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(2) The executioner takes the next place, as he retains as his fee for killing
the victim, the back portion of the skull.

(3) The whole village knows of the approaching sacrifice and joins in it
heartily, issuing invitations broadcast and providing a very large
feast for the entertainment of the guests, buffaloes being slaughtered
and large quantities of liquor being prepared. The feast begins at
dawn by the sacrifice of the victim and the horrible death dance of
women selected from the village and from among the guests. At this
dance the hands, heart and other portions of the victim are utilized.
It is alleged that the rest of the corpse is thrown away in the
jungle wherefrom possibly human flesh is taken by those requiring
it. The rest of the day and night are occupied with the feast and as
such are an ordinary hill procedure and often take place without a
human sacrifice preceding it, the fact that a large feast had taken
place at any particular village did not in the past arouse suspicion.

(4) Human flesh is required as far as I was able to discover, by custom, by a
woman when feeding her first male child and also, in some instances,
by a new married couple. The flesh is not eaten but is kept, pre-
sumably, as a charm against some evil spirit who will otherwise cause
the death of the child or prevent the marriage from being fertile.
Though stoutly denied by all I have little doubt that a traffic in
human flesh has taken and still does take place between our Nagas
and their kinsmen across the Patkoi.

(5) I was unable to ascertain anything whatever regarding the Burma
report of a rains sacrifice in a village at MAWYAW. The only
village which this name might represent appears to be MIAO, a
Singpho village on the Noa Dihing but this is obviously not the
village concerned as the Singphos do not perfrom human sacrifice nor
have the inhabitants of this village recently crossed the Patkoi.

(6) The large number of villages who attended the sacrifices (one being
HONJU, a village of the Lakhimpur Frontier Tract) discloses the
extent to which the conspiracy of silence as to the performance of
human sacrifice extended.

Previously according to the Political Jamadar before this tract was taken over
by Government there was no attempt to conceal the fact that a sacrifice had taken
place from anyone - both the inhabitants of the Lakhimpur Frontier Tract and tho
then unadministered Nagas spoke freely in Margherita and elsewhere of these
scarifices. Since the area has been taken over not the slightest hint from male or
female of either Lakhimpur Frontier Tract or Sadiya Frontier Tract has been given
that the custom still continued. These Nagas' power of deception with regard to
the shielding of rail thieves has already been disclosed but had it not been for the
reports from Burma it would appear that in spite of the full knowlegde of the whole
countryside the fact that human sacrifices were still taking place would have
remained unknown to any outsider. Everyone concerned has, of course, solemnly
sworn that from now on they have absolutely renounced this horrible custom, but
these asseverations are as valuable as those previously given to Mr. O'Callaghan.

It is now necessary to turn to the question of collective punishment, and as I
am not in complete accord with the views expressed by Mr. Crace in this, connec-
tion, I refer the matter to His Excellency the Governor for orders. I have already
had the trace of a graded 4 feet track from Manmao village to Tirap post cut and
the adult villagers of Manmao, Telim and Singnang villagers commence work on
this today; under the immediate command of a qualified Moharir and the general
supervision of Mr. Lambert and myself, but I have informed all concerned that, as
their crime in committing and actively or passively abetting a series of cowardly
murders is of so heinous a character, I am unable to pass final orders thereon and
that Government's decision as to the extent and nature of the punishment to be
inflicted will be communicated to them when received. In my view, in order,
adequately, to deal with the mass disobedience of orders disclosed, not only the
villagers of the 3 sacrificing villages but the inhabitants of all villages who
attended the sacrifice and failed to report so doing should be dealt with and I
would suggest that 2 months' punitive labour on the Manmao track for every able
adult memeber of Manmao, Telim and Singnang villages would be a suitable punish-
ment, while a term of one month's similar punitive labour for the villages which
attended the sacrifice would meet the case.

9

I would further recommend that in certain flagrant cases of active concealmeant
by Gaonburas, a fine of a buffalo or the confiscation of a gun should be an addi-
tional punishment.

After the conclusion of my enquiries at Bhuban and Rangwil villages which
will be completed by the end of January I will come up with my general recom-
mendations as to the improvement of communications in this area and the steps to
be taken to prevent a recurrence. I trust that the action taken so far will meet
with the approval of the Government and that early orders will issue as to the exact
punishment to be inflicted on the offending villages.

T.E. Furze.
Political Officer, Sadiya Frontier Tract.

No. 78.
Extract from tour diary of the Political Officer, Sadiya Frontier Tract, for the month of December
1931.

16th.- With the Assistant Poltical Officer, Political Jamadar, 2 prisoners
and escort left camp at 8 A.M. and reached Manmao before 9 hours where I
proceded to hold a full enquiry into the human sacrifice which occurred here in cold
weather of 1928-29. The result of my enquiry will be reported separtely.

All human skulls found in the village were burnt by their respective owners
and the assembled company which comprised Gaonburas and villagers of a the
surrounding villages and all those in the Sadiya Frontier Tract who had attended
the sacrifices in 1929 were informed that I had heard all that they had to say, that
the matter was too grave for me to pass immediate orders as to their punishment,
but that I would report in full to His Excellency the Governor who would in due
course give his instructions. All present denied that slavery existed in their village
and declared that slaves were only purchased for the purpose of human sacrificce.
In spite of all endeavours to elicit anything which might disprove this very definite
declaration by all present I was able to discover nothing. I am not satisfied with
this and will institute through quite enquiries which will possibly bring to light
some cases. Returned to camp at 11 hours and commenced my report to Govern-
ment. As a result however of a chance remark by an outlooker which I was
able partially to understand, the sting fact that HONJU village were invited to
and attended this human sacrifice at Manmao was brought to light. HONJU is a
YONGKOK Naga village situated in the Lakbimpur Frontier Tract.

17th.- Left camp at 7 hours for Telim village (13 houses) where our party
arrived at 9¾ hours after a stiff climb of about 4,500 ft. up the Patkoi Bum.
At Telim the same procedure as I adopted yesterdat was gone through. In this
case the defence was that all arangements for a human sacrifice having been made
they had to carry through with it in spite of Mr. O. Callaghan's orders. The
2 accused were REMYAN TOLUM and TANYONG TOLUM the latter being
the brother of the Gaonbura of the village. On our return journey I had burnt
the skull belonging to WINLOM RONHANG and NOGLAN RONHANG of
LISEN in that village (22 houses). This sacrifice was carried out some 2 years
before the taking over of these villages by Government. I learnt that there was
a slave boy in the village but that he had been adopted in-to the household and was
in all respects a son of the house. I will enquire further.

18th.- To SINGANANG (5 houses) starting at 8 hours. Arriving at 9¾ hrs.
the same procedure was carried out and the skull of the victim sacrified by
MIGREM LANGSHING Gaeonbura and RANGKHUNG LANGSHING of that
village in 1927 was burnt together with the grisly remain of 2 previous sacrifices
by MIGREM's father and grand-father. Here during my enquiry the witnesses
were more disposed to depose freely and from their testimony it would appear that
in the case of both TELIM and SINGNANG arrrangements for human sacrifice
had been made and the slave brought just before Mr. O' Callanghan issued his order
that these rites must cease. MIGREM accordingly did not sacrifice that year
but as his wife died and small-pox epidemic broke out in the village he decided

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