Mythologies of the Tangkhul Naga Tribes

The heritage of tribal arts and crafts is not a free flowing expression of an individual creativity but an intellectually processed expression accepted by collective beliefs. Tangkhul tribe is one of the largest tribes of Manipur and they have been known for distinct traditions and culture of their own. Tangkhul tribe are living in the Indo-Burma border area occupying the Ukhrul district of Manipur and Somra Tangkhul hills in Upper Burma (Myanmar). It is believed that they came to Manipur from China through Myanmar. According to a Greek astronomer and geographer, the Tangkhuls were believed to be settled in Samshok (Thuangdut) in Myanmar and they began to disperse from Samshok in different directions. According to the elders of the community, the word ‘Tangkhul’ was derived from the Meitei dialect (largest ethnic group of Manipur). Tangkhul is a combination of the words “Tada” and “Khul”. Tada meaning elder brother and Khul means village. Therefore, Tangkhul means the village of elder brother. Tangkhul tribe has legendary textiles heritage in terms of traditional costumes, colours, specific design and motifs with significance and symbolism. The traditional textiles of the tribe are not only derived from the environmental physiology, but also marked socio-cultural meanings that reveal the societal norms. They reflect age, sex, social status and sacred or profane activities which appear in various contexts. Both unmarried and married women were engaged in art of weaving. They made the requirement of their family for everyday use and for ceremonial wear. Traditionally, it was considered to be one of the basic skills to be learnt by a woman before getting married. Cotton was the most preferred yarn to weave their fabrics. In earlier times, most of the Tangkhul villages not only wove cotton cloth but also cultivated cotton and spun it into yarn. According to the elder people of the community, in earlier times, barter system of cotton with other goods was also practiced between the tribes people and Meiteis. The tribe people used to trade cotton with the Meiteis weavers and in return they got goods which were not easily available in hills. Red, black and white colours were dominantly used on their textiles as a base. Colours such as green, blue, yellow/orange were used for designing motifs. Earlier, the tribe people followed dyeing process using naturally available materials such as fruits, barks and roots of different trees, clay and mud. They made the colour combinations ideally suited for the hill environment. They used to dye hand spun cotton yarn for their weaving as well as cane, bamboo stalk or animal hair for their accessories. Base fabric was woven in plain weave and swivel extra weft technique was used for designing motifs. Woven at the loin loom, the breadth of the cloth is generally narrow. They had to stitch together two or more pieces of cloth by hand to get wider cloth. Traditionally, the weavers got inspiration for designs and motifs from their natural surroundings. They wove designs very intricately and mostly used motifs such as insects, animals, plants, and geometrical shapes on the textiles. The traditional textiles of Tangkhul can be broadly classified as unisex textiles, male (upper and lower) garments and female (upper and lower) garments. All the costumes comprised of draped garments. Little or no stitching was done. Draping required considerable expertise to make the costume look elegant as well as functional. The chief garments were shawls and sarongs-Kachon is a shawl and Kashan is a female sarong in Tangkhul dialects.

The history of the Tangkhul tribe, like the rest of the Naga tribe is orally passed down through the generation in the form of story and songs. It is believed that most of the history were lost in the test of time. Until the end of 20th century only, where the Nagas began to keep written records. Tangkhul Nagas are by tradition lovers of music and storytelling. This used to be the only medium where olden knowledge is passed down from generations to generations. The folk songs are closely intertwined with the belief system, agriculture season, love, war heroes and cultures. The whole year round is filled with spirit of festive mood. The year begins with the preparation for plantation. There is a festival of plantation called “Luira Phanit” which is one of the biggest festival celebrated by the Tangkhul Naga. In bigger terms it is called the Lui-Ngai-Ni, the seed sowing festival celebrated by all the Nagas in India and Myanmar. There are festivals for transplantation of crops, picnic season and Harvest season festival. After the adoption of Christianity, Christmas is a big deal for the Tangkhul Naga. It would not be wrong to say that Christmas, currently is the most widely and loudly celebrated festival. Long story short, Nagas have always revered to the uniqueness of its identity and culture and have always sought for unique political identity. Nagas adopted ‘Hornbill’ as its national bird. So, every year the Hornbill Festival is celebrated in Nagaland. It is one of the most recommended festivals where thousands of tourists come in to witness every year.

One of the main tribes in the Northeastern state of Manipur, the Tangkhul Naga tribe is renowned for its elaborate textile customs and rich cultural history. The colourful, symbolic motifs-filled Tangkhul Naga folk textiles are used for both everyday clothing and cultural expression. The tribe uses its weaving craft as a way to pass down history, status, and values from generation to generation in addition to being an economic endeavour. The Tangkhul Nagas' intricate ties to tradition and environment are embodied in their textiles. Stories about the tribe's interactions with their surroundings, including the nearby flora and fauna, are woven into each design. For the Tangkhul people, textiles are a form of expression that interweaves social hierarchies, folklore, and traditional beliefs, in addition to serving as practical clothing. With each thread representing a link to their cultural past, their colourful motifs provide insight into their world. In Tangkhul Naga society, weaving is an age-old craft with deep folkloric roots. Legend has it that Zingtai Mansingla, a fairy, taught the women of the Tangkhul tribe how to weave before any other fairy ever introduced the craft. Weaving was once thought to be a necessary skill for Tangkhul women, particularly those ready for marriage. The complex craft of weaving, passed down through the generations, attested to the weaver's social and cultural status in addition to their skill level. The tribe has historically woven its textiles using handlooms, notably the loin loom. Their daily lives revolved around this loom setup, which not only provided clothes but also acted as a gathering place for women to exchange customs, tales, and folklore. The textiles produced had symbolic meanings that represented the wearer's age, gender, and social standing in addition to the occasion they were worn for.

The Tangkhul Naga ethnic tribe lives on both sides of the India-Burma (now Myanmar) border like many other ethnic groups from the Northeast region. While the number of Tangkhul villages in Manipur State in the Indian sub-continent, as per reports, is around 224, the number of Tangkhul villages in Burma are over 30 villages in the Somra Tract located in Myanmar’s Naga Self-Administered Zone. The Naga Self-Administered Zone has three townships — Lay Shi (Lashe or Leshi), Nanyun and Lahe — are located in the hill area on the Indo-Myanmar border. Places such as Hkamti, Htamanthi (Tamanthi) or Homalin are situated closer to the bank of the Chindwin River. The traditional lion headdress of the Tangkhul Nagas is one of the peculiar and unique headdresses of the North Eastern tribes of India. The Tangkhul Naga headdress captured by Pablo Bartholomew is exclusively worn by Tangkhul Naga men from the northern part of Ukhrul District. To watch the villages such as New Tusom area in the Indian territory, and their sister villages in Somra Tract of Burma donning the Tangkhul ethnic lion headdress in festivities is a splendor. Padma Shri (2013) and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres awardee, Indian photojournalist and an independent photographer Pablo Bartholomew while spending over a decade in the Northeast region, especially deep in the Naga areas on either sides of India and Burma capturing photos of the various tribes in the region described the headdress of the Tangkhul Naga tribe as the most spectacular one. According to a report in the Times of India, this is what Pablo Barholomew observed about the Tangkhul tribe headdress: “This is one of the most spectacular headdresses amongst all the Naga tribes worn by the Tangkhuls of both India and Myanmar (Burma). Intermarriage still exists between the Northern Tangkhuls of Manipur in India and the Somra Nagas of Burma. The headdress is adorned with hornbill feathers, a brass dish and fringes of human hair. The jaw-piece is made of wood embedded with red and white seeds.

The Tangkhul people, also known as the Tangkhul , are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group living in the Indo–Mayanmar border area, occupying the Ukhrul district and Kamjong district in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur, and in parts of neighbouring Myanmar. Despite this international border, many Tangkhul have continued to regard themselves as "one nation". The name "Tangkhul" is originated from the Meitei language words, "Tang" meaning "scarce" and "Khul" meaning "village" respectively. According to another theory of origin, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language. The Tangkhuls are believed to have migrated from China via Myanmar along with Meitei and other Naga tribes like Angami, Chakhesang, Mao, Poumai, Maram, Thangal and Zeliangrong and dispersed together from Makhel.

The Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur&rsquos Ukhrul district are a remarkable tribe of polyglots. In Tangkhul country, the local language fades into a new dialect every 20kms, adding up to over a hundred Tangkhul dialects, many of which are practically different languages from each other. To overcome this, the Tangkhuls have decided on one common language, using which tribesmen from different villages in Ukhrul communicate with each other. Then, of course, there&rsquos &lsquoManipuri,&rsquo which different tribes of Manipur use to communicate with each other. Once headhunters, the Tangkhuls are now among the Manipuri tribes with the highest literacy rates, so most young Tangkhuls also speak English. Many of them, especially the traders, also choose to learn Hindi, a useful language for business. Not only do the Tangkhuls&mdashwho occupy Manipur&rsquos Ukhrul district on the Indo-Burmese border, and even parts of Myanmar and beyond&mdashhave no common native language as a tribe, until recently they didn&rsquot even have a script for any of their individual dialects and yet they managed to maintain their identity as &lsquoone tribe&rsquo for centuries. They never needed the written word, because their real &lsquoscript&rsquo was in their folk songs, dances, wood carvings, crafts and handmade textiles and their &lsquolanguage&rsquo of choice has always been music. The Khangahon, for instance&mdashan impressive form of vocal music sung in groups to the Pheizak dance, while planting or harvesting paddy&mdashdoesn&rsquot even contain words or lyrics just humming and exhaling in rhythmic, choir-like acapella style, by both men and women in sequence. The Tangkhuls also believe that singing deliberate hums in groups while exhaling gives you more energy to do physical work. While the performance is certainly melodious&mdashthere&rsquos a formal method and protocol to even this melodious social humming&mdashfrom the tone of each singer&rsquos hum, you can tell whether they&rsquore old or young, married or available, etc&hellip an indigenous form of &lsquostatus update,&rsquo without using silly gadgets.

Tangkhuls living in Burma are also known as Hogo Naga/Eastern Tangkhul/Somra Tangkhul. Also Kokak Naga and Akyaung Ari Naga are included tribally within Tangkhul Naga tribe but their language are quite distinct. The Tangkhul (Somra/Hogo) language in Myanmar is very different from Tangkhul (Ukhrul) spoken in India. The villages in the north like Jessami, Soraphung and Chingjaroi (swimi) have quite a different culture than the main Tangkhul group but have more cultural ties with that of the Chakhesang (Jessami and Soraphung) poumai (chingjaroi )tribes. The Tangkhuls, as with other tribes on the hills, came to Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from Myanmar entering their present habitats in successive waves of immigration. The Tangkhuls came together with the Angamis, Chakhesangs, Zeliangrongs, Maos, Poumais, Marams and Thangals because all of them have references to their dispersal from Makhel, a Mao village in Senapati district. They had also erected megaliths at Makhel in memory of their having dispersed from there to various directions. The meitei community is widely considered to have broken apart from the Tangkhul's roughly 2400 years ago In course of time every Tangkhul village became a small republic like the Greek city states. Every village had an unwritten constitution made up of age-old conventions and traditions. The Tangkhul villages were self-sufficient except for salt, and self-governing units ruled by hereditary or elected chief assisted by a Council of Elders. The chief was a judge, administrator and commander rolled into one. Hunphun was the headquarters of the Tangkhul Long (Tangkhul Assembly). The Tangkhul annual fair locally known as "Leih Khangapha" used to be held at Somsai (now Assam rifle headquarter in the district) in Ukhrul. The boundary of Manipur and Burma (Myanmar) was laid down by an agreement signed between the British authorities (East India Company) and Burma on 9 January 1834 on the river bank of Nighthee (Chindwin). The Article No.4 (iii) of this agreement relates to the Tangkhul country. "Fourth (iii) - On the north, the line of boundary will begin at the foot of the same hills at the northern extremity of the Kabaw Valley and pass due north up to the first range of hills, east of that upon which stand the villages of Chortor (Choithar), Noongbee (Nungbi), Nonghar (Lunghar), of the tribe called by the Munepooriis (Manipuris) Loohooppa (Tangkhul), and by the Burmahs Lagwensoung, now tributary of Manipoor." As a result of this boundary demarcation without the knowledge let alone consent of the Tangkhuls, many Tangkhul villages situated in the Somrah hills, Layshi township, Tamu township and Homalin township are included under Burma. Later, when India and Burma attained national independence, the Tangkhuls found themselves belonging to two different countries.

The Tangkhul Naga Tribe lives mostly in the Indo- Myanmar- Border area occupying the Ukhrul District of Manipur. According to Meitei dialect, “Tangkhul” can also be interpreted as ‘costly village’. Anthropologists too understood the name and meaning of the ‘Tangkhul’ and their origins in different ways. Different scholars called them as Luhuppa, Luppa, Tagkhul, Thangkhum, Tangkhul etc. as their alternative names. Tangkhuls are no doubt a highly cultured people. They belong to the great Mongolian race which has now spread all over the World. They speak the Sino-Tibeto-Burman language groups. Tangkhuls are fair in complexion and colourful in terms of their traditional wears. Historically, these colourful peoples were a self-sufficient people and lived themselves independently. Tangkhuls can be classified into a number of clans. The following can be mentioned as some of its big clans; Zimik, Luikham, Keishing, Horam, Shaiza, Jajo, Kashung etc. Tangkhuls are the village loving people. Right from the beginning, every Tangkhul village had been a well organized and independent political unit. Within its territory, every village enjoyed both internal as well as external independent of its own. The villages were guided by their customary and traditional laws. Most of the Tangkhul village sites were located near the spring or stream to ensure them dependable supply of drinking water. Another most important factor responsible for determining the location of a village was the security. They fulfilled all those criteria of a full-fledged state by possessing population, definite territory of their own and sovereignty of both internal as well as external. They were a self-sufficient and politically well organized democratic state. Most of the Tangkhul villages are thickly populated. In which, villages were generally ruled by the King/Headman (Awunga) with the support of the village council. As such their administration was indigenous and independent. Every Tangkhul villages had a strong defense system of their own in order to protect themselves from any external forces. Most of the Tangkhul villages were very strong and big in the past. Festivals had been the main interpreter of village or the social life, belief, culture and custom of the Tangkhul people. Festival as a part of their culture and custom played a significant role in Tangkhul Society. There were several types of festivals at the village. The ancestors were agriculturists, in the year cycle festivals were associated with the year-round seasonal agricultural activities. All those festivals were associated with sacred religious rituals. They followed some strict codes of conduct for all those festivals. Some of the big festivals of the Tangkhuls which are still celebrating are; (1) Luira Phanit (seed sowing) (2) Yarra (Youth festival) (3) Mangkhap Phanit etc. Tangkhuls are music loving people and their songs and their songs were mostly soft and melodious. Apart from varied seasonal, cultural ideas and philosophies, music was a medium wherein historical events were taught. Their religious and romantic nature also expressed in their songs and music. There were varieties of songs, some were mood special, and some were festival and seasonal specials. These folksongs and folklores can be taught and sang by anybody. It can be played with musical instruments such as; 1. Tingteila (violin), 2. Tala (Trumpet), 3. Phung (Drum), 4. Mazo (Woman’s mouth-piece), 5. Sipa (Flute), 6. Paren (Bamboopipe) etc. There are some special occasional dances which are still practicing, like the Laa khanganui – virgin dance during Luira festival (Lui-ngai-ni), Rai Pheichak – War Dance etc.