Zou Gaal song composer Pu Mangzathang passes away

ONE of the greatest ZO song composers and history tellers, Pu Mangzathang passed away at his home in Zoveng, Lamka, Manipur on Sunday morning, 26^th July, 2015.

Pupu MANGZATHANG Suantak Dopmul of Zoveng, born on 27 Sept 1921 (as of record in his army I-card), served the British army as a soldier in Burma during the Second World War. He said he had pulled down one national flag and hand over to his superior, during invading Mandalay City, but he was neither awarded nor acknowledged. But remains a freedom fighter till his last breathe!

He was the second eldest son of late Pu Goulian, amongst the three siblings – Pu Thangchinkhup, his eldest brother and his sister Pi Niangzam (wife of late Khupchinkam Mate, Chief of Tuibuang Village).

“Be Bold and Be Brave, BUT be Very CLEVER in WHATEVER YOU DO,” he advised me last year, while having a cup of tea with him. He was an ex-serviceman and proud of being a brave soldier in Chin Regiment...... He refused my treat so he treated me treated me! That came to be the last..... says his grandson, Bruce K. Thangkhal.

Based on his experiences in the imperial services, he composed many ZO folk songs which have political overtones.

One of his famous songs was TUIZUM MANGKANG, composed in memory of 

Zou Gaal (1917-1919) : Resistance against the British.

In simple word, Gaal means ‘War’.

The ZO tribesmen fought the British from 1917 to 1919. Hiangtam and Gotengkot Forts in Singngat sub-division of Churachandpur district were two the main centres of resistance among the Zous. Pu Doungul Taithul was the chief of Gotengkot, which was a fairly big and fortified Zou village. The ZO tribe boldly attempt to oust the white imperialist from their ancestral land ‘Zogam’. It led to a bloodshed war, in which many ZO leaders died in the hands of the British.

The forced raising of the Labour Corps from these areas was the main cause of the outbreak of the movement. To suppress this uprising the British Government spent more than 20 lakhs of rupees.

Zou Gaal is also officially recorded as KUKI Rebellion (1917-1919) by the British.

Here is some of the folk songs composed by my grandfather pupu Mangzathang on the occasion of the revolt in our dialect:-

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.

“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. The anti-colonial legacy of the Zou is a tribute to the multi-etnnic people of Manipur itself," wrote Dr David Vumlallian Zou, a history professor in Delhi University.

Some of my pupu songs were:-
—————————————

Tibet Mual Pa’n
(FROM TIBET MOUNTAINS)
Tuan a pupa Tibet mual pa’n sualam manaw ta
Vangkhua saisat nuailen khul dawng hong
Mandalay tual ka pianna gam minthang hi e

Mandalay pan Mungzua gunkhawm
Kawlpi tung tou tang leidou tual delh
Kamin vannuaithang, sisan a lah Zogam lei hi e.

ZOGAM KUAM
Ka kawlchiang in Zogam kuam ling e
Dou zatam tulsawl bang ka phana
Dou zatam tulsawl bang phana
Sisan tantam ka Zougam hi e.

JAPAN GAAL
Japan Mangpa La (WWII, 1945)
Ka hung kuan e Japan mangpa zalai a minthang na na pang e
British pa vanlaizawl a mel kimu vai
Sa kamkei bang giel ing e, ka giel vel ve aw.

TOM BOMB
Tom-bomb fighter machiang suan in
British pa ka hung kuan khang sawn guallel ding in
Thangvai lai kek in kiang e
Nagashaki zil bang killing
Lenggam a ding in ka henna leng e

BRITISH KINGDOM
Kingdom fighter tom-bomb me kuan
British pa ka hung kuan
Na pang aw Japan mang Heroshima
Zil bang ka lin ka duang tham lai ei zen van gut e.

FRANCE WAR
Tongchiam Suia Kaihna
France gal leh Second War nang Chin-Lushei-Kuki Zomite’n
Adei pallun muding a tong chiamna suai na kaina he e.
Tong na chiamna lunmang chinthu
Gamga thang bang pel thei lou

JUBILEE
Jubilee dah ging ta e na lel tung sunni bang in tang e.
King George VI La
German leng leh Japan mang leidou
Khuai bang hang zong leh

KINGDOM 
Kingdom kumpi’n vannuai zil bang ling
Meikuang nausau bang ka hiam
Ka giel zong tunphe bang in tang e.
London Lengnu

Sunni bang tang vansiang nuai a namchi za tam
Na lim nuai ah khol London lengnu
Jang nun kham nel kai (?)

BRITISH ARMY
Nang British army minthang na pallai
Kalo shikzol leng lim medal kham nel kai.
Nando Kulpi Zil bang Ling
Kawl chiang leh namtem thua tang e

NANDO WALL
Nando kulpi hong ling e.
Nando kulpi zilbang ka lin
Gal zona dial khai ing e.
Kawl Gam lei a Saltang Zatam

Leidou pat bang ka saina
Kawl gam lei a saltang zatam
Lam aw ka chi phial va bang lam e.
Phial vei bang lam Japan army

Gielbem toh bang khol ta di aw lawm,
Ka chi leh khawl e.
(ZSP La composed c. 1959)

Lung laulou aw pupa zunsa
Khoma bang pan tai e i gamlei hie.
Khoma bang pan majap hial ding
Piangpan seinou han lung na chiam aw.

WAR WITH BRITISH
Leidou tual del: British solkal toh kidou genna
Kawl gaal, Meitei gaal, Poi gaal, Tuansiang gaal leh adg.
I pu-le-pa te’n tual gaal ana sat zelzel ua, tami khanglui la zong tua hun lai a na kipuah dan ahi.

Kawl chiang: Thau (gun)
Tul sawl bang phana: Lam pei lai i gim chiang a, singba hiah a i touna dia i pha genna ahi.

*Pic: Pu Mangzathang and his beloved wife.

+++( REST in PEACE)+++

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