The Kachins Their Customs and Traditions #244499

The temptation has been strong to compare the Kachin customs and religion with the practices of related tribes such as the Karens, Chins, Nagas, Garos, Mishmis and Abors. The Assam Census Report of 1891 is particularly a great storehouse furnished with material for ethnological study, and most of the border tribes there described have a great deal in common. But in a work of this kind it is best to confine ourselves to the particular people under survey. When monographs of all the principal tribes and races are before us, someone will settle down to the inviting task of giving us a comprehensive View of the whole field. The chapter on the Origin of the Kachins will probably seem too radical, as it goes contrary to many generally accepted ideas of the Kachin communal life. We are proba bly. Not ready to drop the word tribes when speaking of the five ruling families. But to Show how this simplifies matters let me quote from the Gazetteer, page 402, Chap. VII. Speaking about family names the author says It is somewhat singular that all having the same surname.