RELICS OF BARBARISM

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2305, 25 November 1925, Page 10

RELICS OF BARBARISM

HUMAN SACRIFICES STILL. PRIMITIVE BURMA TRIBE. There have been mysterious rumours from the thinly populated borders of East Bengal about mysterious disap. pearances of lonely travellers on their journeys through the hilly tracts from one village to another, says Mr. V. R. Karandikar in an American paper. These disappearances take place in the Hukong valley connecting Burma and Assam. Consisting: of dense jungle, the vaL lev has not yet been explored, and forms part of the unadministered areas under British domination unadrainstered as yet, but likely scon to come under stricter discipline. This is the only possible place through which a railway can be run connecting Burma with India by a direct land route. The inhabitants of this valley have long been accustomed to kidnap British Indians from the borders of both Assam and Burma. There are three tribes residing in these parts, two of which keep their captives as slaves in their valleys, while th e third sacrifices them to its gods in times of stress or danger. The first two tribes have al. ways pretended to be shocked at the sacrifices performed by the Naga trib e of the valley, but ar e not above sell, ing their slaves to the latter at fat prices, knowing full well that the wretches will be sacrificed soon on tbe fields which threaten to yield a poor crop. Slaves Used in Amber Mlne3. The slaves are used in mining a curious sort of amber. There is one special hill in this valley where plenty of amber is found. It is dug out of the ground by means of shafts about two feet square, going sometimes sixtj feet under the surface. The fossil rosin that is found here is of poor colour and slightly different from amber. This Is turned into rings and buttons for use by the youths of the valley, while the belles sport candle-shaped cyclindera of amber in their cars. After the unfortunate slave miners have fulfilled their terms, their mast, ers are not unwilling to hand them over to the Nagas in exchange for bison or bullocks. Th e Naga tribe has been accustomed to offer sacrifices, especially as a means of propitating the Nats or nature spirits, which are supposed to rule their destinies. The whole ritual is gruesome and ghastly. The man destined to b e sacrificed is well.l’ed and nurtured for months. The whole tribe assembles near the field which requiries the special blessing of the Nats, and a bison Is killed that H may satisfy the hunger of the assomb. lage. The condemned man is led to the field, and, after being skilfully boheaded, his blood is scattered all over the ground, his head Is mounted on a pole and placed as the signal of a complete sacrifice. All assemble then re. move some token from the sacrifice, which is considered as lucky or proof against the evil eye. Tribes Agree to End Slavery. The Nagas are a very primitive people, living in small colonies of grass huts on the mountain sides of Hukong Valley. Short of stature, they are sturdily built and are exceedingly domineering. The two other tribes re. siding in this valley are stronger, more advanced and far more numerous. They call themselves the overlords of the Nagas and presume to rule them. But the Nagas hav e been able to hold their own against both. Sir Robert Harcourt Butler, Governor of Burma, recently paid a visit to the Hukong Valley and hold a conference with the village head man who had been invited \ to the big manao or feast and dancing. The piece de resistance at these manaos is buffalo meat and rice, on which the Villagers gorge themselves, and later on empty casks of fiery rice spirits. At this great durbar over thirty buffalos weer slaughtered and over a dozen casks emptied. More than 1500 people assembled, and the Governor, who is a great lin. guist, made a speech In their moun. tain dialect and told them that practices of slavery and human sacrifice could not be tolerated so near the British administration. 'He warned the Kachlns an 3 Shans'that slavery must be abolished. To this they reluctantly agreed, but stated that things should not be too hurried. The hardest tussle was with the Nagas. Two leaders took up the discussion with the Governor. Both were strong in their defence. It was un. conceivable, said they, that their an. cient tribe coul<j abandon a practice handed down from father to son from time immemorial. Governor to Stop Sacrifices. Besides the Nagas argued with great force, if their Nats once became angry with them, the government would not be able to protect them. They had experience in the past when, because they could not sacrifice a human being for several years, their misfortune brought down on their heads th e wrath of their Nats, who made their crops wither and many families succumbed to unknown mysterious ailments, they said. In the end Sir Harcourt Butler announced the decision of the government of Burma to put down all slavery with a stern hand and its determina. tlon to put a stop to the practice of human sacrifices. Yet recent dlaap. pearances indicate a renewed activity on the part of these mountain tribes. Giving to the nature of the country it is difficult to organise a surveillance of the valley, but when, in the near future, the railway is carried through it, the government hopes to bring this unadministered area into line with the rest of British India.