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Chapter Four. Above the Clouds |
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feuds between Totok and Chui and recent head-taking |
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Many other people from across the frontier had come to welcome Mills, but the powerful Ang of the nearby village of Chui sent his excuses. He could not spend the night in Wakching, he said, as there was dysentery in the village, and to sleep in the huts near the bungalow where our servants put up was beneath his dignity. But the youths bringing this message proudly wore the fresh tattoo of head-hunters on the forehead and cheeks. Was it entirely on account of the dysentery that the Ang of Chui would not come to greet Mills? No. Chui had recently taken a head from Totok. Both Chui and Totok are clearly visible from Wakching. Lying a short distance from one another on two neighbouring mountains, they had been at war for many years. This feud taking place just outside British territory, but involving on more than one occasion people from administered villages, had long been a cause of anxiety to the Sub-divisional Officer at Mokokchung. |
