A History of Assam c22.17

c22.17

From the Dikhu to the Tirāp, an affluent of the Burhi Dihing, the Nāga tribes along the frontier are distinguished by the names of the passes through which they descend to the plains, such as Nāmsāngiā, Jobokā, Tāblungia, Assiringiā, etc. In the time of the Ahom kings, those near the frontier used to pay annual tribute of elephants' tusks, etc., in return for which they obtained grants of land. Some of these, known as Nāga Khāts, are still enjoyed. These people carry on a considerable trade in cotton and other hill produce, which they exchange for salt and rice; and they are easily kept in order by preventing them from visiting the plains, when guilty of misconduct, until reparation has been made. They quarrel amongst themselves, but it has never been our policy to meddle with their domestic feuds. Behind them are other tribes of whom we have little knowledge, except that some of them come down in the winter months to work on the tea gardens. Further east, as far as the Pātkāi, there are various Nāga tribes who are in complete subjection to the Singphos, and who seem to be quite harmless and inoffensive.