A cultural perspective of Lui
Lungko
“This year, because of the whims of the weather and pests, there were not enough paddy seedlings for transplanting. Then the neighbours chipped in, they shared their seedlings despite the risk of running short themselves. The different colours, heights and maturity of the paddies is a testament of continuing the tradition and social support system of helping each other which our ancestors breathed”
-Chingya Luithui
The story goes that the Luiyaonao clan of Hunphun (Ukhrul) was asked by the then Hunphunwo (Chief of Hunphun) to establish paddy fields in the northern periphery of the village land. An underlying reason for such a request—odd at best as the paddy fields are extremely far from the village—was apparently to place the Luiyaonao clan as sentinels of that area.
How true the story is or how long ago this was is now lost in the turning of time. What we do know is that in Khaiyur, Yira, and Lungko—all places at the extreme northeast of Hunphun—almost all the original owners of the paddy fields are from the Luiyaonao clan. In the case of my maternal grandfather, who was the patriarch of the Luiyainao Shimrah clan, what we know is that his paddy field in Lungko has been with his family for centuries.
