Language

The Lushai tribes primarily speak Mizo. Mizo is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken mainly in the state of Mizoram in northeast India. It is also spoken by Mizos living in areas adjacent to the state. The language used to be known as Lusei or, by the British, Lu-shai. Mizo is classified as a Tibeto-Burman language, but its exact subcategory within that group varies across analyses. Generally, it is regarded as one of the central groups in the Kuki-Chin subdivision. Grierson (1904) and Voegelin-Voegelin (1977) classify it as a Central Chin language, under the Kuki-Chin category. Shafer (1955, 1966) puts it in the Kukish Section of the Burmic division. Benedict (1972) and Egerod (1974) classify it as a Central Kuki within the Kuki-Naga branch. Among these surveys, Grierson's is the most comprehensive and reliable because he collected most of the data himself.

Society / Social Formation

Lieutenant-Colonel J. Shakespear's monograph on the Lushei does not describe an idealised or straightforward society. Instead, it shows a system of control so strong that even modern totalitarian states seem less strict by comparison. In the remote North-East frontier, the individual is not recognised; only the Village, the Chief, and the force of Custom matter.

At the apex of this bamboo pyramid sits the Lal, the Chief. To the uninitiated European eye, he may appear a benevolent patriarch, a father to his people. In reality, he is the proprietor of the very earth they walk upon. The concept of private property is notably absent with respect to the land itself. The Chief owns the ram (the land); the villager is merely a tenant at will, permitted to scratch a living from the soil in exchange for Fathang, the rice-tax. The Chief's power is further cemented by the Sachhiah, the meat-tax, ensuring that the choicest limb of any beast killed in the jungle finds its way to the ruler's plate.

The Upa, which is a council of elders, supports the Chief. The Chief appoints the Upas, choosing them for their loyalty rather than independent thinking. They act like an Inner Party, sharing in the rewards of the Sachhiah and the Fathang, and enforcing the Chief's decisions while pretending to represent the community. Dissent is not just illegal; it is nearly impossible. Anyone cast out of the village is sent into the jungle, which is essentially a death sentence by isolation.

The most chilling instrument of social engineering in Lushei society is the Zawlbuk. Ostensibly a bachelor's dormitory, the Zawlbuk is, in function and effect, a barracks and a re-education centre. From the moment a boy reaches puberty, he is stripped from his family unit at night and interned in this central hall, situated strategically opposite the Chief's house. The family, the primary unit of loyalty in most free societies, is thus undermined. In the Zawlbuk, privacy is abolished. The young men sleep in rows, observed by the Val Upa, the dormitory monitors who enforce an iron discipline. They are trained in wrestling and warfare, not for their own glory, but to serve as the standing army of the Chief.

Below the commoners, the hnamchawm, lies the shadow class: the Bawi. The Bawi system is the ultimate safety net of a totalitarian system: total submission in exchange for survival. There are the Inpuichhung Bawi, the paupers and orphans driven by hunger into the Chief's house. Then there are the Chemsen Bawi, the criminals who, fleeing the vengeance of their victims, touch the Chief's central post and are saved.

Even the spiritual life of the Lushei is a landscape of fear, managed by the Puithiam (priest). The Lushei does not love his gods; he bribes them. The world is populated by Huai, malicious spirits lurking in the streams and the trees, waiting to inflict illness and misfortune. The Puithiam acts as the broker in this protection racket, prescribing sacrifices to appease the invisible oppressors.

The position of women in this social formation is that of a silent caste, essential for production and reproduction but politically non-existent. They labour in the jhums, they weave the cloth, they bear the future warriors of the Zawlbuk, yet they are excluded from the councils of the Upa and the camaraderie of the dormitory.

Modern Mizo society is a blend of the old and the new. Despite its geographic isolation and lack of industry, Mizoram manages to keep up with the latest trends. Women still use the traditional puan, a wrap-around skirt tucked in at the waist. Mizos are also fond of music, and the best-selling cassettes are those recorded by local artists. Voluntary youth organisations such as the Young Mizo Association (YMA) and the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) are the zealous guardians of Mizo traditions. Some traditions are dying out — one is that of hand weaving, as technology has replaced the efficient but simple Mizo loom.

Religion

Before Christianity, the Lushei practised a religion characterised by animism, spirit worship, and deep respect for nature. They believed that the physical and spiritual worlds were identical. Streams, bamboo groves, and mountain peaks were regarded as homes for spirits, so daily life involved constant engagement with both benevolent and malevolent supernatural forces.

Pathian, the Creator, was at the top of the Lushei spiritual order. Shakespear describes Pathian as the supreme being who created the world and humanity. Still, for most Lushei, Pathian was distant — kind, but not involved in daily life. He was seen as a god who created everything and then stepped back. The proper focus of religious practice was the vast pantheon of Huai or Ramhuai — spirits of the wild that inhabited the ram (the land/forest). Illness, crop failure, accidents, and bad luck were invariably attributed to the displeasure of a Huai.

This worldview necessitated the role of the Puithiam, the village priest or sacrificer. His expertise involved identifying the specific spirit that had been offended and prescribing the appropriate sacrifice — such as a fowl, pig, or mithun — to appease it.

The Lushei believed in two destinations for the soul. The typical village of the dead (Mithi Khua) was a drab, shadowy existence. For the select few, there was Pialral — a paradise of abundance where rice grew without labour and meat was plentiful. Entry into Pialral was determined by merit earned through the Thangchhuah ceremonies — either by hunting dangerous animals like the elephant, tiger, and bear, or by hosting lavish communal feasts culminating in the Khuangchawi.

The transition from this traditional worldview to Christianity, which swept through the Lushai Hills in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was transformative yet syncretic. The missionaries adopted the name Pathian for the Christian God, elevating the distant creator to a personal, intervening Father. The fear of the Ramhuai was replaced by the power of the Holy Spirit (Thlarau Thianghlim). Yet the Mizo attachment to their hills, the Zo ram, remains fierce. The ancient festivals like Chapchar Kut and Pawl Kut, once harvest thanksgivings to the spirits, have been repurposed as cultural celebrations of Mizo identity.

Marriage

A young man is not hampered in his choice by any table of prohibited degrees, nor is his choice confined to any particular family or clan; in fact, he can practically marry any woman he chooses except his sister or his mother. There is, however, some prejudice against first-cousin marriage on the father's side.

Regarding the number of his wives, the Lushai also has great latitude; in fact, it is simply a matter of money. Experience has taught them that two wives in one house is not conducive to peace, and consequently, polygamy is almost entirely confined to the chiefs. Marriage is purely a civil contract, although a pseudo-religious ceremony is performed.

Among Lushais, the following sums constitute the price which has to be paid for a wife:

(i) Manpui (Principal Price) — Paid to the bride's nearest male relative on the father's side. The manpui is always reckoned in mithan and varies according to the bride's family. A Thangur maiden is valued at ten mithan; the lowest price is three.

(ii) Pushum — The perquisite of the nearest male relative on the mother's side. It varies between Rs. 4/- and Rs. 10/-, but for a chief's daughter, it is a mithan.

(iii) Palal — The bride or her relations select some trusted friend, appointed as her trustee, expected to look after her interests throughout her whole married life.

(iv) Niman (Aunt's Price) — A sum equal to the pushum which has to be paid to the bride's aunt on her father's side.

(v) Thian — The thian, or friend, is a female palal, but she only receives a small sum from Rs. 10/- downwards.

(vi) Nau Puan Puak Man (Price of Carrying the Younger Sister in her Cloth) — Each sister receives this from the husband of her next younger sister. Among Sailo, it ranges from Rs. 20 to Rs. 40; in other families, it is only Rs. 3 or Rs. 4.

These sums are never paid down at once; in fact, they are allowed to remain unpaid for many years, but as a rule, in each family it is the custom to pay a certain amount of the manpui before the marriage; this is called sum hma hruai, meaning price before taking.

Economy and Profession

The early-period economy of the Mizos (Lushais) was simple. Their economy was sustained by Jhum cultivation. Agriculture was their principal occupation. In addition to agriculture, ancillary activities such as hunting, fishing, raids and wars, domestication of animals, hnatlang, and cottage industries also played an essential role in their economy during that period.

Jhuming remained the mainstay of the Mizo economy during the colonial period. However, trade and commerce were carried out by the Mizos with the neighbouring dwellers during this period. The idea of trade arose with the establishment of bazaars in the border regions. The medium of exchange was still by the Barter System. The chief commercial articles during the period are rubber, ivory, timber, bamboo, common salt, arms and ammunition, tobacco, etc.

Food and Drinks

When speaking of food, the Lushai always means rice. Though he is fond of meat and likes vegetables and seasonings, he only considers them as a garnish to his rice. When a mithan is killed to feed the village, the flesh is boiled in earthen pots in the street and the contents emptied onto plantain leaves, whence the feasters help themselves with their fingers.

The flesh of all animals is eaten. Rats of the white-bellied variety are considered a luxury. Dogs, especially puppies, are a favourite dish. Next to rice, maize may be regarded as the most essential staple. It is eaten boiled, never being ground into flour. The young shoots of the bamboo are by no means unpleasant eating. Boiling is the only culinary art known.

As regards his drink, the Lushai has straightforward tastes. There are two kinds of intoxicating drinks, both homemade from rice. The commonest is known as zu and is a simple, partially fermented drink; the other, called rakzu or zuthak, is distilled. Zu is required for the due observance of every ceremony; a child's birth is an occasion for entertaining its relations, no marriage can be celebrated without the consumption of zu, while after his death, a Lushai's friends and relatives drown their sorrow in all the zu they can obtain.

Dresses and Ornaments

The Lushais formerly wore dresses made of animal hide. Later, a wrapper called hukhal, made of thread spun from cotton, was initially worn by Lushei males and later by females. Over time, women began wearing dresses made of woven fabrics such as puanfel (thami), korchung (tops/blouse), etc., and men wore korchur (shirts) and puanbi (lungi).

Lushai women like to wear and adorn themselves with ornaments of various designs. They wear a necklace made of expensive stones. Besides, the Lushai women wear different kinds of thami, such as puan-roupui, puan-chei, puan-dum, ngoute-kher, etc.