The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript notes made by W.G. Archer between 1946 & 1948, and miscellaneous papers and letters

caption: Wanching clans
medium: notes
person: Angwanhu clanSanglonghu clanShangmoihu clanChuchu clanAngpan morungTotang morungPala morungChingchi morungPanchong morung
location: Wanching
production:
person: Archer/ W.G.
date: 1946-1948
refnum: 4:15
text: Wanching - clans.
text: 1. Angwanhu
text: 2. Sanglonghu
text: 3. Shangmoihu
text: 4. Chuhu
text: in this order.
text: Morungs - the Angwanhu has 2 the others, one each.
text: Angwanhu - 1 Angpan, 2. Totang - the smaller upper one - elephant, leopard, tiger but genna on human figures - if the genna is broken the morung members will die. (In Tamlu this happened - in the Angpan morung the same genna - then some young members said 'We don't care for the genna' and they carved a man and girl. A little later they all died.)
text: 2. Sanglonghu - Pala - the same rules.
text: 3. Shangmoihu - Chingchi - can make human figures. Formerly the Angpan morungs used to put up human figures - then it happened that a man who had carved the figures lost his wife and children. When they all died the morungs said 'It is because he carved the figures'. After that they forbade anyone to carve human figures any more.
text: 4. Chuhu - Panchong - used formerly to put up human figures, then they found that when they went on raids, they got no heads, when they went to hunt, they got not game. They put this down to the carvings and since then they have made no more.
text: Hornbill carvings are in all the morungs. If anyone put a carving in his own house, all his family would die.