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ABSTRACTThe history of the Church is the revelation of God'sgracious work of redemption through Jesus Christ, and thiswork is always operative among mankind.The author feelsthat a written history of the Church among the Kukis wouldserve to remind how the Spirit of God has worked in the pastand encourage us to follow His leading as He continues towork in the present.This major project is the product of my personalrecollections and knowledge,along with extensive researchamong the historical records of all the Kuki Christians.In addition ~t incorporates the result of my missiologicalstudies in the doctoral courses Ihave taken atTrinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield,Illinois.The missiological methods and principles Ihave learned havehelped me to understand and eVdluate what has happened inthe history of the Kuki Church.There are five chapters in this project. My originalplan was to write a detailed history of the Kuki Christianchurch. But a shortage of resources, space, and timelimited the report to this size.However, the first chapter gives arather lengthyaccount of the pre-Christian history and cultural practicesof the Kukis. The term "Kuki" covers a large number ofiii

Chapter four begins with describing the administrati.v> s t ruct.ure of the Kuki Christian Church which has threesynods under the supreme governing Assembly.In thischapter, the various ministries of the Kuki Christian Churchare described.Chapter five starts by giving the historical backgroundof the Kuki Christian Mission in Burma.The KukiChristians were the first tribal Christians who sent amissionary to the Kukis in Burma in 1932.This chapter alsohas the account of the formation of the Gospel MissionSociety of Lne Kuki Christian Church, which was formallyorganized in 1979.A brief account is given of each missionfield in which the Gospel Mission Society works.v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFirst of all, Iwould like to acknowledge TrinityEvangelical Divinity School as being an institution committedto the pursuit of academic integrity and theologicalbalance, and that holds to astrong belief in the inerrancyand authority of the Scripture.(This statement was givenby Arthur D. Volkman, Trinity's Dean of Students, at ouropening service of the Winter Quarter). I myself feelfortunate to have had the privilege of studying at thisschool, and I believe Mr. Volkman's description of theposition of the school is true.Ialso thank the people of the Trulock TheologicalSeminary. Had it not been for their giving me a leave ofabsence and supplying financial support through the KukiChristian Church Mission, I would not have been able to cometo the U.S.A. and pursue these studies. The remaining staffand faculty members of the Trulock Theological Seminary havehad to carry many extra burdens and responsibilities due tomy absence. I am grateful for their sacrifice. I am especiallygrateful to Dr. T. Lunkim who not only arranged formy study here at Trinity but also for looking after theSeminary in my absence. I wish to thank Mr. Cyril C. Simkinswho took care of my financia I needs a tthe Seminary andto Mary Simkins whose constant encouragements have strengthvi

ened me in my studies.My thanks are also due to all membersof the K.C.M. Board, Dr. Max Ward Randall, Mr. ThomasSegelke, Mr. Leroy Trulock, and Mr. William McClure.I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. J.Herbert Kane who has been my mentor in this project.I amgreatly indebted to him for his wise suggestions and commentsafter reading through these pages. I also thank myadvisor Dr. Timothy M. Warner for his constant help ingetting my proposal for this project approved. I am extremelythankful to Mr.Stuart Thomas who has spent manylong hours correcting my English in this paper.Without hishelp I would not have been able to finish this project intime to meet the deadlines.I do not want to forget to thank Mr. Derry Smaage,the minister of the Prospect Christian Church whose friendshipand help were the beginning of my acquaintance with theAmerican social and cultural life.Mrs. Donna Smaage helpedme not only in typing some of my mini-projects but a Ls o insupplying many of my needs.They have been real friends intimes of need. I will always cherish their friendship. Iam also grateful to the elders and deacons of the ProspectChristian Church for their friendship and assistance.I want to thank my wife and my children who remainedat home while I completed these studies. A special thanksto my wife who has obediently borne all the family responsibilitiesduring my absence.vii

Lastly, but not the least, I thank Mrs. Cathy Runnallsand Mrs.Jinx Schade who worked long and hard typing thisproj~ct.viii

TABLE OF CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINTRODUCTION . . .vi1CHAPTERI.THE CULTURAL ANDOF THE KUKISHISTORICAL BACKGROUND5II.III.A Short History of the KukisSome of the Kuki Mythological StoriesSocial and Religious CeremoniesArtistic ExpressionSocial and political LifeGovernment of the VillageSocial CustomsTHE COMING AND DEVELOPMENTOF CHRISTIANITYDifferent Missionary ApproachesImpact of the Gospel on the KukisThe Growth of Kuki ChurchesTHE RISE OF THE KUKI CHRISTIAN COUNCILAn Expression of Christianityin Kuki CultureForces that Led to the Formationof the CouncilObjectives of the CouncilThe Formation of the Kuki ChristianChurch63110IV. THE MINISTRY OF THE KUKI CHRISTIAN CHURCH. . .. 140Evangelism and Church PlantingTheological EducationV. MISSIONARY OUTREACH. . .161Formation of the Gospel Mission SocietyMission Fieldsix

Cone1us ion . .Bibliography .182200x

INTRODUCTIONThe topic for my major project is to deal with thehistory of the Kuki people in general, and more particularlyto describe the birth, growth, and development of the K.C.C.This topic needs a historical approach. Tr.erefore, I needto define the meaning of history in order to make the topicclear. The history of the Kuki Christian Church is a historyof the salvation of the Kukis. I believe in divineintervention in human history.When God's plan of salvationin Christ has come co a particular people, one can see whatToynbee,the historian, calls "the greatest new event in thehistory of man" taking place. This 'greatest new event'began to occur among the Kuki people in the early 20thcentury.The Kukis considered themselves to be the masters oftheir own world which is part of upper Burma, the hills ofManipur State, and parts of Assam and Nagaland.did not pay much attention to the outside world.The KukisThey werea people with a high degree of self-importance. As long astheir tradition and culture remained intact their unity wasstrong.The kings of Manipur made alliances with the chiefsof the Kukis when they could not control them.But the Kukiworld and their feelings of self-importance were broken dcwnby the British when the Kukis suffered adecisive defe~tI

in the war between the Kukis and the British from 1917 to1919. Their ancient myths of their origin show that they2came to this upper region in search of abetter and strongerkingdom,but their hopes were never fulfilled.For the Kukis their history is a search for a meaningfulexistence. What is the meaning of their life in thisworld? What are they living for? Do they have a goal ordestiny worth giving their life to?Such are the questionsto be asked and attempts to answer them well must be made inthe light of the Christian faith.Only when each Kuki issure of the purpose of life will he understand the meaningof his life.Now the Kingdom of Christ has entered the lives ofthe Kukis, and a radical change has taken place in theirsocial and political life.What Paul said to the Corinthians,"the old things passed away; behold new things havecome" (2 Cor. 5:17,NAS) is true for the Kukis. Many ~ukiChristians have learned the truth of this new creation inChrist.But many Kukis still need to learn the truth aboutthis salvation.There is no better goal than the Kingdom ofGod for the Kukis. It is a priceless treasure for the Kukisto receive this privilege of being citizens of the Kingdomof God.By knowing about the Kingdom of God all the Kukisshould commit their lives to the cause of the Kingdom ofChrist.Jesus Christ is not only their Savior but He isalso their King.It is the Kingdom of Christ that the Kukiswere searching for.Many Kukis have become subjects in His

3Kingdom,and as His subjects they live and die for Him.We need to look beyond the actual facts of thehistory of the Kuki Christian Church in order to discoverGod's real purpos~ in its history. History is meaningfulonly when we can see His transcendent purpose beyond theactual facts. For example, when I look at the history of mypeople it is clear to me, that in spite of their sins andshort-comings,they ,Jere protected by the providential handsfrom the strong influence of Hinduism,Buddhism and Islam towhich religions many have become victims today.The Kukis,and for that matter, many other Northeastern tribals of Indiashould realize this and be thankful to the Lord who haschosen them for a great purpose in His Kingdom.Burma is astrongly Buddhist country, India astrongly Hindu country,and Bangladesh astrongly Islamic country, and all of thesesurround the Kukis. I would encourage my people to begrateful and thankful to the Lord in realizing fully thepurpose Godhas for them.For the Kukis this topic is as important as theirown lives.It is even more important than their own livesonce they come to know that the Kingdom of God is the ultimatedestiny of all believers.The Kukis need to learn how to adapt to this newsituation.The requirements of faith in the Kingdom of Godthat relate to the will of God have to be learned in theirown cultural context.Above all, they should know andaccept their responsibility to take part in the program of

4the extension of this Kingdom of the Lord by preaching andteaching the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER ITHE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDOF THE KUKISA Short History of the KukisThe Term "Kuki"The origin of the term Kuki is not certainly knownto us.It is because the people themselves did not originatethis name.The word Kuki was given by the people withwhcm they came in contact during the period of their migratorylife at the end of eighteenth century and earl y ni.neteenthcentury A.D.Some of the British anthropologistsI ike Captain E. W. Dunn said:the term Kuki is derived from a word applied by theBengalis to the system of cultivation for the hilltribes.' Colonel Shakespeare is of the opinion that theterm "Kuki." means 'hill man' to the Bengalis and theAssamese. Row1ins, Research Officer of the AsiaticResearches, seemed to identify the term with 'cucis' orMountaineers of Tipra in 1792 A.D. Soppitt, nearly acentury later, derives Kuki thus:--Kuk .•. Kuhai ...Lukai ... Luashai (= Lushai) and translates Lushai as"Lua people' of Lua. He says in some accounts of Burmamention is made of traces having been found of a peopleruled over by the Lua K\ng or Kings in days gone by.lE. W. Dunn said that the whole of the wild tribeswho dwell in the mountain district located between Bengaland Burma,Cachar and Manipur and Arakan have received thislWilliam Shaw, The Thadou Kukis (Calcutta: AsiaticSociety of Bengal, 1929), p , 11.5

6designation.2However, this designation was not recognizedby the hill men themselves.Colonel Shakespeare, in hisbook, The Lushai Kuki Clan, also said that this term, likeNaga, Chin, Shandu and many others, is not recognized by thepeople to whom it is applied.The following tribes wereknown as Kukis: the Lushais (now Mizos), the Khongjais, theThadous, the Prums, the Chirus, the Korns, the Aimols, theRhangkhols, the Gangtes, the Hmars, the Lakhers, the Bietes,the Anals, the Lamkangs, the Mujons, the Monsangs, and theoarlongs.Many of these tribes have discarded the name'Kuki' and have adopted their own traditional names fortheir identity.'l'he Khongjais and the Thadous are major tribes ofthe Kuki family and still accept the term ' Ku ki " for theiridentification with the government as well as with themission and the Church. Therefore, the world view I amgoing to write about will belong to these two major tribesof the Kukis. The Khongjais and the Thadous have a closea ffinity in every respect.They appear to have been livingtogether as one people in spite of the differences of theirfamily names.The term Khongjai was applied to both tribesas well.Therefore this paper will have more on the Khongjaisand the Thadous.But many or most of the beliefs andpractices of these two tribes are basically the same asthose of other Kuki tribes.2E. W. Dunn, Abridged Gazetleers of Manipur(Calcutta: Government of Assam, 1886), p. 39.

7The Origin of the PeopleThe Kukis belonged to the Mongolian race.It isdifficult to trace how they came to India and in whichcentury.McCulloch,Regarding the origin of the Kukis the late ColonelPolitical Agent in Manipur for many years, in hisbook An Account of the Valley of Manipur and the Hill Tribes,(reproduced in Carey's The Chin Hills), in 1859 said,"theKhongjais or the Kukis until lately (1859) occupied the hillsto the south of the Koupooees (Khopumphai Valley). Not muchis known about the Kukis of this period, but their numbers andoccasional bloody attacks caused their neighbors to fear them.South of them lay the Pois, the Sootes, the Lushais and othertribes, better armed than they were and of the same geniusas themselves, but at war with them.By these they weredriven from their native hills; the task being renderedeasier by the internal animosities of the Khongjais themselves.They are now scattered around the valley of Manipur andthrough the hills to the north and south of Cachar."3The most common myth of the Kukisis the s tory oftheir origin.It goes like this: The Kukis were livingunderneath the earth where Noimangpa was their king.Chongthu,the ancestor of the Kukis, arelative of Noimangpa,discovered the upper earth through alarge hole whilehunting hedgehogs with his dog.The scene presented to hisview both pleased and astonished him.Returning to his3 Bertram S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, The Chin Hills(Calcutta: Firma KLM pvt. Ltd., 1976), p. 135.

8b ro t her, Chongja, he related his adventure and counselled himto ascend with his village to the new country.So Chongthuthought of aplan to leave the lower place or the under worldkingdom. Just about then, Noimangpa was performing thefestival of Chon in which everyone had to participate includingChongja, elder brother of Chongthu. Chongthu performedasword dance during the festival in which he deliberatelywaved his sword so vigorously that he injured some of thefolks present there, at which all became angered.Chongthu,who had been trying to incur the anger of Noimangpa so thathe could have an excuse for leaving the underworld kingdom,now succeeded in his attempt. Noimar.gpa right away decreedthe death sentence of Chongthu by saying, "Chongthu hadbetter live in heaven," meaning thereby he had better bekilled.On hearing this Chongthu and party left for Khul(hole). On reaching the Khul they found that a great snake,called Gullheipi, was in possession of it, and when theytried to pass it the snake killed some of them with histail. On seeing this, the people of the village began toabuse Chongthu accusing him of deceiving them and deliveringthe m to the serpent.Stung with their reproaches, C hongthuattacked and killed the snake and cut it into seven pieces.But again alion attempted to retard Chongthu's progress,but Chongthu got the better of the animal by saying, "Areyou not created by God as the King of the animals?If so, Ihave also been created as the King of Men by God and thereforewe should be friends instead of enemies."The lion

9withdrew and Chongthu's party moved up to the mouth of theKhul.They found that it was covered with a stone and oneof Chongthu's party, called Vangalpa, lifted it up.Whilehe was able to do so, only seven persons were able to getout and then the stone was dropped and all further attemptsto raise it were in vain.The seven persons who thus emerged were Chongthu;Vangalpa, the stone lifter; Khupngam, the dog keeper; andfour others whose names are not known,but are said to includethe progenators of the Meiteis, the Nagas, the foreigners,and the Burmese.They are not definite about thelast two although quite emphatic about the number beingseven.Chongja's party, being late, could not pass throughthe passage because of the stone blocking it.So theyreturned to Noimangpa and reported the matter. Nemneh, wifeof chongja, cursed Chongthu's party saying that they shouldsuffer all kinds of sickness, trouble, evil spirits, badluck and death. Nemneh thought that Chongthu purposefullyclosed the passage with the stone in order to make himselfking of the upper earth.So, in time of sickness, troublesor misfortunes, the Kukis make sacrifices in the name ofNemneh, wife of Chongja, in hope of appeasing her wrath; andthe priest always mentions the name of the seven villages ofthe underworld kingdom in one of which Nemneh is believed tobeliving.Thus,Chongthu and his men came from the underworldkingdom and began to live in the upper world.In the course

10of tim eChongthu begat a son called Sattong, who marriedSeichin of Vanlai, the sky village.She is regarded as agoddess by the Kukis.The myth of the origin of the Kukis is not co mpletelyuseless. There are some historical values in it. There aresome theories to explain this story which helps us to reachaprobable conclusion as to where they actually corne from.I want to mention only two ways to look a t the story forexplanations.The first theory is the belief that the ancestors ofthe Kukis might have come from China, probably because ofthe oppressive rule of their king.Noimangpa was obviouslya king with great a uthority and Chongthu or (Taungth u) wasone of his relatives or a prince. But the modern scientificmind can not think that people ever lived under the earthand had kingdoms there. But this underworld kingdom musthave been a kingdom quite different from that which Chongthuwanted to establish for himself.The main cause of hisleaving Noimangpa's kingdom might have been because of thefailure of the coup d'etat staged by Chongthu himself tooverthrow Noimangpa. The large hole through which Chongthuand his men had passed might be some narrow cleft in theGreat wall of China.This explanation of the story seems tobe commonly accepted among the Kukis.We find in the KukiState Memorandum to the late Prime Minister, Mr. Nehru, thatthe Kuki National Asse mbly has given an account of theiroriginthus:

11The o r i.qan of the Kuki tribe is obscure. It is definitethat they are of Mongoloid origin. Mythologies andlegends of some of the tribes a mong the Kukis say thatthey came out from the underworld through an opening andfound a new world of abundance. There has been a strongbelief of remote origin that they first started fro m thebank of river Mekawng in the southern part of China. Itis also said that they had to leave China because of thefrequent flood havocs. The fact of their Chinese originis supported by the common musical instruments of whichthe bamboo reed may L e mentioned. The fact is that theybelong to the eastern stock. Their migration 0 f recentmemory was through Chin Hills of Burma, and this isstill proved by the names of villages which the Kukiscarry from place to place during the period of theirsojourn.4It might be true that our ancestors came from China.But the explanation of our origin and the account given bythe Kuki National Assembly are simply hypotheses unsupportedby historical evidence.Since there is lack of historicalevents and dates, it may be too early to assume that we ca mefrom China.The second theory of their origin repudiates thefirst.Nho this mythical ancestor was, Chongthu or Taungthu,is interesting.Chongthu is known as Taungthu to manyKuki tribes.A large number of Taungthus are still livingin Mizora m at present.It is quite clear that Taungth u isnot a nam e for a single man, but represents a large tribea mong the indigenous races of the country of Burma.Aftergiving much evidence, the census concludes: "The reportsindicate that a mong the indigenous races of the provincewere Burmese, Karens, Taungthus, Chins, Kachins,4K. N. A., "Kuki State Memorandum" (Imphal: KukiNational Assembly, 1960), pp. 4,5.

Shans, Talaings, Danus, Inthas and Taungyos."512The Taungthus were said to be of Talaing descent;hence they must have Mon blood in their veins.In 1057 A.D.Anorata, king of Pagan, invaded Thaton and carried awayManuha, his wives and children. The Taungthus claimed to bedescendants of the remainder of king Manuha's subjects who,after the seizure of their capital and the deportation oftheir king, migrated north and founded anew Thaton (theexisting state of Hsateng) in the Shan states.Their legendhas it that King Manuha was aTaungthu.Talaing history opens with the founding of Thaton.The cities famous in Talaing history are represented by themodern names of Rangoon, Pegu, Moulmein, Martaban, Thaton,Syriam, Prome, with Bassein, Tavoy and others.The great capitals of the kings who were prominentas overlords of Talaing country, wholly or in part, areThaton, Martaban, and Pegu. A list of fifty-seven kings isgiven, beginning with Siharaja and ending with Manuha,whowas carried off to Pagan when Anorata, king of Pagan, destroyedThaton in A.D. 1057. History relates, however, thatthe dominant race in the country to the north of the Gu 1 f 0 fMartaban from the eleventh century was that of the Talaings.The 1 ineage from Taungthu to Thadou or Kukisisabout eight generations, or three centuries.W. Shaw postulatesthe early thirteenth century A.D.as the approximate5 \-l. W. Cochrane, The Shans, vol. 1 (Rangeon:Government of Burma, 1915), p. 102.

13date of the Thadou's birth.Three centuries after the birthof Thadou, one Thadou Minsaw became king of Ava in 1555 A.D.Another king called Thadou Dham rnabecame king after thedeath of Mangre Dippa in Pegu, but subsequently removed hiscapital to Ava in A.D. 1600. It is difficult to say forcertainty that these two kings have any genealogical relationswith t~"'\e rest of the Thadous in Burma and India. Mr.J. H. Hutton thinks that the term Thadou may be a Burmesetitle, apparently denoting courage or ability.I am convinced that the Thadous and most Kuki tribeswho claimed to be descendants of the Taungthus must havecome under the political sway of the last kings of Pegu andAva.The kingdoms of the Talaings, which began in theeleventh century A.D., lasted over seven centuries and cameto an end when they were subjugated by the Burmese peopleabout A. D. 1764.Since that tim e the Talaings have bee n apeople without a country. Mr. J. H. Hutton says in hisintroduction to the Thadou Kukis that:The history of Burma is one horrid catalogue of thesmashing of Kingdoms, and the massacre, disposal, andthe transportation of populations. It would be surprisingif a tribe that had migrated dow n the Chind winvalley and sojourned on the west bank of that river hadnot absorbed Shan elements fro m the break up of theKingdom of Pong and Mon elements from the inhuman destructionof Talaing~s Kingdom of pegu by the Burmese.Indeed Peter Heylin~s description of the people of Peguwould well fit the Thadou people and some customs sucha 8 the ordeal by diving definitely associated with theMon culture. Pinto speaks of "auburn" hair in PP.gu, andrusty brown in common among the Thadous.66W. Shaw, The Thadou Kukis (Calcutta: AsiaticSociety of Bengal, 1929), p~. 4,5.

14With the fall of the Kingdom of Pegu,her subjectswere scattered far and wide.The Thadous and the Khongjais,I believe, were some of the people under the rule of theKing of Pegu and Ava.When the power of their king fell,they were driven out of the land. The Thadous' and Khongjais'next place of sojourn was in the Chin Hills of Burmawhere they again came to the Lushai Hills (now Mizoram),probably because of the oppression of the more powerfultribe of the Sukhtes.From the Lushai Hills they were aguindriven out by the Lushais; thence they came to Manipur Stateand Assam about the beginning of the nineteenth century.However,there are some Kuki tribes who were already settledboth in Manipur and Assam long before the Thadous and Khongjaiscame to these countries. For this reason they aresometimes called "Old Kukis" represented by the Aimols, Anals,Chirus, Chottes, Korns, Lamkangs, Marings, Monsangs, MujonsandPurums.The Thadou Kukis and the Khongjai Kukis are closelyrelated to the Taungthus, Talaings, Karens, Kachins, Taungyos,Chins, Lushais, Danus, Burmese and Shans.Future researchon the Thadous and the Khongjais should be made onthe basis of their relationship with these tribes in Burma.The Kuki LandThe Kukis may be divided into two classes, namelythe Old Kukis and the New Kukis.The Old Kukis of Indiahave been living in places like Manipur, Assam, Tripura andBangladesh from time immemorial. They were Aimols, Dar-

15longs, Purums,Bietes, Rhangkhols, Chakmas, Chirus and Marings.The New Kukis like the Thadous, Khongjais, Paihtes,Gangtes, Vaipheis and Hmars began to appear in these placeslate in the seventeenth century and early in the eighteenthcentury A.D.In Tripura, the Kukis established their ownkingdom before the Hindus did.Later, however, the Hindusbecame more powerful than the Kukis and the Kukis became aminority in their own kingdom, losing many of their economicrights, and becoming politically subservient to the Hinduforeigners.In ancient days, the Kuki country was known asthe hills of Tipperah.At present, Tripura is aterritorial state in theUnion of India. It has a legislature with elected representativesof about seventy members. It has a LieutenantGovernor as a representative of the central Government. TheKukis are still the most important of the hill tribes ofTripura, and most of them have become Christians.There are Chakma Kukis in Bangladesh and in theArakan hills. Mizoram is a territorial state under theIndian Union. The Chongthu are living in Mizoram. As amatter of fact, all the Mizor were once known as Kukis.Therefore, Mizoram may still be called Kuki land.In Assam,the Kukis occupied the North cachar district and the Halflonghills.Nagaland.The Kukis occupy the southwestern hills ofIn Manipur State, the Kukis live in every district,but are more concentrated in the Sadar Hills, South,and Tengnorpal districts. In Burma, the Kukis live

16mostly in upper Chindwin and the Kabo Valley.Thus theKukis live in three different countries: India, Bangladesh,and Burma. The Kukis have asked for a separate Kuki Stateto be carved out from the Manipur hills and Halflong hillsof India and the upper Chindwin Valley of Burma. But theGovernment of India has not taken steps to grant this desireon the part of the Kukis.The Kuki CultureThe Kuki World ViewThe primitive Kukis believed that the earth is flatlike a disc. Many uneducated Kukis still believe this astheir ancestors did.They believe that if one walks continuously,some day he wi.ll come to the end of the land andwill falloff the earth.To understand the Kukis properlyit is essential, therefore, to learn the way they see orperceive the world.When one knows the basic orientation ofany cultural group, it is possible to predict with asignificantdegree of accuracy just how members of the group willrespond to certain other kinds of questions.The Kuki world view is the result of their longexperiences with the physical world.To some extent theKukis presuppose the existence of supernatural beings.Their world view is, therefore, a religious one. Their's isa world view that involves a linking of nature, man, andhistory to the supernatural. I am of the opinion that theKuki world view transcends the secular-sacred distinctionwhich is so much a part of the thinking of the West.It

17brings nature and supernature together in an amalgam.cemented this world and the other world together in aItsinglesystem. But this unity is on a continuum of boundariesbetween deities, spirits, animals, men, and natural phenomenamore or less obscure and shifting.As I said above, the Kuki world view is a r e l Lq i o u sone.Therefore it will be appropriate for me to give ashort account of Kuki religion.By experiential knowledge the Kukis believe that alltheir environment is very much alive.They believe thattheir lives depend much on the natural environment, and theyshould not disturb or violate the natural laws surroundingthem.The anger of the spirits residing in the naturalworld would be incurred if and when the balance betweennatural elements is disturbed.Sickness and ill luck arebelieved to come from disturbance of the natural order andits tranquility.The spirits of nature (such as rocks,trees, springs, rivers, and forests) cause sickness and illluck when men violate their habitation. So the religiousideas of the Kukis were directed toward appeasing or reconcilingthe broken relationship between man and his environment.The whole of existence for the Kukis is a religiousphenomenon. Religion is understood ontologically. Thesupernaturals of the Kukis can be divided into such categoriesas: Supreme God (Creator-God), ancestral spirits, andnature spirits both mischievous and beneficial.The spirits

18of the world of nature are respected and objects in natureare adorned to appease and to receive help from the spirits.But Kukis do not really worship these spirits.At thebottom of their heart they know the creator God-Pathen.Butthey do not see the supreme God-Pathen as directly involveda n their daily lives, but r a t oerworking actively throughother phenomena,Basically, the Kukis' understanding of the nature oftheir religion may be said to be an effective desire to bein right relation with asacred transcendental order controllinghuman destinies and natural events which findsexpressions in aprescribed system of ritual and belief.Death is a mystery for the Kukis. Their reaction to j.t istwofold: attraction and repulsion. But the knowledge ofMithikho (village of the dead) does not give them peace ofmind, and the life of a Kuki is controlled by a fatalisticattitude.The idea of attraction to death comes from ancestorworship.Death is described as the way of the ancestors.Death is the way to join the loved ones who have passedaway. The Kukis have a pessimistic attitude toward life.For many of them death will end their misery.At the sametime death is repulsive for they really do not know what isafter death. The very idea of death after such a wonderfulhuman life is beyond their understanding.

19Some of the Kuki mythological storiesThe Kukis have several mythical persons and mythologicalstories.Two of the important mythological storiesof the Kukis will provide afurther insight into theirbel ief system.Thimjin MythThis myth is about a period when darkness cove r edthe earth.When Chongthu was still in the underworld, therewas darkness over the whole upper world for seven days.Only two people survived the darkness.The two were Lunkimand Lenthang.Both of them were great hunters, and theypreserved the skulls of their game intact. When the darknesscovered the earth and the darkness was so thick thatnothing could be seen, Lunkim and Lenthang burned theirskulls and made a big fire. The skulls are believed topossess a mystical power. In order to survive the darkness,a man had to keep himse 1 f a wake ,There was no one who c 0'.11 dkeep awake through these seven days except Lunkim and Lenthang,and they did so because they were dancing under thelight from the burning skulls.Those skulls which were notburned were turned into live animals and ran away.TheKukis say that there was a golden age that preceded theThimjin.drink.In that golden age there was plenty to eat andLabor was easy, because every thing moved of itselfupon ordering. But every time this power was used, a pregnantwoman would die.So the use of this power was givenup.

20The Kukis believed that the flood covered the wholee a r t h because the outlet for the water at the bottom of theocean was blocked. Many were drowned in the water. All theanimals were gathered at the mountain called Kholkip and allpeople were gathered at Kholjang at the lower mountain.Allthe living beings, both human and dnimal, took refuge tothese mountains and survived the flood.Kuki ReligionIn the course of their life journey, the Kukisdeveloped a religion called Indoi-worship (house deity). Ifone analysis the components of this Indoi, it is nothing butan attempt by men to bring the surrounding nature intoharmony with himself and members of his family and therebyensure plenty, health, and prosperity in the family.';"uitobin MythTuitobin means literally the blocking of the bottomof water. But Tuitobin has come to mean "flood." The Kukishave this story of a flood which seems to be more historical....than the Thimjin tradition. The names of the places in themyth are still well known to us such as Kholkip and Kholjang.Thereforea brief look at Indoi worship may enlighten the readerto understand better the religion of the Kukis.The Indoi is a bundl e of charms make by the Thempu(witch doctor/physician) who has the requisite knowledge ofIndoi.The Indoi consists of seven objects bound with asingle cord to a bamboo spike, some of the objects beingornamented with feathers from a white cock.The spike is

21thrust into the porch of the house.The component parts andtheir significance are as follows:1. A pig's skull: to confer vigor and fertility andprotection from disease2. A goat's horn: to confer beauty and strength3. A miniature gourd ladle: to confer plenty of foodand drink4. A Belval (a circular stand for a jar): to ensurewealth5. A minute bamboo Dao (Chempong): to ensure safetyfrom all dangers6. A miniature gourd conta1ning water and seeds: toconfer prosperity in cattle and crops7. A minute bamboo spearhead: to ensure safety fromghosts of cognates and ghosts of agnatesThe above seven articles are bound together by asin0lecord fiber made from the fiber of the khaopi plant whichsymbolizes strength for body and good health.The bamboospike symbolizes good growth and increases like the greenshoots of the garden bamboo.The cord ensures the owner ofthe house safety from evil spirits.The white chickenfeathers symbolize light and life as the Kukis had escapedfrom the darkness that once covered the whole world forseven days when many perished in the darkness.Originally the Indoi was said to be agift to Mr.and Mrs.Hangsing from the spirits who kidnapped theirdaughter for a wife.But the components of Indoi show that

22it took a long time to develop as an object of worship. Itmight be that Mr. Hangsing was the first Kuki to make one,and others received it from him when they saw that Mr.Hangsing became very rich and powerful.Indoi worship aims at bringing nature under controlin order that alife of harmony and prosperity is ensured.It is an attempt to save both body and soul by bringing thenatural laws in line with the life of man.The Kukis lookedfor prosperity in wealth and health, basing their sociallife on this Indoi religion.In due time, several distinct festivals were developedin the social life of the Kukis to observe one'sachievements;for example, the collection of grain, game,and even heads of enemies.Each of these achievements hasits own separate festival in which large amounts of valuablethings are spent and wasted.These festivals are consideredthe sure signs of being on the right path toward a morepertect life here on earth and ahigh place after death.When aman can perform three distinct festivals, he hasearned the distinction of being aman of valor, and isassured of salvation and leadership in the next world (inthe village of the dead). At his death a special burialceremony must be performed.In this ceremony every item ofthe festival as prescribed by custom must be repeated seventimes. Under these circumstances, a competitive lifestylehas developed in the Kukis' social life.In the long run ithad a tragic effect on the economic life of the people. At

23each festival a man had to feed the guests at least three toseven days at his own expense.Many domestic animals werekilled for the feast and a large quantity of grain was consumed.For centuries the Kukis practiced this evil religionof Indoi without gaining anything good, only poverty and illhealth.Gods according to the KukisThe Kukis have an idea of three ?~vels in their viewof the universe. There is a subterranean world (underworld)where the god called Lhangnel is reigning.Lhangnel is ahost of spirits.Sometimes it is identified with a greatserpent which supports the world, and whenever it moves thereis an earthquake.Next there is the world which they experience calledthe middle world.The god Nungzai is reigning in thisworld.Some believed this god to be a female god and thewife of Pathen, the supreme god.This is not, however,accepted by the majority of the Kukis including the Christians.Nungzai is identified as Satan from whom all theevil spirits originated.The Kukis believe that all thenatural phenomena are actively alive and have spirits.Andthese spirits are believed to be mostly evil and are fromNungzai. I personally believe that Nungzai is the source ofthe evil spirits and to be identified with the Satan of theBible.IndoiThe Kukis believe that the god Nungzai gave them thereligion.

24The third world in the Kukis' understanding of theuniverse is that upper world known as heaven where the highgod, Pathen, has his abode.The literal meaning of the wordPathen means 'Holy Father'. He is the supreme god among thethree. Pathen is acknowledged as a beneficent god. TheKukis have an annual worship ceremony for Pathen at the Gateofthe Vi I I age where they con s t r u c t a sma I I a 1tar h i g h upfrom the ground.The heart and liver of sacrificed animals,such as chickens, pigs, and dogs, are placed on the altar.Except for this rite, there is no worship of Pathen in thelife of a Kuki. The Kuki Christians now identify this godPathen with the Creator of the universe, the Godof the OldTestament and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.The characteristics of this goPathen are the closestto the God of the Bible.The name Pathen does notchange even after we become Christians.The high god Pathenis creator and sustainer of the universe and everything init.He is believed to have power over all evil spirits inboth the subterranean and middle worlds.He is believed tobe a strict judge rather than a loving Father-God. TheKu k i s are quit e i g norant abou t t his hi g h god in matt e r s a ftheir daily life.They do not pray to him except in extremelydifficult situations in life when a Kuki would cryout "Va Pathen" (Oh God, help me). Pathen is not rememberedwhen life goes smoothly.Therefore Pathen was not involvedin the practical life of the Kukis. Why has such a beneficentgod (pathen) not been involved in the life of the

25Kukis? There is only one answer to this. Nungzai (Satan),the arch devil in Kuki legends, so disturbed the lives ofthe people with his host of evil spirits that the knowledgeof Pathen passed into obscurity.The spirits caused muchsuffering, sickness, and death among the people which furtherdiverted their minds from the true knowledge of Pathen.Inorder to ward off these sufferings and death, the Kukispropitiate the evil spirits by offering chickens, dogs,pigs, and buffaloes, as the case demands.The Indoi worship was then ameans for the Kukis toappease the spirits whenever they disturbed the harmony andthe tranquility of nature and their environment resulting insickness and misfortune of all kinds. Of course, I do notmean to imply that the Kukis had sufficient knowledge of thetrue God as the people of Israel did. What I want to say issimply this: the Kukis also had a glimpse of the glory andmajesty of God.Pathen was good and merciful, but the Kukisaccepted his goodness as just an ordinary part of life sothat they forgot to do obeisance to him.Instead theybecame so conscious of the dark side of life, full of misery,that 1 t became more urgent for the Kukis to find waysand means to solve these problems.The relationship betweenthe Kukis and Pathen was broken, and they found themselvesin adeepening and more miserable life which only JesusChrist could restore. As Paul said to the Corinthians, theKukis saw as in a glass darkly the image of God, and whenthey accepted the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy

26Spirit, the darkness was uncovered and the real revelationof God(Pathen) was revealed in Jesus Christ.Satan according to the KukisIhave already introduced Satan in the precedingpages along with God-Pathen. There are two spirits comparableto the biblical terms for Satdn: Nungzai and Lhangnel.Nungzai is the ruler of the middle world with a host of evi 1spirits committed to harming the people on earth in any waypossible.paul's description of the activities of evilspirits on the life of the Ephesians before they becameChristians is very clase to the situation among the Kukis inpre-Christian times. Paul states in Eph. 2:1, 2;And you, hath he quickened, who were dead in trespassesand sins; wherein in time past ye walked according tothe course of this world, according to the prince of thepower of the air, the spirit that now worketh in thechildren of disobedience.The ghosts of jungle, fire, and rocks and the vampiresare all activities of the evil spirits.spirits are thought to capture the soul of aThese evilperson resultingin the sickness of the man or woman.The priest or themagician then has to perform sacrifices in the places wherethis person has gone.The idea is that the spirits havecaptured the soul of the man who visited the place where thespirits live.The sacrifices made in this place are meantto appease the spirits dwelling there, and they are solicitedto release the soul of the sick person.Whatever thepriest prescribes, such as chicken, pig, and dog,has to besacrificed by the priest. The soul of the man is then led

27out of the place by means of the magic and brought back upto the bed of the sick man.An act of this kind appears tomodern man to be silly, but that is what the primitive Kukisbelieved and did.The activities of Lhangnel in the subterranean worldare the same as that of the Nungzai of the middle world.Ofinterest in this study of the concept of God and Satan amongthe Kukis is their view also of sin and guilt.A sense of sin and guilt is very much a part of thelife of the Kukis.They fully realise that the life theylive is far from perfect.Their attempts to bring harmonybetween their lives and nature fail miserably.Sin, however,is only of aGod and His nature.social dimension; it does not relate toFor example, adultery is seen by theKukis as breaking a law of nature, and it amounts to pollutionof the earth.Therefore, the man who commits adulterymust perform arite of cleansing of the ground by sacrificinga pig. This pig will then be enjoyed by the chief andhis men.The social and environmental dimensions of sin arevery well acknowledged, and the procedure for cleansing thesin and avoiding further pollution of the society is prescribedin the form of sacrifice and punishment.From aChristian point of view this is a very limited conception ofthe consequence of sin.The primitive mind could not thinkof hurting or harming God with their sins and failures.They are concerned only with maintaining harmony in theirenvironment and in nature which includes themselves.They

28need to know the supernatura I power of the Spiri t of God­Pathen who can heal any breach of this natural creation forHe is the Master and Ruler over all creation.Social and religious ceremoniesThe Ai CeremonyThe Kukis had three important Ai ceremonies.Theywere Chang Ai, Sa Ai, and Gal Ai.The word Ai means celebrationof success in life.The Chang Ai ceremony is for awoman. When a woman or a family has collected a largeamount of grain for their c onsufnptfori an-d has- a surplus,that family may celebrate Chang Ai at the end of the yearwith a great feast. A particular date for the day of celebrationwould be fixed in consultation with the priest ofthe village. (The Chang Ai celebration is expensive, and informer daysit was celebrated on ly by the wi"e s 0 f thechiefs.)On the day after the prescribed ritual is over,some animals like mithuns (a domestic animal similar to abison) and cows and pigs will be slaughtered, and agreatfeast will be prepared to which the whole village will beinvited.A lot of wine is made available free, and everythingconnected with the feast is supplied by the familyperforming the Chang Ai. After the celebration a stone willbe erected as a symbol of the celebration which is consideredto be the first stage in the process to guarantee agood place in Mithikho (a place of dead people) by theperformer.Much dancing, singing, and drinking will followthe feast throughout the night.The woman of the house is

29honored with aspecial national cloth called Thangnang, andshe is entitled to wear this special cloth from that dayonward.Sa Ai is for men renowned for valor in hunting.Such men have collected a lot of game of all kinds and havethus become qualified to perform this ceremony.In order toqualify a man must have killed many animals of differentkinds during his life time, but among them must be a viper,a tiger, an elephant, and an eagle. He must display theskulls of the tiger and elephant and the feathers of theeagle.The skulls of animals must be carefully preserved,and on the appointed day they are to be cleansed and displayed.Generally the skulls of animals kill2d in the gamewill be at least a hundred and probably more. On this daythe hunter is honored as a hero, and he bears all the expensesof the celebration. He gives a big feast to thewhole village, and invitations are extended to his friendsand reJ ~tives in other neighboring villages. A mithun andseveral pigs and cows are to be slaughtered for the feastand a lot of wine is made available to the people. Thepriest chants his magical formula to start the function anderects a post in the front of the house of the hero. Tothis post the mithun for ceremony is tied with a strongrope; and the priest thrusts his spear into the side of theanimal; and ultimately the mithun is killed and the celebrationstarts.The main idea or belief is that the man whoperforms this ceremony will not be troubled by the spirit of

30Kulsamnu who is believed to block the road to heaven.Sothe man who performs this ceremony will have asafe passageto the place of the dead.Since Sa Ai is as expensive asthe Chang Ai celebration, there are not many menwho performthis Sa Ai.Gal Ai ceremony is seldom performed, because humanskulls are required for the celebration.In former daysthe Kukis were head hunters. When a warrior brought homethe head of an enemy, he became the hero of the village.Ifhe continued to be strong and successful, in due course heperformed the Gal Ai celebration with the skulls of hisenemies so that the souls of these people would become hisslaves in Mithikho (pla~e of the dead.) Head hunting amongthe triba Is was culturally approved. Different tribes haddifferent views on this tradition. The Nagas believed thathuman skulls bring fertility to avillage and to the land;so their warriors went out in search of human heads from theneighboring village. Formerly, this practice caused muchenmity between villages and tribes.Among the Kukis theview was different. The Kukis believed that a warrior whocould collect the heads of enemies would have safe conductfrom earth to heaven, and the s oiI.s of the people whom hekilled would be his slaves in the place of the dead.In oldKuki Society head hunting was a must when a famous

31chief died, because he must be followed by some people as hisslaves in Mithikho (village of the dead).But head huntingwas limited among the Kukis.It was practiced only whentribal warfare was officially declared; only then did headhunting become legal on both sides.Chon CeremonyThis ceremony is the highest celebration among theKukis.So far only two Kukis have been able to celebrateChon. They were Chongthu and Thadou. The ceremony isdifficult because the demands are too many and too difficultfor any man to reach.The other reason is that when Thadoucelebrated his Chon ceremony, his elder brother Doungel waskeeping the Chon rod which was to be used by the priest tokill the Chon Siel (mithun).When the ceremony was about tostart, Doungel was away from home; and the man who went toget the Chon rod was told by the wife of Doungel that Thadous hou ld make his own Chon rod.So Thadou made a bamboo rodfor the ceremony and the celebration was started.WhenDoungellearned about this he was greatly disappointed;because it was a serious mistake on the part of his wife torefuse the Chon rod.In his anger he destroyed the rod andno one could make a new one, and with that the Chon ceremonycame to a stop. Since then no Kuki has ever celebrated theceremony of Chon.It was really meant for kings and greatchiefs only, and it has been along time since the Kukishave had a kingdom and their kings. Even their chiefs£ai 1ed to h o l d them together and the Chon ceremony has no

32more place or relevancy in the Kuki society.It was givenup long before the corning of Christianity.Observance of special daysThere were some special days for the Kukis to beobserved as important religious days.Khomol DayKhomolmeans the main gate of the village where someimportant functions of the village are held.This Khomolday is held in the middle of the month of January.On thisoccasion the high God, Pathen, was worshipped.The priestmake s a sanctuary on the ground where he will keep a claymodel mithun to which seven plates of rice and seven ballsof meat are offered. Another altar is constructed on araised platform about ten feet high from the ground. Liversand hearts of the animals sacrificed are placed on thisaltar.No outsider is allowed to enter the village for thefollowing two days after which the Thempu (priest) wouldsprinkle a holy water on the altar while saying "It issanctified."Daiphu DayThe next one is Daiphu.This is observed justbefore the seeding of the paddy fields begins.An image ofa mithun is made out of clay taken from the ground of thefield itself. This image was left on the field along withsome branches of a tree fixed around the image of the animal.This is called "Daiphu." A cock is sacrificed with an

33invocation calling for good harvest.This is performed bythe priest.No plant may be cut and no ground dug for twodays.Strict discipline is maintained during these days.Hun DayThe third special day for the Kukis is the Hun.TheHun has more of social solidarity than religious significance.This day is a day of fellowship with distant relativesand neighbors. Each household kills a white chickenon the seventh day of June each year.On this day also,Pathen is called upon to bless the household with health andwealth,and to bless the family with many sons and daughters.The day is observed with strict discipline of quietnessand calmness.The celebration ends with the bringingtogether of belpeng (belpeng is afour liter earthen pot forrice beer).This belpeng is brought together at the chief'shouse where the priest pronounces the benediction to all thevillagers and the beer is enjoyed by all along with singinganddancing.Kut DayThe fourth and last special day for the Kukis is theKut Day. Among the festivals of the Kukis, Kut is the mostsocial of all.Bread is made out of pounded rice by thevillagers and is given to the sick along with an incantationfrom the priest.This day is observed on August 25, annually.Kut is a thanksgiving festival. It is held every yearafter the annual harvest.On this occasion everyone is

34expected to eat plenty of meat and drink plenty of zu.Games and sports are conducted for everyone who is willingto enter the contest. And there are social games for groupsand most people join these kinds of games for enjoyment.Itis a day for every Kuki to enjoy himself and herself withmeat and drink.Now the State Government of Manipur accepted thisKut Day as a general holiday to be observed in the wholeState of Manipur. However, many of the former practices onthe day,for instance, eating meat and drinking zu inpublic, have been avoided.But social games and sports whichare socially acceptable practices are aregular part of Kukicommunity life.Death and burial of the deadWhen a Kuki dies all the relatives of the deceasedare informed before the burial ceremony takes place.Meanwhilea bamboo frame is made and the corpse is placed on itin a sitting position. The frame is then tied to the pillarof the house in a leaning position. Friends and relativesbring clothing and other articles for the last rite of honorto and friendship with the dead.Since the family membersof the dead are so sorrowful, some friends prepare food anddrink for them and for the guests who have come from adistance to h0nor their dead friend.Some elderly man ormen from the relatives of the deceased snatch a big dao; andshout at the top of their voices, cutting the nearest post orpillar of the house, saying:"Let my grandfather's games give

35way, let my father's games give way, and let my games give... and let the games of the birds of the air, and of thebeasts that walked the earth give way."They talk to theevil spirits as if these evil spirits killed the dead man.This outburst of great anger is to show their temperto the evil spirits who took away the soul of the deceased.If the dead person is a man with a distinguished life, hewill be buried with the ceremony of Mithi-Shanglap with aspecial song, Lang La, sung only on that occasion.If the dead person is a common man or a female, therewill be no such ceremony or song; but all other ceremonieswill be the same.After this the corpse will be washed andwrapped with a new cloth and the clothes that are given byloved ones.After this the dead body will be put inside awooden coffin. After the burial song is sung, the priestwill pronounce, "Open the way," with acommanding voice.Apparently the priest is commanding the evil spirits to stayaway from the spirit of the deceased and not to bother himon his way to Mithikho.If the dead person is a man, just before his buriala gun or two will be fired and a woman will collect someashes from the hearth to bury with the dead man.In formerdays the dead were buried in front of their house, but inmost cases now each village has its burial ground outsidethe village.The burial ceremonies continue for seven days,and in the last rite for the departed soul three loaves madeof grain and some other edible ingredients dre placed on his

36grave.The soul is believed to leave after this and passthrough Thijin Lhang (mountain passage of the dead).OurKuki ancestors believed that the soul of every dead Kukipasses through this mountain,which lies between Chin Hillsin Burma and Mizoram in India. When the soul passes throughthis range, it goes to the other world and enters Mithikho(village of the dead).Mithikho (village of the dead)The conception of Mithikho is like sheol in Hebrewthought. In Mithikho life is dull and inactive. Life is sounreal in Mithikho; everything appears different to those whoenter it.It is a spirit world where the physical world hasno relevance any more.But the Kukis believe that the soulsof loved ones can come back to us in the form of birds oranima Is.Artistic ExpressionArt is an integral part of anation's spirituallife.Every nation, people, and tribe have arts in differingdegrees according to the level of civilization theyhave achieved. The Kukis have also produced a variety ofart forms which can be seen in the following areas of theirlives.DanceKuki dances are performed according to the occasions.Sheltoldel, Boncho, and Lholhil dances are performedduring the festival of Chang Ai (harvest festival).These

J 7dances express the spirit of victory for having aplentifuland abundant harvest.Therefore the movements of the dancesemploy an active and energetic expression requiring acertainamount of physical strength. They are more of a ritualistictype of dance. In each dance, a particular type ofdress is required.Only men participate in the Boncho dancebecause often the dance gets very rough.dances are also permitted at this time.Other types ofThe harvest festivaldances are always followed by singing and social dancingfor enjoyment.Saipi Khupsut,and Sagol Pheikhai dances are performedduring the festival of Sa Ai (hunting festival). The Sa Aifestival is conducted (and paid for) by agreat hunter whocollects as many heads of animals as are required by traditionin order to perform this Ai.These requirements meanthat only arich and powerful individual can call for Sa Ai.The two dances performed at this festival are the SaipiKhupsut, which means Elephant Knee bowing dance, and SagolPheikhai, which means lifting up the legs of the wild pigs.These are types of dances whi;h are performed by largegroups of both men and women who dance according to thebeating of drums and the rhythm of songs which they singwhile dancing.The Sagol Pheikhai dance is accompanied byTheiphit (bamboo pipe) which is blown by the dancers.Social dancesThese dances are performed on any social occasion.There are two kinds of social dances.One is a dance for

Jtjgroups; and the other is a dance in which only two people, aman and a woman, participate. All dances are accompanied bysongs and drums.Group dances also have different varieties.The most common group dance is zangchelam. Zangchelamis a dance in which men and women hold together theirshoulders with their hands and make circles.They danceaccording to the beating of the drum and the rhythm of thesong which they sing.The movement of the dance is slow butit will accelerate as the leaders lead the group to anemotional climax ending with a great shout.The song isdivided into two parts and the dancers would sing in twogroups alternately, responding back and forth as they dance.Songs and singingThe Kukis love singing and use alot of poetry intheir songs.There are several different types of song.Some songs are linked to a particular tribe or clan. Thesesongs speak of the adventurous life of the tribe or theclan and their relations, both happy and unhappy,withother tribes.The songs also speak of the failures andsuccesses of the tribe.These songs may be called historicalsongs which record and commemorate the incidents throughwhich the tribe has gone.They also express the beauty andglory of life and nature. Singing is a natural instinct inKuki society.Boys and girls communicate through shortverses which they compose to express their own feelingstoward one another.This practice is common among the youngpeople who have a love affair. Singing for enjoyment is a

39must in all festivals and social functions.There are at least two or three social and religiousfestivals each year.The young people use these occasionsto express themselves by dancing and singing songs.tradition has been carried on by the Kuki Christians.ThisThesocial gatherings called "Lenkhom" have replaced the socialand religious festivals of the non Christian Kukis.Thusthe Lenkhom festival serves as an outlet for the emotionalexpressions of the young Kuki Christians.Kuki Christians are composing and printing spiritualsongs for their own use.The title of the hymn book isChristian Lathah,which means "new songs for Christians."This hymn book has three hundred and twenty two songs.Theyhave avariety of tunes but mostly culturally adapted tunes.These hymns are all Christian spiritual songs and are sungin social gatherings when other social activities like dancingand games take place.Every year the number of hymnsincreases.These songs also find their place in the Churchworship services.Dress and clothingThe Kuki tribe is a tribe which has had a distinctivepattern of dress from very ancient times.They havemany patterns of clothes.They make their own cloths fromcotton which they grow themselves.A Kuki woman must learnhow to spin raw cotton into thread and be a ble to weave fineclothes from this thread.weaving is an important qualificationfor a Kuki girl. Such girls have better chances to

40marry young men from wealthy families.Several patterns or items of clothing are importantbecause they identify the wearer as having distinguishedhimself or herself. They are a sign of notable achievement.ThangnangThe Thangnang is adark colored cloth for both womenand men. Both ends have a specially designed pattern woveninto the cloth itself.In ancient pre-Christian days, onlywomen who performed the ceremony of Chang Ai were allowed towear this cloth.The patterns of this cloth are one of themost difficult designs to weave. As for the men, onlychiefs and important men who have achieved fame in war andhunting would wear this cloth.Sha i.p i.khupThe Shaipikhup cloth is as important as the Thangnangcloth.Its ends have different designs and patterns.While Thangnang's color resembles that of asnake, theShaipikhup's color is designed to resemble the knees of anelephant.The Shaipikhup cloth is used for the same purposesas the Thangnang cloth.PonmangvomThe Ponmangvom is the only white cloth of the Kukis.The ends are marked with two lines.The first line is adark color and the second line is a mixture of dark and redcolors.Both men and women can wear it.

41KhamtangThis is a typical skirt worn by Kuki women.It hasa special design at both ends. Kham~ang is one of the mostbeautiful skirts for a Kuki woman. Girls wear necklaces ofred and blue colors of carnelian beads.Some girls put asilver hollow ring about one and a half inches in diameterin the lobe of the ear.The Kuki men also wear carnelian beads on both ears,tied with pieces of threads to the lobe of the ear which ispierced to admit the string.Shirt and BlouseMen wear a kind of shirt with short sleeves and anopen front.Women have a blouse of the same design as thatof the men, but shorter. The men's shirt extends below thewaist, while the women's is cut off at the stomach.Head DressesBoth Kuki men and women g row their hair long.Generally,women have two locks of hair which are bound aroundthe head. The Kuki men tie the hair in the shape of a ballat the back of the head.Both men and women wear turbans.Women's turbans are light and short. But men's turbans arelong and heavy. The Kuki chiefs wear different turbans withfeathers in them to distinguish them from ordinary citizens.Most turbans are either black or white.Men's GarmentsKuki men wear aone-piece, long cloth around the

42waist.The end of the right side goes down in front betweenthe thighs (legs) and is brought back up in the back,coveringthe genitals.The end coming up in the back is thenre-attached to the cloth that goes around the waist.Home ArticlesKuki men make different kinds of mats in varioussizes and colors for use as carpets on the floors.Theyalso make different kinds and sizes of baskets.Baskets aremade solely by the men, but are normally carried by thewomen.Kuki men make their own tools and implements forcultivation of both jhum and wet paddy fields.These toolsconsist of hoe,spade, axe, plough, machete, and knife.The household goods that the Kuki manufactured were:earthenjars for rice beer, brass pots, smoking pipes, wooden beds,cane chairs, and stools.Various weapons were manufacturedsuch as swords, spears, and bows.During the conflict withthe British, the Kukis manufactured brass muzzle-loadingguns. Often the manufacturing technology for a particularitem would be passed on secretly from generation togeneration.The Kuki villageSocial and Political LifeKukis live in villages.These villages consist ofseveral families with many different clans of the sametribe.In former days the Kuki villages ranged from fiftyto a thousand houses. Each family lived in its own house.

43A Kuki village usually is situated on the top of aridge ora mountain or on the slope just below a ridge. The villageis the social unit of a clan or a tribe. This does notmean that families belonging to another clan or tribe of theKukis are not allowed to live in a village where the dominantfamilies belong to a different clan or tribe. Thechief always gives special consideration to the minoritygroup in his village; because, in many cases, these familiescome to his village for protection from their enemies.The selection of a village site is carefully made.As a general practice a dense jungle is usually selected asthe site for a village. The Kukis were adventurous from thebeginning. They wanted to explore a new land and to havevirgin forests where they could have fresh cultivation andlive in plenty. Before forming a new village the chief hadto consult omens and also dreams,the interpretations ofwhich were strictly followed.These omens were consulted onthe proposed site for the new village.The chief and hispriest or the magician would sacrifice a cock and a smalljar of wine.They would then return to their homes withstrict discipline in speech and behavior in order to maintainthe I ink with the spirito f the omen.They woul d spendthe night hoping for some indication regarding the proposedsite for the new village through their dreams.If theindications were favorable the chief would immediately proceedto clear the jungle.If not, the place would be abandoned,and he would look for another site.

44The Kuki chiefs at the beginning were strictly headsof clans or tribes.According to the customary laws, notanyone could be a chief. The Kukis practice a strict formof birthright.The eldest son has special rights as thefirst born son.He inherits all properties and lands of thefather. So the chiefs, as the first born sons, were theones who had the right to establish villages.If otherswanted to establish avillage, they had to obtain the permissionof these chiefs from the same clan or tribe.Theywould authorize them to have their own villages under thetraditional laws.But this traditional practice was ignoredby the British; as a result, many villages were createdamong the Kukis during the British rule.Kuki HousesKuki houses are built mostly with wood.The woodenposts are collected and dried in the sun.Wooden planks aremade for both walls and floor.The roof is covered withthatch.There are no windows; therefore the Kuki house isdark inside even in the day time.For ventilation there isa big opening just between the back wall and the roof.There is another opening between the front wall and theroof, which also provides ventilation.There are two maindoors, the front door and the back door. The back door ismainly for family members.There is one partition in themiddle; the first room serves as abedroom for the owner of the house.sitting room, kitchen, andThere are two hearthsin this first room, one at the right and another at the

45left.Cooking is mainly carried out at the left hearth.The right hearth is for warming the house.The floor israised from the ground at least two to four feet high.The Kukis usually select their house plot on slopingground.Therefore in some parts of the house the floor willbe as high as six or seven feet from the ground.A six-footsquare platform serves as the children's bathroom, fromwhich a ladder serves as an escape line in case of enemyattack. The house is encircled by upright wooden plankswith a strong front gate. This area is an enclosure whichserves as aplace for buffaloes, pigs, bison, or mithuns.There is a raised platform as high as seven to tenfeet from the grounu at the front side of the house.It isabout seven feet square and serves as asitting place in aleisure time. The courtyard, just before the first room,serves as agrinding place; and fire wood and other heavyarticles are kept there.The household deity--the magicalwand--i s hung from the roof either f rom the 1eft side or theright side.It is high enough that children or even adultscan not easily reach it from the floor.The chief's house is generally bigger and betterbuilt than any other house in the village.Usually thereare three or four hearths in the chief's house, depending onthe size of the house. An average Kuki house is abouteighteen feet wide, twenty-three to twenty-five feetlong, and fifteen feet high. The chief's house, if thevillage is a big one, may be three times bigger than the

46other houses. The villagers, as a traditionally approvedrule, help the chief build his house, because the chief hasto hold all the village functions at his house and giveshelter to the destitute of the village.Bachelors' House-SawmIn every Kuki village the practice of maintaining abachelors' house was prevalent in the former days.Amongthe Lushais, bachelors' house was better organized and itwas known as Zawlbuk.In every Lushai village, bachelors'house was built near the chief's house. It was a placewhere all the bachelors of the village slept, and the olderbachelors trained the younger ones in all walks of life.Infact, all the young men were always available for any unexpectedemergency or any urgent work; and they would be atthe beck and call of the chief.For any emergency such asfire, quarrel, or enemy attack on the village, etc., as soona s the hue and cry was raised, all the young men rush out oftheir bachelors' house and render immediate assistance.Ina Kuki village the bachelors' house was not as well organizedas it was in a Lushai village. In fact, it was leftto groups of bachelors to voluntarily organize their ownhouse,and normally they would not construct a separateindependent bachelors' house. Groups of young men wouldgather in the house where services of the unmarried girlswould be available to them in the evening.Strict disciplinewould be enforced in such abachelors' house.

47The bachelors' house in a Kuki village is a voluntaryorganization whereas in the Lushai village it is acompulsory institution. This institution is a place wherethe young people receive their traditional education.Althoughit is avoluntary institution, the eldest and mostexperienced men are the leaders of the group.Therecould be as many as ten bachelors' houses if the villagewere big.In Lushai villages also there could be as many astwo or three Zawlbuks according to the size of the village.The main objective of the bachelors' house is to give trainingto the young men in all walks of tribal life, from makingbaskets to hunting and cultivation. There is a program ofphysical exercise and training also. It is a place todevelop friendship and leadership among the young people.It is also aplace for feasting and courtship.Marriage among the Kukis is by arrangement, but thisdoes not mean that there is no place for courtship.Aftercourtship there is a proper arrangement for marriage betweenthe two families.The girls in the bachelors' house will beresponsible to look after the clothing of the young men andto make t hei r beds at bed time.The young men will renderhelp to the family in collecting fire wood and even inhelping the family in their field cultivation. At the endof the year there is a feast at the bachelors' house for theyoung men and the family.

48Government of the villageEach Kuki village is ruled by its own chief who isassisted by a council of elders who are nominated by thechief on the basis of their experience and ability.Theseelders have helped the chief in one way or another and haveproved their ability in administration.The Kuki chief istheoretically an autocrat and all power is in his hands, butpractically he will run the administration of his village byconsulting his elders. If a case is brought to him he willnever try it alone without consulting his elders.Theseelders are appointed by him, and they can also be dismissedby him.However, in practice before taking the extremestep of dismissing any elder, he will consider the pros andcons and consult the other elders confidentially. The extentof power exercised by a chief depends on his personalcharacter and ability.A strong chief will practicallycontrol everything, while a weak one will be almost entirelyguided by his council of elders.In dealing with the villagers,the chief and his council of elders will be guidedby the customs which have been handed down from generationto generation.The Kuki customs and traditions are handeddown from generation to generation, and they are practicedand followed strictly in the village administration.Council of EldersSome chiefs nominate their sons-in-law, close relatives,and friends as elders in the council to help them inrunning the village administration.But the chief has to

49have some one in his council who is well versed in traditionaland cultural laws and practices. If there is a minoritygroup in his village who belong to adifferent clan or tribe,a representative from this g~oup is usually included in thecouncil. There is a chief elder among the council memberswho is next to the chief.If aperson habitually disobeys the chief's ordersand violates the customary rules of moral conduct, he may beturned out of the village. If a person commits theft, he isalso likely to be turned out of the village.Such personsare not normally allowed back in the village. As a result,they find it difficult or impossible to get acceptance inother villages, and they 'ften live a rejected life. If aperson is found harassing a widow or a girl, he is broughtbefore the chief for trial; and he will be punished with afine which will be fixed by the chief and his council ofelders taking into account the seriousness of the offensecommitted by the person.Rape in former days was very rare.If a person was found guilty in such a case, he would bepunished with a fine of one mithun to be given to the fatherof the girl or widow or to the family of the wronged.Inaddition to this, he would perform aceremony known as Salamby slaughtering a pig in the house of the chief. The aggrievedfamily with her relatives and also the villageelders would assemble in the chief's house and eat the meatof the pig.But this feast was meant only for elderlypeople.It was taboo for children and virgins even to go

50near the place at the time of eating the meat.He wouldalso be required to furnish a big jar of rice beer known aszu.The size of the jar depended on the seriousness of theoffense committed.The fine of a mithun is for the wrongedfather, and the Salam and the zu are for the chief and hiselders and the elderly people of the aggrieved family.Theaccused is also required to sweep the whole village, apractice which is known as Toltheh,meaning the cleansing ofthe ground which has been polluted by him. This part of theceremony is most humiliating, not only to the man who commitsthis offense, but to his family and clan or tribe.Insome cases the manwill leave the village for good becauseof shame.Theft was almost unknown. Petty offenses, such asquarreling, beating, etc., would be decided by the chief andhis council; and fines would be fixed by them depending onthe seriousness of the offense.A strong and capable chiefwould have avery efficient village administration and nothingwould escape his notice.During the British rule the chiefs were allowed toexercise their own traditional and cultural laws in allcases except murder, which was to be reported to the subdivisionalofficer concerned.There were head hunting practiceswhich were part of their culture and were not consideredas murder. The village administration, with a chief 3Sits head, was more or less an autonomous government.As amatter of fact, rule by the chief was the indigenous form of

S 1government which had grown up with the people and suited theneeds of the people; and the chiefs were highly respectedand considered to be fountains of justice and kindness.chief was succeeded after his death by his eldest son.IfThethe eldest son happened t~be an idiot or mentally unsound,the second son succeeded his father; but in no case would adaughter succeed her father. In case a chief was without ason, the eldest son of his immediate younger brother wouldsucceed him.Dues of ChiefThe chie f is entitl ed to some dues f rom the v Ll I a­gers. If a villager kills a wild animal, the head of theanimal will be given to the chief.If the animal is shotwith a gun; borrowed from another person, the owner of thegun will be given one foreleg.If this due is not done theman will face a trial before the council of elders, and hewill be p un I ahed with a fine to be determined by the councilof elders. Normally the fine is a pig.The chief is also entitled to collect abasket ofpaddy--about 40to 50 pounds-- from each family of hisvillage.The land belongs to the chief, and the villagerswill have to pay a kind of tax to the chief. A kind-heartedchief would sometimes forego the tax.chiefs strictly followed this practice.But most of theAfter Christianitycame and the chiefs were converted, Christian chiefs gave upthe practice.There was also atraditional practice that the whole

52village would help the chief in building his house so thathe would have a big house able to accommodate alarge numberof people on important functions. The chief also receivedhelp from the villagers for his Jhum cultivation so that hereceived enough paddy for his own consumption and also tohelp the poor in the village.Normally this help was notdemanded by the chiefs, but the elders of the village wouldarrange so that the chief got enough food for his personaluse and that of the poor and the needy in time of poorharvest, famine, or any kind of calamity.The chief usuallyexempted the elders of the council from these dues.The village has two important officers under thechief and the council.The Village PriestThe village priest, known as "Thiempu", is an importantofficial. In all important functions and ceremonies,his service is required.Therefore, the chief often consultshim on important issues.He is practically the physicianof the village, and is given aportion of the animalssacrificed in the ceremonies for the sick. Asremunerationhe is paid in cash or in kind.Sometimes he is given abasket of paddy and sometimes a piglet. Before the comingof Christianity, the priest used to exercise great influenceon the chief and his council of elders.

53BlacksmithThe village blacksmith repairs and sharpens all thetools and implements in the village. He may be paid in cashor kind.Those without cash will work for a day or two inthe blacksmith's field for the repairs he undertakes ontheir behalf. Sometimes he is given a basket of paddy forremuneration.The blacksmith is normally exempted fromofficial coolie labor.The chief in consultation with hiscouncil of elders appoints the official blacksmith of thevillage.Cooperative laborsUnder authority of the chief and the council, theremay be cooperative labor projects under aleader appointedby the chief. All able bodied persons from the age of fifteen,both male and female, are expected to join in cooperativelabor.There are mainly two types of cooperative laborin the village.The Larger Cooperative LaborThis is called "Lawmpi",which means the big cooperativelabor.The size of the cooperative depends on the sizeof the village.If the village consists of more than twohundred, there could be two or three groups of the bigcooperative labor, with eighty to one hundred in agroup.Each group has aleader appointed by the chief and hiscouncil.The leader will organize his own group by appointinghis assistants who will look after the needs of the

54members.There must be a senior girl who will be in chargeof the girls and will represent them in the leadershipgroup.In some cases membership in this group has to belimited to two or three from a family. The main objectiveof the labor cooperative group is to keep the village foodproduction in good condition.The idea is to have enoughfood for each family for at least one year.So the cooperativelabor group starts work from the beginning of the yearunder the strict discipline of work orders from the leadersof the group.Rules differ from one group to another.Each memberof the cooperative labor will get one day's labor from eachother member.The assistants are directly accountable tothe leader of the group. The leader is directly accountableto the chief and his council. A year's program for thegroup will be worked out on the fields.Whenever there is alabor day,there will be a feast of wine and food in theevening at the house of the fami ly who engaged the group ontheir field.So the purpose of the group is not only tokeep the village economic growth in good condition, but alsoto afford time for the young people, boys and girls, tobegin courtship.The feast is always accompanied by singingand dancing.The Smaller Cooperative GroupThe group usually consists of about twenty tothirty people.They also have leaders who will be responsibleto arrange for the work.But this group does not need

55the sanction of the chief and the council.They are notfree to operate in conflict with the plan and programs ofthe bigger group.They must avoid working on the same days,because some members of the smaller groups may be members ofthe larger groups also.Hunting Expedition in GroupsThe Kukis love to hunt in groups.It is on thehunting expedition that the skill and endurance of apersonis decided.A person who can go without eating and drinking1onges twhileon a hunting expedition is considered to be acourageous man and hero of the team.He will care for hisfriends first; and before he takes anything, he will givethem food and drink.If any animal is shot by more than oneperson, the person whose bullet caused the first wound willhave the right to claim the animal.Among the Lushais,on the other hand, the last person whose bullet kills theanimal will claim it.The logic behind this is that bythe first wound the animal is weakened and it is easy forthe others to effect the kill.However, though he hasthe right to claim the animal, in practice the animal willbe divided among them.The portions already mentionedearlier will be reserved for the gun owner and the chief.In fact an animal killed on a hunting expedition is oftentaken to the chief's house where there will be a communityfeast for the entire village.

56Lt.Stewart in his notes on North Cachar says:The Kukis are great hunters and are passionately fond ofthe spQrt, looking upon it, next to war, as the noblestexercise for man. They kill tigers, deer and small gameby means of poisoned arrows. The bow is a small onemade of bamboo and very slightly bent, the string beingmanufactured of bark. The arrow, the head of which hasa barbed iron point, is about eighteen inches long,being drawn to the chest and not the ear, and thereforedelivered with no great force, the destructive effectlying chiefly in the poison. With such an instrument,the great art in hunting lies in stealthily approachingthe animal enough to deliver the arrow with effect andfollowing it up after being wounded to the spot where itis found lying dead. In this the Kukis excel, beingable to prowl about the jungle as noiselessly as tigercatsand being equal to North American Indians in distinguishingtracks. The elephant falls to the poisonedspear dropped on him from a tree in his path, and I haveknown them attack him, as Dr. Livingstone describes hisparty to have done, with common hand-spears, but theiroriginal methods of capturing this much-coveted animalare being deserted for the more sure and destructivemeans of fire arms. The capture of an elephant, tiger,bear, wild hog or any savage wild beast is followed by afeast in propitiation of its names, and the capturerobtains a name.7Lt. Stewart rightly described the Kuki method ofhunting, but one thing needs to be explain~d.For the Kukishunting is more than just a sport. It has great significancefor the man who is trying to perform the ceremony ofSa Ai.Social customsMarriage CustomThere is freedom of courting among the Kukis, butelopement and rape are virtually unknown.Adultery is alsoalmost unknown.Among the Lushais, no penalty would be7Bertram S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, The Chin Hills,(Calcutta: Firma KLM Ltd., 1976), p. 139.

57inflicted on ayoung man who slept with a young girl unlessshe became pregnant; whereas ahuge fine would be imposed,usually a mithun, in such a case among the Kukis. Ofcourse, courting is aharmless social a musem ent till suchtime both the young man and the young girl become seriousand decide to marry.As a rule, a young man courting a girl would go toher house in the evening after sunset and sit and talk withher till late in the night.This might be in the company offriends or parents or the sisters and brothers of the girl.But if the boy and the girl become serious with a vie w togetting married, they would normally be allowed to sit andtalk alone.If there was any rival courting, there would bestrong competition; but the final decision normally would bemade by the girl. Normally a boy, courting a girl, wouldtake with him a friend or a boy as amessenger or mediatorknown as a Palai. The role of the Palai is to exchangemessages between the two and see that their differences areresolved and ultimately that they are married.This role isvery important, and the person who plays it is normally aclose friend who will not betray the trust and confidencereposed in him.After the agreement is reached between the boy andthe girl to marry, the parents of the boy would take ajarof rice beer to the house of the parents of the girl anddiscuss the arrangements with them.The parents of the boywould take with them their very close friends to help them

obtain the most favorable terms. A. long discussion will58take place as they sip the rice beer; and the parents of thegirl, assisted by their friends and relatives,would in thebeginning refuse to give the girl in marriage 0 n so mepretext or other with a vie w to getting a good pric e andbetter terms.As far as the price of the bride is concernedit was more or less fixed according to the custom ary la ws ofthe clan or tribe.If the first meeting was in favor of the proposal,a second meeting would be arranged at which they would fixthe price of the bride and agree on adate of the marriage.Most of the articles for the price of the bride are alreadyfixed by the customary laws.But the parents and relativesof the girl may demand more or less, if they so desire.the final agreement on the bride price, apig will beAtslaughtered by the parents of the boy at the girl's hom e;and afeast will follow at which they will announce theprice and the date of the marriage.The giving-away-of-the-bride ceremony will be heldat the girl's house on a fixed date. On this day the boy'sfather would bring all his friends who would speak on hisbehalf.But this day is the day for the father of the girl.And he will arrange afeast for all concerned with thetransaction.The boy's parents would bring the necessarybride price, such as alive mithun which is the leadingbride price. Other items in the bride price include abigred bead, worth forty rupees in those days; a long necklace

59of red beads; and customary clothes known as Thangnang,Saipikhup, and Khamtang.If the boy's parents were rich they could bring anumber of live mithuns and raise the bride price to amaximum.But full payment was never permitted in former days,because it was considered to be a bad omen.If the fullprice of the bride were paid, it was feared that the girlhad severed her connections with her parents and relatives,signifying death.be slowly paid.Therefore, the balance bride price willThis may take a generation or two to completethe payment.The second part of the marriage would be the actualceremony held at the house of the boy.The whole ceremonywould be arranged by the village priest. The priest wouldhold a cock in his hands after necessary preparation of twowhite threads and a bottle of beer kept by his side. Hewould chant his magic, calling upon Pathen to bless thecouple.A s mall a mount of the beer would be spit upon thecouple, and the cock would be killed by strangulation.Thepriest would pronounce the m husband and wife by binding thetwo white threads around their necks with som e feathers ofthe cock tied to each end of the threads.The couple wouldwear these threads till they were worn out.A great feastwould follow the ceremony with a lot of meat and drink.The Christians follow similar patterns but changedthe place to the church building with the minister as theleader.Western Christian culture has now influenced the

loupractice of marriage.DivorceDivorce was very rare in the old Kuki society.Polygamy was not the rule but the exception.It is notpermitted for a man to have two wives. But if a womanbecomes awidow, the next of kin of the husband may in somecases look after the widow if she chooses to remain assuch. But the man has no right to force her to becomehis wife. If she agreed to become his wife, the man willhave to agree to look after her children also.But thiskind of situation rarely occurred.In case of divorce,the party who divorced the other would refund all the expensesLncl ud.inq the bride price in case of the wifewho divorces her husband.Divorce has become a com mon practice in Christiansociety among the Kukis and other tribal Christians.Thisneeds to be checked through the preaching of the biblicaltruth on marriage and the family.all sorts of social implications.Otherwise this will haveThe village ad ministrationwill lose its effectiveness.Chongmou BrideThe Kukis have a special marriage ceremony called"Chongmou bride."This ceremony is performed only for thedaughters of awealthy man.powerful chief or those of an extremelyEvery ceremony in this case is different andspecial. It is very expensive and a pre-requisite qualityfor the bride is extreme beauty or, at least, beauty over

61and above wealth. So this Chongmou bride is rare. Therehave not been ten such marriages in the whole Kuki societyin fifty years or more.Birth and InfancySome close relatives and friends help in the deliveryof a child. Soon after the child is born, a piece ofcotton is tied about an inch from the navel of the child.Apiece of split bamboo with a sharp edge or a clean knife isused to cut the umbilical cord soon after it is tied.Thewoman is given acup or bottle of rice beer to drink afterthe placenta is cleared while she remains standing, and onlythen is the child offered breast feeding.It is to be notedthat usually the placenta and the umbilical cord are placedin a gourd and hung at the top of the outside of the backwall of the house.They remained there until the receptacledecayed and fell of itself.The child is named soon after birth.The male childis named after the order of his grandfather; but the femalechild, after her grandmother. A boy is always given a na mefrom the patrilineal ancestors, but there is no fixed ruleas to girls.Then, those who have helped in the delivery areinvited to a feast of lifting downS a child by the family.8The feast of lifting down is the feast for thebirth of a child. It is to welcome the child and tocongratulate the mother. Lifting down is a phrasesignifying the greeting of a newborn baby. The nurses andthose who assisted to the birth of the child are a I sorecognized at this feast.

62A drink is provided. This drink is called Naodop Ju. Foodis also prepared for the occasion with meat and drink forneighbors.

CHAPTER IITHE COMING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITYTointroduce this chapter it will be necessary todescribe two important political events that occurred inMnnipur. The first one was the Anglo-Manipuri War in 1891,and the second was the Kuki uprising of 1917-1919.The first British political agent for Manipur wasappointed in 1835. The object of having a British politicalagent in Manipur was to preserve friendly int~rcourse betweenthe British government and the Manipur government.Theagent served as a medium of communication with the Manipurgovernment; and as the occasion required, with the Burmeseauthoritiea on the frontier.Contact with the Burmese authoritieswas especially crucial in preventing border feudsfrom erupting, which might have led to wide-scale hostilitiesbetween the Manipuris and the Burmese.It is quiteevident that the duties of the political agent in Manipurwas like that of an ambassador.Internal conflicts of theManipuri princes over the throne often led to the kings ofManipur seeking for the help of the British.This situationultimately led to awar between the British and the Manipurikings in 1891, which ended in the defeat of the Manipuriking.From 1894, the British took over the administrationof Manipur and the king became a nominal head of the state.63

64The First World War made it necessary for the Britishgovernment to have a labor force in the battle fieldsof France.The demand for labor corps to serve the Britishexpeditionary force in France was communicated to diffelentroyal states including Manipur.Thus the first Manipurlabor corps consisting of two hundred Kukis and Nagas fromthe hills of Manipur was raised and sent to France in May1917.The second labor corps was recruited from among thehill tribes of Manipur.The Kuki chiefs refused to beenlisted and rebellion broke out.The war between theBritish and the Kukis continued for two long years.Accordingto the British officials, the Kuki uprising of 1917-1919in the state of Manipur was the most serious problem to theauthorities in Assam since the uprising of Tikendrajit inManipur in 1891.The anthropologist Furer Haimendorf describedthe tribal uprisings as defensive in character, alast desperate attempt by a helpless community to resistforeign encroachment on their land and economic resources.lThe Kuki uprising was subdued by the superior force of theBritish.These two important events serve to give historicalbackground for the opening of mission work in Manipurand among the Kukis.Once British power was firmly established, missionarywork was free to begin in Manipur.William Pettigrew,1 Ga uta m Bhedra, " The Kuki Uprising (191 7-1919): ItsCauses and Nature," in Man in India, pp. 10-12.

65the first English missionary in Manipur State, spent threeyears at Cachar in Assam before he entered Manipur in 1894.While living in Cachar from 1891 to 1893 he had learned theManipuri language and its script. Rev. Willia m Pettigre wwas an Anglican who came under the sponsorship of the ArthingtonMission and was only twenty years of age when hecame to Assam in 1891.The then acting political agent, Major Wood, invitedPettigrew to come to Imphal to preach the Gospel to allclasses of people,thus fulfilling his long postponed desireto enter the State of Manipur.Pettigrew arrived at Imphalon February 6,1894 full of hope and ambition for the Lord'swork.Pettigre w had already faced the problem of crossculturalcom munication.He had prepared himself for thetask by mastering Bengali and Meitei along with theirscript.Most pioneering missionary work began with educationas a means of communicating the Gospel and preparingpeople to respond to the Gospel.So Pettigre w's method wasnot exceptional.Different Missionary ApproachesSchoolsAs soon as he reached Imphal, Pettigrew made thenecessary preparations for advancing education and literacya mong the Meitei people.Educating the people was his toppriority in order to reach the people with the Good News.Pettigrew opened primary school for which he wrote a Manipuriprimer, aManipuri grammar, and an English-Bengalee-

Manipuri dictionary. His first school was a private schoolwhich charged tuition and only the children of governmentservants were able to attend it. At that tim e the onlyupper level primary school was one established by Johnstone,a British government agent. The system of this school wasfound to be defective as there was no proper preparationmade for it in the lower classes of the primary schools.Therefore William Pettigrew started -prIm-arysch~olsat Moirar.'jkhom, Thangmeiban, and Terakeithen. These schoolshave now been upgraded to high schools.These are theoldest schools in the state, with the exception of JohnstoneHigher Secondary School (previously Johnstone upper levelprimary school).As the State authorities saw his enthusiasticwork for the advancement of education in the State, hewas appointed honorary Inspector of Schools, in which capacityhe served for tw 0years.Unfortunately, Pettigrew was not allowed to continuehis work in the plain for fear of the reaction of the MeiteiHindus against the administration. When Major Maxwell carneback fro m leave, in spite of his high regard for Pettigre wand his work, he was reluctantly forced to ask him to eitherleave Imphal or discontinue his educational work in thearea.However, Pettigrew was given the option to work inthe hills among the wild tribes if he wished to remain inManipur.Pettigrew chose to remain in the State and starteda similar educational work at Ukhrul, the biggest Taugkhul

67Naga village in Manipur, in 1896.It was very hard for himto start the school because of a lack of cooperation by thepeople.He requested the local political agent to order thetribes to send their children to his school.After theorder was given Pettigrew had about thirty or more young menin his classes.With confidence in God and prayer to Him,Pettigrew continued his educational work.He married an English lady in Calcutta in 1897. Heand his wife made a good team in their educational andmissionary work.The school progressed well and soon othertribes also sent their men to the school.Pettigre w'sobjective was to teach the Word of Gad in the school, usingthe school as a means of evangelistic work. The Lord blessedhis work and in 1901 twelve of the thirty students werewon to Christ. Pettigrew employed two more teachers, Profu­10, an Assamese from Silchar, and Gokul Singh, a Meitei. Atthis time also, Mr.pettigrew was appointed as officiatingstate officer in all matters affecting the day-to-day ad ministrationof the hills.In 1907, the number of Christiansincreased to seventy, but none was living apure Christianlife. Mr. pettigrew reproved them and only seven out ofseventy remained firm in Christianity.But the school continuedto grow in strength.The Kukis, the Korns, the Kabuis, the Anals, and theMaos ha ve all sent their young men to this school.Therewere one or two converts from each of these different tribesat the school.Most of them became teachers and evangelists

68among their own people.Pettigrew was able to start somemore lower primary schools in different villages to which heappointed his own students as teachers.These students hadcompleted the upper primary school courses and had becomeChristians through receiving baptism by im mersion.At the request of the chief of Senvon, the biggestvillag e 0 f the Kukis in Southern Manipur, Watkin Robertscame to Senvon in 1909.The next year he sent some of hisstudents to start a primary school in Senvon. These studentshad come from Aiza wI in Mizo Ram where a mission hadalready started in 1891.The school at Senvon village grewrapidly in strength, and evangelistic efforts through theschool was so successful that by 1913 about two hundredChristian members formed a Christian church at Senvon. In1922, the mission headquarters moved from Senvon to Tinsuang.Because of internal conflict, the Indo Burma PioneerMission divided into two different groups at this time.Onegroup continued to be known as the "Indo BurmaPioneerMission" and the other became the II North East India GeneralMission."Both missions advocated the expansion of the Christianfaith through the schools.Today, every major Christianvillage has schools, ranging from Lower Primary Schoolto Middle English Schools, sponsored by one of these tw 0churches or mission groups.Both churches have High EnglishSchools at their headquarters.(I am obliged to deal withthe m in a limited way as they are outside of my project

70the members in the corps were Christians.In appreciationfor the services rendered by the missionaries and the laborcorps, a plot of land of about three hundred acres wasgra nted to the mission on lease from the British a d ministrationto be the headquarters of the missions at Kangpokpi.Thus, in 1920, a new mission headquarters WdS openedat Kangpokpi.of Pettigrew.The selection of this site showed the geniusKangpokpi was the center for most of the hilltribes.Pettigrew opened another school here which soondeveloped into a Middle English School, while his school atUkhrul also continued to operate at the middle school level.Some of the first Kuki converts from the Christianschools were Ngulhao Thomsong, Teba Kilong, Longknc.bel Kilong,Seilut. Singson, Khaikho Thang Singson, (the student'sfather), Lamjapao Chongloi, Lunneh Lhouvum, Pakho Sitlhou,Helkhup Chongloi, and Tongkam Phohil.Some of these individualsbecame teachers in the mission schools, teachinglower or upper primary grades according to their own educationalachievement. Some of them remained teachers forlife.The early schools in the hills were all missionschools.Later, the State government took over the responsibilityof educating the people.The Gospel was taught andproclaimed to the people more through these schools thandire ct preaching of the evangelists.Whe n the missionschools were taken over the teachers also became employeesof the State government.The disadvantage of this was thatthe Bible was no longer the main text book to be taught in

71the schools.In som e schools, the teachers had the freedo mto teach some catechetical books of the Bible in the localdialect beca use the government had not yet developed textbooks of their own.They allowed the public schools to useso me 0 f the religious books which had bee n use d in th emission schools. A catechism and a primer in Kuki werewritten by Ngulhao Thomsong and published in 1926. Thesetext books are still used in some of the church schools inManipur State.The mission schools were progressing steadilywhen the Second World War broke out, and this war heavilyaffected Manipur State, from 1943 to 1945.The work in allthe mission institutions came to astandstill during thewar, and many properties of the mission and churches weredestroyed by military activity. After the war the missionariescarne back and rebuilt the institutions. KangpokpiMission Middle English School was revived when J. S. Andersoncarne to Kangpokpi in 1946, and soon the school wasfilled with students. But due to a strike by the students,the school was closed in 1950.In place of the MiddleEnglish School, aBible School was opened in 1951 at Kangpokpi.The quality of the government schools steadily declinedduring the 1960's.The churches demanded to have aChristian High English School, and in 1969 aChristian HighSchool was started at Kangpokpi.This school, which wasmoved to Impha1 in 1971, is today one of the best highschools in Imphal.However, many of the church schools andother Christian schools are no longer aforce for the con-

72version of their students.In fact, the schools ceased tobe effective evangelistic tools as soon as the governmenttook over the schools.Most teachers in the Christianschools were no longer properly trained to teach and preachto the students, so most Christian schools degenerated intobeing merely educational institutions. After India's independencein 1947, the conditions of schools changed greatlyand education has become even more secular.Unless a schoolis completely under the control of the local church, noreligious books are allowed to be taught anymore.The Kuki Christians in Nagaland State and the HalflongHills of Assam have developed Christian schools up tothe level of high schools.However, their original motive ofevangelistic fervor is missing in these schools.But theChristia n schools, as such, still have strong moral convictionsand many go to the Christian schools to betterdevelop both their mental and spiritual life (or c apa city).In the Christian schools, which are sponsored by the churches,the Bible and other Christian books are still beingtaught.Medical WorkMedical missionarywork among the Kukis began atKangpokpi when Dr. Crozier joined the Mission in 1920.Dr.Crozier was already in India, having spent the years of 1918and 1919 in Manipur.He was appointed as a special medicalsurgeon in the Kuki Preventive Measure by the State government.His services were highly appreciated by the State

government and in their appreciation they allowed him to73continue his medical work in the State.Until then, theState government had not allowed more than one missionaryfamily at atime to serve in Manipur state.When Rev. and Mrs. Pettigrew left on furlough, Dr.and Mrs. Crozier took up the work at Kangpokpi in 1 920. 0 r ,Crozier started a dispensary, which soon becam e the firstChristian hospital in l-\anipur. He also started a leprosycolony, aided by the State government, which contributed twothousand rupees a year to the colony.Lepers who came tothe asylum not only received care that led to physicalrecovery, but their spiritual wounds were also tended to andlarge numbers found peace in Christ.Dr. Crozier effectivelyused his medical knowledge and services as a tool for theproclamation of the love of God in Christ Jesus.He did notwait for the sick and suffering to come to the Christianhospital at Kangpokpi. He formed a mobile medical tea mwhich toured the villages in the north west section of theManipur Hills.He and his team were the first practitionersof modern medicine that the hill tribes had ever seen.Ofcourse in those days people did not realize the power ofmedicine and medical knowledge and its usefulness.Dr.Crozier treated all kinds of diseases a mong the people andhe found time to speak about the love of Christ to thepeople.Those patients who needed further treatment orhospitalization were brought back to the central base atKangpokpi.

74Dr.Crozier's method of using medical service forthe proclamation of the Gospel was indeed what the peopleneeded at that time. Dr. Crozier was a man of prayer, whohad a deep faith in Christ, and astrong love for the peopleto whom he ministered.He practiced in his own life theprinciple of Christ who said, "the Son of Man came not to beserved but to serve and to give His life aransom for many"( Mark 1 0 : 4 5 ) .Dr.Crozier's ministry was especially crucial,co ming when it did, right after the local war of 191 7-1919in which the Kukis were defeated by the British.Thisdefeat provided a good opportunity for the missionary to goto them with the Gospel of salvation and peace.Crozierhelped some Kukis to feel that some white men still caredfor them.The defeat at the hands of the British broke Kukifeelings of national pride, reduced the traditional power ofthe chiefs and priests, and opened the way both physicallyand emotionally for many Kukis to hear the' foreign' messageof the Good News. Through the preaching of Dr. Crozier andhis team, a people's movement began among the Kukis.Mrs.Crozier also started an orphanage at Kangpokpi,where as many as thirty orphans at a time were kept as aco rn munity.They were given food, clothing, and 0 pportunityto study in the local mission schools.Widows were employedto look after the children.The number of Christians wasincreasing rapidly at this time.New converts, who weredriven out of their villages by their chiefs on account of

75their faith, came to the mission compound.Such people weregiven aplace where they could live together as long astheir circumstances required them to do so.Dr. and Mrs. Crozier also began to translate the NewTestament scriptures into Kuki for the first time. Mr.Ngulhao Thomsong was engaged as the translator. Mrs. Crozierwas well versed in NewTestament Greek and she was ableto help Mr.Ngulhao to do the translation more accurately.The Kuki translation of the New Testament, when it wascompleted (1936-1937), was one of the best translationsa mong the tribals in Manipur state.Medical services, put to good use for the propagationof the Good News, produced better and greater resultsthan the schools did. But the basis of success was not themethod. The reason the medical work produced good resultswas because God had faithful people (the Croziers) at theright place at the right time.At present, the ChristianHospital at Kangpokpi is no longer doing evangelistic serviceas it did in the beginning.Dr. and Mrs. Crozier also started another medicalwork at Alipur in Cachar, Assam.This is one of the best;Christian hospitals in Assam.The Kukis of Halflong Hillsin Assam have received great benefit from this Christianhospital at Alipur.Both Christian hospitals, at Kangpokpiand at Alipur, are still providing good medical services forthe people and serve as strong witnesses to the love of Godin Jesus Christ.However, the number of conversions through

76these hospitals is no longer as significant as it used to beat the beginning.Preaching the Word of GodPreaching the Word is adirect and simple declarationof God's redemptive work in Jesus Christ, His onlybegotten Son, done with the purpose of bringing people toChrist for salvation.Although the direct pulpit ministryis limited to a fe w, preaching the Word is the most co m monmethod of proclaiming the Good News to the people. Preachingthe Word was the center of concern for the early KukiChristians.Pettigrew and Crozier were preachers of the Word ofGod. They learned the Kuki language, so they could makeGod's Word clear and understandable to their hearers.Pettigrewfirst learned the Tangkhul dialect and translated theNew Testament into Tangkhul. When he shifted hisstation to Kangpokpi, he began to learn the Kuki dialect.In 1927 he wrote the Kuki Story Book a nd published it inKuki.Both of these missionaries had afair knowledge ofthe Kuki language.Although they needed interpreters intheir preaching they could be easily understood in theirconversation.The missionaries held an annual Christian conferencein which preaching the Word of God was the main focus of theprogram.The missionaries appointed the first two Kukievangelists, Helkhup Chongloi and Khupsei Misao.Helkhup

77Chongloi preached to the Kukis, while Khupsei Misao preachedboth to the Kukis and to the Kabui Nagas.These two evangelistshad been among the first converts of the missionariesthrough their school at Kangpokpi.The missionariesalso toured the villages once ayear and preached to thepeople there.Wherever they got enough converts, usuallyfrom ten to fifteen, they organized achurch in that village.The new church would remain a branch church of alarger and more mature Kuki church for an indefinite periodof time.The first churches a mong the Kuki were organized atTujangwaichong in 1914, Tongkoi in 1919, Karakhun in 1920,s o nqphe.cxholen in 1920, Cha1jang in 1919, Ge1nel in 1920,Kachai Kuki in 1920, and Lhongchin in 1922. All thesechurches have also had branch churches at one time oranother.Each church serves as anucleus for the evangelizationof the surrounding villages.The early Kuki Christianswere highly motivated to do evangelistic work.They contributedwhatever they had, either in goods or in money, for theevangelization of the people around the m,The missionaries,the evangelists, and the members of the churches were allinvolved in the work of preaching the Good News. Among thet.hree , the lay-people of the churches seemed to be the mostactive in the preaching of the Gospel in the early period ofthe Kuki Christians.The Word of the Lord increased rapidlyamong the Kukis with power to create new life among them.

78This was done mainly through the ver.bal preaching of theGospel by the native Christians.The missionaries wisely taught the Kukis the principleof self-propagation in spreading the Good Ne ws.TheKukis, once they accepted the Gospel, were ready to conveythe Gospel to their next of kin and to the neighboringvillages. Thus, ne w Ku k I churches sprang up as a result ofthe s e Lf-initiated preaching ministry of the older ch urches.Kukis have always believed that the spoken word has seriousspiritual effect upon people.For example, cursing by theelders was dreaded because they believed that it wouldsurely come to pass.The Kukis believe that sicknesses andtroubles have come upon thembecause of being cursed byNemneh, the wife Chongya, who was left behind in the worldbelow when Chongthu and his men left the underworld countryto come to the upper world. This belief, that a word orwords once spoken have a definite power to affect the peopleto who m they were spoken, is in line with Isaac's blessingsupon Jacob as found in Gen. 27:27-29.This traditional belief, that spoken words have thepower to affect human life for good or for evil, seems tothe Kukis to be perfectly in agreement with God's statementabout His Word that it is living and powerful and sharperthan any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division ofsoul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able tojudge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4 :12).For the Kukis, the preaching of this Word of God is the most

79solemn duty of His people.Impact of the Gospel on the KukisThe impact of the Gospel on the Kukiswas tremendous.The Kukis of India were in complete darkness beforethe Gospel ca me to their lives.God, in His grace, hascalled the Kukis from darkness into His marvelous light(1 Pet. 2:9b). They were in darkness in the sense that theydid not realize their life's situation.They did not knowthat they were dead in sin and without Christ.The samesituation as described by Paul to the Ephesians is perfectlytrue for the Kukis also when he said:remember that you were at that time separate fromChrist, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, andstrangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope,and without God in the world (Eph. 2 :12).The Kukis had been a semi-nomadic tribe during the nineteenth century A. D., searching for a permanent homeland.Their encounter with Christianity has had wide-spreadconsequences, touching and changing their whole life style.On Social and Economic LifeOne 0 fthe first external (visible) changes thatoccurs when a Kuki becomes a Christian is that he cuts hishair short.A non-Christian Kuki wears his hair long, in alock at the back of his head. When T. Lunkim (now Dr. T.Lunkim) became a Christian, he went to a Christian villagecalled Jalenbung where he had his hair cut and dressed likeother Kuki Christians.This is to show the other non-

80Christian Kukis that he had become afollower of Christ.2Both men andwomen generally become physically cleaner as aresult of their becoming Christians.Non-Christian Kukisseldom take a bath with the result that they are alwaysdirty. When one becomes a Christian the change is marked bya difference in one's living habits and a life style whichhas ahigh moral standard.It is no wonder that such aradical change of lifeis effected by the power of the Gospel.Every Kuki lives alife marked by dreadful fear of evil spirits fromwhich theycan only be set free by God's grace through faith in JesusChrist.So the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ liberatesthe Kukis from spiritual and social demons.After his hairwas shaved, Mr. T. Lunkim met on the way a mad man, believedto be possessed by evil spirits, who looked at Lunkim andsuddenly cried aloud and ran a way.This had never been thecase before. Before Mr. Lunkim became a Christian, he hadmet this man several tim es and the mad man used to make funof Mr.dagger.Lunkim by hitting his forehead with the handle of hisBut on this occasion the encounter was different.Mr. Jamhol, a non-Christian elderly man who was a personalassistant to the chief of the village where Mr.Lunkim livedat that time, saw the whole incident and declared publiclythat the evil spirits feared the Christians.Ja mhol further2T. Lunkim, Pathen Peh Hinkho (God Given Life)(Imphal, Manipur: Kuki Christian Church, 1984), p. 15.

81said, based on the testimony from other villages, that theevil spirits submitted themselves to the spiritual power ofthe Christians.Non-Christian Kukis usually did not actually worshipthe evil spirits. They rather tried to ward off the evilspirits by means of magic and sacrifices. The main objectiveof animal sacrifices to the spirits was either toappease the evil spirits or to keep them from exercisingtheir evil influence on the people.Therefore, when theKukis saw that the Gospel was more powerful than theirmagical spells and sacrifices, they became convinced thatthe new religion was more effective than the old one insecuring their protection.They saw clearly the real powerof the living God behind all these events.Only when theKukis themselves became Christians by accepting the LordJesus Christ, did they understand the power of the HolySpirit who is much more powerful than the spirits of naturewhich they had previously.The Kukis had been head-hunting tribes before theirlands were annexed by the British.They stopped this practiceby the rule of law, but the real change in this aspectof Kuki life was effected by their acceptance of the Christianfaith.Repentance of one's own sin and forgivingothers their sins against you are an essential part of theChristian message.Individuals, groups, whole villages,and entire tribes were changed by the power of the Gospel.The people repented of their own sins, and forgiveness and

8Lreconciliation took place between individuals, villages, andtribes.This development has brought about radical and farreaching changes in Kuki society and in the whole tribalareas of North East India.This new social life, manifestedby both individuals and groups who had accepted the Gospel,produced an attitude of wide-spread love and concern whichhad not existed before, even among people of the same tribe.Dr. F. S. Downs says,The new social attitudes were often most clearly seen,and most impressive, in times of crisis. For instance,the Mizo revival of 1913 and the rapid growth of thechurch that followed it is attributed to the socialwitness of the Christians during the preceding bamboofamine.3Dr. F. S. Down quoted J. M. Lloyd, who wrote in his book OnEvery High Hi 11;The notable difference between this and previous Lushaifamines lay in the willingness of the Christians toshare with their less prosperous brethren--bothChristian and non-Christian. . .. During previousfamines the prosperous villages (a number of villagesusually escaped the plague of rats) used to erectstockades to keep out the famine stricken. Some of thehungry ones, in desperation, would try to storm thesedefenses to obtain food. They were usually killed inthe attempt. But during the famine of 1911-12 greatbrotherliness and generosity was shown. The non­Christians admitted that this was due to the influenceof the Gospel and it made a great impression on many ofthem.4In 1912 Mr. Pettigrew went on furlough. Mr. U. M.Fox took up the mission work in Manipur during the absence3 F. S. Downs, Christianity in North East India (ParkTown, Madras: The Christian Literature Society, for theSenate of Serampore, 1976), p. 18.4J. M. t.Lo y d, On Every High Hill, p p, 64-65, quotedin Downs, Christianity in North East India, p , 19.

83of Mr. Pettigrew. Two things are memorable about the workof Mr. U. M. Fox. He opened the way for Kukis to receivehigher education by sending promising students on to highschools at Joshat and at Shillong.So the tribals, includingKukis, began to receive atime 0 f U. M. Fox.high school education from theEducation and Christianity carne to be closely iden­tified.Christianity carne to be considered the religion ofthe educated and the wise.The schools were not only theprimary agents of evangelism but also of the new order.Dr.F. S. Downs says,In a region where government policy created aneducational backwater, Christian Schools played animportant role in developing the present generation ofpolitical and professional leadership throughout theNorth East India.5U. M. Fox also introduced carpentry into the hills.My father-in-la w was one of the first trained carpentersfrom the school.This new training enabled simple villagepeople to make modern furniture and to build more comfortablehouses.Religion and illness were inseparable in the Kukiworld view.Illness was due to the displeasure of thespirits and curing illness was a religious function. Theoffended spirits had to be identified and propitiated byobservance of taboos and the offering of sacrifices specifiedby the village priests.When it gradually becameobvious that the treatment offered by the missionaries was5Downs, Christianity in North East India, p. 22.

84not only much cheaper than the t~aditionalsacrifices, butalso more effective, this was interpreted to mean that thereligious powers of the missionary doctors were greater thanthose of the priests.Jyotirmoy Roy says:Christianity as it has been preached by the European andA~erican missionaries, has succeeded in modernizing thetribal people of Manipur. Indeed it has unlocked andopened up the closed doors of those primitive villagesto the I ight of the modern world. In promoting themodern education, reforming the social ills, and curingdiseases, the helping hand of the philanthropic missionshave always been there. Christianity has not onlybrought these hill men from darkness in to light butalso has earned for them prestige and regard from otherswhich they never had before.6On Culture and ReligionChristianity came to the Kukis as a dynamic force inthe face of strong opposition from the village chiefs andpriests.However, despite this strong opposition, the politicaland social conditions of the tribes in general, andspecifically of the Kukis, favored the Gospel. Therefore,the Gospe 1 did not take a long time to brea k through to thepeople and their culture. When the Christian faith firstbegan to grow among the Kukis the village chiefs and thepriests persecuted Christians who lived in their local villages.But intervention coming from both the government andthe missionaries restrained them from further persecution.6Jyotirmoy Roy, History of Manipur (Calcutta: LoyalArt Press, 1973), p. 200.

85The obvious moral superiority of Christianity, backed by thesuperior political power of the British, broke through thechiefs' resistance and won the hearts of the Kuki people asa whole. The Kukis adopted Christianity and, urged on bythe missionaries, they abandoned many aspects of their nativeculture, astep that had both positive and negativeeffects.A positive aspect of the Christian impact on theKuki culture was that it provided a new world view throughthe message of the Gospel.A new life in the Lord JesusChrist has transformed the negative Kuki attitude towardslife and the world to apositive life of faith and hope forthe future. The Kukis were under the spell of the Indoireligion which believes in magic and spirits. Therefore,the lives of the Ku ki.s were controlled by fear of s oizi.ts ,The center of the Indoi religion is the Doibo m, ~v hen a Ku ki,became a Christian the Doibom was removed from the house; andthe pastor, along with his assistants, either burned ordestroyed it.With the destruction 0 f the Doibom, the manand his family were completely cut off from the traditionalcultural practices.All the observances of special days,festivals, taboos of the days, and works were given up.Thecultural laws and corn mandments which guided and controlledthe lives of the Kukis were removed.The difference betweenthe two ways of life is like what Paul said to theCorinthians, ". . • if anyone is in Christ, he is a ne wcreation; the old has gone, the new has corne" (2 Cor. 5: 17).

tj6Christianity is acompletely new way of life for the Kukis.Non-Christian Kukis drink beer to the greatest excess.If there is a festival there will hardly be a man inthe village who is not drunk.Drinking of all kinds ofalcoholic beverages was given up by Christian Kukis; smokingof cigars and pipes has been reduced to agreat extent.Christianity has brought alife of repentance and forgivenessto the Kukis, not only among individuals but betweentribes which were formerly at war due to the traditionalpractice of head-hunting.Blood revenge had been the ruleof traditional tribal relations.The Christian teaching offorgiveness has radically changed this practice.In pre-Christian Kuki society events that happenedduring the course of the day were held to be omens thatdetermined one's course of action. For example, if thewoodpecker chirped in along drawn out sound, it was believedto be a good omen and one would be successful in the day'swork. If the chirping of the woodpecker ~as intermittentand sporadic it was believed to be a bad omen. If a personwas out on an errand and a squirrel crossed the road infront of him or her, it was believed to be abad sign.There were such occurrences which served as good or badomens,blessing or cursing one's person and work.Dreams were being consulted by the chiefs andpriests to find answers for various problems such as selectinga site for a village settlement, selecting a forest forcultivation, or enquiring about a condition of a sick per-

87son. Adoption of the Christian faith has put a stop to allthese practices, and the Kukis have adopted amore positivefaith in God and in man himself.Animistic cultures tend tohave many negative practices and attitudes, and the Christianfaith has positively changed many of these practices andattitudes in the Kuki culture.The Kuki's traditional belief is in Pathen (the highgod) who was confirmed as they came to believe in God (who isthe creator of heaven and earth and the Father of our LordJesus Christ).The healings of the demoniacs in the Gospelnarratives demonstrated for the Kukis the superior power ofthe Lord Jesus Christ over the evil spirits whomthey fearedso much.The negative aspect of the impact of the Christianfaith on the Kukis arose from their sudden divorce fromtheir own culture and acceptance of a different cultureabout which they knew so little.The Christianization ofthe Kuki society is still in a process of transition. Muchremains to be done in this context.One of the difficult and important problems for aKuki Christian is his feeling of being cut off from thepast.The Indoi religion is focused heavily on the Kuki'srelationship to their ancestors. The magical fo~mula of thevillage priests was the narration of the ancestor's historyand events of the past.Traditionally the priests and thechiefs of the Kukis were the custodians of their history andculture. When a Kuki became a Christian, he gave up the

eetraditional relationship; and this loss created agap betweenthe past and the present life and also between thepresent and the future. As for the gap between the presentand the future, the hope of heaven for the believers fills upthe gap well (Col. 1:6). But the absence of a connectionbetween the present and the past remains to be worked out.In this connection the understanding of the person and workof the Lord Jesus Christ will help them to see their relationshipwith the past.Jesus Christ said to the Jews,IlTruly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am"(John 8:58 NAS).Kukis took pride in memorizing long listsof their family genealogies.Good families had known unbrokenlists of their ancestors. When they became Christiansthey thought they had cut themselves off from theirfamily line. Therefore, I believe that Kuki Christians needto learn of the eternal existence of Jesus Christ from whomevery true believer has received a new life.The giving up of all the festivals of both areligiousand social nature has created emotional and psychologicalproblems in the life of the Kukis.The celebration ofChristmas,New Year's day, and Easter have helped the youngergeneration to express their joy and happiness.The Kukiculture has been destroyed by the Christian fajth, and theyounger generation has ahard time finding self-identity andfulfillment.The giving up of singing cultural and socialsongs has had an adverse effect upon the people.The customary law of the bride price has also been

89given up. But there are other tribes, like the Mizos, whostill continue the payment of the bride price to the fatherof the bride.So the practice of the Christian life hasbecome different from one tribe to another.Some of theKuki Christians have begun to reinstitute the bride pricepractice, but most still feel that the demanding of thebride price is an insult to women as it gives women thefeeling that they are being 'sold' to their husbands.The giving up of the cultural life and practicesshould have been more wisely and selectively done.Forinstance, social songs and social festivals should have beenpermitted as there is nothing wrong in these practices.Butthe giving up of the practice of the bride price seems to bemore appropriate to the expression of Christian life andals0 to the teaching of the New Testament Scriptures, sincethis practice degrades the status of women.On political and Village AdministrationThe Kukis' acceptance of the Christian faith haschanged their center of focus from being man-centered toGod-centered life in Christ.The primitive Kuki's religioncentered around himself and his environment.The individual'sreligious beliefs and practices were expressed inrelationship with nature and with his kinsmen, includingthe chief.The local village priest was the leader for theIndoi religion, while the chief was in charge of the people'ssocial and economic life.But when the Christianfaith came, the priest was left without a place. The chief

lJ ()remains in his position as the chief, and many of his responsibilitiesremain the same as before.But there is anew leader in the village in the person of the pastor.Veryoften the chief and the pastor have to work out their ownspheres of responsibilities between them.A strong and wisepastor will have alarge share in the administration of thevillage.One of the good effects of the Christian faith onthe Kuki villages is that it brought amore democraticadministration to the people.As the Kuki Christians growin number and education, the churches are taking over moreand more of the administration of their villages in manyareas. But the chiefs continue as rulers of the Kuki villagesby virtue of their being the owners of the lands and,more importantly, by their being the heads of the clans ortribes.The pastors tend to take more of the responsibilityin relation to guiding the spiritual and social life of thepeople.The pastor, or one of the elders of the church, isalways on the village council representing the church inthe village's administration.Prior to the corning of Christianity the priests andchiefs of each Kuid village ha.dalways proclaimed a certainnum~rof days for the village during which the whole villagewas forced to observe the days as rest days.On suchdays it was forbidden to do any work, and no one was permittedto leave or enter the village.The Christians refusedto observe these days as they no longer followed the

91traditional religion.So there was serious conflict inalmost all the Kuki villages over this issue.At last thegovernment worked out a solution for both groups by declaringthat the rest days should always be Sundays as desiredby the Christians.This way, Christians would have toremain in the village only on Sundays. But as time passedmost villagers have become Christians, and those who stillremain in the traditional religion are so few in number thatthey no longer demand that Christians observe their re~tdays.Christianity has brought a new style of life to theKukis and induced them to forsake the old traditional way oflife.The Christian faith has met the deepest need of theKukis when they were strugg ling for their own surviva1.Theimpact of the Christian faith has touched the Kukis througheducation in general and through the activities of Christianworship on Sunday in particular.The Kuki language became awritten language for thefirst time when the late Mr.Ngulhao published the firstKuki primer in 1927.The first Kuki literature was developedby the Kuki Christian community.The first Kuki Ne~Testament was published in 1944.The introduction of literature,education, and humanitarian services has had areaching impact upon the Kuki political institutions.farThemodern democratic system in India has enabled the KukiChristians to participate in the election of the villagecouncil members and district council members.The impor-

increased from four hundred to three thousand, and half ofthese were Kukis.Some Tangkhul churches still celebrateMay 7th as "revival day" in commemoration of that event. Bythe end of the summer the revival had spread throughoutManipur and continued through 1924.7The revival not only stirred up the churches butstimulated extensive evangelistic activity.In the firsteleven months of 1923, 1,118 people were baptized. Therevival did much good, especially in its early stages. Itwas characterized by lengthy church meetings in which therewas self-examination, confession of sin, expressions of joyand thanksgiving, prayer, and commitment to the evangelistictask.Asthe revival progressed, however, it began to takea more ecstatic, Pentecostal form which tended to weaken thechurches and divert their attention from the essential businessof Christianity.Prom the beginning of the revival themissionaries had their reservations. However, Dr. Croziergave his approval and supported the movement at its beginning.William Pettigrew did not agree with him. In 1926Crozier denounced the Manipur Revival as the "spasm of 1923"in which he concluded the devil had caused "many mock imitationsof the work of the Holy Spirit."On this point, at't r, S. Downs, The Mighty Works of God: A BriefHistory of the Council of Baptist Churches in North EastIndia: The Mission Period 1836-1950 (Panbazzar, Assam:Christian Literature Center, 1971), p. 161.

least, Pettigre w agreed with hi m.Both missionaries were, 0 Icourse,judging the revival by its fruits.8The first two Kuki churches, Tujangvaichong andTongkoi, suffered much after the revival movement was over.During the revival of 1923, when their emotional feeling wasa tits peak, they destroyed their crops belie ving thatChristwas going to com e im mediately. This mista ke n ide a ofrevival made many Kukis reluctant to become Christians,because the revival movement produced a famine in which manyChristians had suffered.The steady growth of Christianity a mong the Kukisshould not be attributed to the revival movement of 1923­1925 alone. There were some good results, no doubt, but onefactor that must be remembered was the failure of the Kukiuprising against the British in 1919.This defeat of theKu '

'J )more mission sponsored evangelistic work among them.Theprogress that had already begun was further stimulated bythe Manipur Revival.From 1920 onwards the Kuki church grewrapidl1·Most of the evangelistic work was done by the KukiChristians themselves.Crozier's Kuki assistant, Mr. Khupsei Misao, WeSvery active in the work of evangelism and church plantingamong the Kukis and the Kabui Nagas. Mr. Khupsei planted achurch at Laijang, the government headquarters.He himselfbuilt the church building and ministered to the church from1932 to 1942. His dedication to the service of the Lord waspraiseworthy.Even non-Christians respected him for hishonesty in doing the Lord's work.He planted churches atTaloulong Village, Vongjang Village, andShelshi Village.He was also intrumental in planting churches among the KabuiNaga villages, such as Tamenglong, Khongjarong and otherKabui villages in the North-West section of Manipur.Mr.Khupsei died in 1942 at a time when the churches needed aleader like him.Mr. Ng~lhao Thomsong, leader of the Kuki labor corpsin France, has been mentioned before.Following his returnfrom France in 1919 and two years of work in the governmentservice, he served as alay evangelist among the Anals.During his three years among them,334 Anals were convertedto Christianity.However, it was not an easy or simpletask.He was subject to constant persecution, and on oneoccasion he narrowly escaped a plot on his life. Ngulhao

· tdied in 1946/47.The death of these two Kuki Christian leaders cameat a time when tbe mission work among the Kuki s was in acrucial stage.In many parts of the State Christian workwas at a near stand still due to the Western missionariesleaving the area from 1943 to 1946 because of the SecondWorld War.The absence of the missionaries left the Kukichurches in adifficult situation.Another Kuki Christian of this period, Pakho Sitlhou,an assistant to Mr.Khupsei Misao, gave most of hislife to service among the Rongmei Nagas.He married aRongmei Naga girl and lived among them for many years.Heprepared a hymnal in their language and assisted in thetranslation of scripture portions. Even in later days, whenrelations between Kukis and Nagas were not good,the Rongmeisfreely acknowledged their debt to this faithful servantof Christ. Mr. Pakho Sitlhou died in 1965.Tongkam Singsit (a distant uncle of the student) wasthe first foreign missionary from among the Kukis. In 1932,Singsit was sent to the Haokip Kukis of the Jonjang area inNorthern Burma in response to their request for aChristianteacher.During his three years of service there, somesixty Kukis were baptized.He was replaced in 1935 byLetjavum Sitlhou and his wife, who died in service there.Tongkam Singsit died in 1958 while organizing and building achurch at Mothing in the Sadar Hills district of ManipurS~ate.Today the Kuki believers in the Jonjang area of

97Northern Burma are the leading Christians among the KukiChristians of Burma.The work of evangelism and church planting stoppedduring the Second World War,because most of the Kuki areasbecame battle fields.But the Kuki people continu~d torespond to the Gospel.Immediately after the war, LungkhoMisao and Sonkhopao Kilong continued to preach the Gospel tothe people in the hills of Manipur.Some Kukis were includedin this outreach.Most of the Kukis who h z.ve come toChrist were converted to Christianity after the Second WorldWar. The war brought about a tremendous change in the livesof the tribesmen.Modern civilization has come to the Kukis and theyhave believed Christianity to be the way of civilized man.Most Kukis of today have seen and experienced the sufferingand misery of the Second World War. When nothing else couldsave them, they turned to the Christian faith and becameChristians in large numbers.Today more than eighty-fivepercent of the Kukis profess Christianity. Among them aremany genuinely converted people, and such people have takenover the leadership of the Kuki Christians.Missiological Principles Amongthe KukisThe first missiological principle at work in theKuki context was that the work of missions was center~dinthe church and in the local Christians.The work of evangelismand church planting was never at any time under theexclusive control of the missionary and his compound.

There were three mission headquarters in Manipur.They were the Kangpokpi mission headquarters, the Ukhralmission headquarters, and the Old Churachandpur mission'Jbheadquarters.During the first twenty years of missions inManipur, from 1894 to 1914, Manipur had only one missionary.From 1915 to 1920, there were only two missionaries in Manipur,one from the Baptists and one from the Northeast I nd i.aGeneral Mission.In 1955, the Indian government expelledall (the last) foreign missionaries from Manipur.But theexplosive growth of the church in Manj.pur continued unchecked.From 1951 to 1971, the number of Christians in Manipurincreased by 308.2 percent.9 This increase was due to alarge number of conversions among the Kukis during thisperiod.Therefore the first missiological principle at workamong the Kukis was church centered mission.When the firstKuki congregation was organized at Tujangvaichong in 1914,the church took responsibility for ~xtendingthe faith tothe next Kuki village.As explained in the first chapter,every Kuki village has some families from different tribesor clans who have relatives in other villages.Many Kukichief s are related by birth or by rnarriage to the chief s ofother villages.These iamily connections served as channelswhich spread the Gospel from one village to another.For9 F. S. Downs, Christianity in North East India(Madras: The Christian Literature Society, 1976), p. 15.

example, when Kamkholun Singson (chief of Senvon village) wasconverted in 1915, his cousins who were the chiefs of Khongjang,Lungthulen, Vantungbung, and Toulbung villages f o l l o wedhim one by one. When a Kuki chief in a village comes toChrist, the people of his village often convert to Christianitymoreeasily.The propagation of the Gospel a mongbeen carried out mostly by Kuki Christians.the Kukis hasThe missionaries,when they were there, acted primarily as a dvLs o r's ,Th eeulture of the Bible, especially the 0 ld Testament,has many close similarities to the K u k i, cultur.e. Forexam ple, Jacob served Laban for seven years to pa y the brideprice for his wife.Such a custom was practiced a mong manyof the Kukis in their pre-Christian society.Although there was only a vague idea of a belief ina supreme God, it w e s enough to identify this supreme beingwith the God of the Old Testament who is the Father of ourLord Jesus Christ.The activities of demons and evil s p.ir>its described in the Gospels closely resembled those w h i.c hthe Ku ki.s had seen and experienced in the pre-Christian Kukisociety.The message of love and forgiveness from God throughfaith in Jesus Christ has aspecial social relevance for theKukis who needed such amessage in a society w here there hasbeen so much hatred and vengeance between tribes and villages.Similarities between the NewTestament world view

100and the Kuki world view have helped the Kukis to accept theGospel message more readily.The fortuitous timing of the Christian missionaryinitiative has to be taken into serious consideration inexplaining the growth of the Christian church.The earlynineteenth century was a time of great changes among theKukis in North East India.The result of these changes madethe Christia nlife style more acceptable to the Ku kis.People's Movement Amongthe KukiThe people's movements to Christ among the Kukis hasfollowed the natural bridges of the relationships betweentribes, clans, and families.The movements began with theyoung people.From the earliest time period, the Christianendeavors were organized among the young peoples in thelocal churches.In most cases they were instrumental instarting a people's movement. Christian young people in thelocal churches made plans to visit the next village for thepurpose of preaching the Gospel. The Kachai Kuki Church'sendeavors visited Lakhan in the year of 1939, and as aresult of the program a church was organized at Lakhan in1940. From the church at Lakhan the Gospel spread in thesame way to other Kuki villages such as Aisi,Meiti, andMaokot.The local churches served as bases for proclamationof the Gospel. The missionaries did a good job by freelyallowing ministry activities to operate through the localchurches.The local churches a mong the Kukis take their mis-

101sionary responsibility seriously.Most local churches p l a nto send out a group of people at least once a year to a Ku kivillage where the people have been found to be receptive tothe Gospel.When such a group is sent out to a Kuki village,they remain in the village for at least three to four days.They conduct house to house visitation and urge the head ofthe house to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior and thro waway the Doibom.When they have won one or two families,the families' names will be enlisted in the register of thatsending church.soon be baptized.Personal contacts will follow and they willThe pastor or the evangelist will alwaysfollow such groups and seek to plant achurch, building onthe results of the young people's work.An exa mple of how this process worked can be seen inthe experiences of Mr. T. Lunkim. In 1956 Mr. Lunkim (nowRev.Dr. T. Lunkim) led a group of young people from his ownclan on an evangelistic visit to Saichang village w h o r etheChie:f was staunchly opposed to the Christian Gospel.Theclan feast was being held in that village and visitors fro mall around the area were coming, including important leadersfrom other villages of the clan.The clan mithun was readyto be killed for the feast.The Chief declared that theChristians had come to spread their religion among hisvillagers.He said, "I have forbidden any of myvillagers tobecome a Christian, but today there will be a contest bet-

1ULween the Christians and my people to see who can Jump t h ehig hest over the mithun,If the Christians win, they havethe freedom to preach and spread 'c.heir religion; and myvillagers are free to convert to the new religion."The Christians won the ensuing contest, helpedgreatly by the fact that the villager's c h a mp i.o nsick the day before and was unable to c o mpet.e thad fallenAfter thecompetition, the local chief publicly declared that hispeople were free to hear the Gospel and follow Christ ifthey so desired. As a result, several new churches werestarted in the area that same y e a r il OEarly Kuki Christian TentmakersMany of the first converts among the Kukis becametentm akers among their people. They were not appointed bythe church or by the missionaries.They simply obeyed theword of God they had received from the mi ssi.o n a r i e sor fro mthe native preachers.They were not employed and paid fortheir service.They volunteered to be messengers of theGood News. Some of these early Kuki Christian tentmakerswere:1. Mr. Ngulhao Thomsong2. Mr. Seilut Singson3. Khaikho Thang Singson (father of the student)lOThis account was told to the author by Dr. Lunkimin a personal conversation in 1970 at Motbung, Manipur.

1o:4 • Mr. Lamjapao Chol1gloi5 • Mr. Teba Kilorg6 . Mr. Longkhobel Ki long7. Mr. Khupsei Misao8. Mr. Lunneh LhouvumMr.Ngulhao Thomson~ThEmost outstanding among the early Kuki tentmakerswas Mr. Ngulhao Tho~song. It is fitting that he was thefirst tentmaker among the Kuki Christians as he was thefirst educated Kuki Christian. Mr. Ngulhao completed highschool studies in the mission school at Jorhat sometime in1905. After his cunversion at the school he went aboutpreaching the Good News to his people.Whenever he was onholiday Mr.Nqulhao took the opportunity to teach the hymnsand the Scripture that he had learnt from the missionariesto his own people back at the villages.Ngulhao met withmuch persecution as he witnessed for Christ.Moved by theSpirit of God he boldly procl~imed the Good News and manywere converted through his tentmaking ministry.Sometime in 1910 some Kukis from Tujangvaichongvillage were converted along with the chief.There wereabuut twenty-five people baptized by the missionary Rev. U.M. Fox in a river near the village. The missionary invitedMr.Ngulhao to look after these new converts at this village.Mr. Ngulhao was atentmaker at this village working asa teacher in the village and at tbe same time preaching theGospel. Soon many new converts were won. Under his leudpr-

104ship the first Kuki Christian Church was planted at thisvillage in 1914. Mr. Ngulhao did not stay long at thisplace as he was appointed to be one of the leaders of thelabor corps from the hills of Manipur in 1917.When the war in Europe was over Ngulhao and thelabor corps returned to their native state Manipur.Some ofthem died at sea.Those who survived and the relatives ofthose who died were rewarded handsom21y by the Britishg -ve r nme n t; for he Iping the Br i ti she Ngul hao, being one 0 fthe leaders, was given a post of a head clerk in the subdivisionaloffice at Temenglong and a reward of a piece ofland.Ngulhao's knowledge of English was much sharper afterstaying in Europe for nearly three years.Ngulhao continuedto be a tentmaker in his service in the government. Hisservice in the government helped others to become Christian.However, he did not remain long in the governmentservice due to its evil influence on him.He once againjoined the mission service and at this time he was appointedas translator of the Scriptures into Kuki language in 1930.Ngulhao translated the whole of the New Testament into Kukiand also part of the Old Testament.The New Testament waspublished in 1944. Ngulhao also prepared a primer in Kukiand a catechist in Kuki for the new converts. Ngulhao diedin early 1947. The Lord has made use of this man in aremarkable way to proclaim His Good News among the Kukis andamong other tribals of Manipur State.

105Mr.Seilut SingsonThe second tentmaker among the Kukis was my uncleSeilut Singson.He was assistant clerk in the sub-divisionaloffice at Ukhrul.He helped many new converts who werepersecuted by the chiefs for becoming Christian.ManyChristians were driven out of their villages by the chiefs.So there were often court cases on dispute of propertiessuch as la~dsand farms between the chiefs and their Christiansubjects. Mr. Seilut tried to help the Christians toreceive justice from the government. In most cases amongthe Nagas, the Christians were given a different plot of landfor a new Christian village. As he helped the Christians hefound opportunity to witness to the non-Christians and manyhave received Christ through his tentmaking ministry.Mr.Seilut had been a faithful tentmaker throughout his life.Mr. Seilut was partly responsible for the conversion of thechiefs of some of the Naga villages and the chief of ourvillage who was his cousin.Mr.Khaikho Thang SingsonMr. Khaikho Thang Singson was my father. After hisconversion in the missionary school at Ukhrul, he went to ahigher school at Kangpokpi. When he completed his studieshe was appointed assistant teacher by the missionary thereat Kangpokpi.He was transferred to Tongkoi Christian villageto be ateacher there and help the recently plantedchurch.When his older brother, the chief of our village,permitted him to come back to the village, he took some of

1Ubhis students and visited the village and proclaimed the GoodNews to his people.The young people in the village werevery much interested in the Good News,too afraid of their parents to make abut many of them weredecision for Christ.Some young men secretly tried to become Christianswithout the knowledge of their parents and they did so.Ourvillage at that time was a small village consisting of aboutfifty houses with apopulation of about four hundred people.On this occasion at least fifty young people acceptedChrist. My uncle, the chief, was worried for the changethat came to his village. He said, "If the Christian God isthe true God all shall follow, but I shall be the last." l\shis own brother was leading the young people, he found himselfin a difficult position.On the other hand, my grandmother~asa priestess of the village and renowned for hermagical healing powers.There was power struggle betweenher magica I power and the power of the Good News brought byher son. My father and his students had been praying for mygrandmother that she might be converted first.Mysteriouslyafter afew days my grandmother was converted after admittingthat the Spirit of Christ is much stronger than hermagical powers.When grandmother was converted her eldest son, thechief, was very much moved but he still refused to submit tothe power of Christ.Neighboring Naga Christians came toour village to preach the Good News.During this gospelcampaign the stiff resistance on the part of the chief a n d

i U Ihis men was broken. The village experienced a grent revivnlduring which all the magical wands from each household werebrought out, piled outside the village, and burnt. Thus inthe early part of 1925 a new church was planted at KachaiKukiVillage.After seven years in the miss ion service a s a teacherat Tongkoi Christian School my father resigned from themission service and joined the government service. But hedid not cease to be a tentmaker while in the governmentservice.He was largely instrumental in the conversion ofall the people in our village.Mr.Lamjapao ChongloiMr.Lamjapao Chongloi was a close friend of my uncleand my father. They always worked together. At the begi~ni n g Mr. Lam j a pa 0 was a mem ber 0 f 0 u r v illage. But aft e rfive years he and his family moved from our village andjoined their own relatives who were living in another village.Mr. Lamjapao Chongloi also joined a government serviceand he was active as a tentmaker among his people.Itwas largely through his work that the whole village wasbrought to Christ and achurch was planted at Khokon villagein 1932.From this village the Good News spread to otherChongloi villages in the area.

j ,J ("\Mr. Teba Kilong and Mr. Lonqkhobel KilongMr. Teba Kilong and Mr.Longkhobel KHong were fromthe tribe of Kom Kukis.They were the first converts of themissionary at Ukhrul. Mr. Teba and Mr. Longkhobel wereresponsible for the bringing of the Kom tribes to Christ.They remained tentmakers throughout their lives.Mr.Khupsei MisaoMr.Khupsei had been the first evangelist appointedby the missionary sometime in 1925.At this time there weretwo missionary families in Manipur State for the Baptistfield. It was Dr. C. Crozier who was put in charge of thewestern section of Manipur State, and it was he who appointedHr. I

1u'JMr. Lunneh was a pioneer in the field of education among theKukis. Mr. Lunneh was the one who started the Kuki ChristianAssociation with a view to strengthening the Kukis in theirfaith and witness. By profession he was a politician andwas once elected a member of the Legislative Assembly ofManipur State Government. Lunneh never forgot his Christianwitness while in office. And as a chief he tried his bestto bring the Christian moral standard to his people.

CHAPTERIIITHE RISE OF THE KUKI CHRISTIAN COUNCILThe first Christians to form atribal ChristianAssociation w e the Kukis of Munipur from the Baptistchurches. In 1943, representatives of the Kuki churches metat Sa i k u l Village to form what was then called the KukiChristian Organization.After the war, its name was changedto the Kuki Christian Association.The first meeting underthis name was held in 1949.1This association became knownas the Kuki Baptist Association in 1955.In the same yearthe northeast Kuki Baptist Association of Manipur was organized.The Kuki Christian Association of the southern partof Manipur was organized in 1957.They were from the NortheastIndia General Mission churches.The Presbyterian Mission was the first Christianorganization working in Mizoram and the North Cachar Hillsof Assam.Therefore the Kukis of these places became Presbyterians.The first missionaries working among the Kukis inBurma were Baptists. As a result, most Kuki Christians inBurma are Baptists.In later years, the Methodist mission-IF. S. Downs, The Mighty Works of God, (Panbazar,Ganhati-l, Assam: Christian Literature Center, 1971), p. 159.110

111aries also cam e arid so today there are a fe w Kukis in Bu rm awho belong to the Methodist Church.Thus, the Kukis came to be divided into four deno minations:Baptists, Presbyterians, the Northeast India GeneralMission,and l-iethodists.2Since 1950, churches of other denominations havearisen a mong the Kukis.Groups like the United PentecostalChurch, the Assembly of God, and the Seventh-day Adventistshave started their own churches among the Kukis.Thesechurches are not numerous, but they have encouraged atendencytoward divisiveness and schisms among the Kuki Christians.Thus, one undesired result of Christian work amongthe Kukis has been that previously united tribes have splitand split again,usually over issues of pride or leadership.These continuous divisions among the tribes on account ofthe Christian faith have become a real proble m.Christianity has had a strong impact on Ku k i.society.Recently, Kukis had begun to realize the need toexpress their faith in away which would transfor m theentire Kuki, culture and give a Christian basis for socialsolidarity. This has led to the need for having a Ku k i,Christian Council in which all the denominational churcheswould be represented.2T. Lunkim, Kuki Christian Church, (Imphal: KukiChristian Church 1982), pp. 2-5.

112Joint Efforts at Indigenizing ChristianityIn the preceding chapters Ihave indicated the wayin which the Kukis have accepted the Christian faith.However,Christianity has not been able to penetrate thehearts and souls of many Kukis, because Kukis have receivedthe Gospel through the medium of an alien culture.This hasresulted in many Kuki Christians holding to only a superficialform of Christianity.This nominal Christianity hastended to dissolve the cultural unity of the Kuki people.This nominal faith has broken the Kuki's attachment to thetraditional and cultural heritage that previously bound thepeople together, but it has not been powerful enough initself to provide a solid base for a truly Christian senseof ethnic solidarity.Many Kukis are now beginning to realize that theirChristian faith needs to be strengthened and revitalized.In order to do this there is a dire need for contextualizingthe Christian faith in the context of the Kuki life andculture. The Kuki Christians' desire for a cultural unityneeds to be founded on the historic faith of the church.This unity would then serve as the ground for a powerfulexpression of the Christian faith and life in the context ofthe Kukiculture.Under these circumstances some of the Kuki Christianleaders have begun to see the need for more cooperativeefforts within the church.Then Kuki Christianity can takeon amore indigenous form.

113Cooperative VenturesFrom the ti~eof the missionaries, visitation hasbeen practiced between the different denominational churches.There were two types of visitation. The first wasprivate, done by individuals or families.Members of thesame families in Kuki society were divided into differentdenominational churches. But the denominational divisionsdid not cancel out the unifying effects of fami ly ties andcommonly held faith in Christ.From time to time theyvisited each other to refresh and renew their relations.They would also visit each other in times of sickness orother troubles.This unconsciously helps the Kuki Christiansto cooperate more actively in their Christian life andpractice.The second type of visitation was more formal, donein response to official invitations extended to church leadersasking them to attend and/or speak at conferences ormeetings held by other Christian associations.Such officialinvitations and the visits resulting from them arevery common among the Kukis.This practice has helped theKukis to appreciate one another~sform of Christian life andpractice.And this has led to more realistic cooperationamong Christians on various projects.Bible TranslationThe unifying force of the Kuki Christians is theWord of God--the Bible.Even though they are divided intodifferent denominational churches they have always used one

114Bible.Recently, the Roman Catholics translated the RomanCatholic Bible into the Zo dialect which is one of thebranches of the Kuki language.But the Protestant KukiChristians have always had one Bible in one version.The first man who started the translation of theBible into Kuki was Wi~liam Pettigrew.According to hisannual report in 1925 at Gauhati he said, "For years theKukis in Manipur State have been pleading for the word ofGod, print~d in their own tongue. We are glad to have hadthe priviledge of placing the printed page of God's wordinto the hands of the next important hill tribe in the Stateof Manipur."3The first books of the Bible translated into Kuki byWilliam Pettigrew were the Gospels of John and Luke and theActs of the Apostles. Dr. and Mrs. Crozier took over thetranslation work of the Scriptures into Kuki and in 1925they employed Mr. Ngulhao Thomsong.They completed thetranslation of the New Testament in 1936 and published itin ~937. Mr. Ngulhao went on to translate the first twobooks of the Pentateuch into Kuki. However, with his deathin 1944, the work of translating the Scriptures into Kukistopped.In 1956 after a long interruption, Mr. Mangkho, agraduate in theology, took up the work; and in 1961 the book3A. B. M., Report of the Assam Baptist Mission,(Ganhati: American Baptist Mission, 1925), p. 124.

i 1 5of Genesis was published.But in 1962 he too left the work.Rev. T. Lunkim, a B. D. graduate from Serampore University,was appointed translator of the Bible for all theKuki Christians in 1964.All the Kuki denominationalchurches sent letters approving his appointment to the Bibles o c i.e t.yof India which accepted his appointment and furthermade him:heir employee for the translation of the Scripturesinto Kuki.The Kuki Christian Council also approved the appointment of P e v , T. Lunkim as translator of the Scripturesinto Kuki.The Kuki Christian deno minational churches thatsent letters approving the appointment of Rev. T.Lunkimwere the Kuki Baptist Convention of Manipur, the Kuki ChristianAssociation of Southern f.lanipur (Northeast India GeneralMission), the Nagaland Kuki Baptist Association, theNgalsong Presbytery in Assam, the Kabo Valley Thadou BaptistAssociation (Burma), and the Upper Chindwin Kuki BaptistAssociation in Burma. This action was a major steppingstxne toward a greater degree of cooperation among the KukiChristians.Rev. T. Lunkim was well prepared to do the translationwork.He had taken Hebrew and Greek in his studies forthe Bachelor of Divinity which is equivalent to the Masterof Divinity in the United States.He also did some advancedstudies in the Hebre w Scriptures along with his translationwork. Lunkim is a man of strong faith in God under allcircumstances.He started the translation of the Scriptures

116into Kuki under many hard5hips. The Naga and the Mizorevolutionary movements have caused him a lot of trouble andled to persecution against him and his work.T he India ngovernment heard false reports about him and became suspici o u s of his work. According to his autobiography, on theearly morning of November 24, 1966, Lunkim was arrested andput into jail. He was released on January 7, 1967.4 Godperformed a miracle in his life, he s a i.d , that e n a ble c himto co mplete the translation of the Scriptures in 1968.was printed at Thomson Press in Haryana State in 197 O.ItTheKuki Holy Bible was inaugurated on June 20, 1971 at theMolivom Christian Church.Ever since then, June 20 has beenobserved as Bible Day among the Kuki Churches in India.5Thus, the Bible is aunifying force for the Kuki Christians.One HymnBook for all Kuki ChristiansThe first Kuki Christian hymns were translations ofthe evangelical songs of Ira D. Sankey . Individual K u kiChristians translated Western hymns and as the years passedthe number of hymns increased.In the beginning, these hymns were copied in exercisebooks for use in the churches.The first ch urch hy In nbook, as it was called, was published in 1937.It waspublished by the Baptist Mission,but all the other denomi-4T. Lunkim, Pathen Peh Hinkho (God Given Life),(Imphal: Kuki Christian Church of India, 1984), pp. 68-70.5Ibid., p , 75.

117nations of Kuki Christians also used the hymn book.However,during the 1950's different hymn books from differentChristian organizations appeared among the Kukis.But thesedifferent hymn books have almost all the same numbers andthe same hymns.They were published mainly to meet theindividual needs of the Kuki Christians.When the Kuki Christian Council was organized in1959, one of the objectives of the Council was to have acommon Christian literature for all the Kuki Christians,including the Bible and the hymn book. However, the KukiBaptist Convention published its own hymn book in 1981,inviolation of the Council's policy.There is a new hymn book which contains hymns thatwere composed by Kuki Christians of the past and present.These hymns employ traditional Kuki melodies and are meantto be used in the worship services of the church.At firstthe churches hesitated using them in the worship sLrvices,but now they have begun to use them.Kuki Christian Literature SocietyAsit was mentioned before, the Kuki Christian LiteratureSociety became one of the departments of the KukiChristian Council.The council felt that to have manyvarieties of hymn books and Bibles would encourage tendenciestowards division and also be uneconomical.At firstthe Kuki Christian Literature Society dealt only with Biblesand hymn books, but now this society concp.rns itself withall Christian literature for the Kukis. It serv~s a useful

118function in helping work for the unification of the KukiChristians.Forces That Led to the Formation of the CouncilSince India gained its independence in 1947,generaleducation has greatly expanded among the tribals.Alongwith bringing an increase in general knowledge and understandingamong the people, education has also created abetter understanding between different Christian qroupsamong the Kukis.Personal contacts at schools ana collegeshave also given students·froiri differerit-groups opportunitiesto develop friendships and agreater appreciation of oneanother's faith andIndia was apractice.new nation and the spirit of nationalismwa s very st rong among the people. A new sens e 0 f triba 1unity began to grow among the Kukis also. As a result ofthis, each tribe has started its own association or organization.The missionaries in Manipur left the field in 1954leaving the nationals to shoulder all the responsibilitiesfor the work of the churches.This situation also broughtan urgent need for the Kuki Christians to come together andplan for their common future.The worldwide ecumenical movement of the church a l s ohad an impact among the Indian churches.The Assam ChristianCouncil was started at the beginning of the century.During the 1950's, its name was changed to the NortheastIndia Christian Council with which most of the Protestant

119Christians are affiliated.During the 1960's, the churchunion movement also began among the churches in NortheastIndia.These movements also had an impact on the KukiChristians.Strains Caused by Denominationalismin the Kuki CultureThe Kukis were astrongly united tribe before Christianityappeared in their society. Each family had its owngenealogy for generations. Names, customarily, were givenaccording to the names of the ancestors, usually grandfathersor great grandfathers.This is especially true formale children.Traditionally, young men always marriedgirls from their father-in-laws families.That the Kukis are scattered in several widelyspreadplaces means that young men who follow the traditionalmarriage patterns have to marry girls from families whobelong to a church of a different denomination. This hasled to many problems.Baptists will ask the o r i d e in suchcases to be rebaptized by immersion before the marriagecould be solemnized. Presbyterians, on the other hand,willdiscourage all such interdenominational marriages.Thissituation has created alot of misunderstanding among theKuki Christians and weakens the Kuki tribal solidarity.Denominational churches do not meet the need of the Kukisociety.The Kukis should not be divided into differentdenominational churches.This division grates against theircultura 1val ues.

120Denominational churches have also caused alot ofunnecessary problerrs and misunderstandings for other tribalcultures because different denominational churches withinthe same tribe begin to criticize and accuse one anotherbecause of minor differences in their beliefs and practices.The Kukis were a strongly united tribe who dared to resistthe British when they tried to exert their rule over them.But with the acceptance of the Christian f e, '.th the unity ofthe Kukis has been weakened.Some chiefs like LienkhokamSingson have suggested that the Kukis shculd go back totheir old religion which would give greater unity to theKuki society.Thus, excessive denominationalism among thechurches has hurt the cause of Christ among the Kukis.Migration of the People from OnePlace to AnotherSocial bonds will often lead a Kuki family to joinrelated families who live in another village.This ~racticeof changing villages occurs very often among the Kukis.Kuki families who belong to one denominational church oftenhave to join a different denominational group when theymigrate to ancther village.During the missionary period the missionaries made apolicy called "comity". In this practice a geographicalboundary line was drawn between the territories of thedifferent denominational churches, and leaders or ministersof o n e church were not allowed to cross this line or tc workin another's area.The missionaries and their employees

121faithfully observed these geographical boundaries, but fortheir followers it was not possible to keep it.After India's independence, the mis~ionaries wereasked to leave the area: and this practice of 'comity'became irrelevant.The nationals no longer observe this~olicy.The churches cross over freely from one territoryto another and plant new churches wherever there is aneed.For example,the Baptist churches in Manipur were not allowedto cross the old Cachar Road which ran from Lamlangtongto Cachar. But now, the Baptists have not only crossedthe line, but have planted Baptist churches in the southernpart of Manipur State.The same happened with the Presbyteriansof the southern part of Manipur, who crossed over the"comity" line and planted churches in t~enorthern part ofManipur among the Baptists.Now, all the churches are freeto respond to the Kuki migrations and minister whereverthere is aneed.The Truth of the Gospel DemandsUnity and CooperationThe forces for unity at work in the minds of theKuki Christian leaders began to have some results during the1950s. At the end of the decade people began to realize theneed of forming a Kuki Christian Council. A popular scripturepassage read and preached in the churches in those dayswas John 17:21, where the Lord Jesus prayed, "that they maybe one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me: and Iin Thee, thatthey also may be in Us: that the world may bel ieve that Thou

122didst send Me" (The New American Standard Version). TheKuki Christian leaders felt that at least aloose unifyingorganization among the Kuki Christians was urgently neededto consolidate the Kuki Christians and their resources for astronger mission and witness.Seven leaders representing several different denominationsof Kuki Christians met on March 7,1959 at Keithelmanbito discuss the issues concerning mutual cooperation.They were Rev. S. T. Henpu, Ex. Jem. Thanghem M. C.ElderHempao, Pu T. Lunkim, Pu Mangkho Thomsong, Mr. NgamkhonehKipgen, and Pu Khaikhojang Thangeo. At this meeting theyresolved to form the All Kuki Christian Literature Society.In order to carry out the function of this Society, Rev. S.T. Henpu was elected as chairman and PU Manpkho Thomsong waselected as secretary.At this meeting another resolutionwas also made according to which representatives of all thedenominational churches among the Kukis should meet at Molnomchurch on May 15-17, 1959.The meeting was held on the scheduled date at Molnomin which all the major denominational churches were represented.The main item for discussion at this meeting wasthe organization of a national christian council. The meetingunanimously resolved to organize the Kuki NationalChristian Council. Pu T. Lunkim was elected as the firstPresident and PU Khupzapao Singson was elected as Secretaryof the Council.

123The first Kuki National Christian Council meetingwa she 1 d at Molv 0 min the Nag a Hill son Augus t 2 6 and 2 7 ,1959. The meeting was fully attended by representatives ofthe denominational churches.Three important things tookplace at this meeting.drafted constitution.The first was the approval of theThe second was the change of the namefrom the Kuki National Christian Council to the Kuki ChristianCouncil.The third was the assigning of Jem. ThanghemM. C. and the council President to find a good place for thelocation of the council's headquarters.Thus, the primary objectives of the Kuki ChristianCouncil were achieved within a year of the time that theoriginal leaders had first met to discuss the idea.Objectives of the CouncilIn a meeting held at Molnom village in Manipur onMay15-17, 1959, the Kuki Council drew up its objectivesupon which it planned to work.Three important objectiveswere worked out for the Council to pursue.They are asfollows:1. There should be a Kuki National Christian CouncilLiterature Committee, to look after all Kuki Christianliterature including the Bible and hymn book.2. There should be an interdenominational committee,to supervise relations between the different Christiandenominations among the Kukis and also with Christiangroups outside the Kuki society.

1243. There should be a church union planning committee,to see that all Kuki Christians come together to formone church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.6ToDevelop and Promote KukiChristian LiteratureThe promotion of Kuki Christian literature was oneof the main objectives of the Kuki Christian Council.Asliteracy increased among the Kukis, demand has arisen formore Christian literature in addition to the Bible and thehymnbook.At first there was very little Christian literature,most of which had been translated from English. Mr. NgulhaoThomsong translated The Mirror of the Heart,The Way ofSa 1vation , and a Catechism into Kuki. Rev. S. T. Henputranslated The Holy War by John Bunyan into Kuki.He alsotranslated some Mizo language booklets.These two men were laymen who did not have aformaltheological education.During the 1960s some progress wasmade in producing theological literature in Kuki. Mr. MangkhoThomsong, who was a graduate in Theology, translatedsome English commentaries into Kuki,among them being aCommentary on the first Epistle to the Corinthians and onthe Epistle of Hebrews. He also translated a Handbook onSunday School by Morris. Rev. T. Lunkim translated TheLife and Work of Jesus Christ by J. Cook.He also translated6T. Lunkim, Kuki Christian Church, (Imphal: Tribal­Meitei Printing Works- 1982), pp. 16,17.

125Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Rev. Khupjapao, a B. o.graduate, also wrote abook on the teachings of the Biblewhich was the first theological book written originally inKuki.Besides these examples of Kuki Christian litf>raturethere were booklets and monthly magazines published by theKuki Christian churches.Or. T. L unkim also wrote abook on the Christianlife in Kuki which was the first of its kind.The book aimsto explain the relevance of the Christian faith to the K u k i,culture. He also wrote a short history of the Ku k i, ChristianChurch and published afor Kuki Christian churches.series of Sunday School lessonsHis latest books are a com mentaryon the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians and his a utobiography.Or. T. Lunkim is an outstanding figure in thefield of Kuki Christian literature work. Rev. Oongkho Singsonalso wrote two books: aManual of WO!'ship for the Ku kichurches and aHistory of the Early Church from Its Beginningto A. o. 600.But the increase in Kuki literature hasbeen more than matched by the increasing growth of the Kuk i,churches.The demand for literature is increasing and muchmust be done in order to meet the need of the Kuki Christians.ToStrengthen the EvangelisticWork and MissionAlthough it was not one of the official objectivesof the Constitution, one of the reasons the Kuki ChristianCouncil was organized was to strengthen the evangelistic

126efforts of the different church groups.The existence ofthe Council has opened the way for evangelists and pastorsto visit one another's churches.Since the inception of theCouncil, many church leaders have worked together in organizingevangelistic campaigns and gospel crusades among nun-Christian Kukis and also among nominal Christians in thechurches. This movement has brought about a better understandingof the Christian faith and life.ManyKuki young people came to Christ and were bornagain through these united evangelistic campaigns.Theexperiences of many of these younger Christians were soradically new that they declared that the Good News hadnever been preached to them before by the churches.Thetruth of the matter was that the churches had preached theGood News about being born again to its members. However,the spiritual life of the churches had become stagnant dueto an absence of spiritual vitality in the church's life andworship made even worse by a lack of practical training andbiblica1 educatio n a mong the leadership. This situation hasbeen changed for the better by the Kuki Christian Council'swork in providing for fellowship and cooperation among leadersfrom different church groups a mong the Ku ki.s ,To Bring Unity and CooperationAmong the Kuki ChurchesOne of the expressed objectives of the Council inits Co nstitution was to work for unity a mong the Ku k i,ChristianChurches. The Church Union Planning Committee was

127appointed by the Council which selected the council presidentand secretary to work with the church union committee.First, astudy of the issues of faith and practice wasconducted.One of the issues was the practice of infantbaptism among the Northeast India General Mission Churchesand the Presbyterian Churches.Kuki Baptists hold that onlybelievers should be baptized, and that by im mersion.Articleson these issues were published by both sides.But the lay people in the churches did not realizethe theological implications of these doctrines and practices.(The issues remain with the leaders to resolve.)The Council's stance has been to accept both parties' positionas valid.Thus, when people transfer their me mbershipfrom one denomination to another, they are not required tobe re-baptized.Also, churches acknowledge and accept asvalid spiritual ministry performed by other churches.Churches of one denomination are free to invite any ministersthey choose from other denominations to minister onspecial occasions.This policy of the Council has prom otedcooperation and unity a mong the Kuki Christians.The Formation of the Kuki Christian ChurchThe history of the formation of the Kuki ChristianChurch was exceptionally indigenous.It was born out of thenecessities of the people.Factors of influences from outsideof the Kuki society were not significant enough to formthe Kuki Christian Church.Here we have a tribe: which isdivided by accident rather than by choice into different

denominat..ional churches.Many of their leaders realized theneed of bringing together their congregations into onechur.ch.Negotiations for church union were not necessary aswas the case in the Church of South India and the Church ofNorth India.Two priorities emerged in the founding of the KukiChristian Church, b ot.h of which are considered to be biblicallygrou nded.These are the nature of the ch urch a nd thefoundation of the church.The church in its New Testament term is ekklesiawhich is derived from two Greek words, ek = out of, andkaleo = to call.Therefore the term ekklesia or churchmeans the called out people, those who are being called byGod in Christ to join His household.Jesus said, "And Itell you that you are Peter, and on this rock Iwill buildmychurch, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it",(Matt. 16:18, New International Version).Jesus Christ madeit clear that the church, or those who are called in Christ,belong to Him. The church is God's fa mily, His household.The English word "church" is derived from the Greek adjectivekyriakos as used in such phrases as kyriakon doma orkyriake oikia, meaning "the Lord's house, i.e. a Christianplace of worship" in the New TestC'\ment.The Greek ekklesia,however, refers to acongregation of Christians and never toa building. 7 It is a com munity of God's people in Christ.70. W. B. Robinson, "The Church" in The New BibleDictionary, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: W. M. B. Eerdmans

129The Kuki Christian Church leaders, led by Dr. T. Lunkim, madeacareful study of the church in the context of the Kukisociety.Finally, they concluded that the church is One.When the Kukis accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour andbelieve in His redemptive power, they should not remaindivided,which is against the teachings of the Bible.The basis of Kuki Christian unity is found in their faith inone Lord and one church.They are united as one people inChrist with a new perspective in life. The believers haveformed a new humanity in Christ. This new humanity is oneand the same in all tribes and nations of the world.Forconvenience and for a more effective life of witness andevangelism,the Kukis will form a Christian church of theirown under the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the head ofthe church (Eph. 4:1-5, New International Versionl.8The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ.He isthe cornerstone on which this foundation is laid, and allbelievers becom~part of the building built upon ChristHimself (Matt. 21:42; 1 Pet. 2:4-5, New InternationalVersion) .9When the Kuki Christian leaders honestly faced thescriptural teachings on the church, they could not help butconclude that the Kuki Christian believers should not bePublishing Company, 1962), p. 228.ST. Lunkim, Kuki Christian Church, (Imphal: KukiChristian Church Tribal-Meitei Printing Works, 1982), p. 37.9Ibid., p ,3 S •

130divided into different denominational churches.If theirdesire is to remain faithful and true to their Lord, theyshould form one church and serve one Lord all their lives.l 0From the Council to the ChurchIn their search through the Bible to justify theexistence of so many different denominations, the KukiChristian leaders found no biblical evidence to justify theexistence of so many different denominations.It is clearto them now that the Bible does not teach the dispersion ofmany separate churches in the name of Christ who is the headof the church.The next study concentrated on the history of thechurch.The Christian faith was accepted as the statereligion for the first time during the reign of EmperorConstantine the Great in A.D. 312. When the Roman Empire, alarge area of countries of different nationalities, broke up,the church like wise divided into major factions due topolitical as well as ecclesiastical considerations.Moredivisions occurred during the period of the reformation ofthe church.In spite of these divisions, the Kuki Christianleaders discovered that the essential nature of the churchremained the same in all denominations.Denominationalchurches, with their differences in doctrine and practice,are the result of human and historic factors rather thanGod'swill in Christ.lOIbid.

1 J IAfter eighteen years of careful study and preparation,the Kuki Christian leaders were convinced that theyshould go ahead and form the Kuki Christian Church by joiningtogether the Baptist churches, the Presbyterian churches,the Northeast General Mission churches and other sectarianchurches.The plans of the Council relating to theChurch were carefully worked out, and the churches wereinformed.The Council decided on April 14-17, 1977 to meetat Nomjang, North Cachar Hills of Assam, India. It was thesixteenth meeting of the Kuki Christian Council.The eleventhresolution reads as follows:"It is unanimously agreed that the time has come for theChristian Council to become the Kuki Christian Church.And it is further agreed that the following leaders areintrusted to work out a constitution for the KukiChristian Church. They are:1. Rev. M. Doungel-Assam2. Rev. T. Thangeo-Assam3. Rev. T. Haulai-Nagaland4. Mr. T. Hangsing-Nagaland5. Rev. T. Lunkim-Convener Manipur6. General Secretary of Kuki Baptist Convention7. Pastor N. Lh~ngdim Churachandpur8. Mr. Haokhothong9. Pastor Kaingul10. Pastor Lalkhokhup-Zougan Baptist Convention11. Rev. S. Singson"11These leaders met three times to draft a constitutionfor the Kuki Christian Church.The draft was thenIlT. Lunkim, Kuki Christian Church, (Imphal: Kuki.Christian Church, Meitei Printing Works, 1982), pp. 46,47.

132distributed to the churches.The Council invited all thechurches to meet at Cha1wa on April 6-9, 1979 to vote forthe Kuki Christian Church and to declare the inception ofthe Kuki Christian Church.This meeting was also the eighteenthsession of the Kuki Christian council.At this meeting every member present experienced thepower of the Holy Spirit.Everyone felt such joy andhappiness for being one body in the Lord.Thus, in oneaccord and full of Christian joy, the Council Presidentdeclared the formation of the Kuki Christian Church and itsConstitution. However, there were some groups in each denominationalchurch who did not join the Kuki ChristianChurch.Therefore the continuation of the Kuki ChristianCouncil was necessary.The Kuki Christian Church was formed on the foundationof the apostolic church with the evangelical faith andpractice for witness and evangelism.The Holy Scripture isits standard of faith and conduct.There is acultural aspect of the Kuki ChristianChurch's foundation.On the day it was declared established,there was acommunity feast which all the representatives,elders, and leaders attended.According to the Kukitradition everyone eats aportion of the meat set aside forthis occasion as a symbol of oath taking. This act bindsall those who partake of the meat.

133Relation with the Christian Churches andChurches of Christ in U.S.A.The relation of the KukL Christian Church with theChristian Churches and the Churches of Christ in U.S. A.(the C. C. C. C.) is one of mutual cooperation in missionand evangelism.We have seen the brief history of theformation of the Kuki Christian Church.until recently theKukis were not aware of the existence of Christian Churchesin the U.S.A.In 1976 when Rev. T. Lunkim was studying at FullerTheological Se minary for the degree of Master of Theolog y inMissions, he met Dr. Max Ward Randall and Dr. Cyril C.Simkins, who in turn introduced him to Dr. Donald McGavran.Rev. T. Lunkim (now Doctor) developed a friendship withthese men. Dr. Lunkim made known his work in India amonghis people and his plan for mission and evangelism.ByGod's providence, these leaders showed much interest in Dr.T. Lunkim's work. The surprising thing was that the goalsthatthe Kuki Christian Church had bee n trying to bringabout were found to be the same as those of the C. C. C. C.The principles advocated by the C. C. C. C. in the U.S.A.were the same as the Kuki Christian Church in India.Theseprinciples are the acceptance of the apostolic church as apattern for present-day church life and government, usingthe infallible and inspired Bible as the only standard offaith and practice, and taking seriously Christ's command inthe Great Corn mission to work for the conversion of allunbel ievers.

134In 1980, from March until June, Dr. T. Lunkim wasagain in the United States.He met many leaders of theAmerican Christian churches and visited many of thesechurches during his stay. with the help of Dr. Max WardRandall and Dr. Cyril C. Simkins, Dr. Lunkim formed anexecutive Board for the Kuki Christian Church Mission, Inc.consisting of five members:1. Dr. Max Ward Randall, President2. Dr. Cyril C. Simkins, Secretary3. Mr. LeRoy Trulock4. Mr. Thomas Segelke5. Mr. William McClure, Director of Gospel BroadcastingMissionThus, the Kuki Christian Church Mission was registeredin the State of Illinois as a religious bod y, a c k n 0 wledgedby the U.S.A. government under the registration number42569, dated August 21, 1980. This registration in theUnited States gave the K. C. C. and the C. C. C.C. increasedlegal freedo m to cooperate with each other in jointministry efforts, both in India and in other countries.This does not mean that the Kuki Christian Church ofIndia is under the supervision of the Board here in theU.S.A.The Kuki Christian church of India is an independentbody from the C. C. C. C. in the United States.The KukiChristian Church has its own distinctive Restoration Movement,aimed at unifying the church and restoring it to thenature of the apostolic church of the first century.The

135mutual relationship between the Kuki Christian Church andC. C. C. C. in U.S. A. has strengthened the RestorationMove ment a mong the Kukis and other tribal Christia ns ofIndia.There has been considerable growth of theRestorationMovement of the church among the zo Christians inManipur.The Zo's were cousins of the Kukis, who werehighly divided into Presbyterians and Baptists. Now, morethan half of these churches from both denominations areunited, and early in 1983 the y joined the Restoration Movementof the church.The inauguration of the zomi ChristianChurch took place on June 11, 1983 at Churachandpur.The Lhangkhal tribe, which is also a o i ata nt; cousinof the Kukis, joined the Restoration Movement in 1983 afterthe Zomis.Thus, the Restoration Movement of the church isgrowing among the tribal Christians in Manipur State.An Attempt to Reach Cultural Unity withinthe Context of ChristianityRather than PaganismThe Kuki,Christian Church is an attem pt to reach acultural unity within the context of Christianity.In spiteof several different denominational churches a mong the Kukis,they still have a cultural unity. Therefore, when theKuki culture is refined by Christian faith, astrongersolidarity of the people in Christ should occur.The divisionof the Kukis into different denominations is artificialand accidental. It is not a deliberate choice. From acultural point of view, the Kukis can never be divided

136because from generation to generation the Kuki people rememberthe names of their ancestors.Each family has its owndescendants. No family member can be lost. Names are givenafter the names of the great grandfathers whose names wereagain taken from previous generations.Thus, the Kuki fa miliescannot simply be lost.Each member is identified byhis person al and fa mily na me. Even if on e ha s a biblicalname, a Kuki family name must be retained. The goal of theKuki Christian Church is to bring all the KukiChristiansinto one church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, regardlessof their denominational affiliation. The Kuki ChristianC h urc hbelieves in the in carnation of Jesus Christ asthe center of cultural unification because He is the trueman.Christ.A Christian is one who becomes truly human in JesusThe Kuki Christians do not want to bring back theold culture and all its pagan beliefs and practices, butthey try to Christianize some of the essential culturalvalues which can be developed into a sound Kuki Christianheritage.For example, the Kuki traditional tunes have beenused to sing Christian songs which the older generation ofKukis appreciated very much. Now many Christian hymns arecom posed using indigenous tunes.The Kuki progra m of theFar East Broadcasting Company in Manila has for some timebeen using Christian songs with Kuki tunes, resulting in theconversion of many members of the older generation.Christiansongs, sung to Western tunes, could not penetrate thehearts of the older Kukis because they could not understand

137the meanings of the songs.When Kuki Christians, such asPalun Singson and Otkhothong Lunkim, composed Christiansongs to Kuki tunes, the older men and women enthusiasticallyand happily joined the singing.The Kuki Christian Church appointed a teacher ofKu ki, culture at the Trulock Theological Se minary 1m phal in1982. The idea is to promote cuLture in the co nt.c x t of theChristian faith. At present, Mr. Haokhothong Lunkim is theteacher of Kuki Culture at the seminary.An Attempt to Reach Scriptural Unity withinthe Context of Kuki Life and ThoughtThe Kuki Christian Church believes that the Churchof Christ is founded on God, and God has appointed JesusChrist to be the head of the church.exalted HimAlso," God highlyand bestowed upon Him the name which is aboveevery name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under theearth, and that every tongue should confess that JesusChrist is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father tt(Phil.2:9-11, New American Standard).The Kuki Christian Church believes that a ccording tothe plan of God in Christ Jesus, all people who believe andaccept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour become part ofa new humanity as they live a new life in Jesus c hrirs t(l Cor. 5:17, New American Standard). God's plan in Christis more fully revealed by Paul when he wrote these verses tothe Ephesians, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be

138enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of Hiscalling,what are the riches of the glory of His inheritancein the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of Hispower toward us who believe.These are in accordance withthe working of the strength of His might which He broughtabout in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, andseated Himat His right hand in the heavenly places, farabove all rule and authority and power and dominion, andevery na methat is na med, not only in this age, but also inthe one to come. And He put all things in subjection underHis feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the churchwhich is His body, the fullness of Hi mwho fills a 11 in all"(Eph. I: 18-23, New American Standard).According to this plan of God in Christ, all believersin Christ have already been joined with Jesus Christinto one body, regardless of nationality. Paul furtherclarifies the point by saying, ". . . in who m the wholebuilding, being fitted t.oqet her is gro wing into a holytemple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built togetherinto adwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:20-22, NewAmerican Standard).Thus, when aman truly believes and has new life inJesus Christ he becomes one with all those who share thesame new life in Christ.They all have the same Spirit ofChrist which unites them in one body.The Kukis of the pre-Christian era loved to preservetheir genealogical links with their ancestors.They had a

139strong sense of being one people because of these cherishedgenealogical links.They were bound with the past in such away that at death they believed they would join all theirancestors who had gone before them.The genealogical tiesof the Kuki fa milies are difficult to break.Thus the ne whumanity that is found only in Jesus Christ strengthens thisbond of the Kukis.Now, true unity of the Kukis is found inJesus Christ, not in the Kuki culture and tradition.TheKuki Christians now begin to see their true identity inJesus Christ who is the perfect man and perfect God.

CHAPTER IVTHE MINISTRY OF THE KUKI CHRISTIAN CHURCHThe Kuki Christian Church of India and Burma isdivided into three synods for the administrative convenienceof the ministry.They are:1. The Kuki Christian Church's Synod Manipur, whichincludes the Kuki Christian Churches of Burma2. The Kuki Christian Church's Synod of Nagaland3. The Kuki Christian Church's Synod of AssamThe three synods of the K.C.C.have differentorigins. The formation of the K.C.C. brought about severalchanges in the administrative organization of the KukiChristian Churches.The Kuki Christian Church's Synod ofManipur was formerly the Kuki Baptist Convention of Manipur.When the K.C.C. was formally organized on April 9, 1979, theKuki Baptist Convention, which had also been known as theZogam Baptist Convention, joined the K.C.C. and became theKuki Christian Church's Synod of Manipur.TheKuki Christian Church's Synod of Manipur includesthe Kuki Christian Churches of Burma, which derivedmainly from the Baptists and the Methodists.The KukiPres~yterians of Manipur also came under the K.C.C.'s Synodof Manipur. There are 205 local congregations of the K.C.C.in Manipur and Burma.140

14 1The Kuki Christian Church's Synod of Nagaland wasformerly called the Kuki Baptist Association of Nagaland.They changed their name to the K.C.C.Synod of Nagaland whenthey joined the K.C.C. in 1979. There are fifty-five localcongregations of the K.C.C.in Naga1and.The Kuki Christian Church's Synod of Assam was formerlyknown as the Songpiyang Synod of the PresbyterianChurch of Assam.It has about sixty local congregations.This Synod also joined the K.C.C. in 1979.All three Synods were members of the Kuki ChristianCouncil before the Kuki Christian Church was formed.Each synod has its own executive committee with autonomousadministrative power to direct the affairs of churches withinthat synod.Each synod also has its own executive secretary,who is amember of the Assembly's Executive Council.The Assembly is the highest governing body of thethree synods and has to approve the ordination of everyminister within the synods. 'fhe Assembly has a moderatorwho presides over its meetings and an Administrative Secretary,who is also the liason officer for the Kuki ChristianChurch Mission U.S.A. and the Kuki Christian Churches ofIndia and Burma.Each synod contains several pastorates ranging innumber from seven to ten or more according to the needs ofthe churches. Each pastorate has a pastor who is authorizedby the synod to look after the churches.He performs allthe ministries of these churches, such as holy communion,

142baptismal services, and wedding ceremonies.Each localcongregation is led by a head deacon. Some local congregations,which are large enough to support apastor of theirown, are led by an ordained pastor.There are no hard-andfnstrules determining the form of church government to befollowed in the congregations of the Kuki Christian Church.It depends on the needs of the people and the churches.Evangelism and Church PlantingEvangelists are employed in most of the pastorates.Evangelists work with pastors to carry out evangelisticcampaigns in the Kuki villages and churches.The duty ofthe evangelists is to pres~ntthe Gospel to the non-ChristianKuki sand "br in-g--th-em -to-Cnrist: -Wnen tnere are enoughKukis,who have become Christians in any given village toform a church, the evangelist informs the pastor of thepastorate and the pastorate makes arrangements to plant achurch in that village.Thus, evangelism and church plantinggo together.Both the pastor and the evangelist areaccountable to the executive secretary of the synod and arerequired to give a monthly report of their work to him.Normally, the pastor and the evangelist in eachpastorate organize agospel crusade in the pastorate atleast once a year. Most of the pastorates also hold anannual conference in which the main emphasis is on preachingthe Gospel to the unconverted and increasing the faith ofthose who are already Christians.The synods also hold annual preaching conferences

143according to their convenience. Once every three years evangelisticconvention for all the synods is held.In betweenthese triennial meetings, the women's fellowship and theyouth fellowship of all the Kuki Christian Churches sponsorunited evangelistic campaigns. Thus, there should be oneevangelistic conference for the whole Kuki Church everyyear: either the youth fellowship, or the women's fellowship,or the evangelistic meeting held by the whole Churchof the KukiChristians.The objectives of these conferences are as follows:1. To renew and strengthen our fellowship with the Lord.2. To renew our commitment to the Lord and to Hisservice.3. To evangelize through the preaching of the Gospel.Women's MinistryThe women's ministry is one of the most commendableorganizations in the Kuki Christian Church. Each localcongregation has awomen's society which meets every Fridayevening.An offering is taken for mission work and theyalso collect a membership fee for the work of the Lord.There is awomen's society organization in eachsynod. It has a Bible woman who is responsible to promotethe work of the women's society in the churches.Women'sconferences or camps are held every year in which subjects,such as the Christian home and the responsible wife and theimportance of women in the church and society, are discussed.The women's society of the Manipur synod has been supporting

144a girl who is doing her Bachelor of Theology studies atTrulock Theological Seminary at Imphal, Manipur in India.She is expected to be a Bible woman in the churches of theManipur synod after the completion of her Course.Women'ssocieties of several churches in the Manipur synod arevoluntarily giving donations in the form of food to theTrulock Theological Seminary students.These articles offood help the poor students in the seminary.The women's society has been organized at the conventionlevel. The society supports the Rev. Krishnalal whois a Nepali evangelist. Mr. Krishnalal was converted from aNepali Brahmin family and after his conversion voluntarilypreached the Gospel for several years in Manipur, where hewon many Nepalis to Christ. Having seen his fruitful workfor the Lord,the Kuki Christian Women's Society took itupon themselves to support him as an evangelist to theNepalis. The Rev. Krishnalal Sharma is a successful evangelistand the Lord has been blessing his gospel ministryamong his own people.The Kuki Christian Women's Society of the conventionholds an Association-wide evangelistic convention once everythree years. It has a secretary and a president who lookafter the work of the society.The Kuki Christian Women'sSociety has contributed greatly to the Kuki Christian Churchand its work for the Lord.

145Youth MinistryThe youth ministry of the Kuki Christian Church hasbeen organized with the purpose of meeting the needs andchallenges of the Kuki youth today.The temptations of thisworld are strong among the young people. There is a tendencyamong the youth to drift away into a worldly lifestyle.The youth ministry of the Kuki Christian Church performs avital function in keeping the young people in the way of thetruth and leading them to the saving knowledge of Christ.Soon after the formation of the Kuki ChristianChurch, the youth also organized themselves under theleadership of Mr. Henthang Singson. Mr. Singson was amanager of a big liquor company at Dimapur, Nagaland, India.He enjoyed a lucrative salary and high social prestige.When he was converted he saw the futility of his work andimmediately quit his job. He joined the church and beganministering to the young people of his local congregation.He was eventually elected president of the youth ministry ofthe KukiChristian Church.Rev.Hangsing was elected secretary of the youthministry, and Mr. Khuphkohen Chongloi was appointed youthdirector.The youth organization is known as Kuki ChristianKhangthah which means Kuki Christian young people.The main objectives of the youth ministry are:1. To help the young people to understand themselves in thelight of the Gospel of Christ.2. To help the young people to choose their vocation in the

146light of Christian faith and practice.3. To help them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.4. To challenge them to get involved in Christian ministry5. To help them understand th~ meaning of marriage and theChristian homeUnder its present leadership, the youth ministry ofthe Kuki Christian Church is highly successful. At everyyouth camp it is reported that twenty to fifty young peopleaccepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour and declaredthemselves to be born again by publicly confessing theirsins, professing faith in Jesus Christ, and listing theirnames as candidates for baptism.The young people havetheir convention once ever~three years.lEach synod also has its own youth organization.They meet once a year. Each local congregation also has ayoung people's fellowship which meets every Saturday evening.They collect a membership fee to support the youthwork of the convention.The youth have their weaknesses butthey also make an excellent contribution towards the evangelistiework of the Kuki Christian Church.The main contribution of the Kuki Christian youngpeople is to organize choirs for the evangelistic campaign.Each synod has an excellent choir and its members are mostlyIHemthang Singson, n Molvom Christian Church's YouthCamp, Nagaland," Houbung Lekhathot, vol. 2, no. 5 (1984),p. 7.

147drawn from the ranks of the young people.The Kuki Christianyoung people have the capacity to learn songs and singthem in any tune, whether western or Indian.They are ableto sing Christian songs in Hindi, Nepali, and Meitei. Thesechoirs, therefore, can help an evangelistic campaign at anyplace whether it be Manipur, Nagaland, or Burma.Theirsinging usually attracts all kinds of people in the marketplaces, which offers an excellent opportunity to preach theGospel.In truth, God has made use of the Kuki young peoplein the ministry of presenting the Gospel in song.Christian EducationIwrote in the second chapter that the missionariespioneered modern education in the state of Manipur.Britishpolitical agents like Sir Ja mes Johnstone contributed muchto the progress of education in Manipur, but it was themissionaries who really laid the foundation of education ingeneral and Christian education in particular.All thetribal languages of Manipur, including the Kuki dialect,were reduced to writing.It was through the efforts of themissionaries that the first schools a mong the Kukis werestarted.The first Christian schools a mong the Kukis werebegun at the Kuki villages of Tujangwaichong, Tongkoi, andKachai.In the early mission period, William Pettigrew wasappointed as inspector of schools by the state government.The missionaries did not publish many books in the Kukilanguage, and some that they did publish were not of the

148highest quality because they had to deal with many othertribal dialects.However, two things should be rememberedabout their contributions:1. They reduced the Kuki language to writing. TheKu ki.s have been given th~privilege of educatingthemselves in their own literature.They are able toread and study the Bible and other books in their ow ntongue.2. They opened the door to unlimited knowledge for theKu kis by laying the foundations of an indigenous Kukieducational system.Since the Bible is given in awritten language,people must know how to read in order to study the Scriptures.In order to be able to read, people need schools.This concern led the missionaries to begin primary r:hristianschools in northeast India in the early nineteenth century.Some of these schools near the mission and governmentadministration centers, such as Shillong and Joshat, wereupgraded to high school or college level at the beginning ofthe twentieth century.Many tribal Christians, includingseveral Kukis, were graduates of these high schools andcolleges, which maintained high academic and moral standards.Consequently, many non-Christians preferred Christianschools and colleges to the government schools andcolleges.There were three English middle schools in the missionperiod among the Kukis: at Kangpokpi and Churschandpur

149in Ma nipur and at Songpijang in Assam.After India gaineda.t s independence in 1947, they were all upgraded to be highschools. They still maintain high academic standards. Thehigh school at Kangpokpi was moved to Impha1 in order toserve more people.As the demand for schools in the Ku kivillagesincreased, the state government took over the responsibilityof running the schools, including many mission schools. Whenthe schools were run by the Christians or churches, theyimparted Christian values in their study and through regularworship.But when the schools were take n over by the government,forbidden.Christian education and spiritual activities wereChristian schools and colleges among the Ku k i shave been an important source of knowledge and moral principlesfor the Kuki Christians.The figures in the following section are based on rn ypersonal knowledge of the situation and give agenerallyaccurate picture of the state of these private schools amongthe Kukis.Today, there are about 155 lower and upper primaryschools among the Kuki Villages.Fifty-five of these areprivately owned, many by churches. There are roughly 3,500stude nts in these private schools with about 165 teachersa nd a nother fifty administrative staff workers.The monthlyexpenditure on these schools may go as high as 80,000 rupees($7,000). The other 100 schools belong to the state government.

150There are eleven junior high schools a mong theKukis.Four of these are privately run schools, one ischurch-owned, and the other six are government schools. Thefive private junior high schools will employ up to fortyfiveteaching and ten non-teaching staff members.about a thousand students in these five schools.There areThe monthlyexpenditure on these schools is a bout 25,000 rupees($2,500).There are fifteen high schools a mong the Kukipeople.Only three are connected with the Christians andhave devotions and Bible classes during the school day.is under the supervision of the local Kuki Christians.OneTheother twelve schools are government run high schools, withno specifically Christian content in the curriculum.Thereare 2,500 students in the three church-related high schoolswith about 45 teachers and six other ad ministrative people.The monthly expenditure is about 35,000 rupees ($3,000).The Christian schools are supported by the tuitionfees of the students and also by voluntary donations fromthe Kuki Churches.The tuition fees range fro m 15 - 40 rupees($1.50-4.00) per month per student.Most of the private and church owned schools havedaily devotions in addition to regular Bible classes.The quality of education in these private schools isgenerally better than that in the government schools.Therefore, parents send their children to these schools inspite of the high cost of their tuition.By contrast, some

1 ~ 1government schools have a difficult time getting enoughstudents.One of the things that especially attractstudents to the private schools is their greater emphasis onthe study of the English language.Church schoolsMost schools in Manipur are public institutions,centrally controlled by the state.Those which are underprivate or church control need government accreditation tobe recognized as legitimate educational institutions.Most of the government run schools in Manipur state,especially in the hill areas, have never been as good asthey could be.The quality of education in the schools hasdeclined so much that many parents have become greatlydisappointed with the results of their children's education.Since the state government has not taken steps to improvethe schools, many private schools, 0 wned and operated bychurches or concerned individuals, have sprung up.These schools must follow the government syllabi.They usually add some courses in English and religiousstudies, such as Bible classes, in the case of the churchschools.Sunday schoolThe Kuki Sunday schools are Bible schools for laypeople of all ages.It is only through these schools thatthe members of the church receive spiritual knowledge andgrowth.Therefore the Sunday schools are tremendously irn-

portant in the local churches.hLThe Kuki Christian Church has its own Sunday schooldepartment.The Sunday school committee determines thecourses of study and appoints certain qualified people towrite the lessons for the entire year.These lessons areprinted and published in book form.Churches that wish tofollow these lessons must bu y the lesson books fro m theSunday school department.The com mittee is unable to meetthe requirements of all the Sunday school classes.Prior to1979, the department wrote lessons only for adult classes,and local congregations had to work out their ow n Sunda yschool lessons for the children and young people.However,in 1979 the Kuki Christian Church began to produce fourgrades of Sunday school lessons for children's (beginning atage five) and young people's classes.The grades of thelessons are divided as follows:Grade I for ages 5-7Grade II for ages 8-10Grade III for ages 11-12Grade IV for ages 13-19 and young peopleBut there is much left to do in developing Sundayschool lessons for all the age groups of the Ku ki,Christianchurch.So far, the Sunday school lessons that ha ve beenused did not fit the context of the churches a nd theircultural settings very well.The Kuki Christian Church hadconsidered joining the Indian Sunday school Union,of their lesson books were translated into Kuki.and sam eBut these

1~3lessons were not very successful and have subsequently beendropped.The Christian Education Department of the EvangelicalFellowship of India (CEEFI) has alarge selection ofmaterials for all grades of Sunday school classes.Some cfthese materials were translated into Kuki.But the translatorwas from the Kuki Baptist Convention, and the translatedcurriculum was given only to the Baptist churches.The Ku k iChristian Church of India wanted to try the CEEFI lessons,but so far has not been successful. When I was a teacher atKangpokpi Bible Institute I tried out some of the CEEFImaterials and mypersonal feeling is that the Kuki ChristianChurch should work out its 0 wn Sunday school lessons accordingto its particular needs. There remains an urgent needto develop newer and better materials for our Sundayschools.Theological EducationOne of the most important priorities for the KukiChristian Church is to meet the need of trained leadershipin the local churches.There are more than two thousandcongregations in Manipur state alone.Ninety-five p e r c e n tof the m have no trained ministers.In the past, there were vernacular Bible schools atChurachandpur, Ukhrul, Motbung, Khongjarong, and Kangpokpi inManipur state.But these vernacular Bible schools could notmeet the ever increasing need of the churches in Manipur.The vernacular Bible school at Kangpokpi was upgraded to an

154undergraduate school and used English as the mediu m ofinstruction.discontinued.The Bible schools at Ukhrul and Motbung wereBut these schools and institutions were notproperly ad ministrated.Students were not being properlyprepared to serve effectively in the churches.The lack oftrained leaders in the churches re mained a n acute proble m.Kuki Christia n Churches of all denominations recognizeincreasing the quality and quantity of their ministers'education as one of their most pressing needs.Ninety-ninepercent of all Ku k itrained ministers.congregations are without theologicallyAs the number of churches increasesevery year the need of trained leadership also increases.Under the guidance of God, Dr. T. Lunkim met withtwo outstanding leaders of the Restored Churches of theU.S.A., Dr. Max Ward Randall and Dr. Cyril C. Simkins, whowere willing to help Dr. T. Lunkim's plan to open a theologicalseminary at Imphal.They presented the case to Mr.LeRoy Trulock. Mr. Trulock is a faithful servant of theLord who has helped several theological colleges and churchesthrough the years, both by providing spiritual leadershipand by giving liberally from his own financial resources tohelp with their economic needs.Mr. Trulock responded generouslyby giving substantial financial help towards theestablishment of a seminary at Imphal. With this money,Dr. Lunkim built a building for the seminary that had classrooms,an attached chapel, offices, and living quarters fortwo staff people.Dr. Lunkim also used part of the money to

iSSbuy a large plot of land with two houses that could be usedfor additional housing for the seminary staff. Mr. Trulock'sdedication thus enabled atheological seminary to beestablished at Imphal to train church leaders, not only forthe Kuki Christian Churches, but also for all the otherchurches in Manipur and Burma. The Kuki Christian ChurchAssembly unanimously agreed to name the seminary after Mr.Trulock. Thus we have today the Trulock Theological Seminaryat Imphal.Trulock Theological SeminaryTrulock Theological Seminary officially opened inJuly of 1982.By the grace of God, the central governmentof India permitted Mr.LeRoy Trulock to visit Imphal for oneday, arriving on July 24, 1982 to see the work of the seminary.Classes had already started at the beginning of June;but in his honor, the seminary was opened officially on July2 5 , 19 8 2 by Mr. T r ul0 c k ,Trulock Theological Seminary is the only theologicalseminary in Manipur state.It has two departments:1. Ministerial training departm ent: This departm ent offersthe Bachelor of Theology degree, with the course of studylasting for four years.Admission into this programrequires a church's recommendation and a minimum scoreof 33% on amatriculation exam offered by a recognizeduniversity in India (or its equivalent in the Burmesesystem).The medium of instruction and examination isEnglish.

1562. Department of mission and church growth: Thisdepartment off ez's intensive courses in evangelism andmission emphasizing practical application of theprinciples in the local indigenous setting.Ad missionto this course is determined on an individual basis bythe admissions committee.The medium of instruction isKuki and other regional languages. It is a two yearcourse.The main purposes of the Trulock Theological Seminary are:I. To supply trained and q uaHf.i.ed ministers for thechurches of Northeast India in general and Manipur andits neighboring states in particular.2. To help the evangelistic minister of the Ku k.i, ChristianChurch by conducting seminars on mission and evangelism.3. To undertake research on the local culture and r e Li.qtonof the people so as to penetrate more deeply into thetarget com munities strengthening the ongoingevangelization of the people of Northeast India.4. To create opportunities for students to put intopractice what they learn from the courses byevangelizing and preaching in the field while they arein school.Trulock Theological Seminary believes that theologicaleducation should be accompanied by practical evangelisticprograms for the students which will make their Christianfaith more real and strengthen and confirm their experiencesin the Christian life.Theological e duc a tdon is not

157merely for the sake of increasing knowledge, but more importantlyit is aimed at producing adeeper spiritual maturityin the lives of the students.Therefore the Trulock TheologicalSe minary tries to maintain apractical emphasis, sendingstudents out on evangelistic programs every week and tovisit churches or to conduct preaching progra ms at appointedplaces for non-Christians.Trulock Theological Seminary tries to maintain atruly evangelical faith and practice.The following are thedoctrinal statements of the se minary:1. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of men and of theworld.He is the only Mediator between God and men.2. Accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ com mits us to thepreaching of the Good News to all creatures.3. God has revealed Himself to be the living and true God,perfect in love and righteous in all His ways, one inessence existing eternally in the three persons of theTrinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.4. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments arethe infallible words of God and His revelation.5. Willing to accept all who genuinely believe in JesusChrist as Savior and Lord as being the body of Christ inone Holy Church.CoursesThe Bachelor of Theology courses of the seminaryhave been taken from the B.Th. courses of the Senate ofSerampore College. There are sixteen compulsory courses and

lSBeight optional courses required for graduation in the Ba chelorof Theology program.Those who plan to continue on andstudy in the Bachelor of Divinity (USA M.Div.) program mustcomplete the two English courses in section VIIIb, no. 63and no. 64 of the Senate of Serampore College.However, inorder to be officially accredited, the seminary In uatbeaffiliated with the Senate of Serampore College by fulfillingthe requirements of the Senate.Until now, the seminaryhas not been affiliated with the Senate of Serampore.The mission and church growth program has torty-tw 0 courses.Students choose twenty courses out of these which should becompleted in two years time.Students are allowed to takemore than the twenty required courses, but all students arerequired to complete satisfactorily at least twenty coursesin order to earn the Certificate in Missions.Informal theological educationTrulock Theological Seminary has launched some informaltheological education programs with aview to helpingthe home ministry and foreign mission fields.Theseprograms are off~red in the form of seminars, of which thereare two types for two different kinds of people:1. A se minar for the Meitei pastors and evangelists. Thisseminar is conducted twice amonth at Imphal, once atthe beginning of the month and again in the middle ofthe month.The object of the seminars is to study theGospel in the context of Meitei culture.There are twomain features of the program. First, there is a report

159of the recent evangelistic work among the Meiteis.Second, awell prepared paper on various topics relatedto missions from the Bible in the context of Meiteisociety and culture is read.A long discussion followson the topic presented.The seminar is closed withprayer.This se minar is conducted either in Meitei orin English, but mostly in Meitei.2. Three day seminars for the pastors and evangelists ofthe Kuki, Christian Church of India and Burma areconducted in Kuki at the Trulock Theological Seminary atthe end of every month.A sum mary of reports fro m thepastors and evangelists is heard.In the case of thisseminar, amore regular course of studies has beenworked out by the teaching staff of the seminary.Classes are vffered on: (1) Different books of theBible; (2) Theology; (3) Church History; (4) Mission;(5) Pastoral Ministry and Counselling; (6) Religions.AllKuki pastors and evangelists are required totake the courses offered at these seminars.Ministers andevangelists from the Nagaland Synod and the Assam Synod havenot been able to attend the seminars held at Imphal due tothe distance involved.~,eparate seminars covering the sa mesubjects as the seminars at Trulock are held for the m intheir areas.In the near future, the courses offered atthese seminars will likely be given formal recognition, andministers who successfully complete the courses will beissued certificates.However, at present, there is no for-

160mal credit for those Kuki ministers who attend the seminarsgiven at locations outside of Imphal.The Trulock Theological Seminary is sponsored by theKuki Christian Church of India and Burma, in cooperationwith the Restored Churches of the U.S. A.Other interestedChristian church bodies are welcome to cooperate in thisimportant ministry of the church.The Trulock Theological Seminary serves the Lord andHis Kingdom by training leadership for practical ministries.It tries to stand as the backbone of the church and herministry of theological education.

CHAPTER VMISSIONARY OUTREACHOne of the reasons for the formation of the KukiChristian Church was to create aunited base for carryingout mission work among the neighboring non-Christians.TheKukis were the first tribal Christians to send amissionaryto the non-Christian Kukis of Burma in 1932.Mr. Tongkam Singsit was the first missionary fromthe Kuki Christians of Manipur to the non-Christian Kukis ofBurma. Mr. Singsit worked among the Kukis of upper Burmafor four years. He was replaced by Mr. Letjavum and hiswife Jampineng.Mr. Letjavum died there in 1940; and fromthen until the late 1950s, the Kuki Christians did not organizethemselves for a definite missionary outreach. Thisdrought in missionary activity was largely due to the declensionof the spiritual life of the Kuki Christians.Theeffects of the Second World War,that engulfed the area from1941-1945, were also a contributing factor.The Kuki Christian Church did not realize thatmissionary outreach is asource of spiritual blessing bothfor the sending and for the receiving churches. As long asmissionary work progresses there is life and growth in thechurches.161

162This principle is clearly demonstrated in the historyof the Kuki Christian Church at Kachai.This church hadfour or five daughter churches, which the church cared for bygiving financial help and supplying leadership during the1930s. During that decade, the Kachai Kuki Christian Churchhad the highest rate of growth of all the Kuki churches.But during the 1940s the church at Kachai cut off all itsoutreach programs and the church itself died in 1955.A newchurch was reorganized in place of the old one in 1959, butit has also not been very successful due to its lack ofmissionary outreach. This church's experience was a microcosmof the Kuki church as awhole.Formation of the Gospel Mission SocietyThe Gospel Mission Society of the Kuki ChristianChurch of India and Burma was formed under the leadership ofDr. T. Lunkim at the Nomjang Kuki Christian Church on October7, 1977. All the representatives at that meeting committedthemselves to evangelism and church planting throughthe Kuki churches. October 7 was declared a special MissionDayto be celebrated every year, and all churches observethat day with fasting and prayer. Services for mission areheld during which special offerings are taken for missionwork.This offering goes to the headquarters of the KukiChristian Church at Imphal.The Gospel Mission Society ofthe Kuki Christian Church has glorified the Lord Jesus bycarrying out evangelism and mission work in many differentplaces in northeast India.Many Kuki churches had not taken

163evangelism and mission work seriously for decades.TheGospel Mission Society of the Kuki Christian Church hasrenewed their vision for the mission work.The Objectives of the Gospel Mission SocietyThe first objective of the Gospel Mission Society isto obey the Lord's command to "go and make disciples of allnations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19, NIV). This commissionhas not been properly applied to the lives of manyKuki Christians.Therefore, the Gospel Mission Society aimsat making the Great Commission of our Lord relevant to allKuki Christians, thus making them recognize that every KukiChristian is responsible in some way or another to carry theGospel of Christ to every creature.Secondly, the society aims to revitalize the KukiChristian churches for doing evangelistic and mission service.The spiritual principle that Christ taught His churchis, "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who haslost his life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 10:39,NASB).This principle of the Christian life is true forboth our physical and spiritual lives if it is faithfullyapplied.Obeying faithfully the command of the Lord Jesusto proclaim the Gospel brings more abundant life to thechurch and to the individual Christians (John 10:10).The third aim of the Gospel Mission Society is toencourage every local church and congregation to be involvedin missions and evangelism with a view to converting all

164unbelievers among the Kukis and other neighboring tribes.SupportThe Gospel Mission Society is an indigenous organizationwhich attempts to reach out to non-Christians withthe support of the Christians among the Kukis. The societydepends on the faithful support of the Kuki Christians. Onthe other hand it does not lay down rules relating to financialsupport, nor does it make strict demands on the churchmembers.It asks Christians to give voluntarily accordingto the strength of their faith and the material blessingsreceived from the Lord.There are two ways by which Kuki Christians cansupport the Gospel Mission Society.The first is to make adonation to the society on October 7, Gospel Mission SocietyDay, when a special mission offering is taken in all thechurches.The other way is by supporting the Faith Promiseprogram in the local church.In this way one promiseswhatever amount he or she can give to the mission within ayear.These two plans have paved the way for increasedvoluntary giving to the cause of mission.Local congregations have been encouraged to give tosupport an evangelist of their own in the mission field incooperation with the society.Now several local congregationshave started supporting evangelists in the missionfield. The Kangpokpi Christian Church supports a Meiteievangelist who works among the Meiteis.The women's societyof the Kuki Christian Church also contributes to the salary

165of an evangelist working among the Nepali people in Manipur.The young people of the Assam Synod of the Kuki ChristianChurch supply partial financial support to Mr.Henkai Changsan,an evangelist in Bhutan. Thus there are encouragingsigns that the local congregations are involving themselvesmore directly in the task of evangelism.Mission FieldsThe Gospel Mission Society of the Kuki ChristianChurch of India and Burma works in five mission fields whichthey believe have been providentially given to them.Eachmi ss ion fie ld has its own story a s to how the Lord 1 ed aparticular person to this field.Most of the people inthese fields, except for the people of Bhutan, are immediateneighbors of the Kuki Christians.Christians in general also feel aTherefore, the Kukispecial obligation topreach the gospel to these people.The Meitei Field and the Manipur ValleyProject-lOOMrs. St. Clair Grimwood described Manipur saying,"Manipur lies between Cachar, the Kubo Valley, and Kohima,and is surrounded by six ranges of hills which separate itfrom the tracts of country named.A pretty place, morebeautiful than many of the showplaces of the world; beautifulin its habitable parts, but more beautiful in thosetracts covered with forest jungle where the foot of manseldom treads, and the stilln~ssof which is only broken by

166the weird cry 0 f the b lack monkey 0 r the s crea m 0 fan i gh tbird hunting its prey."lManipur was an independent country before the Britishannexed it to British India in 1894. Mr. J. Singhquoted Mr. Crawford (February 24, 1826) who "found that theBurmese treated Manipur as an independent country and wantedthe British also to treat it as such. Mr. Crawford reportedthe matter to the Government of British India.The independenceof Manipur was thus recognized both by the British andtheBurmese."2The valley of Manipur is a fertile land. Agriculturally,the Meiteis who inhabited the valley were selfsufficient,producing enough rice for their own needs, withlittle concern about the outside world.Today one and ahalf million people live in Manipur.A million of these live in the Manipur Valley.Most of thepopulation are Meiteis.Before the infiltration of Hinduisminto the culture of the Meiteis, there was no distinctionbetween the hillmen and the people of the valley.TheMe i tei s of the p l ai nand th e Kuki -chi n and the Naga s had a1 Ethel St. Clair Grim wood, My Three Years inManipur (London: Richard Bently and Son Publishers inordinary to Her Majesty the Queen, 1891), pp. 1,2.2J. Singh, A Short History of Manipur (1m phal,Manipur State: 1965), p. 202.

167common origin and spoke very similar languages. However,since the influx of Hindus, a considerable social rift hasopened between the people of the hills and those of thevalley.William Pettigrew began his missionary efforts amongthe Meiteis, but he was not allowed to contin ue .Thisprohibition of work a mong the Meiteis in Manipur continuedthrough the British rule in the state.Even after Indianindependence in 1947, no mission work was taken up among theMeiteis till 1958 when the Council of Baptist Churches innortheast India began a mission at Wangjing. But thismission has had considerable difficulties in co mmunicatingthe Gospel to the Meiteis, and today the number of BaptistChristians a mong the Meiteis is declining.In 1970, the Presbyterians from Mizora m opened amission among the Meiteis by starting ahigh school atMoirang along with lower schools in some other places.Boththe Baptists and the Presbyterians employed their own menfrom the hills to preach the Gospel and followed the traditionalpattern of the mission station.The Presbyteriansshifted their headquarters to Impha1 in 1978.They havebeen somewhat more successful than the Baptists in winningthe Meiteis to Christ.TheKuki Christian Church began work among the Meiteisin 1977 after the Gospel Mission Society was formed.Dr. T. Lunkim was a pastor at the Impha1 Baptist Church from1972 to 1975. During his pastorate he felt a divine call to

168preach the Gospel among the Meiteis.He prayed to the Lordto open a way for him to become a true instrument of theGospel to this people.The Lord answered his prayer bysending him to study missiology leading to the d e qze eofM.Th. at the School of World Mission at Fuller TheologicalSeminary, California, U.S.A. from November 1975 to April1976. During this time, Dr. T. Lunkim wrote a thesis on theSUbject of "Multiplying Pure Meitei Churches in ManipurValley."Thus, when a mission was opened in 1977 a mong theMeiteis, Dr. Lunkim becam e the missionary in charge for theMeitei mission of the Kuki Christian Church.There are now fifteen workers among the Meiteis, tenevangelists and five ordained pastors, who are assigned toshepherd the Meitei Christians.Dr. Lunkim employs only theMeitei valley people themselves to be evangelists and pastors.There are now thirty Meitei Christian churches.These are mostly house-churches, most of which are locatedin and around Imphal, the capital of the State.Dr.Lunkim uses mission strategies which he learnedfrom Fuller. He identifies with the Meiteis in his dressand speech whenever he goes to preach among them.The house churches among the Meiteis show signs ofgrowing in membership. Dr. Lunkim has two or three goodsingers a mong his evangelists, who happened to be professionalsingers before their conversion.The Meiteis listen moreattentively to the songs that are sung by these professional

169singers than to a spoken message.Therefore, in everygospel campaign, these singers playa very important role.Dr.Lunkim also carefully studied the culture of theMeiteis, their world view, and lifestyle. He is able topreach very fluently in Meitei.His missio10gical knowledgehas contributed to the success of the mission a mong theMeiteis.In 1982 the Gospel Mission Society drew up a tenyearprogra m which it called the Manipur Valley Project-1 0 O.Under this project the society plans to establish one hundredMeitei churches among the Meiteis of Manipur Valley.The Kuki Christian Church Assembly readily approved 'heproject and the program was launched among the Meitei beginningin 1982.So far, the plan has prospered well under theguidance of the Holy Spirit.Dr. Lunkim acted as a consultant to the Bible tra nslationwork of the Meiteis, and with his help the MeiteiBible was completed and distributed in 1984.Dr.Lunkim also made it possible for the gospelmessages to be broadcast from the Far East BroadcastingCompany at Manila in the Meitei language, beginning in 1983.Through these broadcasts, the general public of the Meiteisbegan to show more interest in Christ as they listened tothe Gospel in Meitei from Manila.Even if they have not yetaccepted the message, the fact that they hear the Meiteilanguage broadcast all the way from Manila in the Philippinesmakes them happy.

1 7 lJNepali FieldThere are about a hundred thousand Nepalis in Manipurstate today.Most of them are illegal immigrants fromNepal.The central government of India does not try hard tostop such illegal entry of foreigners into the state, andthere has been some serious strife between the Nepali i rn migrantsand the local peoples, especially the Kukis.The Rev. Kaingul Chongloi, missionary to the Nepalis,was in military service for several years and learnedto speak the Nepali language while in the service.Beforeleaving the military he was converted to Christ and com mittedhimself to the work of evangelism a mong the Nepalis.Mr. Chongloi started his evangelistic work a man 9 th eNepalis in the early 1970s with different church groups.But he was always working closely with Dr. Lunkim. When theGospel Mission Society was organized, the Nepali field wasaccepted as one of the G.M.S. 's; and Mr. Chongloi wasappointed as the missionary in charge.Besides Chongloi,there are four Nepali evangelists working in the field.Mr.Krishnalal Sharma is the general evangelist with pastoraJauthority among the Nepali churches. There are now twelveNepali churches under the G.M.S. of the Kuki ChristianChurch.Conversions among the Nepalis continue at a steadyrate, and at present there are about five hundred NepaliChristians with the G.M.S.For many years Nepal has been closed to missionarywork. Some humanitarian services like medicine and educa-

171tion are allowed, but active preaching of the Good Ne ws isstill prohibited.The scattering of Nepalis over the wholeof northeast India has become one of God's ways of reachingthe Nepalis with the Gospel. Many Nepalis who have beenconverted to Christ throug h the work of the G. M.S. have goneback to Nepal and have become strong witnesses to their ownpeople.The evangelist Krishnalal Sharma himself went backto Nepal to preach the Gospel.Nepal now has the Gospelamong her own people and with God's help it is only amatterof time until the whole population comes to Christ. By theLord's grace, the G.M.S. of the Kuki Christian Church hashad a significant share in this ministry.Mr. Chongloi was trained in the Nepali Bible Schoolin Darjeeling in north India.He has worked hard at contextualizinghis evangelistic message to the Nepali people.Hehas learned the culture and world vie w of the Nepalis andcan preach fluently in their language.He has said thatmany Nepalis have much in common with the Kukis.The Nepalisare also divided into different groups such as theGurkhas, Thapas, Gurungs, etc.Most of these Nepalis followaform of the Hindu religion, but it is heavily mixed withpractices and beliefs of tribal animism.These groups ofNepalis eat all kinds of meat and drink liquor, like tribalnon-Christians do.This lack of dietary restrictions makesit much easier to have social intercourse with them.Manyof themalso still practice sacrifices to the spirits as didthe Kukis before they came to Christ.

172Dimasa FieldThe Dimasas, previously called the Kacharis, werethe original people of Assam.They belonged to the Bodogroup,which inhabited the hills between the BrahmaputraRiver and the border of Bhutan.Before the Aho m invasion inA.D. 1228, Kachari kings were established in upper Assam;but, follo wing a succession 0 f defeats by the Aha m, the ymoved to Dimapur at the foot of the Naga hills.They movedon to Maibang in the sixteenth century and on to Khaspur inthe Cachar district in 1750.embraced Hinduism in 1790 andThe Kachari kings formallywere recognized as being ofthe Kshatriya caste.The last Kachari king was murdered in1830, following a Burmese attack; and his kingdom was takenover by the East India Company.The Kachari people are of Mongolian stock. Theyspeak a Tibeto-Burman language and retain many distinctivecustoms.They are divided into different clans a nd hold toa tribal religion, with an extensive pantheon of village andhousehold gods. Village elders hold religious offices. Thecactuslike euphorbia plant is held sacred. Th e de ad areburied, not burned: and their funeral rites r e f'le ct a b e l i e-fin life after death.

173Marriage is usually by parental arrangement andinvolves the payment of a bride price. Such institutions asthe community house for bachelors and many features oftheir religion link them with the Mizos, Kukis, Nagas, aIJ' Aother hill tribes of Assam.3Today there are more than 500,000 Kacharis, whoprefer to be called Dimasas.The Christian populationtotals about two thousand people.There is an urgent needto bring the Gospel to these people.The Kacharis are opento the Gospel and are the least evangelized tribe in Assam.Evangelist Thangkeng is the missionary in chargeamong the Dimasas of Assam.Evangelist Thangkeng waR aveteran of the Second World War with the Indian army.Hewas seriously wounded in the battle against the Japanese inBurma in 1945.One of the wounds in his heel has neverhealed.Evangelist Thangkeng had astrange spiritual experiencebefore he joined the army.He was converted while hewas studying in the mission primary school in Assam.Heclaims to have been given healing power from Godafter hisconversion.He said he had asked the Lord to grant him thegift for healing as there were many sick people who sufferedmuchin his village.His father died early in his childhood so he livedwith his mother.One day while working in the fields Jhurn,his mother, fell from a high

174many sharply pointed bamboo stumps, whichhad been recentlycut off to prepare the area for cultivation, and seriouslyinjured herself.Blood flowed copiously from the wounds infatal quantities. As nothing else could be done, Mr. Thangkengprayed to the Lord and held the wounds on his mother'sback.The effect was instantaneous: the blood stopped flowingand his mother was miraculously saved.Fro m that tim ehe realized the Lord had given him the gift of healing to beused for His glory.He was granted early retire ment from the militarybeca use of his battle wounds.After his retire ment fro m th earmy he voluntarily started preaching a mong the Dimasa ofAssam. Mr. Thangkeng has won many Dimasas and other tribalpeople of Assam to Christ.He visited the sick in theirhomes and brought with him not only physical healing butspiritual healing, as he witnessed to them about the love ofthe Savior.Through his missionary service as many as tenDimasa churches have been organized.The Synod of the KukiChristian Church of Assam acknowledged his service, began tofinancially support him, and purchased a plot of land at theheart of Halflong town to be the headquarters for the Dimasamission.The G. M.S. of the Synod of Assa m appointed him asthe missionary to the Dimasa.At present, the G.M.S. empl o y s two more evangelists from the Dimasa in the work.The Synod of the Nagaland Kuki Christian Church alsoappointed an evangelist to the Dimasa field.The Dimasa areopen to the Gospel now, and the Kuki Christians believe that

175this is the hour from the Lord to present the Good News tothis people. Therefore, the G. M.S. of the Ku ki ChristianChurch encourages the Kuki Christians to give more supportto this field.Karbi FieldThe Karbis were previously known as the Mikirs.They inhabit the hills between Brahmaputra and Dhansiri inAssam. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language akin to the Nagaand Ku k i, dialects. They practice a shifting cultivation andlive in small temporary settlements.Each village electsits ownhead-man, and the head-men of several settlementsjoin together to form a regional council with judicialpowers.The tribe is divided into patrilineal, exoga mousclans.In the 196 as all clans were given equal legal status,but atradition continues that priests and warriorscome only from certain clans.Tribal gods are worshippedwith animal sacrifices.There are about 100, 000 Mikirs.They are dividedinto two main groups.One group lives in the interior hillsand follows amore traditional way of life with only superficialHindu influence.The other group has settled dow n inthe plains of Assam. They have been more affected by Hinduismand have amore progressive style of life.There are quite afew Christians in this tribe, butoverall the progress of Christianity has been very slow.The Naga Baptist churches from Nagaland and the Mizoram

176Presbyterian churches have been working a mong this tribesince the early 1970s.The American Baptist Foreign MissionSociety has also been doing work among this tribe for quitea long time. The American Baptist Mission translated theScriptures into the Karbi dialect.Since several missions from various churches, suchas Mizoram, Naga1and, and Assam, have been working among theKarbis, the Kuki Christians have not had to do as much workhere as they have among the Dimasas or the Nepalis. Nevertheless,the G. M.S. of the Kuki Christian Church 0 f Assa mhas done some effective work amongthese people.Evangelist HenaGangte has been working among thistribe on his own initiative for eight years. The Karbis ofthe interior districts are more primitive and ha ve s ufferedmuch more than the Karbis of the plain. Mr. Hena is apharmacist by profession which serves himwell in his gospelministry. Mr. Hena works among the Karbis of these interiordistricts where easy com munication is not: possible.It is adangerous place for the evangelist, because the Hindu politicalleaders incite the people to oppose Christians and themessage of salvation.So Mr. Hena has been subjected tomany kinds of persecution for the sake of the Lord.He haseven been threatened with death if he enters certain villagesof the Karbis, but still he goes into these prohibitedvillages in the name of the Lord and wins converts.In his report, Mr.Hena gives accounts of his encounterswith the priests of this tribe.In one of the

177accounts, a girl was sick and the priest sacrificed a whitecock as part of his magic in order to heal her.The evangelisttold the older brother of the sick girl, "We, the KukiChristians, did the same thing before we became Christians.We now know the true God who can heal us when we pray to Himin faith. I am going to tell your people about this Godtoday. Come and listen to the Good News." The boy said, "Iwill come after we sacrifice this cock."The boy kept hisword and came to the meeting.In the evening the sicknessof the girl became worse and worse.The elders a nd thepriest gave the girl over into the hands of the evangelistto treat her with the power of the Christian God.The olderbrother of the sick girl also promised the evangelist tha tif his sister was healed they would both become Christians.Now, Mr. Hena fervently prayed to the Lord and asked thepeople to allow him to examine the sick girl.Being amedical man by profession, he had some drugs and injections;but he found that he did not have the right medicine totreat the sick girl.He called together his friends andprayed to the Lord for the girl, after which he gave hersome medicine (3 cc of Teromycine). About midnight shebegan to sleep soundly and the following morning she wasable to get up from her bed. The evangelist ordered a softcooked rice to be given to her and she was completelyhealed.She and her brother accepted the Lord and preparedt.he maelvea to receive baptism. Evangelist Rena encountered

178several such incidents in which the power of the Lord triumphed over the evil spirits which had enslaved the people.By the grace of the Lord, Mr.Hena was able to baptizesixty-four Karbis in nine villages.into five different house churches.They were organizedThe Lord seems to beworking with the evangelist in this mission, and the G.M.S.of the Kuki Christian Church of Assam continues to supportthismission.4Bhutan FieldBhutan is asemi-independent state which lies in theeastern Himalayas between Tibet and India.It is borderedon the west by Sikkim and is acountry of great scenicbeauty. Rugged mountains and dense forests make access fromthe outside world difficult. Until the early 1960s, eventhe best road into the country, through the Chumbi Valley andthe Na tu La(pass) in Tibet, required several days of difficulttra vel.The government enforced this isolation as ameans of preserving peace, but at the price of maintaining aprimitive existence for the people.As late as the middleof the twentieth century, most Bhutanis had never seen awheel.Then, under the pressure of neighboring countrieswith strategic interests in Bhutan, avery slow change began;and the lack of outside contacts became ahindrance tomoderniz ation.The area of Bhutan is about 16,000 square4Hena Gangte, Missionary Work Among the Karbis(Honbung Lekhathot: July-August 1982), pp. 4-7...

179miles.The capital is Thimbu.There are today about a million Bhutanis. In 1949,Bhutan signed a treaty with India under which Bhutan consentedto be guided by India in external affairs, thoughwhether Bhutan is obligated to follow India's instructionsor merely to listen to them has never been clarified.Butthrough the years Bhutan seems to be leaning more and moretowards India, and Bhutan has accepted the protection planof India for the defense of the country.5The Bhutanis are mostly Bhuddist.In recent years,the Nepalis from India and Nepal have infiltrated Bhutan somuch so that in certain towns, Nepali has become a commonlanguage.Bhutan is one of the least evangelized nations inthe East.No active mission exists in Bhutan today.Mr. Henkai Changsan, a young man from Ngente Villageof North Cachar in Assa m had a deep spiri tua 1 experience in1975 when he was 18 years old. A spiritual revival carneover the church in his village, and he prayed to the Lord fora long time to learn what He wanted him to do.While tryingto discern God's will for him, he saw avision of Bhutan, acountry which he had never known of. As he prayed, itbecame clearer to him that it wa s the wi 11 of God tha theshould go to Bhutan to witness to the people.He continuedto pray to make sure that it was God's will for him to go.5Encyclo~edia Britannica, 1969 ed., s.v. "Bhutan."

180Two other friends who had decided to go to Bhutan failed togo. But Henkai stood firm against all opposition. Hisparents also strongly objected to his going, on the groundthat he was too young, too inexperienced, and that they didnot have enough money to send him. But Henkai persistedwith faith in the Lord, saying everything will be for thegood if we trust in the Lord.Thus he left home on Nov.30,1975 with the Rev. Thattinlien Hmar, who had alreadybeen in Bhutan as a missionary. Mr. Henkai worked with Mr.Thattinlien at Daifam for some time, but then Mr.Henkaiwent to Bhutan on his own.Hengkai works in the factoriesand supports himself for his evangelistic and preaching workamong the people.Mr.Henkai gives some reasons why he works in themotor and watch factories:1. By being a driver and a watch repairer, I could go toany place in Bhutan and have personal contact with manymore people to whom I could witness.2. Secondly, with the resources gained from this service, Icould help the needy and the poor, specially poorChristians who were denied shelter at home.3. Thirdly, Bhutan needs technical assistance more thananything else, and for me this is the safest way to goabout doing the Lord's work in Bhutan.64. Fourthly, I have no financial support from the churches6Henkai Changsan, "The Gospel Mission SocietyNewsletter" (Impha1: G.M.S., September 1982), pp. 2,3.

181a thorne in India.I came to Bhutan on my owninitiative, trusting the Lord ~hatHe would guide me inmy attempt to witness for Him.Mr. Henkai remained in Bhutan as a tent maker fornearly eight years.Once he was put into jail on account ofhis witness for the Lord to the Bhuddhist priests at Daifam.He remained in jai I for about ten days for the cause of theGospel.released.Since he was not found guilty of any crime he wasDuring these eight years of witness the number ofChristians increased to seventeen percent in the ten neighboringvillages.After he had stayed in Bhutan for four years, theyoung people from the Synod of the Assam Kuki ChristianChurch sent some financial help to him from time to time.From 1982 to 1983, Henkai atten1ed the Trulock TheologicalSeminary, taking courses in Bible and missiology.Mr. H~nkai left for Bhutan again after completingthe mission courses at Trulock Theological Seminary at Imphal.He is being supported by the young people of theSynod of the Assam Kuki Christian Church. The G.M.S. of theKuki Christian Church considers Bhutan as one of its missionfields, although they are not at present making large-scaleplans for mission work among the Bhutanis.

CONCLUSIONSummary of HistoryChristianity reached the Kuki people at the beginningof the twentieth century.There have been four majorperiods in the growth of God's work among the Kukis.During the first period, from 1900 to 1920, therewas slow but significant growth of Christianity among theKukis.During these two decades four churches were organizedamong the Kukis: and the Gospel began to have animpact on Kuki society, shaking up its social and politicalinstitutions. This growth was to some extent suspendedduring the second decade of the twentieth century by the warbetween the Kukis and the British, which lasted from 1917until 1919.The second period began in 1920, with the Kukisgetting their own missionaries, Dr. and Mrs. Crozier. TheKuki Christians increased greatly in number from 1920 to1945. During these two and half decades, more than one-thirdof the Kuki population accepted the Christian faith.Thegrowth during this time was prompted by two main factors.One was the defeat of the Kukis in the war with the British.This defeat shifted the center of power in society from thetraditional chiefs and priests to the governing Britishofficials.The opportunities for getting Western education182

183and obtaining jobs in the British Government opened up anewlifestyle to the Kukis, which made it easier for them tobecome Christians. In order to be eligible for a job, onehad to go to the mission schools for an education.Many ofthe early converts became Christians while attending themission schools.The other factor was arevival movement that beganin Mizoram and swept the whole of Manipur.These two factorscontributed to the conversion of alarge number ofKukis during 1920-1945. Of course, the work of Dr. and Mrs.Crozier was the strongest human factor contributing to thegrowth of the mission during these decades.The outbreak ofthe Second World War brought an end to the second period.The third stage of growth of the church among theKukis began in 1946 and continued to 1979.During thesethree decades the growth was much faster. During thesedecades, the Kuki churches became conscious of organizingthemselves into Kuki Christian Churches. So the leadersformed organizations such as the Kuki Christian Organization,the Kuki Christian Asso~iation,the Kuki Baptist Association,the Northeast Kuki Baptist Association of Manip~r,and the Kuki Baptist Convention.Along with the growth ofthe churches, there was an increased sense of Kuki identity,which expressed itself by Christians organizing themselvesinto the kinds of groups mentioned above and by trying tointegrate Christianity more faithfully into the Kuki lifeand culture. And increased desire for Kuki Christian unity

lH4led to the Kuki Christian Council being organized in 1959.This council led to the formation of the Kuki ChristianChurch in 1979. At the close of this period, in 1979, morethan 85 percent of the total Kuki population, who number morethan two hundred thousand people in India, Burma, and Bangladesh,had become Christians.The fourth and last stage of growth in the churchbegan in 1979 with the foundation of the Kuki ChristianChurch.This period has been marked by growth in missionoutreach from the Kukichurches.Strengths and WeaknessesStrengthsThe strength of the K.C.C. lies in its leadership.The present leader, Dr. T. Lunkim, is a dynamic personalityand has played a major role in the leadership of the K.C.C.His conversion experience produced aradical change in hislife, and the Lord is using him for His glory.The K.C.C.currently seems to be very dependent on Dr.Lunkim's dynamicinfluence.Such strength of leadership is in keeping withbiblical teaching on leadership gifts.But there is apotential weakness in such reliance on one man.The developmentof aleadership team would be desirable, and constantvigilance must be exercised to avoid looking to a man orgroup of men as for spiritual dynamic rather than to theLord Himself.A second area of strength 1 ies in the programs ofthe church which have inspired the Kuki people to cooperate

185in ministry.In spite of these programs there remains agreat need for leadership training. The main programs of theR.C.C. are: (1) missionary outreach and (2) theologicaleducation, both in English and in Kuki.Those who join theR.C.C.are attracted by its programs, because they give thepeople asense of belonging and of involvement in the workof the church.A third area of strength in the R.C.C. is its commitmentto bring unity among the Kuki people.The Rukiswere scattered throughout Northeast India.The force whichis bringing unity among the people is the Gospel message.The K.C.C.has been striving towards this goal with significantsuccess.A fourth area of strength in the K.C.C. lies in theemphasis placed on the importance of living out the gospelin the context of the Kuki culture. The gospel ministry isaccepted more appreciatively when it is presented in contextwith the Kuki culture.A fifth area of strength in the K.C.C. lies in theministry and life of Kuki preachers.For the past twentyyears the Kuki Christian preachers have been faithfullypreaching the Gospel and living out what they preach.Inspite of their lack of education and training, they arefaithful to the Lord and His people.A sixth area 0 fstrength in the K.C.C. is in itsintroduction of the Restoration Movement to the Kuki Christians~n India, Burma, and Bangladesh. Through identifica-

186tion with this Movement, the K.C.C.is in cooperation withthe C.C.C.C. of the U.S.A. and recei ves the strongest supportfor its ministries from American Churches of Christ.WeaknessesThe main weakness of the K.C.C. lies in the body ofthe local churches.The church members lag behind theirleaders, offering no active support in programs or ministries.There is also alack of spiritual maturity in thechurches.While the real spiritual strength should be foundin prayerful, mature local congregations, the laity seem todepend wholly on their leaders.The gap between the leadershipof the local congregations and the membership of theK.C.C. is too great. Now most of the programs of the K.C.C.have been set-up by the leaders and given to the congregations.The local churches need to be more mature in theirspiritual understanding and in their support of the K.C.C.programs.A second weakness of the K.C.C. lies in the lack ofleadership training.This has become an acute problem withinthe church.To meet this need the Trulock TheologicalSeminary has been founded at Imphal in 1982.A third weakness of the K.C.C. is its lack of coordinationamong the different synods.Th9 three synods ofthe K.C.C. need to be better integrated into a unifiedprogram of the K.C.C. The leaders of the three synodsshould have better understanding of and more commitment tothe K.C.C. programs.

187A fourth weakness of the R.C.C. is its lack oftheological and Christian literature in the Rukilanguage.We now have the Holy Bible in Kuki and the hymn book.Wealso have a small amount of Christian literature for sundayschool lessons.Christian literature in the Ruki languageis one of the most important needs of the Kuk i,churches.ChristianSome of the Outstanding ProblemsLooking back over the history of the R.C.C., one ofthe outstanding problems was the many different denominationalchurches that divided the Ruki tribe.In the contextof the Kuk i,culture and society, it is unhealthy to remaindivided into different denominational groups.Now theR.C.C.,by the grace of the Lord, has overcome this problemto a grea t exten t by bringing togethe r the 1 arg e n u mbe r 0 fBaptists and Presbyterians into one church.There arehowever,a number of Baptists and Presbyteri~ns who have notjoined the R.C.C.The second outstanding problem in the R.C.C. was adivision of the people due to a difference of language.Thepresent dialect spoken by more than 200,000 Ruki has beenclaimed by one of the important clans of the Kuki tribe, theThados, as their own dialect.The majority of the tribe isin favor of naming this language as the official Kuk i,language.However, a small number of Thados are still opposedto this decision.After long debates over this issue, theproblem of a common language among the clans remain~ a very

188real and definite stumbling block to total unity of thepeople.The wounds caused by this problem need to be healedby spiritual power. The K.C.C. has been able to help thereconciliation process between the opposing groups forbetter and healthier understandiny of the problem.It isno~, of course, the direct problem of the K.C.C.; it is theproblem of the Kuki people as awhole, which indirectlyaffects the church.Challenges for the FutureThe Kuki Christian Churr.h is the fruit of God'smighty works among the Kukis.It is a unique history in thesense that the pagan, head-hunter Kukis of the nineteenthcentury have become Christians in such large numbers in thetwentieth century that the whole tribe is now at leastnominally Christian.What made them Christians, or why did they becomeChristians? Dr. T. Lunkim gives three reasons for thetribals of Manipur becoming Christians which reasons applyperfectly to the Kuki situation also. They are: 1) peacea~ong the warLing tribes was needed for their survival, 2)education was a force that attracted the people, 3) theydesired freedom from the fear of evil spirits and ~emons.These reasons are no doubt true, but they would be too rationalwithout considering the more important spiritualaspect.The Kukis became Christians because that is whatGod in Christ had destined them to be a t a certain point oftime in their history.And the beginning of the twentieth

18':lcentury was the time appointed by divine providence for theKukis to become Christians.If the three reasons given byDr.Lunkim had not been accompanied by the Kuki's longingfor the true God and His redemptive work in Jesus Christ,the result would never have been the spiritual revival thatactually occurred.Becoming aChristian under any circumstance is neverwholly a human affair; it is a divine act (through politicaland social changes of the people). The factors mentionedby Dr.Lunkim were present when the initial planting ofChristianity among the Kukis occurred, but one needs to luokdeeper than the surface to see the inner longing of the Kukisoul.The Kukis were a people who had come to their presentlocation in India in search of a kingdom. God has giventhem the eternal Kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ, and theyhave already begun to enjoy the benefits of this (His)eternal and spiritual Kingdom.The reality of His Kingdom needs to be realized inall aspects of the lives of the Kukis.In order for this tohappen, some things must be done:1. First, the culturally homogeneous Kuki Christiansshould come together into one Kuki Christian Church.There are still alarge number of Baptists and Presbyterianswho have not yet joined the Kuki Christian Church.In orde~to grow we all should learn how to grow together as part ofthe one body of Christ in His Kingdom.This call for unityis made with a view to strengthening the mission of discip-

l~Oling other tribes. The K.C.C. u~ges the Kuki Baptists,Presbyterians, and others to join hands with their brothersto produce a stronger and more effective church. This lSnot to encourage racism or polarization against othertribes.But in doing this, the Kuki Christians will findthemselves growing deeper into their cultural setting sothat their Christian faith and practice will be more deeplyand firmly rooted into their own culture.This is achallenge to the Kuki Christians of differentdenominations.Some of the smaller denominations ofthe Kukis cannot carryon significant programs on account oftheir small size. Poverty has been a problem for a longtime in Northeast India.This poverty makes it difficultfor a small group of Christians to survive, much less makean effective contribution to the mission work of the church.Therefore, the division into different denominationalchurches among the Kukis has been areal scandal, wastingtime and resources and leading to spiritual apathy.Thesedivisions must not be allowed to continue.Homogeneous unity is essential in the face of overwhelmingopposition from the forces of Hinduism, Islam, andCommunism. We urge unification, not for the sake of unity;but because it is the will of God in Christ.Unity inspirit and faith will strengthen many of our weaknesses andheal many of our ills that have arisen from our division.2. Contextualization of the Gospel is needed inKuki society. The K.C C. is trying to contextualize the

1

192congregations have had aformal theological education.The time has come to grow in wisdom and knowledgeabout the things of God.The lay people need well trainedleaders who will be able to explain the Christian faith andteaching from the Bible.The future course of our Christianlife depends much on how we communicate the Gospel to thepeople.Looking int~the future, one of the potential dangersfor the K.C.C.will be the secularism that is theresult of the present educational program of the IndianGovernment.The young people receive secular education fromtheir colleges and universities.The present secular educationalprograms will have an impact which will not be easyfor the churches to combat unless we prepare nowChristian leaders.for trainedAnother danger is Communism,which has already infectedthe Meitei and Naga societies.Both of these tribeshave revolutionary movements, which have adefinite leaningtowards Marxism and Communism.The Kukis are in the midstof these people.The whole of Northeast India is involvedin a very sensitive political situation. Therefore, Communismhas to be considered a real danger not only for theK.C.C.,but for all of the churches of Northeast India.A third danger is Hinduism.Although Hinduism isnot a missi.onary religion it has the capacity to absorb anyfaith or teaching into its own system.

193The syncretistic nature of Hinduism has stronglyinfl~enced many Christians towards liberalism and poses athreat to the Kuki church. Therefore, a strong evangelicalinstitution is necessary for training the leaders of thechurches. In order to meet this challenge, the K.C.C. incooperation with theC.C.C.C. of the U. S. A. has foundedthe Trulock Theological Seminary (T. T. S.) at Imphal, thecapital of Manipur State in India.The evangelists, pastors,and lay leaders need to receive adequate instructionthrough courses on Bible, theology, apologetics, missions,other religions, evangelism, and church growth not only inorder to be more effective in their work, but also to beable to defend the Christian faith.The basics of historicalChristianity need to be taught to the leaders of thechurches and also to the regular church members.Many Kukichurch members do not have agood understanding of thefaith, because they have not grown up in a Christianenvironment.Many Christians in India, including some tribalChristialls, have absorbed the teaching of Hinduism,Buddhism,Islam, or even Communism. These ideologies need tobe countered by correct doctrine about the person and teachingof Christ.Christianity is not to be understood as amere religion, but as afaith consisting of experientialfellowship with the risen Lord who died for us sinners androse again from the grave. However, this Christian experienceof salvation is quite different from what the Hindus

194teach about the mystical experience in which man and Godbecome inseparably one.In the Hindu belief, the ultimategoal of man is to become one with God.This is a far cryfrom the Christian teaching in which man cdn never becomeGod,but he can become His child by being born again inJesus Christ.A priority for the K.C.C. is the need toequip the Trulock Theological seminary with adequate learningfacilities such as a library and a better teaching staffand physical establishment.4. Strategies for missions must be defined.The K.C.C.has five mission fields excluding its homearea.Missions are the source of power and life for theKuki church~s,and they require commitment and sacrifice fromthe Kuki Christians.The Kuki Christians must lay greatemphasis on missions for which the Kuki churches must bewell prepared.The churches should have well planned missionstrategies.These would include the following:a. Goals need to be established. The God of theHoly Scriptures is thoroughly "goal oriented."He has a purpose for each individual person, people,and nation.Before the foundations of the world Hehad set His goals.The Lord Jesus was incarnated torealize God's eternal purposes.His objective wasthe Cross which has produced the Good News.Thec h u r ch,a s the bod y 0 f Ch r ist, follow s the com mand 0 fthe head of the church.Missions and evangelism arethe prime means to reach His goal of converting the

195world.In obedience to the command of Christ, theKuki Christian Churches have set agoal toevangelize the Meiteis, Nepalis, Kacharis, Bhutans,and the Karbis.b. Cross-cultural strategies: The incarnation ofJesus Christ is the supreme example of cross-culturalmi s s i on .He was sent to the world of men fromheaven to declare amessage of salvation(Phil. 2: 5-8). The Kuki Christian Churches shouldlearn this truth when they go to other tribes.Itis important to learn the languages of the people,their culture, and their worldview and adapt theGospel message to their cultural context. Here, Dr.David J. Hesselgrave's books, Communicating ChristCross-Culturally, and Planting Churches Cross­Culturally, should be consulted.c. Field workers, including the missionaries, shouldbe given short-term training courses in missions,evangelism, and church planting.The curriculumshould be worked out according to the culturalcont.ext of the people they are working with.Thistraining will be to refresh and re-equip the workersfor more effective service in reaching the goal.d. Better records concerning the work in all themission fields should be kept, and this informationshould be used to inform the churches about what ishappening on the different mission fields.There

196should be constant evaluation of the work and theresults in order to have the right perspective onthe field.e. The raising and using of financial resources tosupport missions must be very carefully supervisedso that mission fields can be properly supplied withpeople who are fully committed to the work.Missionary giving campaigns at the localcongregation level should be encouraged. One of theweakest points of the Kuki Christian Churches istheir lack of financial support for meeting theenormous needs on the mission fields.This areaneeds to be improved with well planned programs suchas introducing church farms and other means ofraising money for the mission fields.Many KukiChristians have contributed very faithfully tomissions, especially considering their low economicstandard and lack of financial resources.However,the existing programs for mission fields and otherhome missions need amuch larger financial base.Again, helping finance the teaching ministry of theTrulock Theological Seminary must be one of the toppriorities among the needs of the home mission.Tostrengthen the financial base of the K.C.C., theAssembly has advised the synods to administrate and distributeall the financial re~ources of the local congregations,including tithes and offerings.Two synods, namely, Manipur

197and Assam,have already complied enthusiastically with thisadvice. The synod of the K.C.C. in Nagaland has yet to makeadecision on this issue.There are many Christians in the churches who do notpay their tithes.A stewardship workshop should be arrangedfrom time to time to sensitize the church people to God'sblessings in giving and receiving.This program is mp.antmain ly f or the home mission (K.C.C.). As for rn i.ssionsoutside of the K.C.C., the Gospel Mission Society has itsMission Day on October 7, on which day a special offering istaken for that mission. Another means is a faith promiseprogram.These two sources are the main financial supportfor miss ions outside of the K.C.C.Asfor the Trulock Theological Seminary, there is aplan by which individuals and local churches are encouragedto become patrons of the Seminary by making a one-timedonation of one thousand rupees ($80.00).The money isdeposited in the bank as apermanent fund for the Seminary.For acontinuous sustenance of steady financial support, astrong financial committee has to be instituted to launchprograms, approved by the Assembly and the synods, fortapping the resources of the Kuki Christians.The spiritua I side of the problem must not be neglected.Many Kukis are nominal Christians, both in faithand deed; and they neglect their financial responsibilitiesto the church.We need well planned discipleship and layleader training programs at the local level.The laymen who

1:18are thus trained should be engaged in various responsibilitiesin the churches.The Kuki Christian Church is, in fact, mainly composedof and led by the lay leaders. Even though we have aTheological Seminary, the needs of local congregations fortrained leadership are still too great to be met in the nearfuture.To expect to place trained pastors in every churchsimply is not realistic.So, the most effective way toremedy this problem is to develop a strong lay leadershiptraining program to meet the various needs of the churches.The K.C.C.is aware of the fact that Christians losetheir first love for the Lord. This is a rea 1 problem forthose who are of the second and third generations.However,the K.C.C.is trying hard to avoid this weakness by encouragingthe involvement of the churches in missions and evangelism.There is also a program which provides for evangelisticconventions once every threE: :ears.In these conventionsvarious renowned preachers are ~ngagedin the work ofpreaching to the people. The Women's Society of the K.C.C.also does a good job in trying to teach the right kind ofChristian family life courses.They also have their conventiononce every three years.The youth also have theirconventions at these intervals.Trulock Theological Seminary tries to train leaderswho are able to help their congregations stay alive spiritually.These are the only methods which the K.C.C. areable to provide.We must depend on the Almighty God to

l'::l'::lsu~plywhatever else is necessary to save His people fromfalling into spiritual apathy.What shall the Kuki Christians do?They have puttheir hands to the plow and there is no turning back(Luke 9: 62). The Kuki Christians must count the cost offollowing Christ.The demand of Jesus is as total as theoffer is free. The Christian life is a matter of faith:faith in the loving God in Christ, faith in His power, andfaith in the future.But this faith has to be lived out bycommitting one's entire life to Him.The Kuki Christiansshould march on, "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author andperfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him enduredthe cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at theright hand of the throne of God" (Heb ,12: 2 NASB).

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