Hopi medicine wheel and Norse sun
symbol.
Seal of the Left Hand Path: It indicates black magic
and the path to Satan.
Labyrinth: Labyrinth was an elaborate, confusing
structure of Crete (island in Greece) that symbolizes
the path of initiation. It is a maze design with com­
plex branching multicursal puzzle with choices of
path and direction.
Spiral: It is an ancient Goddess symbol of universal
pattern of growth in nature. A variation with three
lines was used by some to represent the number of
the beast 666.
Blood Ritual Symbol: It represents animal and hu­
man sacrifices.
Sexual Ritual Symbol: It is used to indicate the place
and purpose.
346 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
Inverted Cross of Satanic Justice: If found carved in the
chest of a victim, it means the person was a traitor.
The vertical line represents man’s presence. The hori­
zontal line indicates eternity past and future. The
arch represents the world and being inverted is
mockery of God.
Ritual Circle: It has different meanings for different
groups, protection from evil, symbolic of life cycles
or completeness. It is nine feet across with a smaller
one inside and perhaps a pentagram drawn inside.
Sword of Power: It may be seen upright or upside
down with a drop of blood. It is used by some
satanists to represent light and darkness.
Talisman or Amulet: It is believed to have magical
powers. It usually has a drawing or writing with the
name or image of a deity.
Thaumaturgic Triangle: It is used for magical pur­
poses in casting of spells and the summoning of
demons. It is found near ritual sites. It is believed
to be the door through which the demon will be
called.
Trident: It is a symbol of enforcement among occult
groups. There are many variations.
Unincursive Hexagram: It was designed by Aleister
Crowley as the symbol of his Order of the Silver Star,
Astrum Argentum or AA.
Veve: Thse are designs used in Voudoun to summon
the various Loa or spirit deities. Symbol for Baron
Samadi, Lord of the graveyard and death.

Figures: These symbols were compiled by Pastor Billy Bissell. Pastor

Bissell served as a Chaplain and Ritualistic Crime Consultant for
the Police Department in Muskogee, Oklahoma.23
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 347
THE CAUSE

After proper investigation it has been found that every satanist has
a personal reason behind his or her involvement in such a morbid
trend.
First, the family crisis, being unloved, abused and rejected in family
is one main cause. Second, their hankering for supernatural fan­
tasy as an impact of ghoulish creatures shown on certain animated
shows on television and power games in gadgets. Third, a desire of
devilish delights are sought for a diabolical favour. These favours
can range from money, fame, power to anything.24 However, it is
mainly because of the Church which ostracizes the drug addicts or
alcoholics, adulterer, murderer as it regards such persons as sinners.
According to the Bible, a person should not commit adultery (Exo­
dus 20:14), ‘You shall not murder’ (Deuteronomy 5:17), ‘should
not get drunk on wine’ (Ephesians 5:18). Following these factors,
the church ostracize a person and after excommunication, the rela­
tionship between the former member and the church naturally
changes. Some denominations use passages such as 1 Timothy 1:2025
as justification for shunning any member of their group. As being
cast out from the congregation, he is utterly ignored. This hap­
pens even to family members who have been expelled. Parents will
no longer communicate with their children, with their own bio­
logical brother and sisters or even with their own spouse. This
results in the breaking up of families. Though such actions are not
condoned by the Bible, the church ostracized a person officially in
order to bring the sinner to repentance. Since the sinner is being
shunned by the church members and families, he being invited by
the satanic, groups, allows the devil to solve his problem and in
return sells his soul to satan.
According to Biaksiama, a Christian scholar of Mizoram, the
Western pop culture and singers influenced the youths into Satan-
ism as some pop singers in Western countries offered themselves to
satan in order to get fame and money.26
Spiritual Leaders’ Conference on ‘Satanism and Demonic Acti­
vities’ was held at Bethel Counselling Centre, Lower Lanka held
during 21 and 22 November 2011 and the main purpose of the
348 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
conference was to discuss and consult the Church on the matter of
satanic activities in Churanchanpur, Manipur. According to the
report of the Conference, one of the main reasons why young
people are so easily attracted to satanic worship is their financial
greed. Through the report it was quite clear that how easily the
satanic followers satisfied their financial greed by using satanic
power. For instance, if they needed money, they would walk in the
street and passersby would randomly and unknowingly drop their
wallets before them. Another reason was that they would satisfy
their physical desire, as they could easily attract the opposite sex
towards them by using satanic power. And once they had their
prey they could hypnotize them and do whatever they want with
them. The report also mentioned that a boy who was recently
converted from satanism was bold enough to stand before the
gathering at the Conference and shared his experience. The boy
revealed his unpleasant past and explained the reasons as to why
he accepted satanism. During his childhood his parents divorced
and his father remarried and they both were always drunk. Due to
all his past experiences he felt so lost and hopeless in this world
and out of desperation he decided to follow Satan in 2005.27

PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST

SATANIC CULTS

In order to quell the rapid growth of satanism, the church leaders,

parents and social workers in the Christian-dominated state of
Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and also the district of Churachan­
pur, Manipur had actively involved in organizing different pro­
grammes such as prayers, crusades and counselling. According to a
report a ‘Transformation Crusade’ was held at Khuochiezie local
ground in Kohima from 24-30 April 2013 to thwart the purported
rise in the number of Satan worshippers with the theme ‘Arise and
shine’. After reports were found that several teenagers had taken
up devil worship, churches across Nagaland also gave special times
to prayers so that the supposed satan worshippers are done away
with.28 In April, church groups in the state organized crusades to
rescue youngsters from satan worship. The Roman Catholic Church
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 349
in Nagaland expressed shock to learn about the phenomenon and
the church worked with the Protestant groups to counter it.29
The state and district administrators also played a very important
role in order to prevent the youths from performing such practices.
There are reports from the East Khasi Hills District Administration
over the growing instances of devil worship, where the admin­
istration had imposed Section 144 CrPC in the entire district
prohibiting devil worship or satan worship in any form, desecration
of graves and vandalism of sacred symbols, movement of youth at
cemeteries very late in the night without any justification, defacing
the walls with graffiti and gang fights and unauthorized bike races
at night. Interestingly, there is no provision in the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) against any one who practises evil worship but the
police can take action against anyone who indulges in unlawful
activities while worshipping evil. East Khasi Hills administration
gave order to the law enforcers to keep vigil in secluded areas like
cemeteries to keep an eye on those who are perpetrating such de­
secrating acts. To prevent youths from getting into such acts, the
Meghalaya police conducted counselling classes for youth in schools
and colleges in the state capital and other areas within the East
Khasi Hills to conduct similar classes.30 However, aware of the rise
of Devil worshipper, various groups including church bodies
stepped in to control this menace.
Although churches do conduct various programmes for the youth,
but those who are indulging in such acts would never turn up for
them. Fr Ioanis Warpakma, parish priest of the St Peter & Paul Parish
said, ‘Until we are able to identify and reach out to those youths,
we have to undertake measures to prevent others from becoming
victims of such acts. We need to carry out more awareness drives
among youths.’31

CONCLUSION

Thus, the Christian dominated states of north-east India witnesses

a ‘social menace’ due to satanic cult and it could lead to a plethora
of ’ social evils’ in the near future if proper steps are not taken. The
main targets of this cult are the young boys and girls who are
350 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
mostly drug addicts or alcoholic, desperate children who are victim­
ized by family crises; desire for money, fame and power. As they
could not strike a rapport with the norms of the church, they find
the alternative easier way to solve their problem and chose the
devil’s path. They become followers of Satan and enemy of the
church, act against the church and the teachings of Christ. Des­
ecration of cemeteries and venerated symbols, cutting of wrists or
making tattoo marks on the body parts, adultery, etc., is against
the norms and teaching of the church. Therefore, the satanic cult
can be regarded as a movement against the church by those who
could not follow the norms and laws of the church. It can also be
said that the satanic cult is a counter attack on the rigid and con­
ventional norms of the church. It is anti-Christ, and anti-church
in nature.

NOTES

1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/

Downloads/Setanic%20related/Satanism%20%20Wikipedia,%20the%
20free%20encyclopedia.html, Retrieved on 9 October 2014.
2. News Item in Hindustan Times, Delhi, 18 January 2007.
3. Sanga, Zodin, ‘Bible Burnt in Mizoram: Satanic?’, Aizawl, 14 May 2012,
https://dontshutupnepal.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/bibles-burnt-in­
mizoram-satanic, Retrieved on 11 October 2014.
4. Ziitso, Mezhiisevi Mark, ‘Satanism in Nagaland: Putting it into Perspective’,
in Morung Express, file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%
20related/The%20Morung%20Express%20% 20Nagaland% 20Latest%
20&%20Breaking%20News,%20Northeast%20&%20India%20News%
20-%20Sata, Retrieved on 8 October 2014.
5. Songate, Rev. Lalroseim, ‘Mizoram Religious Statistics: Possible Threat’, in
http://ecchurch.co.in/ecblog, 18 December 2011, Retrieved on 10 October
2014.
6. Sanga, Zodin, op. cit.
7. Religion News Service, 19 July 2013 and also see News. VA (Official Vatican
Network) and fides.org for more details. Retrieved on 13 October 2014.
8. ‘Move to Prevent Satan worship in Meghalaya’, The Times of India, Guwahati,
15 July 2014. Retrieved on 28 October 2014.
 Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes 351
9. ‘The Cult Graffiti on the Wall of Tura’, Tura, 21 april file:///C:/Users/
Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20related/Meghalaya%20online%
20news%20and%20Tourism%20website.html. Retrieved on 3 November
2014.
10. Lewis, James R, ‘Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore,
and Popular Culture’, Oxford, England, 2001. Retrieved on 3 October
2014.
11. ‘The ‘‘Satan’’ Worship in Miroram Worries Church’, The Hindu, Online
edition of India’s National Newspaper, Aizawl, Monday, 19 June 2000.
Retrieved 8 March 2014.
12. ‘Caught Nude Inside Curch’, TNN, 8 December 2006. Retrieved 9 March
2014.
13. ‘Mizo Police Nabs Self Proclaimed Satan Worshipper’, Hueiyen News Service/
NNN, HYPERLINK ‘mailto:[email protected]’ web@ thenorth
easttoday.in,Aizawl, 22 September 2013. Retrieved on 10 March 2014.
14. ‘Devil Cult Twist to Child Killing-3 kg Sculpture of a Head found in
Suspects Home Triggers Speculation’, The Telegraph, Imphal, 5 April 2007.
Retrieved on 8 March 2014.
15. Hueien New Services, Rengkai (Ccpur), 28 August 2010. Retrieved on
10 March 2014.
16. Songate, ‘Satanism in Churachanpur: Is it Real?’, in Pathien Thucha,
25 November 2011, file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic
%20related/Satanism%20in%20 Churachandpur% 20%20Is%20It%
20Real%20%20(English%20Version)%20%20%20Pathien%20
Thucha.html. Retrieved on 11 March 2014.
17. Watkins, Jon, ‘Signs and Symbols of Satanism’, 17 December 2016, https://
www.exposingsatanism.org/signs-and-symbols-of-satanism/ Retrieved on
10 June 2014.
18. Arora, Vishal, ‘Satan Worship Worries Christians in Northeast India’, The
Washington post, 8 July 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/
on-faith/satan-worship-worries-christians-in-northeast-india/2013/07/08/
ee71f8f4-e7f9-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html. Retrieved on
10 March 2014.
19. Meghalaya Times, ‘Satanic Worshippers Appear in Garo Hills Periphery’,
HYPERLINK ‘http://www.Meghalayatimes.com’www. Meghalayatimes.
com. Retrieved on 3 November 2014.
20. ‘The Cult Graffiti on the Wall of Tura’,Tura, 21 April file:///C:/Users/
Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20related/Meghalaya%20online%
20news%20and%20Tourism%20website.html. Retrieved on 3 Novem­
ber 2014.
352 Phoibi Lalniropui Tuolor
21. ‘Move to Prevent Satan Worship in Meghalaya’, Times of India, Shillong,
15 July 2014 file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20
related/Move%20to%20prevent%20Satan%20worship%20in%20
Meghalaya%20-%20The%20Times %20of%20India.html. Retrieved on
3 November 2014.
22. The Telegraph, Calcutta, Monday, 21 July 2014. file:///C:/Users/
Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20related/Crackdown%20on%
20%E2%80%98devil%20worship%E2%80%99.html#.VFjZ8
CKUefs. Retrieved on 28 October 2014.
23. Watkins, Jon, ‘Signs and Symbols of Satanism’, 17 December 2016, https://
www.exposingsatanism.org/signs-and-symbols-of-satanism. Retrieved on
10 June 2014.
24. Ziitso, Mezhiisevi Mark, ‘Satanism in Nagaland: Putting it into Perspec­
tive’ in Morung Express. file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/
Setanic%20related/The%20Morung%20Express%20%20Nagaland%
20Latest%20&%20Breaking%20News,%20Northeast%20&%20India%20
News%20-%20Sata. Retrieved on 8 October 2014.
25 Ibid.
26. Sanga, Zodin, op. cit.
27. Songate, ‘Satanism in Churachanpur: Is it Real?’, in Pathien Thucha,
25 November 2011. file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%
20related/Satanism%20in%20Churachandpur%20%20Is% 20It%
20Real%20%20(English%20Version)%20%20%20Pathien%20
Thucha.html. Retrieved on 11 March 2014.
28. Newmai News Network/DIMAPUR, 15 July.
29. Sharon Hill, Doubtful News, 10 July 2013.
30. ‘Crack down on devil worship’, The Telegraph, Calcutta, Monday, 21 July
2014. file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20related/
Crackdown%20on%20%E2%80%98devil%20worship%E2%80%99.html
#.VFiXFyKUefs
31. ‘Crack down on devil worship’, The Telegrah, Calcutta, Monday, 21 July
2014. file:///C:/Users/Windows%207/Downloads/Setanic%20related/
Crackdown%20on%20%E2%80%98devil%20worship%E2%80%99.html#.
VFiXFyKUefs
 C H A P T E R 18

Sylvan Spirits and Cultural

Practices in Assam
RAJIB HANDIQUE

LOCATING THE STUDY ON SYLVAN SPIRITS

The question whether sylvan spirits can be considered as part of

the occult is worth considering. The occult is a broad category in
which varied beliefs and practices are generally included, those
which normally don’t fit into religion or science. According to H.P.
Blavatsky,
Occultism is based on the knowledge of the ultimate essence of all things in
the Kingdoms of Nature—such as minerals, plants and animals—hence of things
pertaining to the realm of material nature, however invisible that essence may
be, and howsoever much it has hitherto eluded the grasp of Science. . . .1

According to Rudolph Steiner,2

Occult science desires to free the natural-scientific method and its principle of
research from their special application that limits them, in their own sphere,
to the relationship and process of sensory facts, but, at the same time, it wants
to retain their way of thinking and other characteristics. It desires to speak
about the non-sensory in the same way natural science speaks about the
sensory . . . occult science wishes to consider the employment of mental activ­
ity upon nature as a kind of self-education of the soul and to apply what it
has thus acquired to the realms of the non-sensory.

A study or analysis on the sylvan spirits, which relate to spirits

that dwell in forests, trees or groves may, therefore, be considered
under the category of occultism.
354 Rajib Handique
Concurrently, one may also consider some of the beliefs and
practices related to the trees, groves and forests, including their
dominance by spirits with the myth-making process humans have
all along been engaged with since pre-historic times. Human be­
ings are myth-making creatures and at the same time they are also
meaning-seeking creatures.3 Religion and mythology are products
of the faculty of human imagination. However, imagination is also
the faculty that has enabled scientists to bring new knowledge to
light and invent new and newer technology to cater to human
needs.4 In all probability, people thought gods, humans, animals
and nature were inextricably bound together and subject to the
same laws and composed of the same divine substance. As stated
by Karen Armstrong, perhaps ‘There was initially no ontological
gulf between the world of the gods and the world of the men and
women. . . . Mythology was, therefore, designed to help us to cope
with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to
find their place in their world and their true orientation.’5 The
world of gods and spirits or the world of myths and rites are all
products of the human world of imagination as it interacted and
responded to the vagaries of life and nature throughout the course
of human history.
Thus, ‘supersensible knowledge’ of the past relating to the sylvan
spirits may be understood better at the intersections of both oc­
cultism and mythology. As already stated, Rudolf Steiner has held
the attainment of ‘supersensible knowledge’ as one of the objec­
tives of any study on occultism. He tries to delve into the spiritual
world of human beings, which is undoubtedly a historical phe­
nomenon, and tries to link the same to the external non-sensory
world. He emphasized that one must consider the attitude of the
soul when it elaborates science and that sense-manifestation is also
an essential thing as a person generally does not become aware
that a certain attitude of the human soul has been employed only
with regard to the manifestation of the senses. It is possible, how­
ever, to rise above this arbitrary self-limitation and, apart from
special application, consider the characteristics of scientific activity.
Steiner concludes that, ‘This is the basis for our designating as
“scientific” the knowledge of a non-sensory world-content. The
 Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam 355
human power of thought wishes to occupy itself with this latter
world-content just as it occupies itself, in the other case, with the
world-content of natural science.’6

ASSAM AND THE SYLVAN SPIRITS

Assam has always been known for her natural resources. Apart from
the forests and the rivers, this area is resplendent with a large vari­
ety of life forms. The tropical humid forests coupled with the alti­
tudinal variations have helped in creating a habitat mosaic of sorts
in this north-eastern part of India. The north-east in India is part
of the Indo-Malayan realm, with one of the richest bio-diverse
ecosystems in the world. Today, it is also regarded famously as one
of the bio-diversity hotspots.
The bio-diversity of the region has also helped in developing
and supporting cultural diversity. The habitat mosaic has helped
in creating different eco-zones, where people have lived and inter­
acted for ages. This, in turn, has helped to develop different cul­
tures and belief systems many of which are actually intimately
based on the natural resource base of the eco-zones. The culinary
traditions of the different indigenous communities of north-eastern
India are often differentiated by the use of different herbs and
plants. Likewise, even in religious ceremonies, offerings are made
of things that reflect the availability of unique varieties of forest or
natural produce. The occult practices too are rooted in the ecology.
Parts of the belief system of communities, therefore, are invariably
linked with the ecology.
The use of particular varieties of plants and animals in sacrificial
offerings or the worship of particular variety of plant or animal
species are all part of a belief system that took centuries to develop.
Therefore, when one talks of a belief system relating to the forests
or nature per se, one has to take into consideration their develop­
ment in the longue duree. Such belief systems develop as part of the
geo-history and operate as such. Fernand Braudel famously stated
that ‘Events were like froth on the waves of history’, meaning
that there were larger time frames on which the event rested. He
stressed the importance of slow changing geographic factors, like
356 Rajib Handique
the constraints placed by the natural environment upon human
production and communication. In the first volume of The Medi­
terranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II,
he described the folklore of the mountain dwellers that ‘reveals
primitive credulity’, where sorcerers, witchcraft, primitive magic
and black masses were the flowerings of an ancient cultural sub­
conscious.7 Belief systems based on ecology are, therefore, not simple
events, but a process tied to a larger realm of geo-history.
A documentation of the various aspects related to the belief
system concerning demons and spirits was done by Benudhar Raj­
khowa in his work Assamese Demonology in 1905. W.J. Reid, the
noted British bureaucrat, while writing the Introduction to the book
stated, ‘The book is a faithful record of popular beliefs in Assam in
all their original quaintness. And for such a task, it would not be
easy to find any one better qualified than the author.’8
Trees came to be revered in the Brahmaputra Valley as in other
parts of the world. The benefits from trees notwithstanding, over a
period of time, trees or forests came to be considered as sacred.
Worshipping trees is a feature of many communities in South Asia.
In the north-east too, such practices evolved and drew sustenance.
There were forests like the sacred groves where plants within a
space are revered and worshipped. This reverence for a sacred space
is very popular among the Khasis of Meghalaya. On the other
hand, there were trees that were worshipped individually, like the
peepul (Ficus religiosa), sam (Artocarpus chaplasha), etc. This rever­
ence for the trees was perhaps buttressed by the prevailing value
system.
Like all other countries, Assam has her indigenous ghosts.9 The
spirits might be divided into four territorial classes, viz., subterra­
nean, terrestrial, aerial and celestial.10 The largest number of spirits
are included under the ‘terrestrial’ category, which is again subdi­
vided into (a) aqueous, (b) sylvan, and (c) household.11
There were two spirits that were always considered as sylvan
spirits, i.e. spirits that lived on trees and plants in Assam and those
were the Chaman and Bura-Dangoria. Chaman is a spirit known
for its taciturnity. The name chaman is derived from the cham
(sam – Artocarpus chaplasha) tree, its usual place of living. It also
 Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam 357
lives in big trees like nahor (Mesua ferrea) in deep forests. When a
man cuts a branch of a tree, or passes urine under it, he is at once
possessed. When possessed by this spirit, a man loses all power of
speech. It is, therefore, necessary to propitiate the spirit before
anything is done to such big trees.12
On the other hand, of all the spirits that were in popular circu­
lation, Bura-Dangoria was the one most religiously disposed. Those
who have ‘seen’ him describe the Bura-Dangoria as a tall person
wearing a dhoti with a headgear that gave him an imposing look of
a wise old man. It is believed that, the Bura-Dangoria attends all
religious assemblies among men. Nobody can fell a tree haunted
by Bura-Dangoria without propitiating him. The offenders are
scourged with bodily ailments. Sometimes, it so happens that the
tree which is cut without propitiating Bura-Dangoria cannot be
moved no matter how much of force is applied.13
There were also other spirits that had natural dwelling places.
The Alakhani is a female spirit that lived in the midst of a mango
grove under a plant like a mushroom. This plant is about eight
inches high and called ‘Alakhani Bah ’ in Assamese or the cell of
Alakhani. It is believed that there is also a male form of the Alakhani
and may be considered as an imp. But it is the female form of this
spirit that is frolicsome and is believed to possess man whom she
happens to come across. The Dot is also believed to live in the
midst of bamboo groves though it also resides in tanks, channels,
morasses and out of the way places overgrown with watery plants.14
The knowledge of these spirits infested the popular imagina­
tion of the people. They were also a part of the folklore of Assam.
Stories based on such demons (ghosts) were written by several
noted writers including Lakshminath Bezbarua.15 The fear of these
spirits regulated the ways of life of the people. There were also
elaborate rituals and incantations that were popularly applied to
rid oneself of the unwanted afflictions from these spirits. The symp­
toms that marked the afflictions were also popularly known.16 Some
communities used to hold ceremonies offering prayers to the Habi
Dangoria (lord of the forests). Normally, in such a ceremony, un­
married young males participate where a chicken is sacrificed, and
a sombre feast is held.17
358 Rajib Handique
Throughout the pre-colonial history, people have lived in sym­
biotic relation with the forests. The forests have been providers of
the much-needed supplies for human existence. Prior to the com­
ing of the British, Assam had a civilization that reflected a symbi­
otic man-nature relationship. Perhaps, it conformed to that phase
of civilizational relationship, where man was considered as a stew­
ard of nature.
The coming of the British colonial rule marked a watershed in
the ecological history of Assam.18 The colonial intervention by the
British along with their extractive imperial practices changed the
man-nature relations in north-eastern India. The ideology of the
imperialists of human mastery over nature and the idea of subject­
ing nature to the service of mankind became widely accepted.
Forests in Assam were voraciously used up for meeting the many
ends of the British imperialists. It was a period of progress marked
by degradation of the forests through activities perpetrated by the
tea planters as well as the forest department. Amidst the change in
the social perception of nature, there are old customary practices
that still reminded mankind of the reverence with which nature
was regarded in this part of the country. The British commercial­
ized the forests and, in a way, put them up for sale to earn revenue.
There are colonial records that showed that in some cases, an amount
of money used to be kept apart for performing certain rites during
the timber cutting operations of the forest department. The reports
of the forest department did not elaborate on the procedure of
such rituals. However, one may aptly conclude that the rituals
might have been undertaken to propitiate the spirits in the trees
marked for felling or the forest as a whole.
Thus, the reverence to the forests remained. The reverential be­
haviour of the people towards the forests is reflected in many ways.
As a forest official, Raghu Nath Chowdhury writes,
During L.P. School days in my village, I maintained a small nursery of Kadam
seedlings which I collected from shady places. We had house hold servants
whom we treated to be our family members. I called one of them as ‘Ahina Kaka’
(He was Ahina Deka). I noticed that Ahina Kaka while transplanting a seedling
or felling a tree or climbing it for lopping branches always bowed his head to
honour sounding ‘Ram Ram’.19
 Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam 359
It is interesting to note that such realities in pre-colonial, colonial
or even post-colonial Assam have not been adequately documented.
The British who were so adept in documenting the colonized people
in all their myriad ways, however hardly ever wrote on these prac­
tices which are so popular among the masses. Perhaps, there was
the apprehension of giving legitimacy to something weird or un­
scientific when the colonized world was sought to be imbued with
scientific temperament and understanding with the efforts of the
European colonizers. But the fact remained that superstitions or
superstitious practices are also a historical reality.

A FIELD VIEW FROM THE TWENTY­

FIRST CENTURY
Trees continued to be worshipped and it is a common sight in
towns and cities to find barricading of trees sometimes with basic
structure of bricks and cement, with coloured threads draping the
entire trunk of the worshipped tree. Such worship of trees in towns
and cities might not be always done with reverential regard to
sylvan spirits, whereas there are more possibilities of such efforts
being carried on with clear commercial intent mixed with some
religiosity and ritualism.
However, the reverential treatment of trees with the aim of pro­
pitiating the sylvan spirits are still carried on in many places in
Assam. Two examples are included herein to highlight the conti­
nuity of the old belief system. During the course of fieldwork
conducted in various areas of the Brahmaputra Valley on a topic
related to ecology and society, one was amazed by the continuum
of such reverential worship. What was true of a comparatively ad­
vanced village like Balek near Pasighat was also true for an institu­
tion of higher education like the Dibrugarh University.20
Balek is a developed village near the town of Pasighat in eastern
Arunachal Pradesh. The village followed significant customs and
traditions handed down from earlier generations, in spite of adapta­
tion of many aspects of modern lifestyle. The village has ear-marked
a tree for worship following their tradition. It was informed that as
the earlier tree was old and dying, another tree was marked out for
worshipping, ensuring continuity of the practice (Figure 18.1).
360 Rajib Handique

Figure 18.1: A tree-worshipping temple at Balek Basti

(village), Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh.
Photo: Rajib Handique (2012)

At Dibrugarh University (a public university established in 1965),

one of the wings of the building of the Department of Petroleum
Technology could not be constructed as there was none to cut the
tree that stood on the way of its expansion (Figure 18.2). The
popular belief accepted it as the abode of Burha Dangoria, a sylvan
spirit. A temple developed there with the peepal tree (Ficus religiosa or
sacred fig, a specie native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina)
as the reigning deity. It was significant as the belief system stood
in the way of construction of a building in no less than a university
and that too relating to a department in one of the most advanced
fields of research and learning.
The worship of trees is based firmly on the belief that some
spirit resides in them and it would cause harm to them if they are
damaged or cut. Thus, the super sensible knowledge of the un­
known is a reality even in the twenty-first century. They are a part
of the cultural life and practice of a society, whose traditional moor­
ings are being slowly eroded.
 Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam 361

Figure 18.2: A tree-worshipping temple adjacent to the Department

of Petroleum Technology, Dibrugarh University.
Photo: Rajib Handique (2011)

CONCLUSION

It is true that humans long back looked upon natural elements with
spiritual or supernatural lens due to lack of any scientific under­
standing. The beliefs that developed through such engagement
with the sylvan world got entrenched in time. If history is to be
looked upon as a total study of human society, the belief systems
including the ones like the sylvan spirits in Assam needs to be
mainstreamed and studied. It would help us move forward from a
paradigm of knowing to that of understanding such historical pheno­
mena. Such beliefs play an important role in conservation of the
environment. Trees like the banyan or peepul form the habitat of a
large variety of life forms that includes birds of various kinds. The
unseen spirits supposedly dwelling in the sylvan abode appear to
be playing an important role in conservation of the environment in
the twenty-first-century world.
362 Rajib Handique
NOTES

1. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Collected Writings, vol. IX, Theosophical

Publishing House, Wheaton, Illinois, 1974, p. 252.
2. Rudolf Steiner, An Outline of Occult Science, Berlin, 1925, sourced from:
http://bookfi.net/dl/286853/b33c52. Accessed on 2 August 2020 at 1127
hrs, p. 18.
3. Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth, Penguin Books, New Delhi,
2005, p. 1.
.
4. Ibid.
.
5. Ibid.
6. Rudolf Steiner, An Outline of Occult Science, Berlin, 1925, sourced from:
http://bookfi.net/dl/286853/b33c52. Accessed on 2 August 2020 at 1127
hrs, p. 18.
7. Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the
Age of Philip II, vol. I, translated from French by Sian Reynolds, pdf version
sourced from http://bookfi.net/dl/1125846/5ca348, Accessed on 2 Au­
gust 2020 at 1745 hrs., p. 37.
8. Benudhar Rajkhowa, Assamese Demonology, Printed at and Published by
Patrika Paras, Calcutta, 1905. Sourced from: https://archive.org/details/
AssameseDemonology/page/n11/mode/2up Accessed on 2 August 2020
at 0937 hrs., Introduction.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. An excerpt from Patmugi a short story by Lakshminath Bezbarua (1864­
1938) translated from Assamese into English by Sunil Kumar Barthakur,
would exemplify the popular beliefs regarding sylvan spirits. ‘You did a
nice thing’ said Alatabai ‘to climb the tree in the midday, of all times. All
kinds of ghosts and sprits, the gods of the land and the gods of the water
come out at this hour and play about amorously.’ Sourced from https://
indianreview.in/fiction/patmugi-by-lakshminath-bezbaruah-assamese­
short-story/. Accessed on 2 August 2020 at 1137 hrs.
16. Benudhar Rajkhowa, Assamese Demonology, Printed at and Published by
Patrika Paras, Calcutta, 1905. Sourced from: https://archive.org/details/
AssameseDemonology/page/n11/mode/2up Accessed on 2 August 2020
at 0937 hrs., Introduction.
 Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam 363
17. The practice is mainly prevalent in Upper Assam area. The author was a
witness to one such ceremony in Dibrugarh where bachelors participated
with offerings to the forest spirit. The offerings included a chicken. How­
ever, such ceremonies are diminishing with increasing urbanisation.
18. Rajib Handique, British Forest Policy in Assam, Concept Publishing Com­
pany, New Delhi, 2004, p.154.
19. Chowdhury, Raghu Nath, The concept of Eco-ethics and Eco-Dharma and
preservation of wild-life and Forests in The Rhino, vol. IV, October, 1998,
pp. 34-8. Kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba) tree. The tree is grown as an
ornamental plant and for timber and paper-making. Kadam also features
in Indian religions and mythologies.
20. The fieldwork was conducted as part of a Major Research Project under
University Grants Commission on Society and Ecology in Post-Colonial Assam
with Special Reference to Upper Assam during 2011-13.
 PART IV
WITCHCRAFT AND WITCH
HUNTING
 C H A P T E R 19

Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal

Lens in Jharkhand: A Study of
Witchcraft Practices and the Anti-
Witchcraft Law in Jharkhand
B A S H A B I G U P TA

Who is a ‘Witch’ and what is her ‘craft’ are a questions that has
coloured various contexts amongst the tribal communities in Jhar­
khand. All the 32 tribes living in this state have stories about witches
along with the practices associated with their craft. Though in
most cases they are the embodiment of evil, in some instances they
are also known as healers of diseases and also have the power to
keep the villages or ‘hatu’s safe. Identification of who or what is a
witch and what is her craft, is something that was an integral part
of the tribal lore in the pre-colonial and colonial era, seem to be
lost today. The dominant discourse in the current era in witchcraft
and its practise in Jharkhand is of course one of violence against a
perceived witch. This research focuses on the incidence of creating
or branding of women as witches in the light of the anti-witchcraft
law that has been passed in seven Indian states to stop persecution
of women in this particular manner taking the example of Jhar­
khand. This study looks at the conditions under which women are
branded as witches along with understanding the impact of the
implementation of the anti-witchcraft law to help the affected
women. This research suggests that there is usually a complex back­
ground of female economic subjugation, sexual exploitation, and
the persecution of widows and independent, vocal women who
368 Bashabi Gupta
dare to exercise their rights to inheritance and property and to
their own self.

WHO IS A WITCH AND WHAT IS HER CRAFT:

PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE
TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF JHARKHAND

When discussing the idea and concept of witches and witchcraft,

it needs to be kept in mind that, this is a culturally specific expres­
sion. The world of witches, spirits and ojhas (witch doctors and
medicine men) is a vivacious and reflective one in the tribal cos­
mology in Jharkhand. Witches are also known as mati, sokha, jan
guru amongst the different tribal communities in Jharkhand, though
the most common moniker is the dayan. Behringer provides a nec­
essary and useful comparative scope beyond the geographical and
cultural limits of Christian Europe, intending to examine witch­
craft as a universal phenomenon. Thinking of witchcraft not as
diabolism but as ‘a generic term for all kinds of evil magic and
sorcery, as perceived by contemporaries’, he writes, ‘transforms our
understanding of witchcraft so that it is no longer a Western Euro­
pean aberration, but something easily compared to sorcery or harm­
ful magic as it manifests itself and is feared all over the world’. This
more generic definition does indeed clear a path for transposing
the European term ‘witch’ into other contexts and allows for a wider
field for comparative studies. The concept of witchcraft in the west­
ern European context focuses on the satanic overlays and devil
worship. As Richard Kieckhefer argues, ‘different mythologies of
witchcraft functioned differently in different circumstances’. Keep­
ing track of what particular mythologies animated witchcraft re­
lated fear and persecution in one society as opposed to another and
under what circumstances mythologies were imported imposed
or reflected indigenous belief, is critically important in understand­
ing why witch trials took particular forms in particular places.1
Amongst the tribal communities, it is the considerations of material
tangible harm and anxieties that matter for witchcraft and fear of
the witches’ power.
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 369
Witches are most commonly envisioned as women, who have
exceptional powers over humans, animals and even natural forces.
They are usually held in fear. Belief in dayans/dans/churails (witches)
or bongas (spirits) occupies a central place in adivasi cosmology
and moral economy. According to Bodding, ‘There is no genuine
Santhal who does not believe in witches’.2 The Santhals oral lore of
Reak Katha records, ‘Witchcraft is the great trouble with us Santhals.
Because of witchcraft, people in the village become enemies, doors
of relatives is shut, father and sons quarrel, brothers are separated,
husband and wife are divorced and in the country people kill each
other.’3 While accepting that the practice was common to many
countries, Valentine Ball noted that conditions in the tribal heart­
land were particularly unique, ‘It is a peculiarity here that the belief
(of witchcraft) was so thorough, that even those who are accused
of being witches or sorcerers do not deny the impeachment but
accept the position readily with all its pains and penalties.’4 Thus,
belief in witches and witchcraft is ingrained in their traditions,
belief systems and is still considered to pose a considerable threat
to the societal fabric of the tribal communities.
Roy speaks of an Oraon saying that the world is as full of disem­
bodied spirits ‘as a tree is full of leaves’.5 It is significant to note
here, that witchcraft and witches as an idea exists both for evil and
good in the tribal cosmology. The tribal religions seeks and the
central idea behind the adivasi religious system, therefore, was to
seek a pact with the most powerful and helpful deities who would
enable them to conquer the evil. Troisi (1979) mentions that the
evil powers had to be gotten rid of through exorcism or magic.
There is, thus, difference between white or benevolent magic that
is beneficial and black magic which is harmful or evil that harms.
The ojha is the person, who overturns the impact of the black
magic bringing amelioration from the harm. This person in most
situations is a man who is a priest or a medicine man and occupies
a prestigious position in the social fabric. In contrast, the person
performing the harmful magic, is almost universally a woman who
is practised in the dark arts and is, thus, known as a dayan. A male
who is considered a dayan is a also feared immensely within the
tribal village society. The ojha seeks to expose and counteract the
370 Bashabi Gupta
anti-social activities of witches and the evil influence of the imper­
sonal spirits. Fear of witches is an inherent facet of the belief in
witches and witchcraft, as they are were feared as inexplicable people
endowed with supernatural or extra-normal powers. The witches
become witches primarily by the supposition of having ‘intercourse
with the bongas, which gives them the power of killing people by
eating their entrails and also of causing fevers, murrain in cattle
and other kinds of evil’.6 They then become empowered to kill
either directly or by ‘setting (up) the bongas’. The bongas, in turn
may bring destruction and death either by themselves or through
agents.7 The tribal communities believe that, witches eat people
and induce illness such as cholera, small-pox, etc. They are also
responsible for destroying crops, killing cattle and causing all round
general harm. The dayans were, in fact, human manifestations of
the ‘evil-eye’ or ‘evil-mouth’8 and could cause harm accordingly; if
they cast an ‘evil-eyes’ at a person, the victim suffered stomach
problems, headaches, fever, etc. If they uttered ‘harmful’ lines, while
looking at somebody, the person was sure to suffer a fatal disease.9
The tribal people intertwine their ideas of witches and witchcraft
intricately with sickness and disease, which are caused by the work­
ing of witchcraft and healing. The killing of the witch is thus the
personification of firstly a cleaning act, second, the ultimate victory
of good over evil, and thirdly by offering the evil vanquished witches’
blood as an offering to the good and just white magic being prac­
tised. Wilkinson noted that the Kols believed in three causes that
led to sickness—witchcraft, angry bongas or the spirit of someone
who had died. While there was a remedy for angry bongas and
ancestor spirits who could be appeased by sacrifices— first of fowls,
then goats, and if these two did not work then bullocks and buffa­
loes were offered—there was none for the witches, who had to be
removed.10 Dalton extends the argument to include animals as well,
‘All diseases in men or animals (are) attributed to one of two causes,
the wrath of some evil spirit who has to be appeased, or to the spell
of some witch or sorcerer who should be destroyed or driven out of
(the) land’. 11 The evidence that witchcraft has been an integral
part of the tribal medicine system is provided by Bodding (1986),12
who enumerated a fairly elaborate system of root medicines and
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 371
herbs. The fieldwork amongst the Chota Nagpur tribes show that,
their world of ‘medicine’ is a complex one consisting of sacrifices,
mantras (incantations), divinations, and amulets provided by the
medicine man or the ojha. If the ailing person does not heal from
whatever medicine is prescribed, the medicine man is called and
he responds with his armoury of traditional roots and herbs which
would then magically cure the patient. Bodding notes that, ‘. . . it
is not strange that a suspicion is always present that witches may
be at work when people fall ill and do not recover.’13 Man writes of
the tribal communities attitude towards the witches that ‘no rea­
soning with them, nor ridicule can dissuade them of their belief in
witches, and of the necessity of their being at once murdered’.14

II

WITCHES AND LOOSE WOMEN: MODES OF

VIOLENCE AND PERSECUTION

Reports of witch hunting, that is violence against a woman and

driving her out of the village in the least and killing her the maxi­
mum penalty, is reported in the Indian newspapers. The perse­
cution of women accused of witchcraft is usually seen as being
linked with local superstitions, so that any study requires a sensitive
approach ‘without hurting the pride and sentiments of the local
population’ and creating a ‘tribal-non-tribal divide’. However, a
significant number of cases in Jharkhand have been among non­
tribals, so the problem is not exclusive to tribals. This is a method
by which women can be dominated and oppressed per se. The belief
that superstition and illiteracy are the main causes of witchcraft-
related persecution is also debatable. The case studies presented
below suggest that, there is usually a complex background of eco­
nomic subjugation of the woman, sexual exploitation and the per­
secution of widows and independent women who are vocal. As in
the case of sati, victimizing women as witches can be seen as the
height of patriarchal suppression, which devalues and undermines
a woman in society, and ‘keeps her in a property less and resourceless
state’.15 Women are an easy target, because they are more involved
372 Bashabi Gupta
in everyday activities, like the collection of firewood. For example,
the forest department guards often catch them when they are walking
through the forests, and accuse them of planning to collect forest
products. They also come in for sexual harassment from the guards.
Thus, women have reason to feel angry with the forest department,
though such anger has to be suppressed. This represents a partial
picture of different aspects of everyday repression. Quite often, the
male perpetrators and other female onlookers keep quiet about the
entire episode. The women keep quiet, because there is always a
fear that they might also be thus branded and subjected to continued
violence. The men keep quiet as this silence emboldens them to
commit more such crimes and also hide their wrongs. So it benefits
them to be silent. This reveals the strength of the social sanction
which forms a tight web of consent and silence which traps the
victim of violence and protects its perpetrators. In each of these
cases, social sanction and agreement prevent the women from
gaining any form of support and assistance from the villagers. During
the interviews with the women members of the village community
and various witch doctors in West Singhbhum, Palamau, Gumla
and Dhanbad, it was evident that the belief in evil spirits (including
witchcraft) is part of a villager’s life. The men believed that killing
a woman suspected of practising witchcraft cleansed society and
served his community. Villagers attribute a range of unpleasant
happenings to witchcraft: accidents, unexplained deaths, chronic
and incurable diseases, epidemics, crop failure, failure of a woman
to have sons and death of livestock, among other things. It is,
therefore, not difficult to instigate villagers against a particular
woman by claiming that she is responsible for some misfortune.
However, villagers would not translate their beliefs into action unless
certain prominent people approved of them doing so, and gave
permission for violence. This is because, where the belief is real,
there is a genuine fear that the ‘witch’ would harm anyone who
ventured close to her. This is well, illustrated in an interview with
women from in West Singhbhum, Dhanbad, Gumla, Giridih and
Hazaribagh. Discussing witchcraft, the women (many of whom
belong to a women’s group associated with literacy programmes)
expressed fear about a spinster, who lived alone and whom everyone
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 373
suspected of being a witch. This woman had been attacked by the
villagers at the instigation of a few local men, but the police inter­
vened, and the attacks stopped. On further investigation, it was
discovered that the instigators had managed to extort some property
from the woman and so were probably allowing the matter to rest.
The villagers, however, genuinely believe that the woman is a witch
and have boycotted her since they fear her evil powers. They want
her to leave, but without the headman’s sanction they cannot take
any action against her. The key issue, then, concerns certain powerful
people in the community who exploit the villagers’ superstitious
belief in persecuting women as witches. That initial push ultimately
leads to a drastic crime. The conspiracy of silence, and sanctioned
violence in the case of witchcraft-related crimes have major impli­
cations for property ownership and control of that said property
by women. The most difficult aspect of development involves
encountering the belief system of a society, especially when this is
part of the ethos and culture of the community. A tribal political
party member reacted sharply to proposed legislation against witch­
craft since he felt that this would ‘aggravate tribal sentiment against
non-tribals’. Hence, even the police find it a highly sensitive issue;
few if any, at all comprehend the complexity of the issue and the
range of factors it encompasses. In regions where witchcraft-related
crimes are common, a woman dare not protest or oppose the social
system, for fear of being labelled a witch. The case illustrations
clearly reveal that persecuting women as witches is pre-planned
and systematically perpetrated. The main motive is to ensure that
women remain inferior in status to men and that they have no
control over resources or decision making. Other motives, which
are usually part and parcel of this, are for material gain (such as
wresting property from the woman by conveniently labelling her a
witch), existing family feuds, and sexual exploitation.
Violence against women is a clear indication of their degraded
social status and vulnerability and witchcraft related crimes show
this. Kelkar and Nathan (1991) argue that ‘. . . we cannot infer
the low-status of women from witch-hunting, for witch-hunting
is prevalent where women have a relatively high status, and that it
reflects an attack on the existing status of women.’ This argument
374 Bashabi Gupta
is legitimate to the extent that women who have attempted to
assert themselves in a male dominated society, women who have
resisted sexual advances from powerful men and women who are
widows with land rights, or widows with daughters or wives of the
men who are fighting land disputes on land owned, are amongst
the most probable victims of witch hunting. In other words, it is
usually women who have in some way threatened men’s superior
position in society and those who own land as property who come
under attack. Thus, witch hunting discourages any attempt by
women to assert themselves and ensures that they maintain their
inferior position in society. Regions where witch hunting is com­
mon are also areas where women are denied participation in village
council meetings, and have no decision making power regarding
village matters, such as deciding wages for labour. All these deci­
sions are made by men and result in discrimination against women.
In addition, women face violence frequently, usually in the form of
assault by their husbands. Given their lack of social security, net
and marginalized livelihood scenario, the village headmen, i.e. manki
and the priest, i.e. pahan and the traditional administration system
allows the headman unilateral power in deciding village affairs and
settling disputes. Incidentally, the village manki and the pahan
are hereditary positions and they wield immense power in the
access to and distribution of common property resources. It has
also been noted that due to the private property in land ideals
operating within the overarching nontribal administration, who
have little knowledge about the common property resources and
their ownership and usurfructuary rights of many, over land that
used to belong to the village common have been registered in the
name of the manki in the colonial period. This was further sanc­
tioned legally in the new settlement surveys that were conducted
in Jharkhand in 1961-2 in Paschimi Singhbhum, and 1975-6 in
Dhanbad. These surveys made these common areas of land over to
be the individually owned private property to the mankis and the
pahans. In January 1995, a report from the Bhuria Committee
accepted the community ‘as the basic unit of the system of self-
governance in tribal areas’. The report further suggested that all
resolutions of disputes, day-to-day administration, investigation,
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 375
and adjudication of all matters should be managed by the village
community. Thus, on the one hand, the report hopes to promote
control over natural resources and usufruct rights over forest
produce, while on the other, it accepts a non-democratic, gender-
biased, and partisan system of administration, which will legiti­
mize a village headman’s power and subject women to further
subjugation.

III

THE ANTI-WITCHCRAFT LAWS IN JHARKHAND

The Prevention of the Witch (daain) Practices Act was passed in

then undivided Bihar assembly in 1999, and was adopted by the
Jharkhand State Assembly in 2002. A witch is defined in it as a
person who practises sorcery, a sorcerer or sorceress, one having
supernatural powers in the natural world, especially to work evil
spirits or the devil; formerly used for men, women and children,
now generally restricted to women; an ugly, malignant old woman;
a hag; a bewitching or fascinating woman or girl or a crone. It states
that the practice of witchcraft is not a real one and that no woman
can be tortured or oppressed under the presumption that she is a
witch or indulges in witchcraft. The word dayan means a woman,
who has been identified as a witch by someone else having the power
or intention of harming any person through the art of black magic,
cast an evil eye or chant mantras. It is assumed that she would
harm other person/persons, or the community at large in some
manner. The aforementioned Act has the following provisions:
● The Identifier is a person who initially identifies or takes the
initiative in identifying another person as a witch or dayan or
who otherwise abets, instigates or facilitates such an identifica­
tion in any manner by deliberate action, manner, words, etc.,
for causing harm to the person and his/her safety, security and
reputation of whom he identifies as a witch.
● The ojha or witch doctor means a person, who claims himself to
have a capacity to attain control over a witch whether he be
known by the name of the guni or shekha or ojha, etc.
376 Bashabi Gupta
● The penalties imposed on the people include the identifier with
imprisonment for a term that may extend for three months or
with a fine of Rs. 1,000 or both.
● Damages for causing harm to any person by torture both physical
and mental by identifying her as a witch, whether deliberately
or otherwise shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to 6 months or a fine of Rs. 2,000 or both.
The damage claim may also be settled by a judge or jury on
successful proof provided by the plaintiff. Whoever does any act
of healing or curing any woman said to be a witch or causing
harm or torturing any woman for curing will also attract a pun­
ishment of Rs. 2,000 or one year of imprisonment.
● Abetments, conspiracies, aids, instigations in the identification
of the dayan is to be punished with imprisonment for a term
that may extend to three months or a fine of Rs. 1,000 or both.

All these crimes are cognizable and non-bailable in nature. These

laws are also to be read in conjunction with other laws regarding
murder and torture, abduction and imprisonment as defined under
the Indian Penal Code.
In most cases that come to the courts of law, there is a murder
charge along with those of wrongful confinement/imprisonment,
assault, sexual offence, etc., in addition to those of witchcraft.
Hereafter, one can refer to three case laws where this law was
applied. The first one is case no Criminal Appeal No. 204 of 1996
(R) decided on 4 November 2003, Rasika Champia vs. State of
Bihar/Jharkhand. In this case, the wife of Udai Champia, an em­
ployee of the Gua mines was murdered by his neighbour Rasika
Champia. The incident that caused this murder was that in the
evening, their other neighbours Ramai Champia, who was the son
of the accused Lodro Champia was ill and ailing and two men
Mata Champia and Birsingh Deogam had been called for jhad­
phook and pujapath to cure him. This event was witnessed by many
people of the locality. After the ceremonies were over, the deceased
woman Suramani Champia was identified by them as the person,
who had practised witchcraft on the ill-child. All the three men,
then, told the other people gathered there that unless she was
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 377
finished she would cause harm to the whole village. Upon hearing
this, Rasika Champia seized a pharsi or a tanga and attacked her.
This assault with the sharp weapon caused her death. The hus­
band when he came back, was informed of all these occurrences by
his children, who were witness to the whole series of events. During
the trial, it came to be known that there was some land related
dispute between the two families. In this case, the people were
charged for murder, assault under section 302/120B IPC and under
the prevention of the Witch Practices Act. The perpetrators were
punished with rigorous imprisonment for life. This appeal was
upheld even in the appellate courts of Judges Hari Shankar Prasad
and Amareshwar Sahay.
The second success story was that of Sushil Murmu vs. State of
Jharkhand Crl Appeal No. 947 with Crl Appeal No. 874 of 2002
decided on 12 December 2003 in the court of Judges Doraiswamy
Raju and Arijit Pasayat. This was a case where death sentence was
awarded to the perpetrators of child sacrifice in the name of sacri­
fice for personal gain by appellant.
The third case is that of Panchu Majhi vs. State of Bihar/Jhar­
khand, Crl Appeal No. 275 of 1990 decided on 4 October 2001
in the court of Justice B.N.P. Singh. Here, the appellant was the
wife of the deceased person who had been killed by the assault of
several persons. This case saw the acquittal of the accused as the
prosecution failed to establish its case and there were gaps in the
investigation as well as the prosecution process in the court. No
charge sheet was filed in the case, the investigating officer did not
testify, and it was found that the parties involved in the crime were
already fighting other cases regarding land occupation and owner­
ship rights against the deceased and his wife. Thus, this case was
dismissed as the prosecution failed to establish its case and the
court did not rule out false implication of persons involved.
The law in Jharkhand has been restricted to district court rooms
and able lawyers. Yes, it has not been applied in a widespread
manner and the state government has also not held any advocacy
or dissemination work on the said law. Very few cases are filed
under this law and no case was filed under this law exclusively. Yet,
the number of women, who have been displaced and dispossessed
378 Bashabi Gupta
grows with each passing day. Thus, this law needs more strong
sections and enhanced capacity as only then it will be used widely
and effectively.

NOTES
1. Valerie A., Kivelson, ‘Lethal Convictions: The Power of a Satanic Paradigm
in Russian and European Witch Trials in Magic’, Ritual and Witchcraft,
vol. 6, no. 1, Summer, 2011, pp. 34-61, University of Pennsylvania Press,
DOI: 10.1353/mrw.2011.0014.
2. P.O. Bodding, Studies in Santal Medicine and Connected Folklore, Calcutta:
Asiatic Society, 1986, p. 38.
3. P.O. Bodding, Horkoren Mare Hapramko Reak Katha: The Traditions and
Institutions of the Santhals, New Delhi: Bahumukhi Prakashan, 1994. The
first version of this Santhal text was published in 1887 by L.O. Skrefsrud
and was translated with notes and additions by P.O. Bodding in 1942.
4. Valentine, Ball, Tribal and Peasant Life in Nineteenth Century India, Delhi:
Usha Publications, 1985, (originally published in 1880).
5. S.C. Roy, ‘Magic and Witchcraft in Chhota-Nagpur’, in Man in India,
vol. 33, no. 3, 1984 (reproduced from a paper originally written in 1914):
Oraon Religion and Customs, Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, Delhi, 1985.
6. E.G. Man, Sonthalia and the Sonthals, Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1983,
(originally published in 1867), p. 152.
7. J. Troisi, Tribal Religion: Religious Beliefs and Practices among the Santals,
New Delhi: Manohar, 1979, p. 402.
8. S.C. Roy, ‘Magic and Witchcraft in Chhota-Nagpur’, in Man in India,
vol. 33, no. 3 (reproduced from a paper originally written in 1914); Oraon
Religion and Customs, Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 1985 (originally
published in 1928), p. 257.
9. Raut, pp. 401-3.
10. Singhbhum Old Records, p. 271.
11. E.T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, Calcutta: Firma K.L.
Mukhopadhyaya, 1872.
12. P.O. Bodding, Studies in Santal Medicine and Connected Folklore, Calcutta:
Asiatic Society, 1986 (originally published in 1925).
13. Ibid.
14. E.G. Man, Sonthalia and the Sonthals, Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1983
(originally published in 1867), p. 152.
15. Shiney Varghese, ‘Resistance, and Development: A Case Study from Dangs’,
Development in Practice, vol. 3, no. 1, February 1993, pp. 3-15.
 Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand 379
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Readings in Tribal Life, vol. I: Religion and Magic, New Delhi: Indian Social
Institute, 1979.
——, Tribal Law and Justice: A Report on the Santals, New Delhi: Concept
Publishing Company, 1984.
Ball, Valentine, Tribal and Peasant Life in Nineteenth Century India, Delhi:
Usha Publications, 1985 (originally published in 1880).
Behringer, Wolfgang, ‘Witches and Witch-Hunts: A Global History’, Themes
in History, Polity Press, 4; Midelfort, ‘Witch Craze’, 2000.
——, ‘Climate Change and Witch-Hunting: The Impact of the Little Ice Age on
Mentalities, Climate Change’, in 43, no.1 (online at www.springerlink.com/
content/n128666646273840/); and his Witches and Witch-Hunts,
pp. 51-88; 158-62, 1999.
Bhadra, G., ‘Four Rebels of Eighteen Fifty Seven’, in Ranajit Guha (ed), Subal­
tern Studies IV, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1985.
Bodding, P.O., Studies in Santal Medicine and Connected Folklore, Calcutta:
Asiatic Society, 1986 (originally published in 1925).
——, Horkoren Mare Hapramko Reak Katha: The Traditions and Institutions of
the Santhals, New Delhi: Bahumukhi Prakashan, 1994, the first version of
this Santhal text was published in 1887 by L.O. Skrefsrud and was trans­
lated with notes and additions by P.O. Bodding in 1942.
Chaudhuri, S.B., Civil Rebellion in the Indian Mutinies, 1857-59, Calcutta:
The World Press, 1957.
Crooke, W., The Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India, Delhi:
Munshiram Manoharlal, 1969 (originally published in 1896).
Dalton, E.T., Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, Calcutta: K.L. Mukhopadhyaya,
1872.
Kieckhefer, ‘Mythologies of Witchcraft in the Fifteenth Century’, 1980.
Man, E.G., Sonthalia and the Sonthals, Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1983
(originally published in 1867).
Prasad, ‘Witchcraft among the Santhals of Mayurbhanj’, in J. Troisi (ed.), The
Santals: Readings in Tribal Life, vol. I, Religion and Magic, New Delhi:
Indian Social Institute, 1979, the article was originally published in Adivasi,
vol. 8, no. 4.
Ray, Rajat Kanta, The Felt Community: Commonality and Mentality before
the Emergence of Indian Nationalism, Delhi: Oxford University Press,
2003.
Roy Choudhury, P.C., Bihar District Gazetteers: Singhbhum, Patna: Superinten­
380 Bashabi Gupta
dent, Secretariat Press, (1959): 1857 in Bihar (Chhotanagpur and Santhal
Parganas), Gazetteer’s Revision Section, Revenue Department, Patna.
Roy, S.C., ‘Magic and Witchcraft in Chhota Nagpur’, in Man in India, vol. 33,
No. 3 (reproduced from a paper originally written in 1914) (1985): Oraon
Religion and Customs, Gyan Publishing House, Delhi (originally pub­
lished in 1928).
Troisi, J., Tribal Religion: Religious Beliefs and Practices among the Santals,
New Delhi: Manohar, 1979.
 C H A P T E R 20

Witchcraft: Power Relations and

Totemism of the Bodos
D I N A S WA RG I A R I

INTRODUCTION

Witchcraft has evolved as a concept and changed into different

forms over the years and in different cultural contexts. The belief
in witchcraft, carried over from generation to generation continues
to hold sway over the minds of people even in the twenty-first
century. A witch is understood to be someone, who possesses magical
powers and conjuring capabilities; the practices carried out by the
witch are called witchcraft. Witchcraft involves the tapping of super­
natural powers through prayers, petitions and rituals. Witches
are believed to use plants, herbs, hair, pieces of cloth, nails, spit
and indulge in destructive activities. They are believed to possess
powers that can cure people of their illness, and who can also use
these powers to harm others. They are believed to frequently visit
burial places and often prepare their concoction from the ashes
of the dead. They are regarded as harmful for society, so in most
cases they are hunted down, socially excluded, displaced, severely
punished or killed, a process which is popularly known as witch
hunting. In fact, it was legally sanctioned in countries like France,
Germany, Norway, Russia, Netherlands and Switzerland from the
1300s and legal witch hunting continued in Europe till the eigh­
teenth century. 1 After the enlightenment period, witch hunting
has been regarded as an illegal accusation and violation of human
382 Dina Swargiari
rights, but it is still practised in the current twenty-first century
in some parts of India.
In India, though not legally permitted today, finding out witches
is an established process for most of the villages or tribes who still
continue with this practice. In contemporary times, the practice
of witch hunting is more prominent among the people living in
rural areas. Evidences from the National Crime Record Bureau has
made it clear that, in India, each year 200 women are killed as
witches in rural India. During the year 2000-2001, there were
253 cases of witch hunting, and in 2008-12, more than 768 women
have been murdered for allegedly practising witchcraft. The report
consists of the registered witch hunting cases in Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal. Here,
middle-aged and elderly single women in tribal, as well as non-
tribal areas are branded as witches and they suffer social stigma,
displacement, economic boycott, torture and murder. This is pro­
minent mostly among the tribals living in rural areas.2 The tradi­
tional belief that the person, who practises witchcraft, causes harm
to his or her community through abuse of magical power has
existed for millennia. This social evil has raised its ugly head in
Assam following recent incidents of killing of innocent people in
the name of witch hunting. The lack of scientific understanding
results in loss of life and damage of properties of a large number of
innocent people. Taking the traditional and religious belief in witch­
craft for granted, some powerful people of the village find it easy to
brand anyone as ‘witch’ by spreading constructed evidence among
the folks. The condition of the victimized person also reveals their
marginalized status and tells us about an inherent power structure
and power-politics at work which leads to such social problem
as witch hunting. In Assam, the practice of witch hunting is pre­
valent mostly among the Adivasis, the Bodos, Mishings and
Rabhas living in districts like rural Kamrup, Goalpara, Kokrajhar,
Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, Sonitpur, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji
and Karbi Anglong. The current study is based on the Bodos living
in Kokrajhar and Udalguri districts of Assam, which are taken as
field area.
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 383
BODOS AND TOTEMISM

The word ‘Bodo’ denotes both the language and the community
and is pronounced with a high tone on the second syllable. The
Bodos (pronounced Bo-ros) represent one of the largest of the
18 ethnic sub-groups within the Kachari group, first classified in
the nineteenth century. The Bodos have settled in most areas of
the north-east and in some parts of Nepal. They are an ethnic and
linguistic community and early settlers of Assam in the north-east.
In feature and general appearance, the Bodos are very close to the
Mongolian races and this would seem to point to Tibet and China
as the original home of the race. The Bodos are recognized as a
plains tribe in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Udal­
guri and Kokrajhar are considered as the nerve centres of the Bodo
area in Assam. The culture of the Bodo people of India is influ­
enced by the land, where they currently live in. For a long time,
Bodos have been farmers, with a strong tradition of fishing, rearing
poultry, piggery and cultivation of silkworm, growing rice, jute,
mustard and corn and betel nuts. They are primarily a patriarchal
and a patrilineal society. They observe religious and seasonal festi­
vals. Bodo society is based on totemistic clannish division. They
have beliefs and faiths regarding certain objects of nature which
they accept as their own. There is a clannish division of Bodo society
like mosahary (the tiger folk), here, ‘mosa’ means tiger and ‘ary’
means ‘folk’. Similarly there are other clans like Owary (bamboo
folk), Swargiary (heaven folk), Boisomuthiary (earth folk), Daimary
(water folk), Goyary (arecanut folk), Hajoary (hill folk), etc. based
on their totem. Thus, it can be seen that the common last names
of the members of Bodo community are Owary, Swargiary, Brahma,
Boro, Mohilary, Basumatary, Dwimary, Goyary, Khakhlary, Mosa­
hary, Narzary, Iswary, Chamframary, Hajowary and so on which
are always related to natural objects.3 Traditionally, the Bodos were
followers of the Bathou Religion. However, through the ages, a
large number of Bodos have converted to other institutionalized
religions like Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, etc. In recent de­
cades, they have been influenced by social reforms under Brahma
Dharma, Assamese Sarania, Islam, and the spread of Christianity.
384 Dina Swargiari
Today, there are Bodos who follow Bathou, and there are a sizeable
number of followers of Christianity and followers of Brahmo Samaj.
The Bathou religion incorporates rites, rituals, social norms, eth­
ics and philosophy of the Bodos. P.C. Bhattacharjee opined that
the supreme God of the Bodos, Bathoubrai (In Bodo language Ba
= five, thou = deep, bwrai = old man and burwi = old women) also
known as Shivbarwi (Shiva in Hindu) has created the universe with
the help of his wife Shivburwi. The sijou plant (Euphorbia splenden)
is taken as the symbol of God for worship and so, this plant is
planted in their altar as an emblem of supreme God. ‘Bathou’ as a
religion is based on the ‘philosophy of five’ or ‘the principle of
five’. Their philosophy states sijoua siriba, bathoua bandoba, which
means that the sijou tree has five spines and Bathou has five ties.
Five is a significant number in the Bathou religion, which denotes
the five spiritual elements, viz. ong, hring, khling, fwt and che, they
are respectively–soil, air, water, fire and sky. Bathou always be­
lieves in five principles. The believers are of the opinion that,
though Bathou the creator is not visible, He can be realized by his
five elements or virtues. Those five elements have been tied into
five bond unions or principles. A clean surface near the home or
courtyard is considered as an ideal place for worship where a sijou
is planted. Usually, a pair of arecanut called goi and betel leaf called
pathwi is used as an offering there. On some occasions, the offering
for Bathou includes rice, milk and sugar. Kherai, the biggest festi­
val of the Bodos represents the theosophical, ethical and religious
perspective of their life. It is observed by praying to Obonglaori
(Almighty) for the well-being of the villagers and society as a whole.
Though they worship eighteen other gods or goddesses, Modai
Daodai, their belief centres mainly on the Supreme Being, almighty
Shivbwrai or Bathoubwrai. During the Kherai festival, the ojha
(traditional healer and spiritual leader) plays the primary role of
chanting mantras for praying to God and forwarding necessary in­
structions for the purposes. The douri (priest) assists him in activi­
ties related to divinity and rituals. The doudini (female dancer who
gets possessed by spirits) is not only a dancing oracle during the
Kherai featival of the Bodos. She also turns into another form of
divinity who advises the villagers with her newly acquired power
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 385
of foretelling. All of them perform according to a certain code of
discipline concerning the sanctity and purity of Kherai Puja.4

POWER OF BODO WOMEN

Like most societies, The Bodo Community is patriarchal. According

to Anil Boro, ‘The domestic life of the Bodos follows the patriar­
chal family pattern. The male member of the family is the head of
the family and the owner of the family but of course the female
members of the family are never kept under suppression and ex­
cessive male domination’.5 However, Bodo women do have the
liberty to work. The household work like cooking, maintaining
cleanliness in the house, providing food for each and every mem­
ber of the family and so on are done by the women. Moreover,
extra work for additional income such as rearing of pigs, hens, goat
and ducks is done by women and the produce of the kitchen gar­
den owned by her in the house is often used as she wishes. So, the
division of work between husband and wife in a Bodo family is
based on the necessity and physical capability to support family
life. The Dongkha Haba (Dong means possess, kha means ever or
already) is a traditional widow remarriage system which has the
significance of ensuring dignity and sanctity of the Bodo women.
There is no bar in getting married to a widow. Even a widower or
unmarried young man can enter into such a marriage through
mutual understanding of guardians concerned and the villagers.
Bodo women have right to participate in the decision making of
village council, Gamini Affat. Ishing (a room of mother house called
Noma No with an altar of Bathou Bwrai and Mainao), and Bakhri,
which means granary are exclusively under the care and control of
Bodo women.6

RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM

It is generally seen that belief in the existence of supernatural powers

is very often a corollary to the belief in religion. One takes recourse
to magic when religion fails to produce desired results. Unpredictable
natural events, inadequate health facilities and calamitous situations
386 Dina Swargiari
lead to the belief in supernatural forces. The control of supernatural
forces by means of compulsive formulae is known as magic. Magic
is practised and cannot be separated fully from the worship of
gods. While the gods are moved by prayer, and they are petitioned
for general well-being, magic is always used with reference to spe­
cific problems. Magic is an integral part of tribal religion and its
importance is equally noteworthy in the case of Bodo traditional
religion. The chants of the douris the oracles of the doudini, and
the different performative feats during the religious festivals parti­
cularly Kherai as mentioned above, are important aspects of the
ritual. Almost all the performances in this ritualistic religious festival
are in the active magical circumstances. Particularly, as the Doudini
while performing the ritual, gets possessed by the spirit of different
gods, she is a possessed being with supernatural powers. Her words
of prophesy and actions of supernatural performance puts the out­
come in such a way that the folk believe and live according to the
doudini’s credibility. This practice is in fact, a community reliance
that holds the status of ritualistic religious magic which can never
be defined as witchcraft.
It is important to note that in the cultural milieu of Assam, the
traditional belief in witchcraft is prevalent in many communities.
According to Initial name Brahma, in most tribal communities of
Assam, religion and magic are often taken together and regarded
as complementary to each other.7 For instance, in the Bodo com­
munity of Assam, dayan or witch is believed to possess a special
spirit of animals that perform services for them. They are, thereby,
considered harmful to the society as it is believed that they can
bring harm, illness and diseases to people. The suspected person is
hunted down, physically tortured, driven out of villages, socially
excluded and in some cases even killed on the alleged charge of
being a witch and practising witchcraft. New forms of wealth and
inequality, rapid growth of individualism and enmity increased
social tensions among the Bodo community, are explicable in terms
of occult power or witchcraft. Montague Summers argues that
‘Witchcraft was inextricably mixed with politics’. The Malleus
Maleficarum, published in 1484 by Heinrich Kramer and James
Sprenger, two of the inquisition’s foremost prosecutors and both
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 387
Dominican monks, pieced together a patchwork of the many
political, religious and personal anxieties associated with the con­
cept of the witch in the late fifteenth century.8
More than the occult practices like witchcraft, sorcery and magic,
the witch hunts are practised increasingly in the Bodo community.
When one looks back to the history of witch hunting in the Western
countries, it is easy to understand that during the 1560s–1600s,
The French wars of religion between Protestants and Roman Catho­
lics divided France and encouraged witch hunting.9 Prior to the
process of Christianization, metaphysical powers were understood
as ambiguous terms. With the spread of Zionism, however, ‘good’
and ‘evil’ were increasingly constructed in binary opposition. And
witchcraft came to be identified only with the ‘evil’ side of this
polarity. Contextual evidence of insiders such as dreams, divination,
mysterious events and confessions could be sufficient for accusa­
tions of witchcraft even in situations where no social tensions were
present.10

POWER RELATIONS AND TRIBAL SOCIETY

Witch hunting attracts more attention than the craft itself. The
traditional belief in witchcraft is most common among poor rural
communities with little access to education and health services,
and so, having more and longstanding practice of witch hunting.
Among the Bodos, when an individual gets sick or harm befalls
the community, the blame falls not upon a virus or a disease affect­
ing crop, but an alleged witch. The ojha, who works as a local/
village medicine man plays a crucial role in this context. Witch
hunting cases most often reveal that the marginalization of the
alleged witches start with the discourse of the ojha’s pointing out
the diseases as the work of witch. The alleged witches are blamed
and the process of accusation takes its course. The version of the
victim (witch) of witch hunting is powerless compared to that of
the group of people in the community who stand against her. As
Foucault said, an individual is powerless compared to institutions,
groups or the state.
Witch hunting has a high incidence among certain tribes like
388 Dina Swargiari
the Bodos and Adivasis of Assam. Illiteracy, poverty and lack of
access to health care are definitely contributing towards perpetu­
ating the scourge. The situation is extremely disquieting. A grim
reminder is the fact that even in the millennium, when scientific
knowledge is breaking new grounds, many of our societies have
not been able to put their dark, primitive days behind, with igno­
rance and superstition throttling rational thinking and fuelling
mass frenzy. In this backdrop, the recent gruesome killings of some
innocent men and women, mostly elderly couples, on the alleged
charge of being witches and practising witchcraft, thereby, induc­
ing harm, disease, illness to some persons in certain Bodo and
Adivasi areas of Assam are not only diabolic, but inhuman as well.
Among the Bodo community, the belief in witchcraft first origi­
nated due to polygamy. The conflicts among co-wives and their
resentment led to the intention of harming others out of envy,
hate, selfishness, power and wrath.
In the article, ‘The Idea of “Evil” among the Bodos: Text and
Context’, Anjali Daimary discusses the Bodo Adivasi practice of
witch hunting and the resultant murder of poor women among
them. According to her, it is believed that remedy of a disease
caused by an evil spirit or black magic can be cured only by the
ojha (traditional medicine man) or kaviraj (shaman), who has the
power to drive away the evil spirit. It is a belief that a disease
caused by black magic can only be countered or cured by counter
magic. The dayan (witch) and the ojha are, therefore, constitutive
of the everyday life, health, sickness, cure and the culture of indig­
enous medicinal knowledge of the Bodos. The dayan is seen as the
propitiator of that evil. The majority of the Bodos believe that one
requires an ojha to identify a dayan, but the irony is that, as case
studies reveal, the kaviraj is no different from dayan and often uses
his privileged position as the medicine man to marginalize and
subordinate the dayan, associating her with all that is evil. This
establishes a hierarchy of actors that functions in accordance with
the contexts of need and belief in Bodo society. And also, Daimari
says that, it would not be an over-statement to say that evil arises
from a hierarchical social order, and when the order fails to deliver,
it attempts to sustain its legitimacy by those practices that have an
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 389
evil effect. Daimari’s exploration of the conflict between dayan and
ojha and the marginalization of the former by the latter brings out
this not so easily understandable mechanism of authority and le­
gitimization within the Bodo social hierarchy.11

POWER RELATIONS AND GENDER

The Malleus Maleficarum (a medieval treatise on witches) stated, ‘All

witchcraft arises from lust, which in women is insatiable’. Witches’
lust was supposedly for the devil, echoing the story of Eve and it
was believed that the devil could easily seduce women to join him.
This explained why most of the accused witches were female. In
the book Counterfeiting God: James VI (I) and the Politics of Demono­
logie, Fischlin Daniel says that the history of witchcraft is the his­
tory, in part, of male anxieties about their own empowerment, sexual
or otherwise. But, it is also the history of women’s oppression as
gendered political subjects constructed by patriarchy, and as sub­
jects who posed in their demonized collectivity particular threats
to male empowerment. There is a substantial, though often unrec­
ognized connection, between sexual empowerment and political
empowerment and, as Deborah Willis has noted, ‘To varying de­
grees and with varying emphases, elite discourse about the witch
was concerned with promoting a new religious orthodoxy and
maintaining political order and social hierarchy’. In most of the
incidents or cases, accusations are made because it is believed that,
the witch gains subversive power not only through her ability to
dismember, but also through her control over the choice of the
male member. She also has the power of critique, her comment
regarding the parish priest being an obvious anti-clerical dig at the
widespread corruption of the clergy, and thus an attack on a form
of religious hierarchy.12 A similar kind of marginalization of the
subordinate section of the society is seen in the Bodo Society.
In rural Assam, the ojha, a traditional medicine man also known
as the kabiraj, is revered for his supposed skills at countering black
magic. According to traditional Bodo folklore, the medicine man
learns his skills. Witches, however, are said to be born with their
powers. This is a convenient distinction in what are typically
390 Dina Swargiari
patriarchal communities. It is rare to find a female ojha. ‘When a
woman practices traditional medicines, it is considered to be some­
thing evil’,13 Denial of sexual favour, for instance, can also be a
strong motivating factor behind witch hunts. Tradition, thus, be­
comes a shield and justification for violence against women. While
one section of the community is absolutely convinced that witch
hunting is good, there is another section that uses this tradition
for their own benefit. However, it remains a fact that generally
everyone does believe in the power of witchcraft. Witch hunting is
a powerful emotion that can drive a crowd to a state of mass frenzy.
In most cases, the prevailing atmosphere after a ‘successful’ witch
hunt is one of joyous triumph over evil. There is no doubt in the
minds of the believers that the ‘hunt’ is necessary to wipe out
evil.14 Diane Purkiss in her book, The Witch in History: Early Modern
and Twentieth-century Representations, examines the way early modern
villagers, and especially women, themselves fashioned stories about
the figure of the witch, stories which helped to define their identi­
ties. She argues that the witch is not solely or simply the creation
of patriarchy, but that women also invested heavily in the figure as
a fantasy, which allowed them to express and manage otherwise
unspeakable fears and desires, centring on the question of mother­
hood and children. Purkiss looks at the presentation of the witch
on the early modern stage. She examines the way in which these
village stories were taken up and reshaped by early modern drama­
tists, who turned them into spectacular stage shows and interpre­
tative challenges leading to moral homilies; the effect was to give
the witch public meaning in defining the place of the stage and
the notion of good order in the political and social realms. She also
examines the way the women accused of witchcraft used the op­
portunity of supernatural agency and confession to shape an iden­
tity for themselves, which represented a compromise between their
understanding of the world and the categories developed by more
educated people.15 Witch hunting practices have exploited women
and their empowerment. Women are branded as witches very easily
and the beliefs of witchcraft are very fast to spread among the
womenfolk themselves through gossip and groupings. So, the issue
of witch hunting seems to be a gendered, moreover, a feminist issue.
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 391
CONCLUSION
There is a deep-rooted traditional belief in witchcraft, that are con­
nected to witch hunting practice among the Bodos. In reality, the
witch hunter wishes to punish the victim for a perceived transgres­
sion, such as refusing sexual advances, enmity, property dispute or
challenging an authority figure. But, by taking the advantage of
the traditional and strong belief on witchcraft, the hunters brand
someone as a witch and she is handed over to the villagers who
spread constructed evidence and narratives regarding her. The vil­
lagers are not aware that the selfish motive of the hunters is always
there behind it. Almost all the narratives about the witch remain
unquestioned because the villager regards all of them as true. P.O.
Bodding (1986) mentioned, ‘There is no genuine Santal who does
not believe in witches’.16 This statement is equally applicable for
the Bodos of Assam. ‘Bathou’ the totemistic religion of the Bodos
asserts the credibility of the doudini. And it is necessary to note
that the folk believe and live according to the doudini’s prophecy
and action. It is made clear here that the practice is in fact, a
community prop that holds the status of ritualistic religious magic
which can never be defined as witchcraft.
The members of the whole village or community are in one way
or the other involved in the accusation of the victims of witch
hunting. The ojha points out the diseases as the work of witches
and this plays a major role in strengthening the belief in witchcraft.
In fact, it is rare to find a female ojha, whereas there are more female
witches. But, the irony is that it is not only the male section of the
society who accuses the witch for practising witchcraft. There is
not always marginalization, domination or discrimination of women
by men but also the deep and strong belief in witchcraft, which
both men and women spread while in interaction with the people
not necessarily confined to the members of their own village. Sub­
jectivities from different people get connected to each others’ be­
liefs as a result of which the evidence, either real or constructed
extend and become popular narratives among the people. The
spread of such narratives occurs, due to lack of information among
the folks who are mostly illiterate and find it hard to adopt to the
changing aspects of science and technologies.
392 Dina Swargiari
NOTES

1. William E. Burns, Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia,

London: Greenwood Press, 1959, p. xxi.
2. Joya Chakraborty, Anjuman Borah, ‘Witch hunting in Assam: Strategising
Alternative Media for Women Empowerment and Overcoming Supersti­
tion’, Journal of North East India Studies, 3.2(2013), pp. 15-24.
3. Nirjay Kumar Brahma, ‘A Study of Folk Wisdom of the Bodos’, Sunoasis
Writers Network, Retrieved 15 October 2011.
4. Nirjay Kumar Brahma, ‘A Study of Folk Wisdom of the Bodos’, Sunoasis
Writers Network, Retrieved 15 October 2011.
5. Anil Boro, Folk Literature of the Boros, Guwahati: Adhunik Prakashan,
2001, p. 9.
6. Nirjay Kumar Brahma, ‘A Study of Folk Wisdom of the Bodos’, Sunoasis
Writers Network, Retrieved 15 October 2011.
7. Kameswar Brahma, A Study of Socio Religious Beliefs Practices and Ceremonies
of the Bodos, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1992, p. 145.
8. Daniel Fischlin, ‘ “Counterfeiting God”: James VI(I) and the Politics of
“Demonologie”’ (1597), The Journal of Narrative Technique 26.1 (1996),
p. 1.
9. Brian A. Pavlac, Witch hunts in the Western World: Persecution and Punish­
ment from the Inquisition through the Salem Trials, Connecticut Westport,
London: Greenwood, 2009, p. XV.
10. Isak Niehaus, Mohlala Eliazaar and Kally, Witchcraft, Power and Politics:
Exploring the Occult in the South African Lowveld, London: Pluto Press,
2001.
11. Anjali Daimary, ‘The Idea of “Evil” among the Bodos: Text and Context’,
in Construction of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative and Discourse,
ed. Prasanjit Biswas and C. Joshua Thomas, New Delhi: SAGE publica­
tions, 2012.
12. Daniel Fischlin, ‘ “Counterfeiting God”: James VI(I) and the Politics of
“Demonologie”’ (1597), The Journal of Narrative Technique 26.1 (1996),
pp. 1-29.
13. Anjali Daimary, ‘The Idea of “Evil” among the Bodos: Text and Context’,
Construction of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative and Discourse, ed.
Prasanjit Biswas and C. Joshua Thomas, New Delhi: Sage publications,
2012.
14. Debarshi Prasad Nath, ‘Assam’s Tale of Witch-hunting and Indigeneity’,
Economic & Political Weekly XLIX. 37 (2014), pp. 54-60.
 Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos 393
15. Diane Purkiss, The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth-century
Representations, 1996.
16. Shashank Sinha, ‘Witch-Hunts, Adivasis, and the Uprising in Chhota­
nagpur’, Economic & Political Weekly, 42.19 (2007), pp. 1672-6.
Accessed on 28 March 2013, p. 1673.
 C H A P T E R 21

Notions of Witchcraft among the

Khamtis of Arunachal Pradesh
TAGE HABUNG &
RANJEETA MANNOW

INTRODUCTION

In all human societies, people distinguish between naturally caused

illness and illness caused supposedly by the supernatural. It has
been said that naturally caused categories of diseases are treated by
natural means, while the treatment of supernaturally caused ill­
ness lies in the realm of magico-religious healing. In simple societies
the theories of magico-religious healing reflect a faith and belief,
which can be called as elements of nonsequitur that cannot be ex­
plained scientifically. In such societies a number of deities, spirit
and humans are often associated with disease and the treatment of
such a disease is done accordingly. The concept of ‘witchcraft’ is
one which had always been taken as one of the worst stereotypical,
virulent, and extremely negative images in most people’s minds.
The term ‘witchcraft’ seems to be derived from the old English
word ‘wicca’ which means ‘female magician’. Witchcraft is the
supernatural action of witches, a term commonly used to describe
people, usually women, supposed to have dealings with the evil
spirits.1 Conceptualizing witchcraft, Max Weber (1970) defined it
as a type of technology used to tap supernatural power and direct
it toward specific empirical ends. Anthropological studies of witch­
craft document its widespread association with magic and religion
and it was Evans-Pritchard, who made the first detailed study of
396 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
witchcraft. He made detailed study of witchcraft, as a belief and
the way it is practised among the Zande of the Sudan-Congo
border in 1926-30.2 In his study, Evans-Pritchard found that among
the Zande tribes, most of the misfortunes are generally attributed
to witchcraft. He analyses the Zande belief system which empha­
sized the fact that it is an entirely logical way of explaining events.
In most of the societies ‘witchcraft’ is seen as a belief in the
supernatural power, that is inborn in some people that enable them
to work evil. Witches, men or women can harm simply by think­
ing evil thought or by casting the evil eye. Thus, witches are always
viewed negatively. They are universally considered as anti-social in
human society. The witches are seen as weird persons who embody
all feared and negative aspects of a culture. Witches undergo secret
trainings to acquire more powers and control the spiritual realms.
To acquire more powers, witches propitiate their main deity and
other evil spirits. They also perform elaborate rites at cremation
ground during dark nights to attain more powers. Once the witch
has mastered these things she has to kill her own child or any
member of the family. After the completion of the training, witches
perform the magical mantra of witchery on a tree and if that tree
dies within a few days, it indicates that the person has mastered
the art of witchcraft. Witches secretly indulge in these activities at
dark nights.
Witchcraft is also related to the evil eye,3 the belief that malign
power may be projected through direct gaze. The power is invol­
untary, stimulated by negative emotions, especially envy, and can
cause misfortune, sickness, and even death. Among the tribal com­
munities belief in witchcraft and related practices were deeply soaked
in traditional customary ideas and ingrained in their folklore/tales.
Such beliefs and practices could be noticed in many societies of
Arunachal Pradesh. The Khamtis are tribal communities of Arunachal
Pradesh among whom belief and practice of witchcraft can be no­
ticed. In this article, an attempt will be made to understand the
belief and practice of witchcraft through popular folk-tales of the
Khamtis and draw a logical conclusion about these secret cultural
practice. For this, both the secondary and primary data accessed to
substantiate this study and logical conclusion had been collected.
 Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis 397
Secondary data had been collected from books, journals and
e-source while primary had data been collected from the Khamti
inhabited area which had been interpreted with historical approach.

LOCATING STUDY AREA

Arunachal Pradesh is a homeland of 26 different tribal communi­

ties who live in different geo-cultural set up with different socio­
cultural behaviour. Each tribal community is characterized by its
own belief system that takes roots from its cultural identity. From
the geo-cultural point of view the state can be divided into three
zones, viz., western, central and eastern. The Khamtis, the subject
of study in this article, are settled in the eastern part of the region.
They are a branch of the Tai-Shan group inhabiting the regions of
Southeast Asia, Myanmar and south China. They are said to origi­
nally belong to the Shan state of upper Myanmar, near Mongmorang
which was the capital of the kingdom of Pong.
The word Khamti, is derived from two words kham and ti. In
local language, kham stands for ‘gold’ while the ti stands for ‘re­
gion’. Hence, Khamti means ‘land of gold’. They shifted to the
Irrawaddy Valley and established the Bor Khamti kingdom. The
Burmese king annexed Bor-khamti kingdom in the middle of eigh­
teenth century, thereafter they entered India in 1751.4 Entering
India, they finally settled on the banks of Tengapani River. At
present the Khamtis are settled in Lohit, Changlang in Arunachal
Pradesh and the Narayanpur area in Assam.
The Khamtis practise Buddhism as they belong to the Theravada
sect of Buddhism. But elements of Hinduized practices can be
also noticed among them. They have adopted a script of Shan
origin know as Lik Tai for their language and have a rich literature
consisting of Pitakas, Ramayanas, historical chronicles on law, social
and political conditions, tantric mantras, etc. They used the script
to make communication and invitations of marriages, festivals,
funerals and official documents. Their mother tongue is Khamti,
which belong to the broad branch of Siamese-Chinese linguistic
group. The Khamtis believe in the existence of God and follow the
teaching of Lord Buddha to attain nirvana or salvation. As such,
398 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
the religious life of Khamtis is deeply influenced by the Buddhist
ethics and morality. To them, Lord Buddha is a great moral preceptor
and an embodiment of love and pity, truth and righteousness.
In their daily prayer they seek his blessing for the welfare of the
family and the society as a whole. Beside religious practice, they
also have the secret culture of belief in witchcraft and related prac­
tice which is the area of study in this article.

BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT AND RELATED

PRACTICES AMONG THE KHAMTIS

Belief in witchcraft and related practice is generally rooted in tradi­

tional customary ideas, whereby societies form categories and order
the universe around them. As such, they are not only intertwined
with every aspect of societies, thought, and language, but also pro­
vide coherent and systematic means to influence the world in which
man lives. For the anthropologists, such belief systems provide
essential material for the understanding of the metaphysics of tra­
ditional and non-Western societies. They may also lead to a better
understanding of the structural aspects of customary thoughts of a
given society. So as far as the religious belief system of Khamtis is
concerned, they are very ‘superstitious’. In order to protect them­
selves against bad luck, charms and amulets are popular among
the people. Some people tie holy thread around the body or wear
it as a necklace while others have tattoos on their body which they
call Aang.5 The yantras endow the wearer with supernatural pro­
tection, love, health and wealth in order to bring luck and pro­
vided these Yantras (Aang) are also put up in the entrances of houses,
commercial building, vehicles, granaries, etc. These practices clearly
reflect that they adhere deeply to the traditional belief system.
Their adherences to the traditional belief system can be gauged
from following practices:
1. Auspicious dates: Auspicious dates are selected for fixing dates
for weddings, on the eve of starting construction of a house or
purchasing property, for setting up any business, etc.
2. Auspicious colour: They believe in the concept of a lucky colour
for every person according to his or her day of birth.
 Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis 399
3. Lucky number: They believe in deviation techniques which are
often used to predict number before buying a lottery ticket.
4. Cutting one’s hair or finger nails: They believe that cutting hair
and finger nails on one’s birthday and Saturday will bring bad
health condition to that person. People are very conscious of
this especially when it comes to children.
5. Rainbow: A rainbow is held in high regard and it is important
to avoid pointing at it because one would lose one’s finger.6
The Khamtis also believe in deities, sprits and ghosts. The people
believe that they can protect themselves from spirits and ghosts by
wearing a holy thread and making tattoos on their body made by
monks and priests. Apart from these, the secret culture of belief in
witchcraft and related practices is widely prevalent in Khamti so­
ciety. There is a strong belief in potent powers of a witch, which is
thought to produce great misfortunes and disease. They are con­
sidered a great threat to whole society and looked upon with fear
and suspicion. But there is a dearth of literature to explain how
belief and practices of witchcraft began among the Khamtis. More­
over, people avoid a discussion on the matters of belief in witch­
craft and related practices. No one clearly gives information about
how it has been practised or whether it is still practised in society.

ORIGIN OF WITCHCRAFT AND RELATED

PRACTICES IN KHAMTI SOCIETY

The prevalent oral traditions and folk-tale of the Khamtis says

that, the origin of belief in witchcraft and related practices among
them can be traced to their settlement on the bank of the River
Irrawaddy in upper Myanmar. When they settled on the bank of
Irrawaddy, there was a kingdom known as Takasu which was ruled
by a ruler known as Chow Khonokham. One day, the king went
hunting near the bank of the river and he found a gold-coloured
flower flowing in the water. He thought that one day these flowers
would turn into a pure/real gold. That thought made him very
happy as well as jealous thinking what if the tree were growing in
another kingdom as well. The king ordered his soldier to find the
‘gold’ tree locally known as tonkham. Here ton refers to tree, while
400 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
kham means gold. The soldiers started searching for the ‘gold’ tree
by following the river route. After some days the soldier found the
tree growing on the bank of Irrawaddy. They found that the gold
tree also grew in another kingdom which was ruled by a Khamti
mangsa (prince) named Maantret. The soldiers came back to their
kingdom and informed the king about the ‘gold’ tree and the ruler
of that kingdom. After getting the information, the king was very
surprised to know that the ruler of that kingdom was his own
brother.7 The king thought that in future his brother’s kingdom
would become rich very from that ‘gold’ tree.
Chow Khonokham could not digest the truth and therefore, he
summoned some experts of his kingdom to discuss this matter.
After a long discussion, the jealous king ordered his men to make
an artificial bird from bamboo and cane. The bird, named Kanka
was brought to life with the help of black magic. The king deliber­
ately made this big magic bird and made it living through black
magic to destroy the ‘gold’ tree in his brother’s kingdom. The bird
flew towards the tree and made his home there. He flew to the
villages in the daytime and sat on the gold tree at night. As time
passed, the bird felt hungry and flew to the nearby area in search
of food but didn’t found anything to eat. Out of hunger he caught
the children who were playing in the nearby place and ate them.
This news spread like fire in the kingdom, the people were very
sad and angry with that bird, and they wanted to kill it. The king
Chow Maantret was informed about this, he ordered the people to
kill the big bird who ate the children of his kingdom. The bird
was too big to be killed by one single person. Consequently, the
king summoned the four strongest and courageous men of his king­
dom namely Chow Kam Yaa-Yaa, Chow Kam Yaa-Yung, Chow
Kam Vihi and Chow Kam Paha and asked them to kill the bird.
The four men made a plan to burn down the tree and started
collecting coal for purpose. They set the tree on fire with coal and
other materials as a result of which the bird flew away due to heat
and smoke. Thereafter the bird sat on the mountain near the king­
dom. Finally the men cut-down the tree in order to prevent the
bird from sitting on it. The trunk of the gold tree was of diamonds
and the flowers were of gold. Consequently, the tree was thrown
into the River Irrawaddy.
 Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis 401
After that, the bird had no choice but sit on the nearby moun­
tain. The people made a big trap from buffalo skin, they consid­
ered buffalo skin very strong material compared to other animal
skins, to catch the bird. The people left a pig near the trap and they
were getting ready to attack when the bird came down to catch
the pray. The plan of the people was successful and bird was caught
in the trap. Once the bird was trapped, the people shot arrows
into the heart of the bird and it died. As soon as it died, the people
of the kingdom whose children had been eaten by bird started
eating the flesh of the bird to avenge the death of their loved ones.
After some days, the people who had eaten the flesh of the bird
became witchas and started eating human flesh as well. It was
believed that since the bird was a magic one, that had eaten human
flesh, those who ate the flash of bird indirectly ate the flash of their
loves ones. From that incident some people in that kingdom be­
came witches.
The king was very sad to know that some people of his kingdom
had become witches by accident. The king organized a witch hunt­
ing drive to remove witches from his kingdom. All the people from
that area were examined; the marked people were tied to heavy
stones and thrown into the river. The people who were drowning
in the water were identified as witches and the king ordered to kill
them.8 All the witches were eliminated and the kingdom lived peace­
fully. But it is believed that some witches left this art to their
children and grandchildren from which witchcraft again spread in
society.

NOTIONS OF WITCHCRAFT AND

TABOO PRACTICES

As in any other society, the Khamtis feared the witches as mysteri­

ous creatures imbued with phenomenal power. It is believed that
the witches are supposed to have intercourse with the devil, which
gives them the power of killing people by eating their entrails and
also of causing fevers, (murrain) diseases in cattle and other kinds of
evil.9 Interacting with some elders in society gives some idea about
their beliefs and practices. An elderly member of the society said
that the witches practise their art during night, when all the people
402 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
are asleep. They can transform their body into another living thing
during the practice of their arts. They do this in order to keep
their identity a secret from the people. Sometime, they transform
their face into that of another person only to hide their own iden­
tities. Generally witchcraft is practised both by men and women
but old women are said to be more common to practise witch­
craft.10 As per the oral tradition, witches have to eat the flesh of
their first-born child. They can trap the soul of a man and eat the
soulless body or human flesh by transforming the flesh into an­
other flesh, like fish, chicken, pig, etc., and keep normal people in
illusion by replacing the body of that person from log, bamboo,
pumpkin, etc., and finally the man dies, when the witch completes
eating his/her. The witches kill the person who knows about them
to protect their identities and prevent social humiliation. The
people believe that those who come in the grip of witches can
be healed by priests and monks, who perform the ritual of good
spirits. The witches are very active when someone dies, so people
are very scared to stay in the house of a dead person. In case,
if a person is affected with the magical spell of witch, persons take
help from local priest known as chowpachang, mostly the monks.11
As in any other society, the witches have never enjoyed a good
reputation in the Khamti society. Witches are thought to be up to
no good, interested in wreaking havoc and bringing misery to
others.
The Khamtis firmly believe that witchcraft is an art which can
be learned from a witch parent or gifted from witch parents to their
children. It has been said that during migration to India in 1751,
a few witches came along with them but the number went on
increasing as they taught their art to their neighbours and relatives.
They say that some people practise witchcraft for various reason
and the most important of these are
(a) to protect themselves from spirits and ghosts, which happen to
dwell in different places,
(b) for entertainment and showing their power to other people,
(c) for taking revenge on their enemy,
(d) to preserve the art form from generation to generation, etc.12
 Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis 403
The elders of the society say that the witch has supernatural
power; if someone talks about them, they come to know of it.
People are still scared to talk about witches and do not have the
courage to disclose the practice of witchcraft in society. That is
perhaps the reason, why the Khamtis do not discuss witchcraft in
their society which is a big hindrance for understanding witchcraft
among the Khamtis. One has also been told by some elderly per­
sons of society that practices of witchcraft had increased drastically
in the early years of the nineteenth century and it was very well
known among the people. The witches started to teach their art to
their neighbour and relatives. The witches had to kill human be­
ing in course of practice as result of which there was an increase in
the number of deaths in the early years of nineteenth century.
This created fear among the people. A taboo started developing in
the society in which people started believing that washing ones
hair after 12 noon would attract the witch to take their name and
soul while practising their art at night. They also believe that look­
ing at a mirror during night would encouraged the witch to see
ones face while practising. The weaknesses of the people encour­
aged the witch to flourish in their art. It has been said that, in
early nineteenth century the witches started practising their art
openly, but no one had the courage to talk or point a finger at the
witch.13 The people are afraid of darkness to avoid contact with
the witch. It is believed that generally the witch becomes active,
where people gather to celebrate festivals or a ceremony. The witches
are very active when someone dies, so people are scared to stay in
the house of a dead person.14

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The preceding discussion provokes a lot of questions. The most

important question, which pertains to the notions of witchcraft
among the Khamtis is whether—belief in witchcraft and practis­
ing it really existed or not. What is so unusual about the increase
of such practices in the early years of the nineteenth century and
rise of the death toll? If practices of witches caused the rise of death
in nineteenth century, then why were such practices made open in
404 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
nineteenth century? If at all the witchcraft practices existed, then
reasons for their increase making it as an open art in nineteenth
century can be attribute to two factors. After entering India, the
Khamtis found suitable land for settlement in the areas of present
Lohit and Changlang districts of Arunachal. Later they extended
they territory in Narayanpur in Assam in about 1797-1800. 15
During the early part of the nineteenth century, the Burmese in­
vaded Assam a number of times and became the rulers. The Khamtis
were now afraid that the Burmese king would again annex their
land like they did the Bor-Khamti kingdom in the middle of eigh­
teenth century. Considering these factors, the Khamtis perhaps
made witchcraft an open art during the early nineteenth century.
This assumption is also affirmed by a popular belief according to
which they say that witchcraft was practised in their society for
taking revenge upon their enemy. Moreover, during this period
there was a lot of difference or conflict between the Singphos and
the Khamtis for territorial domination over Lohit and Changlang
areas. For the defence of their people, the witchcraft practices among
the Khamtis were made an open art which might have increased
the rise in witchcraft practices in nineteenth century.
It is also possible that witchcraft might not have existed in reality
among the Khamtis and the notion was socially constructed and
popularized so that outsiders and neighbouring communities could
be afraid of them. By spreading the notion of black magic in the
form of witchcraft they could protect their territory from invasion.
Otherwise, how is it possible that though they have been practising
this tradition for more than 200 years, there is no proper informa­
tion or case in record in this regard. Moreover, it has been said that
the practice of witchcraft had declined drastically since 1985 in
Khamti society. If it had been practised till 1985, there should be
some witness of this practice but unfortunately there are no wit­
nesses who could throw light on these practices.
It is also possible that this practice prevailed and is still prevalent
among them and that is why they refused to give any information
in this matter. It has already been observed that as per the beliefs
prevailing among them, the witch had supernatural powers; if
someone talked about them, they came to know about it and would
 Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis 405
harm those who disclosed their identities. But before coming to
any conclusion one has to ascertain about the belief in witchcraft
and practices among the Khamtis and this is a modest beginning
in understand the same.

NOTES

1. P. C. Joshi, Sonia Kaushal, Shashi Katewa and Oinam Hemlata Devi, Witch­
craft Beliefs and Practices among Oraons in Studies of Tribes and Tribals,
4(2), New Delhi: Kamla-Raj Enterprises, 2006, pp. 145-9.
2. Lucy Mair, An Introduction to Social Anthropology, New York: Oxford
University Press, 2nd edn., 1972, p. 245.
.
3. Ibid.
4. Lila Gogoi, The Tai Khamtis of the North-East, Delhi: Omsons Publication,
1990.
5. From interview with Chow Yaa Mannow on 2-3 September 2014. He is
60 yrs old and native of Nampoong village.
6. From interview with Chow Lohani Mannow on 9 September 2014. He is
58 yrs old and native of Nanamkhampti village.
7. From interview with Chow Yaa Mannow on 2-3 September 2014. He is
60 yrs old and native of Nampoong village.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. From interview with Chow Lukeow Munglang on 15 September 2014.
He is 72 years old and native of Lathow village.
11. From interview with Chow Lohani Mannow on 9 September 2014. He is
58 yrs old and native of Nanamkhampti village.
12. From interview with Chow Lukeow Munglang on 15 September 2014.
He is 72 years old and native of Lathow village.
13. Ibid.
14. From interview with Chow Yaa Mannow on 2-3 September 2014. He is
60 yrs old and native of Nampoong village.
15. M.L.Bose, History of Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi: Concept Publication,
1997, p. 88.

REFERENCES

Bose, M.L., History of Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi: Concept Publication,

1997.
406 Tage Habung & Ranjeeta Mannow
Ellen Guiley, Rosmary, The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca
(3rd edn.), New York: Infobase Publication, 1997.
Farook, Ayesha and Ashraf K. Kayani, ‘Prevalence of Superstitions and other
Supernaturals in Rural Punjab: A Sociological Perspective’, in A Research
Journal of South Asian Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, July-December 2012,
pp. 335-44.
Gogoi, Lila, The Tai-Khamtis of the North-East, Delhi: Omsons Publication,
1990.
Joshi, P.C., S. Kaushal, S. Katewa and O.H. Devi, Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices
among Oraons, New Delhi: Kamla-Raj Enterprises, 2006.
Mair, Lucy, An Introduction to Social Anthropology, 2nd edn., New York:
Oxford University Press,1972.
P. Chireau, Yvonne, Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring
Tradition, London: University of California Press, 2003.
 C H A P T E R 22

Society, Belief and Practice:

Witchcraft and Witch
Hunting in Assam
J A H N A B I G O G O I N AT H

The practice of witchcraft and witch hunting has often been re­
ported from among some of the tribal communities of Assam like
many other such communities in the country. In the case of Assam,
the practice is largely reported from among the Bodos, Rabhas,
Tiwas, the tea-garden communities—the adivasis, and from among
the Misings. The practice of witchcraft and witch hunting has been
variously interpreted by different scholars. To some, it has been a
gender question—a male struggle for establishing domination over
women who exercise ritual knowledge for all practical purposes, or
a woman’s resistance against the growing hegemony of men,1 while
to others it was a religious clash—a clash between the marginalized
beliefs of the tribal communities against the organized religions,2
while some others treat it as a kind of struggle between the rich and
the poor or between the forest-based and urban communities.3 It
is even believed that in witchcraft, there is the element of ancient
system of medicine and treatment, and the process of witch hunting
is an attempt on the part of men to professionalize it, taking it from
the hands of women.4 Whatever be the actual reason for its origin,
the practice is universal, and in Assam also, it has a reasonably
remote beginning. In the present article, an attempt has been made
to investigate the origin of the practice among the Bodos of Assam,
the nature and impact of the craft on society. It is, therefore, an
attempt to study the nature and extent of the practice in the state
408 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
with particular reference to the Bodos. While doing so one must
say that the study has been largely based on the paper reports, and
no empirical study has been made.

WITCHCRAFT: ORIGIN AND

DEVELOPMENT IN ASSAM

The word daini or dayan is the local form for the word witch. It is
stated that this word has come from the Indo-Aryan word dakini.5
According to Philip Rowson, the original meaning of the word
dakini can be traced in the Tantra. In Tantric Buddhism dakini
means the female personification of a stage of wisdom.6 A popular
image of the Hindu Goddess Kali is found to be associated with
many other images, such as Shiva, her consort, and Dakini and Yogini
her two associates. Thus, the word daini or dayan has its root in the
Indo-Aryan language, and therefore, it should be noted that the
word was originally foreign to the Bodos. As pointed out by a
scholar, unlike tribes like the Santhal and the Bhils, the Bodos
have no words for ‘witch’ in their own language. 7 This fact may
lead one to believe that they borrowed the idea and the institution
of witchcraft from their neighbours, most probably from the Hindu
castes.8 In support of such a view, we may refer to Dalton who stated
that in the Chota Nagpur area along with the tribes, witchcraft was
practised by women of true Aryan blood; even Brahmans were
sometimes accused of witchcraft. He quotes Major Roughsedge,
who wrote in the year 1818, that a Brahman woman was denounced
as a witch and tried, and having escaped in the ordeal by water she
was found to be a witch and, her nose was cut-off.9 In this connec­
tion Indibar Deuri, a scholar from Assam has stated that the Bodos
might have developed the idea of daini or dayan from their contact
with the Santhals who used to migrate to Assam since the second
half of the nineteenth century, and also suspected that their contact
with the culture of the Mayang region in Nagaon, a place known
for magic and sorcery, in the British period and other Assamese
people might have created the concept of daini.10 He further
argued that the idea of witchcraft and witch hunt was therefore,
never known to them till about the close of the nineteenth
 Society, Belief and Practice 409
century.11 He is of the opinion that in no record about the Bodos
since the days of Hodgson’s Essay on the Koch, the Bodo and the
Dhimal Tribes (1847) till 1947, there is any information about
witchcraft and witch hunting among the tribe.12 His statement,
however, is not substantiated by empirical evidence. One knows
for certain that E.T. Dalton, while collecting data in Assam for his
Tribal History (first published in 1872) in the early part of the
nineteenth century, has clearly recorded the practice of witchcraft
and witch hunt among the Bodos of Assam.13 Bhaben Narzi, a scholar
of the Bodo Kachari history and culture, mentions a witch popular
among the Bodos, called Than Thin Daini and has noted that witch­
craft was prevalent among the Bodos since early times. He wrote:
The Bodos term the mantras that can cause evil to someone as jadu, i.e., magic.
A man who practised magic was called dainagourang, and who this created
evil was called daina. Once there was the practice of doing magic among
the Bodo Kacharis to harm the enemies. However, the practice has now ceased
to exist except on rare occasions.14
Incantation, magic, sorcery, and witchcraft have been very old
practices in human society all over the world. Evidence of such
practices in India are found since in the days of the Atharvaveda,
or even earlier.15 It was, undoubtedly, an accompaniment of the
process of magic which the primitive men largelt depended upon.16
According to W.H. Davenport Adams, the objective of a magician
or witch is to know the hidden world, gratify his material greed,
create conditions favourable for him and, finally, to satisfy his malice
against his fellows.17 In Assam, the emergence of the Mother God­
dess in the form of Kamakhya and her manifestations in different
forms and their personfication, and men’s belief in various magico­
religious agricultural practices are some of the significant develop­
ments in the social formation process of the state in early times.
Thus, it may be presumed that the practice in Assam was of much
remote origin. In the medieval times too, magic, sorcery and
withcraft have been extensively recorded in literature of the land
and outside. For example, while referring to the witchcraft prac­
tised by a class of women in Goalpara and Khuntaghat area in the
sixteenth and seventeenth century, Mughal historian Mirza Nathan
has recorded very interesting incidents. He says that:
410 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
The place of (Khuntaghat) is notorious for magic and sorcery. Thus, if a man
takes by force a fowl from a ryot and the ryot comes to the judge for redress, if
that person is refused justice, then the complainant by means of his magic and
sorcery could make the accused produce the voice of a fowl from inside his
stomach and this prove the falsity of the protestations of the accused. If a bailiff
of the judge stays at a village in connection with the work of the Dihidar and the
Pattadar (the tendure holder or the revenue farmer), and if in a state of drunk­
enness demanded fish with violence in the evening or at midnight when no
fresh fish was available, and persisted in his demand by torturing the ryots, they
would bring some leaves of a mango tree or (another tree whose name reads like
lashura), and breathe on these leaves some words of magic and sorcery. These
leaves would forthwith turn into a kind of small fish. When these fishes were
cooked by him in a state of drunkenness, they turned into blood. As soon as
they were eaten by the bailiff, he died.18

It is interesting to note that as a place of magic and sorcery the

land of Kamarupa was well-known all over the country.19 The belief
in the Mother Goddess Kamakhya and her other manifestations,
such as Kali, and her two associates—Dakini and Yogini are inter­
esting in this regard. It is believed that the man engaged to sacri­
fice a human being before the Goddess Dikkaravasini alias Kechai­
khati alias Tamreshwari, was supposed to be possessed by a witch
before he propitiated the Goddess by his act.20 The Vaishnavite
literature of the period refer to the occult practices done by men in
the villages where some persons created illness while some others
pretended to cure it by application of mantra.21 It is to be noted
that everywhere most preceptors of neo-Vaishanavism came into
conflict with those occult and magical practitioners, and called
them sinful (papi), wicked (durachar), devils (pisach), etc.22 This
explains how the early beliefs in magic and witchcraft consequently
came into clashes with the organized religious beliefs of the land.
Even in later times the practice continued and remained popular
among some sections of society. Reference to what was called
indrajal vidya (magic and witchcraft) in Assam has been found in
the literature left by the Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, who visisted
Assam during Ram Singha’s invasion of the state in 1667-71.23
In the nineteenth-century, Gunaviram Barua has recorded that
women in Assam were well-known for witchcraft (ku-kriya) and
 Society, Belief and Practice 411
incantation and for causing evil to society.24 There are references in
Assamese folklore and literature to women healers who had the
knowledge of herbal medicine. The words adudi (portion) and bejini
(medicine women) are found in Assamese folk-songs as well as
oral narratives. In the ballads of Phulkonwar and Manikonwar
medicine women called bejini who were sometimes engaged even
by kings and members of the aristocracy to treat some ailments
related to pregnancy and abortion are mentioned.25
The practice of medicine by women was once a widely practised
culture in Assam. It would be mentioned that in medieval Europe
when men began to acquire knowledge of medicine, they started
to persecute women, who practised medicine and exercised a strong
power over women and men in order to establish man’s control over
society.26 The same situation prevailed in Assam also as a result of
changing economic and religious situation. As a result, the culture
of women’s suppression by men gradually emerged and it took the
form of popularizing notions like witch and witch hunting. Inter­
estingly, in the context of globalization witchcraft and witch hunting
is common among the more economically weak and educationally
backward societies. To understand this new trend in witchcraft
and witch hunting, it will require a systematic and in-depth study
of its sociological and economic aspects, which however is not the
subject of this article.
The suppression of women healers and dealers in magical potions
is part of the struggle for suppression of witch craft. However, witch
hunting is not just related to stamping out witchcraft and its prac­
tices alone. The area of medicine that is still the preserve particu­
larly of old women in such societies, and who are most likely to be
denounced as witches, is that of contraception and abortion. By
way of preventing women from their control over child bearing
capacities, men opened the way for strengthening their control over
maintenance of the patrilineal line.27
The practice of witchcraft and witch hunting is found not only
in India, they are universal all over the globe among the tribal,
backward or peasant societies.28 The practice was widely prevalent
in Europe in the middle ages.29 According to Trevor-Roper, people
believed that there were witches who were associated with the
412 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
‘casting of spells, the making of storms, converse with spirits,
sympathetic magic’. 30 Mary Douglas in this regard has stated
that the
The term witchcraft was used loosely in Tudor and Stuart England, and was at
one time or another applied to virtually every kind of magical activity or ritual
operation that worked by occult method. Village diviners who foretold the
future or who tracked down lost property were often called ‘witches’; so were the
wise women, who healed the sick by charms or prayers. Contemporary scientists
whose operations baffled the ignorant were sometimes suspected as witchcraft.
Here, the term witchcraft meant the employment (or presumed employment) of
some supernatural means of doing harm to other people in a way that was
generally disapproved of by the mass of society. A witch was thus a person of
either sex (but in belief and practice more often female) who could mysteriously
injure or kill other people. She could also molest farm animals.31

But what is more important in this case is that it involves witch

hunting, a process by which some members of a community practis­
ing witchcraft attack some others of the same community for practis­
ing it considering that all evils in the society have been created by
the witches.32

WITCH HUNTING
In a society where witchcraft is treated as a religious and cultural
practice, every calamity, man-made or natural, are attributed to
witchcraft; hence, a person who is suspected to be a witch, and
who is normally a woman, is held responsible for all such calami­
ties occurring in the society. Dev Nathan and others who have
extensive works to their credit on the Santhal community, have stated
that every ‘woman live under the threat of being declared a witch.
At times of crisis, like epidemics, all the women of a village could
be attacked as witches’.33 They further stated that in the village of
Mahagama in Orissa, ‘All the villagers (sic) became desperate and
seeing no other remedy they beat all the women in the village and
made them drink human excreta’.34 While writing about the witch
hunting practice of the Bodos of Assam, Dalton also in a similar
tune, has recorded as follows:
 Society, Belief and Practice 413
In often happens that sickness or other misfortune is ascribed to the spells
of witchcraft rather than to the wrath of the deity, and then three ojhas
are summoned. With whose aid, and that of a cane freely applied, the
elders endeavour to extort from the witch a confession of the fact and her
motives, and if condemned, she is expelled from the district. A natural desire
to get rid of troublesome and ugly old women was perhaps the origin of
this custom.35

In the case of the Ho tribe of Jharkhand, Dalton gives a more

clear picture about the act of witch hunt:
All disease in men or animals is attributed to one of two causes, the wrath
of some evil spirit who has to be appeased, or to the spell of some witch
or sorcerer, who should be destroyed or driven out of the land. In the latter
case a Sokha or witch-finder, is employed to divine who has cast the spell, and
various modes of divination are resorted to.36

The attempt at finding out a witch is an established process every

village of the tribe has this practice. In a genuinely empirical study,
Dev Nathan, Govind Kelkar and Yu Xiaogang have stated as fol­
lows the process of witch hunt among the Santhal community, which
stands as almost an example in case of all tribal communities practis­
ing the craft: While women’s participation in rituals became evil,
men alone could be the witch finders. The ojhas, deoras and the
jan-gurus perform this function with a combination of divining
and knowledge in the contradictions existing in the village. Dis­
cussions with the witch finders in the Maranghada region of Ranchi
and with Santhal women in Giridih and other districts showed
that the witch finders through their questions and other means
(investigation by assistants), gathered information from the com­
plainants. The identification of the witch is then based on the
information gathered. Initially the names of the witches are not
mentioned. The complainants are left to make their own inferences.
All this makes it very easy to identify the person whom the villagers
(men) want to get rid off as the witch. Usually, the whole village
knows beforehand who the woman to be named a witch, is. The
various tensions in the village and the identity of those women
who are without support are both well-known.37
414 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
In the first stage, a woman named as a witch may be fined,
asked to ‘behave’ herself and otherwise threatened. Repetition of
deaths due to diseases that can not be identified, or other tragedies
in the village, which are certain to occur in a not too long a period
of time, are then the occasion when the ojha may name the woman
who is the witch. By this time, there is already a consensus in the
village that a particular woman is a witch. Recurrence of usual
tragedies is taken as proof that the witch is unrelenting. The woman
may then be either driven out of the village or killed.38
Dev Nathan and others have further mentioned that ‘police figure
for one district of India (Malda) found that at least 46 persons had
been killed as witches as late as in the period 1950-80. These were
only those cases that came to the notice of the police and that too
in a period when the phenomenon was on a lower scale than in the
nineteenth century.’39 Recording the belief of the Warlis tribe of
Maharastra on witchcraft, Indra Munshi has stated as follows:
Bhutalis are believed to possess special powers by which they can instantly
put a person to death or cause illness. As one political activist observed, when
there is an illness, or death among human beings or cattle, widespread crop
diseases or failure, the bhutali is held responsible. In such a situation the
villagers go to the bhagat (ojha) to identify the cause of the calamity. . . . If the
situation does not improve, the bhagat goes ahead with the task of identifying
the bhutali. Through a variety of rituals like dan herne (reading the message in
grains of rice), diva herne (identifying the witch in the light of a lamp), diva
herne (identifying the witch in the light of a lamp), the vati chalavne
(using a cup which moves and identifies the witch), the bhagat tries to
find the witch. The bhagat who identifies the witch is usually not from the
same village. Through a careful questioning, he can locate women who
are socially weak and vulnerable, quarrelsome, destitute with poor family
support, midwives, and so on. He gives a vague description of the women
who caused harm.
The next step is to find to woman. The men of the village call for an identi­
fication parade. Women are sometimes made to stand on a hot pan as the Warli
believe a witch’s feet do not burn. At other times, the witch is simply pointed
out by some one. Another way is that all the women who fit the description are
beaten till some one confesses to the crime. Once the witch or witches are
identified, the whole village goes through the ritual of exorcising her. The
woman is beaten, sometimes to death. No one, not even close relatives, protect
 Society, Belief and Practice 415
her from the attacks, for fear of being accused as an accomplice. A survivor in
most cases leaves the village. If the woman dies, she is buried rather than burnt,
and the villagers give no information regarding the death to the police.40
While there is an idea of witch hunting among some of the known
tribes of India, there is no lack of examples of witch hunt among
the tribes of Assam too, such as the Bodos, although no proper and
systematic study has yet been done on the practice since at least a
century ago when in the late nineteenth century Dalton recorded
this practice among the community. It should be noted that the
method of detecting and punishing the witch in the Bodo society
does not differ much materially from what the practice has been
among the Santhal or the Warli societies in other parts of India,
and for that matter, any society of the country. Thus it is not the
witchcraft, but the process of witch hunting that now attracts more
attention than the craft itself.
Now, as against the European evidence as stated earlier, it is not
known for certain as to the time when the practice of witch hunting
first emerged in Assam. It has been noticed among a number of
tribes, such as the Bodos, since at least the mid-nineteenth century.
If Dalton is to be believed, however, it was by then (middle of the
nineteenth century, 1866) a well established practice among the
Bodos of Assam. In his Preface to Tribal History of Eastern India
(earlier Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal ) he has stated that he col­
lected his materials from ‘all available sources of information’, and
that he ‘probably had more opportunities of observing various races
and tribes, especially those usually called Aborigines, than have
been conceded to any other officer now in the service’.41 Following
Dalton, a few others, such as W.G. Archer, Bodding and Hoffman,
all Christian missionaries, make mention of the practice in the
land in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century although
the practice of witch hunting was perhaps not much widespread
during that time.
The practice of witch hunting has still been reported from among
the Bodos, Rabhas, Santhals and a few other communities. Thus,
it is a living practice and is a continuum of an old religious and
cultural practice of the tribes. The publication of news on witch
hunting in the newspapers during the last half century points to
416 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
this fact. It is to be noted that although in a few cases a witch
could also be a man, in most cases they were women. People in
such societies believe that the women earn the craft through a
secret procedure and apply their craft for causing diseases and death
in a village. In this connection, Bhaben Narzi has stated,
The Bodos believe in a wonderful daini called Than Thin Diani who through
her utmost desire obtain a supernatural power to do harm to the living
beings. She is popular among the Rabhas as well as the Bodo-Kacharis of
Goalpara. Women in the main learn the mantras of the daini. These women
(or men) then do harm to anybody who would not satisfy her by offering all
that is desired by the (Than Thin Daini ) witch. As a matter of fact, people of
the villages punish such a woman (or a man on some cases) thinking (him/
)her to be the daini herself in various ways including putting his/her mouth
to fire, or by cutting the nose, or by banishing (him/) her from the village.42

The notion of a witch and her craft has undergone significant

changes during the last few decades since Bhaben Narzi’s work,
first published in 1966. At present, normally a woman is sus­
pected by the neighbours to be the personification of a witch and
the force behind all evils in the community. When such a suspicion
falls upon her, people of the village (normally men) find her out
through some specified devices and then punish her.

RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY

INCIDENTS OF WITCH HUNTING IN ASSAM

As mentioned above, even today witch hunting in Assam has been

widely reported, particularly among some tribal societies. News about
occurrences of daini among the Bodos and a few other tribes in
lower Assam, particularly those in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Goalpara,
Darrang, Sunitpur and Nalbari are frequently published in the
newspapers and periodicals. In the year 2001 a Bodo woman named
Dakharsri Baglari in the Odalguri area within the Darrang district
was killed by the villagers along with her old father-in-law on the
suspicion that she was a witch.43 One Jonali Rabha in the Barjara
village under Lakhipur Police Station of the Goalpara district was
similarly given a verdict by the village council to be penalized
 Society, Belief and Practice 417
suspecting her to be a witch and making her responsible for the
death of a man of fifty-five years of age.44 In the same year, in Kokrajhar
in lower Assam, another Bodo woman called Angao Musahary was
killed by the villagers along with a man on a similar ground.45
Similarly, Pramilarani Basumatary, a Bodo woman, living in a vil­
lage on the Assam-Arunachal border near Biswanath, was killed by
the villagers on the ground that a girl of the village died due to the
woman’s witchcraft.46 On another occasion a couple of the same
community in Kokrajhar was killed by the villagers on the ground
that they declined to confess that they were witches as accused by
the villagers.47 In the same year it was reported that a Bodo woman
called Sabitry Hajowari, was burnt alive on the ground that she
was declared a witch who caused the death of a girl in the same
village.48
In 2002 there were four cases reported in The Telegraph and The
Assam Tribune.49 In the first case a couple was killed, while in the
second case a woman was killed on the suspicion of practising
witchcraft. A man called Kandle Hembrom in Kokrajhar was killed,
as he was suspected of sheltering a daini.50 During the same year, a
woman called Mainamati Ghatowar of the Kakodonga Tea Estate
in Upper Assam was put to hot iron test for the death of a child as
it was suspected that the death was caused by her.51
In 2003 things did not improve much. In that year, in an upper
Assam village called Jagroban Gaon a woman called Jaimati Robidas,
70 years of age was physically tortured and forced to eat human
excreta and banished from her village. She was held responsible for
the death of a number of children in the village of the Santhals.52
In the same year another such incident took place in the Madhuting
Tea garden in upper Assam, where a woman was tortured physi­
cally and forced to eat human excreta.53
In the year 2004, a woman called Moni Hemrom was killed on
the ground of being suspected to be a witch.54 Two other men
along with a woman were killed on the Assam-Bhutan border at
Bagcha on the same ground.55 It was reported that this incident
was actually planned in connection with the possession of waste
lands.56
In the year 2005, in the village called Gobha, a Tiwa couple was
418 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
killed by the villagers suspecting their involvement in witchcraft.57
In the same year in the Biswanath subdivision in a village called
Samukjuli a couple was killed by the villagers, because they treated
the people with indigenous medicine and did not allow them to
go to doctors.58 In Kokrajhar two women in the village called
Jharbari within the Sirang district were killed suspected of having
practised witchcraft.59 In the month of June 2005 a couple was
killed in the Kathalguri village under Bismuri Police Station in
Kokrajhar district on the suspicion of practising witchcraft.60 A
Bodo man was killed on the suspicion of being a witch in the Pub
Kamardaicha village under Patacharkuchi Police Station on the
Indo-Bhutan border.61
Similar incidents have continued to take place among the Bodos,
the adivasis and many other tribal communities in Assam during
the last decade. One of the recent developments is noted among
the Mising tribe of upper Assam. It is significant to note that
witchcraft and witch hunting was rarely reported from among the
Misings till the last few years when sporadic reports about them
began to be published from all over the state. One such incident
took place in 2014 in a remote Mising village of Majuli near Jengrai­
mukh, in which a man in the guise of an ojha created terror among
the villagers when with his pretended power of a medicine and
magic, he began to accuse people to be either socially harmful or
label as daini and hunted. It was found that not only the illiterate
section of the Misings, but also the highly educated section among
them endorsed the activities of the daini and thus, allowed the
daini on committing atrocities upon the selected families of the
village and its neighbourhood. Interesting aspect of this case was
that, instead of the villagers, mainly men, accusing someone, mainly
a woman, to be a daini, the person himself impersonated as a daini—
a possessed man and accused someone to be socially evil. This
shows that personal or some other interests may also rest under
the belief and practice of witchcraft besides its standing as a reli­
gious tradition. On the other had, it may be said that the belief
and tradition of witch and witch hunting has taken a new turn
along with change of power-structure in a given society.
It appears from what has been discussed above that the overall
 Society, Belief and Practice 419
objectives behind calling a woman a witch and witch hunting that
have been a long tradition among many communities of Assam,
was to gain and exercise more power by someone against some
others who lost it. It has been noted that attacks by villagers, led
mostly by men, on the ‘witches’ have always resulted in the de­
struction of life of innocent men and women. Branded as practi­
tioners of witchcraft, the dainis are the targets of violence.
It has been observed that witchcraft and witch hunting as a
belief is largely common among the tribal and economically and
educationally backward communities and almost all witches were
from among women. In most cases, the ulterior motive behind
witch hunting has been found to be economic-obtaining owner­
ship of property, especially land and satisfying professional jeal­
ousy of men against women who handle power, to treat diseases in
the society. In that sense witch hunting can be considered as an
attempt to change the existing social order and the power-structure
based on sexual differences. Ratna Bharali, in one of her studies
has noted that, although in some case the number of victims may
be almost equal in terms of sexes, the apparent calculation does
not expose the truth. While women victims were all individual
targets of the hunters, most of the males were either children
accompanying a victimized mother or members of a family which
was victimized.62
Witchcraft has, sometimes, been explained as a protest method of
the tribal society against the growing impact of organized religion
on it in the process of social transformation from tribe to caste, or
from tribe to an organized and developed society. This contention
finds support in the evidence of the religious history of medieval
Assam, when most believers in Tantric Buddhism came into con­
flict with the preceptors of neo-Vaishnavism. It is recorded that
Shankara Deva and many of his follower preceptors condemned
them and tried to marginalize them to push them to the peri­
phery. 63 It is not unreasonable to believe that in the process of
detribalization and early Brahmanization, members of the tribal
communities of Assam, particularly the Bodos, who played a his­
toric role in the state formation process in the early Brahmaputra
Valley,64 acquired the culture of patriarchy, thereby slowly becoming
420 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
accustomed to the property ownership right for men.65 But due to
a number of reasons, women retained in their hands much of the
economic power through their old medicinal practice or through
their relationship to the production systems. The system of having
economic power with women, but socio-political authority rest­
ing with men consequently failed to cope with the changing eco­
nomic systems, particularly in the colonial period and afterwards
when capitalist economy came up to control the entire society. The
growing tendency of witchcraft and witch hunting during the
last few decades, justifies this fact. It may be suspected that the
growing desire to acquire property in men’s mind in a tribal and
economically backward society strengthened the process of witch
hunting which is a major and immediate way of obtaining land
and property. It is pointed out that ‘when widows do have a sub­
stantial right to land (a life interest as opposed to a maintenance
right or even more so opposed to living on charity) that may be­
come the targets of a witch hunt. It is here, where women generally
have considerable authority in society that it would be necessary
to attack them as source of all evil in order to establish the full
authority of men. Where women’s authority has been destroyed or
reduced, such a continued attack would then not be necessary.’66
Among the incidents mentioned in the present article, there are a
few very clear cases where the reason was economic and property
ownership. All other hypothesis, such as marginalization of tribal
religion, process of male attempt to establish dominance over
women, the gender question-women’s protest against men’s domi­
nation, or vice versa, or protest of forest communities against defor­
estation67 can be explained in this light.

NOTES

1. Jeffrey Burton Russell, Witchcraft in Middle Ages, Ithaca, 1972, pp. 2f;
Govind Kelkar and Dev Nathan, Gender and Tribe, New Delhi, 1991,
pp. 98ff; Aparna Mahanata, ‘Daini Hatya: Eta Samajtattvik Bisleshan’,
in Paramanand Majumdar, ed., Daini, Jyotish aru Alaukik, Sikitsa, Guwahati,
2002, pp. 11ff.
 Society, Belief and Practice 421
2. Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger, London, 1996, p. 102; I.M. Lewis,
Religion in Context: Cults and Cherisma, Cambridge 1996, p. 65.
3. Marvin Harris states that the ‘principal result of the witch hunt system
(apart from the charred bodies) was that the poor came to believe that they
were being victrimized by witches and devils instead of princes and
popes. . . . It was the magic bullet of society’s privileged and powerful
classes’ See Cannibals and Kings: The Origins o Culture, New York, 1977,
pp. 237 ff; also Aparna Mahanta, loc. cit, p. 14.
4. Samar Bosu Mallick, ‘Gender Relations and Witches Among the Indig­
enous Communities of Jharkand, India’, in Gender Technology and Develop­
ment, New Delhi: Sage Publication, 4 (3), 2000, p. 353; Dev Nathan
and others, ‘Women as Witches and Keepers of Demons: Cross Cultural
Analysis of Struggles to Change Gender Relations’, Economic and Political
Weekly, 31 October 1998, p. 59.
5. S.K. Chatterjee, Origin and Development of Bengali Language, Calcutta:
Calcutta University Press, 1970, p. 308.
6. Art of Tantra, 1978, Philip Rawson, London, 1978, p. 210.
7. Anjali Daimari, a scholar of the Bodos has noted that there are no written
records so far found to try to trace the origin of witchcraft and witch
hunting among the Bodos. Neither are there references to them in their
early oral traditions. Cf. Debarshi Prasad Nath, ‘Assam’s Tale of Witch-
Hunting and Indignity’, EPW, XLIX, no. 37, 2014, p. 56.
8. S. Bosu Mallik, ‘Gender Relations and Witches Among the Indigenous
Communities of Jharkhand, India’, in Gender Technology and Development,
New Delhi: Sage Publication, 4(3), 2000, p. 346.
9. Cf. E.T. Dalton, Tribal History of Eastern India, 1872, original title Descrip­
tive Ethnology of Bengal, Reprint, New Delhi, p. 200.
10. Indibar Deori, ‘Daini : Asamar Janagosthi’, in Paramananda Majumdar
ed., Daini, Jyotish Aru Alaukik Sikitsa, Guwahati, 2002, pp. 23ff.
11. Ibid., p. 29.
12. Ibid., p. 27.
13. E.T. Dalton, p. 86.
14. Cf. Boro-Kachariri Samaj aru Sanskriti, op.cit, pp. 237f.
15. D.P. Chattopadhyaya, Lokayata, 4th edn., Calcutta, 1978, pp. 620f.
16. Ibid. .
17. Witch, Warlock and Magician, vol. II, London, 1889, p. 203.
18. Mirza Nathan, Baharistan-I-Ghaybi, ed. and tr. M.I. Borah, vol. I,
p. 132.
19. S.K. Bhuyan, Studies in the History of Assam, Gauhati, 1965, pp. 74ff.
20. As reported to the present author by the people of the Sadiya region in
422 Jahnabi Gogoi Nath
Upper Assam and belief of the people of the Chutiya community of Assam
who once ruled a part of Upper Assam with the head quarters at Sadiya.
21. R.M. Nath, ed., Background of Assamese Culture, 2nd print, Guwahati,
1978, pp. 47f.
22. M. Neog, Sankaradeva and His Times-Early History of Vaisnava Faith and
Movement in Assam, Guwahati, 1998, pp. 88f.
23. B. Kakati, Purani Kamrupar Dharmar Dhara, in Banikanta Rachanawali,
Guwaharti, 1991, pp. 204ff.
24. Assam Buranji, reprint, Guwahati, 1972, p. 203.
25. In a ballad called Manikonwarar Geet (collected & ed. B.P. Chaliha,
Guwahati, 2005, pp. 210(ff) the queen is said to have requested a woman
medicine practitioner—bejini to secretly abort her having unable to bear
paid of pregnancy at the old age. The bejini, however, is said to have
refused to abide on fear of being killed by the king. Maheswar Neog has
stated that the ballad speaks of the age of the Ahom rule in Assam. See
Maheswar Neog Rachanawali, vol. I, Dibrugarh, 1986, p. 388.
26. Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger, op. cit., p. 102.
27. Indra Munshi, ‘Women and Forest: A study of the Warlis of Western
India’, in Gender, Technology and Development, 5(2), New Delhi, 2001,
p. 187.
28. M. Winternitz, History of Indian Literature, reprint, Delhi, 1990, vol. I,
p. 128.
29. Cf. Dev Nathan et al., ‘Women as Witches and Keepers of Demons’, in
Economic and Political Weekly, October, 1998, p. 58.
30. H.R. Terevor-Roper, The European Witch Craze of the Sixteenth and Seven­
teenth Centuries and Other Essays, New York, 1967, p. 91.
31. Mary Douglas (ed.) Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations, London,
1970, p. 48.
32. Ibid.
33. Dev Nathan et. al., p. 61.
34. Cf. W.G. Archer, The Hill of Flutes: Love, Life and Poetry in Tribal India,
London, 1974, p. 303; Dev Nathan et al., p. 61.
35. Dalton, op. cit., p. 86.
36. E.T. Dalton, pp. 86, 199.
37. Dev Nathan et al., p. 61.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid., p. 58.
40. ‘Women and Forest : A study of the Warlis of Western India’, in Gender,
Technology and Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 2001, New Delhi, 2001,
p. 182ff.
 Society, Belief and Practice 423
41. E.T. Dalton, op. cit., p. ii.
42. Bhaben Narzi,Baro Kacharir Samaj aru Sanskriti, 3rd edn., Guwahati,
1985, pp. 243f.
43. Ibid.
44. Amar Asam, 7 May 2001.
45. Ibid., 8 February 2001.
46. Ibid., 29 June 2001.
47. Ibid., 18 August 2001.
48. Ibid., 24 August 2001.
49. The Telegraph, 2 October 2002.
50. Ibid., 24 October 2001.
51. Amar Asam, 29 December 2002.
52. Ibid., 28 June 2002.
53. Ibid., 26 July 2003.
54. Ibid., 29 April 2004.
55. Amar Asam, 9 November 2004.
56. Ibid.
57. The Sentinel, 12 June 2005.
58. Amar Assam, 15 March 2005.
59. The Sentinel, 27 April 2005.
60. Ibid., 12 June 2005.
61. Ibid.
62. ‘Witch Hunting needs Serious Concern’, inBibungthi, vol. I, pt.ii, 2011,
pp. 26f; cf. Debarshi Prasad Nath, ‘Assam’s Tale of Witch Hunting and
Indignity’ in EPW, vol. XLIX, no. 37, p. 57.
63. Gurucharit Katha, ed., M. Neog, Guwahati, 1982, pp. 38, 308.
64. The Bodos have a system of keeping a young boy for a girl at the house of
the girl called gharjonwai rakha. The Gharjonwai, however, is not entitled
to the ownership of the property which the girl inherits from her parents.
They also have a system called dhoka or dangkha whereby a widow marries
a man and keeps him with her at her home. This man, however, does not
become the rightful owner of the property which the woman possesses
from the side of her former husband. (See Narzi, op. cit., pp. 87ff). It
appears that this proprietary right of women has been a cause of witch-
hunt among the Bodo society.
65. Govind Kelkar and Dev Nathan, op.cit., p. 100.
66. Ibid.
67. See fn. no.1; Aparna Mahanta, ‘Daini Hatya: Eta Samajtatvik Bisleshan’,
in Paramanad Majumdar, ed., op. cit., pp. 11ff.
 C H A P T E R 23

The Enchanted Community: Kaose

and Doi (Witchcraft) among the
Kukis of North-East India
JANGKHOMANG GUITE

In 2014, when I was on a holiday at home, I came across one very

disturbing or rather tormenting video clip of kaotom circulating
across social networking. It was difficult to say how many people
had actually viewed the clip. But the fact that I got this clip from
an aged man who was not conversant to, and has the least interest
in social networking convinced me that the clip in fact had a wide
circulation. Very soon, I came to know that this clip had gone viral
across the land, at least among the Kukis, in the north-east and
other cyber cities of India. I came to learn soon that similar clips of
kaotom had, now and then, circulated in the social media in recent
times. Society was also often flooded with stories of what they
called kaotom. It was in the midst of such criss-crossing rumour
wire that I also learned certain underground outfits killing some
people accused of kaotom. When I heard all these, I was deeply
appalled by the new development that reminded me of history. At
times I asked myself whether history was repeating itself. I thought
it was not good. This episode struck me not only because of the
sympathy I had regarding the accused persons, but more impor­
tantly by the growing trend of instances such as this which had
the potential to break the very social fabric of Kuki society. This
particular episode had already disturbed the peace and tranquillity
of the local society. Strong views had already been expressed
by different sections of the population. The public mind had been
426 Jangkhomang Guite
poisoned with fears and hatred for group of people who had tradi­
tionally been condemned as kaose. We had been trying hard to
weave together some scattered pieces of historical evidence to
understand the subject and are on the verge of reaching the con­
clusion that the existence of kaose and doi in Kuki society was
merely in the social mind. They were social constructs specific to a
particular time and space and had nothing to do with the reality.
Considering the damning impact, the said episode would have
wrought to the shivering minds of the thousands, of the possible
mental dissociation it would have brought in their thought, one
eventually decided that some inventory should be taken to see what
really conspired in the darkness of the ‘great conspiracy’. While it
had devastated the minds of thousands so that the chance of win­
ning them was diminishing fast, one thought that the electrifying
episode had at the same time opened up a new vista for academic
discourse especially because it opened up the minds of thousands
who had till then considered this as an ‘unsayable’ (seingeilou) thing
in the society. To the Kukis, kaose was always a ‘secret subject’. It
was a subject every Kuki knew which everyone pretends to forget.
It was a subject everyone learned secretly from childhood days,
which everyone preferred to keep ‘as a secret’. This is the subject,
which one would call the greatest conspiracy of silence in Kuki
history, which the episode had, for a moment, challenged, if not
punctured.
Before I come to some of the findings in this study on the epi­
sode and another one which occurred a little before this one, I
would like to share my childhood experience. This ancient ideas
had permanent impact in the mind of every Kuki, a fact not over­
stated. When in junior school I had a very close friend. Those few
years of our friendship was one of the best times I ever had in my
life. There, no one cared or talked about clan, family, community,
or nation matter that children are concerned with today. No one
talked about rank, hierarchy, wealth and so on. It was just a true
life. On many occasions, one had food together in his house, then
in my house. Now and then, we spent the evening or the night
together—shared stories, folklore and so on. Now and then, there
were visits to the jungle for fishing, bird hunting, collecting bamboo
 The Enchanted Community 427
shoots and so on. Now and then, we played games, kerosene
(thao-po) was carried for pocket money. That was just a beautiful
world. Yet, one very very bad afternoon, another friend of mine
said something that devastated me. It was a great shock. It was a
shock of a different kind which one would prefer to call a mental
quake that saddened the remaning years in that school. He said
‘secretly’ that my close friend was akiseite (lit. ‘what we said’). He
said the ‘unsayable’ and one knew what he had said. I knew such
‘unsayable’ stories much earlier, but I had not known or seen any­
one until I was told that my own friend was one of them.
It is a rule among the Kukis that, you can never ask a person
accused of kaose whether s/he is one of them. Therefore, I started
enquiring from other people. Surprisingly, the answer was posi­
tive; everyone seemed to know it. Some had even said that my friend’s
family was one of the most ‘active’ one (alaangte /akhohte) and
hence most feared one. It was literally devastating. Every Kuki had
had the psychological fear of kaose from childhood days. The
children were indeed frightened with such stories. I was fall of fear,
panic, and terror. That was one of the saddest days in my life.
From that day onwards, I was not even able to face my friend.
Kukis believed that kaose can read people’s mind; it is said that
they knew what was being thought about them, not to speak of
the ill that is spoken of them. Hence, I always thought that my
friend knew what I was thinking about him. That gave me uneasi­
ness every time I met him. The life together with him after that
was so uncomfortable that I never had a single day of happiness. I
felt like I was in hell, in the frying pan. I was literally besieged
and tormented every single day. Sometimes, I felt I should cut-off
my friendship but I was afraid because I believed that he would
immediately strike me down if I did that. But that was not the
most serious point I had in mind. The truth was that, I could not
just forget my childhood friend, who until that time was so close
to me as if we were brothers.
When I think of this today, I feel very sorry for my friend, and
for my own ignorance. But at the same time, I was not odd; my
behaviour was what it really was, and is, in Kuki society. That was
the pain, the suffering and torment that every Kuki felt in their
428 Jangkhomang Guite
mind; the non-kaose (who felt ‘atheng’ or clean) in the presence of
kaose (who were condemned to be ‘aboh’ or polluted) and the
latter among the former. Definitely, my friend did not know what
I had in mind. He was completely unaware of my body language,
not to speak of what we had talked to others about him. To him,
things were usual, normal until we departed and went to different
schools. My own silent conspiracy tormented me for a good many
years which otherwise would have been the happiest years. This is
the irony that every Kuki who would eventually realize one day
that what they had in mind was imagined nothing more. It was
just a mindcraft, a hostage to ancient belief, the state of mind that
keep them conspiring against their brothers for none of their folly,
none of their real being. Some might have had this experience
earlier, many might just heard about it. But the fact is, when
everyone knew about kaose they preferred to remain silent, a
silence which was of course studded with fear and hatred.

OF SAVAGE MODERN MEN: TWO

ELECTRIFYING EPISODES

Coming back to that electrifying episode, I took two of my stu­

dents and a few other associates to take a ground inventory. That
field trip made me realize that the belief in kaose is still over­
whelming and deep rooted in our society. We spent the first two
days in finding out who were the people accused, attacked and
involved in the horrifying clip. We were told initially that the
scene had taken place somewhere in Tuibuong in Churachandpur
district, Manipur. We literally took the clip from door-to-door in
and around Tuibuong. Tuibuong youth leaders were helpful. Every­
one told us that they had also seen the clip but were not aware of
the details of the incident. Eventually, on the second day, we were
lucky enough to find out where the tragic incident had taken place
that led us further. But what astonished me during these two days
of search was that, if a random survey is to be taken, the following
conclusion can be easily arrived at. Most persons were aware of the
video clip(s). They all felt terrible after seeing it. Some women
told us that what they had taken to be a notion a story, till this
time, it had proved to be true. A very nervous woman told us:
 The Enchanted Community 429
‘Although I used to hear about it, I did not believe it before, now
I see that kaose really exist’. She went on saying ‘kaose are really
horrible, I am really afraid now. The society should do something
to stop this silent killing.’ This woman was concerned about the
safety of her children. The clip shows the alleged kaose woman
‘revealing’ that all the children who died recently in her village
were ‘devoured’ by her. That was the message that frightened thou­
sands of women who felt insecure and agitated. The innocent chil­
dren were also similarly traumatized and tormented after seeing
the clip. An old man protested, ‘What are the gollhangho [lit. youth,
meaning militants] doing, how could they let this thing happen’.
There were also people who protested against the circulation of the
clip on social media. They felt that this is a usual thing going on in
our society, but putting up in social media is something they con­
sidered ‘unethical’ because it tormented people’s mind, because it
broke the silence of what was supposed to be ‘unsayable’. They
wanted that whatever happened should happen behind the closed
door recalling the ancient principle of ‘unsayableness’ (seingailou)
to the root.
After getting sufficient information, we went up to the village
where the accused and victim lived. After travelling for a little
more than an hour we reached the village. When we asked the
villagers about the woman who was accused of the black art, they
looked stunned and nervous. Initially, they told us that they were
not there, probably they were suspicious of our intention. When
we told that we were researchers and there was no bad design
behind it, they hesitatingly told us that she had gone to the jhum
field and would be back in the evening. They told that her house
was at the corner of the village. We saw her house and it was locked.
Since we could not wait till the evening, we decided to go to the
jhum field. There in the thatched jhum house we finally found her
with her daughter, grandchildren and two sons-in-law. She was an
aged lady, thin, poor, and humble. We told her our purpose of
visit and started inquiring about the clip. She broke down and
told us the whole story behind the accusation made against her.
She claimed that her own son, the son of her husband’s first wife,
was the main person behind the conspiracy.
Her story went this way. She was the second wife of her husband
430 Jangkhomang Guite
who had a son from his first wife. This boy had stayed away in
another village in his mother-in-law’s house (apute) since his
childhood days indicating the childhood trauma under a step­
mother. Later, he got married to one of the girls from his father’s
village but continued to live in his mother-in-law’s village. His
father and stepmother were living in the former village for more
than twenty years. The husband died a year back. Until this time,
no single accusation had been levelled in the village. The con­
spiracy began immediately after her husband died. After the con­
spiracy was made public and viral, her elder brother, who was also
a chief of another village, came to her village and declared that
their family had never been accused of being kaose in the past.
They were instead the clan or the family which was considered as
thenchilahnate (provider of clean spouse) by everyone. Her brother
took the matter to the village chief who promised that he would
do anything to remove the ‘false’ accusation made. But this never
came about, and will perhaps never materialize because we learnt
from them later that they were fully in favour of the accusation.
We also talked to one of her daughters and her husband and
another man close to them. They all told us about the hard times
they were going through in the village where people did not even
look at them, not to speak of talking to them, as if a glance at them
would likely cause sickness or death. Every one avoided passing
their house (her married daughter’s family also stayed with her).
She told us that she used to be an active member of the church
women’s society. But after this, none of the women would come to
her house, not to mention of an association with her, nor was she
invited for the regular women fellowship and family prayer groups.
In fact, the social environment was so hostile that it forced them to
lead a secluded life. They said they were even ashamed of going to
the church or any other public gatherings in the village. Of course,
no one asked them to leave the village as in olden days, but the
way the whole village community treated her family, amounted to
putting a pressure on them to move away from the village. The
kind of social ostracism and hatred shown toward kaose was, there­
fore, clearly visible.
Perhaps, the chief ’s family was also part of the conspiracy because
 The Enchanted Community 431
the man who played a central role in the brutal scene of exorcism
or ‘seized’ (nodoh or kaomat) was the brother of that village chief.
That gory scene in the clip was performed in his house under his
direction. In the clip, he was seen to have told the same woman
that he had ‘seized’ (mat) her with other three sickly persons or
‘victims’ earlier when she had committed the same brutality on
them as in this clip. What a savage men he was? It should be noted
that this man was a deeply religious (Christian) person. He was
the Secretary of that village church. The morning we met him we
had to wait for him for a while. He came from the ‘prayer-moun­
tain’ where he had gone out the previous night for a whole-night
prayer. He proudly claimed that had done a ‘good job’. But he did
not realize that he had committed a great crime against humanity,
first towards the sick persons and then to the woman he had im­
plicated again and again as kaose. Certainly, such brutal acts against
sickly people cannot be spared under human rights law: torture
was one that attracts punishment under any legal framework.
This chief ’s family and the majority of the villagers belong to
the same clan. The husband of the accused woman also belonged
to the chief ’s clan but she did not. The conspiracy, she said, was
that her step son wanted to come back to his father’s village after
her husband died and wanted to own the house as per his customary
entitlement as the eldest son. But for this to happen, his step mother
would have to leave that house and most importantly, that village.
Hence, she asserted that it was a well-planned out conspiracy against
her. Interestingly, the alleged victim of kaose shown in the electrify­
ing clip was the elder sister of her step son’s wife. This connection
made the claim of the accused woman very strong. Therefore, we
went to the alleged victim. She told us that she had been suffering
from occasional stomach ache ‘for a long time’ for which she had
been consulting a few doctors. She was on medication. She was
also suffering from asthma.
That day while going to the Lamka for a consultation with the
doctor, she had stayed at the house of the chief ’s brother just men­
tioned. This man seemed to have invited the (in)famous, and popu­
larly known in Lamka area as, ‘kao doctor’. This ‘kao doctor’ first
offered her some liquid (about half a tea cup) before prayer. He
432 Jangkhomang Guite
also used two sticks which he called lhagao chemjam (angel’s sword)
as if they were his sthethoscope. With these sticks, he punched the
abdomen where his patient had felt the most pain. This woman
told us that the moment, she consumed the liquid she became
unconscious and went in a state of trance (manga banga lhajenjen).
She said that she could hear what other people asked her as in a
dream (mangjejen), but could not remember whatever she had
said. She said that her stomach ache was immediately healed or
relieved after she was conscious but she felt the pain on her skin
over which the ‘kao doctor’ had hit with his lhagao chamjam. But
she also told us that after sometime her original pain continued and
her ailment was not cured. When we met her she was on her usual
medication.
We then went to the ‘kao doctor’ who told us that he was ‘used
by’ (manchah) Christian angels (lhagaotheng) who told him to use
two branches of certain common garden plant as lhagao chemjam
(angel’s sword) and certain liquid made of the same plant to cure
any ailments. The liquid was made by a simple method. The up­
per skin of a branch of the said plant was removed and then dipped
(for about half-an-hour) into a cup of water so that the bitter white
fluid of the plant mixed with the water. We tasted the water; it was
stingingly bitter. This liquid was given to the sick and it was so
powerful that it immediately sent him/her into a trance. The fact
that hundreds of people, from across Manipur and outside, had
flown into his house for treating different ailments show the effec­
tiveness of the liquid. Truly, many received, according to him, a
‘miraculous’ cure. It appears that the plant contains a very strong
medicinal value which still needs to be studied in a laboratory. We
have had a case of person being cured from diabetes after taking
the liquid.
But the problem with this ‘kao doctor’ was that he was also a
strong believer in kaose and what he called lhagao boh (malevolent
spirit) or doi (black magic or wizardry). So anyone who came to
him was declared as ‘possessed’ by either of the above black art.
Whenever an ailment was related to stomach or abdomen, he would
invariably pronounce kaobol or kaotom (devoured by kaose). What
a savage! He proudly claimed that the angels had given him the
 The Enchanted Community 433
‘power to see’ (hettheina) who was actually ‘devoured’ by kaose. He
even claimed that he could identify, who was kaose by looking at the
eyes. He also claimed proudly that he was able to ‘cure’ more than
a hundred cases of kaotom in recent times. But when he declared
this with pride, he did not realize that he was as savage and inhu­
man as those who had invited him. This innocent ‘kao doctor’ did
not realize that when he claimed with pride of the ‘success’, he
actually indicated the fact that he was responsible for gaining popu­
larity of the belief in kaose in recent times. This was particularly
because he mindlessly indulged in savage method of exorcising
kaotom such as declaring many of medically sick persons as kaobol,
needlessly questioning several things of his patient who was falling
in a trance such as the identity of kaose (which is actually an act of
putting certain names in the mouth of the person, who was in a
trance and who normally responded with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. When we
told him that kaose do not exist in reality and he had actually
committed a serious crime by defaming and devastating many in­
nocent people, he defended himself devilishly by saying that he
did not ask any questions of the sick but those who had invited
him did that. Interestingly, he agreed to abide by the suggestion
not to ask any more question of the sick in future.
The second case was of similar but more savage kind. Two sick
persons were taken to one house, and in the same savage manner,
they were forced to pronounce certain names, one to a father and
another to his daughter, through application of torture, terror and
intimidation. The village authority was equally intolerant and en­
chanted. It invited the family which was accused as kaose and with­
out giving any opportunity to defend themselves, ordered them to
immediately leave the village the same night. They were threatened
of public outrage if they failed to abide by the order. We met the
family, who were forced to leave that village and lived in the out­
skirts of another village not very far from the previous one. The
story we uncovered was that the daughter of this family, a beautiful,
spiritual, and active member of the village church, had another
female friend from the same village. There was a handsome gentle­
man, who fell in love with this young woman whom her friend had
also apparently liked. One day, the former (her friend) told the
434 Jangkhomang Guite
gentleman that his girl-friend was akiseite (pronounced kaose) so
that she could win him for herself. The gentleman did not take it
seriously, probably he thought that is a safe idea. When he met his
girl-friend he had casually, jokingly, told her of the accusation.
Accusing someone as kaose is a serious defamation charge among
the Kukis. The friendship eventually broke down not only be­
tween the two friends, but between the two families. This went on
for a while which eventually ended up in the electrifying incident,
where she and her father were implicated to be kaose and their
eventual expulsion from the village. Certainly, this was nothing
more than a sinister design by the accuser, who wanted to prove to
the people that what she had said was true. Otherwise, such an
accusation being a serious defamation charge, public wrath could
backfire on them. It was but a spiteful act on the part of the
accusers, who had not yet realized that they were still under an
ancient skill though the world they lived in was a world filled with
science and reason.
The relationship was such that this unfortunate family belonged
to a clan other than the prevailing clan (chiefly clan) of the village.
They were what is known locally as phungchaga (lit. orphan clan,
meaning different clan of the village). The accuser’s family also
belonged to another clan, but maternally related to the prevailing
clan of the village. In fact, her brother was an influential person in
that village. The family of the accused had no history or prece­
dence of any accusation earlier. This was the first time, they were
accused in their family history, both from the side of the mother
and father. Therefore, they took the matter to their phungpi (lit.
clan head, meaning clan organization) so that the wrong accusation
could be corrected through the clan (phung) to clan level. Here
also, we can see the kind of hostile social pressure put on this
hapless family. The girl told us that she stopped going out of the
house, not to speak of going to the church. The kind of social
boycott that befell on the family was so tormenting that it com­
pletely devastated them to the point they would never recover again.
In fact, the whole episode of exorcism was farcical, taking the people
to the age of savagery. Guns were pointed against the sick, they
were tortured to say what they actually did not want to say and so
 The Enchanted Community 435
on. Our cross-examination of the clip with the reality was un­
matched. The tormenting scene in the clip also shows clearly that
the two names of the accused were literally put into the mouth of
the sick persons.
Certain significant conclusions can be drawn from the above two
cases. First, it was the product of a local or neighbourhood ten­
sion, say, between a son and unkind step mother or between two
friends in love with a handsome gentleman. Second, it proved that
the accused were implicated for the first time in their family his­
tory. In other words, both the accused families had no precedence
of such accusation in their family genealogy in the past. Third,
both the families belonged to khochaga (the other minority clan)
in their village. Fourth, both the accused were innocent women.
In the first case there was one more significant thing: she was an
aged, widow, poor, and humble. Fifth, the accusers belonged to
the dominant and chiefly clan who had certain sinister designs of
defaming the family of the accused. Sixth, in both the cases, the
chiefly clan was unsympathetic to the plight of the accused; no
justice was provided to them as in the olden days despite the case
being a serious defamation. This was probably because the chief ’s
family had nothing to lose, politically and socially, the fate that
would certainly be reversed had it happened to any of their clan
members or someone related to them. Seventh, the kind of social
ostracism shown to the families of the accused clearly indicated
that the idea of kaose is still very much alive and strong in the Kuki
society.
Eighth, the Kuki church is equally apathetic to the idea of kaose.
It can even be said that the church, instead of destroying such a
concept, promoted the idea of kaose as one of its newly acquired
concept of lhagao boh (unwanted spirit, an evil and hence sin).
Declaring kaose as chonse (sinner) would bring a serious social
implication in the future. The fact that an active church member
or persons who were deeply religious or who even took the name of
God and Christ, say, the ‘kao doctor’ for instance, were involved in
the dark conspiracy is a case that proves the position of the Kuki
churches on the subject. Ninth, and more seriously, the existence
of a concept like kaose in a society lacking any protection against
436 Jangkhomang Guite
defamation of the kind, is a serious social problem which had the
potential of breaking the social fabric. This is especially so in a
society which is undergoing rapid change, with spiraling social
evils and so on. Thus, if an anti-social attitude towards the so-called
lou-ne (drug addicts) produced Satanists (followers of Satan), the
proliferating cases of defamation as kaose and its accompanying
concept of them as sinners, unfit to ‘enter heaven’, then very soon
large numbers of the Kuki population would be dragged to the
Satanist followers. From the trend of defamation charges since re­
cent times, we can say that in not very near future the Kuki society
is going to have more kaose than the non-kaose (the atheng). Tenth,
and most importantly, the two cases prove strongly that kaose is a
social construct, an ancient concept, which can be used by anyone
for anyone whom s/he wanted to defame. In other words, kaose, as
the two cases show, did not exist in reality; it was through accusa­
tion, and the lack of power to defend oneself against such defama­
tion, that a certain family was eventually condemned and known
as kaose, nothing more. Let us see what kaose and doi was, and how
society responded them, in the past.

DEFINING KAOSE AND DOI

Very often, there was an ambiguity in our understanding of kaose

and doi which are of different categories under the generic athenglou
(unclean or polluted, meaning ‘evil’) in Kuki society. Kaose is un­
derstood in different terms among their relatives in Chin Hills and
Lushai Hills. For instance, the Lushais called it khawhring and the
Lakhers called it ahmaw. Truly, there is no equivalent English term
to define kaose or khawhring or ahmaw. Hutton (1980: 155), for
instance, translated kaose as ‘vampire’. Carey called it the ‘evil eye’.
Shakespear avoided giving an English term. Parry (1988: 462-3)
pointed out the inaccuracy of existing English terms to define the
belief. He said, ‘It is impossible to translate the term accurately; it
approximates to the evil eye, but is not exactly the same’. He
felt that it is ‘a sort of vampire soul’. J.H. Hutton (1980: 155)
defined kaose as a person ‘who can so project their astral bodies as
to enter into those they wish to and devour their internal organs,
 The Enchanted Community 437
particularly the liver and heart’. This definition seems accurate as
it recognized the presence of an ‘astral bodies’ or spirits in a per­
son, which s/he has the ‘power’ to project to those people they
wish to attack. Yet, his understanding of the term ‘devour’ on
‘their internal organs’, that is feeding greedily on the vital organs,
seems wrongly applied that led him to translate kaose as ‘vampire’.
Certainly, kaose is not a vampire and as far as the local understand­
ing of them is concerned, they did not eat or feed on the vital
organs of the people they attacked. Instead, it is said that kaose
either le (lick), pe (bite) or tom (lit. cover, meaning overwhelm/
engulf ) which did not eat but tormented the internal organs of the
victims. For clarity, we see similar beliefs in other tribes that came
under similar cultural area of what is commonly known as Kuki-
Chin cultural world.
Thus, a similar belief was recorded in Lushai Hills and Chin
Hills. In Lushai Hills, John Shakespear recorded among the Lushais
what they called khawhring which is an equivalent of kaose. Like
kaose, he defined khawhring as an external body residing in a women
(remember, it’s only in women unlike kaose which can dwell in
both men and women). He recorded that ‘Khawhring lives in cer­
tain women, whence it issues forth from time to time and takes
possession of another woman, who, falling into a trance, speaks
with the voice of the original hostess of the Khawhring’ (Shakespear
1983: 111). Kaotom (engulfed by kaose) is also similarly under­
stood like this among the Kukis. Among the Lakhers, N.E. Parry
(193: 462) also recorded a similar belief which they called Ahmaw:
‘A person is said to be Ahmaw when his spirit has the power of
entering into another person’s body and causing severe stomach
ache’. Thus, kaose, khawhring, ahmaw and so on are different terms
used by different Kuki-Chin tribes to mean the same sort of belief
that defined an external body or spirit which resides inside a human
body who had the power to use this spirit to enter another person’s
body generally for certain negative reasons.
The reasons for the attack were said to be many and varied, but
they can be reduced to one word: envy. It was said that kaose at­
tacked a person mostly, if not exclusively, out of envy. Parry (1931:
462) lucidly put this down,
438 Jangkhomang Guite
The belief is that a person who is ahmaw is always of an envious nature, and
when he sees anyone else possessed of clothes or other property that he
would like himself, he becomes very envious, and sends his spirit into the body
of the person whose property he envies and at once cause the most violent
stomach ache, which on occasions is believed to have resulted in death. An
ahmaw, in fact, is a sort of vampire soul, which, on seeing any one prosperous
and happy, tries to get hold of the property of the person he envies by entering
his body and making him ill, in the hope that the sick man will then make
offerings to him.
To these, food should be added as a central theme of envy among the
Kukis and Lushais. Besides, it was also said that an attack could take place due to
insult or humiliation. Since people used the invisible spirit to enter the body of
others in order to satisfy their ‘envy’, kaose also comes under the category of
black, negative or evil arts.

The Kuki-Chin cultural world also had another set of the black
arts locally known as doi (Kuki) or dawi (Lushai) or deu (Lakher).
Doi is further divided into two: positive (white) and negative (black)
magic. While the positive doi (commonly known as indoi among
Kukis) was exclusive to the practice of an institutionalized priest­
hood called Thempu or Puithiem, the negative doi was a practice
akin to English witchcraft and wizardry or often given a generic
term black magic. While the former used the method of kithoi
(healing), the later used kibol (doi-a-bol, witchery, or wiz-ardry).
Parry (2009: 18)) said that ‘Dawi is magic and a Dawithiam is a
wizard’. He differentiated between khawhring (kaose) and dawi
(doi) as: ‘A Khawhringnei is a person who is possessed of an evil eye,
while a Dawithiam is an active wizard’. Shakespear defined dawi as
‘witchcraft’. The difference can also be seen from the method of
attacking a person. Kaose sent its spirit inside the body and caused
torment, doithem used certain ‘poison’ to attack its victim through
food or a certain spirit for the same purpose. Ambiguity arises
mostly from the fact that both used certain spirits to attack their
victim. This ambiguity is even more complicated by the way society
responded to the so-called black or evil arts. We can see that both
the beliefs were clubbed together under the rubric of athenglou
(unclean or unwanted) practice that the society struggled to stamp
out over the ages. Besides most tribes/clans, sometimes villages
 The Enchanted Community 439
felt its rival group both as kaose and doithem. Thus, Chins felt that
all Lushais were both wizards and evil eyed people, a single
glance from whom was supposed to cause sickness. This associa­
tion of the two, kaose and doi, together as an anti-social combina­
tion or having to do with the whole tribe should not, however,
confuse us from the fact that the same culture informed us of
a clean divide between the two sets of negative elements in the
society.
The difference can also be seen from its later development. When
doi (both positive and negative) was successfully stamped out by
the society over a period of time, kaose remained intact and at time
vibrant. This not only indicates why kaose is a different set of belief
system, but also that it requires a separate and different treatment
from doi. Broadly, doi is a practice or an ‘art’ that requires a deter­
mined training under an able teacher. Whereas, kaose is a concept
that does not require training and teacher; it lives inside the body
of certain persons and is passed on through generations along the
blood line. The person may refuse to use that power but does not
lack that power which s/he can use anytime. The death of thempu
or doikungpu, however, marked the end of his art unless he passed
the knowledge on, through training, to someone else. Kaose is un­
derstood to be a sort of spirit and it can proliferate like virus through
the bloodline and the heirs, if not controlled. Thus, great care was
taken in the past, and of course still in the present, that kaose do
not spread. Besides other discriminatory practices, an in-built
mechanism in the institution of marriage such as the neite or pute­
chanu kijuon was enforced and a strict prohibition on sharing of
samthi (comb) and nam (cane-plaited band for carrying load in
basket) with certain persons was pronounced. One can also see
from the origin myths of the two, which also clearly shows a differ­
ent origin.

MYTHICAL ORIGIN OF KAOSE AND DOI

Different Kuki-Chin groups had different narratives on the origin

of kaose. At least two important narratives are available among the
Kukis. The first is was related to a very old tradition which took
440 Jangkhomang Guite
place not very long after they came out from Noimang (Khul).
Legend has it that Santhuh was the first known kaose among the
Kukis. Pu Chonghtu cut the neck of Santhuh for swallowing up,
in one gulp, the bridal-meat called sachan or sahap of his eldest
son Thanpi’s bride Seichin of Vanlaite. Somehow the decapitated
neck was rejoined again by a mysterious creature called chilchite­
nupa. With a shorter neck, Santhuh was transformed into a gib­
bon (guldu). Since then, guldu was prohibited for human consump­
tion due to the fear that the kaose spirit might enter their body.
Those who had eaten guldu against the social injunction therefore
became kaose. The second narrative said that when the Kukis were
in present Chin Hills, they came across a talking mithun called
Sielpao (being possessed by kaose). One day Kipgen and Chongloi
killed this mithun and ate the meat. After they had eaten the meat
kaose entered their body (Haokip 2011: 23-35).
Among the Lushais, the origin of khawhring (or kaose) is slightly
different from the Kuki version. Shakespear (1983: 111-12) re­
corded one translated account of the Lushais in this respect. He
wrote:
Wild boars have Khawhring. Once a man shot a wild boar while out hunt­
ing. On his return home, they cooked the flesh. Some of the fat got on the
hand of his sister, who rubbed her head, and the wild boar’s Khawhring just
passed into her. On the next day, without any provocation, she entered
another girl. She took entire possession of her. People said to her, ‘Where are
you going to?’ She replied, ‘It is the wild boar my brother shot’. ‘Well, what
do you want?’ they said. ‘If you will give me eggs I will go away’, she replied.
They gave her eggs and she went.
From the above account it is clear that kaose first entered and
resided the human body through a consumption of certain meat
possessed by kao (say, gibbon or mithun among the Kukis) and
through the hair after the application of boar’s fat on the head.
They enter the other person’s body out of envy, in this case, for
eggs, that is, the food of other they crave for themselves.
As far as the origin myth of doi (black magic) or wizardry among
the Kukis is concerned, it is generally believed that they all learned
the art from the Koms, one of the Kuki tribes. Another legend
narrates that Pu Hangsai, the lionman, was the source of such black
 The Enchanted Community 441
magic which Pu Galngam had from him. Hangsai also appears in
the Lushai legends. The story of the origin of ‘black magic’ or
what Shakespear has called ‘witchcraft dawi’ among the Lushai is,
however, well established. Shakespear noted that ‘the Lushais are
firm believers in witchcraft’. He recorded:
Dawi witchcraft was known to Pathian. Vahrika also was something like Pathian.
Vahrika had a separate water supply, and Pathian’s daughter was always dis­
turbing it. Vahrika said, ‘What can it be? and lay an ambush. Pathian’s daugh­
ter came, and he caught her and was going to kill her. But she said ‘Don’t kill
me; I will teach you magic’. So she taught him, and Vahrika taught it all to
Keichalla, Lalruanga and Hrangsai-puia. Then, Lalruanga went to court
Zangkaki, and Zangkaki, who was a friend of Pathian’s daughter, bewitched
Lalruanga, who has forgotten his ‘dawi bur’ (magic gourd), and he said to
Chaichim (the mouse), ‘Go and fetch my dawi bur which I put in my
basket’. So the mouse went to fetch the dawi bur and got it, but the Tuiruang
(Barak) river rose very high. The mouse took the dawi bur in his mouth and
started to swim over the river. The dawi bur was washed away by the river till
it stuck in the fish trap of the Thlangom tribe, who said, ‘What is this?’ The
dawi bur was singing like anything. The Thlangoms broke it open. No sooner
had they opened it than they each acquired knowledge of magic. Then the
Thlangoms were chanting the magic song. Some Mizo (natives of these Hills)
who were passing through the village also heard the song of those who knew
magic. The Mizo saw a man eating rice. ‘May you be bewitched!’ they said.
They bewitched him in his rice eating, and for a year after whenever he ate
cooked rice it changed into dry uncooked rice, and it swelled inside him till
his stomach could not hold it and he died. Thus, the Mizo learnt about
magic. Nowadays also there is magic, but those who knew it won’t teach it
without payment.
The crucial point here is ‘dawi witchcraft’ came from Pathen’s
daughter. The art was passed on to humans which eventually fell,
of course accidentally, in the hands of Lhangum clans. When the
Lhangums (Kukis) were chanting the ‘magic song’, the Lushais
learned it from them. The name of ‘Hrangsai-puia’ is significant;
he is also closely associated with Kuki legends as the powerful
lionman and the friend (jol ) of Galngam, the legendary warrior of
the Kukis who learned the art of magic from Hangsai (Hrangsai­
puia). The legendary personalities in Kuki-Chin cultural world,
such as Vahrika, Keichalla, Lalruanga, and Hrangsaipuia all
442 Jangkhomang Guite
belonged to the supernatural world ‘something like Pathian’ who
were associated with human beings.

‘AS THEY SAID’: CHARACTERS OF

KAOSE AND DOI

We have noted that kaose, khawhring or ahmaw are different terms

used by different Kuki-Chin tribes, which mean a person who can
so project or has the power to issue forth from time to time his/her
astral bodies or spirit as to enter into or take possession of another
person’s body or those they wish to and devour [pat or bite] their
internal organs, who, getting a severe stomach ache and falling
into a trance, speaks with the voice of the original hostess (Hutton
1980: 155; Shakespear 1983: 111; Parry 1988: 462). We have also
noted that the primary reason for their attack is ‘envy’. They are
always of ‘an envious nature’, who envy the delicious food and wealth
of the others that they themselves did not have. It is significant to
note that ‘envy’ is something which the stateless societies in the
Kuki-Chin world wanted to stamp out in their society indicating
the importance given to equality of all and freedom from any kind
of envy which they considered was the source of social tension.
Hutton (1980: 155) also noted: ‘Some Thado say that if a man
is suffering from the attacks of a vampire, and his hair be cut off, it
will be found, when he is recovered of the diseases, that his hair is
intact and that of the vampire has been cut’. In Lushai Hills,
Shakespear (1983: 112) also noted another significant character of
khawhring. His informant had told him that ‘presently all those
who borrowed the hnam (a plaited cane band for carrying loads) of
the girl with the Khawhring also got possessed’. This means, one
can get khawhring (kaose) through the hair, that is, by sharing
nam (cane-plaited band) and comb (samthi ) with them. This is
the main reason why tradition has strongly forbidden the sharing
of nam and samthi with other people, especially with unknown
persons. Shakespear (Ibid.) was also told by his informant of an­
other channel through which khawhring can pass on from one to
another. ‘If one with a Khawhring has a daughter’, his informant
told him, ‘the child is always possessed, so no one wants to marry
 The Enchanted Community 443
a person with a Khawhring’. This means that khawhring is heredi­
tary; it passes on from mother to daughter through the bloodline.
This means that the male, husband and sons, were immune to
khawhring. The idea of the hereditary factor is also shared by the
belief among the Kukis and Lakhers, except that this hereditary
character was not only from mother to daughters, but also to the
sons and the spirit possessed even her husband. Among the Kukis,
it continues to be the standing belief that a man who married a
woman who is known as kaose also got possessed after they got the
first son. But a woman, who married a man reputed to be kaose got
possessed the moment she entered his house after marriage.
In Lushai Hills, Shakespear also noted another interesting case.
He said that the Lushais believed that the khawhring girls some­
times ‘walk in their sleep and go and lick up urine, as the metna
do, under the zawlbuk, and that when starting forth on those
expeditions their feet and hands shine as if they were coated with
phosphorous. . . . This state is called “Thlahzung”’ (1983: 112).
This belief is also shared by the Kukis, who said that the kaose
used to walk during the night in the form of fire-balls (kao-mei,
‘ghost-fire’). According to the Kukis, such fire-ball are of two kinds.
One is what they called kao-mei or ‘ghost-fire’. Hutton identified
kao-mei as ‘the Will o’ the wisp, as it consists in small pale moving
fires and is regarded as harmless to human beings’.1 Kukis also
identify another fire-ball known to be gam-kao or ‘jungle-ghost’,
which is dangerous to human beings. Hutton again noted: ‘It
appears in the night in the form of a much more powerful light,
single and concentrated, but with some movement, as it swells and
subsides’. Hutton (1980: 155) noted that his Kuki informant:
. . . watched one in the jungle near Kohima; one was seen by a woman
of Thenjol in 1916 or thereabouts, when she left her house at night. It was
in the top of the tree and she ran back to her house in terror, fastened the
door, and fainted. She recovered enough to tell her husband what she
had seen, but was smitten with violent diarrhoea and vomiting and was dead
by morning.

In the Chin Hills, there seem no clear distinction between an

attack by ‘evil eye’ (kaose) and ‘wizard’ (doithem). People simply
444 Jangkhomang Guite
felt that a ‘single glance’ of those persons, whom they considered
as possessing the evil eye or wizards ‘is sufficient to bewitched
them and who are capable of causing lizards to enter the body,
balls of string to form in the stomach’. Carey & Tuck (2008: 200)
noted of the Chins belief as,
All ailments which are not understood are considered to be either the work of
a spirit or a wizard, and all internal complications are thought to be due to
the presence of a foreign body, which has been introduced in some mystic
manner, and which most often takes the form of balls of hair or string,
lizards, and rats.

From the above historical narratives, we may add some important

characteristics assigned to the kaose in the present day. Apart from
those characters of kaose noted above such as it is hereditary (par­
ents to children), permanent (cannot be removed from those per­
sons), contagious (sharing of comb and nam) and envious (always
envying others goods and delicious food), one may add others here.
We have seen that the victims of kaose usually experienced severe
stomach ache and went into a state of ‘trance’, which come close to
psychological or medical state of dissociative disorder particularly
that of dissociative amnesia.2 It is also said that the physical body
of the kaose and the victim lies in coma, saliva oozing from the
mouth and remains virtually in an unconscious state. Another be­
lief said that distance is not a matter for the ferocious spirit to
unleash an attack as it can traverse against time and space in the
atmospheric zones. Kaose is also said to possess an astral ear. There
is a saying gun in akhen louleh kaose ten mithusei aja thei jiuve
(unless separated by Gun River the kaose could hear people who
had spoken ill of them), meaning only a river can prevent the kaose
from hearing what is said.
It is also said that a young suitor can know a kaose maiden whose
beauty enhanced as the night gets older. It is also said that the
third son or daughter of a family is immune to possession by kaose.
It is not only hair, but any body parts of the victim that is cut-off
or injured will appear in the kaose body but not in the victim after
s/he recovers. Kaose that resides in a person dies when the host
kaose died or vice versa. Kaose, it is again said, usually attack the
 The Enchanted Community 445
weak (like children, women, or elderly) or sickly person whom
they can win over. This means that kaose had to literally fight hard
to enter a person’s body and possess it and hence they avoid a
healthy and strong person as they are, it is again said, not able to
win them. The characteristics of kaose can go on indefinitely so
much that the mental world of the Kukis is studded with fear and
hate against them. The same is true of doi. This expressed itself in
the form of societal responses to kaose or doi, the point that will
now be taken up.

FEAR, HATE AND VENGEANCE:

CRIMINALIZATION OF KAOSE AND DOI

The belief in kaose and doi was universal in the Kuki-Chin world.
Shakespear (1983: 111), for instance, noted that the ‘Lushais are
firm believers in witchcraft’ and ‘the belief in Khawhring is uni­
versal’. Carey and Tuck (2008: 200) also noted that the ‘Chins
fully believe in witchcraft and the power of the evil eye’. As they
came under the ‘evil’ category of the society, the struggle to stamp
out kaose and doi was also one that is historical. No one can say for
sure when it began and how exactly it took a shape. Nevertheless,
kaose and doi had certainly assumed a position as one of the most
dreaded ‘evil’ practices in the past just as it was the ‘most disgust­
ing people’. Hutton (1980: 155), for instance, noted that among
the Thadou Kukis,
Thado live in great dread of vampires, kaushi. . . . So great is their fear of
persons reputed to have this power that they will not as a rule on any account
mention the name of a person as being a kaushi for fear that if the vampire came
to hear of it he would start to devour the person who had spoken ill of him.
(emphasis mine).

Parry (1988: 463) also noted that, among the Lakhers ‘Ahmaw
is greatly feared, and to accuse any one of being ahmaw is very
serious defamation. The fine for falsely accusing any one of being
ahmaw is a cow mithun or 60 rupees’. Among the Lushais, if a man
accused another of being a wizard or khawhringnei and is unable
to prove it he was liable to a fine of Rs. 40 (Parry 2009: 18). In the
446 Jangkhomang Guite
Chin Hills, Carey and Tuck (2008: 200) also noted an extreme
case in which the Chins believe that a ‘single glance’ by the so-
called wizards or evil eye was ‘sufficient to bewitch them’. They
felt that the wizards or the evil eye ‘are capable of causing lizards to
enter the body, balls of string to form in the stomach, and to
inflict any and all those afflictions which are the evil gifts of the
spirits’. In this context of fear and terror, kaose and doi represents
the ‘evil gifts of the spirits’ to human being and hence, became a
constant neighbourhood nightmare. They had constantly haunted
and tormented the minds of people over the ages as if they are
criminals lurking all around for a prey.
It was under such circumstances of ‘dread’, ‘fear’, and ‘terror’
that societal response to kaose and doi needs to be situated. We
have noted that ‘envy’ was central to the cause of their attack and
it was this ‘envy’ that a non-state society was most biased against.
Thus, the very association of kaose and doi with ‘envy’ turned the
social temperature against them into what I would call ‘hate’. A
combination of fear and hate determined social action against the
kaose and doithem. It was within this fear and hate paradigm that
vengeance against the ‘evil gifts of the spirits’ and methods em­
ployed to get rid of them may be seen from a different social con­
text. Among the Lakhers, people were so terrified by ahmaw that
appeasement was apparently the norm. Among the Kukis, meth­
ods of both appeasement and violence were combined to deal with
them. Violence dominated the response against the black art among
the Lushais and the Chins. Let some of the historical evidences on
these aspects of social response be discussed.
Among the Kukis, it has been seen that people were so scared
that ‘they will not as a rule on any account mention the name of
a person as being a kaose’ (Hutton 1980: 155). Even muttering
the name of a person accused of kaose was extremely fearful. Keep­
ing the secret ‘within the wall’ does not, however, foreclose their
hatred for the kaose. Within the opaqueness and calm of the societal
conspiracy of silence was an open domain of manoeuvering their
mobility, their attack and their everyday life. A strong regime
of vigilance, well-known to everyone, was therefore in place.
One obvious area of regimented manoeuvering system was the
 The Enchanted Community 447
institutionalization of the fear in the custom of marriage. The fear
of them, aversion to avoid being one of them, was so strong that all
possible measures were taken to avoid any marriage relationship with
them. An inbuilt mechanism, the institutionalized fear in the mar­
riage custom, was the system popularly known as pute-chanu kijon.
The idea was to have a ‘clean’ (atheng) or ‘known’ partner and to
avoid any nuptial relationship with a person related to kaose. It was
also noted how sharing of samthi (comb) and nam (cane-plaited
band for carrying load in basket) was strictly prohibited in the society
as a measure to avoid the proliferation of kaose through the hairs.
In Lushai Hills, a similar hatred was shown toward the khawhrin­
gnei. Shakespear noted that ‘no one wants to marry a person with
a Khawhring’ and no one would ‘let a person possessed by a
Khawhring enter [their] houses’. If a khawhring ‘sits on the bed of
a true Lushei she will certainly be fined a metna’. To avoid marry­
ing them, to prevent them from entering their house, and to fine
them if they sit on their bed, were indeed a more extreme form of
social ostracism taking us to the level of the notion of ‘untouch­
ability’ in Brahmanical social system. No wonder, Shakespear (1983:
111-12) was told by his Lushai informants that those ‘possessed
of Khawhring are most disgusting people, and before the foreigners
came they were always killed ’. Seeing them as ‘most disgusting
people’ and ‘killing’ them always, if found was an extreme case of
hatred that takes the subject close to the ‘witch-hunting’ pogrom
in early modern Europe. Among the Lakhers, Parry (1988: 463)
also noted the similar tenor of societal hatred towards the ahmaw,
‘Any one who is ahmaw is unclean; and if a woman is believed to
be ahmaw, nobody will marry her’. In Chin Hills, those who pos­
sess the power of ‘evil eye’ (khawhring or kaose) were not even
looked at because the mere sight of them was considered ‘suffi­
cient to cause sickness and distress’ (Carey & Tuck 2008: 200).
Therefore, they avoided seeing those people accused of the evil eye
or considered wizards. And worst, they wouldn’t let those accused
to enter their village, or as among the Lushais, killed them when­
ever they found them in their midst. This point will be dealt with
shortly.
The contour of social responses to kaose can also be seen from
448 Jangkhomang Guite
the way they dealt with kaotom (those possessed/attacked). Among
the Kukis, kaose was usually first appeased by offering what s/he
wanted (or enived) from the victim. Rituals like Saguojuon-kithoina
and Sa-phephou were performed. Offering ranging from food, clothes
to certain property might be given so that kaose would spare the
victim. But when such appeasement was refused, violence would
invariably follow. The first step toward this violence was known as
kao-mat (to catch), which means to hold the kaose tightly so that
s/he would not run away. Certain methods were deployed such as
thoulen-khukhum (holding under nets), holding by the toes, and
so on. The identity of the kaose was invariably asked so that s/he
could be attacked at his/her house, if possible. An application of
pain was a means to force the kaose to ‘reveal’ (kiphong) or to ‘leave’
(alha) the victim. This process could go along with offering/ap­
peasement. In the extreme situation, certain items such as the horn
(say, sasan-ki) would be use ‘to kill’ the kaose. This violent step
may involve killing of kaose in his/her house or through certain
application of pains. As the latter could cause the death of the victim
such extreme application of pain/torture was normally avoided.
In the absence of thempu to perform the necessary ritual, this
violent measure was usually the first step after most Kukis had
become Christian. But this was not the normal practice in olden
days when every village had their thempu to do the necessary exor­
cism (nodoh). An extreme step prescribed in the olden days was
known as khengsumlhah. It was a ritual performed by the thempu
in which the spirit of the kaose was ‘called upon’ (kou) to an ap­
pointed place, that is, a hole impression (of a sharpened stump of
certain tree call khengthing) on the ground like the sum (mortar).
When the spirit came in the form of some insects to the appointed
place to eat certain food items placed there, a fatal blow was given
by thempu’s assistant with the sharpened stump. The stump was then
put into the ground and then covered with earth so that it was not
visible to anyone. Khengsumlhah was considered to be an infallible
cure for kaotom. It led to the death of the kaose and hence the cure.
The Lakher method was predominantly appeasement. When one
was attacked by ahmaw, Parry mentioned four stages of ritual; each
 The Enchanted Community 449
stage would be followed by the next if the ahmaw refuse to leave.
In the first stage, little meat, rice, salt, chilies, beer, tobacco, nico­
tine water, bananas and other edibles were placed in a gourd spoon
on which the victim spat. The spoon was put on the threshold of
the house for a while and then placed at the foot of the house
ladder. If the ahmaw refused to leave, the second step followed, in
which a fowl was sacrificed and cut into half. The half with the
head was cooked and with some gravy, salt and rice was placed on
the plate on which the victim again spat as before. After putting it
on the threshold for a while, it was taken outside the village fence.
If the ahmaw still refused to leave, the third step was performed
in which small pig was killed and singed, again cut into half.
The half with the head was set aside and placed in the verandah.
The other half was cooked and put on the plate. In the mean­
time, clothes, ornaments, and property were collected. Two plates,
one with cooked meat and the other with raw meat, were taken to
the victim who spat again on them. They were, then, put on the
threshold for a while, after which they were taken outside the vil­
lage fence. The clothes and other things were taken back while the
plates were abandoned there. If the ahmaw still refused the fourth
and last step followed in which a little blood was drawn from the
big toe of one of those present, smeared on a bit of stick and of­
fered to the ahmaw. The patient licked some of the blood on the
stick and the following incantation was made: ‘O, ahmaw ! We have
offered you everything you want, and still you are not satisfied, so
now we offer you human blood, which is what you most desire’.
This was said to be an infallible cure for stomach ache caused by
an ahmaw, and was the only Lakher sacrifice, in which human
blood was used.3
In the Lushai Hills, it has been seen from its origin story that
appeasement was also one method of exorcism against khawhring
attack. It has been seen that people asked her certain questions.
When they knew that she wanted eggs, they gave her eggs and ‘she
went away’. This is a familiar method common to all Kuki-Chin
tribes. Shakespear also noted one account of violent method em­
ployed against khawhring among the Lushais. He remarked:
450 Jangkhomang Guite
A missionary described to me a weird scene of excitement which he once
saw, the object being to exorcise a Khawhring which had possessed a
girl. Amid a turmoil of shouting, drum-beating, and firing of guns the spirits
was ordered to quit its temporary abode and return whence it came (1983:
111-12).

Shouting, drum-beating, and firing of guns were means to scare

the khawhring so that she ‘quit’ her temporary abode. Thus, a
combination of force and blandishment method is used by most
tribes against the kaose attack.
How was doi or witchcraft or wizardry (doi-a-kibol ) dealt with
then? One can see similar societal fear and hatred toward this ‘evil’
art as well. One has no account to show how the society had re­
acted to the black art among the Kukis. But, again, the tenor of
their opposition to it can be gleaned from the cases of Lushai Hills.
Shakespear, for instance, noted that in 1897 three whole families
were ‘massacred’ because it was thought that they were ‘bewitch­
ing’ a very old chieftainess. ‘The livers of the wizards were cut out
and portions carried to the sufferer’, remarked Shakespear, ‘but
unfortunately, she died before being able to taste them and thus
prove the efficacy of the remedy’. The Lushais believed that the
consumption of the liver of the wizard was the best remedy for any
wizardry (Shakespear 1983: 109). McCall also cited one case in
the village of chief Liankhama Sailo in about 1850. This village,
Zawlnghak, had about 1,000 houses of which there were 150 houses
of the Rangte (Gangte) clan. One day, Liankhma’s ‘most brave
young man’, Thangvuka, had a dream in which he saw Keitawna
and on this very night his house was filled with smoke and mist
of an unprecedented kind. Keitawna belonged to Gangte clan
and had the reputation of being a dawithem or sorcerer. Hence,
Thangvuka became ‘so disturbed with the obvious implications of
this dream’ that he eventually killed Keitawna. He cut out Keita­
wna’s liver and ate a little of it. His objective was, McCall remarked,
‘to neutralize the effect of any evil words which Keitawna may
have uttered against Thangvuka’s welfare’.
Shortly after that, McCall went on narrating, ‘all the Rangtes
appeared before the chief in fury and in a spirit of revenge against
Thangvuka’. They demanded from the chief ‘to decide whether
 The Enchanted Community 451
he wished the friendship of all the Rangtes or whether he pre­
ferred to lose them all that he should keep Thangvuka’. To their
surprise, the chief decided in favour of Thangvuka and ‘ordered
that they should not kill Thangvuka’. With this reply, he noted:
All the Rangtes packed up their families and chattels and made off to Manipur
State swearing eternal enmity with one and all of Liankhama’s villagers in
perpetuity—a situation which persisted, resulting in the mutual taking of
heads until peace was enforced by the arrival of the British Government
(McCall 2003: 71-2).

McCall also cited another case in which Liankara and Kanglova,

two brothers of Dokhuma Sailo, chief of Chawntleng, were suffer­
ing from phthisis [tuberculosis]. They suspected that certain men
of their village were the cause, casting a spell through sorcery. These
men had been previously known, while they were under the influ­
ence of Zu, to have threatened others by claiming to possess super­
natural power. The chief decided that the ‘accused should be killed’.
Therefore, Leta, Leta’s mother, Buka and Vungbakira were all killed
while the fifth Laikuala fled to Hnachang village where, however, he
was at once killed, as the Hnachang chief was related to Dokhuma
and knew the circumstances. The sick brothers were given pieces
of dead men’s livers and ‘were eventually cured, while all the vil­
lagers drank of the blood as a prophylactic against any further
spread of the dread disease which had, they believed, originated in
the evil works of the sorcerers’ (McCall 2003: 72-3).
The subject of witchcraft had harassed the society so much that
the British administration was often dragged to a disquieting ‘law
and order’ problem. Thus, since from the inception, the colonial
administrators initiated a certain line of policy to tackle the recur­
ring problems in local society infested with the idea of witchcraft
and sorcery. McCall, for instance, noted that ‘on occasions when
a stir was being caused by the presence of a suspected sorcerer’ the
district administrators used to order that the chief should not is­
sue any ‘sanction of murder’. But ‘in order to relieve the people in
their present very real anxieties he would give the suspected sor­
cerer twenty-four hours in which to make himself scarce, the man,
or woman, being ordered to seek shelter in a village over a hundred
452 Jangkhomang Guite
mile or so distant’. Meaning: expelling them from such a village in
order to avoid any ‘murder’ of them by the enraged/charged crowd
that would cause a greater embarrassment to the administration.
McCall (2003: 72-3) went on record to say,: ‘It is admitted
that not every society similarly situated would have been willing
to condone this merciful settlement [wizards family] and the mur­
der of the five victims detailed above may mark the true feelings of
the people’. Truly, ‘murder’ or death was the result of the fatal
wrath against the ‘merciful’ wizards and kaose. Indeed, that marked
‘the true feelings of the people’ against the ‘evil’ (athenglou) prac­
tice. ‘So strong was the feeling about these wizards’, Shakespear
(1983: 109) also remarked, ‘that four or five households of their
relatives had to be given a special and isolated site, as no village
would receive them’. Parry (1983: 18) also noted that,
Dawi is magic and a Dawithiam is a wizard. In the old days, if a man accused
another of being wizard, he would probably have been murdered by the
person he accused. If a man could clearly be shown to be a wizard, no chief
would allow him into his village and he would have had nowhere to live.

The feeling of hatred against them was so great that many of

them, having been boycotted by the society, were forcibly dragged
toward Christianity, when the missionaries accepted them. It is
evident that some of the early Christians in Lushai Hills were those
who had been boycotted by the society as khawhringnei or wizards.4
They constituted the early population of the ‘Christian villages’.
Evidence also suggested that this belief had also been utilized by
some chief as a tool to expel some well-to-do families in the village.
Parry (2009: 18), for instance, remarked, ‘In the old days chiefs
were given to accusing well-to-do people of being Dawithiam or
Khawhringnei as then they could turn them out of their villages
and confiscate their property’.
One can see similar response from the people of Chin Hills.
Here, people hardly differentiated between kaose and witchcraft;
both are equally feared and hated. Carey and Tuck, for instance,
noted that the Chins have begged their permission ‘to shoot indi­
viduals who have the misfortune to be pronounced wizards’. When
they were told that British ‘do not admit of the spilling of blood
 The Enchanted Community 453
except when blood has been intentionally spilled’, the Chins re­
plied that the customs of the British ‘are most unjust and protect
the wizard who is allowed to practice his uncanny occupation in
peace and who kills people right and left, but, because he spills no
blood, we take no notice’. This means that, as in Lushai Hills,
death was the societal response to anyone who is declared wizard
or possessing the evil eye. If not to kill them was considered ‘un­
just’, then killing them was consider to be the ‘just’ way to deal
with them. What is even more interesting in the Chin’s notion of
witchcraft and evil eye was that accusation was not restricted to
individuals alone; they also believed that the all members of a
certain tribe or community were wizards and had the evil eye so
that they took all measures ‘not to see’ them or mingle with them
in any manner. This is also shared by other tribes but less in­
tensely than among the Chins. This latter point will be dealt with
shortly.
Thus, one can see that kaose and doi had really become a night­
mare to the local society in the past. They were feared and hated as
if they were criminals. This was translated into a mixture of collec­
tive societal response ranging from the refusal to let them enter
into the house or village, preventing their gaze, refusal to arrange
nuptial relationship with them, debar them from cultural and
ritual events to killing them. Whenever they were caught in their
alleged attack on other persons, they were either appeased by be­
ing offered something or subjected to violent methods even to the
point of death, expulsion from the village, and so on. In other
words, a combination of force and blandishment method was used
to deal with kaose and doithem.

MYTH OR REALITY: UNDERSTANDING

KAOSE AND DOI

The pertinent question then is—how is one going to understand

these historical accounts of kaose and doi ? Did they really exist or
was it a mere social construct? Several studies on witchcraft around
the world show that it was neither an ‘art’ nor a ‘practice’. It was
merely a ‘social construct’, whose reality lies in societal urge for
454 Jangkhomang Guite
supernatural explanations of worldly ailments. Studies on Euro­
pean witchcraft show that such ideas gained popularity since the
late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Certain factors were
found to be responsible for the upsurge in the idea of witchcraft
such as the intense religious (Christian) awakening of the sixteenth
century and an exposure to frequent famine, plague, poverty and
crime. The new religious fevour sharpened the idea of the devil’s
intervention in human affairs. Certain people were thought to be
entering into a ‘compact’ with the former and received super-natural
power to enable them to practise black magic and commit secret
killing. The increasing human calamities due to famine, plague,
poverty and crime lend support to such religious idea as society
was still lacking science and medicine to define such recurring
calamities. Hence, there was an intense craving for supernatural ex­
planations and cures for personal or community disasters.
Interesting cases were excavated from the social experiences. The
accusers and accused generally knew each other well and were usu­
ally neighbours who had quarrelled. Often trouble started when
someone begged for food. In France and Switzerland, beggars who
were denied charity were likely to accuse their ungenerous neigh­
bours of witchcraft. In England, beggars who were denied charity
or rejected by neighbours were blamed for local calamities and
charged with witchcraft. In both the cases, witchcraft was the prod­
uct of the breakdown of neigbourhood relationship when people
were desperately poor and hungry. In other words, witchcraft was
the result of a neighbourhood tension. In this, women were the
usual victims for some familiar reasons. They were thought to be
spiritually weaker (as in the Adam and Eve story in the Bible) so
that demonology was conceived of in explicitly sexual terms—female
witches fornicating with the devil for favour. Women identified as
witches were generally socially objectionable persons (old, humble,
ugly and poor). They were generally convicted of witchcraft mainly
due to the inhuman torture procedure applied during interrogation
in which they were forced to say ‘yes’. To the rich and higher class
witch hunting was politically and socially safe as they were hardly
implicated, so witch hunting went on and caused havoc in the lives
of several thousands of the weak, the poor and the hapless.
 The Enchanted Community 455
Thus, one can see that intense religious awakening, an exposure
to the wrath of nature, the growing neighbourhood and social
tensions, and gender disparity have all played a pivotal role in the
proliferation of the idea of witchcraft in early modern Europe. In
conceptualizing European witchcraft, Eva Pocs (1999), for instance,
identified three varieties of witches in popular belief, ‘neighbourhood
witch’ or ‘social witch’, ‘magical’ or ‘sorcerer’ witch, and ‘supernatu­
ral’ or ‘night’ witch. ‘Neighbourhood witches’ were the product of
neighbourhood tensions, and found only in self-sufficient serf vil­
lage communities where the inhabitants relied largely on each other.
Such accusations followed the breakdown of some social norms
and exchange. Claims of ‘sorcerer’ witches and ‘supernatural’ witches
could arise out of social tensions, but not exclusively. ‘Sorcerer’
witches were persons who had, through magic, increased their for­
tune to the perceived detriment of a neighbouring household. Due
to neighbourly or community rivalries and the ambiguity between
positive and negative magic, such individuals could be labelled as
witches. The ‘supernatural’ witch had nothing to do with com­
munal conflict, but expressed tensions between the human and
supernatural worlds and in Eastern and Southeastern Europe such
supernatural witches became an ideology explaining calamities that
befell entire communities. It is from the context of this European
background that we may be able to know more clearly about the
cases in the Kuki-Chin world. A brief discussion on the social and
political background, therefore, becomes pertinent.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND

With such burgeoning knowledge on witchcraft, the question is—

where do we put kaose or doi of Kuki-Chin cultural world in the
historical context? It would be too early to give a concrete answer
to the pertinent question that we put to ourselves as to whether
kaose is a myth or reality. Nevertheless, situating the belief in
historical context would certainly generate some dividends toward
that end. First, although we have certain reference of a very old
tradition (Santhuh kaose or guldu origin of kaose) what becomes a
more common genre among the Kukis was the selpaothei origin of
456 Jangkhomang Guite
kaose which traced its landscape of memory in the Chin Hills. The
emptiness of kaose in any other older traditions, be it folklore, folk
tales, legends, myths and so on, makes the selpao tradition even
more significant. The Lushei tradition of dawi origin also lends
support to the selpao tradition. The Lushai tradition placed River
Barak (Tuilong) from where the art of black magic had eventually
fallen into the hands of human beings (the Lhangum Kukis) from
where Lushais also learned it. Such origin stories may appear ‘ab­
surd’ in the eyes of scientific history, but something was certain
here. They pointed out that the idea of doi and kaose gained popu­
larity when the Kukis lived in a particular geographical space called
Chin Hills.
The traditions should be taken as a topographical metaphor in
which a cartographic recollection of the past had a significant
social dimension of the ‘art’ in question. It is a well-established
fact in history that the so-called ‘new Kukis’ (Chin, Kuki and Mizo)
escaped to the Chin Hills from Burma plain in about thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries. Although the advance groups (mostly ‘old
Kuki groups’) might have gone there many centuries before. The
advance party of the ‘new’ groups might have already reached Barak
River corridor somewhere in the fifteenth and sixteenth century,
because it was during this time that Tripura court chronicles had a
mention of the Kukis who had close relationship with that king­
dom.5 If kaose and doi traditions trace its origin to the period around
this time, it certainly gained its popularity in the eighteenth cen­
tury in a situation when the Kuki-Chin world witnessed one of
the most stressing social and political turmoil in their history.6
In about the middle of eighteenth century, the Chins got firearms
made in the west from Burma through the trade channel. This
had provided them with an edge over other communities who had
been till then living together with them in a geographical space at
the centre of present Chin Hills although their population spread
out sparsely till part of the present Mizoram and Manipur hills.
Thus, by breaking the balance of power at the core of their world,
the Chins began to follow a policy of war and conquest over other
tribes/clans. The Hakas, Falams and Suktes emerged dominant
over the present Chin Hills, whereas the Lushais, Thadous and
 The Enchanted Community 457
other tribes had to either submit before the new conquerors or
migrate to other places. The Lushais migrated to the Lushai Hills
in about 1810 and very soon built-up their hegemony over the
whole Hills, subjugating or expelling those tribes/clans who lived
there. This situation of internecine warfare, deaths, subjugation,
absorption and criss-crossing flights and migration strongly shat­
tered the social and cultural landscape of the Kuki-Chin world.
From each tribe/clan to another or often from one village to an­
other, everyone seems to have been at war and contestation.
Unlike in the calm of their earlier settlements, each village now
consisted of a mixture of different clans and tribes. The village
community was generally divided into the ruler and ruled or the
dominant/prevailing chiefly clan and the subjugated/absorbed
clans. William McCulloch (1980: 58), for instance, aptly noted
this changing social composition in the Kuki villages:
Since their expulsion from their own hills, the different tribes have become
mixed up together in villages situated in positions selected with reference to
convenience of cultivation . . . a popular chief is sure seen by accessions from
less favoured ones to become large, but its inhabitants will remain in it is
uncertain, for the ties by which they were held together in their native hills
have been rudely broken, that they have scarcely existence, and any whim may
lead them to another village. (emphasis mine)

This situation was even more markedly noticeable in the Lushai

Hills and the Chin Hills where there were good numbers of large
villages sprouting up by the additional number of subjugated popu­
lation consisted of mixed clans. The Haka population, for instance,
consisting of almost entirely the ‘Chiefs and slaves’, the chiefs be­
ing drawn together by the need of controlling their ‘powerful de­
pendents’ (Carey & Tuck 2008: 202 & 204). Falam was divided
into six quarters under six ‘Elders’ and Haka into several quarters
under different chiefs. Interestingly, there was a ‘royal’ quarter called
‘Boto quarter’ in Falam where the five council men lived with their
retinues (Carey & Tuck 2008: 149-50). The Lushai Hills, a large
village, which contained mixed population, was divided into several
quarters or veng generally inhabited by people of the same clan,
each having its zawlbuk (bachelor’s dormitory) (Shakespear 1983: 20).
458 Jangkhomang Guite
One can now well imagine the social situation in such villages
where rulers and subjugated population lived together. Truly, the
concentration of a large number of ‘mixed’ populations in such
villages had indeed ‘rudely broken’ the earlier ‘ties by which they
were held together in their native hills’. These ‘broken’ social ties
were not only the source of political ‘uncertainties’ to the prevail­
ing chiefly clans but also the root of conflict and neighbourhood
tensions in the village. With warfare, death, subjugation, displace­
ment and flight becoming regular phenomena through the eigh­
teenth and nineteenth centuries, scarcity and poverty, and hence,
many unwanted social elements such as the poor, orphans, widows,
destitute, and so on, also escalated in the society. The overwhelm­
ing neighbourhood tensions, social conflicts, and community dis­
engagements eventually produced a situation where each of them,
individually and in groups, suspected the others, especially the weak
and minorities, for all mischievous acts whenever any personal
or community disaster fell upon them. The increasing human
calamities due to warfare, deaths, poverty, diseases, crime and the
lack of science and medicines to explain, define, and cure such
calamities led to an intense craving for supernatural explanations
and cures. Thus, all sicknesses and human calamities that befell
individuals and the community, were considered to be due to in­
terventions of the spirits. Carey and Tuck, for instance noted, ‘The
people fully believe that spirits seize and maltreat them, and when
a man explains that he has been knocked down and badly mauled
by a spirit, no one can convince him otherwise, though we put the
occurrence down to fainting and other kinds of fits’ (2008: 198).
The village thempu or puithiem (wise men or medicine men, as
they were known and who claimed to understand what the spirit
wants) would be invariably consulted for the cures. The role
of supernatural power was not only highly suspected for human
disasters but was often sought after as a social therapy by way of
appeasement through a thempu. In a worst case scenario, certain
people such as kaose and doithem were believed to have the power to
control some supernatural powers. Thus, whenever a certain disas­
ter took place in the society certain people would not only be
suspected but also be accused for the calamity. The accused people
 The Enchanted Community 459
became kaose or doithem in the local society and if the accusation
was proved they would invariably be punished. Therefore, it is
within such distressing social and political circumstances that the
gaining popularity of black magic or witchcraft (doi) and kaose or
evil eye must be best situated.
The gaining momentum in the belief in kaose and doi generated
an interesting social dimension on the subject. The number of
kaose and doithem increased when the society was undergoing cri­
sis not because more and more people became one of them but
because the society had produced more and more of them out of
social tensions within the village society as well as between two or
more villages, clans and tribes. Here, politics and power relations
played a vital role. At one level, the neighbourhood tensions in the
village led to the accusation of, and the criminalization of the weak,
the poor, and the hapless innocent individuals as being in control
of the spirits to cause harm on the dominant and powerful. At
another level, conflict between villages, clans, or tribes also ended
up in accusing each other for all the disasters that befell their com­
munity. This led to criminalizing each other as kaose or doithem.
As in the village society, such accusation between villages, clans,
and tribes also took the direction in which the powerful tribe ac­
cused the weaker tribe. Thus, in both the cases such accusations
were closely related to power and social relation in a nutshell. These
form of defaming, criminalizing and labelling the weaker ‘others’
as kaose or doithem by the more powerful persons, clans or tribes
merely on political and social ground is what one called the poli­
tics of defamation, the point one shall now come to.

POLITICS OF DEFAMATION: KAOSE AND DOI AS

PRODUCT OF NEIGHBOURHOOD TENSION

A few historical accounts suggested that the growing popularity of

the belief in kaose and doi (when the society was undergoing crisis)
was the product of neighbourhood tension in the village society.
The intense belief in the idea of black magic and kaose due to the
growing tensions in the society transformed them to be a neigh­
bourhood nightmare. This nightmare had haunted both the one
460 Jangkhomang Guite
and the many, the rulers and the ruled, the powerful and the weak,
so that whenever disaster fell on anyone they invariably turned
towards some supernatural power as the cause and also for the
solution. As it was believed that such supernatural powers had
been under the control of certain persons called kaose and doithem,
whenever personal or community disaster occurred certain people
would be eventually accused for the plot. Yet, interestingly the
evidence suggested that the idea of kaose and doi had been ram­
pantly employed as an effective instrument of social control and
oppression by the powerful, the haves, and the one, against the
weak, the poor and minority clans/tribes. Evidence suggested that
the powerful chiefs or members of the prevailing clan in the village
often used this social rhetoric as a handy tool to criminalize, punish
and oppress the weak and minority clans (khochaga) in the village.
Thus, the Lushai chiefs were said to have condemned certain
well-to-do people in their village as dawithiem or khawhringnei so
that they could expel them from the village and, according to Lushai
custom, take possession of their properties. Similarly, the weaker
and marginal clan(s) in the village (the phungchaga) would always
be the victims of the wrath of the members of the dominant clan(s).
Whenever any disaster fell on any or all members of the dominant
clan, these ‘merciful’ clan(s) would not only be suspected but also,
in most cases, accused of using black magic or sorcery against them.
Thus, one sees that the minority Gangte clan of Zawlnghak village
were ‘reputed’ to be wizards, not because they possessed such a
black art but because they were accused of having it. A strange
happening in a house or dreaming of one of them was sufficient
evidence to proclaim them as wizards. Such a declaration was in­
variably followed by murdering one of them and then an expul­
sion from the village. One also sees that whenever any incurable
sickness befell members of the dominant or chiefly clan, the weaker
and poorer family or clans would normally be blamed for the cause
through wizardry. Thus, an attack of tuberculosis on two of the
chief ’s brothers led to the barbaric murder of five members of a
poor family whose livers were eaten and blood were drunk by the
whole village. And, the illness of an aged chieftainess in 1897 led
to the massacre of three whole families who were suspected of
 The Enchanted Community 461
‘bewitching’ her and their livers were cut out and portions carried
to the victim.
On the other hand, it has also been seen that certain persons who
belonged to the poorer class or of the minority clan could use the
social rhetoric of doi or kaose to defend themselves from any tyran­
nical control of the powerful. Certain persons who were accused of
being wizards had threatened others of possessing supernatural
power that eventually led to their death in the hands of the intol­
erant powerful class. One can see that before the gory massacre of
five members of the family took place, these persons were seen to
have ‘threatened’ other people against their possession of super­
natural power. In this sense, the public rhetorical space on the
notion of black magic or kaose was often utilized by the weak and
powerless in the village community as an instrument to warn or
threaten the dominant and powerful class not to take them lightly.
It could be a means to evade any tyrannical dealing of the chiefly
clan.
Besides, if certain wizards were ‘reputed’ magicians before they
were murdered, it is also possible to think that they could have
been popular magicians or wizards in the local society for some
good reasons such as in healing certain ailments. Otherwise, they
would have been killed a long time back. They were murdered now
mainly because the powerful might have been envious of their
popularity in the local society or of their gaining wealth. The fact
that the whole Gangte clan members rose up in protest against the
murder of their kinsman Keitawna have shown that the latter was
either not a wizard at all or that he could be a popular magician
who served the local society for some positive reasons. In this con­
text, it was not on a mere suspicion that he had been murdered by
a young warrior but it could have been a sinister design by the
chiefly clan to eliminate him in the local society. The protection
given by the chief to the murderer, his most powerful warrior and
his acceptance of Gangte migration to Manipur (which was nor­
mally disliked by most chiefs) lends support to this argument.
Thus, one can see that kaose and witchcraft were the product of
local and neighbourhood tensions and closely related to social and
power relation in the village society. The breakdown of traditional
462 Jangkhomang Guite
ties among different social groups (tribal, clans, families or indi­
vidual) and the dominance of tense social relationship among them,
eventually produced more and more of what was consider to be
witchcraft and kaose.
The fact that it was only women that the khawhring could pos­
sess is again significant. This takes one to the important subject of
gender that dominated the notion of European witchcraft. Thus,
it was women who were at the receiving end of the male-domi­
nated patriarchal society. The fact that khawhring could be only
women shows that the ‘evils’ of the society could be performed only
by women. If any woman was known as khawhring (or ahmaw or
kaose), then ‘no one wants to marry’ them, no one would let them
enter their houses, they would ‘certainly be fined a metna’ if she
sat on the bed of someone, and worst ‘they were always killed’.
They were said to be the ‘most disgusting people’ in the society as
the witches of early modern Europe. Thus, the patriarchal society
saw women as the ‘weaker’ section of society and hence was vulner­
able to having relationship with supernatural powers in order to
put herself on an equal footing with the men. The male domi­
nated societal angar over the khawhring was therefore the male act
against ambitious women. In this way, unfortunate and hapless
women were often criminalized and accused of being khawhring
or kaose whenever some human calamities were experienced by
certain members of the society.

POLITICS OF DEFAMATION: KAOSE AND DOI AS

PRODUCT OF COMMUNITY CONFLICTS

Evidence also suggested that the growing popularity of kaose and

doi were also largely the product of social or community tensions.
The inter- and intra-tribal warfare and conflict across the hills, as
noted earlier, generated a strong sense of hatred towards each other.
This resulted in labelling each other as wizards or kaose to defame
and criminalize them as the ‘most disgusting people’ in the society.
What was significant in this politics of defamation among different
tribes/clans is that it followed a certain unique pattern. The political
relationship between different tribes was apparently central to this
 The Enchanted Community 463
pattern. One can see that it was always the powerful tribe who
accused the weaker tribe(s) as wizards and kaose or casting the evil
eye. But interestingly, such accusation was hardly reciprocated by
the latter tribe. Instead, the latter tribe would declare that they
were not wizards or had the evil eye but passed on the bug of
defamation to the tribes who were weaker than them or whom
they considered as inferior to them. This would be repeated by the
latter tribe/clan in the same manner. Thus, the accusation went
on, following a particular direction based on the power matrix
across the hills until it dovetailed and proliferated among the mixed
population of the village vengs (colony). It was in this mixed colony
where one saw that such accusation had become fashionable as a
social therapy to sickness believed to be caused by malevolent spirits
and was mainly directed towards the innocent khochaga or phung­
chaga (the weak, the poor, the minority clans, and the women).
At the pan-tribal level, one has already noted the power grid
and political matrix across the Kuki-Chin world where the Chins
(Hakas, Falams and Suktes) and Pois (of Lushai Hills) had emerged
victorious over other tribes like Yahows, Siyins, Lushais, Thadous
and so on. The Lushais, in their turn defeated the Thadous and
other ‘old Kuki tribes’ of Lushai Hills. The Thadous were success­
ful in establishing themselves as the paramount power over many
of the Naga tribes in the present hills of Manipur. One can see
that the politics of defamation more or less followed this matrix of
power relationship. To understand this power matrix, it would be
proper to begin with the way in which the plain dwellers of Burma
thought about the people living in the margins of the valley, in the
Chin Hills. To the ‘civilized’ and powerful Shans/Burmese popu­
lation of Burma plains, the Chins who lived in the margins of the
valley were infamously known as ‘necromancers’ and ‘sorcerers’
whose mere glance was thought to have caused sickness and even
death.7 But, such an accusation was flatly denied by the Chins.
The Chins, although they strongly believed in ‘witchcraft’ and ‘evil
eye’, would instead declare that they did not practise or possess
the ‘evil’ art but said that all the other tribes around them such as
the Siyins, Yahows, and many of the Lushais were proficient with
it. Carey and Tuck (2008: 200), for instance, noted this clearly:
464 Jangkhomang Guite
The Chins fully believe in witchcraft and the power of the evil eye. The
Hakas and independent southerners are particularly bad in this respect and
consider that the Siyins, Yahows, and many of the Lushais are wizards, whose
single glance is sufficient to bewitch them and who are capable of causing
lizards to enter the body, balls of string to form in the stomach, and to inflict
any and all those afflictions which are the evil gifts of the spirits.

Parry (1988: 465) also noted that the ‘Chins also believe in witch­
craft and the evil eye, especially among people belonging to other
tribes’. Phayre also noted that this existed among the Lungkhes
and Tseindus of Arakan (Chins/Pois by Lushais) declaring that
‘We do not practice witchcraft, but other people around us do’.8
Such charges of defamation had been firmly grounded in the minds
of the people so much so that whenever a disaster/sickness befell
anyone they would immediately blame those people they defamed
and criminalized as wizards or having the evil eye. Carey and Tuck,
for instance, mention an interesting case on this count. One Sur­
geon-Major Newland had once told them the story of a Chin who
came to him and ‘complained that a rat had entered his stomach at
the glance of a Yahow and he went to hospital quite prepared to
die’. This man was given ‘an emetic and reported in the morning
that he had vomitted up the rat in the night and he then went
home happy and cured’ (Carey and Tuck 2008: 200). Shakespear
(1983: 110) also noted another interesting case when he, with
Captain Hall, forced their way to Haka in 1890 to join General
Symons. He said that ‘the chiefs of that village [Haka] besought
the General not to allow any of our Lushai followers to go within
sight of it, lest they should, by merely looking at it cause fearful
misfortunes’. Carey and Tuck (2008: 200) also mention another
similar case in 1893.
In 1893, when a Lushai officer came to Haka to take over the
mules, he was accompanied by Lushai coolies, who strolled down
to the village to chat; their approach was marked by a stampede of
the women, who fled to the fields or hid in the houses and who
afterwards explained that the mere sight of one of these Lushais
was sufficient to cause sickness and distress (emphasis mine).
Accusing a particular person when one falls ill just because he
belongs to a particular community (say Yahows or Lushais) or
 The Enchanted Community 465
preventing them from entering their village or a ‘stampede’ to get
rid of them, when they come for a friendly ‘chat’, are extreme cases
to show that such politics of defamation and criminalization of
a community had eventually become naturalized and a cultural
reality in the minds of the accusers when the accused remain
innocent and clean.
Similarly, the Lakhers (Pois), who were also another powerful
tribe of Lushai Hills and who had ‘pressed’ the Lushais northward,
also considered other tribes around them in the same manner.
Parry (1988: 465), for instance, noted:
Black magic which is known as deu or in Savang as thaihna, is also much
feared by the Lakhers, who say that though there are no magicians in the
Lakher country, there are many among the Tlaikopa (Lushais), Tikupa
(Tipperahs), Takangpa (Chakmas) and Kalaspa (Mughs). In consequence, the
Lakhers are very careful of their behavior when travelling among these peoples.
(emphasis mine)

Parry also noted one interesting case, where he found the Lakhers
acting in a similar fashion, as we see in the Chin Hills, against the
Lushais. He remarked:
When I first took some of the Lakher chiefs into Aijal they absolutely refused
to go into any of the villages we passed through on the way, or to go and dine
or drink with any of the Lushai chiefs, though they received several invita­
tions, as they were afraid of being enchanted. They believe that the magicians
put some substance, possibly an insect or a small stone, into food or drink,
and that this eats the internal organs and so causes death. (Parry 1988: 465)
(emphasis mine)
Absolute refusal to enter the Lushai’s villages or ‘to go and dine
or drink’ with them despite receiving several kind ‘invitations’, is
again another extreme case of how criminalization of a particular
tribe had become a social realism. Thus, in the Chins and Lakher’s
world view, the Lushais were undoubtedly known as the infamous
wizards and sorcerers.
But surprisingly, such accusations were never reciprocated by
the Lushais. Instead, they passed on the bug of defamation to
other tribes whom they considered as inferior or weaker to them
and exonerated themselves from such charges of defamation by
466 Jangkhomang Guite
declaring that they did not practice witchcraft and magic. Thus,
the Lushais declared that there was no witchcraft or wizards among
them but said that the tribes to the north of them were ‘very pro­
ficient’. Parry (1988: 465), for instance, noted that the ‘Lushais in
the same way say that though there are no Lushai magicians there
are many among the Thados’. Shakespear (1983: 110) also noted
clearly how the bug of defamation was passed on from Chins to
Lushais and then to other smaller tribes: ‘The Lushais maintain
that the tribes to the north of them, such as Paihte, Bete &c., are
very proficient at witchcraft, while the Chins consider the Lushais
such experts at the craft’.
It has already been noted how the Lushai tradition claimed that
they learned the art of witchcraft from the Lhangum (Kuki) clans
indicating the fact that it was not they, but the Kukis who were
proficient in the art. True to the matrix of the politics of defamation,
the Thadou-Kukis would not, again, reciprocate with relation to
the Lushais but pass on the bug to the weaker tribes like Koms
whom they claimed as proficient in the black art. The Thadous
were particularly bad in considering all the Nagas as kaose, a defa­
mation that is extreme in their world view. Hence, the defamation
went on and on. Parry (1988: 465, fn. 1) remarked at this pre­
vailing politics of defamation in the Kuki-Chin world lucidly, ‘All
the Lushai Kuki tribes seem to be fond of accusing their neighbours
of practising wizardry and witchcraft, while maintaining that they
themselves are guiltless of these practices’. Considering the dam­
aging consequences of being labelled as witchcraft and kaose, every
tribe would do anything to show that they were ‘guiltless of the
practices’. Hence, passing on the bug to other tribes was one strat­
egy for the same reason.
The matter being a serious charge of defamation, such accusation
between different tribes/clans/villages, at times, caused warfare and
bloodshed. This happened in a situation, when accusation took
place between two tribes/clans/villages, who were equally power­
ful or who considerd themselves on the same plank in the power
matrix. The Suktes, who were mainly responsible for pushing the
Thadou-Kukis toward the north from Chin Hills and who were
victorious by conquering most of the Kuki villages up to the valley
 The Enchanted Community 467
of Manipur, for instance, accused the latter as kaose and wizards.
But this had caused heavy bloodshed between the two tribes. It
was said that the Kukis could not take the charge of defamation
lightly and responded with attacks on the Suktes (also known as
Kamhows). This was popularly known among them as Suhte gal
that centred primarily on the question of such defamation charges.
Carey and Tuck noted one interesting case of how the Chins felt
about the Kukis. During their political tour in the Chins Hills
they found ‘some tall stone pillars still standing’ on the original
site of the Chassad Kukis (or Taksatte by the Chins). But, when
they asked the Chins about the pillars ‘they were silent, or said
they did not know’. But afterwards, a friendly Chin ‘quietly whis­
pered’ and told them, ‘Those stones at Taksat were set up by the
spirits: but do not tell anyone that I have told you so, as the spirits
would be avenged on me if they hear that I have done so’ (Carey &
Tuck 2008: 199). Even after the Chassads left their original sites,
the Chins were still in great fear of the spirits which were wor­
shipped or under the control of the Chassads. This, in fact, was a
clear case in which the politics of defamation as kaose and doithem
had been so deeply ingrained in their minds that even the re­
mains/relics of them (such as stone pillars) were still feared. The
case between two equally powerful villages within the same tribe
or between different clans was a similar one. Thus, in 1870, the
Guites under their chief Sumkam attacked ‘a Manipuri village’
(possibly the village belong to the Thadous), noted Shakespear, ‘to
avenge a charge of being wizards [read as kaose]’ (Shakespear 1983:
143).
The fact that certain tribes were not targeted with similar charges
of defamation whereas certain other tribe/clan/village were not only
targeted but also attacked for the same charge, is a significant marker
to what is called the power matrix between them. One can see that
an accusation on the ground of kaose or witchcraft had indeed
amounted to declaration of war. An attack and bloodshed usually
followed when such accusation was made between two equals. The
fact that the weaker tribe refused to reciprocate the same charge
made on them to their accuser, invariably the more powerful tribe,
but simply passed on the bug to the weaker tribe was strictly in
468 Jangkhomang Guite
keeping with this power matrix. The fear of an attack from a more
powerful tribe/clan in case of reciprocation and the safety from
any such attack from the weaker tribe when accused, led to what is
known of the politics of defamation. In other words, such politics
of defamation was politically and socially secure to them. It was
politically safe because it prevented an attack or bloodshed from
both the powerful and weaker tribe/clan/village. Socially, it saved
the accusing tribe/community from the charge of wizardry or kaose
as if the bug was passing on to the weaker tribe/clan while they
remained ‘guiltless’.
But more importantly, the politics of defamation was also politi­
cally and socially motivated. Politically, because the charge of defa­
mation was motivated mainly by political/community conflicts
between two or more tribes/clans/villages. In labelling the ‘enemy’
tribes/clans/villages with such a powerful instrument of defama­
tion the accuser wanted to show that they were a more powerful
and dominant tribe than the accused. It was something like a
slap on the face of the defeated tribe, a criminalization of the worst
kind, so that they would never rise again to prominence. Sequel to
the first, it was also motivated socially because the accuser felt that
they were at the higher level of the civilizational ladder. To declare
the enemy tribe as unwanted or evil people (athenglou) was not
only a means to proclaim oneself as ‘clean’ and ‘guiltless’ (atheng)
but also a civilizational tool to pronounce the ‘others’ as crude,
coarse and uncouth. To proclaim someone as ‘uncivilized’ is a means
to proclaim oneself as cultured and civilized. Thus, to the Bur­
mese, the Chins were ‘necromancers’ and ‘sorcerers’ because they
were, in their opinion, uncultured people who lived beyond the
pale of civilization. To a civilized people, ‘necromancers’ and ‘sor­
cerers’ were ways of terming ‘others’ as ‘savage’, ‘barbarians’ and
‘uncivilized hordes’. In this context, such a charge of defamation
was actually motivated civilizationally. It was largely within this
civilizationally framed charge that the politics of defamation need
to be located.
For instance, the politically victorious Haka and Falam Chins
felt that other tribes around them were uncivilized and uncul­
tured. Vumson (1986: 5), for instance, noted that the Hakas, in
 The Enchanted Community 469
their ‘arrogant social posture’ above the others, understood or used
the generic term ‘Zo’ to mean their relatively ‘uncultured’ and
‘uncultivated’ people of southern Haka division. This ‘arrogant
social posture’ towards the other tribes was therefore central to the
politics of defamation. Thus when the Chins accused the Lushais,
Yahows, Siyins, Thadous and so on of being infamous wizards and
having the evil eye whose ‘single glance is sufficient to bewitched
them and who are capable of causing lizards to enter the body,
balls of string to form in the stomach’, they actually meant to
defame them as uncultured and uncivilized people. This was sim­
ply a means to ‘cleanse’ themselves of the bug of defamation caused
to them by the plain dwellers as well as to proclaim themselves as
an advanced, cultured and civilized people over and above other
tribes. The same attitude was shared by all tribes towards their
politically inferior tribes such as Lushais to Thadous, Paites, Bete
and so on and Thadous to Koms, Nagas, etc. Thus, from such
politics of defamation on the ground of kaose and doi one can clearly
see how the civilizational notion of the plain dwellers (the state
people) had eventually climbed the hills among the tribes (the
non-state people). In this, political relation between different tribes
was central. Therefore, the passing of the defamation bug from
one tribe to another was indeed the passing of the cultural notion
of things in history instead of being the existence of something in
reality.

KAOSE AND DOI AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

It is too early to go for any hard line conclusion from the historical
tour into the dark world of kaose and doi. The little evidence that is
put up here still runs the hazard of counter opinion from the cen­
tury old belief and character of the black art. None the less, the
few materials that we could ponder upon suggested, in clear terms,
certain definite ideas on the subject for further investigation and
sustained debate. One can see that the belief in kaose and doi pro­
liferated and stayed on in the society as a privileged cultural/civiliza­
tional tool of the powerful against the weak, as an instrument of
control and domination by the dominant community on the hapless
470 Jangkhomang Guite
poor, minority clans and women. In other words, it was merely
the product of social and political tensions between different and
warring tribes/clans/villages/individuals. Lacking reason, science,
and medicine, all ailments were traditionally believed to be caused
by the interventions of supernatural powers such as malevolent
spirits. But the new idea (that probably gained ground when they
were in the Chin Hills) that some of these ‘spirits’ were under
human control made things worse than anticipated. Doithem (vari­
ously known as magician, wizard, sorcerer, witchcraft, etc.) and
kaose (variously known as vampire, evil eye, witchcraft, etc.) were
two powerful human figures that emerged powerfully in Kuki-
Chin world view. The growing tensions between different social
groups across this country in the eighteenth and nineteenth centu­
ries provided a fertile breeding ground or a congenial social and
political atmosphere for the growth of numbers of accused doithem
and kaose.
In this context, kaose and doi were merely a social construct
which had become popular as an effective and powerful instru­
ment of defamation by the powerful vis-à-vis the weak. Accusing
someone as the ‘most disgusting people’ in the society was merely
a political and social tool not only to defame the ‘enemy’ as uncul­
tured and uncultivated, but also to cleanse oneself from the bug or
the ‘guilt’ of similar defamation charge made on them by more
powerful neighbours. This idea percolated at the level of tension-
ridden village community where it was found that the powerful
and chiefly clan(s) used it as a weapon to kill, to expel from the
village, to devastate, to control, or to oppress the innocent minority
clan members (phungchaga), the weak, the poor, and the hapless
women (khochaga). Sometimes, it was used to control the properties
of certain well-to-do people in the village but the bug was used
predominantly against the ‘weak’. On the other hand, the weak
also sometime proclaimed as having the power to control the super­
natural ‘spirits’ (which they never had in reality but merely taking
advantage of the social rhetoric on black magic), and threatened
the intolerant dominant clans/community of the village to keep
away from any untoward tyranny against them.
If it is a social construct, and that everyone proclaimed that they
 The Enchanted Community 471
never had such power in reality, then, how was it that kaose and doi
stayed on in the society? This is especially so with the case of kaose
among the Kukis. What is interesting about the politics of the
charge of defamation was that once a person or community was
accused, nothing could stop the accuser from believing in what
they had declared it to be true. This was despite a strong presence
of social mechanism to check on false accusation, say, a fine of
Rs. 40 (among the Lushais) or Rs. 60 (Lakhers) or one mithun
(Lakhers and Kukis). But the fact remains that the effectiveness of
such control mechanism depended upon who accused whom. Nor­
mally, when a case of defamation came up in a village the matter
was decided at the chief ’s court. But the problem with this system
of justice was that there was no individual or mechanism to check
the chief ’s decision. It would be false to say that the chief followed
certain inviolable rules in the justice delivery system. The truth is
that when the accusation was made by the chief himself or by his
family members against the poor and the weak members (khochaga)
of the village community or by his clan members against minority
clan members (phungchaga), the chief invariably sided in favour of
the former.
The irony is that once the chief decided (as the final arbiter) the
matter in favour of his own men, the matter ended there and there
was no higher court for the accused to relieve himself from the
injustice. The chief ’s decision, howsoever bad it might have been,
was considered as final and the truth was said to be finally estab­
lished among the village community. To go against the chief was a
serious challenge to his authority. Among the Thadou-Kukis the
grand council of the clan heads (pipa or phung-upa) could check
such injustice but that was hardly sought after considering the diffi­
cult geographical or political terrain of the time from where such
help might come. Hence, the poor and the weak had to withstand
the worst of such injustice done to them without any chance of
succour. The matter stayed there and from generation to genera­
tion, those families, who were once accused and declared (out of
social or political spite) as wizards or kaose would continue to be
known by the people to be that, openly or secretly. This point will
be taken up shortly.
472 Jangkhomang Guite
The village society had at least the chief court to decide a case of
accusation, no matter to what extent it could provide justice to all.
At least, the chiefly clans or powerful people could get justice if
accusation was made against them, unless it was from the chief
himself. But think about the politics of defamation between two
or more rival and warring tribes. In such a case, the hill society as
a whole lacked any common court of arbiter where such charges
could be settled. Such accusation between tribes (say, by stronger
tribe towards weaker tribe as one sees it) remained unattended. In
certain cases, it has been seen that bloodshed took place between
the two tribes/clans/villages, due to such a charge of defamation.
In both the cases, the matter ended with the spiteful accusation
and hence, it stayed on so much so that the accusing tribe would
eventually act in a hostile manner towards the accused while the
latter would continue to feign ignorance. There was a stampede
among the women of Haka when some Lushai coolie strolled down
the street, ignorant of the accusation, for a talk. Similarly, Lakher
chiefs had ‘absolutely refused’ to enter Lushai villages or have food
and drink together with them when the Lushei chiefs, feigning
ignorance, kindly ‘invited’ them to their houses. Thus, what was
purely political in character now turned into social and cultural
reality. The Chin women (and men) had not realized that they
were similarly accused and thus, treated by the Burmese, when
they visited the plain and that the latter’s behaviour was a mere
civilizational gesture to the people they thought were uncultured
and uncultivated. It was this civilizational thinking, which centred
on social and political relationship between two or more commu­
nities, which perpetuated the belief on kaose and witchcraft in
history and in society.
When such power matrix had been broken between different
tribes with the coming of colonialism and when the ‘uncultured’
tribe exalted in the new colonial world orders, the idea of such a
politics of defamation had died out just as the belief had also gradu­
ally waned. If such an accusation ever arises again, the society would
now be provided with an overarching colonial administration to
arbitrate the matter and provide justice. Truly, if justice based on
science and reason is to be given in each case, tribe to tribe or
 The Enchanted Community 473
individual to individual, there is no way to prove that certain tribe
or individual is kaose or wizard in the first place. The belief lin­
gered on even during the colonial period but it had lost its killer
instinct as in the past. Already in the 1920s, Parry informed of
khawhring: ‘Nowadays, most people are not afraid of Khawhringnei
and do not worry about them but the belief still lingers on’. On
sorcery/witchcraft or doi he informed, ‘Although the belief in magic
is gradually dying out it still exists especially in the more back­
ward villages and cases frequently arise fairly in which a man com­
plains that some one has accused him of being a Dawithiam’ (Parry,
2009: 18). It has been noted that when such cases arose in the
village, the British administration immediately intervened, pro­
hibited the chief to any order of persecution, ordered the accused
families to migrate to other places where the administration had at
times created new village for them and thus, resolved the problem.
It has also been noted that it was this section of the socially ostra­
cized population, who had embraced Christianity and become one
of the early Christians who took up the mission to spread the new
religion across the hills. This new mission would surely have not
only destroyed a fearful image they had carried before to those
accusers but also demolished the very idea of witchcraft and
khawhring that did not really exist. Thus, the belief eventually
died out in the Lushai Hills in time and in parts of the Chin Hills
where a similar development had taken place.
But the same belief lingered on among the Kukis. It is difficult
to say for sure, why it has been so. Yet certain factors may be con­
sidered as crucial. Perhaps, the foremost reason for the continuing
popularity of the notion of kaose among the Kukis may be located
in its very principle of ‘unsayableness’ (seingailou), which was called
the conspiracy of silence. Contrary to this principle, in Lushai and
Chin Hills it has been that the social response was broadly open and
direct. We have seen that the khawhring and wizards were openly
confronted by the society. They were socially boycotted openly—
denying marriage, preventing them from entering other houses,
fine for sitting on the bed of others, or denying them a normal life
in society. Or, they might immediately be murdered or expelled
from the village and find nowhere to live or be refused an entry
474 Jangkhomang Guite
into the village to keep them out of sight. This ‘openness’ brought
the matter to the fore. Under such a situation, the accused got the
opportunity to sue in the court (chief or colonial) and hence
appropriate ‘justice’ given accordingly such as killing them, ex­
pulsion from village or exonerating from the defamation. Such justice
hardly came about among the Kukis, due to the ‘opaqueness’ of
social response or where the story of kaose remained a ‘secret affair’.
People were secretly ‘notified’ through the darkness of a ‘secret’
family conversation by the society. Under the carpet of small talk
and across the subterranean world, people were not given to open
confrontation with kaose unless they were ‘caught’ in the ‘evil’ act.
Thus, when everyone knew who the kaose were among them, no
one ‘as a rule’ spoke of them in the open for fear that they might
be overheard by the latter. This is what was called the conspiracy
of silence, which was central to the continuing importance of kaose.
Therefore, a brief discussion on this aspect of silence among the
Kukis has becomes pertinent.
A search for historical or ethnographical accounts on kaose from
research materials it was a surprise to see that there was nothing
that could provide any substantial story on it. It was especially
surprising to see that the official ethnographers of Kukis like Wil­
liam Shaw and John Shakespear were completely in the dark on
the subject. It was only J.H. Hutton, whose academic excellence
and in-depth understanding of the tribal world was able to add a
few lines in the appendix of Shaw’s monograph. This remains,
perhaps, the only account one has so far to ponder over on the
subject which was so engrained in the mind of every Kuki. In fact,
this should not surprise one much mainly because the fear of be­
ing heard by the kaose compelled everyone to shut up his or her
mouth. Hence, there is no historical account of kaose available for
in-depth analysis.
In other words, the orthodoxy about the ‘rule’ or the principle
of ‘unsayable’ or ‘undiscussable’ on the subject of kaose created a
situation, where an ‘outsider’ found the paucity of knowledge on
the subject common to everyone. But surprisingly enough, this
was, and is, not so much the case with an ‘insider’, who learned
the story of kaose behind the safety of a closed door and in the
 The Enchanted Community 475
subterranean veil of family conversation. Indeed, the ideal of
‘unsayableness’ makes Kukis virtually a silent community whose
knowledge about kaose was communicated as information passed
among members of a secret society. This silence was, perhaps, the
longest surviving ‘conspiracy’ in the history of the Kuki, whereby
people maintained collective silence about something of which
each one of them was personally aware. This state of thing is what
Zerubavel (2006) called ‘conspiracy of silence’.
Ironically, this conspiracy of silence was murkier even to the
accused. Most of them did not even know that they had been
labelled as kaose by the society of which everyone was aware. Even
when they heard it from some muhchuh (outspoken) they would
truthfully deny that they were not kaose. But that did not help as
the protest was not reciprocated by the hostile and silent commu­
nity who simply felt that the denial was ‘obvious’ (asei dinga lha).
Since the accusation, spread through the subtle string of the ‘se­
cret’ family conversation and within the rumour-mongering sub­
terranean world, there was no way in which the accused could find
any justice in the chief ’s court or elsewhere. Even if he found the
accusers, it was even more difficult to prove before the chief court
that he was not a kaose just as it was difficult for the chief to decide
if he was positive or not. The matter became worse when the ac­
cused belonged to the poor section, was a widow and powerless
and the accuser was powerful and a member of the clan.
Thus, the story of defamation charge went on and on under the
carpet and without the chance of recall. A situation, therefore, was
reached when the hostile society remained silent regarding the
accusation, even when the kaose themselves denied that they never
knew about any accusation. Such a ‘co-denial’ was unmistakably a
social phenomenon that involved mutual avoidance. But the irony
was that, such a situation of co-denial eventually produced an ‘open-
secret’ identity of a section of the population, who had become
not a member of the society but a ‘unsayable’ person outside the
society. Thus, within the notion of ‘unsayableness’ and in the sub­
terranean world of the Kuki conspiracy of silence, certain myths
(such as the selpaotheinete or kaobelpote) or certain ‘un-recallable’
old accusations had continued to haunt, truncate and devastate
476 Jangkhomang Guite
the lives of certain clans, villages, families or thousands of innocent
Kukis even till today. Thus, while the familiar belief such as
khawhring and ahmaw had died out in Lushai Hills a long time
ago, the Kuki society was and is still haunted by the ancient spell
of the politics of defamation.
Besides, Christianity has often been said to be a powerful factor
that ends khawhring and doi in the Lushai Hills. Here the church,
particularly under the Western missionaries, took keen interest on
the subject. It was, as they said, successful in exorcising (nodoh)
the ‘spirit’ from the accused khawhring and won over the minds of
the people. This had provided them the first fertile ground for
conversion among this ‘merciful’ population. As the khawhring
converts were the early batch of the so-called ‘Christian soldiers’
(Christa sepai ), it was possible that their influence over the subject
was tremendous and hence its eventual evaporation from the minds
of the people. But the same church did not have a similar impact
among the Kukis. Here, it was found that church did not take any
particular policy on the subject nor was it keen to abolish it. This
was particularly for the same reason noted above. The belief or
practice had gone so ‘underground’ within the subterranean world
of social conspiracy of silence that the Western missionary, just as
the district officers, were not able to find the subject demanding
church action. Thus, if the openness against the khawhring pro­
vided a good ground for the church to intervene and demolish it,
the ‘opaqueness’ of or the principle of ‘undiscussableness’ of kaose
prevented any meaningful interventions from the church as the
state. Hence, kaose neither appeared as an anti-Christ practice nor as
a ‘law and order problem’. This is similar to the case in the present
Kuki church. Therefore, kaose stayed on under the gripping garb of
the Kuki conspiracy of silence over the ages and is still alive.
The above discussion takes one to some clean thought. Taken
from the point of its origin, the belief in it and practices from the
point of social responses to the so-called black art, seen from the
prism of politics and in the context of power and social relations in
the hills, what eventually emerges clearly is the fact that the belief
in kaose and doi remain as a ‘belief ’ rather than a reality. It was,
and, is a social construct over a period of time that spread and
 The Enchanted Community 477
concretized as an instrument of the powerful against the weak,
nothing more. Seen from this prism of power the belief is far from
real. From the existential standpoint, the belief is studded with
myths and mythologies, whims and whimsical allegories, farces
and farcical stories, believing the unbelievable fiction, and so on,
which science and reason would find being uncomfortable bed
fellows with.

WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY KAOSE

NOW?: A MISSIVE TO KUKI READERS

The historical injustices and certain alarming recent happenings

over few of the Kukis prompted one to write this small piece in
order to open up a debate so that the balloon of silence could be
punctured for a meaningful resolution on the subject. This silence,
as has been noted, will take one nowhere. It was not the kaose but
the conspiracy of silence about the kaose that enchanted the Kuki
community for this long. Unless this silence is broken and the
subterranean conspiracy is brought overground, in the open, and
before a proper social forum there will not be any justice to a
section of Kuki population who had endured unwarranted charge
of defamation over the centuries. This historical injustice is now
compounded by the alarming growth of such charges of defama­
tion since the 1990s when the Kukis experienced another phase
of political and social turmoil. More and more number of charges
of accusation have come up and many cases were the first time in
their family history. The two cases referred to above, were the tip
of an iceberg of such charges which had taken place in recent times.
The ‘kao doctor’ mentioned above also claimed with pride that he
alone was able to ‘cure’ more than a hundred cases of kaobol, indi­
cating that the belief had grown in an alarming proportion again.
In places like Moreh where thousands of displaced Kukis (in the
wake of the Naga ethnic cleansing programme) were settled, the
mind of the people had already been ‘engulfed’ or ‘besieged’ by
the fear of kaose and doi so much so that accusations and hatred of
certain families or persons had studded the everyday chores of the
enchanted population.
478 Jangkhomang Guite
Unlike in Lushai Hills, the Kuki Churches have taken hardly
any serious note of the subject. Truly, it provided equality to all,
including the kaose. Truly, it was also able to destroy most of the
traditional rituals and ceremonies where kaose found no equality
with others. Pastors may preach repeatedly against any discrimina­
tion on the ground of kaose. Yet the church failed to take any
proactive step on the question of kaose. Apparently, it was also
restrained by the social principle of ‘unsayableness’ about kaose.
Its silence, in fact, led the church to accept the ‘norms’ silently.
Worst, its silence on kaose on the one hand and its forefront prin­
ciple of ‘war’ against ‘Satan’ and other malevolent spirits (thilha or
lhagaoboh) in the society inadvertently and silently brought kaose
under the latter category. It tended to consider kaose in the way
witchcraft was considered by the church of early modern Europe.
This was most visible in its conflicting injunction of people ac­
cused of kaose. On the one hand, the Kuki church maintained that
all kaose were members of the church and could attain salvation.
On the other hand, it deplored kaotom (possessing the other or
entering another body to torment or kill) and declared it as a ‘sin’
to do so. This meant that the church condemned the act of kaose
but endorsed the existence of kaose in the society. In other words,
the church accepted that kaose existed in Kuki society quietly and
silently and its aim was not to destroy it but to control it from
attacking people. This is but surrender to the myth of ancient
belief in kaose and an expression of defeat.
The Kuki church silently accepted defeat before what it consid­
ered lhagaoboh or sin particularly on certain ground. It silently
accepted that certain medical problems are kaobol (an attack by
kaose) and vehemently deplored that such kaobol was a diabolical
act (dai-bol or kholai-lang bol ). Thus, what was socially condemned
as athenglou now became chonset (sin) in the church. Recent cases
of kaobol involved church leaders, elders, or people who took the
name of Christ to ‘expel’ or ‘exorcise’ (nodoh) the kaose from the
victim’s body. There is even a person who is popularly known as
‘kao doctor’ who was a devoted Christian and claimed that he was
anointed by the angels (lhagaotheng) to ‘heal’ (damsah) people
possessed by ‘spirits’ (lhagaoboh) and kaose. When asked whether
 The Enchanted Community 479
kaose is lhagaoboh, he promptly answered ‘Yes, kaose is lhagaoboh’.
Thus, the social concept of kaose intrudes in the church definition
of diabolical works. In this context, the Kuki church lacked any
definition of kaose or simply silently accepted that it is a diabolical
conspiracy against Christianity. It was under such circumstances
that the belief in kaose ‘stay-on’ among the Kukis even after the cele­
bration of a hundred years of Christianity. This is again unfortunate.
Today the kaose live a normal life in a village community, as if
they are normal people in the eyes of an outsider. Most village
chief have stopped discriminating them in the village affairs on the
ground of being kaose. But the truth is that no one forgets them as
kaose and the diabolical conspiracy against them is as alive as it
used to be in the past. Besides, the rapid decline of what one
would call the traditional ‘shields’ against kaose such as the cross-
cousin marriage (the pute-chanu kijuon) could not prevent one from
thinking about, not to mention of believing in, the kaose. Discrimi­
nation on the ground of sharing a comb, in communal feasting,
and inter-clan or family interactions, and so on, had subsided or
gone. But this could not prevent one from thinking about kaose.
Broadly, kaose, as an ancient idyllic, instead of dying out, contin­
ues to remain well entrenched and deep rooted in our time. One
glaring example of this can be seen when a person chooses his/her
life partner. Young people may stop asking this question of their
partner, but their parents would not. In a most devilishly language
parents may ask: itobang mi hinao vem? (what kind of family/
people are they? are they clean or unclean?), the language, however
ambiguous it might have been, was however easily knowable
to their children. Or a secret mission is always an optional in the
conspiracy. If they found the partner’s family in state of even sei-a
theng sei-a boh they would do anything to prevent the marital alliance.
The worst thing is, even today many young men and women
consciously avoid those people, who are accused as kaose or have
any blood relationship with kaose, for a lover or partner. Kaose are
silently condemned to remain outside the corridor of the charmed
circle of usual matrimonial selections. They have been silently re­
jected, boycotted, and ostracized as in the past. They continue to
remain in a society, not as a person and family even when they
480 Jangkhomang Guite
think they live as a person and family, incomplete and mutilated
when they are complete as much as we are. In a way they are living
a ‘bare life’ having no identity other than how they are secretly
known by the larger public. When they thought they are part and
parcel of the community, the community actually denied them
any membership; their identity is a mere ‘unsayable’ which is not
even a being. But the pertinent question is—How long are we
going to remain silent and let our own brothers and sisters remain
as unsayable, undiscussable persons? How long are we going to say
sei ngailou ahi? (it is unsayable). How long are we going to keep
this ‘conspiracy of silence’ concealed? Unless we are able to punc­
ture this balloon of silence, kaose will remain alive and vibrant in
the society. Instead of ending, it will continue to proliferate in the
society and we should be warned that this has got the potential to
break the social fabric in a big way.
The objective is to start puncturing this balloon of silence and
see how this ‘conspiracy of silence’ could be taken up for intellec­
tual debate and discussion. This is seen as a necessary step toward
the emancipation of one’s brothers and sisters from being a hos­
tage of an ancient spell on two grounds.
• First, the belief in kaose cannot be buried away even in the face
of an overarching dominance of the church, the chiefs and the
declining customary practices of discrimination against them
because it relies on a concept rather than practice, an idea rather
than an art, a belief rather than fact, a thought rather than a
science, and finally a myth rather than something real.
• Second, since a concept can be destroyed or demolished only by
a counter concept, the role of intellectuals to find out the way
how this concept could be demolished becomes necessary. For
that, the truth about kaose should first be established.
This article is not only to point out what had happened in the
past but more importantly to state that what had happened in the
past says that kaose never existed in reality, it was just a social
construct, it was a mere civilizational tool in the hands of the power­
ful to defame, criminalize and devastate the weak. It was the product
 The Enchanted Community 481
of social, political or neighbourhood tensions. The victims of kaose
were actually attacked not by kaose or spirit, but they were actually
suffering from a psychological disorder particularly that of disso­
ciative amnesia caused by constant state of mental stress and trauma
which in most cases were caused by certain diseases like tuberculo­
sis, malaria, stomach ache and so on which medical science can
dignose clearly and which medicine can surely cure.
Those people, who are still influenced by those ancient spells
should be warned, that if kaose really existed they should first accept
that they are also one of them on two grounds. First, if a mere
accusation makes someone a kaose, history has it that all the Kukis
(particularly the ‘Thadous’) had once been accused as kaose and
doithem by both the Lushais and the Chins. They have been hated
as if a single glance from them would cause sickness and misfor­
tune. Such accusation stayed on and it has not gone so that in the
past some blood has been spilled. The same pattern was repeated
within the tribe, clan, or village level in which the weak, the poor,
and the hapless section of the population have often been accused
whenever some disaster befell the powerful and chiefly clans/class.
History has it that such accusation was nothing, but a mere poli­
tics of defamation and was merely an expression of the civilizational
notion of the powerful against the weak, produced in the context
of social and political tensions between different tribes/clans/vil­
lages. Certain people became kaose merely, because they were not
able to defend or find justice due to the overwhelming power of
the accusers. Kaose exist merely because of that, nothing more.
Therefore, if you accept that the kaose really exist than you should
accept that you are kaose as well as those who had once been ac­
cused by the Lushais and Chins and who had not been able to do
anything about the charge of defamation. As the politics of defa­
mation shows, once bitten is always bitten. Hence, you have been
bitten and bitten now; there is no escape.
Second, if you still think that you are safe from such politics of
defamation, you still think that you are kaose because you are in
no way safe from it. Consider the cases in which one, as the theory
of kaose says, can become kaose. There are two ways a person could
482 Jangkhomang Guite
become kaose: blood-line (marriage) and through the hair. You are
not married to a person who is accused as kaose or are not the
children of one of them, but please recall your past and ask your­
self: have you, your parents, grandparents, at anytime, shared a
comb (samthi ) or a nam (cane plaited hair band for carrying goods)
with other persons who could have been kaose? Have any one of
them ever visited a hairdresser for a haircut where all the so-called
kaose have also had their hair cut some time? It is hard to believe in
today’s world that one’s parents and grandparents had never visited
a barber’s parlour a single time in their life or never shared combs
with any other persons. This is especially true for those people
living in urban centres, but equally true also for those living in the
village whose life was closely connected to the urban centres. Those
who believe in the kaose must think about this seriously. If you
had a history of that, make sure or accept that one is one of the
kaose because it was from such a hairdresser’s or sharing of combs
with others that the spirit of kaose had already entered your body
and resided there. You had the power to command now. What
remains is that you just have to give a command and torment
people. Can you do that? If you can, accept that kaose exist. If you
cannot, then reconsider your belief in the kaose and start saying
that kaose do not exist in reality, instead of lingering in your thought
with the ancient farcical spell of barbarism, savagery and primitive
memory. This is the new world of science and reason.

THE ROAD AHEAD

If the kaose is historically incomprehensible, other sciences (social

and medical) must buy more time to show that it is a social con­
struct and one that is a medical subject. They need to, one by one,
deconstruct what would be called the theories of kaose through
meticulous research and dedication. Until that is done, it would
not be possible to convince the mesmerized mind of the thousands,
whose belief in the kaose was built on the deep foundation of the
seven layers of the earth (leitho-thosagi ) and secured inside the seven
layers of the ‘iron gate’ (thihpi-thosagi ), to put it mataphorically.
 The Enchanted Community 483
NOTES

1. ‘Will-o’-the-wisp’ is ‘a dim, flickering light seen hovering at night on marshy

ground, thought to result from the combustion of natural gases’. For differ­
ent ancient ideas on this, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will-o%27-the­
wisp (accessed on 17 May 2016).
2. It is mainly caused by a traumatic or stressful event. Currently ‘trance and
possession’ disorder came under the generic dissociative disorder, which is
purely of psychological causation and can also be due to brain damage.
3. For this ritual see Parry, The Lakhers, pp. 463-4.
4. I am thankful to David Vumlallian Zou for bringing this to my knowledge.
Of course more missionary accounts on this ‘evil’ practice can add more
insight and it is up to future researchers to find out more from those mission­
ary accounts.
5. See Rajmalah (the Royal Chronicles of Tripura Kingdom).
6. For detail discussion on this crisis situation see Jangkhomang Guite,
‘Civilisation and its malcontents: The politics of Kuki raid in nineteenth
century Northeast India’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review,
48, 3 (2011), pp. 339-76.
7. See, for instance, Fr. Sangermano, A Description of Burmese Empire: Compiled
Chiefly from Burmese Documents, tr. W. Tandy, London, 1966, 1833,
p. 43.
8. As quoted in Parry, Lakhers, p. 465, fn. 1.

REFERENCES

Carey, B.S. & H.N. Tuck, The Chin Hills: A History of the People, our Dealings
with Them, Their Customs and Manners and a Gazetteer of Their Country,
Aizawl: TRI, (1894), 2008.
Guite, Jangkhomang, ‘Civilisation and Its Malcontents: The Politics of Kuki
Raid in Nineteenth Century Northeast India’, The Indian Economic and
Social History Review, 48(3), 2011, pp. 339-76.
Haokip, P., ‘Belief in Malevolent Spirit “Inn-Kaose” in Traditional Religious
System of Chin-Kuki: A Descriptive Analysis’, Journal of North East India
Studies, 1(1), 2011, pp. 23-35.
Hutton, John N., ‘Notes’ on ‘Vampire’ in William Shaw, Notes on the Thadou
Kukis, Delhi: Spectrum, (1928), 1980.
McCall, A.G., Lushai Chrysalis, Aizawl: TRI, (1949), 2003.
484 Jangkhomang Guite
McCulloch, William, An Account of the Valley of Manipore and of the Hill Tribes,
Delhi, (1859), 1980.
Parry, N.E., A Monograph on Lushai Customs & Ceremonies, Aizawl: TRI, (1928),
2009.
Parry, N.E., The Lakhers, Delhi: Omsons, (1931), 1988.
Pocs, Eva, Between the Living and the Dead: A perspective on Witches and Seers in
the Early Modern Age, Budapest: Central European University Press, 1999.
Sangermano, Fr., A Description of Burmese Empire: Compiled Chiefly from Burmese
Documents, tr. W. Tandy, London, (1833), 1966.
Shakespear, John, The Lushei Kuki Clans, Delhi: Cultural Publishing House,
(1912), 1983.
Vumson, Zo History, Aizawl, 1986.
Zerubavel, Eviatar, The Elephant in the Room: Silence and Denial in Everyday
Life, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
 C H A P T E R 24

Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender

and Property Relationship
N I K I TA S H A N D I LY A

If one believes in witches and witchcraft, it is very obvious that

they believe in the existence of evil and other supernatural forms
of power. People have divided it into good and bad power. The
constant fear of things beyond the comprehension of people led to
their superstitions. Fear makes a person act so dangerously that to
get rid of it they do something without any logical understanding
or in the right state of mind. This fear is actually in the mind,
mostly when one is insecure about oneself, weak, lonely or guilty.1
Evil and the other superstitious beliefs have their roots in myths
which are never true. The folklores, which are sometimes misinter­
preted or exaggerated for the state of fun or interest take a different
shape with time and situation.2 The fear of facing problems by
oneself or his near and dear ones facing it makes one helpless. This
instigates them to follow such beliefs and rituals attached to it and
they are bound to follow the code of conduct that society has
made up irrespective of one’s likes or deslikes. But when traditional
ideas related to evil gets attached to religion, people fear them more.
They agree to it so as not to offend the supernatural powers, which
actually gets transmitted from one generation to the other. Thus,
the wheel keeps moving and the rituals and practices are performed
blindly without being questioned.
What is evil? The answer varies from person to person, because
for different people and communities evil has different meanings
and definitions. For some, it is related to colours, weather, food,
486 Nikita Shandilya
certain directions, which are even forbidden in some religion, even
the menstrual cycle of a women. The women in all cultures are
burdened for being evil which is not a present-day problem but
has been there from the beginning of humanity. Eve was blamed
as an evil, as she forced Adam to commit sin. It is mostly seen that
evil, impure magic and bad spells are always linked to women
as they have become the easiest target for man in particular and
society in general. If one looks at any community, women from all
sections of the society have been victimized and accused of being a
witch or something evil. The difference is that some do not hide it
and some accept it submissively.3 Evil started to take roots as people
believed in superstations and women began to be considered as
the figurative form of evil.
When it comes to customary laws and rituals it has been observed
that the women are restricted from taking part in them. The events
are believed to become impure if women participate as they are
not allowed to perform the rituals which are assigned only to men.
Folklore, myths and even literature have not spared women, mostly
portraying them as the worshipper of evil power. In non-literate or
semi-literate tribal societies, folklore has central importance: whether
in the form of songs, riddles, proverbs, myths, stories and legends,
they form an integral part of the tribal socio-cultural milieu.4 The
women are made to believe not only by society and men but also by
the other women like mother (to her daughter) and mother-in-law
(to her daughter-in-law) that they are impure and have no rights
or position in the society among men, who are believed to be more
learned and stronger than them. The oppression of the women
starts with the family. They are burdened with all the customs and
rituals they have to follow. The prestige and the social status of the
family is to be taken care of by the women in the house, irrespec­
tive of what the men do, even if they commit a crime. A man’s
power and strength is always celebrated and he is taught to boast
of his manhood. In tribal societies, war and display of physical
strength is still given much importance and celebrated in many
community functions which also have a major role to play in witch-
hunting. Age-old traditions like these have actually made the youth
more aggressive and violent. Witch hunting has become the best
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 487

forum for such youth to display their strength and power among
other people, who make them feel superior and it has also helped
such youth to terrorize the weak in the community.5 Sometimes
because of such practices women suffer from frustration, inferiority
as they do not receive the rightful position and status they should
have. Their voice is suppressed in every way and they start believing
themselves impure and evil due to emotional insecurities they go
through, which actually leads to mental disturbance and instability
in them.

CASE STUDY 1

VICTIM: AINU BORO, AGE 26; VILLAGE: BINYAKHATA,

KOKRAJHAR DISTRICT
The victim had married against the will of her own parents. Her
husband was from the Bodo community and she belonged to a
Hindu community. She ran away from her house with Pradwp
Boro and came to her in-laws’ house. Initially, she was accepted in
the groom’s house after a community feast was given to the people.
But slowly she was forbidden by her mother-in-law and sister-in­
law from attending community functions and other religious cere­
monies of the Bodo community. When anything bad happened in
the family or she forgot to clean the courtyard before her husband
left for work, she was taunted that a bad omen had taken shelter in
their house and eaten up the family’s happiness and possessed their
son, her husband. The neighbours started cursing her and even
her shadow was not allowed in their house. The sister-in-law took
this opportunity and cursed the victim. If she forgot to do some
household work, she would say that the victim had distracted her.
Out of jealousy she wanted her to suffer and be scolded by the
elders in the house. She was made to stay alone and not treated
properly. Her husband did not defend her and an ojha was brought
who asked the boy to get rid of her, as by doing so, he could bring
back peace in his house. The boy disowned her saying that she was
a witch, who had actually brought unhappiness to the house. It
was because he had offended the ancestors by marrying outside
488 Nikita Shandilya
the caste that he had to suffer and now, by marrying a Bodo girl
from his own community, he would be spared and happiness would
return to the family. The victim was tortured and she accepted
that she was evil and impure and left the house. At present, she
works as a maid in the town and wishes never to go back to her
own family or village out of fear.
The gender difference is so strong that it has already developed
a pre-conceived notion among the people about who needs to do
what and who needs to suffer the most. Gender differences should
not only be seen with regard to tradition, customs and rituals. It is
also used to emphasize how the political and social milieu has
actually tangled both the sexes and how women or any marginalized
group is made a victim out of it. Witch hunting is one of the major
examples where gender plays an important role and it has trans­
formed from witch hunting to women hunting in reality.6 The
gender analysis has actually opened up significant potentialities in
knowing the history and the social sciences.7 In the discourse of
social history with more emphasis the marginalized section of the
society like the tribes, women’s history occasionally finds a place.
Culture and tradition along with social customs have never freed
women but have actually clutched them more tightly than letting
them enjoy their freedom and space. Freedom of women was always
scary and made the man insecure. The changing socio-economic
and political affiliation of society with time has also changed, spe­
cially the contours of gender relationship in these sections of society,
where oppression was suffered by men and women alike, from pre­
colonial to post-colonial times. In such a situation and condition,
the man is surrounded by a crisis which give vent to his frustra­
tion. He takes out his frustration upon the women or the weak
which become his easy target. He can then celebrate the manhood
he is taught about. He takes pride in and gets satisfaction or has a
feeling of achievement when he sees someone weaker than him
suffer and plead in front of him. The analysis of gender and its role
in witchcraft and witch hunting needs to be understood with in­
tense care and in broader light by not only focussing on the female
but on the man too.
The notion of evil and superstition varies from community to
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 489

community and within the community, it sometimes differs from

person to person. The Bodo community believes in both evil and
good power. The concept of witch (daini) came to them at a much
later stage. Earlier, evil for them was related to spirits and other
supernatural powers which could not be seen. If there was a mis­
fortune or problem, they would offer their prayers and perform
rituals to please these powers which they believed resided in the
big old tree of the village or deep in the forest.8 Later, they started
to relate evil with daini (witch) and started being violent to control
the evil. Earlier, they only offered prayers and offerings, but now
not only the victim was ostracized from the village, but tortured
and even murdered. They related bad or evil power with daini
(witch) and good is related with the ojha (priest), who was earlier
the medicine man and the most learned man in the community.
He is now believed to have the power to counter spell to the evil
and can bring back peace and harmony into the community. If
one looks closer, evil is always related to women and the ojhas are
mostly men who have now become witch finders more than a priest.
The Bodo earlier related evil with diseases, crop failure, or sudden
change in weather and to avoid such calamities, religious ceremo­
nies were held yearly, but such practices have changed with time
and people now demand an instant solution which they believe
would be given by the ojha and out of fear and jealousy people
have turned the evil to be the daini (witch) in the village.9
The social construction of the Bodo women in their community
was not so marginalized and oppressed as it has now turned out to
be. If one looks at the social description of women by Rev. Sidney
Endley, the Bodo women have been given a very respectable and
important position. They also shared economic as well as social
sphere in the society, from paddy cultivation to gathering of valu­
able herbs from the forest and selling them in the market and
earning for their family. The forest was the major place for the
women. They were experts in the resources of the forest as com­
pared to their male partners, who would ideally spend their time
drinking or some time hunting. These medicines were earlier sup­
plied to the ojhas (medicine men) of the community by the women
of the villages. But after the enclosure movement, when the forest
490 Nikita Shandilya
was taken from these people, the women were left idle in their
household. Earlier, even in the folklores there was the mention of
the female ojha. A woman can become one if she is capable of it.
During the late nineteenth century, there was a thick line drawn
between the differences between men and women, which have
actually complicated the understanding and the reason behind
gender differences. Folklores such as Haynamuli in 1985, written
by Monoronjan Lahary shows the protagonist as the female ojha
(medicine woman), who was humiliated as her medicine failed
and did not satisfy the landlord’s family, due to which, she and
her daughters too paid a price and later died of poverty. She is still
represented as the divine spirit in the kherai puja of the Bodos
known as the Deoudini.
There was not a complete absence of male witches, but they
mostly believed in more women learning witchcraft than men.
The women were now seen as persons who could possess the evil
powers. Earlier, the evil was believed to be in animals, birds and
other objects which were not auspicious for the Bodo community
and regarded as a bad omen or sign, like the old banyan tree of the
village. People and small children were forbidden to sleep under it
and women specially during their menstrual cycle must avoid cross­
ing such huge trees. If they ever came out of their houses, they
should not comb their hair in the courtyard of the house.10 Now if
any one broke such rules of social conducts, people assume that
the woman is evil because she is not following the code of conduct.
Movement of women were more restricted and their actions were
under surveillance, they were even restricted to go into the forest
and were supposed to return home before sunset.

CASE STUDY 2
VICTIM: PRAFFULLA BASUMATARY AND HIS WIFE, OCCUPATION:
RETIRED PRINCIPAL OF UDALGURI COLLEGE
The victim says that his wife fell into the trap of his brother’s
daughter and people who were already jealous of them, instigated
the other villagers against them. People were easily convinced that
the professor’s wife was a witch. His brother’s daughter who was
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 491

studying in Mumbai came home during her vacations. She started

to fall sick after a week and one day she told her neighbour that
her aunt was evil and she had dreamt that she wanted to kill her. It
was even said that she worshipped something in the night and
because of her weakness she could not see it properly. Praffulla
Basumatary’s wife was an outspoken woman and many persons in
the village did not like her as she was not very social and did not
attend village functions. People were always jealous of their prosperity
and happiness specially their relatives, as both their children were
well settled. One night, there was a fight between the brothers and
the professor’s wife scolded the girl harshly. The next morning the
news spread like wildfire in the village, that she was the witch
who was trying to kill her brother-in-law’s daughter as she had
come to know about her secrets. People surrounded her house and
started insulting her and tried to harm her and when her husband
tried to defend her he too was called a daina (witch). He was not
even allowed to enter college after that! Both were mentally ha­
rassed and tortured. They were frequently threatened and were
asked to leave the village by his brother’s friends and, at last, out of
fear, they had to leave their ancestral property and went away from
the village. Even his children were not spared. An ojha was brought
from the nearby village, who was a Santhal. He too declared that
the house where they had lived must be demolished for the wel­
fare of the village and certified the wife a witch, as she was making
the girl more sick and weak. After all this, the principal left his
village and settled at another place away from his own village. His
property in the village is now completely occupied by his brother
and the girl who was sick. She was actually in a relationship with a
boy in Mumbai and lived with him. The aunt had come to know
about it and she used her sickness as a means to help herself get rid
of her. Later, the girl was detected with jaundice and fever and
after that she went back to Mumbai.
Such beliefs have made people so blind that they have forgotten
to use their own sense of what is right and what is wrong. During
their crisis or mostly out of frustration people start being judge­
mental and already form some pre-determined view about the other
based on some false assumptions. Even after realization, external
492 Nikita Shandilya
pressure and guilt binds people to let crimes like witch hunt happen
even against their wishes. It is also witnessed by the elderly people
of the village and the village chiefs. The youth want an immediate
solution and because of their aggression and restlessness, the inci­
dent such as a witch hunt turns to be very violent and many crimes
takes place in the name of witch hunting, overnight. Even before
punishment can be assigned to the victim by the community and its
elders, murders happen overnight in the name of witch hunting.11
Sometimes even the judgements are manipulated and biased where
people in power and position take the opportunity to do what
they want. During such situations people seek their own benefit
and wish to establish their own political influence.

CASE STUDY 3

The victim is a widow of 50-8 years, who was living with her adopted
son. She served the village as a midwife for many years. She owned
one bigha of land, two goats and the house in which she was living.
The house she lived in was in the interior of Chirang district
named Rupi. The place was affected mostly by diseases and natural
calamities and was very under developed. Small children were mostly
sick. One night, a few people came to her place and surrounded
the house and declared her a witch. When asked what she had
done, they said that one of the children who was sick, had dreamt
that an old lady with terrifying looks was trying to eat up all the
chickens in the village and had shouted in her dreams that woman
should be killed. There was also news earlier that the victim used
to go to the forest alone at night. Her adopted son did not even
defend her, as he was afraid of being killed by the villagers. The
youth demanded that the woman should be beaten up which
would oblige her to tell the truth. The elders of the village asked
the boys and other people to wait till morning and a decision
would then be taken. The victim refused to leave the village and in
anger cursed everyone. The next day one of the men, who wanted
her out of the village fell from the tree and broke his leg. His wife
created a scene and all the people assembled and the people tor­
tured her killed one of her goats and said it was a sacrifice to the
evil and beat her so badly, that she could not walk and was crippled.
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 493

After the incident she was given shelter in a house but they too
were threatened by the other people. Eventually the woman had
to evacuate her house which now she knows was occupied by the
youth for their own purpose.
Witchcraft and witch hunting have taken a very nasty form with
time. The more society is developing, the more complicated and
complex such crimes are getting. People are going back to such
thoughts and practices. Hostility and fury of the people have made
them more vulnerable. It is not only seen among the illiterate and
poor people but also among the educated and economically stable
people in the urban areas. It is the mentality of the people which is
getting more prone to evil with time. It has been said that, mostly
with time and progress people become more calm and stable.
However, it has been seen that people have become more vulner­
able in the matter of witch hunting, compared to earlier times.
Earlier, if any person was suspected to be a practitioner of witch­
craft, he/she was asked to live in a hut in a corner of the village near
a flowing river. He or she would not be allowed to have any social
contact with the people.12 The village headman would keep a check
on the person and if the people felt that he was no longer dangerous
to the community, he was brought back to the village and allowed
to lead a normal life. But at present, it has become an event and a
way to demonstrate one’s power over the accused. Here, the crime
is committed with the consent of all the people in the village which
actually encourages the others to do the same. It is more of a gender
oriented crime than a belief or practice. Women are physically
assaulted and even raped. The victims are made to do such hei­
nous things that it is even impossible to think. They are made to
eat human excreta, drink urine and do many more such things.
Such violation does not stop with the victim but continues from
generation to generation, life is made miserable for the family,
who defend such crime.13

CASE STUDY 4

A widow in the Chirang district accused of being a witch because

the neighbour’s child died, after she visited their house. She
stayed with her son, who was a carpenter. The people started
494 Nikita Shandilya
talking about her and rumours were spread, but she was able to
defend herself. Everything was normal until a day, when because of
some community festival that was held in the village, the woman’s
brother’s son came to stay with them and attended the festival.
That very night he did not come back home after the function
and in the morning he was found dead. After investigation by the
police, three men were taken in custody. According to them, they
did the right thing by killing the boy as he was related to the
witch. They were drunk and said that they had only beaten up the
boy but did not kill him.
Such incidents aroused fear among other people about having
relations with the victim and thus the victim never received any
support from people. Sometimes, women were seen as enemies of
other women. Witch hunting has been used as a way to take out
ones frustration, anger and gain superiority over the other. Man
has always tried to establish his superiority over woman. They seek
to portray and establish their manhood by subjugating women.
Men have not only turned out to be the enemy of women but women
have also not missed the opportunity to make other women feel
inferior and weak in whichever way possible. Position and power
have corrupted people so much that it now hardly matters to any­
one to think before causing harm to their near and dear ones. Self-
interest and self-benefit have taken the place of community wel­
fare.14

CASE STUDY 5

The victim was a resident of Gosaigoan, Kokrajhar. She was an old

lady in her 80s, who was rescued by Pratibha Brahma, who runs an
NGO and employs the women specially those who were victims of
witch hunting, in her weaving loom. The victim was staying with
her daughter-in-law and her son stayed away, as he was working in
some firm as daily wage earner. The daughter-in-law did not have
good relations with her mother-in-law, as she blamed her for not
being able to stay in the town with her son. She ill-treated her and
the old lady lived in a very minimal way one could think of. The
daughter-in-law was not conceiving and told people and her family
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 495

members that it was the old woman who was the cause of it. She
also claimed that the old woman did not want her to conceive so
that she could look after her. She also told people that she could
not sleep because of fear, that the old woman would sleep and sit
beside her and chant some spells. It was very easy for her to con­
vince people because the old woman and her appearance suited
her description. She stayed untidy and dressed shabbily as she
could not take care of herself due to old age. The son too was
convinced by his wife and her family members forced him to get
rid of his mother. People started discussing her and she was left
alone in a small hut for a week. Her condition became worse as she
could hardly eat or see anything. One night people decided to
burn the hut when one woman from the village informed Pratibha
Brahma who rescued the old woman from her hopless condition.
She started asking numerous questions and the daughter-in-law
felt that she was trapped and was scared of legal prosecution so she
accepted that she was the actual culprit, who made up such stories
so that the old woman could go away and she could shift with her
husband and inherit the property which the old woman owned.
People started accusing the daughter-in-law, but still they do not
stay together. The old woman was moved to an old age home where
she is being taken care of.

CASE STUDY 6

Devini was the youngest daughter-in-law of the family. She was

loved and liked by all. She also belonged to a economically stable
family. She had all the characteristics and features which were de­
sired by a Bodo family in their daughter-in-law. Everyone was
pleased and the groom’s family also got many gifts from the bride’s
family. Everything was fine, but after a few months problems started
with her sister-in-law. The victim did not have a good relation
with her husband. One day, she found her sister-in-law and her
husband in a very compromising situation, which is strictly for­
bidden in the Bodo community. Relations with elder sister-in-law
are not warranted as she is seen as a mother figure. After that, when
she shouted and called people, she was physically tortured by her
496 Nikita Shandilya
husband and beaten up by her sister-in-law. She was threatened
by her sister-in-law that, if she said anything about them, they
would tell people that she was a witch and was making up such
stories which were actually sinful. After a few months, her mother­
in-law died, so the victim was now more scared to oppose her
sister-in-law and she started doing whatever she was asked to do.
She was suffering from mental torture. When people slowly sus­
pected the illegal relationship of the sister-in-law and the victim’s
husband, both of them started deputing her as a daini (witch) and
even the brother-in-law remained silent and did nothing to save
the self-respect of the family though he was well aware of his wife’s
guilt. He kept drinking, continuously and was beaten up by other
people when he abused his wife and brother. One day he was
found dead and according to the victim, it was her husband who
had killed him because of the property he owned as the elder son.
When the administration investigated the murder, her husband
said that it was his wife who was a witch. She had killed their
mother and the brother too and the whole village was with him
and the police too did not investigate much and the innocent girl
was beaten and humiliated till she accepted she was the witch
after that she was asked to leave the village.
It has been seen that the victims were young girls who could be
physically exploited, widows who were helpless and inherited the
property of their husband and the old, who becomes a burden for
the family. The jou (local brew) too led to victimization as when a
person was over drunk and, out of anger or sometimes not in his/
her senses, said he was the daina (witch) he too was not spared. In
such situations, people took advantage to settle their age-old scores
and take revenge by murdering their enemies in the name of witch
hunting. Even, if it is found that in a house the jou (local rice beer)
gets spoilt after fermentation, it is blamed on the person who makes
it because, according to their custom, they believe that if a person
has evil thoughts in their mind while making the brew, it gets
spoilt. Only a person with a clean heart and mind can make the
best local brew. There are many incidents, where friends have at­
tacked those close to them, while drunk, and said that they did
such things because the other one had confessed of being a witch
and later, they realized that they did it because they were drunk.
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 497

CASE STUDY 7

Feswali Brahma was a 28 year old, who was not married and so, her
father and two brothers were worried. She lived with them and
sometimes stayed in her maternal uncle’s place with her grand­
mother. Her mother had died long back and she had one sister-in­
law. The latter hated and disliked her, as she was dependent on her
husband. She wanted to get rid of her and the best way was to find
a groom for her. Every time a family and a groom come to see her,
she was rejected. Once a family came with betel nuts and local
brew to fix the marriage, but they went away in the middle, mak­
ing some excuses. The girl also owned some share of land given to
her by her father and a weaving loom which was not liked by the
sister-in-law. The rice beer she made also did not turn out to be
great in taste. Her sister-in-law was literally mad with her and
kept abusing her the whole time. Even her brothers did not like
her for sitting at home and inheriting the property. The victim too
was frustrated and angered with her condition and kept fighting
with her neighbours and slowly everyone started avoiding her. A
neighbour’s child passed away because of high fever. The local medi­
cine too failed in healing the girl and all the sacred thread that the
ojha gave did not work. The local people started questioning the
ojha, but he was saved because of the daughter-in-law, who insti­
gated people that it was the witch in the village, who was bringing
hard luck to everyone and the ojha took the opportunity and said
that it was none other than Feswali and asked people to hand her
to him. The sister-in-law at once brought her to him and asked
the quack to take her, where she was sexually exploited by the ojha.
After the incident, the second brother got married and the people
believed happiness has returned to the village as the evil was in the
control of the ojha.
There are many such instances. If one meets a victim, he/she will
realize how a woman is blackmailed and objectified by society,
which encourages the quacks to exploit the helpless and manipu­
late other people. The foresightedness of the common people has
actually disappeared or they do not intend to see much. The social
norms have tangled the weak so badly, that it has become almost
impossible for the marginalized to help one from not being
498 Nikita Shandilya
exploited by people in power. The ojhas who were actually the
learned men in the community, did not practise their traditional
herbal medicines as it had almost become impossible for them to
collect the herbs medicines from the forest, as it was mostly known
by the women. Moreover, people demand miracles rather than
medicines which they are unable to do and so their place has been
taken by quacks, who performs their practices in the name of ojhas.
They have actually shifted their profession to being witch hunters
in the villages, creating illusion among people by casting magical
spells in the name of controlling the evil in the society. The society
has made him so strong that, he can even threaten the women
specially if they so against him and keep exploiting them in the
name of religion. People are even ready to be exploited.15 Not only
this, but the ojhas also have the support of the accuser, who plots
against the victim to brand an innocent person a witch. They are,
nowadays, staying in the nearby villages, where they hide their real
identity.16 They have their own sources and agents spread in the
targeted village, where people are emotional and socially unstable
due to crisis and deprivation. These quacks are seen in areas, which
suffer from natural calamities. It has become a way of earning a
living by exploiting people. Along with the instigators, it is found
that the accusers are also close to the victim. Mostly, land and pro­
perty issues have taken a different turn in the accusation related to
witchcraft and witch hunting. Earlier, land and property was not
that important as everything was community based and progress
was aimed at community welfare.

CASE STUDY 8

The victim was of the age group 40-50 and was a widow who lived
with her two sons near her husband’s house. She inherited two bighas
of land, one cow and a wooden cart. She also owned a few betel
nut trees planted in her husband’s house. After the death of her
husband she got one bigha of land too. Initially the younger brother
refused to give and his wife too had bad relations with the widow,
which made her stay separately. The problem worsened after the
sister gave birth to a premature baby girl and the day she went to
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 499

see the baby it died that very night. People started to talk about
the widow and did not welcome her presence on happy occasions.
After few days, her eldest brother-in-law’s eldest daughter ran away
with a boy outside their caste and the victim was blamed for that
as the girl would frequently visit her aunt. After all these incidents,
the victim was abused and forbidden to come to their house or
even take the share of their betel nut trees. After three months her
youngest son died due to fever and the people started believing in
the rumours spread by the victim’s family of her being the witch.
Everything she did was because of the greed to have all the prop­
erty herself. It was also believed that she had sacrificed her younger
son to please the evil spirits, and she would visit the cremation
ground alone at night. Finally, a meeting was held where before
she arrived, local brew was served to all the people by her husband’s
family so that the villagers could easily be manipulated and the
youth were completely out of their senses and started abusing her
even before the meeting started. The woman was humiliated and
beaten up to death until her eldest son somehow escaped and
informed the police but before he could reach she was strangled to
death and was found naked and lying there dead. Seeing this, the
son ran away from the village as he was scared to stay alone.

CASE STUDY 9

Here, the victims were two brothers who were both ostracized by
the village which believed them to be practitioners of witchcraft
and both were believed to be the dainas of the village. Everything
started in the community feast and both were drunk. There was a
fight regarding some old issue related to land. Out of aggression,
one cursed the other to die and the others just watched the fight.
One of the men in the group shouted that both the brothers knew
black magic. One of the brothers kept staring at another person
and that person fainted and everyone started hitting the brothers.
The next day both the brothers went to the police, which was
miles away from their village. The administration cooperated and
came along with a doctor and organized a meeting against the
blind belief regarding witchcraft and witch hunting. They asked
500 Nikita Shandilya
them to do away with such belief system, and warned the villagers
not to trouble the brothers. The doctors asked them to consume
less of the local alcohol, which was actually creating health pro­
blem to them and unbalanced mind which instigated them to
commit crimes.
Superstition is not actually what leads to the cases of witch hunt­
ing but it has a solid base if one analyses it.17 Witch hunting is
seen mostly during the twentieth century in Bodo area, especially
during the initial days of demand for Bodoland. It was used as a
way to demonstrate their power and hostility towards the govern­
ment and a way of expressing their anger and differences from the
other community. But these killings have never been recorded or
any justice given to the people who suffered in the name of witch
hunting. There was no proper investigation, as it was defended by
the people who did not want anyone to interfere in their religious
practices or question their rituals and belief system. The belief in
superstition has actually saved many criminals who commit crimes
in the name of religion even today. There is a lack of awareness on
such social crimes in these areas.18 The people have such less faith
in the system of governance that others have taken the opportu­
nity to spread more disturbance and fear among the common
people, there is very little essence of brotherhood among the people
left.19 The areas, where such crimes still prevail in the name of witch
hunting are those areas which have been stricken with unemploy­
ment, deprivation of development and insurgency too, which is
actually a political turmoil tangled along with other problems which
are intentionally unnoticed by the people in power. These areas act
as a buffer zone between the people in resistance against the estab­
lished government. These disturbed zones are used politically by
the government and the people to manipulate the common men
who are used as objects to fulfil their motives of self-interest.20

CASE STUDY 10

The victim is from Chirang district originally, but has now settled
in Bongaigoan. She, and her husband barely survived. According
to the victim, there was a community feast going on. The region is
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 501

always troubled with militancy and insurgency problem. Young

boys are abducted in the name of insurgency by militants so the
women in the village are scared regarding their young boys and
husbands and such a situation also gives rise to new forms of reli­
gion and rituals in the village where the women follow all kinds of
religious practices and offerings that has been told to them.21 The
prayers would take place mainly at night and which made the environ­
ment very unsafe for the women as there would be teasing specially
by the militants. It was a full-moon night and the victim was
returning home after the religious ceremony. On the way, she was
raped and dragged to the forest. She said there were more than two
men, who raped her and she could not understand their language.
The next day her husband found her and he was still mentally
disturbed as the victim says. The victim’s uncle reported the matter
to the police but the youth of the village particularly, a few of them,
did not let them investigate much and threatened both that, if
they filed a complaint or the police comes to the village again,
they would be thrown out of the village and branded as witches.
The victim was at last given protection by the Mahila Samiti, which
works under supervision of Birubala Rabha, the witch hunting
crusader.
According to some victims, the clash between militants and
Insurgents in the BTAD area has cost them with their lives and
the women no longer feel safe. Sometimes, the local people dress
like the insurgents and rape them, physically abusing them and
their family. The militants, who are there for them supposedly for
their protection, make the situation worse for them at times. When­
ever they protest against such nuisance, the voices are suppressed
by their own people who get financial support from the people in
power. They do not want such things to come out and the most
outspoken women are threatened of being accused of witchcraft
and for such situations even the ojhas are bought off to plot against
an innocent woman branded as a witch so that the people believe
the whole drama made up by the ones in power.22 The situations
in these areas are so sensitive and politically influenced, that it
becomes dangerous even for the one who defends such crimes. A
person does not even think twice before taking a life in the name of
502 Nikita Shandilya
witch hunting.23 Witch hunting has a very deep root where not
only property, land and the other customary laws provokes one to
commit such a crime but also ambitious, learned women are not
spared by the most educated and progressive society in the name
of witch hunting. It has actually nothing to do with belief or evil
but people do it out of jealousy, insecurity and greed. The people
need employment rather than being idle in life because being idle
leads to such impulsive thoughts and frustration out of jealousy
regarding the prosperity of others.25 Many times it is seen that
during elections there would be a sudden rise of rumours of a sage
coming to the village who can tell one’s fortune and future. He
stays in the village temple in isolation and keeps chanting mantras
which can also heal a sick person without seeing him and rumours
of his power and spells are discussed so that people from distant
villages come to worship him. Slowly he starts taking interest in
the welfare of the village and manipulates everyone to cast their
votes for a specific person he names for the well-being of the com­
munity and by doing such things, he manipulates the people and
earns money from the people who appoint him for their political
agenda.

CASE STUDY 11

The victim is a girl of 18 years. She was frequently unwell and her
parents took her to the doctors in town travelling many miles from
her house. At last, when the girl did not recover, they left the
medication completely and went to the ojha in the nearby village.
She and her parents were asked to convert to Vaishnavism by the
ojha. She became a prime figure in the village where people started
bringing gifts for her as they believed God (Aai) resided in her.
She started having dreams and narrated to people what God wanted
from them and in the meanwhile the ojha too became famous
along with her and was called Narayan Baba by the people. But
one day the girl vomitted and blood was seen in it by her friends
and they were scared and ran away. People also saw her eating non-
vegetarian food and one of her aunts said that evil had now taken
control over her and it was due to her that her friend would have
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 503

high fever, especially after sunset. She was now hated by the same
people who worshipped her as God. She was abused as a witch
now and out of fear her parents sent her to stay with her maternal
uncle in the town though her aunt was not willing to keep her at
first. Her father is presently working hard to build a house in the
other village so that he can bring his daughter to stay with them.
The mother is still scared that something might happen to them if
the people again became mad and lose their mind. The victim’s
family cannot even go to the police because once the police leave
their house, they would be again disturbed by the villagers. They
were scared of the police finding their fault, so to avoid such thing
they have confined themselves to their house and workplace.

CASE STUDY 12

The victim was a converted Christian. He lived in Suribari of

Kokrajhar district. He had converted because during his bad times
when his sick wife needed medical assistance he asked for financial
help but no one came forward and advised him to go to the ojha,
but he was totally against it. In the meantime, he was helped by a
priest who ran a missionary school in the town and not only did
he help his sick wife to be treated properly, but also employed and
sheltered them. He was very much influenced and touched by the
kind act of the priest. Nobody was happy in the village with his
conversion. He was now not welcomed at the community functions
and religious occasions. The youth in the village, specially the local
political party was very much against his presence in the village
and threatened him to leave the village, as they believed he was an
impure soul now. A man from the village was found dead and there
were frequent mishaps. Slowly, the people started abusing him
and even hit him, whenever he was alone, branding him and his
wife, as witches who were now impure and wanted to make the
other people impure by influencing them to convert. His house
was destroyed and his wife was physically abused by a few men.
He and his wife have left the village, with his house and the plot of
land being occupied by his brother’s son.
The word daini (witch) has become a weapon in the hands of
504 Nikita Shandilya
those wanting to trouble people and fulfil their personal grudges.
It is seen that many a times the victim gives up defending herself
and agrees to be called a witch or whatever evil the people relate to
her, out of fear and frustration. Earlier, there were some victims
who agreed to be so that they would get some social attention and
offerings such as food and clothes as they were worshipped to please
the evil in them or animals such as black cock are sacrificed in their
name.26 A false assumption on knowing dainibidya (witchcraft)
sometime for fun even becomes serious, as it costs the life of an
innocent. Witchcraft has also turned out to be a business, where
one can see many forms of gods emerging overnight. It has actu­
ally turned out to be a flourishing money making way out in such
troubled and disturbed areas. Many such people are punished by
the local youth, who in the name of religion exploit and loot people.
The women of the age of 40-60 are easy targets of being branded
as witches because of their unusual behaviour, specially at the time
of menopause, when she has hormonal imbalance and people
in the rural areas are unaware of such changes in them are easily
convinced that they are ‘possessed’ by evil or a witch. Sometimes,
women are also termed impure because of many changes one goes
through. So, medical assistance and awareness on such issues need
to be gender oriented, so that both the sexes are well aware of it,
rather than being scared or afraid of the changing attitude and
behaviour of one.

CASE STUDY 13

The victim was sexually abused for many days by the ojha. The
victim was a widow, who was branded a witch by her own brothers
to get hold of the property her husband had left for her and the
plot of land she got from her own father. She was first taken to her
own house after her husband’s death and was later tortured by her
sisters-in-law. Though, she was ready to give away everything she
had, still she was taken to the ojha and blackmailed by him. It
was said that, if she refused to have sexual relation, she would be
declared a witch. The victim was found in a very bad condition by
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 505

the youth organization which rescues victims who are socially,

physically abused. The girl, later, committed suicide.
According to Pratibha Brahma, who put her own life in danger
and rescued many victims, the main problem lies with the Bodo
people themselves, who are still very gullible and believe every­
thing so easily that it becomes easy for other people to exploit
them. They also have the problem of easily getting aggressive at
any matter, may be because of the long deprivation they faced and
the crisis they are surrounded by. By doing all, these things they
might succeed in keeping themselves alive and bring themselves to
notice. But, she also says that whatever the reason may be of being
described as dangerous or primitive by people, a great number of
victims in the Bodo community have got justice either from the
administration or through the various active NGOs working in
these areas, where the government bodies refuse to come as people
have preconceived notions regarding the marginalized people and
their culture. Myths and beliefs continue to grip Indian society
leading to irrational thought and actions. In the recent times, Assam
is experiencing an increased number of instances of people resorting
to behaviours, which is illogical and dangerous. It is based on be­
liefs in the existence of some unseen or magical powers concentrated
in the hands of some individuals, who can cause harm to others.27
The folklore which have also given women a negative stature is also
a reason for such gender oriented crimes and rituals in a society
that have to be followed. History has also celebrated his story and
painted her story behind the veils, where she needs to be covered
most of the time to protect the people being possessed by her spells
which have always remained unknown to the world of man. The
period when the Brahma religion was starting to be preached and
women and men were mostly taught and encouraged on work
ethics, crime caused by women’s spells were less because people
were made to think rationally and logically about their actions
and decisions. Witch hunting should not be made on the pretext
of words such as faith, beliefs and superstitions. It has never been
their culture or practice, but is made such during these progres­
sive times, where people use such derogatory ways to achieve their
506 Nikita Shandilya
goals. Though witchcraft and witch hunting is seen mostly as a
gender oriented crime, incident such as the one in Thaigarguri
village which is 50 km away from Kokrajhar town has proved that
out of anger and frustration people can do anything to better their
situation.28 In this incident five heads were chopped off in the
name of witch hunting and the culprits were not even sorry for
their deeds as they believed that they had committed this heinous
crime for betterment and welfare of the people, as the village had
been suffering for quite a long time. At present, the village head­
man name Samarendra Narzary, who actually gave the orders for
the murder of the innocent people in the name of witch hunting,
works against such crime as he was able to realize that his action
took away the lives of four men and one woman in an inhuman
manner. There are many people who have now become crusaders,
who were earlier victims of witchcraft and witch hunting or accusers,
for whom innocent lives were taken away only on mere suspicion
and false assumption.

NOTES

1. Sameshwar Narzary, Interviewed, 22 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.

2. Sonjiy Buglary, Interviewed, 17 March 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
3. Chitrelekha Das, Interviewed, 24 February 2017, Guwahati.
4. Shasank Shekhar Sinha, ‘Restless Mothers and Turbulent Daughters Situ­
ating Tribes’ in Gender studies, New Delhi: Stree Publication, 2005, p. 35.
5. Sumandra Narzary, Interviewed, 7 March, Chirang, Assam.
6. Chitrelekha Das, Interviewed, 24 February 2017, Guwahati.
7. Shasank Shekar Sinha, ‘Restless Mothers and Turbulent Daughters Situat­
ing Tribes’ in Gender Studies, New Delhi: Stree Publication, 2005, p. 21.
8. Praffula Basumatary, Interviewed, 4 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
9. Raju Narzary, Interviewed, 22 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
10. Victim X, Interviewed, 26 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
11. Deepen Bodo, Interviewed, 3 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
12. Mada Ram Brahma, Interviewed, 6 and 9 February 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
13. Preetam Choudhury Brahma, Interviewed, 21 January 2017, Kokrajhar,
Assam.
14. Romen Boro, Interviewed, 4 March 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
 Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender & Property Relationship 507
15. Praffula Basumatary, Interviewed, 4 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
16. Sonjit Basumatary, Interviewed, 5 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
17. Prtibha Brahma, Interviewed, 22 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
18. Preetam Choudhury Brahma, Interviewed, 21 January 2017, Kokrajhar,
Assam.
19. Raju Narzary, Interviewed, 22 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
20. Jinny, Interviewed, 2 March 2017, Chirang, Assam.
21. Sumandra Narzary, Interviewed, 7 March, Chirang, Assam.
22. Pratibha Brahma, Interviewed, 22 January, Kokrajhar, Assam.
23. Deepen Boro, Interviewed, 3 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
24. Raju Narjary, Interviewed, 22 January 2017, Kokrajhar, Assam.
25. Deepen Boro, Interviewed, 3 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
26. Prafulla Basumatary, Interviewed, 4 February 2017, Udalguri, Assam.
27. Witch hunting in Assam: A Report, OKD Institute of Social Change and
Development, Guwahati, 2015, p. 1.
28. Preetam Choudhury Brahma, Interviewed, 21 January 2017, Kokrajhar,
Assam.
 C H A P T E R 25

Women as Witches, Women as Homo

Sacer: A Study of Contemporary
Witch Hunting
OBJA BORAH HAZARIKA

Witch hunting has been prevalent in varying degrees all over the
world throughout history in diverse forms. Although, outlawed
by law in most countries, the practice of witch hunting continues
without much interference on the part of the law, the state, and
the educated to alter and prevent it. In many parts of India, witch
hunting continues to be reported. Assam reports witch hunting
incidents almost on a daily basis. Despite advocacy against super­
stitious beliefs, which are believed mainly to underlie the witch
hunting incidents, such violation of rights of people who are victi­
mized as witches, who happen mostly to be female, continue un­
abated. Continuance of witch hunting is, thus, a stark reminder of
the level of pernicious practices which continue to mar society. It
is also a marker of the abysmal level of education and awareness
prevailing in several parts of the country. The poor level of socio­
cultural evolution and appalling level of human rights protection
available to the victims can also be gauged through the incessant
witch hunting cases.
This article will attempt to make a theoretical analysis of the
phenomenon from the perspective of the concept of ‘homo sacer,
itself once referred, in ancient Rome, to a person excommunicated
from society, removed from the safeguards offered to its normal
members so that his biological life subsequently could be taken by
anyone with impunity’, provided by Giorgio Agamben. The study
510 Obja Borah Hazarika
will be conducted with an objective to examine how ‘witch hunt­
ing’ produces ‘witches’ as Homo Sacer in today’s society which in
turn leads to a situation where the victims are devoid of human
rights, legal rights or any other rights which are deemed basic
or fundamental for living in a meaningful and fruitful way. The
societal, cultural, religious, and economic reasons, which underlie
the creation of the ‘witch’ as Homo Sacer will be explored in order
to provide a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of cre­
ating ‘women’ as ‘witches’, which in turn leads to ‘witches’ being
situated beyond the reach of law, which in turn makes them homo
sacer, and how that may imply that ‘women’ are homo sacer in such
societies. This article is thus grounded in a post-modernist frame­
work provided by Agamben and is rooted, both in ‘Human Rights’
and ‘Feminist’ discourse.

INTRODUCTION

There are several attributes given to witchcraft in human history,

for instance witchcraft has historically been employed to bring
about ‘the death of some obnoxious person, or to awaken the pas­
sion of love in those who are the objects of desire, or to call up the
dead, or to bring calamity or impotence upon enemies, rivals and
fancied oppressors’.1 Ronald Hutton has identified five character­
istics generally shared by those, who believe in witches and witch­
craft across different cultures and time periods:
(a) witches use non-physical means to cause misfortune or injury
to others;
(b) harm is usually caused to neighbours or kin rather than strangers;
(c) strong social disapproval follows, in part because of the element
of secrecy and in part because their motives are not wealth or
prestige, but malice and spite;
(d) witches work within long-standing traditions, rather than in one­
time only contexts; and
(e) other humans can resist witches through persuasion, non-physi­
cal means (counter magic), or deterrence including corporal
punishment, exile, fines or execution.2
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 511
Along with the existence of a belief in witchcraft, there has
also existed witch hunting in human history, prevalent over many
countries throughout the ages. Witch hunting implies killing or
hurting of the so-called ‘witch’ mostly by members of the commu­
nity. There are reports of various treatments meted out to witches
by the attackers; most of these aims to cause injury and hurt. It
has been noted that:
. . . helpless ‘witches’ are hounded and punished by being stripped naked,
paraded around the villages, their hair is burnt off or their heads tonsured,
their faces blackened, their noses cut off, their teeth pulled out (they are
supposedly defanged) so that they can no longer curse, they are whipped, they
are branded, sometimes, they are forced to eat human excreta and finally,
they are put to death (the victim is hanged, impaled, hacked, lynched or
buried alive).3

Where these women are left to live, they are considered ‘. . . in­
auspicious and malevolent, socially ostracized and forced to forego
their livelihood. Where they don’t end up losing their life, they are
made to lose their mental balance.’4 Sometime, if the witch is not
killed, the family will be socially confined and will be boycotted
by the whole village and the community. This will result in loss of
livelihood and movement will be restricted. This may also cause
forced migration or displacement and may cause illegal trafficking
too.5
The killing of accused witches continues to be reported from
countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Burundi, Uganda, Cam­
bodia, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, United Republic of Tanzania,
South Africa, Angola, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ni­
geria, Nepal, etc.6 Earlier, it was prevalent in Europe and America as
well. Until the thirteenth century, the belief that there was such a
thing as a witch was considered by church officials to be supersti­
tious nonsense (Nelson 1975).7 However, witch hunting became a
norm in the following centuries. During the period from 1400 to
1700, an estimated 5,00,000 to one million people were burned
as witches in Europe (Ruether, 1975).8 In Reformation Europe, it
was overwhelmingly women who were tried as witches. In 1484
Pope Innocent VIII issued a bill making witchcraft a form of heresy
512 Obja Borah Hazarika
and empowering inquisitors to eradicate this cancer from Chris­
tendom. The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches’ Hammer) by
Jakob Sprenger and Henry Kramer became a classic statement of
misogynism, as it articulated the reasons why women were witches.9
The authors claimed, that the term female came from the word
femina, which meant ‘lacking in faith’. The basic premise of the
Malleus was that witches are pawns of the devil and that the
devil recruits his agents through carnal lust. As they put it in the
Malleus, ‘All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is
insatiable’. In fact, the inquisitors taught that witches ride broom­
sticks at night to ‘black Masses’, in which they fornicate with the
devil and feast on roasted children (Nelson, 1975).10

WITCH HUNTING IN INDIA

Witch hunting is practised in some form or the other in different

parts of India, but mostly concentrated in the areas (states/UTs) of
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and
West Bengal. Mostly, ‘. . . middle aged and elderly single women
in tribal as well as non-tribal communities are orchestrated as
witches, leading to social stigma, displacement, economic boy­
cott, torture and even murder.’11 Even men are sometimes labelled
as witches. According to the National Crime Record Bureau be­
tween 2008 and 2012, more than 768 women have been mur­
dered for allegedly practising witchcraft. The rate of conviction in
cases of crime against women is the lowest in India (26.9 per cent),
when compared to other crimes and adding to this crisis is the fact
that there is no specific law in India to fight witch hunting. Witch
hunting cases are currently registered under Sections 302 (mur­
der), 320 (grievous hurt), 351(assault), 354 (assault or criminal
force to women with intent to outrage their modesty), 364(a) (kid­
napping for ransom) and 503 (criminal intimidation).12 There are
three states in India, which have laws against witch hunting: Bihar
was the first state in India to pass the Prevention of Witch (Dayan)
Practices Act of 1999. This was followed by the Anti-Witchcraft
Act in 2001 passed in Jharkhand along with the 2005-2006
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 513
Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan laws. There is no such law in Assam
which passed The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention
and Protection) Act, 2015 which received the assent of the Presi­
dent on 13 June 2018. Except, a project called Project Prahari by
the Assam Police, there is no legal measure to curb this crime. This
project too is not a continuous action.13

WITCH HUNTING IN NORTH-EAST INDIA

In the north-eastern region of India, which is home to diverse

indigenous communities, the practice of witch hunting is promi­
nent. The practice is more prominent, though not limited to, the
Rabha, Hajong, Mishing, Bodo and the Adivasi and tea commu­
nity in Assam.14 Witch hunting is still very common in districts of
Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Tinsukia,
Dhemaji, etc., of Assam. According to available statistics, 81 cases
of witch-hunting were reported in the state between 2006 and
2010.15 The method in identifying and then punishing the ‘witch’
follows a similar pattern in most of the cases reported. At first
instance,
. . . the witch is called a ‘daini’ in local parlance and believed to cause ailment
to people, destroy crops and other livestock etc. She is usually identified by
an ‘ojha’, ‘bez’ or ‘deodhani’ (all names for witch doctors) and either banished
from the community or killed. Sometimes, the designated family of the witch
is levied a hefty fine by the community leaders, by which she may be pardoned
of her ill deeds/intentions against the fellow villagers.16

In addition, the belongings and the properties of the woman is taken

away by the people.17

CAUSES OF WITCH HUNTING

Some contend that witch hunting aims to rob the woman of her
property. Sometimes, it is also directed as punishment for turning
down sexual advances or even to settle any grouse that some per­
son with a say in village politics might nurse against that woman.
Those who seek to rob the woman may be her own family. But in
514 Obja Borah Hazarika
situations where the woman is unprotected, i.e. she is a widow or
a single woman, there’s no shortage of people eyeing her land.
Witch-hunters (or property-hunters), irrespective of being family
members or outsiders, often use the services of ojhas or ‘witch­
doctors’ to further their cause. In many rural communities with
limited or no access to health care, these ojhas become powerful
figures. Police investigation has found, in many cases, that the
local ojha has accepted a bribe to name a woman as a witch.18 An
accusation of witchcraft can be the result of a land conflict or of
economic rivalries and competitions, or it can mask the refusal to
support family or community members that are seen as a drain on
its resources, or can be a device to justify the enclosures of commu­
nal lands.19 There is another reason, which has been forwarded to
explain resurgence of witch hunting in Africa which can be ap­
plied to India and Assam’s witch hunts as well. In this view, ar­
gued by most contemporary anthropological studies, it is stated
that witch hunts are not a legacy of the past, but a response to the
social crisis that globalization and neo-liberal restructuring econo­
mies of Asia and Africa, especially India have produced.
Justus Ogemboo in Contemporary Witch-hunting in Gusii, South­
western Kenya (2006: 111ff.),20 argues that structural adjustment
programmes and trade liberalization have so destabilized African
(and Asian) communities, and undermined their reproductive sys­
tem and thrown households into such ‘deprivation and despair’
which people are not able to comprehend, that many people have
come to believe that they are the victims of evil conspiracies, car­
ried out by supernatural means.21 He points out that, after Kenya
(and in the same fashion, India) ‘adjusted’ its economy, which led
to unemployment and currency devaluation, so that basic com­
modities became unavailable, state-subsidies to basic services, like
education, health, public transport, were gutted. In short, mil­
lions of people, in rural and urban areas, found themselves unable
to provide for their families and communities and without any
hope for the future. This led to rising mortality rates, especially
among children, due to the collapse of the healthcare system, grow­
ing malnutrition, and the spread of AIDS, contributed to suspi­
cions of foul play leading to a situation, where some who were the
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 515
source of all these ill happenings were targeted as witches. Ogembo
argues that the persecution of witches was further instigated by
the proliferation of fundamentalist sects, re-injecting into religion
the fear of the devil, and by the appearance of self-defined ‘tradi­
tional healers’, exploiting people’s inability to pay hospital fees and
hiding their incompetence behind appeals to the supernatural.22

AGAMBEN AND WITCH HUNTING IN

ASSAM AND ELSEWHERE
This article attempts to understand the modern-day phenomena
of witch hunting in Assam, and elsewhere, as the continuance of
homo sacer, ‘bare life’, ‘biopower’ and ‘state of exception’, as used
by Agamben to describe life in Western democracies or in concen­
tration camps where the sovereign or the government has control,
not only over the territory but over the bodies of the people as
well. The term ‘. . . homo sacer itself once referred, in ancient Rome,
to a person excommunicated from society, removed from the safe­
guards offered to its normal members so that his biological life
subsequently could be taken by anyone with impunity.’23 The state
of exception in ancient Rome was created when ‘. . . normal
political rights and legal safeguards were stripped away, so that the
homo sacer was reduced to the mere naked, or bare, life of a human
being alive only in a biological but not in any political sense, since
he has none of the usual rights of a member of society.’24 Agamben,
however, says that such conditions exist today, when citizens of demo­
cratic or modern-day governments also lose control of their own
bodies, manifested in biometric deposits or concentration camps
depending on the intensity of government control. Thus, no one is
free, everyone is at the risk of becoming homo sacer at the will of
the government. Even those with safe citizenship status can at any
moment become homo sacer, for example, under Emergency Law
between 1975-7 in India, when fundamental liberties were sus­
pended and right to political life was taken away in one swipe.
Agamben insists that democratic states of the West are built on the
mechanism that produced homo sacer, and are not fundamentally
different from that, which enabled Hitler’s concentration camps.
516 Obja Borah Hazarika
Agamben insists that for ‘those safely holding membership in
present-day Western societies, how the built-in threat of their own
exclusion from its protections and their acquiescence in this order
of things (such as the acceptance of government and corpocratic
surveillance; the—black prisons? and Guantánamo as a perma­
nent state of exception) is the foundational mechanism of power
in these modern states.’25 Agamben’s device of using ancient Ro­
man law of homo sacer and Foucault’s concept of state control over
peoples bodies—bio-power, to explain today’s state control over
the population, helps one examine the phenomena of witch hunt­
ing in Assam and elsewhere. For the accused witch, banishment
marks an entry into a state of exception—which is a concept in the
legal theory of Carl Schmitt, which indicates a situation which is
similar to a state of emergency, but based in the sovereign’s ability
to transcend the rule of law in the name of public good. Following
banishment, the witch becomes reduced to bare life and violent
closures to witchcraft related insecurities become legitimate, in a
fashion similar to what happened to homo sacer in ancient Rome
and the inmates in the concentration camps and those in Abu
Ghraib—who are outside the law and can be killed without the killer
being accountable for the act, thereby stripping them of any rights
whatsoever and depositing them in a state of exception. The state
of exception is a space devoid of law. When community chiefs and
family elders or ojhas expel the witch from the community, they
suspend the general norm of community orientation, very akin to
what the sovereign does to inmates in the concentration camps or
what Hitler did to the Jews.
Under normal circumstances, a person belongs to both the com­
munity and the family. Membership in a village means that one is
entitled to social, cultural, religious and community support, help
and protection. However, on being proved a witch, when the witch
is banished, she no longer enjoys this protection. The witch in­
stead becomes a security challenge for the village from whom the
villagers need to be find protection and thus, she is reduced to
being a homo sacer and banned or made to go into the state of
exception. She becomes excluded from the moral community in a
very physical manner and deprived of her human rights by being
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 517
banished from the village and the protection, thus far given to her
is lifted. In this condition, everybody might legitimately expose
her to violence thus challenging her material security and the in­
tegrity of her body. She might be tortured and subjected to other
human rights abuses. Because the witch is a dangerous person, it
becomes both legitimate and necessary to eliminate her, either
physically by killing her or geographically by driving her away
from her home town. Because of the dangerousness of the witch,
she becomes stripped of her rights and reduced to bare life. This
implies that labelling somebody a witch legitimizes a politicization
of human life, a bio-politicization of the body of the witch. When
a chief or a family elder decides upon the banishment of the witch,
they draw an outer limit of the moral community and make a
distinction between valuable and non-valuable life. In other words,
the moral community comes into being by excluding somebody
and thereby creating the boundaries of the community The one
who is banned is abandoned by law, exposed and threatened. Her
life can be lived only on the mercy of others and the others can kill
her without regret or accountability.
Being cast out of the community means that her life is mean­
ingless. When the witch is banished, she goes from being in a
position of qualified life to bare life. The banished witch, is thus, a
figure akin to Agamben’s homo sacer. The cases of violence analysed
below indicate that, like homo sacer, the witch occupies a zone of
indistinction between life and death, human and animal. Through
banishment the witch becomes bereft of her bios. ‘Those who are
captured in the sovereign ban and stripped of all legal status, find
themselves, by the same act, banned from the political community.
In this way, the sovereign decides which lives will be recognised as
belonging to the community of political beings and which will be
classified only in terms of biological fact. The basis of this distinc­
tion is addressed by Agamben with recourse to the two terms used
by the Greeks to distinguish between forms of life: zoe, ‘natural
reproductive life’ confined to the private sphere, and bios, ‘a quali­
fied form of life’, political life’—Donoghue, A. 2. July 2015. Sover­
eign Exception: Notes on the Thought of Giorgio Agamben. Critical
Legal Thinking. https://criticallegalthinking.com/2015/07/02/
518 Obja Borah Hazarika
sovereign-exception-notes-on-the-thought-of-giorgio-agamben/
The witch can be treated in an inhuman and degrading manner
because she is not regarded as human. She can be ‘hounded and
punished by being stripped naked, paraded around the villages,
their hair is burnt off or their heads tonsured, their faces black­
ened, their noses cut-off, their teeth pulled out (they are suppos­
edly defanged) so that they can no longer curse, they are whipped,
they are branded, sometimes, they are forced to eat human excreta
and finally, they are put to death (the victim is hanged, impaled,
hacked, lynched or buried alive)’26 without any accountability to
law. Additionally, everybody might subject the witch to violence.
According to Agamben, the one who is banned is somebody, who
may be considered as dead and whom everybody may legitimately
harm. Through expulsion from the village community, the witch
suffers social death. Homo sacer is thus somebody towards whom
everybody can act as sovereigns, not just the government. Every­
body might decide the fate of the witch/homo sacer. It is a figure
that might be killed with moral impunity. After banishment, the
imposition of the state of exception with regards to the witch,
authorities and commoners become entangled. Every member of
the community might begin to act as sovereigns towards the witch,
performing violent acts that further constitute the accused witch
as the embodiment of the existential threat of spiritual attacks.
The witch falls victim to community violence. Although, the witch
hunts of today seem to fall perfectly into the homo sacer category
provided and used by Agamben, it is noteworthy to mention that in
Agamben’s analysis, he only laments the doings of the state or a
leader like Hitler as policing the bodies of his people, but in the
witch hunting cases, it is the locals, who can act as the sovereigns
even before the witch is declared to be a witch, in witch hunting,
the locals are the sovereigns who decide on the fate of the hunted,
making her homo sacer. In this light, it can also be argued that
dowry deaths, dowry persecution and some other evils in which a
person is rendered without political life and is ill-treated even by
their own family is rendered as a homo sacer by the family, which
in turn becomes the sovereign. In all these cases, it signals a miser­
able lack of natural justice or human rights prevalent in today’s
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 519
society. It is also to be noted that since most witches since antiquity
have been women, it is a feminist issue as well. Women’s rights
and bodily control has been the topic of many debates, both politi­
cal and academic. From merely fighting for women’s socio-political
rights, the debate has been enlarged to include the control of women
over her body. As shown earlier, one of the causes underlying witch
hunting is the fact that women are seen as a burden, as a con­
tender for family property, strong willed women are seen as a threat
to patriarchal norms, and some have even opined that women whose
skills as mid-wives and having knowledge of herbs were seen as a
threat to men’s domination, with a view to prevent such indepen­
dence among women. The witch theory was used to nip all such
developments. History is replete with torturous treatments meted
out to women in the form of Sati, female genital mutilation, etc.,
all on the basis of some ill-conceived socio-religious-cultural view­
points. Witch hunting, though admittedly not confined to women,
is another such drudgery faced by women. It has been established
earlier in the article that witches are homo sacer, and now it is
seen that witches are mostly women, it is safe to opine that in such
circumstances women are homo sacer (at least more than the men)
in Assam, and wherever else witch hunting or any such practices
prevail where the community or common man becomes the sover­
eign with the power of destroying another’s life by declaring that,
she is a witch and thereby, strip her of her village security, protec­
tion and community life and expose her to life as a non-entity,
who can be killed without accountability.
The practice of witch hunting constitutes an extreme form of
violence against women. The state should adopt appropriate mea­
sures to eliminate the practice of witch hunting, prosecute and
punish those involved and provide for rehabilitation of, and com­
pensation to, victimized women. Creating public awareness of forms
of violence against women rooted in custom as an infringement
of women’s human rights should be taken up by NGOs, and the
state as well. Project Prahari of Assam Police Department is a project
aimed to prevent witch hunts. Organizations like AMSS, AIDWA,
Some Sah Mozdur Santha, ABSU, WinG, All Bodo Women Justice
Forum Assam Network, etc., have been trying to stamp out this
520 Obja Borah Hazarika
evil practice. Though accused women can take help from legal
system, but they are unable to do that because of displacement,
loss of livelihood, lack of community and family support. It is
more like a social, rather than criminal issue. Still, the issue is not
considered as that of human right violation. Proper education, health
facilities, especially in rural/remote areas, will enable the issue
to be tackled properly.27 If the argument about the family or the
village, as the new sovereigns deciding the fate of hapless women
by blaming them as witches is pursued it can be noted that dan­
gerous social collapse is in the offing. It is a manifestation of banal
beliefs and practises, which are being followed by people. Human
life and rights are being rapidly undone by the fact that villages,
quacks, sorcerers and local thugs are amassing power over other
peoples bodies in their own hands and a phenomena of a state of
exception within a state of exception is being created.

NOTES

1. Field research by AMSS Report written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam

Mahila Samata Society (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
2. Ronald Hutton, ‘Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft:
Potential for a New Collaboration?’, Historical Journal, 2004.
3. Rakesh K. Singh, ‘Witch-Hunting: Alive and Kicking’, 16 Women’s Link,
vol. 17, no. 1.
.
4. Ibid.
5. Field research by AMSS Report written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam
Mahila Samata Society (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
6. Ibid.
7. Mary Nelson, ‘Why Witches Were Women’, in Jo Freeman. Palo Alto, ed.,
Women: A Feminist Perspective., CA: Mayfield, 1975, pp. 335-50.
8. Rosemary Radford Ruether, New Woman, New Earth, New York: Seabury
Press, 1975.
9. Keith A. Roberts and David Yamane, Religion in Sociological Perspective,
http://www.sagepub.com/rsp5e/study/resources/82986_11pe_3.pdf
10. Mary Nelson, op. cit., 1975, pp. 335-50.
11. Joya Chakraborty, Anjuman Borah, ‘Witch Hunting in Assam: Strategising
Alternative Media for Women Empowerment and Overcoming Super­
 Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer 521
stition’, Journal of North East India Studies, vol. 3(2), July-December 2013,
pp. 15-24.
12. Ibid.
13. Field research by AMSS Report written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam
Mahila Samata Society, (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
14. Joya Chakraborty and Anjuman Borah, op. cit., 2013, pp. 15-24.
15. Field research by AMSS Report written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam
Mahila Samata Society (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
16. Joya Chakraborty, Anjuman Borah, op. cit., 2013, pp. 15-24.
17. Field research by AMSS written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam Mahila
Samata Society, (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
18. Rakesh Singh, op. cit.
19. Silvia Federici, ‘Witch-Hunting, Globalization, and Feminist Solidarity in
Africa Today’, The Commoner. New York, 2008.
20. Ogembo, Justus M., Contemporary Witch-hunting in Gusii, Southwestern
Kenya, Lewinston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. ‘Outlaws, Barbarians, Slaves Critical Reflections on Agamben’s homo sacer’
Journal of Ethnographic Theory 2(1), pp. 161-80.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Rakesh Singh, op. cit.
27. Field research by AMSS written by Anjuman Ara Begum, Assam Mahila
Samata Society, (Mahila Samakhya) Assam, 2010.
 C H A P T E R 26

Witchcraft Practices in the

Plantations of Upper Assam:
A Case of the Santhals
OLYMPIA KURMI AND
SARAH HILALY

INTRODUCTION

The indigenous societies in India can be categorized on the basis

of their habitat, their belief systems and the level of their encounters
with organized religion. There are very few societies where indi­
genous practices are not mediated by the organized religion. In
the north-east, three of the hill states have Christianity as the core
of the belief system with layers of indigenous traditions subsumed
within it, while one state has an indigenous belief system competing
with Christianity. The indigenous communities of western and
central India have been incorporated within the fold of Hinduism.
While some of their deities have been subsumed within the Hindu
pantheon, a substantial layer of indigenous beliefs remain at its
core. This dimension is apparent in the religious practices of the
santhals and important indigenous communities of those who inhabit
the colonial regions of Chota Nagpur, particularly the space of the
Santhal Parganas. The Santhals are one of the groups of Austro-Asiatics
inhabiting the central and eastern part of India in the State of Jhar­
khand. Other cognate tribes belonging to this group are the Mundas,
Hos, Kharias, Savaras (inhabit Orissa and Andhra Pradesh) and
also the hunter-gatherers Birhors. Their origin and migration stories
allude to their journey from Yunnan through the north-east of
524 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
India to their present location. The entire group were united as
Kherwars, before they separated into individual tribes.1 In terms of
livelihood, the Birhors were hunter gatherers, while the other Austro-
Asiatic tribes were all agriculturists incorporating a supplementary
activity of gathering wild food. As regards specific forms of agri­
cultural evolution, the Mundas farm terraced fields, carrying out
wet-rice cultivation, while the Santhals practised the slash and
burn or swidden agriculture of neolithic lineage. They are well-
known for their expertise in clearing forest and turning it into
arable land.2
The Santhals have been incorporated into the dominant Hindu
society and the norms of social stratification. Their production
system has also shifted away from community ownership of land
and forest, yet some vestiges of it still remain. Their belief system
rests on the belief that all diseases to both men and animals are
attributed to either the wrath of evil spirits to be appeased or the
spell of some witch or sorcerer, who should be destroyed or driven
out of the land. They have a different set of rituals for the village
collectively and for the family. In this space, only men can relate to
the family spirits through prayer and partake of the sacrificed animal.
Women are completely excluded from participating both in family
and village rituals. They are not permitted access to the family spirits,
nor are woman permitted to enter the inner shrine. They can neither
sacrifice nor witness the process. The family spirits (abge bonga
and orak bonga) of the clan and the family are passed on from
father to son. The ritual specialists too are men.3 Such a marginal
position of woman is contingent to their not being ritually assigned
full membership of the clan. Entry into the sacred groves are
prohibited as also in the main dance of the agricultural festival.4
Within the Santhali cosmology, centrality is accorded to their
belief in dayans/dans/churails (witches) or bongas (spirits) ‘There is
no genuine Santal’, wrote Bodding, ‘who does not believe in witches’
(1986: 38).5 This is posited within the belief that human beings
can be intimate with and control evil spirits. Both men and woman
can within this system bring harm and even kill their kin, as well
as their fellow villagers. As women are ritually inferior in the society,
any visible sign of them being in close contact with the bongas
 Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam 525
would be treated as a witch and persecuted. Ritual specialists be­
longing to certain Hindu castes would generally play the role of an
exorciser, which is a pointer to the hybrid cultural evolution, which
renders women marginalized and the sole gender identified as
keeper of evil. It is to be noted at this point of the discourse that
neither the Santhal, nor the Bhil have words for ‘witch’ in their
own languages.6
The Santhal myth of the origin of witchcraft ascribes it to the
struggle between the genders, and in Santhal society as a whole.
According to a version in circulation, is that the women came to
know that the men had approached Maran Buru to teach them
something. The women got the men drunk, dressed up in their
attire and tricked Maran Buru into teaching them. Maran Buru
then taught them the incantations and gave them the power of
eating men. The next day when the men came, Maran Buru real­
ized that he had been tricked by the women. He then made the
men ‘expert in the art of witch-finding’.7 So this myth introduces
the idea of trickery, which gives the woman power that draws one
into the idea of illegimate knowledge which they actually have no
access to. The entitlement of men to such knowledge renders their
authority supreme. Hunting witches, therefore, is a process of re­
establishing social order with men at the centre of it. Women are
denied access to priesthood, as it is presumed that they would turn
to witches and misuse power.8 The threat of being declared a witch
and persecuted is thought to be a deterrent to non-conformist or
deviance from established norms. It is during occasions of social
crises in terms of epidemics or social tensions, due to conflicts that
woman in the villages are targeted, persecuted inhumanly and even
killed. Particularly, the life interest of widows in their husbands
land is one of the key causes of persecution. This is because many
Santhal woman can gather and sell forest produce and have exclu­
sive rights over their income. This narrative has provided a back­
ground of the Santhal social milleu in their native habitat and
their cultural evolution.
This article deals with the Santhals who have been uprooted from
their traditional habitat, displaced and traumatized under condi­
tions of colonial rule. The universe of study would be the Santhals
526 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
who live within and outside the plantations of Assam, where they
were brought in as indentured labour along with other groups
from eastern and central India. In addition, it was the Santhal ex­
periment of 1880, which encouraged their movement into the
forest villages of Goalpara for extraction of timber. Living in a
milieu uprooted from their habitat, they continue to follow many
aspects of their traditional culture.

THE HABITAT AND PEOPLE

The State of Assam lies between 22° 19' north to 28° 16' north
latitudes and 89° 42' east and 97° 12' east longitudes. Falling un­
der three natural divisions, it comprises of the two river valleys of
the Brahmaputra and the Barak. The intervening range of the North
Cachar and Karbi Hills separate the two valleys. On its north it
is girdled by the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, home to
a multitude of tribes. On its east lies, Nagaland, Manipur with
Mizoram and Tripura to its south. Its demography is characterized
by tribes living, both in the hills and plains and castes speaking
both in Bengali and Assamese languages.
In the medieval period, the states of the Ahoms and Dimasas
existed as distinct spaces within the geography of Assam. The cur­
rent territoriality of Assam is the result of colonial intervention.
With the advent of the British in 1826, in the aftermath of the First
Anglo-Burmese War, the state under the Ahoms passed to British
occupation. After a lapse of two years in 1828, the administrative
division of Lower Assam (Kamrup Darrang and Goalpara districts)
was annexed to the colonial state. Upper Assam (Sibsagar and Lakhim­
pur districts) was restored to the Ahom ruler Purander Singha. In
1838, Upper Assam was resumed and annexed to British territory
on grounds of mis-governance. The latent cause was, however, the
fateful discovery of tea and its successful manufacture in 1837.
Consequent to the manufacture of tea in 1836, the Government
of Bengal approved the scheme and gave Assam, the first set of
wasteland rules. The wasteland rules were revised in 1854. These
rules permitted only Europeans to avail such concessions instituted
Assam’s plantation regime. This industry was labour intensive and
 Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam 527
hence there had to be a constant supply of labour. The myth of the
Chinese as the ‘ideal tea-grower’, led the British to induce their
migration into the plantations till 1843. Then, the tea plantations
came to be served by local inhabitants mainly Kacharis and Nagas.
Resistance from these populations to intensive work and the ex­
pansion of the plantation industry resulted in a demand for labour.
From 1859 onwards, labourers from central and eastern Indian
highlands and forests were imported for the tea plantations in large
numbers. These indentured labour were brought in and regulated
through the labour acts. The first Labour Act was passed in 1863,
seeking to regulate the transport of labourers emigrating to Assam
Valley, as well as their recruitment through arkattis (licensed re­
cruiters). An Amendment Act of 1870 in the form of the sardari
system of recruitment was also recognized. According to the Ben­
gal Administrative Report for 1867-8, 22,800 were imported
laboures and only 11,633 were local labourers. By 1880s, immi­
gration of plantation labourers took place on an extensive scale.
The designation ‘Upper Assam’ was an administrative division
in colonial Assam comprising of the undivided Lakhimpur and
Sibsagar districts in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra Valley.
The other divisions are: Lower Assam, North Assam and Hills and
Barak Valley. The division is under the jurisdiction of a Commis­
sioner, stationed at Jorhat. In the aftermath of India’s Indepen­
dence, districts falling under Upper Assam are Dhemaji, Dibrugarh,
Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar and Tinsukia. An extended
list of the region also includes the districts of Sonitpur, Karbi
Anglong & Nagaon. The Upper Assam region is the most produc­
tive region in the state, which is rich in natural resources like coal,
oil and natural gas as well as tea plantations.
The tea labour communities, constitute the oldest amongst Assam’s
immigrant groups. They were recruited by the British tea planters
from present-day Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, between 1861 until the
early twentieth century, to work as indentured labourers in tea
plantations in Assam, spread over the districts of western Assam,
Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Darrang in middle Assam, Gola­
ghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukhia in eastern or upper
528 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
Assam, North Cachar and Karbi Anglong districts in southern
Assam and the Barak Valley. Belonging to the indigenous groups
such as Santhals, Mundas, Oraons, Kharias, Gonds, Khonds,
Kisang and Nagesias, they settled down in Assam at the end of the
contract period. During the colonial period, some left the tea
plantations to settle in the surrounding agricultural lands before
the expiry of the contract. The latter came to be known as time-
expired or ex-tea coolies’ who lived in villages neighbouring the tea
estate, providing casual labour depending on seasonal demand.
The present-day population of the tea labour community in the
state is estimated to be 20 per cent of the population of the state,
which according to a conservative estimate comes to six million.
Despite their numerical strength and long history in Assam stretch­
ing more than a century, they remain ‘outsiders’ without the tribal
status, as has been accorded to them in their place of origin, and
are deprived of benefits availed by the other backward castes. Among
the plantation workers, Santhals would constitute about three lakh
out of the total tea tribes.

PRACTICE OF WITCHCRAFT AMONG SANTHALS

The belief system of the Santhals in their new space of habitation

since the nineteenth century follows the same trajectory as amongst
their kin in the Chota Nagpur region. The Santhals are one of the
aboriginal tribes of India and were brought by the British in the
latter half of the nineteenth century along with other tribes to the
tea plantations of Assam to work as indentured labourers. They
have retained their unique identity, traditional practices, rites and
rituals in Assam. They practise their own religion and system of
worship known as sarna. It is a form of nature worship wherein the
Supreme deity is Marang Buru (God of Mountains) and Thakurjibi,
who is believed to be the creator of the universe. The creator, how­
ever, does not feature in the numerous festivals, rites and rituals of
the Santhals except his name being invoked on certain occasions.
Uprooted from the original homeland, the Santhals in Assam, have
over the course of time, become more Hinduized than their Jhar­
khandi and Oriya counterparts. They have adopted numerous Hindu
 Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam 529
practices while striving to maintain their own. A substantial section
of the population have also adopted Christianity in certain parts of
the state.
The key role in the religious rituals is played by their priests.
The priest who is highly revered and performs the life cycle rituals
is the naikekhili, who comes from the Murmu/Hembrom clan of
the Santhals. He is the main priest and performs the rituals at his
own private place of worship. In his absence, the puja can be per­
formed by naike (also priest), who can substitute the main priest
only if the naikekhili is not available. However, to be chosen as a
naike, it is believed that he should be possessed by the gosain
(Marang Buru). To ascertain, whether he is really possessed by the
deity or not, he has to undergo certain tests. He is generally beaten
with a charchari (a form of whip made from thatch), and if he is
possessed by the deity, the whip either breaks or bends. This system
of selection of naikes is dying out and generally people are
selected as naikes, if they belong to the appropriate clan and are
knowledgeable in these matters of the spirit. Within the tradi­
tional belief system there is no scope of worship of idols. In festi­
vals such as Baha that signify the onset of spring. The naikekhili
has to perform the puja under a grove of sal trees with the presence
of the majhi (village head), jog majhi (majhi’s assistant), and godet
(helper). Only after the naikekhili performs this puja in the com­
mon place of worship, others in the village are allowed to perform
the same at their homes. In this puja, the Marang Buru is invoked
with an offering of wine and a sacrifice of either a white cock or
white goat is made. In Upper Assam, steps were taken to abolish
animal sacrifices and currently fruits and flowers are offered to the
deity instead. The naikekhilis and naikes do not participate in magi­
cal practices. Their services are required at the time of festivals, and
other life cycle rituals.
Like their counterparts in Jharkhand, the Santhals, among the
tea tribes of Assam have a rich history of magical practices. Their
belief in the magical world remains strong even today and irregu­
larities in health, wealth and prosperity are believed to be the handi­
work of someone, who has intentionally harmed them through the
use of black magic. A clear distinction is made between white magic
530 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
and black magic. While white magic is done to remove the ill-
effects of black magic, to perform exorcism, to cure the sick, to
resolve problems in domestic life or work, black magic is done to
harm someone with the intent to cause illness, loss of property
and also to kill. However, it is interesting to note that the person
who is knowledgeable in white magic might also be skilled in black
magic. Among the Santhals, the medicine man or the practitioner
of witchcraft is called ojha, who is conversant with both the arts.
The knowledge of magic or witchcraft is attained through rigorous
training and practice and passed on by an ojha to a person of his
choice. This choice is made by carefully selecting a disciple, who is
seen to be worthy of receiving such secret and powerful knowl­
edge. Knowledge might not be passed on even to kin, if that per­
son is deemed to be unworthy or seen as incapable of mastering
the art. It is also worthwhile to mention that this knowledge is
highly protected, not disclosed even to family members and passed
on by the ojha only when he is old or infirm.
Magical powers are also attained by certain people who can be
termed as witches or magical practitioners. There are also instances
of couples being witches and practising such magical rituals. They
would go into the most secluded part of forests to participate in
the highly secret rites and rituals that give them their power. Such
power can be attained by offering sacrifices and invoking the main
deities or spirits like Rangkeni, Baghut, Churkin (malevolent spirit/
witch), etc. While each of these deities is not necessarily evil, the
power attained through deviantly manipulating them can be used
for harming others. Some of the Santhals have gone on to compare
Marang Buru with the Hindu God Shiva and Rangkeni with the
Hindu Goddess Kali and much like a Tantric gains his power, the
ojha or witch can gain power. While spirits and deities are benevo­
lent and their blessing is sought for the happiness, prosperity and
health by the Santhals, they can be invoked to attain special powers
which can be used either for good or evil. Santhals have numerous
deities and spirits whose powers can be used alternatively for good
and evil. Spirits are called bongas. Apge bonga is a house spirit and
protects the house of a Santhal. Certain rituals are performed
to appease the house spirit for protection and peace at home.
 Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam 531
Another spirit called baghut (tiger spirit) is a very violent one and its
power can be used to harm someone. The most important deity,
however, in the Santhal magical world is Rangkeni (compared to
Goddess Kali), whose power is the strongest among all spirits and
deities. Black magic practitioners generally invoke this Goddess to
obtain power, to curse or harm someone. It is believed that the
harm done through this magic is most effective and mostly irre­
versible. This Goddess is easily appeased and the power granted by
the Goddess is very potent. Another lesser spirit which grants power
is Churkin, which literally translates into a witch. Churkins are less
powerful compared to other spirits/deities. Marang Buru, the su­
preme deity of the Santhals is a benevolent god and does not bestow
evil powers. However, his powers/blessings can be used by an ojha
to alleviate the sufferings of an individual affected by black magic.
Lay people cannot perform secret magical rites, since it requires
greater practice, skill and expertise in magic. However, if a common
person is selected by a guru, that person can learn it. A person is
selected by the existing practitioner, who has to pass on the knowl­
edge before he/she dies. Otherwise, his whole family will be cursed
and eliminated by the deity/spirit from which he draws his powers.
The selected one can be any random person, who might be a son
or daughter or relatives or any random person having the requisite
qualities.
These magical practices of the Santhal tribe are quite ancient and
have been preserved even now. However, it is interesting to note
that the Santhals in Kokrajhar and surrounding areas have been
more stringent in retaining their age-old customs, rituals and be­
liefs than their counterparts located in upper Assam. The Santhals
of Upper Assam have either become more Hinduized or Christian­
ized and have also become more intermingled with other tribes and
castes in the area. As such, theirs is a more relaxed outlook and
in fact, the younger generations do not follow the Sarna religion
rigidly, only elements of it in life-cycle rituals and do not blindly
believe the magical and healing abilities of ojhas, witches and sha­
man, etc. Ojhas are respected members of the society and their
help is required in alleviating the ill effects of black magic, ill health,
etc. However, it is worthwhile to mention that these ojhas can
532 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
dabble in black magic themselves and their services are sought to
harm someone as well. A Santhal can seek help from ojhas belong­
ing to other tribes too.
Whenever some harm befalls an individual or his family, it is
generally believed that it is the handiwork of a black magic practi­
tioner/witch. Even some educated Santhals persist in believing the
powers of black magic. Though the belief in black magic is quite
common, people do not have a clear understanding of who has
actually done it. Conjectures are made regarding the identity of
the black magic practitioner and people blame anyone who seems
suspicious. However, the ojha is a well-known figure in the com­
munity as he provides his healing and has problem solving abili­
ties to help others. In certain cases, he helps to identify who is a
witch or black magic practitioner by citing some of their specific
traits or characteristics.
There are no specific characteristics or symptoms by which the
practitioners of witchcraft can be identified. People generally as­
sume that a person may be a practitioner because of his or her
looks such as being ugly, hunchbacked, emanating foul smell, etc.,
or someone who has threatened them in some way or someone
who stays in isolation and is anti-social in behaviour. The physical
characteristics of a person who practises witchcraft varies accord­
ing to people’s perception. A person with a violent temper and
prone to threatening people, or one who is easily offended and
does not engage in social interactions is suspected of participating
in these practices. The Santhals believe that the practitioners might
be envious of their health, wealth, beauty, etc., and have targeted
them out of spite and jealousy. They may even blame members of
their family for the cause of their misery. Identification can also be
made with the help of an ojha, who would give certain specific
details about the perpetrator. It is generally clues regarding their
appearance, their traits or the location where the witch/practitio­
ner lives. Priests cannot help to identify those who practice such
craft.
It is seen that the belief in black magic and the harm caused by
it is more at an individual level than village level in the Santhal
populated areas in Upper Assam. Harm can range from ill-health,
 Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam 533
loss of property, hindrances in someone’s career, obstacles in some­
one’s marriage, death, etc. At village level, harm can be in the form
of an epidemic like cholera, diarrhoea, blood dysentery, etc. Women
are generally deemed to be associated with the practice, though
both genders engage in these practices. It is a mere supposition
that the power comes more easily to women than man. But, men
are more powerful if they attain magical power. Hence, male prac­
titioners are more feared.
There are ways to protect oneself from the harms of black magic.
Devotion and regular worship of the supreme deity helps in ward­
ing off such evil attacks. If that doesn’t help, the services of ojhas
are sought whose mastery over such art helps in dispelling their ill
effects. People are sometimes falsely accused of practising witch­
craft. Such accusations are based on conjectures and speculations.
The reasons for such false accusations can be a continuing dispute,
grudge or petty jealousy. Women are generally accused of practis­
ing black magic, but persecution resulting in death is very rare in
Upper Assam. Persecution or punishment of people or witch hunt
is not common amongst Santhals in Upper Assam. This might be
attributed to the fact that proper identification of the offending
party is very hard. If someone is suspected of engaging in these arts
and causing harm, the help of ojhas is sought to punish the cul­
prit.
Persecution/witch hunt is very rare, though there have been few
incidents, which generally went unreported. However, if such a
hunt is organized, the victims generally tend to be women, who
are either widows or those deemed to be fallen women. The most
extreme form of punishment—which is also very rare—would be
beating up the offending party by the members of the family of
the aggrieved party or a group or a village mob. Other forms of
recriminations include counter retaliatory measures through the
ojha. In the rarest of cases where persecution results in death or
driving the accused person away from the village, it might be re­
lated to custody of land or other property.
Witchcraft is a dying tradition amongst the Santhals of Upper
Assam. Growing education and awareness amongst them has con­
tributed immensely towards eradicating these practices. Also, it is
534 Olympia Kurmi and Sarah Hilaly
seen that certain elements of these arts have been lost as they have
been passed from one generation to the other and the newer
generations are not as strict as their elders in observing the many
rules and strictures required of them while practising these arts.
The art requires constant and rigorous practice which might take a
toll on the health of the practitioner. Though these practices are
dying out, some elements of it still survive amongst them. If all
medical help to an ailing person doesn’t cure his affliction or ill
health, the help of ojhas is sought still. No notable effort has
been made by anyone to raise an awareness against these issues
like Birubala Rabha among the Rabhas, where witch hunt is very
rampant. The church, growing awareness and modern education
are some facilitator of change amongst the people. Certain tribal
organizations are also instrumental in bringing awareness to the
people.

NOTES

1. Dev Nathan, Govind Kelkar and Yu Xiaogang, ‘Women as Witches and

Keepers of Demons: Cross-Cultural Analysis of Struggles to Change Gender
Relations’, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 33, no. 44, 31 October­
6 November 1998), p. WS59.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Shashank Sinha, ‘Witch-Hunts, Adivasis, and the Uprising in Chhotanag­
pur’, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 42, no. 19, 1-18 May 2007,
p. 1673.
5. Ibid.
6. Samar Bosu Mullick, ‘Gender Relations and Witches among the Indigenous
Communities of Jharkhand’, Gender Technology and Development, 2000,
4, p. 346.
7. Dev Nathan, Govind Kelkar and Yu Xiaogang, op. cit.
8. Ibid.
 C H A P T E R 27

Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi )

among the Mizos
R O H M I N G M AW I I

This article attempts to highlight the traditional knowledge about

magic and witchcraft among the Mizosas told in folk narratives as
well as those practiced earlier in the ‘pre-Christian’ era. One says
‘pre-Christian’ specifically because, as elsewhere, the scenario changed
after the people embraced Christianity. Christianity was introduced
to Mizoram (then known as ‘Lushai Hills’) with the arrival of the
pioneer missionaries in 1894, and the colonial rule was officially
established in 1890. As people began to embrace Christianity, the
practice of magic and witchcraft was found incompatible with the
Christian belief that facilitated its gradual disappearance. At the
beginning of their rule, the colonial officials had to deal with cases
related to the practice of magic and witchcraft but the growth of
Christianity in Mizoram has a concurrent effect on the disappear­
ance of this ‘evil’ practice which was considered to belong to their
‘dark’ past.
In theoretical discussion, magic and religion are often grouped
together as there are some common qualities between them.1 Evans-
Pritchard found that ‘magic is an integral part of religion and cul­
ture’, and used to explain the unexplainable phenomenon, and
thus relevant in preparing a meaningful world for the Azande.2 Sir
James Frazer in his book, The Golden Bough (1890) proposed an
evolutionary scheme of magic, religion, and science where ‘magic
preceded religion because, according to Frazer, the former was logi­
cally more simple’ and so on. This was followed by Sigmund
536 Rohmingmawii
Freud.3 But the post-modern scholarship challenged the western
evolutionary conception of magic, religion, and science, thereby
paving way for more sensitive treatment of magic.4

DAWITHIAM AND THE PRACTICE OF DAWI

Among the Mizos in the earlier period, the people who were able
to channelize or connect with the external (supernatural) power
were known as dawithiam (magicians/wizards/witches) and zawlnei
(diviners/prophets/dreamers). The folktales and folk narrative con­
tain accounts of magic/witchcraft/sorcery (dawi) and dawithiam
but there are limited and scanty written references about it. It is
difficult to differentiate between magic and witchcraft in these
narratives because the Mizos used only a single term ‘dawi ’ and
‘dawithiam’ for the practice and practitioner of this art respectively.
Thus, in the case of the Mizos, it is not possible to strictly follow
the pattern of studies conducted in other communities.
The Mizos believed that certain tribes were more experts in the art
of dawi. Some sub-tribes, like Hmar and Vaiphei were considered
to be expert magicians. The famous legendary wizards, Lalruanga,
Hrangsaipuia, and Zangkaki all belonged to Hmar tribe. It was
believed that these Hmar tribes had inherited the chants and art
of magic and were experts at dawi. Vaiphei and other clans in
Manipur were also considered to be good magicians and practic­
ing magic widely.5 It is difficult to establish historical relevance as
to why certain clans were connected with the art of magic. They
also believed that the neighbouring people (vai) were good at the
art of magic.6
There are different narratives about the source of dawi (magic/
witchcraft). According to legend, the famous legendary wizard,
Lalruanga was said to have acquired the art of magic from the
heavenly being, Vanhrika whom he captured for tampering with
his catch in his traps. To save himself, Vanhrika taught Lalruanga
the art of dawi. Lalruanga was depicted as a special person who
was able to foretell the weather even when he was inside the womb.
And as the legend goes, that magic was passed on to the plain
people (known as vai ) when Lalruanga’s magic box was carried
away to the plains by the river to the hands of the vais who learned
 Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos 537
magic from it.7 In other oral traditions, the art of magic was said to
have been passed on from one dawithiam to another and it is said
that the apprentice should be a person of high quality, which was
in some cases tested through the counting of grains of rice. Another
qualification is that the apprentice should be a trusted person whom
the magician trusted not to use the magic against him.8 Among the
Mizos, the practice of dawi was mostly associated with men though
diviners were mainly women. Even the folk tales about dawithiam
are dominated by names of men—like Lalruanga, Hrangsaipuia,
Huatungamtawna, etc., although there was a reference of a woman
dawithiam named Zangkaki.9
In Mizo practice, dawi was performed in two ways—one is only
through words (chanting), and the other is by giving something
to eat. Those who could bewitch only through chanting were con­
sidered to be expert magicians. The Superintendent of the Lushai
Hills, A.G. McCall noted,
The Lushais [Mizos] themselves do not seem to have been addicted to sorcery
on a wide scale as a sort of black magic cult. They were rather victimised by
members of other clans within their midst who might at times make a bold
bid for power by this means. One method by which such sorcerers might
cause death was to create the image of the victim and by weird incantations
sing a song of sorcery in the hope of causing death by the sorcerer touching
that part of the image he wished as the seat of pain. But such an elaborate
procedure was not the only one adopted by sorcerers.10
Generally, a person’s effigy was made by beeswax and as the
wizard would chant over it, the figure would fall to the ground
and the targeted person would die, instantly or later. A lock of hair
or comb was also connected with dawi. If they had a dream of
swallowing a comb or lock of hair, or even a hairy animal skin, it
would surely mean that somebody had cast a spell on them. It was
also believed that putting a small piece of kelhnamtur between the
nails and dropping it secretly in someone’s food was casting a spell
and they would suffer from some chronic or wasting disease.11 It
was believed that when a person was bewitched, a bone, a tiger’s
fang, a lock of hair, or a feather/fur were deposited inside his stom­
ach and that object grew and caused chronic stomach ache which
would not be cured and eventually, he/she would die.
The practice of witchcraft or dawi was very real to the Mizos,
538 Rohmingmawii
and they were scared of those who were believed to have a destruc­
tive magical power. To protect themselves from a magical spell, the
men in the drinking bout normally sipped a small amount and
spat it out, and also left a small amount in the cup. When a house­
fly dived in their cup of rice beer, they took it as a sign that they
were impenetrable to any magical spell.12 Strangers with unkempt
hair or displeasing appearance were generally considered to be
dawithiam and were objects of fear. Such guests were often well-
treated by their hosts out of fear. There were instances where such
strangers were killed as they were suspected of being dawithiam.13
The people tried to get rid of those they suspected of dawithiam from
their community. This may be partly because the counter-magic
was very expensive, and not many people were able to perform.
It was believed that eating the liver of a dawithiam was a cure for
a magical spell, and it would also protect them from any such
attacks in the future. Therefore, when dawithiam were killed, their
liver was extracted and shared in small pieces among the people to
protect themselves from any magical spell.14 The Nagas, on the
other hand, believed that the witches ate the internal organs like
the liver, heart, lungs, etc. of their victims.15 When some Mizo
chiefs were compelled to accompany the Superintendent to Manipur,
they were very scared of dawi from the Hmars and many of their
followers returned home. The few men who dared to complete the
tour were rewarded with exemption from forced labour (coolie)
for a lifetime. To protect themselves from dawi, they collected the
soil at the entrance of the village, made a small ball out of it, and
swallowed it without water.16

COUNTER-MAGIC (DAWI SUT )

It was believed that the only way of recovery from dawi was through
counter-magic (dawisut).17 One way to counter the magic is to eat
the liver of the person who bewitches them. Another way is through
performing a counter-magic procedure called khangpuizam or
mubuvial.18 Counter-magicians were found mainly among the priests
(particularly Sadawt)19 but not all the Sadawt had this power.
Khupvunga Hmar, chief Vuta’sSadawt was a famous witch-doctor
 Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos 539
who had the reputation of healing the sick and undoing dawi. It
was the duty of the Sadawt to detect the cause of illness and pre­
scribe the course of treatment, mostly in the form of sacrifices of
fowls and other domesticated animals. Sickness was largely attri­
buted to the evil spirits, and these sacrifices were meant to appease
the spirits that caused it. Sickness as a result of dawi was also within
the range of the Sadawt function though not all Sadawt were
capable of attending the case.
The counter-magicians were few, as they needed to have a stronger
power compared to the dawithiam who bewitched the person. It is
said that if the person did not have a stronger power, there was a
chance that he himself would be counterattacked and even die.
For this reason, many magicians tried to avoid the request to counter
the magic by demanding a high price for their service, or if the
victim was still able to manage the cost, they would stealthily run
away.20 Thus, unless and until they knew the strength of the spell,
counter-magicians did not like to perform counter-magic.21
The technique of counter-magic was a treasured art and was not
simply passed on to others. It was a complicated procedure that
required many items and the chanting was also lengthy which was
done with careful preparation. The procedure and the items used
by counter-magicians were diverse among the performers. One
author opines that counter-magic is the most complex form of
inthawi (generally translated as a sacrifice)22 while another author
opines that in the process of counter-magic, good or evil spirits
were not involved but it was purely between the dawithiam and
the counter-magician, and the performance should also be seen as
a fight between two powers, different from other religious ritu­
als.23 Though the procedure might not be part of the religious
functions of the priests, they were often the persons who were
sought after to help the people out of the magical spell.
When counter-magic was performed, they raised poles (uingul )
around the house of the sick person, and a thick woody creeper
(kawihrui) connected these poles. The poles were also covered by
this plant, a reed was also planted against each pole, they also
collected some weeds (hlo-rual ), like sakeingho, khum, lemthilte,
sialinuchhu and various kinds of ai (the name of a root, supposed
540 Rohmingmawii
to have magic properties, used by sorcerers; the name of a small
plant) like ailaidum, aithin, dizung, etc. They also made clay fig­
ures of the dawithiam, the counter-magician, and another figure
to be placed outside. The priest (counter-magician) should wear a
brand-new cloth, a turban, and put on the wings of an eagle and
an owl.24 It was believed that if the wizard attacked the counter-
magician, he would fly above him like the eagle, and he was brave
like the owl.25 The priest and his team then carried a chicken, a
pig, a goat, and a dog and followed the beam of the house. The
priest threw away the chicken at the back of the house, the pig on
one side, the goat on the other side, and the dog in front of the
house. He then killed the dog and the other animals, put away the
serh, and cooked the rest of the meat. The sick man was made to
drink the blood of the dog while it was warm with a spoon; he had
to break the spoon after finishing it. The person was then made to
sleep facing the front door, and the woody creepy plant was tied to
his toe which was tied again to the pole outside. The priest then
gathered his collection of weeds, took a sip of rice beer, and spat at
the person while fanning him with the weeds. He cut the roots
(ai ) on the forehead of the person, dipped them in the water, and
made him drink it. After that, he went outside and danced with
the pole on his shoulder without holding it. The dog’s bladder and
the figure of the wizard were placed at the pit, he broke the bladder
and broke the clay figure, and put the pole over it. He would then
place his own figure at the side of the pole. After that, they would
start the feast. But the priest should not eat anything, he should
go home with one of his followers after the feast was over, kill a
chicken at the doorpost, place the blood on the doorpost, and
entered the house with his follower, and the procedure was over.26
It was a complex procedure that lasted the whole day. It is said
that when such counter-magic was performed, a mist would be
seen to cover the house and its surroundings.
There were only very few people who could perform counter-
magic and therefore, unlike the normal religious performance where
only the clan’s priest performed for their specific clan, in the case
of counter-magic, they shared the priest who knew the art.27
 Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos 541
DAWITHIAMRAWT (MASS KILLING OF DAWITHIAM )
The chiefs often ordered the death penalty to those who were sus­
pected to be dawithiam.28 The victims were from the weaker section,
like old men, old women, and young boys. This was probably a
common practice among other tribal groups as well. Pritchard also
observed that among the Azande, those citizens who ‘make them­
selves a nuisance to their neighbours and those who are weak are
most likely to be accused of witchcraft’ and the richer and more
powerful members of the society were hardly accused.29 However,
the accused among the Mizos were not necessarily the bad citizens.
It seems that in some cases, jealousy was also the reason for accusing
someone of dawithiam. The charge of dawithiam was hardly brought
for a fair trial for they were eliminated at the earliest chance. Thus,
the accusation of dawithiam was sometimes a chance to revenge
on their rivals, which was as bad, or even worse, as the dawi
itself.
A Vaiphei by tribe, Lunhmingthanga was a strong and brave
man in the village of Chawngthleng. He was accused of being a
dawithiam. He was tricked and killed by the order of the chief. His
tribe, the Vaipheis then became the target of villagers as they were
suspected of acquiring the art of dawi. They ran away from the
village but they were pursued and killed. One of the groups pleaded
for their life and gave themselves to be their slaves, claiming they
did not know the art of magic, but the villagers replied that they
did not dare to keep dawithiam as slaves. They were all killed and
their raw liver was eaten by the chasers. (Mrs. Hualrochhingi and
Mrs. Lalkeuvi of Chhipphir, eyewitnesses, gave an account of this
event.) This happened around 1885.30
The incident of mass killing of dawithiam (known as dawithia­
mrawt) happened not only at Chawngthleng (Dokhuma was the
chief ) but we know from oral tradition that it also happened at
Hmuizawl (Kalkhama’s village), Lungleng (Dokapa’s village),
Thingsai (Lallianhleia’s village), Khuangthing and Muallianpui.31
The clans, particularly of the Hmars and Vaipheis, who were a
minority in the village, were targeted and killed.32
In the early part of the colonial rule, the chiefs of the villages of
542 Rohmingmawii
Thingsai, Khuangthing, and Muallianpui decided to kill those
who were suspected to be dawithiam, most of which were from the
Pakhup of Fanai clan. The chiefs of these villages acted together on
an appointed night to kill the suspect dawithiam. Among those
who were killed were an old man, an old woman, and a few young
men. At midnight, the villagers broke into their houses, killed
them, and extracted their liver, obviously for consumption as pro­
tection from dawi.33 The slaying was followed by a celebration with
rice beer at the village square and the executioners were adorned
with chhawn, a piece of ornament entitled only to the brave men
who killed enemies in defense of the village. There were some ac­
cused dawithiam who escaped the massacre. The incident reached
the knowledge of the government. The four ringleaders, Dokapa,
chief of Lungleng, Lallianhleia of Thingsai, Thanghleia, and
Mehbawka and his brother were imprisoned. Four of them died in
prison; Lallianhleia was released in 1906 after five years in prison.
After this incident, Lungleng village disintegrated, and villagers
from Muallianpui also migrated to Lungphun village.34
Superintendent A.G. McCall recorded the case of Keitawna, a
Rangte clan from Manipur. He had a reputation of being a dawithiam.
Thangvuka, a brave young man of chief Liankhama saw Keitawna
in his dream, and on that very night, ‘his house was filled with
smoke and mist of an unprecedented kind’ that disturbed Thangvuka
who strongly believed that he was bewitched by Keitawna. It was
said that Keitawna’s method of practicing sorcery was to call upon
his victim at a drinking bout, insert a tiny portion of poison be­
tween his nail, and hand over the rice-beer mug to his victim,
and the victim became an easy prey in his hand. So, Thangvuka
killed Keitawna and ate a little of his liver ‘to neutralise the effect
of any evil words which Keitawna may have uttered against
Thangvuka’s welfare.’ The Rangte clan were very offended and
decided to return to Manipur and continued to be hostile against
Liankhama’s village.35
After the colonial rule, the first Superintendent Col. J. Shakespear
did not allow murder for the case of suspicion of dawithiamand
gave the suspect a chance to seek shelter in a distant village and
thus reduced the cases of such murder.36
 Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos 543
CONCLUSION

Among the Mizos, dawi or black magic was mostly associated with
sickness or health-related aspects and even with death. Chronic
diseases, especially stomach ache, was considered to be the mani­
festation of a person bewitched by someone, the reason could be
serious hostility or enmity. The counter-magic was associated
with blood while magic was associated with sickness and death.
General misfortunes were not necessarily connected with black-
magic, rather, it was believed to be in the hands of God. If a person
meets good fortune, they used to say, ‘His god is good.’ If they
faced misfortunes, they consulted a diviner who would prescribe a
treatment. 37
Society, in general, feared black magic and magicians, and if
anybody was found to be a dawithiam or suspected to be so, they
were put to death and their liver was eaten to protect themselves
from the magical spell. Some clans were believed to be experts in
the art of magic; the persons who knew the art of dawi were gener­
ally considered of high intelligence. Sadawt (priests) were consid­
ered to be well-versed in countering magic though there were not
many who practiced it.
While some earlier scholars under the influence of the writing
of Christian missionaries tend to group all magical practices as
related to the indigenous religion, the relationship between reli­
gious practices and dawi is still a subject of debate. A scholar like
James Dokhuma identifies counter-magic performance as part of
a religious sacrifice but Rev. Zairema maintains that the rituals
performed for magical acts or counter-magic are different from
religious rituals though it is translated as inthawi (sacrifice) in all
the earlier writings.
One of the most important functions of Sadawt was to treat
illness, and dawi was also considered one of the causes of illness
which was treated by some Sadawt by performing counter-magic.
The scientific knowledge of health and its related issues after the
colonial rule and the belief in Christianity gradually changed the
outlook of Mizo community, and the treatment of sickness was
also replaced by modern medicine. As a small tablet could eradi­
544 Rohmingmawii
cate sickness, the Mizos believed that there must be some magic
spell in it, hence the name damdawi (dam means healing/healed,
dawi means magic). They believed in the magical power of damdawi
so much that they expected to get healed instantly, or by simply
keeping the tablet in their pocket or under their pillow.38 McCall
believes that ‘the very personality of the British government meant
in itself an end to all sorcery’ and that the Superintendent only
intervened to relieve the anxiety of the people.39 The practice of
dawi in the form of black magic was pushed to the back and disap­
peared from the popular Mizo culture over a long time.

NOTES

1. J.W.G.W. (1939). ‘Reviewed Work: Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the
Azande by E.E. Evans-Pritchard, C.G. Seligman’ in Sudan Notes and Records,
22(2), pp. 285-291. Retrieved 9 August 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/
stable/41716340.
2. https://www.britannica.com/topic/magic-supernatural-phenomenon/
Sociological-theories. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. C. Lianthanga, Hmanlai Mizo Nun, Mizoram Publication Board, Aizawl,
1999, p. 178; L. Sanglura, ‘Lalhleia Sailo Chanchin’ in Mizo Lalte Chanchin,
Tribal Research Institute, Govt. of Mizoram, 2012, p. 59.
6. Rev. Zairema, Pi Pute Biak Hi, Zorun Community, Aizawl, 2009, p. 94;
Mizo Thawnthu, Tribal Research Institute, Department of Art and Culture,
1992 (3rd Rep. 2008), p. 94.
7. Mizo Folktale, told by Rualthankhuma to the author, (1991).
8. James Dokhuma, Hmanlai Mizo Kalphung, Aizawl: Hmingthanpuii, 1992,
(2nd ed. 2008).
9. C. Lianthanga, op. cit., p. 178.
10. A.G. McCall, The LushaiChrysallis, Tribal Research Institute, Govt of
Mizoram, Aizawl, 1978, p. 71.
11. C. Lianthanga, op.cit., p. 178.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid., p. 179; Rev. Zairema, op. cit., p. 94; Mizo Thawnthu, op. cit., p. 94.
15. A. WatiLongchar, The Tribal Religious Traditions in North East India: An
Introduction, Published by Author, Eastern Theological College, Jorhat,
 Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos 545
Assam, 1991 (revised 2000), p. 80. He clearly distinguished between
magic and witchcraft.
16. L. Sanglura, ‘Lalhleia Sailo Chanchin’ in Mizo LalteChanchin, Tribal
Research Institute, Department of Art and Culture, Govt. of Mizoram,
2012, p.59.
17. James Dokhuma, op. cit., p. 89.
18. C. Lianthanga, op. cit., p. 179.
19. There were two kinds of priests- Bawlpu and Sadawt. Bawlpu was
involved largely with village rites while Sadawt functioned like witch-
doctors.
20. Rev. Zairema, op. cit., p. 94.
21. James Dokhuma, op. cit., p. 93.
22. Ibid.
23. Rev. Zairema, op.cit., pp. 90-3, 95-7.
24. Ibid, p. 96, James Dokhuma, op. cit., p. 90.
25. James Dokhuma, Ibid., p. 94.
26. Rev. Zairema, op. cit., pp. 90-3, 95-7.
27. James Dokhuma, op. cit., p. 93.
28. C. Lianthanga, op. cit., p. 178.
29. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft Oracles and Magic among the Azandes,
New York: Oxford University Press, 1976 (rep.), p. 52.
30. C. Lianthanga, op. cit., pp. 179-80.
31. Ibid; B. Lalthangliana, Mizo Chanchin (A Short Account and Easy Reference
of Mizo History), Author, 2009, p. 82.
32. C. Lianthanga, ibid.
33. The families collected the dead bodies at Thingsai and buried them in the
same grave which is still there today. B. Lalthangliana, op.cit., pp. 82-3.
34. B. Lalthangliana, Ibid. The villagers had the liberty to remain with the
chief or migrate to another chief, which was an important means of check
and balance to the authority of the chief in the traditional political system.
35. A.G. McCall, op. cit., pp. 71-2; ‘LiankhamaZawlnghak Lal Chanchin’ in
Mizo LalteChanchin, pp. 294-5.
36. A.G. McCall, Ibid., p. 73.
37. C. Lianthanga, op. cit., p. 7.
38. Reports by Missionaries of Baptist Missionary Society, 1901-1938, comp. the
Mizoram Gospel Centenary Committee (Baptist Church of Mizoram,
Serkawn, 1993), p. 56, 79; Zairema, God’s Miracle in Mizoram:A Glimpse
of Christian Work among Head-Hunters, Aizawl: Synod Press &Bookroom,
1978, p. 25.
39. A.G. McCall, op. cit., p. 73.
 C H A P T E R 28

Practice of Witchcraft among the

Adis of Arunachal Pradesh
SARAH HILALY

INTRODUCTION
Indigenous traditions are based on an awareness of the integral
and whole relationship between the planes of the symbolic and
material life. In their everyday practices, there does not exist a
distinction between the cosmological ideas and ritual practices
embedded in their religion. The term, ‘lifeways’, encapsulates the
holistic context in which the traditional environmental knowledge
remains a dominant strand in the cosmologies of indigenous peoples.
Cosmologies or oral narratives help to transmit the world view of
the people by describing the web of human activities occurring
within the powerful spirit world of the local bioregion. The con­
text is made comprehensible through enacting rituals of the key
myths of creation, origin and migration and revolves around the
activities of the cultural hero and his life experiences. Religion is,
therefore, constituted not merely as a system of beliefs and ritual
practices, but is intrinsically entwined with their forms of subsis­
tence, kinship, language, governance, and landscape.1
In most of the indigenous societies, the early myths allude to a
series of circumstances, which lead to the creation of the universe.
The process of creation is generally characterized by chaos and dis­
ruptions followed by orderliness. The creator is a key figure who
recedes into the background, as life forms like plants, animals and
spirits begin to inhabit the space. Humans too inhabit this mythi­
cal space, wherein they coexist with other life forms interacting
548 Sarah Hilaly
and at times in conflict. The emergence of the first man segregated
from the spirit world marks the final segregation of physical realm
from the spiritual, though not at the level of ontology. The first
human or cultural hero emerges, his triumphs, struggles and his
human frailties are exemplified through the myths, which shows
how reality came into existence. The cosmology endeavours to
provide a code, through which society should strive ‘equilibrium
between peoples and between peoples and the other part of the
environment, and between peoples and gods’.2
A few benevolent spirits inhabit the symbolic world, believed to
influence people’s health, ensure success of a clan, ensure a bounti­
ful harvest, fertility of cattle, and create harmony within the com­
munity. There is however, an array of spirits with malevolent at­
tributes including ancestral spirits, especially emanating from the
souls of people dying unnatural deaths, who are considered re­
sponsible for the sudden disruptions of everyday life. In the face of
unexpected events like accident, sickness, death or being lost in
the wilderness, rituals which serve as the main vehicle for the
expression of beliefs and feelings are conducted, ultimately seek­
ing to balance and adjust the relationship between human and
supernatural beings with most being healing rituals. The ritual
specialists play a key role in this intervention with the spirits and
negotiating with them on behalf of the humans. The myths, which
are enacted and re-enacted in the form of ritual chanting, codify
rules, which in turn help people to understand what kind of beha­
viour is expected of them, or disallowed, in order to maintain
a sense of belonging to their own culture. It acts as a medium
for self-awareness and awareness of others encoding therein the
morality of a particular culture. Therefore, indigenous religion is a
cultural system that has to be preserved and transmitted.
In addition to the action of the spirits, many traumas and trag­
edies, which remain irresolvable by ritual interventions, are attrib­
uted to black magic, evil eye, witchcraft, and confrontation with
demons or possession.3 Witchcraft is an all-pervasive belief within
the indigenous belief systems and institutionalized religions across
the world. It is the same set of spirits, who are cultivated for benefit
of the society, are also invoked individually by both ordinary men
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 549
and woman extolling its deviant qualities to acquire power. Such
powers can be cultivated either through inheritance or learning.
Through this acquired power, they seek to destroy their enemies.
In many indigenous societies, the ritual specialists are capable by
the mediation of their corpus of knowledge to eliminate the effects
of such aberrant practices. However, the divination capability of
the ritual specialists makes them play a key role in identifying the
practitioners of witchcraft in the event of an absence of protective
rituals within the community.

MEANING AND DISCOURSE ON WITCHCRAFT

IN INDIGENOUS SOCIETIES

At the outset, it is essential to identify the meanings that have been

evolved by scholars ranging from anthropologists to historians, to
define the practice of witchcraft. Ronald Hutton, on his reading of
multiple studies pertaining both to the anthropological and histori­
cal studies, broadly identifies five characteristics according to which
witches all across cultures can be classified.4 The first defines a
person who uses non-physical means to cause misfortune or injury
to other humans. This is explicable through the categories used by
English-speakers in describing them as ‘uncanny’, ‘mystical’, or
‘supernatural’. The second category comprises of those persons who
work towards harming neighbours or kin rather than strangers, so
that she or he is a threat to other members of his or her community.5
The third abiding characteristic of the witch figure is that she or
he earns general social disapproval usually of a very strong kind, in
the context of having violated normative behaviour on two par­
ticular traits. Secrecy is the norm within which a witch operates,
as the intended victim is unaware of the impending harm, until it
has been executed. The harm caused by the witch emanates not
from the desire to acquire greater wealth or prestige, but from
motives of malice and spite. The fourth characteristic is the belief
that the appearance of a witch figure is not an isolated and unique
event. They generally work within the framework of a tradition
and are possessed either of or by powers using techniques in circu­
lation in the societies or introduced into it from outside. They are
550 Sarah Hilaly
not freak occurrences within the natural order of things rather
created by inheritance, training or initiation.6 The fifth character­
istic is that their fellow humans can resist them and worldwide
this resistance takes three different forms though they are not ex­
clusive. One is to persuade or force the witch to divest herself or
himself permanently of his or her special powers, or to heal the
harm that has been caused and to desist from causing more.7 The
broad contours of the outlined definitions are indicative that witch­
craft represents the evil inherent in the universe, which manifests
itself through humans, who act as vessels of transmission due to
certain attributes inherent in their nature. The other dimension is
that it embodies all that is selfish, vindictive, and anti-social within
human communities, epitomizing treachery and disharmony in
societies that strive for unity and neighbourliness.8
Studies on witchcraft have long dominated the discourse in an­
thropology, particularly the British social anthropologists who
worked in Africa since the early decades of the twentieth century.
In his classic work, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande,
the anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard describes the beliefs and
practices of the African tribe, the Azande.9 According to the Azande
belief system, various misfortunes encountered in daily life may
be attributed to the action of witches. Other anthropologists of
the Manchester School explored the social dynamics of witchcraft
suspicions and accusations in Africa.10 Influential anthropological
studies like that of Peter Gescheire (1997), argued that witchcraft
was a mechanism for coping with stress and uncertainties intro­
duced by late capitalism. Comaroff and Comaroff argue that while
on one hand it helps to enrich some, it disempowers others.11
Early scholars like S.F. Nadel who compares four African societies,
argues that witchcraft studies needs to contextualize their social
relationships in order to extract deeper meaning of how this insti­
tution functions under conditions of stress and contradictions.12
Similar views have been expressed by Mary Douglas (1999) and
Ajay Skaria (1997) on the play of kinship in witchcraft practices.
These studies feed into the corpus of studies taken up by histor­
ians, who drew ethnographic parallels in order to explore similar
beliefs in the English past. The knowledge developed by the
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 551
pioneers who analysed practices of witchcraft in African societies,
Pritchard and Marwick began to include in their corpus, studies
on early modern witch trials in Europe. Rodney Needham argued
that comparitivism within anthropology, could lead to an evolu­
tion of an image of the witch, based on experiences both from
Africa and Europe.13 While a handful of historians in the 1970s
attempted to study witchcraft in Africa and Europe within the
same frame of reference, it was weakened by the questions raised
by Hildred Geertz. Her argument was on the premise that com­
parison of general categories of witchcraft across continents and
time was rather difficult. Rather, she insisted and called for the
recognition of cultural particularity in such studies. Since the mid­
1980s historians cross-referenced data between different parts
of Europe and English colonies in America, which enriched such
studies. Later studies witnessed the abandonment of the idea of a
universal category to define the history of witchcraft through the
lens of a global model.
In practice, however, in all indigenous societies, there occurs a
wide variation in the process of identification of the witch. There
are also societies according to Ronald Hutton, where all the ills
confronting humans are attributable to spirits, rather than a belief
that humans could initiate non-physical harm.14 Yet the commun­
ities who had neighbours with similar social, economic and cosmo­
logical backgrounds did not develop the belief in witches.15 Studies
revealed that the gender of the witch is not a static image among
the indigenous societies across Africa and Asia, where either men
or women could be identified as witches, though the dominant
figure in Europe were women who were indiscriminately hunted.16
The strategy of dealing with witches ranged from the use of exorci­
sing techniques, to persuading them to abandon the craft totally
or in the severest case, of witch-hunt taken up at the behest of the
entire community or by families of victims. The victims of witch­
craft could generally be members of affinal families, with stray
references to agnatic families as victims surface.
The external defining characteristics of a witch in some societies
would be elderly and domineering woman, married, widowed
or single. Physical deformities rendered a woman suspect, while
552 Sarah Hilaly
forceful and articulate woman were branded and those considered
trouble-some and quarrelsome were also under the scanner. Women
displaying special qualities like intelligence and beauty were likely
to be declared a witch. In the backdrop of these assessments of the
tradition of witchcraft, I would like to foreground my study of
magical practices among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh. Since the
practice of witchcraft constitutes an aberration and is practised in
secrecy, the identities of the informants who have provided essen­
tial data for the study, are not being named.

THE HABITAT, PEOPLE AND

MYTHS OF ORIGIN

Arunachal Pradesh is a state that straddles the north-eastern ex­

tremity of India and is essentially a constituent of the Eastern
Himalayas. It is surrounded by international borders along its east
with Bhutan, in its north with Tibet and a small section of China
and Myanmar on its west. The valley of the Brahmaputra skirts its
south. Home to multitudes of tribes and sub-tribes, it represents a
cultural mosaic of diverse groups with linguistic and cultural varia­
tions populating the geographical space. Influences of the neigh­
bouring polities of Tibet and Assam are marked in the realm of
religion and culture. Groups whose culture and religion is pre­
dominantly shamanistic animism inhabit the central zone of the
state.
The Adis who form the universe of this study constitute a major
ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh and occupy the central zone of
the state. They inhabit the lower sections of Lower Dibang Valley
District, Upper Siang, East Siang and Eastern portion of the West
Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Adi is a generic term used
for the Padam-Minyong and the Gallong appellation along with a
conglomerate of sub-tribes.17 Among them the Minyongs and
Padams who constitute the core of the study, inhabit East Siang
district on both the banks of the river. The East Siang district is a
wild mountainous area of 4,005 sq. km situated approximately
between 27° 43° and 29° 20° North latitudes and 94° 42° and
95° 35° East latitudes.18
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 553
Based on the rich repository of oral tradition of the Adis in the
Abang, their belief system alludes to creation myth where the earth
is created out of nothingness Keyum. Sedi-Melo is the creator of
the earth. Donyi-Polo the benevolent god sustains moral order of
the living beings and lower deities. Five generations following Sedi-
Melo, Pedong-Nane (rain Goddess) was born. She bore thousands
of children, which manifested as living spirits, animals and Doni-
Tani the first human. He is considered as the progenitor of all
tribes inhabiting the central region of Arunachal Pradesh. After
creating Doni-Tani (human beings) Pedong-Nane disappeared. It
is in this corpus of myths that all the objects important for human
existence can trace their origin. The first sacrificial animal was Limir-
Sobi or Limur Sobo a cosmic Mithun (Bos frontalis) which was
sacrificed by the first group of people called the Engo-Takar or
Doni-Dongor. From the dismembered parts of this cosmic ani­
mal, which was broadcast, particularly flesh and hair-emanated
objects like grass, shrubs and trees where non-human life forms
lived and sustained. Goddess Kine-Nane provided the knowledge
of the first cultivated crops. In order that birds and rodents do not
destroy the cultivated crops, Engo-Takar, sacrificed a mythical
Mithun Kumgum-Sobo. The dismembered parts of this animal
transformed into fruit bearing roots and plants as sustenance for
birds and rodents, which saved grain from destruction.19
It is the activities of Doni-Tani since his birth that gave human­
kind all its attributes like colour, speech and melodious voice.
During his infant years, his crying could not be stopped by any
means, hence his parents displayed natural toys like red leaves of a
tree to pacify him. It was only when he was handed the wooden
sword and knife that the crying stopped. These are construed as
first instance of human knowledge of the significance of these imple­
ments in their everyday lives. All activities of humankind were
henceforth to be defined by the training which Doni-Tani received
from his father and other experienced elders. He also on occasion
was trained how to negotiate with spirits by his elders and receive
protection. Most of the religious rituals dedicated to spirits find
their roots in Doni-Tani’s life experiences. The various restrictions
enjoined on society in everyday life are again attributed to the
554 Sarah Hilaly
mistakes committed by Doni-Tani during his lifetime. The life
cycles rituals and particularly the funerary rituals stem from the
rituals performed for Doni-Tani’s mother.20
The primary spirits, which are appeased, are many, among whom
the prominent are Gumin Soyin (village spirit), Kine Nane (spirit
of paddy) and Sisi Moyi (spirit of jungle).21 The Padam-Minyong
ritual specialist is called a Miri. He performs all religious rituals
and rites enjoined in their moral code to try and sustain equilib­
rium within society. He maintains balance by acting as an inter­
mediary between the spiritual world and the human world. He
performs the divination to ascertain the potency of the ritual chants,
the abangs and offers the prescribed sacrifices revealed through divi­
nation seeking blessings of the spirit on behalf of the people. The
Miris can be divided into categories, depending on the specialized
rituals they perform and are spiritually gifted as their bodies are
inhabited by the spirit ancestor. Their position is, therefore, neither
hereditary, nor elective as their qualities are inborn.
However, there is an alternate space, where the same spirits are
not appeased in accordance with the set codes, rather their deviant
aspects are cultivated. Hence, it is not the priest who draws power
from the spirits, rather ordinary people involve themselves in culti­
vating such practices. Such practices are foregrounded outside the
ambit of the sacred relationship between the priest and the spirit.
Rather priests in most of the cases act as diviners to ascertain the
identity of persons involved in the aberrant practice, which harms
mankind. They also try to free the people from the ill effects of both
spirit possession as well as acts of blackmagic/witchcraft. This article
seeks to examine whether such practices exist among the Adis and
the notions and attitudes of the society towards such practices.

BELIEF AND PRACTICE OF WITCHCRAFT

AMONG THE ADIS

Adis believe in magical practices.22 Among the Padams, Adis who

comprise of the universe of study, a clear distinction is made be­
tween white magic and black magic. The magical practices like
mogum, donyi tato and gonamrinam fall under the category of
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 555
white magic and other magic like pyonam, morumokeng and oksik
is grouped under black magic. White magic is essentially meant
for service to the community, hence, considered beneficial for the
prosperity and well-being of the society. Black magic is performed
to bring harm to an individual and for society at large.
The popular myth, which maintains the distinction between
white magic and black magic in Adi society, is traced back to the
roots of humanity represented by Doni-Tani. This myth manifests
that Doni-Tani descended from the Pedong Nane, who did not
come alone but the spirits descended concurrently from the same
mother. Some of the spirits who evolved were Banji Banmang
(bloodthirsty spirits), Epom-Robo (jungle spirits), etc., to name a
few. Except for Doni-Tani, all other spirits descended along with
him are considered evil or wicked. Hence, it is believed that there
was a clash between the wicked spirits and Doni-Tani, which led
to the partition of their respective realms of existence. Thereafter,
while the spirits could view humans, the humans could not, ex­
cept through the mediation of the ritual specialist. Therefore, the
prevailing belief is that all the black magic can be related to wicked
spirits and on the contrary, all white magic is linked with Doni-
Tani and his activities.
The identity of performer of white magic need not to be hidden
since it can be performed publicly. However, the identification of
the performer of black magic is based on assumption and circum­
stantial evidence. The dream interpretation usually helps in iden­
tifying the perpetrator; however, their absolute identification al­
ways remains vague even with the help of a priest.
Usually the priest does not take part in the magical practices
except for tagong and oksik. Both the white magic practices and
the black magic ones can be performed by any ordinary folk, there­
fore the intervention of the priest in performance of such magic is
not solicited. While knowledge regarding white magic is circu­
lated well in advance and can be performed in public, black magic
practices remain hidden and considered an aberrant activity in the
society. As all the spirits invoked for both white and black magic
descend from the Pedong-Nane, it is a common belief that if a
person encounters takangappun [takang (plant), appun (flower)]
556 Sarah Hilaly
in a jungle and keeps it with him/her, they attain some supernatural
powers. This is because the takang blooms rarely. Hence, it is
believed that whosoever sees the blooming of this plant are no
ordinary people.
Skills acquired for the occult can be both hereditary and acquired.
In the event of it being hereditary, the power or magic is passed
down through generations. In case it is acquired, a power can be
acquired intentionally by coming under the influence of some
wicked spirit without his/her knowledge. In both cases, the pos­
sessor of such power becomes captive to the wicked spirits. Accor­
dingly, he/she has to fulfil the demands of the wicked spirit even
though it might go against the grain of the inherent character of
the person. Hence, to escape from such gruesomeness, the possess­
ors often try to find solace in the present day by taking refuge in
other religions like Christianity. In the context of the specific gender
who become such practitioners, it has been observed that women
are much more prone to it than men.
Another belief related to the attainment of power or magic is
through obtaining a shiny object from the python. Pythons are
perceived to be in possession of power, which helps them to create
an illusion for their prey. Such power is visible in the form of a
shiny object lying on the back of python, while it is either sleeping
or resting. It is believed that if anyone can secure the object, which
is representative of the power of python, the person can create any
kind of illusion on whomsoever they want to harm. However, try­
ing to obtain such power is taking a very big risk, as dealing with
a giant python at times could become fatal.
In addition to the python, birds like the eagle and owl are con­
sidered to have a vision, which can foresee the future or even visu­
alize extraordinary events. Hence, the possession of an eagle’s or
owl’s eye is also considered to be a source of power. Therefore,
there is a desire to posses such objects in order to carry out the
hidden traits of the trade considered aberrant, is quite strong. The
harm caused, varies according to the intention of the witch rang­
ing from moderate ailments to loss of life, loss of property, causing
mental imbalance, and living a deserted life, etc.
The chants used for the practice of the occult appear to be very
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 557
difficult to comprehend though it is possible to state the ways in
which they are practised. Based on the limited data that has been
shared by the informants during collection of data in fieldwork,
some of the important practices pertaining to both the white and
black magic can be outlined as follows:
(a) Mogum: This is considered white magic, and is generally
performed during the cultivation season when the rain fails to
arrive. Therefore, it is performed to summon rain. Common
people who have experience regarding the processes involved
can perform this ritual. In the event of the ritual performance
going wrong, it can adversely affect the health of the performer,
or else can bring in heavy storm and thunder instead of just
the rain. Through a simple procedure, the performers chant,
though the challenging part is the chanting of the appropriate
words that usher the magical spell. The ritual includes a com­
ponent wherein the horn of a buffalo is half buried vertically
in the centre of the river. The performance does not enjoin mass
participation, nor is it accompanied by taboos. There is no
particular day chosen for the performance of such rituals for
magic.
(b) Tagong: Tagong is a remedial activity aimed at removing a fish-
bone getting stuck in the throat which results in difficulty
during swallowing. Only an expert in this field performs such
remedial ritual. The magician or the priest would massage
gently on the neck while chanting his/her magical words and
simultaneously take out the bone stuck in the throat without
causing any pain to the sufferer. Through tagong it is attempted
to purify the blood of a person infected by the poison called emo
(aconite, generally used on tips of arrows). The expert or the
priests remove the poison from the blood by sucking it out.
(c) Donyi Tato: The purpose of donyi tato is exactly the opposite
of mogum. Even in terms of ritual performance, mogum and
donyi tato greatly differ from each other. Donyi tato is performed
to summon the sun to appear in times, when continuous rains
hinder the activities of daily subsistence like cultivation of
paddy field. This particular practice is done only after the
558 Sarah Hilaly
village council or kebang provide approval. Unlike the mogum,
donyi tato witnesses mass participation by the male members
of the society in its performance. Women are not permitted to
participate in the performance and the entire village under the
stricture of a taboo is prohibited from carrying out activities
for subsistence like weaving, collecting firewood, performing
agricultural related activities, hunting, etc. The process for the
ritual begins with all the male members gathering at the village
dormitory called musup, to prepare objects like pobang (a net
like craft made of bamboo) and gather leaves of tuduk tree.
While making this object, some members would go to catch a
chicken or a hen of red colour from any household within the
village. This requirement for a red coloured hen is, as it ap­
pears to resemble the red hue at dawn and dusk, which in
turn seeks to please the sun god. In the afternoon, the head of
the hen is chopped off, fastened to the top of 5-7 ft long
bamboo along with pobang and tuduk, and placed at the roof
of the musup. All the members would in unison shout out,
pleading that the sun god accepts their sacrifices and listen to
their grievances, seeking to attract the attention of donyi ‘sun’.
Soon thereafter, the weather would change, when the rains
would stop and the people are allowed to resume their usual
activities from the next day.
(d) Gonamrinnam: Gonamrinnam is more of a sacrificial ritual,
which is performed in order to keep away any one with an eye
who could hinder a person’s progress. One who is capable of
creating hindrance is called the gona-rinna and the process of
hindering adopted by such a person is gonamrinnam. The
hinderer may usher in bad luck, bad spirit, and bad wishes for
people in the village. Hence, it is performed whenever a per­
son ventures out for achievement of specific goals like ensuring
success during hunting of animals, fishing, trade, and currently
even before going out for a job interview, etc. The performance
can be done in advance or just prior to departure particularly
when a person comprehends obstruction from unseen quarters.
The ritual process is simple and can be undertaken by anyone
who finds disturbance or obstruction in his/her achievements.
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 559
Those who seek success in their hunting or fishing expeditions
usually make an offering of egg, meat, wine, rice, etc., to keep
away the gona-rinna. Whoever ventures for the tradition trade
or modern livelihood activities like business or job, etc., may
simply make a request to gona-rinna to leave them alone.
According to a belief, the castrator of the village is prohibited
from venturing freely as his presence might cause hindrance in
hunting, fishing or other trades. As he usually castrates do­
mestic animals, it is believed that the gona-rinna hovers over
him after he performs castration. He is not permitted to join a
group going out for successful trades as his gona-rinna may
prevent the group from achieving their motives.
(e) Moru mokeng: Moru mokeng is regarded as the most harmful
witchcraft among all the forms of black magic. This magic is
practised either to harm or kill the enemy. In this form of
witchcraft, any belonging of the victim like clothes, hair, etc.,
is buried under the earth with a spell cast over it. The victims
of such witchcraft will gradually become weaker and engulfed
by illness unidentifiable through divination of the deities. If
the buried material can be dug out in appropriate time, the
life of the victim can be saved or else sooner or later the victim
succumbs to death. Moru mokeng can be performed by anyone
who specializes in aberrant practices. However, it is a risky
proposition for the performer too, as a failed performance can
have a reverse effect on the performer. The failure of the moru
mokeng can be due to two prime reasons, in the event of the
victims aid alo (courage of the soul) being stronger than that
of the performer and, in the event of the buried material being
traced out before the motive of the performer takes effect.
(f ) Oksik: Oksik is another form of black magic witnessed in Adi
society, whrein it can only be performed by those who possess
oksik uyu (bad spirit). Both men and women can possess this
spirit. The persons possessed by such a spirit are believed to be
bloodthirsty and harm or even kill humans for their blood and
soul. Whenever this spirit gets attracted towards a person, it
ensures that it would be certain to achieve its goal of control
over people. Usually, the villagers have a sense of who among
560 Sarah Hilaly
them is possessed by such spirit. Hence, they avoid consum­
ing any food item before them, lest the spirit of oksik uyu is
attracted toward such objects. Its attraction can bring in ail­
ments like stomach ache, losing consciousness for a while, or
sudden unexplained illness, etc. Such a spirit generally is at­
tracted to all edible objects. The spirit can take hold of a per­
son magically and miraculously by creating illusions.
(g) Pyonam: In this practice of witchcraft an illusion is created over
a large number of persons that is the pyonam (stealing). The
Adis believe in two types of pyonam. One kind is the uyu ager
which is usually the handiwork of a bad spirit, which induces
the urge on a person to steal under its spell. The other practice
of pyoperung pyonam refers to the proclivity of consciously steal­
ing without any interference from the bad spirit. According to
the prevalent belief system, the person stealing with intention
can be easily apprehended, while catching the thief driven by
the spirit becomes difficult. The person driven by the bad
spirit and forced to steal objects, can do so even if the nature of
person involved is not inclined towards such aberrant acts.

It is generally believed that the best way to protect oneself from

being a victim of witchcraft is to try and consciously avoid persons
perceived to be in possession of such power. It is usually advisable
not to annoy a witch or keep any resentment against him/her.
If, at all, the witch hinders anyone, the first step is to perform
sacrificial rituals. The affected person and his family perform the
sacrificial ritual by offering egg, local wine, meat or animals in
order to please the evil spirit.
In the event that such acts of sorcery severely affect village life,
village elders summon then the family presumed to be practitio­
ners of witchcraft or even the village council called kebang which
takes initiative to negotiate and handle the issue. The kebang would
find the best way out of the imbroglio with the mediation of a
priest. This is because all contradictions and complications in Adi
society is usually tackled and handled by the kebang. The priest
and elders would be summoned to investigate into the matter. If
the joint action yields result, the council would summon the
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 561
perpetrator issuing sufficient warning to the perpetrator to stop
his/her mischievous actions. If the accused continues to persist
with his witchcraft practices, the person would be apprehended
and kept as captive by confining his/her feet between a wooden
log often chained too. The person is also confined in isolation in a
small hut.

CONCLUSION

With the disruption of village life due to out-migration for liveli­

hood, they no longer remain the only space for daily existence.
Despite adopting alien religious beliefs and the norms of modern
medicine, this fear of the unknown persists at a primordial level.
Instead of performing white magic, currently they rely more on
more scientific notions of explanation. Yet, whenever modern medi­
cine fails to offer solutions to ailments, the essential belief in black
magic is invoked as intensely as it was in early Adi society.
Since the onslaught of modern education, which does not help
in retaining oral traditions and newer forms of religion too, knowl­
edge of older traditions has become a dying breed of knowledge. A
minor attempt to document such practices though aberrant, yet
essential to their world view helps in retaining such knowledge for
posterity.
The symptom in a person affected by witchcraft is not obvious.
It can be identified only with the help of the community priest by
performing some rituals.
However, the identification of the performer of black magic
is based on assumption and circumstantial evidence. The dream
interpretation usually helps in identifying the perpetrator; how­
ever, their absolute identification always remains vague even with
the help of priest.
Traditionally, it is believed that the witchcraft performers, have
a modii (a regular time period of their performance). Whenever,
they realize their time or modii has arrived, they isolate themselves
and exercise paranormal activities while chanting magical words in
a semiconscious state. Their modii generally occurs during the wan­
ing of the moon. However, it is unpredictable sometimes and can
562 Sarah Hilaly
occur even at an odd time like during day time when people are
around which lead to suspicion among the onlookers.
The harm is in accordance to the witch’s intention. It ranges
from moderate ailment to loss of life. Some have acute property
loss, mental imbalance, deserted life, etc. Both can indulge in such
activity, however, woman are much more susceptible than man.
The performers of white magic are considered normal human
and one need not to distance himself/herself from such practitioner.
However, one needs to be more way of black magic performers as
they can cause harm even without much resentment. Hence, such
practitioner is considered to be abysmal and is feared by people
and society.

NOTES

1. John A. Grim, ‘Indigenous Traditions and Ecology’, The Forum on Religion

and Ecology at Yale, originally published in Earth Ethics 10, no.1, Fall
1998, http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/indigenous/
2. K. Powers William, ‘Cosmology and the Reinvention of Culture: the
Lakota Case’, in The Canadian Journal of Native Studies VII, 2, 1987,
p. 166.
3. Ülo Valk, ‘Eyes of Legend: Thoughts about Genres of Belief ’, Indian
Folklife, no. 25, January 2007, p. 12.
4. Ronald Hutton, ‘Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft:
Potential for a New Collaboration?’, The Historical Journal, vol. 47, no. 2
June, 2004, p. 421.
5. Ibid., p. 422.
6. Ibid., p. 423.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande,
Abridged Edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.
10. The key figures in this scholarship are: Max G. Marwick; (1965), Sorcery in
Its Social Setting: A Study of the Northern Rhodesian Cewa, Manchester:
University of Manchester Press; John Middleton (1960), Lugbara Religion:
Ritual and Authority among an East African People, London: Oxford
University Press; John Middleton (1963), ‘Witchcraft and Sorcery in
Lugbara’, in Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, ed., John Middleton and
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh 563
E.H. Winter, pp. 257-75, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; J. Clyde
Mitchell (1956), The Yao Village: A Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian
People, Manchester: University of Manchester Press; Victor Turner (1957),
Schism and Continuity in an African Society: A Study of Ndembu Village Life,
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
11. Cf., Nandini Sundar, ‘Divining Evil: The State and Witchcraft in Bastar’ in
Gender Technology and Development, 2001, 5, p. 431.
12. S.F. Nadel, ‘Witchcraft in Four African Societies: An Essay in Comparison’,
American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 54, no. 1, January-March 1952,
pp. 18-29.
13. Ronald Hutton, ‘Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft:
Potential for a New Collaboration?’, The Historical Journal, vol. 47, no. 2
June, 2004, p. 414.
14. Ibid., p. 424.
15. The Andaman Islanders of the Indian Ocean, the Korongo of the Sudan,
the Tallensi of Ghana, the Gurage of Ethiopia, the Mbuti of the Congo
basin, the Fijians, the hill tribes of Uttar Pradesh, and the Ngaing, Mae
Enga, Manus, and Daribi of New Guinea did not at all believe in witches.
Ronald Hutton, ‘Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft:
Potential for a New Collaboration?’, The Historical Journal, vol. 47, no. 2
June, 2004, p. 424.
16. In India, various studies among the tribes of eastern and central India reveal
different gender dimensions in witchcraft. Among the inhabitants of
Chota Nagpur the Santhals, (shifting cultivators), Mundas, Hos, implicate
woman as witches. Witch hunting is predominant practice among Santhals
while cognate tribes like Kodaku and Hill Korwa do not believe in witchcraft,
nor do the matrilineal Birhor and Erenda Munda. In Bastar incidence
of witch-hunt is limited. According to Elwin Muria, men could be classified
as witches, while in southern Bastar stories of woman witches circulate.
Among the Dangs in Mewar and Gujarat, magical aggression is attributed
to a male witch who is many ways is an aberrant priest, while the woman
witch or female vampire could assume animal forms.
17. The Gallongs known as the Duba Abors in the British records have
constituted them into Galos as a separate tribe in the 2011 through
constitutional correction.
18. Tuting Borang, ‘Funerary Rites of Adis: A Case Study of Padam Minyongs’,
Unpublished MPhil Dissertation, 2012, p. 35.
19. Tahan Mize, ‘Animal Sacrifices in Adi-Religious Ceremonies’, in Diigok-
Roli (The Call of the Dawn): Solong-Gidii Magazine, 2010, vol. V , Itanagar,
pp. 29-31.
564 Sarah Hilaly
20. Katon Borang, ‘The Evolution of Mankind’, Donyi: A House Journal of the
Donyi-Polo Study Circle, vol. 1, no.1, January 1998, Itanagar, pp. 12-15.
21. Tuting Borang, ‘Funerary Rites of Adis: A Case Study of Padam-Minyongs’,
Unpublished MPhil Dissertation, 2012, p. 11.
22. Fieldwork for this study has been carried out in Padam villages like Ayeng
and Kiyit under Mebo circle of East Siang district. Data has also been
generated from Dambuk village in Dambuk circle of Lower Dibang Valley
district. As the practices of witchcraft does exist, the names of the informants
are being kept under cover.
 C H A P T E R 29

Practice of Witchcraft among

the Rabhas of Assam
B A R N A L I S HA R M A

Witchcraft is believed to be the ‘practices of a witch or witches,

especially the use of magic or sorcery; the exercise of supernatural
power supposed to be possessed by a person in league with the
devil or evil spirits’.1 However, the terms magic and sorcery; how
to access this supernatural power; who these witches are, etc., are
baffling with no concrete definitions. Its indentification is beyond
one’s simple understanding of the concepts of binary opposites:
night and day, life and death, good and evil, human and beast.
Scholars define, ‘witches as the “other” and yet they are also “us”.
Witches are living projections of feelings that defy easy rationaliza­
tion or reconciliation: amity and enmity, compassion and cruelty,
self-confidence and fear.’2 The human nature of acting by emotion
occupies the centre stage in witchcraft. It is a human occupation en­
gaging with an unseen world. Witchcraft hovers, it is invisible but
powerful and persistent. It is essentially a mysterious occult phe­
nomenon closely associated with religious believes and practices of
a society.
In the Dictionary of Anthropology 3, a witch has been defined as a
person, often a woman, who has supernatural powers to cause evil.
They can look into the future, escape harm, transform themselves
and accomplish almost everything desired. Witchcraft is a religion
that respects mother nature, and she is neither completely positive
nor completely negative. This is the reason why some people
believe in the existence of witches and credit them with the
566 Barnali Sharma
possession of the most wholesome power. A witch is neither a spirit
nor a ghost, but a human being who has acquired extraordinary
powers. A witch has a magical rod, a concealed birth mark or other
sign of her individuality, while still being associated with the power
of darkness.
But every belief has a origin, a purpose and develops in some
social, political and psychological situation. In fact, witchcraft is a
worldwide phenomenon. The belief in witchcraft and its practice
seems to have existed in different countries and societies across the
world. In every religious belief the concept of evil is ingrained
deeply. The Bible has a lot of references to witchcraft and strong
condemnations of such practices are enjoined.4 In Christianity, also
in Indianism and Islam, sorcery came to be associated with heresy
and apostasy. In Europe (especially in Central Europe), in the late
medieval and early modern period, fear of witchcraft gripped church
leaders who led intensive witch hunts. History reveals that it was a
period of transition. Rise of Protestantism, the social and demo­
graphic destabilization caused by the Black Death, the transition
from feudalism to capitalism, were some important incidents of the
period. The manual entitled Malleus Maeficarum is an outline to
identify witches who were mostly women, to persecute and punish
them after trial. Federicci Sylvia in Caliban and the Witch had delved
into the issue discussing that the birth of the proletariat required a
war against women, inaugurating a new sexual pact and a new
patriarchial era: the patriarchy of the wage. Women were branded
as witches as it was a question of disciplining the women’s body. In
the beginning of the seventeenth century, the first male mid-wives
began to appear and within a century, obstretics came under state
control.5 The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the heyday
of mercantilism, the period marked the beginning of demographic
recording (of birth, death and marriages), of census taking, and
the formalization of demography itself as the first ‘state science’.
It is a clear proof of the strategic importance that controlling popu­
lation movements was acquiring in the political circles that insti­
gated witch hunt.6
In an agrarian society, witchcraft assumes a different dimension.
Conflict resolution was expected by supernatural intervention
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 567
plausible by access to the spirits. E. Evans Pritschard, working among
the Azande tribe in Sudan defines witchcraft as, ‘. . . an ability to
perpetuate evil that derives from an intrinsic quality of the evil
doer that is not deliberately acquired. It is purely a psychic act.’7
To M.G. Marwick, ‘. . . the power of witchcraft is believed to have
been derieved from mystical inheritance. They are slaves of addic­
tion and aberrations, bizarre people, sometimes tragic figures.’8
This is true among the oppressed communities in agrarian societies,
who go to a witch doctor to detect witchcraft activity or applica­
tion of magic and sorcery responsible for their misfortune and sick­
ness.9 Witches are, hence, seen as peculiar people who embody all
the feared and negative aspects of a culture. Belief in witchcraft
can, therefore, be said to be culture based.
In India, the occult art too has its roots in antiquity.10 R.S. Saletore
in the book Indian Witchcraft has delved into the issue citing refer­
ences from the Atharvaveda (often described as the earliest book of
Indian priestly magic), Brahmanas, etc. References of havoc caused
by demons and pishachas, or evil forces along with instances of divi­
nation, propiation of inimical powers by various means are found
in Rigveda, and other Vedic texts.11 Such beliefs persisted even in
Buddhism and Jainism, as the Buddhist and Jaina monks were
given staves to shield themselves against demons (rakshasas) and
ghosts (pishachas). The Yakshinis, said to share many of the charac­
teristics of witches are commemorated in Buddhist folklore.12 Yogini,
Dakini, Asurani are believed to have been associated with sorcery.
The witch daini or dakini, known in mythology as an asrapa (blood
sucker), was an imp or fiend, attending on Kali, an eater of human
flesh, the source of her power. In south India, Kali is believed to
descend on a man who has drunk goat’s blood. In folklore, witches
frequent burning grounds and cemeteries, penetrate anything on
earth, open or cover the skies, restore the dead to life, set water on
fire, change stones into wax, separate lovers, transform heroes or
heroines into any form they like, control the weather, cause storm
and tempests, appear lovely at first, roam naked in the graveyards
and change shapes whenever they please. When ‘off-duty’, they
behave like normal people.13 A person’s name, image, hair and his
footprints were believed to be interconnected so as to serve the
568 Barnali Sharma
purpose of injuring him.14 The witches (dakinis) were well-versed
in Tantric lore and esoteric rituals.15
However, certain beliefs associated with the practice of witch­
craft are common in all cultural practices. For instances, notions of
cannibalism, practising in the dead of a new moon and full moon
night, the ability to roam around, while the physical body is present
in the house, associating the colour black with evil and the power
of the ‘evil eye’ in bringing misfortune to the community are asso­
ciated with witchcraft. Generally, most of the witches are old, poor,
women who are widowed, infertile, possess ugly features, or old
and unprotected. Socially ostracized women are usually targeted.
In many cultures, the medico-religious practitioner is also consid­
ered a practitioner of magic and witchcraft. The amount of knowl­
edge of curing by a shaman in culture is recognized by the culture
as possible danger. The basic attitude is that if one can cure a disease
then they may also cause a disease.16 To undo the wrongs there exist
witch doctors and these are generally men; thereby, making clear
the notions of patriarchy and power relations clear, with men occu­
pying the supreme position in these belief system. It is the fear of
the unknown, which pushes one to resort to such practices and
hence can be associated with superstition. Such practices exist even
in the present time among marginalized societies and many ethnic
communities. Witches, therefore, were and are cultural hybrids,
blending learned and popular traditions. Neither of these traditions
translated directly into practice, partly because each was inconsistent
in itself. Modulation in meaning occurs whenever distinctions are
forced: the elite ignore folk magic or extirpate it as blasphemy; the
common people regard magicians as helpful healers or horrible
hags.17
In this context, the article will look into the practice of witch­
craft prevalent among the Rabha community in Assam. The Rabhas
are among one of the aboriginal settlers of Assam and belong to
the Tibeto-Burman linguistic stock. The majority of the Rabhas
inhabit the undivided Goalpara, Kamarupa, Darrang districts in
Assam and the Garo hill districts of Meghalaya. Besides the Rabhas
are also found scattered in Nowgaon, Sibsagar, Karbi Anglong,
Dibrugarh, North Lakhimpur and Cachar districts in Assam, parts
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 569
of Meghalaya as well as districts of Purulia, West Dinajpur and the
24 Parganas in West Bengal.
Among the Rabhas, there exists a strong tradition of witchcraft;
deeply embedded in their social system connecting it with religious
beliefs. Reference to such practice is found in the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi
written by Allauddin Ishfani alias Mirza Nathan, a Mughal gen­
eral who had accompanied the Mughal army during the Ahom
Mughal conflict in the early part of the seventeenth century. It states,
Muhammad Zaman Tabrizi, who was appointed as a Karori (revenue officer)
in the pargana of Khuntaghat (which falls in the present Goalpara and is a
Rabha dominated area) was a victim of such witchcraft. The incident has
been stated as follows: Muhammad Zaman was a hot tempered man and he
began to oppress the ryots and seize their beautiful girls and boys. This place is
notorious for magic and sorcery. Thus, if a man takes by force a fowl from a
ryot and the ryot comes to the judge for redress and if that person is refused
justice then the complainant by means of his magic and sorcery could make
the accused produce the voice of a fowl from inside his stomach and thus
proves the falsity of the protestations of the accused. If a bailiff of the judge
stayed at a village in connection with the work of the Dihidar or the Pattadar
(the tenure holder or the revenue farmer) and if in a state of drunkenness he
demanded fish with violence in the evening or midnight when no fish was
available, and persisted on his demand by torturing the ryots, then they
would bring some leaves of mango tree or another tree whose name reads like
lahsura and breathe on this leaves some words of magic or sorcery. These
leaves would forthwith turn into a kind of small fish. When these fish were
cooked by him in a state of drunkenness, they turned into blood. As soon as
they were eaten by the bailiff, he died.18

Even Muhammad Zaman was bewitched by some person, that

for two or three days he used to produce sounds of beast like dogs,
cats or other animals of that class, following which he died.19
There are also numerous folk tale, folklores on witchcraft which
has made the belief more strong in the minds of the people.
One such tale is that of the Kekra Khowa Rani. The story goes as
follows: in an earlier generation of the Zamindari of Mechpara
Pargana, One Thanaram had a daughter in law from the Rabha
Community. She was a simple village girl, extremely beautiful filled
with fun and frolic, which attracted the attention of the feudal
570 Barnali Sharma
lord in one of his inspection tours around the area. Paying a bride
price (a poon sika rup kesa taka) he married her and brought her to
his house. But, she was unable to adjust to the new environment—
the language and culture was unfamiliar to her. Her physical and
mental health deteriorated and she yearned to return to her mother’s
house. For her satisfaction she was brought to her mother’s house
accompanied by the royal attendants. Here, the royal servants were
surprised to see her devouring smoked crabs (known as kekra in
the Rabha dialect). Henceforth, she came to be known as Kekra
Khowa Rani. To place her in the context of the article, she was a soft­
hearted woman, compassionate towards unfortunate women who
were branded as witches (daini, in local term) and excommuni­
cated from the society. Therefore, she established a rehabilation
camp at Bagnai.20 The inmates here reorted to begging and some
even worked as day wagers. There is a belief among the Rabhas even
today that such people should be given alms handsomely. If the
spirits in them are satisfied, they will never cause harm.21 It is,
therefore, clear that in the earlier days they were not killed as they
are done today.
Evaluating the above two incidents brings forth the history and
culture of the place. The first is a question of resistance to foreign
invasion. The second speaks of the food habits of the ethnic com­
munity which was disapproved by the elite section. The belief in
the existence of spirits is not specifically a tribal concept. It was in
vogue among the caste Hindus also. Late nineteenth-century colo­
nial officials had set up an opposition between ‘castes’ and ‘tribes’
It was a cardinal item of faith among officials that the tribes of
India were very different from its castes, both racially and in terms
of their social structure. Tribal social structure was believed to be
more egalitarian; tribes were thought to be isolated from the main­
stream of Indian life and were felt to possess a ‘spirit of indepen­
dence’ lacking among the castes. In the colonial discourses, witch-
killings were considered to be practised principally by the tribes,
and uncommon in caste societies.22
Benudhar Rajkowa in a treatise written in 1904 mentions the
existence of evil and good in the social belief system in Assam.
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 571
Saturday and Tuesday were considered inauspicious as the knowl­
edge of the evil influences of Saturn and Mars were ingrained in
people’s mind, along with the belief of good and evil omens asso­
ciating birds and animals.23 Existence of spirits, some of whom
were benign, malign or indifferent, were well accepted. It is, how­
ever, a striking fact that the generality of the Assamese spirits are
malignant.24 Here, the author has distinguished the spirits into
four categories—subterranean, terrestrial, aerial, celestial. But the
largest number of spirits known to Assamese are terrestrial. They
may be either male or female. But terms like, phisayani, daini ex­
isting today are terms specific to women. The word daini is de­
rived from Sanskrit dakini, an attendant of Goddess Kali. She is a
female spirit, a cannibal, ‘her greediness being at the highest ten­
sion her mouth waters and the lower lip protrudes as soon as she
happens to see a man in front’.25 This idea of a witch is carried
forth to this day. This must be due to the influence of Hinduism
on their animistic belief system.
Being essentially animists, the Rabhas believed that supernatu­
ral beings abide in all objects animate and inanimate. This belief
‘. . . has been the characteristic of practically all primitive people
and has been regarded by some scholars as the earliest forerunner
of what we call religion’.26 They are highly superstitious and assign
all misfortune and disease as the work of the different deities, who
should be appeased by sacrifice and rituals. According to them,
the spirits are benevolent and malevolent. They have their sepa­
rately assigned residence in a distinct province and exercise their
power within their limitations. The spirits are invisible to the nor­
mal eye and may be manipulated to assume any form. It is the
spirit in every object that wills and acts and so really count. It has
no form of its own and so the Rabhas have never tried to form their
images.27
Regarding the deities which in their local dialect are known as
bai or dai, the Rabhas believe, the benevolent deities always help
the people and control the various natural objects. They are wor­
shipped annually by the villagers for the general well-being—for
good health, good crops, prosperity and happiness.
572 Barnali Sharma
BENEVOLENT DEITIES WITH THEIR FUNCTIONS

Name of the Deities Function of the Deities

Langa The deity of lives
Rise Bai Chief Household deity
Khokchi Deity of agriculture
Hasang Another deity of agriculture
Rantak Deity of house
Manasa Deity of snakes
Kali Deity of lives
Kachai Khati Most powerful deity of all
Bhagavati Deity of small pox

On the other hand, the main aim of the malevolent deities is to

cause harm to people and bring misfortune to them. They believe
the malevolent deities are controllers of disease and pain. So, to
keep away disease these deities are invoked individually. The fol­
lowing table gives a list of malevolent deities or spirits of the Rabhas
with the names of disease caused by them.

MALEVOLENT DEITIES OF THE RABHAS

Name of the Deities Disease

Baima Bai Abortion, stomach pain in pregnancy
Tikkar Bai Stomach ache , headache etc
Bangra Bai Body wound
Bisayali Bai Rheumatism
Budha Bai Post Natal Complicacies
Hudum Bai Pain in joints of the body
Jakhani Bai Crying child
Jakua bai Body pain
Khisan Bai Various eye diseases
Kama hachu Bai Leprosy
Kuber Bai Dyspepsia
Khusami Bai Fever in the evening
Lambing Bai Continuous ill health
Maira Bai Headache
Rambang Bai Epilepsy among the children
Singra Bai Fever
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 573
It is believed that that a witch is malevolent. The belief and
practice of witchcraft is most widely spread among the Rabhas,
particularly in the Kamarupa and Goalpara districts of Assam. Witch­
craft originally meant the work of a female sorcerer among the
Rabhas. The person who exercises witchcraft may be male or fe­
male and is a public figure of fame and repute, while in other cases
he may be notorious. A sorcerer might include the use of material
objects and medicines to invoke supernatural malevolence.
The Rabhas believe that a man or woman can convert himself or
herself into a demon or witch with magical power. In Rabha lan­
guage, a witch is called Tikkar Bai or daini. A female person prac­
tising witchcraft is locally called daini or bhutuni and in case of a
male they call him daina or bhutia. Sometimes they are locally
called daini bidya or bhutia bidya or bhutuni bidya. According to
the Rabhas, the Tikkar Bai or daini (witch) is actually a demon, to
be produced from human beings. According to Rajen Rabha, they
believe that a man or woman could convert himself or herself into
a witch. By dint of magical power, the head can be cut-off from his
or her neck. They believe that he or she (only head) walks with the
help of his or her tongue and moves very fast hither and thither. A
witch can also climb up the trees to eat jackfruit, mango, banana,
etc. They are believed to have the power to fly and to move from
place to place at high speed. They believe the witche, or daini are
active mainly at night. The witches perform most of their deeds at
night and their usual way of movement is flying while the body
lies in apparent sleep. The spirit of witch, flies with flapping its
wings like a bat. They believe that a witch or daini can see things
in complete darkness as clearly as in the daytime and watch things
happening far away and can see god, ghost and other supernatural
beings that are invisible to common mortals. A witch or daini can
instantly transform himself or herself into cat, bat, dog, bird, in­
sect or any other animal of its choice.
If the witch wishes, he/she can cause various diseases in the body
of the enimies by force of his/her jugglery. The Tikkar Bai or daini
or witch is a male or female spirit and can do harm, when manipu­
lated by some expert person who lives in the neighbourhood within
their own community. Often, the person attacked by a Tikkar Bai
574 Barnali Sharma
or witch or daini become unconscious and lies as a dead body. The
symptom of attack of a Tikkar Bai or daini is fever or severe pain in
the stomach and the patient lies senseless. After that, the ojha or
some experienced person covers up the body of the sick man with
fishing net and ties up the little fingers of hands and feet and joins
the fingers with unboiled raw threads by uttering magical chants
so that the power of daini goes from the physical body of the
patient. After that, the ojha places the leaves of nag dangra (Pteris
vittata) trees and a little quantity of dung of a pig in front of the
patient. The patient becomes restless. At that time, the ojha asks
the name and address of the patient considering her as a Tikkar Bai
or daini (witch). The witch is bound to confess her real identity
and reveal her enmity with the patient. The nature of a daini is
that she never reveals her own identity at first, rather she blames
others. During that time, the voice of the patient also changes into
the voice of the daini. The ojha does not leave her. He pierces the
body of the patient with the teeth of a hog until she gives her
identity. At last, she reveals her real identity, cries loudly for her
ignorance, she offers lame excuses for her fault, and requests him
to allow her to leave the body of the patient. She is compelled to
swear that she would make a noise or break a tree in the household
compound as a sign of leaving. After swearing this, as soon as the
daini or witch departs from that place, the patient is cured com­
pletely for a while.28

BELIEFS ABOUT THE WITCHES

Some general beliefs about the witch among the Rabhas are as
follows 29:
1. Generally, the man or woman who practise witchcraft can never
see eye-to-eye with other people.
2. Witches cannot sit on the pira (small wooden stool), which is
made of only one piece of wood. If he or she sits on it, his/her
hips get stuck to it.
3. Witches can see a person’s heart like an image through a glass.
4. If the witch is in a sitting or standing position and someone nails
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 575
the shadow on its head, it cannot move from that particular
place where he/she is sitting or standing.
5. Even when the witch sleeps at night, the head which looks
like a fireball goes in search of victims.
6. Witches change themselves into animals like cat, dog, bat,
etc., and go in search of victims.
7. The witch bewitches and kills her own child or relative if she
fails to get other victims.
8. The mantra (spell) of witchcraft consists of only six words. If
these words are remembered at night, the witch can wander
around separating her head from her neck by magical powers.
9. Witches are active at night.
10. The victims are invariably members of their own village or
relatives.

ACTIVITIES OF THE WITCHES

The witches are mainly women, widows, poor, infertile and some­
times men also who bewitch people and animals.30 They perform
various activities during the day, while at night they gather in small
groups or sometimes alone visiting one homestead after another
carrying out wicked practices. Before a man or woman is admitted
to the group of witches, he or she has to prove that she had caused
the death of close relatives, preferably her own child.
The witches use things collected from multiple sources to pre­
pare medicines. At the dead of night she applies special medicines
on the targeted victim. The witch collects clothes, hair or other
things used by the victim. Mixed with other things these are bur­
ied at the entrance of the victim’s house or in the campus. Gradu­
ally, the victim falls ill as believed by the people. It is quite similar
to the idea of black magic. A witch may be considered a magician
or sorcerer according to the type of work he or she does.
The witches may perform other destructive activities. They might
not kill a man entirely on their own initiative rather invoke the
dangerous spirits to cause diseases. Usually, the medicine men or
healers invoke the spiritual world for help in curing the sick. Evil
witches misuse this power for their own ends rather than for the
benefit of others.
576 Barnali Sharma
A witch tries to obtain an object connected with the person, whom
he or she wants to harm, such as hair, nails, clothes, etc. He or she
goes to burial place and puts the objects into a grave where there is
a body or the ashes of a body and curses it. The witches may make
an effigy of the victim’s body, making it as thin as a skeleton or
deforming its hands. It is believed the condition of the person
deteriorates along with the condition of the effigy.

DIVISION OF WITCHES
Among the Rabhas, witches are divided into many types according
to their activities. Some of them are malevolent and some benevo­
lent. According to Shri Biswanath Rabha Tara of Bamungdanga
village of Maldhara area of Goalpara district, witches are divided
into six main divisions. According to their characteristic features
these are31:
Sanibari manbatang, Mangalbari manbatang, Narami manbatang,
Mirami manbatang, Dantray manbatang, Sintray manbatang.
Besides these the witches are again divided into eight divisions
according to their activities. These are:
Fungisakay (sai khaiti—ash devourer)
Raysak saleka Kaya (kalpat saleka—licking palm leaves)
Ramini Bai (alibatt pujita ba bate pothe dharota—waits at the entrance)
Tikam Fakay (china mostak—appears to be familiar)
Kaya Tikkar (nara rupi daini—like a human being)
Ki Tikkar (general daini)
Bai (kali rupi daini )
May Tikkar (lakhimi daini )
All these are together known as tikkar sung or maha daini.
The Rabhas believe that a witch is a demon and he or she is
manifested in human beings. They believe a witch can cut-off his/
her throat by magical power at night and the head moves around
on her tongue. They can also fly with magical power with the help
of their hair.32 Witchcraft is a continuous process among the Rabhas.
The knowledge is passed on from the mother to the daughter from
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 577
the time ‘she learns to wear clothes’ (meaning from a very early
age. However, others who volunteer to acquire the knowledge can
do so by undergoing training under an expert. While talking with
Upen Rabha Hakasam.33 One came across a very interesting piece
of information, which emphasizes the patriarchial attitude of the
society. All rituals in the Rabha society are conducted by the mem­
bers of the four clans Pam (mantra path), Teng Tong (dhulia),
Sursung (perform puja) and Rungdung (prasad making). They be­
lieve the male members of the pam gotra are intelligent and have
excelled in many ways but they consider that women of that gotra
use their intelligence for evil purpose.
Another important aspect connected with witch hunting is the
role of the diviner who in their estimation can forecast and warn
against any impending danger. Publicly organized divination is
very common among the Rabhas. The Rabhas have female diviner
(deodhanis), female religious dancers who perform shamanistic
dances and make pronouncements in a state of trance on the occa­
sion of Marai Puja. Often the priests themselves perform the func­
tions of foretelling the future with the help of omens and auguries.
When a person is sick for a prolonged period, a diviner or ojha or
ojhane (also called a pujari ) is called from a nearby village. The
ojha first declares without seeing the sick man or woman that the
person is in the grip of witch or daini. After that, the diviner starts
the process of divination to discover the disease and gives some
clue about the witch who is responsible for it. After the declara­
tion, the villagers hold a meeting and decide that the named per­
son is a daini or witch. Based on suspicion and superstition the
villagers physically harass, torture and sometimes kill the witch.
Most of the woman are punished by cutting off their hair because
the Rabhas think that the head flies with the help of her long hair
by dint of her magical power and cause harm to her enemy at
night. The norm of killing a witch is to behead her/him. Today,
there has been an increase in witch hunting which to a great
extent is used as an excuse to fulfil their ulterior motives. They
behead their enemy to substantiate it as a case of witch hunting.
Here comes the politics of identification. The traditionally ingrained
belief is taken advantage of by the people in the community with
578 Barnali Sharma
vested interests especially ojhas for gaining power over the people
and their livelihood. Some common cause of convicting one as
witch are illness, property dispute, damage of crops, sudden death
of domesticated animal, cultural differentiation, strained relation
with neighbours, mishap in marriage, rice beer offering, widow or
widower, food poisoning, ugly features, etc. With scientific reason­
ing one can conclude that these faults cannot be the outcome of
machination of any person or spirit (as it is believed to be). Thus,
myths and beliefs continue to grip the society impeding rational
thinking and actions.
Another aspect which needs emphasis is the fact that though
the Rabhas have gradually embraced Hinduism, they still have
deep faith in their traditional nature worship.34 It is the belief that
man must live in harmony with nature. If a person falls ill, it is
believed to be the outcome of violating the balance between hu­
man beings and nature. On the one hand, it has the genesis of
environment friendly beliefs and movements, but on the other,
these concepts lead to a belief in sorcery, black magic, evil spirits
and so on. In recent times, forces of cultural homogenization and
ethnic revivalism too has been a determining factor in the rise of
witch hunt practices among the ethnic communities. Of the Rabha
dominated areas, some villages of Goalpara which were ideologi­
cally Left dominated from a distant past, under the leadership of
Bishnu Prasad Rabha, a revolutionary political figure of Assam
belonging to the revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI)
and a few more influential communist leaders, during the fifties
and sixties of the twentieth century, there was not a single case of
daini or with hunt as the villagers could recall.35 But, it has crept
into the society now in the past three/four decades. Perhaps the
assertion of belief in the daini has come also as a revivalist ten­
dency under the sway of the idea of autonomous identity of the
ethnic community, as distinct socio-cultural entity.
Therefore, the superstructure of belief systems, rituals and cus­
toms, the idea of their collective identities have situated the com­
munity within certain constraints and promises leading to intended
or unintended consequences of their actions.
 Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam 579
NOTES

1. Malcolm Gaskill, Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University

Press, New York, 2010, p. 1.
2. Ibid., p. 2.
3. E.B. Tylor, Dictionary of Anthropology, W.R. Goyal Publishers and Distri­
butors, Delhi, 1990.
4. Christopher, Lakra Witch Hunting and Gender Exclusion, Indian Social
Institute, New Delhi, Xavier Publications, Ranchi, 2017, p. 12.
5. Silvia Federici, Caliban and The Witch, Phoneme Publishers and Distribu­
tors, Delhi, 2013, p. 184.
6. Michael J. Cullen, The Statistical Movement in Early Victorian Britain: The
Foundations of Empirical Social Research, cited in Silvia Federici, Caliban
and The Witch, Phoneme Publishers and Distributors, Delhi, 2013,
pp. 181-2.
7. E. Evans Pritchard, Witchcraft in Africa, cited in Douglas Mary (ed), Witch­
craft, Confessions and Accusations, Tavistock Publications, London, 1970.
p. xxiii.
8. M.G. Marwick, ‘The Social Context of Cewa Witch Beliefs’, Africa 22(2):
120-35, (3): 215-33, cited in Lakra Christopher, Witch Hunting and
Gender Exclusion, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, Xavier Publications,
Ranchi, 2017, 1952, p. 15.
9. Christopher Lakra, Witch Hunting and Gender Exclusion, Indian Social
Institute, New Delhi, Xavier Publications, Ranchi, 2017, p. 15.
10. R.S. Saletore, Indian Witchcraft, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, 1981,
p. 4.
11. Ibid., p. 61.
12. Ibid., p. 58.
13. Ibid., p. 120.
14. Ibid., p. 3.
15. Ibid., p. 122.
16. H.W. Haggard, Devils, Drugs and Doctors, New York and London, Harper
and Brothers, 1929, pp. 501-5.
17. Malcolm Gaskill, op. cit., p. 27.
18. Nathan Mirza, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi, tr. M.I. Borah, vol. 1, para 306,
p. 273.
19. Ibid., vol. 1, para 307, p. 274.
20. Upen Rabha Hakasam, 2013, Bhasa Sahitya Shrasta Drasta Aru Samaj
Nirmata, Aak Bak, Guwahati, 2013, p. 401.
21. Interview with Prof. Upen Rabha Hakasam. Presently a Professor in the
580 Barnali Sharma
Department of Assamese, Guwahati University on 15 September 2015.
He has worked extensively on tribal cultural history and practices and has
a number of books to his credit.
22. Ajay Skaria, ‘Women, Witchcraft and Gratuitous Violence’, in Colonial
Western India, Past & Present, no. 155 (May 1997), pp. 109-41.
23. Prafulladutta Goswami (ed.), Assamese Popular Superstitions and Assamese
Demonology, Gauhati University. Press , Guwahati, 1973, p. 23.
24. Ibid., p. 119.
25. Ibid., p. 190.
26. Smith Marrion, Survey of Social Science, Houghton Mifflin Co. Massachu­
setts, 1945, p. 285.
27. Rabha Rajen, The Rabhas, ABILAC, Guwahati, 2002, p. 186.
28. Ibid., p. 207-8.
29. Mahananda Das, Witchcraft Among the Rabhas of Kamrup and Goalpara
Districts of Assam, Unpublished Thesis Gauhati University, 2012, p. 43.
30. Upen Rabha Hakasam, Rabha Loka Sanskriti, Asom Prakashan Parishad,
Guwahati, 2003, pp. 112-19.
31. Cited in Ibid., p. 46.
.
32. Ibid.
33. Interview with Prof. Upen Rabha Hakasam, on 15 September 2014.
34. Upen Rabha Hakasam, Rabha Loka Sanskriti, 2003, p. 20.
35. Witch-Hunting in Assam: A Report, prepared by OKD Institute of Social
Change and Development, Guwahati, Under the aegis of Assam Police,
November 2015.
 C H A P T E R 30

Contextualizing Witch Hunting

Practices in Assam
DEBARSHI PRASAD NAT H

Witch hunting rests on the idea of witchcraft and black magic.

Practices of witch hunting have been prevalent in Assam for a long
time now. Scholars such as E.T. Dalton had pointed out to the
prevalence of witch hunting in nineteenth-century Assam. Though
the practice has been in vogue for a long time, it has recently seen
a revival of sorts with its spread to communities which were not
generally known to follow it. For a long time, it was considered to
be a ‘tribal’ issue, an issue therefore, that the mainstream could
afford to ignore. Gradually, the practice of this ritual has begun to
spread across communities.
Cultural contact can lead to the reification of differences and
cynical retreats into celebration of what each group regards as dis­
tinctively its own (Krupat 1992: 15). It has been argued elsewhere
that, nationalist aspiration and violence characterizes the ethnic
identity politics of Assam. ‘Communities can respond to complex
transitions in diverse ways. If the state is seen as opposed to the
interests of a community then its edicts are not reliable; in fact
they have to be opposed to keep alive the nationalist aspirations of
a community’ (Nath 2014: 59). One preserves, guards, and cele­
brates that in which one finds reason to take pride or that which
reinforces one’s sense of self as imagined—or would like to be.
One may find utility in a historical event or individual as a symbol
at one time but not at another. A similar view is expressed by
Gretchen who says, ‘We preserve, guard, and celebrate that in which
582 Debarshi Prasad Nath
we find reason to take pride or that which reinforces our sense of
ourselves as we imagine we are—or would like to be. We may find
utility in a historical event or individual as a symbol at one time
but not at another.’
Once upon a time there was a belief that, the process of moderni­
zation initiated by the British in the post-colonial world would
make ‘dirty’ things like witchcraft disappear as they apparently
did in Europe earlier. However, as time has proved, this was not to
be. People rely on their cultural memory to feed their ideas into
new circumstances. There is never any abandonment of all ideas
from the past. Witchcraft and witch hunt in contemporary Assam
have become a prominent way of coping with the very ‘modernity’
that was supposed to have done away with them.
Belief in witches and witchcraft tend to exist in the background
of community affairs in the societies where such ideas are held.
Mary (a fictitious name) belongs to the Adivasi community of
Assam. She lives in the Napaam area of the Sonitpur district. She
and her mother work as domestic help in the Tezpur University
Campus. Mary’s mother occasionally played the role of an ojha, a
traditional healer for members of her community. Belief in witch­
craft is a part of the social set-up and if not in broad daylight, it
flourishes in the shadows, in the dark ‘underworld’, fed by gossip
and rumour. During such periods, belief in witches and witchcraft
is kept alive by rumour sparked by jealousy and resentment. How­
ever, like Sigmund Freud’s ‘unconscious’ it waits for the opportune
moment and emerges into the public sphere only in times of
anxiety such as the actual sickness or death of someone in a
neighbouring family.
It was quite obvious from the interactions with Mary’s mother
that, she actually took pride in the fact that people approached her
with requests for curing their ailments and solving their problems.
But the ojha always walks on a tightrope. It does not take a long
while for people to turn against each other in a general atmosphere
of mistrust and suspicion. When the reasons for the general hard­
ship and adversities of life of people like Mary and her mother and
others in the community are not apparent, people strive desper­
ately to locate an enemy, a visible one on whom they can take out
all their pent up frustration. In a society besotted with identity
 Contextualizing Witch Hunting Practices in Assam 583
politics, a society in which class solidarity has long crumbled and
where gender solidarity was never allowed to materialize, the best
response to get out of the anxiety of these problems is to evoke a
pristine past on the basis of a shared cultural memory.
On one occasion, some of Mary’s neighbours fell ill. They sus­
pected Mary’s mother of foul play. Mary’s mother tried to argue
that she was in no way responsible for the maladies that afflicted
them. However, one night the villagers gathered near Mary’s house
and barged into her house with sticks and knives to threaten her
mother with dire consequences if the spell that she had apparently
cast on the neighbouring family was not immediately revoked.
Interestingly, Mary’s village is inhabited by Adivasis, Assamese,
Nepalese and Bengali Muslims. The perpetrators of violence in­
formed Mary’s mother that she would be put to trial by the villag­
ers on charges of being a witch. It was also decided by the perpe­
trators that only the members, who belonged to their community
would be allowed to attend the meeting. Mary later talked about
her attempt to persuade them about the need and logic of inviting
members of other communities. But this was not granted as it was
apparently an ‘internal’ matter of the community that needed to
be sorted out within it. The only discourse that has acceptability
in this context is the discourse of indigeneity. For once, the timely
intervention of the police helped to avert what seemed at one point
of time to be an imminent disaster.
Shashank Sinha in ‘Witch-Hunts, Adivasis, and the Uprising in
Chhotanagpur’ notes a sudden surge in ‘witch-hunting’ practice
during 1857-8, a practice that the British had banned for its obvious
barbarity. As Sinha argues, witch-hunts actually symbolized an
attack on the new laws and edicts issued by the ‘enemy’. They
were a local response to the varied resistance that the British faced
across north India:
Effectively combining both gender and anti-colonial tensions, witch-hunts
were systematically incorporated into the mobilisation strategies of the anti­
colonial Adivasi movements in Chhotanagpur. (2007: 1675)

There is indeed no doubt that considering the kind of frenzied

passion that witch hunts can trigger off, it could have been a very
potent weapon for ethnic mobilization.
584 Debarshi Prasad Nath
Shashank Sinha’s reading of witch hunting practices of the
Adivasis of Chota Nagpur area during the 1857 uprising does pro­
vide a new perspective for understanding the resurgence of such
practices among the Adivasis of Assam in the twentieth century.
The Adivasis migrated to Assam in the nineteenth century and
once they settled down here they lost touch with their homeland.
Fernandes, Pereira and Khatso have stated the prevalence of the
matriarchal system in Adivasi society. Once they switched over to
the patriarchal system, the woman’s role decreased in all spheres
and it resulted in the deterioration of her status (2007: 117). A
study of the 1920s mentioned most tea garden Adivasis as followers
of the tribal Sarna religion (2007: 141). There were signs of Sarna
among them even in the 1980s. However, gradually Christianity
and Hinduism took over.
Today, the Adivasis have begun a process of retracing their lin­
eage back to Jharkhand as the starting point for reclaiming their
identity. The problem is not uncomplicated for as Fernandes, Pereira
and Khatso point out, very few Adivasis are left with memories of
their customary law (2007: 104). In order to revive their cultural
past they have gone back to handicraft items from Jharkhand. The
Adivasis have tried to link their cultural past ‘to a customary law
which they have lost to a great extent because of their isolation in
the regimented work structure of the tea gardens’ (Fernandes, Pereira
and Khatso 2007: 104).
In the process of ‘integration’ and ‘assimilation’ with institu­
tionalised religions, many ethnic communities have internalized a
deep-seated fear and suspicion of woman. Thus, ‘traditional’ patri­
archal prejudices (which did exist in spite of the existence of ma­
triarchal systems in some societies) combine with an internalized
sense of male authority to produce a dangerous concoction in so
far as women are concerned. Patriarchal religious values, indig­
enous as well as acquired, combine to strengthen the stereotypes
of women as jealous, vindictive and secretive and more inclined
towards witchcraft. The fact that women are in charge of the re­
production of their families magnifies men’s fear of their powers.
Being politically correct about social and customary practices
of the north-east has become such an imperative that ideas of
 Contextualizing Witch Hunting Practices in Assam 585
equality and justice have taken a backseat. This explains why this
grossest violation of human rights in Assam has not received the
kind of attention that it deserves.

CONCLUSION

Witch hunting practices in Assam can, on the one hand, be seen as

a fallout of the tremendous pressure that globalization has exerted
on land resources. Globalization has led to the shrinking of land
resources of indigenous communities. Land resources are shrink­
ing at a rate never witnessed before, thus striking at the very root
of the social fabric of ethnic communities. If one looks at the cases
of witch hunting that have been reported in the state of Assam in
the last two decades, the group that appears to be the most vulner­
able is people with landed property. Land grabbing on the pretext
of witch hunting is therefore becoming very common. Second, the
perceived threat of globalization has led to ethnic mobilization,
insisting on a revival of traditional practices and customs. The re­
vival of some of these practices may also be seen as a defiance of the
new cultural order imposed by globalization. Moreover, the in­
creasing involvement of global players in the health sector has un­
fortunately widened the chasm between communities, who have
access to modern health care in the towns and cities and those who
are left in the lurch in rural areas. Incidents of witch hunting tend
to rise during periods of political and social instability. Third, in
the context of the ethnic assertion movements of the north-east,
revival of indigenous knowledge needs to be seen against the back­
ground of reclamation of traditional ways of life. Moreover, in an
increasingly ‘competitive’ world there is a great deal of pressure on
traditional healers to deliver. The distrust of Western medicine
that has been encouraged by various schools of thought in the
name of reclaiming non-empirical ethnoscience and proposing al­
ternative modernities has done irreparable harm to communities
living in the ‘margins’ such as the Adivasis of Assam.
Many communities around the world today foresee the night­
marish scenario of cultural homogenization, with diverse national
cultures giving way to a world dominated by Western values and
586 Debarshi Prasad Nath
symbols. It is also true that, while traditions are restrictive in cer­
tain respects, they can also be a way of ensuring freedom and iden­
tity-assertion in a society beset with insurgency, consumerism and
identity politics. But to retain traditional customs and practices
only to prove that these are still useful in the local contexts would
be a hazardous proposition. There is obviously no doubt about the
fact that some traditional values and practices can be liberating,
but it is also a fact that there is a lot in it that clash with universal
values of human rights. Ironically, the fight for economic equality
is fought in a cultural terrain. The divorce of culture from eco­
nomics being complete, token protests in the name of indigenous
culture is all that one is seemingly left with.

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Dalton, E.T., 1960, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, Calcutta: Bengal Govern­
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Fernandes, Walter, Melville Pereira and Vizalenu Khatso, 2007, Customary Laws
in North East India: Impact on Women, New Delhi: National Commission
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Economic & Political Weekly, vol. XLIX, no. 54.
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 Contributors

ARCHANA BARUA, Professor & Head, Department of Philosophy,

Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur, Gauhati.
ASSADUZZAMAN, Assistant Professor, BBB College, Morigaon, Assam.
BARNALI SHARMA, Associate Professor, Department of History, Gauhati
University.
BASHABI GUPTA, Associate Professor, Department of Geography,
Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi.
CHANDAN KUMAR SARMA, Associate Professor and Head, Department
of History, Dibrugarh University.
DEBARSHI PRASAD NATH, Professor and Head, Department of Cul­
tural Studies, Tezpur University, Assam.
D.L. HAOKIP, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Gauhati
University.
DINA SWARGIARI, Research Scholar, Tezpur University.
EDWARD GAIT, former ICS and author of History of Assam (1905).
E.K. SANTHA, Assistant Professor, SRM University, Sikkim.
HERMINA B. LAKIANG, Assistant Professor and Head of History De­
partment, Bissau College, Shillong.
JAHNABI GOGOI NATH, Professor and Head, Department of History,
Dibrugarh University.
J.H. HUTTON, formerly of Indian Civil Service and chair of William
Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cam­
bridge.
JANGKHOMANG GUITE, is Associate Professor at Department of His­
tory, Manipur University, Imphal.
588 Contributors
JAE-EUN SHIN, Research Fellow, Research Institute for Languages
and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign
Studies.
KYNPHAM SING NONGKYNRIH, Professor, Department of History,
North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
M. PARWEZ, Professor, Centre for Advanced Studies in History,
Aligarh Muslim University.
MAHENDRA PRASAD GURUNG, Research Scholar, Department of Mass
Communications, Sikkim University.
NIKITA SHANDILYA, Research Scholar, Department of History, Assam
University, Diphu.
NIRMAL KUMAR MAHATO, Associate Professor, Department of History,
Vidyasagar University, Medinipur, West Bengal.
OBJA BORAH HAZARIKA, Assistant Professor Department of Political
Science, Dibrugarh University.
OLYMPIA KURMI, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Rajiv
Gandhi University.
PHOIBI LALNIROPUI TUOLOR, Assistant Professor, Department of His­
tory, Handique Girls College, Guwahati.
RAJIB HANDIQUE, Professor and Head, Department of History, Gauhati
University.
RANJEETA MANNOW, Assistant Professor in Economics, Donyi Polo
Government College, Kamki, Arunachal Pradesh.
R OHMINGMAWII , Assistant Professor, Department of History,
Pachhunga University College, Aizawl.
SARAH HILALY, Professor, Department of History, Rajiv Gandhi
University.
TAGE HABUNG, Assistant Professor in History, Government College
Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh.
TEJIMALA GURUNG NAG, Professor, Department of History, North
Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
 Contributors 589
TINGLEINAM THAGIEW, Research Scholar, Department of History,
Assam University, Silchar.
VANDANA GOSWAMI, Independent Researcher.