RULCHAWM KUA

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A big cave on the hill running far into the interior is associated with a legendary 'rul' (note 1) propitiated by human sacrifices offered from the families of Chawmkawn, a small place near Saitual / Saitlaw (N23°58': E92°35' nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003). The sacred cave (temple cave) is believed to connect by a fabulous tunnel to Burma (Myanmar) and is possibly identical with the cave of –>Liana. CULTURAL HISTORY - cave snake legend (CHATTERJI, N 1979: 15-16, monochrome photograph without scale): It is commonly believed that a huge snake used to reside in this cave with its body curled up near the entrance. … by mutual arrangement with the villagers [the snake] received one human being daily by turn offered to him as his food from the families of the village. [A courageous man killed the unsuspecting snake and the villagers started to pull it from its den] … the snake was as big as the length of the cave, its tail being close to the other end of the cave near Burma.Being tired of pulling the snake, they cut it when they found that almost the whole area around the cave was covered with the part of the body pulled out. They then distributed the meat of the snake to all villagers. The head came to the share of a poor village widow… [who through it away]. It so happened that a great landslide occurred the next day destroying the whole village with its inhabitants except the house of the widow and herself.Being tired of pulling the snake, they cut it when they found that almost the whole area around the cave was covered with the part of the body pulled out. They then distributed the meat of the snake to all villagers. The head came to the share of a poor village widow… [who through it away]. It so happened that a great landslide occurred the next day destroying the whole village with its inhabitants except the house of the widow and herself.