Socio-cultural Life of Trans-border Tribes: A Case Study of the Baites

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Socio-cultural Life of Trans-border Tribes: A Case Study of the Baites

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Legitimacy, Power and Subversion 119

Socio-cultural Life of Trans-border Tribes: A Case Study of the Baites

Chungkhosei BaiteUGC Full-time Post-doctoral Fellow Department of Political Science, Manipur University, [email protected]

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to understand the socio-cultural life and distinct identity of a small tribe—the Baites. Integration or assimilation has been observed among the tribal societies in the north-east India while inter-tribal conflicts and feuds too have intensified. However, smaller tribes have been found to especially resist assimilation from the larger community and have continued to preserve their primordial culture and maintained their distinctive identity. The Baites are among such trans-border tribes that have insisted on preserving their age-old socio-cultural practices and continued asserting their distinctive identity. Subsumed to be a branch of Chin-Kuki-Mizos, it may appear that the Baites are no different from these groups. Nevertheless, there are so many nuances in the Baites’ social and cultural life that distinguishes them from other groups. This article makes an effort to understand the Baites and what distinguishes them from other tribal groups in the region.

KeywordsTribal, identity, culture, custom

Introduction

Tribes of Indo-Burma are not a homogeneous entity even though their social-political and cultural life may appear simple, uncomplicated and monotonous. There are nuances that characterise the distinctive identity of a tribe and different ways in which its organised polity is mediated in social and cultural spaces. At the onset of modernisation and formation of democratic institutions, introduction of science and technology, modern methods of transport and communication, certain trends could be discerned among the tribes. First, despite a distinct desire for

Social Change 44(1) 119–129

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Social Change, 44, 1 (2014): 119–129

120 Chungkhosei Baite

assimilation and integration, inter-tribal feuds and contests intensified and there seemed to be an enhanced awareness of self vis-à-vis the other. Second, fear of their distinct identity getting submerged prompted many minor tribes to resist assimilation especially with the majority tribes, especially the group/community with whom they might have shared same food habits, customs and rituals, similar form of dialect or speech and even same ancestry. Thus, many trans-border tribes have continued to assert their distinctiveness by clinging to their primordial practices and, lately, through rediscovery of past with new vigour. These develop-ments also pose a question about whether the European categorisation, standardi-sation and subsuming of many small tribes as part of a major tribe are the cause of contemporary conflict among the tribal communities. Alternatively, the con-tinuance of inter-tribe conflict may be a reflection of the inherent human desire for domination as characterised by Thomas Hobbes (1651). It is in this context that an effort has been made here to understand the socio-cultural life of a small tribe—the Baites. The article intends to throw light on this largely unexplored tribal group and study the distinct character of the Baites vis-à-vis neighbouring, trans-border tribes.

Socio-cultural Life of the Baites

The Baites are among the least known hill tribes struggling to maintain its distinct identity, culture, custom and tradition. They are scattered in the provinces of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram in North-eastern states of India and parts of Sagaing and Chin provinces of Myanmar (Singh, 1995).

The term Baite is a combination of two words ‘Bai’ and ‘Te’: Bai means one who ‘could not walk properly’ and Te is the plural form for people. There are several legends behind how the tribe came to be known as Baite. One such fable is that the Baite was originally called Khokuan (Baite Jamkhongam, 2000). The legend behind this is that once a man named Khokuan with some others fol-lowed a swine in the jungle. While trying to catch the swine, Khokuan got his leg injured and could not walk properly. His companions started calling him Baite, that is, the one who limps. Another fable is that the original term for the Baite was Paote who, along with his brother, went to pluck figs from a tree. Near the fig tree grew a thorn locally known as vakolling. The thorn pierced his leg and Paote could not climb the tree. Hence, his brother started calling him Baite. Since then Paote’s successors came to be known as Baite.

Family Structure

The Baite society is basically structured around twelve clans and a numbers of sub-clans and lineage. The 12 clans are as follows: Meilhai, Thangthiem, Phungkhawl, Thenhlung, Thenchong, Kholsong, Kholngul, Kholphut, Thagsei, Singul, Ngulnun



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Socio-cultural Life of Trans-border Tribes 121

and Lheisung. Thus, the Baite society is, in essence, an enlarged family, which is similar to Rousseau’s formation of society as the family enlarged (Rousseau, 1762). Family forms the nucleus of ever-widening circle of community and the community has its beginning in a specific household where a man dwells with his kin. In fact, there was no distinction between the idea of family and that of a com-munity among the Baites. The Baite community has a hierarchically arranged social relationship and power structure. Each clan professes to trace its descent through male line and to a common ancestor, whereas the female line is absorbed into the clan of her husband’s descent at marriage.

In the Baite joint family, daughters are expected to perform domestic chores under the supervision of mother, and sons are supposed to ensure family security under the leadership of the father. The idea of this socio-economic tie underlines the principles of the filial relationship between the sisters with the mother and sons with the father. This family–society bond is extended to embrace the filial relationship between clans in the tribal society at large. The social structure is thus determined by the filial relationship between the son-group called Be or UlehNau and the daughter group called Chanute. The son-group or Be group is made up of male brothers along with the paternal male cousins. This is similar to what H. Kamkhenthang describes as Thalloh group and the daughter-group or Chanute comprising the married sisters along with the married female cousins from the paternal side. This group can be described as son-in-law group. A given family is also related to another social group Pute. Pute is the term by which the son groups of mother’s family lineage are called. Reciprocally, the mother’s family members call the children Tute. So, the Tute-group is a social group with the daughter-group down from different descent group.

To summarise, the paternal relatives of mother of a household are grouped into Pute category. These relatives are collectively called Sung leh Pu. In the same grouping, the paternal relatives of father of the household are collectively called Beleh Phung. The group made up of the paternal female cousins is referred to as Tuleh Maak (Kamkhenthang, 1998). These are to be called familial relatives. The social life of a Baite family is thus inter-related and inter-dependent on these familial networks or relatives.

Laws of Inheritance

Every society has its own law of inheritance. In the Baite society, rules of inherit-ance are ultimo geniture, that is, the youngest son inherits the property of father. But the youngest son cannot inherit chieftainship among the Baites. Usually, chieftainship is taken by the eldest son because the eldest son is believed to be more efficient in the village administration than the youngest. If the eldest son happens to be mentally challenged or deficient in ascribed qualities, then chief-tainship is handed over to the next eldest son. If the father has no son, the right of inheritance is transferred to the nearest male relatives. A woman does not have the right to inherit paternal property among the Baites.



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Matrimony

Traditionally, the Baites follow clan exogamy while fixing marriage. Marriage within the same clan is strictly prohibited in the Baite society. If a man marries a girl from his own clan, he is banished from the village. The marriageable age for both boys and girls are 21 and 18 years, respectively. Child marriage is not accepted among the Baite community. There are different kinds of acquiring a mate among the Baites. Mutual consent preceded by courtship is one mode. Another is through elopement. In case of marriage by consent, the boy approaches the girl’s parents by conveying his willingness to marry the girl through his friends. The girl too expresses her willingness to her parents through her friends, in order to marry the boy of her choice. If the girl’s parents agree to the proposi-tion the guardians of both the boy and girl will held a meeting for fixing the date of marriage and thus marriage is solemnised.

In case of elopement, the parents or relatives of the boy immediately have to go to the house of the girl to give the news of elopement. This helps in lessening the worry and anxiety of the girl’s parents about the safety and whereabouts of their daughter. For this, the parents of the boy or his relatives will carry a jar of Zu (local wine) as offering to the parents of the girls. This event is called Kiphon, meaning self-declaration of the responsibility. A formal negotiation then com-mences with the parents or relatives of the boy offering apologies to the parents of the girl. A request is made to condone the mistake committed by their son and ask for the hand of the daughter. If the girl’s parents agree, another day is fixed for further negotiation.

The practice of elopement, though commonplace among many tribes, has certain stigma attached to it. Among the Baites, in the event of elopement, parents of the boy have to pray to the girl’s parents so that their family and son can be absolved of the guilt of bringing a bad name to their daughter and family. Besides formal apologies, parents of the boy have to bring one jar of Zu along with one Mithun as a penalty for the ‘misdeed’ of their son. The Mithun is killed and the negotiation for the bride price and the manner in which the price is to be paid proceeds and feast called Sumtan Khao follows (Gangte, 1993). A further date is fixed in which the boy’s parents should come with the bride price. On this day, the boy’s parents come with the bride price and a jar of Zu meant for their prospective daughter-in-law. This is called Ki InLut, that is, apology and surren-der before the girl’s parents for the mistake committed. Until this obligation is performed, the marriage is considered not perfect.

Premarital sexual relationships are tolerated among the Baites community though such attachments often eventually lead to marriage. But if such relation-ships are not approved of by the parents, they can be broken off. In such an event, the parents of the boy go to the house of another girl requesting her to be their daughter-in-law. Sometimes lovers elope and marry against the wishes of parents. Such incidents may create transient indignation, but are usually resolved amicably after the birth of a child. On a number of occasions, young couples merely take



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refuge in the homes of family friends who look after them until a compromise is arrived at between the parents. Polygamy and polyandry are strictly prohibited in the Baite society.

The Baites prefer matrilineal cross-cousin marriage (MCCM), that is, among the Baites, a boy has to marry his mother’s brother’s daughter and such norms are strictly followed. This type of marriage is arranged by the parents of the boy and the girl and is locally called as Chongmou. Sometimes a man is forced to marry a woman due to premarital pregnancy. Such marriage is called Jolgai.

Bride Price

Marriage is fixed through payment of bride price among the Baites. The bride price can range from two to three Mithuns for an ordinary woman and anything up to ten Mithuns in case the bride is the daughter of the chief and for daughters of the royal families. In addition to Mithun, Lutom (turban) for the girl’s father and Laisui, traditional cloth for the mother, are given on the day of wedding but these items are not counted as bride price. The Lutom and Laisui have a profound sym-bolic significance in the Baite marriage ceremony. Lutom symbolises wiping the sweat of the father, while Laisui signifies patience of the mother at time of deliv-ering a child. Between married and unmarried women, it is difficult to make a distinction by way of attire as is possible among certain other tribes.

Divorce and Remarriage

Divorce can be initiated by either party. The reasons for divorce could be sterility in either of the partners, maladjustment, cruelty, impotency, chronic disease, insanity and so on. If the wife seeks divorce, her father has to refund the bride price to the husband. This system is called Man Le. If the husband seeks divorce, he simply gives `40 to his wife and takes her back to natal home. This procedure is called Da Man. However, the husband does not pay Da Man at the time of divorcing the wife who committed adultery. The children are the liabilities of the father after divorce.

Remarriage of widows and widowers is permitted, but a widow who has chil-dren and continues to stay in her late husband’s house cannot marry. However, a widow who has no children is permitted to remarry after first returning to her father’s house.

Adultery

Adultery is as an extremely serious offence and the Baite society imposes strict punishment for such offence. If a married woman commits adultery while living with her husband or during the period of mourning in the case of his death or while still living in her husband’s house, she stands socially discredited and



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becomes a Zawng (adulterer). The magnitude of penalty differs in the above cir-cumstances. Adultery committed by a woman while her husband is still alive deserves more severe punishment than adultery committed after the death of the husband. However, extreme caution is exercised while making such judgments. If a husband alleges his wife to have committed an act as Zawng but the allegation later proves to be false, he is bound to take her back or he has to divorce her with all its consequences.

Pregnancy Taboo

When a woman becomes pregnant, she is prohibited to eat certain taboo food such as crabs, meat of bear, meat of guinea pig and banana. Husbands of pregnant women are prohibited from killing snakes, making ropes and cutting of Sukto (mortal stick). It is popular belief amongst the Baite society that if pregnant women and husbands of such women do not abstain from such things, the foetus would ‘dissolve into liquid’ or child would be born deformed.

Child Birth and Naming System

When a child is about to be born, a village midwife prepares clothes for the child and the man prepares a sharp-edged bamboo blade although steel blades are more frequently used nowadays, for severing the umbilical cord. The belief among the Baites is that ‘evil spirits’ torture a new-born child. Therefore, as soon as the child is born, a temporary name is given so that the evil spirit, that is, Ramhuai may not harm the child. Thus, a temporary name is given to a child at the time of birth. After two weeks, a permanent name of the child is given and after another week, the ceremony of Nao Zuneh (serving Zu) in the name of the new-born child is performed.

Death and Funeral Ceremony

Death is a part of life, though there are different ways of bidding farewell to the departed. When somebody dies in the Baite family, the body is cleaned with warm water before burial. After washing the body, it is kept inside a bamboo basket called Sanglai and tied at Sutkhom (the main pillar of the house) for half an hour before taking out for burial. After all these rituals have been duly performed, the body is buried in the courtyard of the house.

Before extricating the corpse from Sanglai for burial, the men stands in two rows by holding one stick each and strike the surface of the house with the accom-panying chant of du, du, du, du, ra, ra, ra, ra and ru, ru, ru, ru (BaiteJamkhosei, 1978). After this, the body is allowed to be carried out and burial is performed. This is done so that the spirit of the man may ‘go to Pial Gal (heavenly abode)’



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without any trouble or obstacle. The dead are buried with their clothes and other belongings. In case a hunter is dead, the body will be buried along with the skulls, horns or bones of the animals he killed during his life-time and is paid a great honor. A gunshot is fired before placing the body inside the burial pit, if the deceased is the chief of a village among the Baites society.

Usually at the time of death, animals such as Mithun, cow, pig or dog depend-ing on wealth of the deceased, are slaughtered for mortuary feasts. This is called Kosa. All the relatives of the deceased participate in the mortuary feast. The Baites categorise death into two types―Thise and Thipha (bad death and good death). When a person dies due to old age or due to natural disease like TB, Malaria, it is called Thipha and when a person dies accidentally or unnaturally, it is called Thise. The body in the case of Thipha is buried in the courtyard of the house but the Thise are buried outside the village.

Social Feasts

The Baites have variety of feasts and festivals such as Sa-aih, Chang-aih and Kuts. Sa-aih is performed when a hunter kills big animals such as tiger, elephant and so on. The big kills are a cause of great pride and call for great celebration. The ability to kill an elephant is equated with virility/masculinity among the Baite. Among the birds, skills to kill hornbill is prized and such killing would be celebrated with a Sa-aih ceremony which raises a man’s social status. When a cultivator produces surplus crops like, paddy, maize, bajra, yam, canes, gods who blessed such yields are appeased with by performing a ceremony called Chang-aih (victory over crops). The purposes of performing such functions are to please the gods and acknowledge gratitude to the Providence. In all these feasts, Zu is heavily consumed.

Festivals

The festivals of the Baites revolve around Jhum (shifting cultivation) and are closely connected with similar agriculture activities. The Baites have four main festivals: (a) Anthah Kut, (b) Chavang Kut, (c) Mim Kut and (d) Pawl Kut. These festivals or the Kut, are in one way or the other, associated with Jhum. The prac-tice of Jhum or slash-and-burn mode of cultivation is a primitive method of growing crops for subsistence. To cultivate crops under Jhum, first the forest has to be cleared and leave the trunks and bushes and trees left to dry for burning. After the leaves and dead trunks are burnt the ashes collected from this are used and acts as manure for various crops.

(a) Anthah Kut: The Anthah Kut is usually celebrated in the month of July when the first vegetables grown in the Jhum land such as maize, pumpkin, papaya, etc., are ready for harvest. This celebration marks harvesting the



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first seasonal crops and fruits after a long and hard labour in the fields. Every household in the village bring the first yield of the season in the house of the chief and share drinks together.

(b) Chavang Kut: This festival is performed in celebration of marking the sprouting of plant or crops in the Jhum clearing and to appropriate the Providence who blessed it. The festival is celebrated with consum-ing vast quantities of Zu with singing, dancing and merry makings. The celebration takes place in the month of August or September every year.

(c) Mim Kut: This festival is normally celebrated during the month of August and September after the harvest of maize is over. The festival is celebrated with great fanfare, by drinking Zu, singing, dancing and feasting. There is a touch of solemnity about this festival—it is observed in the spirit of thanksgiving. It is also dedicated to the memory of the departed souls (Verghese & Thangzawma, 1997). A small portion of year’s first harvest is concentrated and offered at the Songdoh or platform built in memory of the departed souls of the community.

(d) Pawl Kut: This is thanksgiving festival of the Baites celebrated during December after the annual harvest is done. Pawl Kut is by far the greatest Kut celebrated in the spirit of perfect happiness, with plenty of grain in their barn and all the labour of the year over. Pawl Kut is held with great enthusiasm with lots of singing, dancing and community feasting.

Bachelor Dormitory (Sawm)

The Baites have the traditional institution of Bachelor Dormitory called Sawm. Usually one house is selected in the village for lodging. The selection of Sawm or dormitory is based on the presence of a daughter in the family. A family without any girl cannot be selected for Sawm. During the night, all the young boys of the village sleep in the house of a Sawm. The young ladies of the house will offer smoke and Zu (traditional liquor) to the young men lodged in their house. The young men usually work together during day time under the leadership of a chosen Sawmlamkai (Dormitory leader) (The Sangai Express, 2001). In Baite dialect, Sawmlenphat, that is, time for going to Sawm is a reference to night time.

The boys in the Sawm have to offer free and compulsory service to the village. Although the main purpose of this organisation is to defend the village from exter-nal attacks, in peace time, they render every possible service to the village com-munity. Moreover, it is an organisation for recreation of the young boys. In the Sawm, younger boys are taught to be responsible and perform various kinds of duties. Stories are told by the elder members and sometimes topics ranging from women to war are discussed. Young boys learn many things from the older group. They also learnt social custom and manners. Hence, the Sawm serves as an insti-tution of learning, discipline and other essential qualities necessary for a man in future life.



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Clothing and Attire

Different tribes of Indo–Burma border have a variety of costumes. The Baites are no exception. The Baites have colorful costumes and ornaments distinct from many other tribes. The Baite men wear Ponza (a small cloth) on their shoulder down to the thigh. The elderly man wear piece of cloth about 2.5 yard in length, black color called diel, an armless shirt called Boitong Sangkhol. They also wear Lukop (Turban).

The Baite women wear Nihsan (a distinctive skirt red in color) down the knee and wear a short shirt (Sangkholbanchom). The Baite women usually wear their hair long which is parted into two bunches tied with threads or ribbon. They also wear a distinct and peculiar head dress called Luongkop, which is not used by women of any other tribes, made of Longchang (white breads). It is said that Luongchang is was discovered by Helneh Baite on the bank of the river Tuikang (Chindwin River in Burma) on a hunting expedition. Since then, the Baite women have been using it as an ornament and it has gradually occupied the position of traditional head dress. This decorative headgear shows the distinctness of the Baites women from women of other tribes such as Thadous, Zos, Mizos, Gangte and many others. It is a distinctive mark of the Baites. The Baites women also wear peculiar earrings called Biltung which is not worn by women of other tribes.

Differences of Baite Community from Other Neighbouring Tribes

Subsumed as a branch of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo, it may appear that the Baites are no different from the dominant groups. Nevertheless, there are many nuances in the social and cultural life of Baites that distinguishes them from other groups. The distinctive characteristics of the Baites are manifest in their social and cul-tural life, laws of inheritance, institution of bachelor dormitory, child naming system, costumes, etc. Variation or differences with other tribes are visible in each of these categories.

Unlike among trans-border tribes such as Zos, Paite, Thados, Vaipheis, Gangtes where inheritance goes to the eldest son, the youngest son in the family inherit the father’s property among the Baites. Almost all trans-border tribes such as the Chins, Kukis, Mizos and the Nagas have a traditional institution of bachelor dor-mitory where the entire young group in the village spend the night. The Baites too have institution of bachelor dormitory. The name of bachelor dormitory is different from tribe to tribe. The Mizos call it Zawlbuk, the Nagas refer to it as Murum and the Baites call it the Sawm. The nature of the institution of bachelor dormitory (Sawm) is also different from tribe to tribe. For example, Zawlbuk in Mizo society is usually constructed or built at the centre of the Village. Unlike the Mizos, the Baites have no separately constructed or built bachelor dormitory or lodging house for the young boys.



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Every tribal community in the North-east India and neighbouring Myanmar have child naming system. The Naga tribes have different system of naming the new born. Among the Zeliangrong community, the new born child is named after the name of deceased forefather or a person who is on his/her death bed. Among the Mizos, the new born is named according to the choice of the parents or family members. But unlike the Mizos and the Naga tribes, the name of the new born is necessarily after the name of the grandfather among the Baites. The first-born son of a family is named after his parental grandfather among the Baites. Conversely, the first-born daughter of a family is given the name after her grandmother. The third and fourth child takes the name of maternal grandparents or they may as well be named after some other person close to the family.

When a child is given a name, the last syllable of grandfather or grandmother or any other person’s name is taken as the first syllable of the child’s name. An example of the naming system may be shown in the following manner, from which genealogical tree of the family could be easily constructed.

Onjang Kholngul is one of the progenitors of the senior most Kholngul clan, called the family of Namehan or Namehanpa among the Baites. Onjang gives birth to Semngam and Lalchung. Semngam begets a son who is named after the grandfather of the child whose name is Onjang. Thus from Onjang, the grand son is named as Janglal, taking the last syllable from the name Onjang. Jang being the last syllable of the name of the grandfather of the child, the name become the first syllable of the name of the grandson. So, the grand son is named as Onjang, Janglal. Now Janglal has a son who is named after his grandfather, Semngam. Taking the last syllable of Sem-ngam, the grand son is named Ngamkithang. Again Ngamkithang had a son who is named after his grandfather Janglal, thereby taking the name Lalchung.

The distinction of Baites from other communities may also be noticed in their system of divorce. Divorce cannot be initiated by the woman among many other tribes. For example, among the Thado tribe, the women have no right to initiated divorce. Among the Baite society, the woman has the ultimate right to initiate divorce. If the husband seeks divorce, he simply gives `40 to his wife and takes her back to parental home. Among the Thado-Kuki and other neighboring tribes, if the husband seeks divorce, he pays the amount according to the demand of the wife’s parents.

Conclusion

The study brings out the differences of Baite tribe from other neighbouring tribes such as Hmars, Paites, Chins, Thados, Vaipheis, Zos, etc., and other larger com-munity by examining their existing socio-cultural practiced. The Baite tribe has resisted assimilation from other larger community and maintained their distinct identity by clinging to their primordial socio-cultural practices.



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References

Baite Jamkhosei (1978). A brief history and culture of the Baites of Manipur. Unpublished MA dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University Centre of Post-graduate Studies, Imphal.

Baite Jamkhongam (2000). An ethnographic study of the Baites in Manipur and its rel-evance to evangelizing and disciplining them. Unpublished BD thesis, Union Biblical Seminary Bibvewadi, Pune.

Gangte T. S. (1993). The Kukis of Manipur: A historical analysis. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House.

Hobbes, Thomas (1651). Leviathan. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Kamkhenthang, H. (1998). The Paite. Delhi: Mittal Publication.Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1762). The social contract (Trans. H. J. Tozer). Swan

Sonnenschein, 1895.Singh, S. K. (1995). People of India Mizoram: An anthropological survey of India,

Calcutta: Seagull Books.The Sangai Express (2001). Local daily, Imphal, p. 4.Verghese, C. G., & Thangzawma, R. L. (1997). A history of Mizo (Vol. I). New Delhi:

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Socio-cultural Life of Trans-border Tribes: A Case Study of the Baites