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Tlawmngaihna
There was an excellent custom called tlawngaihna by which one was duty bound to
help others. Under this custom everyone was required to be courteous and
considerate and to help others always and every time, irrespective of one's
inconvenience. Every one would try to surpass others in unselfishness and
cooperation. This was an excellent custom in the daily life of a Lushai.
For example : while traveling together, if one of the party would fall sick, all would
wait for him to recover and would then resume the journey together.
With the advent of Christianity the institution of Zawlbuk and
the custom of tlawmngaihna gradually died. The Christian in a village
would not join a Zawlbuk and hence when the majority in a village become Christians,
the zawlbuk in the village languished and ultimately become extinct.
Similar was the fate of tlawmngaihna. When the people were turning away
from their old beliefs, the customary network of duties and obligations
was also snapped. New structures and institutions like village churches,
schools, medical centres and administrative centres etc, were coming up.
The people started depending, individually and collectively, more on the church
and the Government for guidance and help.
Bawi
In the hills social system permitted was partly a type of slavery and partly a
system of social security. Amongst the Lushais this was the system of the
bawi. Under this system a chief would have a number of dependants (bawis)
who would remain with the chief, work for him and help him in all respects and
in turn would get food and shelter from the chief. He could free himself
from the obligation to the chief only under certain conditions, usually on
giving a mithun or payment of certain amount.
Apart from the bawis, there was another class of dependants consisting of the
persons captured during raids. They were called sals. The victors in
a raid would kill the adult warriors and old women of the defeated side.
The marriageable women and children would be taken captives. They
would be treated well in the captor's family.
Sei
Lakher counterpart of the Lushai bawi was Sei. Unlike the Lushais among
whom only the chiefs could have bawis, the Lakhen custom allowed anyone to keep
one's captive as a Sei. A Sei was sometimes allowed to set up his own
house hold. But the obligation was hereditary. A Sei could acquire
property of his own, but his master could always take a share of the crops or
animals of the sei.
With the British administration prohibiting raids by the chiefs, the custom of
tuklut bawi, sal and sei ceased to have new entrants. The custom was of
mutual assistance, help and obligation and not of slavery. The bawi was
after treated as a part of the family and could be adopted in the family by the
saphun (adoption) ceremony.
The bawi custom gradually died. The administration liberally allowed
freedom of the bawis on usual cash payment. A bawi was allowed to leave at
will and the chief only had the remedy to sue for the compensation.
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