03-03-329

329

SOUTHERN CHIN SUB-GROUP.

　To the south of the Chin Hills there are several tribes which are related to the Northern Chins. Two of them are relatively well known, viz., the Khyangs or Shs and the Khamis. Both will be dealt with separately below. Many southern tribes, such as Anu, Kun, Pallaing, and Sak or That, are mentioned in the Census reports and gazetteers, but we do not know anything about their dialects. Major R. M. Rainey has drawn up the following notes regarding the most important tribes bordering on the Yaw country in the Pakkku district:-

　'The Welaung Chins inhabit the villages at the headwaters of the Myittha river. They are bounded on the north and west by Baungsh Chins, on the south by Chinbks, and on the east by Taungthas of the villages round Wethet, which is distant four days' journey.

　 'The Chinbks live in the hills from the Maw river down to the Sawchaung. They are bounded on the north by Welaung and Baungsh Chins, on the east by the Burmans, on the west by the Arakan Yomas, and on the south by the Yindu Chins.

　'The Yindus inhabit the valleys of the Salinchaung and the northern end of the Mn valley, bounded on the south by the Chinbns; otherwise the same as Chinbks.

　 'The Chinbns ingabit the southern end of the Mnchaung, and stretch across the Arakan Yomas into the valley of the Pichaung. They are bounded on the south by the Chinbns on the Minbu frontier, on the east by the Burmans, and on the west by the Arakanese. ...

　'The Welaung Chins are stated to be of Baungsh origin. The Chinbks claim a similar origin. The Yindus state that their origin is similar to that of the Taungthas, an industrious race who inhabit the Yaw and Myittha valleys in Burman territory, and who claim to have come from Popa hill. The Chinbns, further south, point out a rock which they state is the body of a Min or official who was killed in a quarrel with his brother when they were emigrating from Popa, and was turned into a stone. The brother returned to Popa. The Chinbns claim Burman origin. Further than this the Chins appear to have no history. In appear- ance they resemble Burmans though some have better features. ...

　 'There appears to have been no attempt at government further than an incomplete village system. Each village has a thugyi. The title is hereditary and does not necessarily indicate a man of influence...

　'There is no religion further than propitiating and consulting nats or spirits...

　'The system of cultivation carried on by the different sections or tribes on the South Yaw frontier is similar, and the crops produced vary but slightly. It is all taungya cultivation...

　'The houses resemble those of Burmans, except that they are stronger and better built... During the cultivating season the villages are abandoned and temporary huts are built in the fields as well as sheds for storing grain...

　'Men, women, and even small children are never without their pipes and tobacco, and smoke constantly.

　... The most remarkable custom of these people is their habit of getting drunk on every possible occasion.

　...'All women have their faces tattooed. The process is commenced when they are small children and gradually completed, the operation extending over several years.'

　We have very little information with regard to the dialects spoken by these tribes. There are said to be two dialects spoken by the tribes on the headwaters of the Myittha.

　The Chinbks speak three distinct dialects, the northern from the Mn to the north bank of the Ch; the central, spoken on the south bank of Ch and the Kyauksitchaung; the southern, spoken by the Kadin and Sawchaung Chins.

　The Yindus and the Chinbns are also said to speak separate languages. The Chinbn dialect is identical with that spoken in the Laungsh township.

　The Chinms, who inhabit the sources of the eastern Mn, are said to be a sort of connecting link between the Baungshs and the Chinbks.

　Messrs. Scott and Hardiman have printed vocabularies of Chinbk, Taungtha, and the dialect spoken in Yawdwin, i.e., probably, the northern Chinbk dialect. The pro- nominal prefixes, which are so characteristic of the Kuki-Chin languages, seem to

　 Daingnet, which has formerly been considered as a Chin dialect, turns out to be a corrupt form of Bengali.

2U