Glimpses into Pre-Christian Mizo Pasts as seen through Folktales

Abstract

Mizoram has come a long way; from a society that, in the 19th century, was by and large illiterate, and often portrayed as "head hunters", it today ranks as the second state in India in terms of literacy. Until the arrival of Christianity, whose missionaries first Romanized the Mizo language, knowledge and wisdom were preserved and communicated through oral traditions. Since, for most of Mizo history, oral tradition was indispensable to Mizo society, it is imperative to return to these oral traditions to understand both the past and the present, and the changes that occurred in between. In this paper, two Mizo folktales have been translated from Mizo to English in order to offer insights into religious practices, the status of women, and societal values that prevailed preceding the arrival of Christianity to Mizoram.