SIEMI (Cave of the)
25.316700,93.016700
Description
What appears to be a fabulous or lost natural cave of dubious nature (note 1) is associated with the holocaust of the »Jungle Men« or Hagrasa, Siemi (note 2), and »Zeme« (note 3), who were people that are not only associated with this elusive cave but also said to originate from an other (note 4). SITUATION 1925: Somewhere near Gunjung (note 5) (Hutton, J. H. 1925.10.23 Mss: Naga Hills tour diary). SITUATION 1933: »The site has never been revealed, but if it could be found it would be worth investigating« (MILLS 1933: 4). SITUATION 1950: »Naturally, ever since the area had been administered the story had attracted the attention of officers. Almost everyone who served there, I think, had tried to to find the cave, but without success; either the cave was there, and the Cacharis would not tell the secret; or, as often claimed, an earthquake had shaken down the cliff and closed the cave for good. … In 1945 Mr. Perry, the S.D.O. in Haflong [note 6], met an elderly villager who said he knew the secret of the cave. It lay, he said, in the side of a hill to the west of the railway line, between Haflong [note 7] and Mahur [note 8] stations. It was in dense forest, and quite invisible unless one knew the trick. The entrance was some way up from the ground, and concealed by the upper part of a big tree growing in front of it; only by climbing up could the mouth be seen. Once there, it was quite accessible, and there should be no trouble in getting in, were one inclined to do so. He personally had never been farther than the mouth. He felt, he said, that the old things were now dying. However, Perry was a kindly officer and genuinely interested in the old beliefs. These he respected, and he never attempted to remove relics. Therefore this old villager wanted to show him the cave while there was still time« (GRAHAM BOWER 1950 chapter 16: 121-129). A few days later the old man died. CULTURAL HISTORY - holocaust: »There is a strong tradition that the remnants of the race were blocked into a cave near Haflong by a Kachari king« (MILLS 1933: 4 repeated by CHOUDHURY 1959: 51 quoted by SINGH, R L 1995: 493). 1925: »23 October … Derebora to Gunjong … Not far from Gunjong is the site of the "Jungle men" whom the Kacharis destroyed by driving them into a cave and piling a fire against the mouth of it.« (Hutton, J H 1925.10.23 Mss: Naga Hills tour diary) 1940, circa:»There is a parallel [note 9] Kachari tradition which may be briefly mentioned. It agrees that the Kacharis waged a war of extermination on this now-lost race, but says that the last survivors sheltered for some time in a cave in the hills near Haflong and were eventually tracked down and wiped out there« (Graham Bower, Ursula: Mss Zemi legends concerning Siemi). 1950: »The Kacharis have their own version of the story … The little people were a nuisance; that was all. And so they wiped them out. A handful, though, concealed themselves in a cave. From that they came out at night to raid and loot Kachari settlements, returning home before daylight, like bats, to their lair. At last, however, the Kacharis tracked them down. They did not attempt to attack the cave, a deep, defensible tunnel. Instead, they cut great armfuls of scrub and brushwood, filled up the cave-mouth with it, and fired the whole. So the last of the jungle-people perished, suffocated, in their last retreat« (GRAHAM BOWER 1950: 127-128). 2008: »In the North Cachar Hills … a cave near the Haflong is believed to have been the abode of the Kachari people [note 10]« (SINGH, G P 2008: 202).
NOTE 1: The »cave not far from Gunjong« (Hutton, J.H. 1925.10.23) corresponds to the »cave near Haflong« (MILLS 1933: 4)« and »deep defensible tunnel of a cave« of GRAHAM BOWER (1950: 121-129). NOTE 2: Hutton, J H (1925.10.23 online: lemurconsulting.com/bamdemo/db/naga accessed 2005.10.27): The Siemi »are described as little men who used bows and arrows and lived entirely in the forest. The Kachari name for them is Hagrasa which appears to be a synonym of the Angami Horotsu, the name of a clan in Kohima descended from one of these "jungle men" who was caught near that village.« According to BOWER (1950: 121) the extinct jungle-folk of the Siemi preceded the Zemi in the occupation of the Barail area. NOTE 3: GHOSH & GHOSH (1998b chapter 37: 23-24): The »Zemes [Zemi], Liangmais and Rongmeis together [are] called Zeliangrong people.« NOTE 4: GHOSH & GHOSH (1998b: 23-24): »The Goat And The Cave Man.— There was a large cave in North Cachar hills of Assam inside which a large number of human beings used to live. They could never see [the] outside world since the outlet of the cave was closed by a boulder… [which was accidentally pushed away by a he-goat. Later, the human beings living in the cave emerged and divided to form] … the three tribes whose descendants are known as Zemes, Liangmais and Rongmeis together called Zeliangrong people.« NOTE 5: Gunjong N25°19': E93°01' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003).NOTE 6: Haflong (town), N25°11': E93°02' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 46 C4 and D4). NOTE 7: Haflong Hill (railway station), N25°09': E93°03' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 46 C4). NOTE 8: Mahur (village), N25°10': E93°07' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 46 D4). NOTE 9: Graham Bower (Mss Zemi legends concerning Siemi.- online: lemurconsulting.com/bamdemo/db/naga accessed 2005.10.27): »… the Siemi, a people described as "small and black", who are believed to have made the valuable golden-yellow beads called 'deo-moni' from the "Gareo" bamboo by a process involving the use of fire; and to their refusal to disclose this secret process is ascribed their persecution and destruction by the Kacharis. Tradition conflicts as to when they vanished from the hills; one story relates that they had gone when the Zemi entered the area and that only their deserted villages remained, and another that survivors lingered on at Hange after the Zemi immigration and even intermarried with the Naga colonists. The story of their hunting-down varies very little, but one version tells that one day when the Siemi in their village at Guilong were making beads the smoke from the fires attracted the attention of the Kachari king in his capital at Maibong, an he sent men into the hills to find out what fires these were; and when he heard, from the captured Siemi, he demanded the secret. Another version is given here, as told by Zhekuingba of Laisong:"They say that a Zemi youth married a Siemi girl and asked her to teach him how to make the beads. She did so, but did not teach him how to make the hole for the string to go through, so that when he returned to his own village and made beads for himself, he found he could not do it. The Kachari King sent for him and asked him whether he could make the beads, and he said that he could, except for the hold. Then the King said: 'They have not taught you properly. I will capture them and force them to teach you the whole process'."The King ordered the Siemi whom he captured to reveal the secret, but they could not. Then the King had a metal pot heated red-hot and put it on the head of one of the Siemi, until his head burst; but he did not tell the secret. The King said to the others: 'Now speak, or I will do this to you'. But they each clamoured to suffer first, and all died in this way without telling what they knew. Then the remaining Siemi moved their villages from place to place for fear of the King, and at last fled the country, going no one knows where".« NOTE 10: »JASB., 1902, Vol. LXXI. Pt. III. p. 37; JARS., Apr, 1933, Vol. i. No. pp. 4-5« (SINGH, G P 2008 footnote 25).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15.2 | MAIBONG (Cave at) | ||
| 19.5 | RANACHANDI ROCK TEMPLE | ||
| 19.5 | MAHUR TUNNEL | ||
| 31.1 | ASHRUBANYA TUNNEL | ||
| 34.6 | NENGLO (Aperture below) | ||
| 35.6 | BOREHOLE B-36 Cave, Umrong - Longlai | ||
| 54.0 | MAGULONG (Cave near) | ||
| 59.6 | KALEMKI, Tharon | ||
| 92.8 | LANGHRIK NADI NATURAL BRIDGE, Molat Parbat |