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Chapter Twenty-seven. Return to Nagaland |
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remarkable uniformity in autocratic villages |
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The visit to Tang concluded my tour of the villages ruled by autocratic chiefs. What I have learned in these villages taken together with my experiences among the Wanchus convinced me that in so far as social structure and the system of political controls are concerned, a pattern of remarkable uniformity extends over most of the Thendu villages of the Mon division of Nagaland and the Wanchu villages of the Tirap district. The most characteristic feature of the system is the links of chiefly lineages across village-boundaries and in some cases over considerable distances. In the "democratic" villages such as Wakching, the majority of affinal ties are within the narrow confine of the village community, and very few men marry girls from other villages. There the exogamy of wards and the reciprocal relationships between morung largely determine the choice of marriage partners. |
