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in respect of that village before Christmas. I am taking Mr. Lambert with me and
after the conclusion of the Manmao enquiry I wish to employ him in visiting all
the Naga villages informing their inhabitants that in future indulgence in human
sacrifice will entail the ordinary penalities for murder under the Penal Code.

In this connection I would ask for the orders of Goverment as to the future
in this portion of the Frontier Tract. As these most unsavoury revelations have
disclosed, the inhabitants while (to use the words of Mr. Crace) appearing decadent
and indigent have sufficient determination and cunning to continue practices which
have been forbidden and which they all declared they had given up and to conceal
the fact that they were indulging in those abominable rites from all outsiders. It
is obvious that the existing arrangements for the control of these Nagas whereby
the services of the Lakhimpur Political Jemadar at Margherita are shared with the
Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur, have failed. It was, I believe, originally
intended by Mr. O'Callaghan when this tract was taken over that Bisa Yong, son of
Bisa Raja of Bisa village, Sadiya Frontier Tract, would be appointed Political
Jemadar, but he and his father are both dead and Bisa Nong, Bisa Yong's young
son, is not and never will be suitable for the post. I can find no one else of
sufficient standing, education or intelligence for the post. In 1928 the unsatisfac-
tory position as regards the Sadiya Frontier Tract in the south-eastern portion of
the district was the subject of several discussions and letters between the Deputy
Commissioner, Lakhimpur, and myself. As there was a proposal for a new subdivi-
sion of Lakimpur either at Makum or elsewhere in the vicinity, it seems that if
this proposal was accepted by Government more satisfactory arrangements for the
control of the Nagas both in the Sadiya Frontier Tract and Lakhimpur Frontier
Tract might be made, but as the new proposed subdivision was not sanctioned the
matter ended.

At present our only way of access to the Naga portion of Sadiya Frontier
Tract is via Lakhimour district and Collierey sidings of the Assam Railways and
Trading Company. The natural trading center for all the Nagas, whether of the
Sadiya Frontier Tract, or Lakhimpur frontier tract is Margherita and there is no
direct communication with Sadiya.

The Nagas when coming to Sadiya are put to the expense of a railway journey,
besides having to make a long journey on foot from their villages to Marguerita
and it is only natural that they never come in their own accord except as far as
Margherita. Thus in some respects the double function of the Political [Jemadar]
at Marguertia is a suitable way out of natural difficulties which the geographical
position of the Naga porition of the Sadiya frontier causes, but it has resulted in
the fact that our medium for intercourse with the various tribes of the Naga has been
entirely [Duania]. All efforts to obtain suitable Naga interpreters have failed and
as far as my investigations since my return from leave have led me, it is due to
this fact and the lack of communication with Sadiya and other inhabitants of the
Sadiya Frontier Tract that the Nagas have been able to conceal for so long their
continuance in forbidden rites.

I have been endeavoring to come to some satisfactory solution of these
difficulties but am unable to make any concrete proposal, particularly in view of the
present economic crisis. All endeavours will be made to obtain during this cold
weather suitable Naga interpreters, but these if found, will not, I am afraid con-
sent to live in Marguerita during the rains.

No suitable site for a post between the Tirap river and the Patkoi Range has
as yet been found, except at Machum and the Northern edge of the Naga country.
Endeavors will however, once more be made this cold weather to find some central
and suitable site reasonably accessible for a post. The waterless nature of the hills
between the Tirap river, the Namchik river and the Patkoi is the great difficulty.

The opening up of the country by construction of roads as ordered by His
Excellency is first measure for obtaining better control over the inhabitants of
this area and I will come up with my proposals in this direction but a glance at
the map will show the engineering difficulties which must arise if reasonably graded
[bridle] paths are to be constructed to all the offending villages. In any case a
[beginning] will be made improving existing Naga tracks and and enforcing on villages
the [propensity] of annual jungle cutting and maintenance.

In conclusion I would submit that the comparatively short period of punitive
[?] of Saidya undergone by those actually responsible for the human sacrifices
[?]a sufficient deterrent for the future , and to ask whether it will be in

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consonance with the wishes of Government if during Mr. Lambert's and my own
visits to each village every Gaonbura is given written orders clearly prohibiting
human sacrifice and slave dealing in future under pain of the full penalties
prescribed by the Indian Penal Code for murder and trafficking in slaves.

___
No. 72
No. 1697G./VIII-3, dated Sadiya, the 22nd December 1931.

From—T. E. [Furze], Esq., M.C., I.P., Political Officer, Sadiya Frontier Tract,

To—The Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam.

With reference to my letter No. 1543G./VIII-3, dated the 11th December
1931, I have the honour to submit herewith my report on the human sacrifice at
Manmao, Telim and Singnang villages and to request early orders on the question
of punishment to be inflicted on the villages concerned.

———
No. 73
Report on the human sacrifice at Manmao, Telim, and Singnang villages.

On December 16th, accompanied by the Assistant Political Officer,
Mr. Lambert, the Political Jemader, Margherita, and an escort with the
2 prisoners of this village, NOKGAP RONGRANG and LONGREM RONRANG
convicted by Mr. Crace, I visited the Manmo and completed locally the enquiries
commenced by Mr. Crace at Margherita and Sadiya.

Neither the prisoners nor the Gaonbora of the village NOKGANG
RONRANG were able to maintain their previous defence that they had com-
mitted human sacrifice in ignorance of the orders of the Goverment. They
admitted that they had known of the orders and made varied statements
as to why they disobeyed them. In the case of the Gaonbura he finally
fell back on the plea that as the Gaonburas of Telim and Singnang had not
reported the fact that human sacrifice had taken place in their villages in 1927
he did not consider it necessary to report its recurrence in his village in 1929. In
this connection the dates of the 3 sacrifices may be placed as occuring in Novem-
ber 1927 in the case of Telim, — December 1927 in the case of Singnang and
February 1929 in the case of Manmao. These dates seem to be fixed as accurately
as is now possible and were only arrived at after repeated changes of statements
by the accused of the 3 villages, their Gaonburas and the Gaonburas of the
villages attending the sacrifices. Finally all agreed that the above dates were the
real ones on which the sacrifices occurred.

The two Manmo accused eventually declared their reason for carrying out
the sacrifice was that they considered their duty to their god to be a more urgent
call on them than their duty to Government.

The skull (the back portion of which the excutioner takes as his fee, the front
portion being retained by the buyer of the slave at whose house the sacrifice takes
place and who, having expended the money and arranged the ceremony, obtains
the lion's share of the grisly trophy) was burnt jointly before the assembly of all
the villages of the Nadiya Frontier Tract who had attended the sacrifice, the
names of which are appended to this report. At NOKGAP's house, besides his
portion of the skull of the victim sacrificed in 1929, were found the remains of
similar sacrifices carried out by his father and grandfather and these relics were also
burnt by NOKGAP. Two more sulls belonging to NOKGANG Gaoubura and
LUNGWOM RONRANG were also discovered anad burnt. During this enquiry
it was admitted by THOGBU, son of the Gaonbura at Kumlao that he had
deliberately lied to me on November 14th 1929 when I was at Kumlao and had
got the ladies of the ladies of the village to put up a dancing display in the evening ([eide?] my
tour diary entry of that date). The show being an extremely bad one, I questioneod
THOGBU as to why the women were apparently confining themselves to a

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