Burma: Census of India 1901 Vol. I - Khamkoo

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REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF BURMA. I 23
number of the Siyins and Soktes. Any serfsrthat still exist are slaves in name
only, for their civil rights are practically the same as those of their masters. In
1896 it was said that in a few years to come slavery, as we use the word, would
be a thing of the past in the hills. The existence of slavery is a link connecting
the Chin with the Kachins. The following notes regarding slavery and certain
other matters, not touched upon in the Chin Hills Gazetteer, have been supplied
by Mr. A. C. Bateman, Assistant Superintendent, Tiddim :
1. "Slaves.—Nearly everything which is worth knowing about slaves, how they are
acquired and their ownership, will be found in the Chin Hills Gazetteer.
" The following peculiar mannerisms, however, do not appear in the Gazetteer and may
be of interest. It is not essential that a slave should live in his owner's house nor even in
the same village. The slave may have three or four joint owners, and, so long as he fulfils
his duty to his owner or owners, he may possess property.
" In the case of the slave having only one owner, he mustgive that owner the right hind
leg of every animal shot in the chase or killed for the purpose of holding any feast In
the case of a slave having more than one owner his body and limbs are apportioned to each
owner. Thus, the owner having the biggest claim on the slave, is apportioned the right
arm, the next the left arm, a third the right leg, and so on, the head coming last in the scale
of ownership.
(<
When this class of slave kills any animal he mustgive the right hand owner the right
haunch, the left hand owner the left haunch, and so on, until all the owners receive their
due. In such cases the slave is left possibly with the head, a few bones, and, with any luck,
that highly prized Chin dish, the entrails.
" On a slave's death, the son takes his father's place. Should the slave have no son, his
owner takes all his propeity. If there be a multiplicity of owners the property is divided
among them on the right and left hand principle explained above. Should a slave fail to
give his owner his due on killing an animal, the owner demands a whole animal of the sort
killed. If there be a multiplicity of owners each one of them gets a whole animal of the
sort killed.
" Should the slave refuse to settle this latter demand he is sold and all his property is
confiscated to the owner or owners.
2. " Religious customs.—In most of the Siyin villages a kind of Pongyi is told off permanently
to officiate at all ceremonies. This person is known as a " Pasan," ooo$s by Burmans
and as a " Pui Sham Pa " by Chins.
" The laws of inheritance are the same in his family as in that of any other Chin.
"The " Pui Sham Pa" holds his land and house, &c, on the " Pogalika (uoooSco) "
system of the Burman Pongyi.
3. " Borrowing and lending.— In borrowing and lending money all bargains as to interest,
&c, must be made prior to any transaction taking place. After money has once
changed hands no interest may be claimed.
" In borrowing grain, &c, the person borrowing must pay as interest two baskets for
every one borrowed. This interest may be claimed for a period of eight years. After eight
years no interest may be claimed. A landlord may claim a nominal yearly tax from any
tenant. The tax takes the form of from one to two baskets of the grain or pulse cultivated
on the land.
4. " Other customs,—If while hunting a Chin wounds a tiger or other 'death-dealing
wild animal, one may not ask any questions on the subject. It is very unlucky and one
gives great offence to the spirit of the chase- by either asking or answering any questions
about a dangerous animal which has been wounded and not recovered. It is very useful to
remember this while out shooting with Chins. Never ask a Chin for the skull of an animal
he has shot.
" If on entering a Chin house and finding a woman 'at home,' one asks where her husband
is, and gets the reply ' he is not here/ it is fatal to ask ' where is he.'
'
He is not
here ' is intended to convey to the stranger- that the husband is dead. One must never
make a widow talk of her husband's death and vice versa. If the husband be living and
not at home, his wife will tell you her husband has gone to his fields, or on an errand, and
so on. During the Census operations I made this mistake with disastrous results. Never
ask a Chin to climb a tree on which any heads of animals are hung. The mere asking will
cause the nat of that tree to visit his anger on the Chin in the shape of some illness, unless
the nat is propitiated, which means that the Chin is putto the expense of giving a feast.
Should a Chin climb the tree, there is no hope for him. He must die, unless he be a
wealthy man and can afford to give a very big feast to the whole village.