Thursday, May 7, 2026

RUANGLAT KHWANGWAN

Presentation by Ruanglat Literature Society

A. Introduction

  1. Ruanglat hei…
  2. Khwangwan naimei lat re.
  3. Contour khwangwan naimei e.
  4. Kabah naimei latkaeng akhat hei kagwan baicna saa pwkhou kabah nic baic ethei mi kumhmei lat tatei Khwangwan naimei Lat/Tonal Language twna thay e.
  5.  Kakui kaluang swmei khwangwan 4 RLS rui chakpatlou e. Mi guay kiu thu;

1. Mphaihmei khwangwan (Level Tone)/ (-)

  1. RLS rui mphaihmei khwangwan ta madanh mak ge.
  2. Hy pwkhou ni mi khwan ta madanh khang kahiak hy mak khe.

2. Bumkeymei khwangwan (Falling Tone)/ (\)

a)        ‘v’ tihei value kathanc tiilouna mi khwangwan khang piu the.

b)       ‘v’ hei final syllable khou bam ethei mitei normal/universal /v/ khwan hamh the, falling tone symbol the twna laa nina the.

c)        ‘i’ zamh falling tone hiak swna ‘y’ tihei value kathanc  tiilouna laathaulou the.

d)        4

e)        ‘u’ zamh falling tone hiak swna ‘w’ tihei value kathanc tiilouna laathaulou the.

3. Ngangckumei khwangwan (RisingTone)/ (/)

a)     Rising tone hiak khang ‘c’ tihei value kathanc tiilouna laathaulou e.

b)     ‘c’ hei syllable final khou bam ethei mi tei kalwnlung swmei /c/ khwan hamh the.

c)     Mi tei rising tone symbol the twna thaylou khang the.

4. Ruaknac Khamvkhakh Khwangwan (Glottalised Tone)/ (?)

  • a)     Mi khwangwan ta madanh khang ‘h’ tihei value kathanc tiilouna hy e.
  • b)     ‘h’ hei syllable final khou bam ethei mitei kalwnlung swmei /h/ khwan hamh the.
  • c)     Ruaknac Khamvkhakh khwangwan madanhmei hiak the twna laa nina the.

Thaylou nimei…

                         i.     /h/ hei Ruangmei khwan khou phoneme e.

                       ii.     /h/ hei khwangwan madanhmei hiak khang swna nic piu e. Ruanglat hythau reymei nunc rui piulou the. RLS rui nic piu bam the.

                      iii.     Kumtina ntaw tho value kanei khang piu bam e.

B. NWKWANG KHWAN (Prenasal Sound)/ (Pn+)

a)     Nwkhwang khwan tihei m,n, ng piuna hy e.

b)     Mi hei Ruangmei pioneer nunc rui piulou rey bammei hiak ge.

 

•                  Ntaw tho tone, glottal, prenasal hiak guay tei duanclouna zauc kho.

Phoneme

Tone

Prenasal

Tan

tan (leg)

ntan (to train)

Tan

tanv (pile of paddy)

ntanv(to tease)

Tan

tanc (strong)    

x

Tan

tanh (strong)

ntanh (iron)

Tan

twn (spot)

ntwn (summer)

Gi

gy

nggih

 

Karuc khou kathai kanmei khou rui thay the twmei thu…

a)     v, c, h, y, w hei khwangwan madanhmei hiak swna piu the.

b)     Bumkeymei khwangwan khou ‘i’ phaan ‘ y’ piu the.

c)     Bumkeymei khwangwan khou ‘u’ phaan ‘w’ piu the.

Thaylou kho…

a)     Ruaknac khamvkhakh khwan lev Nwkwang khwan hiak tho Ruangmei pioneer writer nunc rui piu guangmei hiak guay the.

b)     Bumkeymei khwan lev Ngangckumei khwan hiak tho RLS rui damclou tuang the.

Tabui zaeng rui symbol baihmei piu makna Roman Alphabet rui Ruanglat Khwangwan madanc bam tw cho?

Khwangwan madanc nuhmei hiak peyna nai de. Kum e tihkic Ruanglat hy khou sinsw makmei Roman Alphabet hiak asaek ta piu the. Kalam thu…

a)     Mi hei learner friendly sw e.

b)     Computer, typewriter, handset keypad friendly sw e.

c)     Printing press friendly sw e.

d)     Hymei, pahmei khatnic spelling khou chiw e.

e)     Hylou pwkhou howsii howroucmei, phoumei, nkakmei maek ge.

Ruanglat Khwangwan rui adih kamv khang kabah tibaiclou cho…

a)     (-)          Ai bi lau tat re. (lau)

b)     (\)         Ai bi lau tat re. (lau)

c)     (/)         Ai bi lau tat re. (lau)

d)     (?)          Ai bi lau tat re. (lau)

 

e)     (-) Stephen rui Mary ta katham e. (katham)

f)      (\) Stephen rui Mary ta katham e. (katham)

 

g)     (-) Tanpui tanpu kaw nu e. (nu)

h)     (?) Tanpui tanpu kaw nu e.  (nu)

 

Khwangwan kiu twkumh madanc kho toh?

a)     Level (-)              = raa (to dismantle)      = raa    

b)     Falling (\)          = raa (god/disease)       = rav    

c)     Rising (/)           = raa (to tell)                   = rac

d)     Glottalised (?)   = raa (to chirp/roar)     = rah

 

e)     Level (-)              = gi (outer skin)              = gi

f)      Falling (\)          = gi (feeding)                   = gy

g)     Rising (/)           = gi (to bind)                    = gic

h)     Glottalised (?)   = gi (skin)                         = gih

a.      Mphaihmei Khwangwan ta tho madanh mak khe.

b.      Bumkeymei khwangwan madanhmei:

 ‘v’ rui madanhmei

•        khaa (fish) hei khav twna hy e.

•        bam (seat) hei bamv twna hy e.

•        tan (pile of paddy) hei tanv twna hy e.

 ‘i’ phaan ‘y’ rui lynmei

•        hi (writing) hei hy twna hy e.

•        nim (arrest) hei nym twna hy e.

 ‘u’ phaan ‘w’ rui lynmei

•        bu (moon/month) hei bw twna hy e.

•        nu (mucus) hei nw twna hy e.

Diphthong lev Triphthong khwan khou tho nkhamhmei khwan khou na tei khwangwan madanc pwni.

Diphthong:

a)     riu (ray) hei nkhamhmei ‘u’ phaan ‘w’ rui lynna riw twna hy pwni.

b)     dui (egg) hei nkhamhmei ‘i’ phaan ‘y’ rui lynna duy twna hy pwni.

Triphthong:

a)     huai (request) hei huay twna hy e.

b)     riau (edge/margin) hei riaw twna hy e.

c) Ngangckumei Khwangwan madanhmei

a)     raa (to tell) hei rac twna hy e.

b)     zau (to look) hei zauc twna hy e.

c)     gan (to throw) hei ganc twna hy e.

d)     paap (sin) hei paapc twna hy e.

b)     zaat (tribe/nation) hei zaatc twna hy e.

d) Ruaknac Khamvkhakh Khwangwan (glottal) madanhmei

a)     raa (to chirp/roar) hei rah twna hy e.

b)     nei (sun) hei neih twna hy e.

c)     ziu (goat) hei ziuh twna hy e.

d)     gan (lightning) hei ganh twna hy e.

e)     bang (slave) hei bangh twna hy e.

f)      guang (king) hei guangh twna hy e.

C. KHWANGWAN KALAIHMEI

Ruanglat khou Khwangwan Kalaihmei (Tone Shift) nai e.

Mi hei Latriak (Grammar) lev kariang nai e.

-        Twkumhpui Ganv Khou Kalaih Tuang? 

Genetive Case khou glottalised tone hei  rising tone khou kalaih e.

               Latkamv:

a)     chah             -              chini chac

b)     guaih            -              kakai guaic

c)     guangh        -              ntay guangc

d)     bangh           -              kakai bangc

e)     zouh             -              Delhi zouc

Genetive Case khou rising tone hei level tone khou kalaih e.

               Latkamv:

a)     zouc              -              mahabali zou

b)     suc                -              Luangmaimei su

c)     puc                -              bung phianmei pu

 

Noun khou bammei glottalised tone guay adjective hamh ethei verb ngguanh pwkhou rising tone khou kalaih e.

               Latkamv:

a)     Kai daihmei hei daic e.

b)     Taanv taanhmei nunc rui taanc e.

Nominal form khourui Verb khou kalaih pwkhou Khwangwan kalaih e.

               Latkamv:

a)     daihmei       -              daic e

b)     geihmei       -              geic e

c)     suhmei        -              suc e

d)     bauhmei      -              bauc e

e)     ringhmei     -              ringc e

 

[ Nominalizer ‘mei’ kazauhmei latkaeng hei ‘derived noun’ e twna linguist nunc rui dinclou e. Mi hei kathai bammei puat akhat sw bam e.]

Nominal form, Adjective khou rui Noun khou kalaih pwkhou Khwangwan kalaih e.

               Latkamv:

a)     gaymei, gaypui                     -              ramgai

b)     haenghmei, haenghpui         -              ramhaeng

c)     suhmei, suhpui                     -              ramsu

d)     kunghmei, kunghpui            -              ramkung

e)     saenghmei, saenghpui          -              ramsaeng

D. NWKWANG KHWAN (Prenasal Sound)

 

a)     Kabii swmei kabah tipat ngammei khwan akhat re.

b)     Fundamental elements of sound pangc khou akhat re.

c)     Karaana ding ngam mak ge, nyngthav swmei khwan hamh e.

d)     Fraction of sound, khwankiak na de.

e)     Saapatpui ganv khou initital syllable tei lev rah nchamc raphrap pat pwni.

f)      (Kaluaih datna) m, n, ng rui madanc e.

Latkamv:

Bilabial              

a)     pui (mother)               + pn m                 = mpui (bamboo)

b)     Phut (escape)             + pn m                 = mphut (scorn)

c)     Buh (pulse)                + pn m                 = mbuh (haunting)

Velar

a)     Kung (orchid)           + pn n                  = nkung (freeze)

b)     Kham (reserve)        + pn n                  = nkham (accuse)

c)     Ngan (boast)             + pn n                  = nngan (steep)

d)     Gan (curry)               + pn       ng          = nggan (low land)

e)     Guai (once)               + pn ng                = ngguaih (wither)

f)      Gu (to save)              + pn ng                = nggu (full)

Alveolar

a)     Tan (leg)                    + pn n                  = ntan (to train)

b)     Thai (fruit)                + pn n                  = nthai (fruit bearing)

c)     Dam (share)              + pn n                   = ndam (adjust)

d)     Nw (mucus)              + pn n                  = nnw (loose/use)

e)     Saa (speak)               + pn n                  = nsaa (free of cost)

f)      Zei (blood)               + pn n                  = nzei ( a kind of tree)

g)     Lim (shade)              + pn n                  = nlim (flute)

 

Palatal

a)     Cham (jump)            + pn n   = ncham (to learn)

b)     Rey (ahead)              + pn n   = nrey (appreciate)

Glottal

a)     Nwkwang khwan naimei khwan khoutei a hylouna ‘ahaa’, ‘ahu’, ‘ahuih thangc’ twna hy e.

b)     Mi khouhei prenasal character tei amaanna non-prenasal ngguanh kan e.

Nwkwang Khwan Hy Nipui Lwan

a)     Bilabial khwan guay khou Nwkwang Khwan ‘m’ piuna hy e.

b)     Latkamv: mpwan, mphaih, mbun

c)     ‘m’ rui kahouhmei khwan khou ‘a’ piuna geih thu hy e. Tihkic nwkwang khwan tei maan lana non-prenasal sound swna hy e.

Latkamv:

i)      mmaan hei amaan

ii)     mmuc hei amuc; mmit hei amit

Velar khwan guay khou ‘ng’ hy nipui thouc e. Tihkic hy bam reymei nunc rui ‘n’ na hei piuna hy bam khwan the. Velar khwan ‘g’ hamhmei guay khou thu ‘n’ piuna hy the. Velar ‘ng’ khwan khou tho nwkwang khwan ‘ng’ hei hy nina e.

               Latkamv: nkit, nkhu, ngguai, ngngouh…

 Alveolar khwan guay khou nwkwang khwan hei ‘n’ piuna hy the.

               Latkamv: nthei, nlaanh, nsui, ndeih, nzian…

 Palatial khwan nei khou nic ‘n’ piuna hy the.

               Latkamv: ncham, nrey…

E. KALAM BAIBAIHMEI

(Ending Verb markers, Plural markers, Negative markers)

a. Ending Verb Markers

               Ruanglat khou verb  end marker guay hei-

               e, the, o, tho, lo  e.

i) Vowel , diphthong khatnic triphthong khwan rui luailoumei latkaeng tangv tei e, o hy e.

               Latkamv:            saa e, tii e, lou e, riau e

                                             saa o, tii o, lou o, riau o

ii)  Voiced consonant m, n, ng rui final swmei   latkaeng tangv e, o  twna hy e.

               Latkamv:            bam e, gan e, thingbang e

                                             cham o, ran o, lang o

b. Number /Person

English lev Ruanglat hei kalam asaek khou nchamc makmei nai e. Mi hei kasing (number) khou ni how e.

i) First person

English khou first person khou singular lev plural I, we twna catergory kanei nai e.

Ruanglat khou ai, aney, aniu (aniw) twna catergory kathumh nai e.

       Latkamv:           

a)     aney (inclusive)

b)     anei (exclusive)

c)     aniw (inclusive)

d)     aniu (exclusive)

ii) Second person/number

               nang, nangney, nangniw

iii) Third person/number

               kamei, kaney, kaniw

Maansei, Khouringh, Ramh, Puatc zamh Plural   markers

               nunc                     - nunc hei maansei, suc-zouc

                                               (zei naimei nunc ta thaymei)

Latkamv: meicnunc, sucnunc…

               guay                     - guay hei latrik, pen, thing-tauh

                                               (zei maekmei guay ta thaymei)

Latkamv: baengguay, mwnguay

               guay                     - plural of plural ta thaymei

                              Latkamv: kaniw guay, sucnunc guay

c) Negative Markers

i. Hamh

    1. Hamh twmei latkaeng kahak hei negative marker di the.
    2. Mi latkaeng tangv mec, mak haaplou dat mak sihnic nuh the.
    3. Hamh e, hamh the twethei  nuh the.

ii) Ramh

    1. Hamh phaan thowkumhmei rui ramh twna piumei nai e.
    2. Mi hei local variation e.
    3. Mi latkaeng tangv mec, mak haaplou dat mak sihnic nuh the.

iii) Kuangh/Kuangc

    1.  Mi latkaeng kahak hei negative marker di the.
    2.  Mi hei biu changh makmei ta e.
    3.  Mi latkaeng tangv mec, mak  gut dat mak sihnic nuh the.
    4.  Kuangh the, kuangh e  twmei hei rui nuh the.

iv) Maek

 Maek  hei noun tangv saa e, hy e.

               Latkamv:

                               Nap maek ge. Meic maek ge.

v) Mak

Mak hei Verb, Adverb, Adjective tangv hy/saa e.

               Latkamv:

      1.  Kamei guang mak ge.
      2.  Lulu howgay mak ge.
      3.  Pak ranv hak mak ge.

vi) Lak

Lak hei future meaning khou mak phaan negative marker swna saa/hy e.

vii) Mec

Mec hei verb, adverb, adjective tangv ‘mak ge’ tuang duimei swna piu e.

               Latkamv:

      1. Kamei taanv taanh mec.
      2. Howgay hak mec.
      3. Kapumc daih mec.

viii) Lec

Lec hei future meaning khou ‘lak ge’ twmei duimei negative marker swna piu e.

      Latkamv:

    1. Ai tat lec. Lat saa lec
    2. Ai laa lec.

d) Pahmei/Hymei thiak (Rampaa)

- Ramh sing pac pwkhou 1 khourui 3 nganv kazaat baic e.

- 4 khourui thau datmei rampaa baic e.

               Latkamv:

a)     - gaanvkhat, gaanvnei, gaanvthumh, gaanv   -    padeih, gaanv panguh…

b)     - bwkhat, bwnei, bwthumh, bw padeih, bw   -    panguh…

c)     -  Zaeng neihkhat, zaeng neihnei, zaeng        -    neihthumh, zaeng padeih, zaeng panguh…

e) Kumma, Kumna

a)     ma, na hei kabamv kabamv theilayna saa baic e.

b)     ma twna sinswmei nunc rui m-ending, p-ending khou piu bam e.

c)     k-ending, ng-ending latkaeng khou ‘nga’ piu bam e.

d)     t-ending, n-ending khou ‘na’ hy e.

e)     Vowel-final/open guay khou ‘na’ saa/hy e.

f)      Consonant influence maekmei Vowel-final thiak khouhei zauc ethei chiwna thay pwni.

        la+na; saa+na; the+na; tii+na; nai+na; bau+na…

h)     Consistency maintain swmei tho ‘na’ rui gay ranv kumcna how e.

 

Meic guayna taTHUANCKU THE

Dr. Thuanreilung Phaomei


Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Revisiting Chuksu-garoumei: (Ritual of reconciliation performed by the forefathers of Zeliangrong/Haomei tribes)

Primitive histories of humanity abound with legends of barbaric war and killings. Killings in ancient days, albeit some reservation, were considered glorious. It was considered honorable and manly. It was a symbol of valor and glory. And the ethnic groups sparsely scattered and dotted along the present areas of northeastern region of India lying in and around the line of international boundary of India, China and Myanmar was no exception to this past glory.

However, with the light of civilization and emerging dawn of enlightenment, progress and advancement, humanity slowly came to realize the futility and vain glory of the ancient savagery. The Zeliangrong or Haomei people who once reveled in the glory of headhunting also came to realize that this practice is doing more harm than good to them.

As a result, one fine day or precisely on 1st April, 1934 in the present Tamenglong District Headquarters, representatives from villages of the Zeliangrong/Haomei people came together as one and performed a sacred customary rites "Chuksu-Garoumei" to cleanse the land and the people of all the sins of inter-village feuds, intra-tribe wars and other form of avenging killing.

Closing the chapter of headhunting culture, the ceremony with a sacred oath affirmed to do away with all inter-village feuds, intra village wars and any other form of bloodshed in our land, to restore and strengthen the bond of unity among the Zeliangrong/Haomei tribes.,

Now, that was almost 80 years ago, even my grandfather wouldn't have decided whom to marry! It was still a time when they marveled and called an aeroplane a "flying box". They were still very primitive in many ways. Inspite of the time and condition they lived in, we are fortunate to have such a visionary leaders. God bless the soul(s) that conceived the idea behind the successful culmination of "Chuksu-Garoumei". In my understanding, the spirit and principle of Chuksu-Garoumei is to cease the evil of bloodshed in our land and to lift the curse that it has brought to our land.

But unfortunately, the dreams and vision of our forefathers were short-lived. The juggernaut of naga national movement took over the lands of the Zeliangrong/Haomei people bringing confusions and bloodsheds along its way. Once again, bloods were splattered and dead bodies strewn on the peaceful lands of the Zeliangrong/Haomei people.

The land and people were exploited and used like a prostitute; they were raped, physically, politically and morally under the muzzle of guns. Youngsters are handed sophisticated modern weapons and factional gunfights boomed throughout every nook and corner of our land. Immature young people, who are too early to grasp the gravity of their own action, going about with guns slinging around their shoulders nonchalantly is a common sight in our land. 

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