Zakai halam (talk) 05:36, 1 August 2020 (UTC)A BRIEF HISTORY OF KUKI CHERRA. #KUKI CHERRA ':a name of beautiful village which is situated in L.T.V under Dhalai district, Tripura. It is a small village ,consists of 130 families with a population of about 2700 where 84 households are Halam, one tripuri and the rest are Bru community. The area of this village is not known but it may be one and half sq kilometer approx. This village is surrounded by four villages namely lndranagar, Longtharai cherra, Madhumongal and Basanta para. The actual term of 'Kuki Cherra' comes from 'kongki Twisa' /'kongki cherra'. 'Kongki' means 'a kind of small fish ' and 'twisa or cherra' means ' river'. Thus, 'kuki cherra' means a small river with an abundant of kongki fish. This river flows from thlangshi, a village in kamalpur subdivision with a tribute of three rivers namely :'Tuisa kolok', 'Botutuisa' and 'Satatma' . The present place of Kuki cherra ,as history tells , is a place full of kongki fish in the river covered with hills and jungles . As reported that only four families came first to settle down in this beautiful area. Most probably they are #Lt.Pu Nidanjoy Halam, #Lt.Pu Neisoram Halam, #Lt.Brojonath Halam and #Lt. Pu Barniseak Halam. It is said that these people came from 'Thlangsi' (at present the place is in kamalpur subdivision) since 1962. First, people are scared to settle down in this village as there are so many wild animals around them. But with a ray of hope and faith , they found a suitable and perfect place for cultivation of Jhum in this thick forest which is very fertile area for them. And year after year their population seems to be increasing as some bought their relatives from different places like, some are from 'Thlangsi' and other from 'phaikhor'. As a result , there are less chances of wild animals to live in this area due to disturbances of Jhum cultivation n to some extent it might be due to increasing of household. The people of this area dwelt with a small 'kaireng'(hut) which is made of bamboo attached to their Jhum. Rice ,pulses, vegetables, dried fish, raw fish, bamboo shoot, roots and green leaves are their staple food. Their special 'sashan bu' (red rice) produced in Jhum is so tasty as it is still avail now. A part from Jhum cultivation they are also found of hunting, catching fish with an instrument called 'tok' (a bamboo or cane basket to catch fish) and like collecting an organic vegetables n fruits. People living in this area recognized as primitive tribe , their life and economy is therefore centralized with forest and its surroundings Jhum cultivation and other food gathering activities like hunting of wild animals, birds, catching fish, collection of forest based fruits , leaf and plants etc are their major economic activities. Elderly people said ,#Lt.Pu Barniseak Halam was the first person to opened shop in the said village n also in the market,'Nepaltilla '. Another essential art for the female living in this village is the making of local beverage n local alcoholic liquor namely 'Zukola' n 'Rakzu'( local wine/brandy). People of this area are humble, innocent n hardworking which they started living peacefully with their parents, wives,children etc ,and they are also kind hearted enough to serve n share all the areas of jhum cultivation equally. The people living in this area also started to beliefs in various gods n goddesses. They are Hindu in faith n they observe a lot of rites n rituals. Their main pujas are 'Sapate'( god of laxmi), Durga puja, kali puja etc. The people living in this area are also very much fond of dresses and ornaments. In dresses, the female and male , both are rich in handmade. Male are fond of wearing 'keiprang', a single piece of hand-woven clothe cover their waist (it can also be called waist garment) and 'risa' for female which covers their breast. The women also wear 'Paunbam' , a handmade clothe which covers their whole body from chest to knees whereas the male wears 'komdum'(tie around the head with a long piece of clothe) means 'turburn'. A variety of ornaments living here also wears on their nose, neck, n ears etc.thus, their ornaments are generally made of beads and conch. Slowly n slowly the people are blessed with care , love n, hope etc. which deeply touches their hearts miraculously to embrace a new religion. As per the report made by an aged from the said village that It s Fr .Thomas n Fr. Alexander who converted them Hindu into christianity since 1974. Beg forgiveness if any mistake is found. ZAKAI HALAM To be continued. .........