Tipaimukh is at the confluence of the Tuivai and the Barak (locally called Tuiruong) rivers. The Hmar and other kindred tribes call this confluence 'Ronglevaisuo'. The Tuivai meanders in from the east and the Tuiruong flows straight in from the north. The Tuivai is so named by locals as it meanders around the hills in many directions before reaching the confluence ( tui = water and vai = to wander). Tuiroung (Barak) is so named as the floods and strong current brings dead bodies and waste down the river from upstream ( tui = water and roung = corpse).
The confluence is about 500 m. upstream of the proposed Tipaimukh multi-hydro dam site. Rounglevaisuo is a historical and scared spiritual site of the Hmar tribe as well as of the Unau-Suipuis, the kindred tribes of the Hmar: the Hrangkhawls and Darlongs of Tripura, the Bietes of Meghalaya, the Sakecheps of Assam and the Komrem tribes of Manipur. It is at Rounglevaisuo that the kindred tribes parted ways after centuries of travelling in central and southeast Asia. After their separation, the tribes began to evolve their own separate identities. Thus it is a place to which they are spiritually and historically connected. The Unau-Suipui tribes left the place to the Hmar to treasure and preserve for all generations to come. Many generations of our ancestors have lived and died, taking great care to fulfill their role as trustees and custodians of this priceless heritage, preserving it for their children and children to come.
Further upstream is the sacred river island of the Hmar. This small river island, a little upstream from the dam axis, is called Thiledam which means `death and life' in Hmar. In the Hmar religious belief, the island is the place where the soul of all human beings has to go first as soon as they die. From this island, the soul proceeds either to paradise or hell or comes back to the earth to be reborn. The couple of centuries that the Hmar have lived in Rounglevaisuo have seen many turbulent times. The Hmar through the ages have gone through political, economical and socio-cultural changes but have managed to hold on to their core identity. Many of the changes to their culture, economy, socio-religious and political life, in most cases, were caused by outsiders who came in contact with the Hmar. These changes had all appeared beneficial at first but turned out not to be so in the longer run. Of the many changes to have occurred, one of the most important changes is the disruption of the traditional self-governing village administration. The traditional village administrator includes the chief, the councillors, the priest, the youth commanders and the crier or messenger. In 1956, the Manipur Village Authority Act (Abolition of Chiefs) was introduced and the administration of revenue was vested in a new village authority with members elected directly by the people on the basis of adult franchise. The formation of the new council was a step in the right direction but was not properly implemented and conflict in villages arose between the new and the traditional administrative bodies. In the traditional set up, the chief was only a nominal head real powers were in the hands of the councillors, priests and youth commanders, without whom the village's socio-cultural and religious life cannot function. They were completely sidelined in the new set up. Thus a completely independent village administration was destroyed because the government failed to study or really understand the traditional administration of the tribal village.
a significant impact on the Hmars, such as
Christianity, assimilation into the Mizo culture and
armed ethnic conflict. Picture: Joseph Hmar
Another change that has had a great negative impact on the Hmar when it was introduced a century ago is trade and the money economy. These concepts were introduced to the Hmar by shrewd businessmen from the Cachar plains. Trade and money was introduced to a traditional subsistence economy based on give and take of foodstuff, livestock and utensils. Villages on both sides of the river grew, but with it the degree of differentiation among the people on the basis of wealth became tremendously significant. Most importantly, monetary debt, which was almost unknown before, became rampant. The introduction of trade, politics, wealth and power had the effect of ruining the happiness and well-being of large sections of the people.
There are many other changes that have also had a significant impact on the Hmars, such as Christianity, assimilation into the Mizo culture and armed ethnic conflict. In recent years though, the pressure of the changes forced upon the tradition and lives of the tribe has been so much that the survival instinct, which has seen the Hmar through many generations of change may not see them through this time. For the first time, on account of the Tipaimukh project, outsiders will be permanently settling in thousands in the area, for years on end, perhaps even permanently. This will be a new pressure on the Hmar , who have never had outsiders in large numbers residing in their land for any length of time. Missionaries, traders, politicians, soldiers, labourers, etc. all came in small numbers and never stayed long. But if the government goes ahead with the proposed dam, thousands of outsiders of different races and creeds will move in to our land and the tribe will be exposed to changes never seen before: a new culture, economy and politics. Heavy pressures will be exerted on our land and forest and even more on the people. Our culture and traditions will be the first casualty, as it has always been the government policy to assimilate tribal cultures and traditions into the mainstream. The next casualty will be our language as the outsiders will not understand the local language and local people pick up alien languages very fast. In such a situation, other languages will gradually replace the Hmar language as the main medium of communication in our heartland, leading to the eventual extinction of the language.
With our culture, language, land and forest under so much pressure and the keen involvement of government and corporate sectors in the project, it is only natural to be suspicious of everything and everybody. It becomes hard to believe that the project is actually being implemented in the best interests of the people of the state.
Joseph Hmar is the President of the Hmar Students' Association.