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to Ukha - previously burnt by Woodthorpe; fear of British reprisals causes them to take down carved morung posts |
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To Ukha - about 5 or 6 miles a steepish climb up from the river. The people here were very shy. They gave us presents of rice and goats and pigs and modhu, but were obviously afraid of our intentions - no doubt owing to what happened last time, when they tried to ambush Col Woodthorpe and got their village burnt. Many of the carved posts of the Morungs were taken down and put outside, to save them as we supposed, if the village were burnt again, and when I turned my camera on a crowded morung built in tiers all the occupants fled as they took it for a gun of some sort - and they could not be induced to return. If one looked at them they got up and went away. They had a few old heads in the Morungs - the new ones were probably hidden and one Morung had a hand fastened up in it. Yanghum and Yakchu came in and also Chingmak of Chingmei, an old acquaintance, and one of the Tobu chiefs. From the latter we learnt that Chingmei, which is apparently on the watershed dividing the sources of the Tita and the Zungki from another stream which runs direct to the Chindhwin, is in touch with the plains of Burma, more or less, and its traders meet with people who wear trousers on the Burma side. We also picked up a Khamti dao here and the metal armlets common here were reported to come from a place called Kamlugh on the Burma side, which I take to be Khamtilong. Chingmak told us that Mom, a big village on the next range, renowned, like Tobu, for its daos had told him to bring us a challenge, as they thought it a pity we should go away without leaving them some of our heads, but when Chingmak said that it was quite useless fighting the Sarkar, as however many were killed as many more came their place, they changed their minds and decided to bring presents. (But they never turned up officially though they had a man lurking about the camp for a day.) |
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Shamnyu, a village across the valley of the Kaimong North East of Tobu, is reported to have been burned by Burmese troops on their way to fight with the Assamese, though they did not return that way. A similar legend attaches to Nankam and Ungma and to the village on the Langbangkong in the Ao country, so there may really have been a party of Burmese which came through this way, and went to the plains via Mongsemdi and Tamlu. |
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We were in helio communication with Wanching here. Another salaami egg hatched on us that night. The first fine night since leaving the railway. |
