| caption: |
Ang on the role of Angs and their power |
| text: |
The Ang did not speak much Assamese, but was voluable and articulate in his own tongue, speaking with the authority of a man used to being listened to. - He talked about the role of Angs and the need to preserve their authority. When there was unrest and chaos he persuaded the people of many villages not to cooperate with the underground and to work loyally with the Government. People listened to him, because his authority stemmed from his chiefly rank. He also supported the establishment of schools and even the work of missions although he himself was too old to change his way. If others wore trousers and shirts he had no objection, but he himself was uncomfortable in foreign clothes. He did not even like the shorts he wore as a concession. Many villages were the dependents of the Ang of Chui, and if government wanted stability the Angs should be supported. |
| text: |
He finally asked me whether the King of England and the Maharaja of Manipur wielded authority because they were educated or because they were of royal descent. I replied that the royal blood gave them their position, and the Ang remarked that exactly the same applied to Konyak chiefs. - He said that the villagers continued to give the Ang free labour, and that the tributes due from dependent villages continued to be paid insofar as the nearer villages were concerned. More distant village made little effort to pay their dues. |
