Civilisation and its malcontents

Abstract

This article examines the colonial representation of Kuki raids in nineteenth century Northeastern India as, at best, ‘lawlessness’ and, at worst, ‘predatory habits of the savage hill tribes’ whose ‘natural love of plunder’ took of it as an ‘amusement’ for procuring human heads or captives for sacrificial purposes. From the hill perspective, it argues that raiding was mainly made to procure human labour forces, and was an expression of hill politics. Essentially, it was a function of newly emerging notions of kingship and authority. Since the early nineteenth century Kuki country witnessed the emergence of some powerful rajahs. The ensuing warfare, death, subjugation and displacement changed the political and demographic landscape of the hills. The new regimes depended mostly on coerced labour power, which now transformed into wealth, not only to construct, enforce and sustain its authority but also to overcome the constraints generated by the non-state practices. The scarcity of labour power in the hills induced them to acquire it from the plains or other hostile tribes through the in-strument of raid.