Eitso-Niu Khan - Passage to the Dead World
Deep inside the forest above Noklak Village approximately three kilometers from the village there is a hole in the ground. It is about 3 feet in diameter and after continuing horizontally for ten feet inside, the hole becomes smaller hardly a foot in diameter which goes downward and its depth cannot be ascertained. Ancestors believed that when a person died, his spirit went through that hole to another world where the spirits of the dead ancestors live. It was forbidden for the living people to visit that place because legend had it that whosoever visited that place would die on returning home.
It is said, that once a warrior was returning alone after attacking another village. He took the path leading to the very hole and on the way he saw his daughter running towards him with the tinkling sound of bells on her necklace echoing throughout the otherwise quiet forest floor. He was surprised to see her in the middle of the forest, and so he ran forward to embrace her, only to find his arms empty and everything became quiet around him with the chilling forest air beating against his face. It was just an apparition of his daughter. He was shaken and at the same time puzzled. He regained his composure and continued his homeward journey. When he reached home, he found his daughter was dead and realized that what he saw in the forest was her spirit on her way to the place where the passage to the dead world lies.
Another story is told about a warrior returning from an adventure and on the way he happened to see the hole, so thinking that it could be a hole made by animals, he decided to investigate it and when he looked inside, his hat fell inside the hole and since it was too deep to retrieve he left it there and returned home. But on reaching home he collapsed and died on the spot.
Even today people still believe that anyone who goes to that place with an intention to see it will die, so no one dares to go there. Only a handful of people know the exact location of that place, especially expert hunters who happened to stumble upon that place unexpectedly while trailing after animals.
Do You Know?
Paosijhiniu or Koa-niu: Khiamniungan Naga believed in the existences of ancestral spirit or spirit of the hearth or household Paosijhiniu or Koa-niu. They were believed to be the spirit of dead ancestors who remained with the family to take care of them whenever needed.
Ehnyu/Ehpou: In ancient Khiamniungan society, Shaman played an important role. Ehnyu and Ehpou refer to male and female Shaman respectively and both were given equal importance and reverence.
Excerpt from, “Traditional Religion of Khiamniungan Naga” by Khaikho NS in “Taboos, Myths and Legends” edited by Visakhonü Hibo, R Chumbeno Ngullie, Dimapur: Nagaland Institute of Developmental Studies, 2012.
