MAMPUI HILL HOLE

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A -man-made hole- (formerly sacred?) of unspecified character and dimensions, which contains sculptured figures in bold relief, reminiscent of Hindu or Buddhist postures, reported CHATTERJI (1979) from Mampui Hill, 4 km (south?) of Lung Milem: As one peeps into the man-made hole on the big stone of Mampui hill he can clearly see the three pictures in the same pose [as those of the sculpted rock Lung Milem on the southern edge of the Tawikhawthlir hill under the jurisdiction of the Mualcheng village, i.e.] … three pictures … about twenty inches in length, two … standing and the other in a sitting posture. CHATTERJI (1979: 35-36, photograph without scale) positions -Mualcheng- about 65 km south of Lunglei. The map MIZORAM (ca.1997) shows S. Mualcheng (South Mualcheng) near N23°41': E92°50' or some 10 km in a direct line (corresponding to 16.5 km along the road?) south-southeast of Lunglei (N22°53': E92°45'). DISTRICT GAZETTEER (1989) gives an untitled monochrome photograph of Lug Milem (top - right on the second unnumbered page following page 403) showing at least seven children who pose for the camera and fumble a worn and weathered statue carved from living rock. The sculpture, perhaps close to metre in height, is obviously highlighted in white colour, shows a male person sitting on a raised seat in -alert relaxed posture- (left leg on floor, right foot resting on left knee, left hand placed on hip, right arm not discernible or gone). The head, now without face, is possibly wearing headgear (?) or features of a high skull and exaggerated ear lobes.