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Kawtchhuah Ropui
KAWTCHHUAH ROPUI
Recently explored ancient monuments or menhirs of ‘Kawtchhuah Ropui’ were bearing fruitful testimonies to study the inhabitants of Kawtchhuah Ropui area, that of the unknown past.
Kawtchhuah Ropui literally means ‘the great entrance of the village’. In most tribal societies of this region, a cluster of memorial stones were traditionally erected in the entrance of settlements in commemoration to their dear ones, braves or outstanding persons who won victories in war or hunting untamed animals. However, the uniqueness of Kawtchhuah Ropui has been seen that all the figures were embossed. It may be assumed that the dressing of Kawtchhuah Ropui stones might be done with fine iron-tools. From this point of view, I strongly opined that the past Mizo people were impossible to erect all these well-dressed stones due to lack of iron tools among the Mizos till the Bristish colonial power.
Succession of the Past Settlements: Findings of potsherds near Kawtchhuah Ropui showed that there were two successions of settlement in this area. The typology of dressing clay-pots confirms this hypothesis. There have been found two types of potsherds, greatly differed from each other in its dressing – the first had irrigular threads of dress-finishing and well-baked while the second one bore regular threads ressembling the Mizo traditional techniuqes of dressing clay-pots. These striking features help us confident to conclude that two successions of human settlement must confine to this place. So, who would occupy this place?
Oral History told us that the Vangchhias, a sub-clan of the Mizo Tribe were once halted and settled at the present Vangchhe Village. The Vangchhias planted a banyan tree at the north western entrance of the present Vangchhe Village which was died of old age in 1911 and a new banyan tree was then replanted by the present dwellers in 1913. (Source: Oral Tradition given by Pu Doliana) Tree Life-Span is a simple method for dating. By applying this method, the life-span of a banyan tree in hill slope of a tropical region is around 250 – 300 years while in river valleys or more fertile soils it may be up to 450 – 500 years. If the oral tradition was true, the Vangchhias would started to settle there at around 1661 A.D. - 1611 A.D.(1911-250+50). So, the second settlement must be built by the Vangchhias.
It has been a big question who would occupy this place in the first settlement. A meagre account of Cross-cultural Dating revealed that the Metteis might be the ancient people who left these living cultures.
First Assumption: Embossed figures have been found in the areas of Vangchhia, Lianpui, Zotlang-Champhai and in the northern part of Manipur. They were, to a great extent, ressembled each other.
Second Assumption: Prominent footpaths have also been found across Manipur, Myanmar and Mizoram which have been traced to interlink.
Third Assumption: Uniqueness of typology of potsherds which were found in the old site of Vangchhe Village shows that potsherds were intermingled out of the Mizo tradition.
We may extract few statements about the chronology of the Manipuri History to support the present view: