Abstract

The present study deals with the traditional religious practices and belief system of the ‘Lusei.’ The study looks at the practices through a historical perspective to see how the practices hold a meaningful relation to their daily livelihood and the life after death. Since the coming of colonial administration and Western missionaries in the then Lushai Hills (present Mizoram in India), the traditional religious beliefs and practices were enormously replaced by Christianity, which resulted in majority of the communities neglecting their traditional practices. Since they abandoned their old religious practices, proper studies could not be easily conducted on it. To some extent it created a problem in the reconstruction of their history and religious life, too. There are no systematic studies of traditional religion of the Lusei, neither are there any detailed accounts in the academic discipline except for anthropological monographs. However, few theologians have done some research on it.