My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga HillsJohnstone, James, Sir
History
My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills
Johnstone, James, Sir
Manipur (India) -- Description and travel; Naga Hills (India) -- Description and travel
Their origin is obscure. They are first met with in the north-east
portion of the Assam Valley between the Muttuk country and Sudya. Round
the last in the vast forests, there are numerous ruins ascribed by the
people to the Cacharee Rajahs, built of substantial brickwork. I have
not seen any sculptured stonework, but it may exist. The traditions
give no clue to their original home, which was probably in Thibet. From
the neighbourhood of Sudya they penetrated down the valley, leaving
buildings and remnants of their tribes here and there, notably in
the Durrung district. The main body were, for a time settled in the
neighbourhood of Dimapur, and the country lying between it and Doboka,
the Cachar district, but when they arrived or how long they stayed we
have no means of ascertaining. They occupied the first two or three
ranges of the Burrails and stoutly contested possession with the
Naga invaders, and after they had been dispossessed made a gallant
attempt to retrieve their affairs by an attack on Sephema. They
entered the hills by the Diphoo gorge and constructed a paved road
up to the neighbourhood of Sephema where they would probably have
succeeded in their operations, but that the Sephema Nagas, skilful
then as now, in the use of poison, poisoned the waters and destroyed
a large portion of the invaders; the rest retreated to Dimapur, and
eventually left the neighbourhood and settled in Cachar, to which they
gave their name. There are still a good many Cacharees on the banks
of the Kopiti, in the neighbourhood of Mohung-dee-jood. They are a
fine hardy race, and in my time the Naga Hills police was largely
recruited from them. Under Captain Butler they did good service,
and would have gone anywhere when led by him. [10] The Cacharees were
governed formerly by a race of despotic chiefs.
KUKIS.
The Kukis are a wandering race consisting of several tribes who
have long been working up from the South. They were first heard
of as Kukis, in Manipur, between 1830 and 1840; though tribes of
the same race had long been subject to the Rajah of Manipur. The
new immigrants began to cause anxiety about the year 1845, and
soon poured into the hill tracts of Manipur in such numbers, as to
drive away many of the older inhabitants. Fortunately, the political
agent (at this time Lieutenant afterwards Colonel McCulloch) [11]
was a man well able to cope with the situation. Cool and resolute,
he at once realised and faced the difficulty. Manipur in those days,
owing to intestine quarrels, could have done nothing, and the Rajah
Nur Singh gladly handed over the management of the new arrivals to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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