The traditional Khiamniungan village
had eight important people:
1)
Sonlan or Shoalang (blacksmith)
2) Nyokpao or Nokpao (war leader)
3)
Meshwon or Kieo lomei (doctor)
4) Ain
(priestess and oracle)
5)
Meya or Ampao (priest)
6) Paothai or Paothieo (story teller)
7)
Petchi or Puthsee (peace maker, elder)
8) Ainloom (the keeper of the a
supposedly magical stone; the stone is said to warn of any
impending disaster such as a fire or a raid, by moving out of
its basket or by creating a sound through striking another
object)
By the early 1990s, only the Petchi,
the Sonlan and the Ainloom remained relevant, others being
remembered mainly as part of books and oral tradition.
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