Template:Infobox royalty Lalchawngpuii also known as Laltheri was the daughter of Chief Lalsavunga. She is known as a poet and a figure of tragedy in Mizo history for her love story with Chalthanga, a commoner.
Laltheri's Tragedy
Following the death of her father Lalsavunga, Laltheri lived in Saitual before moving to Ruallung.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Laltheri was not permitted to marry commoners as the daughter of a chief. A daughter of a chief was used to seal alliances with other chiefs and their sons for political advantages instead.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Laltheri was an intelligent and beautiful woman, according to Mizo accounts.Template:Sfn She fell in love with Chalthanga.Template:Sfn According to narratives about the event, Chalthanga was aware of the taboo of letting Laltheri pursue him. There was a risk of exile or punishment from the chief if he were to indulge in a relationship with her.Template:Sfn The main issue was that Chalthanga was a commoner from a minor tribe.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The relationship was publicly observable by the inhabitants. The couple practised nula rim (courtship), where he would carry firewood for her or assist her in her jhum. Chalthanga contributed to the village and attempted to become a Pasalṭha.Template:Sfn
Chalthanga got Laltheri pregnant during their relationship.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Fearing reprisal fromher family Chalthanga fled Ruallang. The men of Ruallang, under the orders of her brothers, pursued Chalthanga to Luangpawn. The men tricked Chalthanga by claiming that Laltheri was waiting for him with zu. Placing trust in the men Chalthanga turned his back where he was attacked with their axes.Template:Sfn He was decapitated, and his head was brought and stuck on a pole in Ruallang. Laltheri shocked by the display cried a poem disdaining the Sailo rulers' cruelty for her love of Chalthanga.Template:Sfn During her grievance before Chalthanga's head, she refused to wear clothes or eat as an act of defiance against her family and the chiefs. She often roamed the village grounds at night and rumours spread that she had gone insane among the Mizos.Template:Sfn When her mother urged Laltheri to consume food, Laltheri refused. She sang another poem that she would not die for lack of food but of a broken heart. When her mother urged her to cover herself up by wearing clothes, Laltheri sang that she would not wear her clothes as her lover Chalthanga lies in the cold earth.Template:Sfn
Laltheri gave birth to a son. When her son was able to walk, Laltheri was said to have begun putting a knife in his hand and teaching him to take revenge for his father.Template:Sfn Fearing the revenge of her son in the future for the murder of his father, the killers left Ruallang.Template:Sfn However, Laltheri's son would not survive past ten years of age.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Years after grieving for Chalthanga and her son, Laltheri married a widower named Dingmaga in due time. He was a commoner but had the permission of the chief to marry.Template:Sfn Lalsavunga bequeathed a village to Dingmanga and Laltheri to rule jointly. Laltheri was a successful ruler and poet of her time.Template:Sfn Dingmanga would be killed in the east–west war after a western chief Hempua shot him during a raid. Laltheri fought valiantly to stop the raiders from taking Dingmanga's head.Template:Sfn
As an outcome of Laltheri's protest, the Sailo chiefs held a meeting and passed a decree not to kill the lovers of their daughters. For this reason, Laltheri was accredited with social reform for Mizo women during her time.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Poetry
During the time Laltheri dealt with her grief, she stopped waring clothes and eating food on the account that Chalthanga was also doing neither now in death. This leads to the first stanza:Template:Sfn
As a result of the defiance, Laltheri's mother encouraged her to consume food which Laltheri refused leading to the second stanza.Template:Sfn
The third stanza emerges when Laltheri berates her mother for hanging Chalthanga's head near their house.Template:Sfn
The final two stanzas occur when Laltheri attempts to open the grave of Chalthanga to verify.Template:Sfn
References
Sources
- Folklore as Discourse{{#if:Khiangte|, Khiangte}. National Folklore Support Centre(2006). ISBN 978-81-901481-6-0
- The Mizos: A study in racial personality{{#if:Lalbiakthanga|, Lalbiakthanga}. united Publishers(1978)
- Negotiating Culture: Writings from Mizoram{{#if:Lalduhawmi|, Lalduhawmi}. Bloomsbury Publishing India(2023). ISBN 978-93-56400-19-1
- The Keepers of Knowledge:Writings from Mizoram{{#if:Jacob|, Jacob}. Zubaan(2023). ISBN 978-93-90514-96-0
- Gender in Modern India: History Culture, marginality{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University press(2024). ISBN 978-0-19-890078-8
- Songs of Laltheri (Laltheri Zai) as reflection of liberation from social bondage in Mizo society. Historical Journal Mizoram({Template:Date).