| Description |
Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
In the past, the Jinghpaw people always lived together in a community. We were united. This is just the general overview. It was quite difficult for us to communicate from place to place at that time. Roads were not well constructed like they are these days, so it was really difficult to communicate. We had to be aware of the danger of tigers even when we traveled. Sometimes, when you traveled far from home, you could be captured and made a slave by a Jinghpaw chief. It was really difficult to communicate in the past. Here, you asked me how we communicated without telegraphs or radios. I will tell you how we communicated in the past. For example, when we were going to celebrate the Manau Festival, we used a vaginant leaf to inform other villages. We made a knot in the leaf. We gave them the knotted leaf to help them remember the date of the Manau Festival. They cut one knot each day. When all the knots were gone, it was the day of the Manau Festival. Then they went to the Festival on that day. This method is called Jahpan, which means a rope or string with knots used as an invitation. There were no invitation letters like we have today. They didn't know the dates and times in the past. Therefore, we used the Jahpan communication method. We only had food from the fields and the forest, not the fancy food we have these days in the market. We ate only food from the forest. When we were upset with someone, we sent chilli to that person. We sent chilli to that person as a present. The message was: "I am upset with you. You must compensate me. Be aware of that!" So, we should not send chili as a present. We sent salt as a gift to everyone. Salt is really important to us. However, we couldn't use salt a lot. We could send it to everyone. We could use it for peace, for asking for debts, and for other purposes. But salt was very rare in the past. We used dried green tea leaves as a simple gift, not for hate or asking for debts. They were used to ask how other people were doing. We didn't often use dried fermented bamboo shoots because giving them was believed to bring worry and sickness. Although we sent them as a gift, they might not use them a lot. Salt was the thing that everyone could use. We also used dried green tea leaves. Sending or using them as a gift didn't have any particular meaning, such as being bitter or sour. In the past, when we fought or argued with someone, we sent that person a piece of thatch. Do you know what thatch is? It is used for roofing a house. The meaning of sending it was: 'I am going to burn your house.' Sending the charcoal also meant the same: 'I will kill you!' For example, when people from different villages were arguing or had a conflict, they sent someone to deliver charcoal. (In Burmese, it is 'mee-dwe'.) It meant that they were going to fight and kill each other. We should not use charcoal to send as a gift. We can use it only when we need to. When young people became a couple, (I was not sure about the past.) if they sent white pieces of yarn, it meant everything was fine. If they sent black pieces of yarn, it meant they were ending their relationship. If they sent the red ones, it meant 'I hate you. I will kill you if I need to!" It is called Ri Mahtawng, which means cut pieces of yarn from weaving. It is called 'Mahtawng' (a Jinghpaw word). As far as I remember, we began to have yarn in several colors after the British came to our country. Before that time, we only had black, white, red and yellow colors of yarn. We used indigo for color. Later, when the Chinese and Shan people arrived, we began to use several beautiful colors. For example, two young people became friends. I will just say openly. They were lovers. Either a girlfriend or a boyfriend gifted a white piece of yarn, it was a good sign. If they gifted the black one, they were going to break up. I don't think we used other colors. We mainly used the white, black and red colors. If they gifted the red piece of yarn, it meant they were in a fight. This was how young couples used to communicate. I don't see any other evidence of how we used to communicate. We should not gift chilli. Gifting chilli is not good. We often gift dried meat and dried fish. These are the foods we usually eat. These are some things I remember. But we don't gift rice. Rice is something we value greatly, so giving it as a gift could carry deep meaning. We don't usually gift rice. Rice is what we always eat, so it would be meaningful to give it as a gift. But we don't do that. If someone has nothing to eat, we pack rice in a large bag and give it to them. However, we do not use rice as a gift. We gift salt, dried green tea leaves, and dried fermented bamboo shoots. Among them, salt is the best gift. Sending dried meat and dried fish means that they are very close friends. We don't give these foods as gifts to just any friend. If we give these foods to older people or very young children, it shows that we care for them. If we give these foods to friends of the same age, it shows that we value them. In the past, we didn't have as much dried meat as we do today. In the past, dried meat was rare. We dried meat from the nat spirits' offerings and fish caught from the river, so it was rare. We had dried meat to give as a gift. We didn't use oil, and we also didn't know how to make it.
Transcription (La Ring)
Moi gaw anhte Jinghpaw ni a labau hta gaw rau nga rau pra grai gahkyin kumdin rai nga ai ngu dai gaw ntsa lam re yaw. Dai kata kaw she langai hte langai buga langai hte langai matut mahkai na ngu grai yak ai. Grai yak ai, grai yak ai ngu ai hta e ya na zawn rai na lam pyaw hkra ngalaw ai i, mana maka yak ai hkan sa dai kaw she sharaw bai hkrit ra. Bai na kalang lang grai tsan wa jang moi na Jinghpaw ni gaw wo kaga shara na masha hpe rim la na mayam shatai kau ma chye ai. Dai re majaw matut mahkai ngu ai grai yak ai moi gaw. Matut mahkai ngu grai yak jang she e matut mahkai mayu ai shaloi gaw ya nang kaw nan san mayu ai gaw ya na 'kyay-nan' (telegraph) zawn e radio zawn laika zawn re a malai gara hku di ai kun ngu ai dai san ai ga rai nga. Rai yang moi na ni gaw ndai hku re, ga shadawn ya manau galaw na poi galaw na "Wo kahtawng kaga de shana ya mi" nga ai shaloi gaw shaba lap ngu ai ndai lahpaw galu hpe sumri zawn di na she dai kaw ndai hku makyit da ai. Makyit da na she "Ya anhte manau galaw na kade ya shani re" nga ai gaw nang dai sa na gam hkawm ai shaloi lami matu langai hprut hprut di kau ra ai. Di na she dai ya da ai kaw na gaw wo ra wa mung dai hprut hprut hprut di kau na dai htum ai shani sa wa ai. Dai hpe gaw 'Jahpan' ngu ai rai malu ai yaw matut mahkai lam le ya na zawn rai na saw shaga laika "Kade ya shani re hkying kade re" ngu ai shanhte nchye ai nnga ai. Dai re majaw dai jahpan ngu ai di nna sa wa ai dai gaw langai mi. Re yang she ndai kumhpa shagun ai ngu ai gaw moi gaw rai mung nam na rai ni sha she nga ai gaw, anhte me ya na gat kaw na zawn re me e lu sha sha hpa tsawm htap ai rai ma nnga ai re gaw nam hkan nga ai ni chyu sha re. Rai yang gaw masha langai hpang de "Ngai grai myit npyaw ai nang hpe" nga ai shaloi gaw majap shagun jaw let dai hpe tsun ai re majap. Majap makai na kumhpa shagun ai. Dai gaw "Nang hpe ngai myit npyaw ai nang hpe ngai hka ji ra ai, nang ngai yaw kyay jaw ra ai maja nga u" nga ai ga re. Dai majaw majap kumhpa gaw nshagun ai. Re hpang de jum kumhpa gaw grai shagun mayu ma ai kadai kaw mung shagun lu ai. Raitim jum grai reng ai yaw jum grai reng ai majaw jum hkrai ma nlang lu ai le. Jum gaw kadai hpe shagun tim yawng ra ai. Ngwi pyaw ai hku mung lang lu ai e hpa rai rai ndawng ai hka hpyi ai mi rai rai jum shagun lang lu ai jum gaw. Raitim jum grai taw ai re hpalap jahkraw zawn re ndai ni gaw majoi myit dum kumhpa rai sai, hka ji ai mung nre nju ndawng ai mung nre "Hkam ja nga ai" ngu ai hpalap jahkraw mahkri jahkraw, mahkri jahkraw mung nau gaw nlang ma ai. Hpa majaw nga yang "Myit hkyi lit li nga dai machyi makaw byin nga ai dai" ngu ai de loimi yawng ai yaw mahkri jahkraw gaw shagun na raitim nau wa nlang ai. Grai lang ai gaw yawng e mai lang ai gaw jum re. Dai kaw na gaw hpahka jahkraw. Hpahka jahkraw e mung lang ma ai hpa lachyum hta ai hku na "Hka ai law hkri ai law" ngu ai hku nre lang ma ai. Rai na dai myit dum ai e kumhpa ni gaw dai rai sa. Rai yang she moi prat shawng daw de gaw shada da gali galaw hkat ai shaloi hkindu ngu ai ya nang chye na re nta galup ai baw le dai shagun ai kaw na gaw "Nta nat kau ya na" nga ai re da dan re shagun ai le. "Nta nat kau ya na" nga ai ya-za-tan re da. Rai yang wan n-ga shagun ai ma ndai gaw "Nat na sat na" dai re da. Ga shadawn ndai kahtawng hte ndai kahtawng nhkrum hkat ai galaw hkat ai lama ma byin ngu yang she ndai masha langai ngai hpe dat nna wan n-ga sa shagun dat ai hte rau gaw Myen hku gaw myi-dwe le i "Nra" le dai shagun dat sai kaw na gaw "Nat sana gasat sana" nga ai re da. Nmai lang ai dai lang ra ai kaw sha lang ai. Rai na kaga ni gaw ndai tsun ga nga yang ramma ni shada da e sumtsaw byin hkat ai ni gaw ri moi shawng daw de gaw nchye ai ya ndai hpang daw de gaw hpraw ai shagun yang gaw "Mai kaja ai" i chyang ai shagun ai kaw na gaw "Nang hte ngai hpa nseng sai" nga ai baw byin ai i. Rai yang she ndai hkyeng ai shagun yang gaw "Nang hpe nga nju ndawng ai jahka sha na nat sat ang yang nat sa na" ngu ai baw re wa ri mahtawng ngu na tsun ma ai ri mahtawng. Ndai da da ai kaw na kadun kadaw nang ram ram galu ai ri daw ni hpe le "Mahtawng" ngu ai re yaw Jinghpaw ga word langai mi ri mahtawng nga ma ai. Ndan re ni ndai nsam gaw hpang ngai matsing nye shawng English ni shang ai kaw na gaw madang dep ai nsam ni lang lu sai. Moi shawng de nlang lu ai moi shawng na ni gaw achyang rai ahpraw rai ahkyang rai awar rai dai hte sha lang lu ai dai kaw nam na lagrang ni hte e chya la ai mahtat ni hte. Dai hpang de gaw Miwa mung Sam ni nga ai de na du ai kaw na gaw ya na hte maren nsam grai grai tsawm ai ni lang sai. E dai aten e gaw ga shadawn ndai ramma ni shada da hku hkau ai brang brang lang lang tsun ga le sumtsaw sumra prat na ni le ga shaga ai shaloi num hpe mi rai rai la hpe mi rai rai hpraw ai shagun jaw jang gaw kaja ai tar-man (normal) kaja ai rai sai. Chyang ai shagun ai kaw na gaw daw hka ai lam rai sai. Rai yang gaw ndai kaga tsit ai ni mung nau wa dan dan pra pra dan dan leng leng lang ai lam nnga ai nna ai. Hkyeng ai rai chyang ai rai hpraw ai rai dai hte rai malu ai. Hkyeng ai re kaw na gaw gali galaw de re, e ndai gaw dai ramma ni na ndai hku nga na tsun lai wa masai. Rai na kaga gaw grai wa dan leng ai ndai ni nmu ai daram re lama dai majap kumhpa nmai shagun ai. Majap shagun ai gaw nkaja ai ngu ai dai, dai kaw na nga jahkraw ni shan jahkraw ni ndai ni shagun ai gaw grai law ai. E nga gaw ndai ni gaw myit dum ai e ndai ni re. Rai na galoi mung sha ai hkrai re raitim n-gu kumhpa ngu ai ma nlang ai yaw n-gu le, dai hku wo kumpa shagun jaw ai ngu ma nlang ai. Hpa majaw ngu yang ndai n-gu gaw kalang lang grai shareng ai baw lawm ai re majaw n-gu jaw ai ngu lachyum gaw grai sung wa ai re majaw gaw n-gu kumhpa ngu ai gaw dai nameik nama hku na gaw njaw ma ai nlang ma ai. Galoi mung sha nga ai gaw re lang yang gaw kaja ai wa nlang ai n-gu kum hpa. Lama na shat hpa nsha na jaw sha ai ngu makai kaba re shagun jaw ai gaw nga ai. Kumhpa hku na nameik nama hku na gaw n-gu hpe nlang ai. Jum lang ai hpahka jahkraw lang ai mahkri jahkraw lang ai jum gaw kaja htum rai sai. Shan jahkraw ni nga jahkraw ni shagun ai ngu ai gaw grai hku hkau dik ai rai sai. Majoi Myen ni tsun ai tar-man (yu maya) manang hpe gaw njaw ai. Shan jahkraw kumhpa jaw ai nga jahkraw kumhpa jaw ai nga kaw na gaw asak kaba ai ni kaji ai ni hpe jaw yang mung grai matsan dum grai lanu lahku ai ga rai sai. Anhte maren re shada manang hpe jaw yang mung grai shareng ai ga rai sai. Moi na ni gaw malu masha ngu ai dai shan ni gaw ya na zawn rai na mana maka nnga ai gaw grai taw ai. Hka na hkwi la nat jaw ai shaloi dusat ni hpe nat ni hpe sat jaw ai kaw na shan dai hpe jahkraw da re majaw grai reng ai. Sau nam mam ma nsha ai mu moi na ni gaw nnga ai gaw nchye galaw ai gaw. Re majaw dai shan kumhpa rai e dai hku nga ai. |
