Legacy of Anti-Colonial Resistance: Zou Gaal (1917-1919)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Zou tribe joined the so-called ‘Kuki Rising’ in Manipur against the British from 1917 to 1919. Hiangtam and Gotengkot Forts were two main centres of resistance among the Zous. Pu Doungul Taithul was the chief of Gotengkot, which was a fairly big and fortified Zou village . Captain Steadman was the man responsible for suppressing Gotengkot with considerable casualties on both sides. The Zou tribe was a non-Thado tribe to have participated in this abortive, yet bold attempt to oust the white imperialist from Manipur, even as a local folk song composed on the occasion of the revolt runs in the Zou dialect as follows:
Tuizum Mangkang kiil bang hing khang,
Zota kual zil bang liing e;
Pianna ka gamlei hi e! phal sing e!
Ka naamtem hiam a, i Zogamlei laal kanaw,
Sansii’n zeel e!
Ngalliam vontawi ka laulou lai e.
Free translation:
The seafaring White Imperialist coils like the ‘kill’ plant,
Tremors of earthquake do quiver the Zo world,
’Tis the land of my birth: I shall not part with it!
Stain’d with blood is my Sword
That has routed the adversaries of Zoland,
I shall yet fight with the wild Boar, injured [3].
This folk song of the Zou, reflecting the collective mind of the natives, indicated that the anti-imperial fervour was very high in 1918; and interestingly the Britishers were compared by the native mind with the wild Boar, or with a native wild creeper-plant called ‘kill’. Independent India justifiably took pride in its legacy of colonial resistance. In Manipur, the Palace uprising and Rani Gaidinlieu's movement are relatively well-known. However, the "Kuki Rising" and the participation of the Zou tribe was less well-known. There stands a dilapidated, tin-roofed hall called "Zogal Memorial Hall" at Zoveng, Churachandpur (Manipur) built in honour of the Zous who fought against British colonizers. The anti-colonial legacy of the Zou is a tribute to the multi-etnnic people of Manipur itself. However, the dilapidated condition of Zogal Memorial Hall reflects the lack of official patronage for its shared history and collective memory.
Tuizum Mangkang kiil bang hing khang,
Zota kual zil bang liing e;
Pianna ka gamlei hi e! phal sing e!
Ka naamtem hiam a, i Zogamlei laal kanaw,
Sansii’n zeel e!
Ngalliam vontawi ka laulou lai e.
Free translation:
The seafaring White Imperialist coils like the ‘kill’ plant,
Tremors of earthquake do quiver the Zo world,
’Tis the land of my birth: I shall not part with it!
Stain’d with blood is my Sword
That has routed the adversaries of Zoland,
I shall yet fight with the wild Boar, injured [3].
This folk song of the Zou, reflecting the collective mind of the natives, indicated that the anti-imperial fervour was very high in 1918; and interestingly the Britishers were compared by the native mind with the wild Boar, or with a native wild creeper-plant called ‘kill’. Independent India justifiably took pride in its legacy of colonial resistance. In Manipur, the Palace uprising and Rani Gaidinlieu's movement are relatively well-known. However, the "Kuki Rising" and the participation of the Zou tribe was less well-known. There stands a dilapidated, tin-roofed hall called "Zogal Memorial Hall" at Zoveng, Churachandpur (Manipur) built in honour of the Zous who fought against British colonizers. The anti-colonial legacy of the Zou is a tribute to the multi-etnnic people of Manipur itself. However, the dilapidated condition of Zogal Memorial Hall reflects the lack of official patronage for its shared history and collective memory.
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