Ralpel

Ralpel is a village in Myanmar near Dawn Tlang, Zang Tlang and Dawn on the Indo-Burman border. The village is surrounded by hilly terrains. No other people in the world speaks their language except for the males of the neighboring village Dawn (the females of Dawn Village speak the Khuafo language, while the males speak a combination of the Mizo and Lai languages). The people of Ralpel speak both Lai Language and Mizo Language fluently.

  • Latitude: 22° 57' (22.95°) north
  • Longitude: 93° 11' (93.1833°) east
  • Average elevation: 1,532 metres (5,026 feet)

History

The ancestors of Ralpel abandoned the village Khuahring and came down to Khuafo village through Chuncung village. The size of the village became bigger and they grew a population of around 500 houses. Once a man from Chuncung village came to fetch rice from the village. No sooner had he started his way back to his village than he was gunned down by the owner of his temporary lodging. Enraged by the incident, Chuncung with the help of Mangkheng and Thlanrawn planned to invade the Khuafo Village. The circulating news soon reached the ears of the Khuafo people, and left the village at around 1820.[1]

Under the sect leader Mr Sertivang, they established a new village Dawn. Another rebellion Khuangli emerged. All the Dawn people fled down to Runzawl (now known as Cherhlun in Mizoram State, India) to take refuge. As a group of people with an unsettled place, who were moving along the range of mountains of the Indo-Burman boundary line, they were enticed by the view of the Dawn Hill and could not banish it from their thoughts. When the revolt of Khuangli came to end, when the flooding stage of the Tiau River was lowering at the end of the rainy season, they immediately came back to Dawn Village. At the time they returned to Dawn, their leaders were Mr Kamthai (Mualcin) and Mr Chawnhmung (Fancun). There were only a few houses in the village.

The tomb of Thanhlira below the Ralpel Football Field. It is written as "The Living tomb of Thanhlira. Age 100. The strongest man in Thantlang District who feed his guests with 40 pigs and who erected the Ralpel Village".

A generation had passed without any conflicts. After that the village leader Mr Sailuai heard that some parts of their land were frequently purloined by the neighbouring Lungler village, and ordered Mr Thanhlira (Tlanglian descendant), the strongest man in the then Thantlang District, and his 8 friends to build a vedette at the location of the present day Ralpel Village. They called the vedette Ralpel and it became an established village. Among the selected sentinels, Mr Thankio (Hlawncheu) who was a descendant of the chief clan, was initially appointed to be the Chief(Bawi) of Ralpel Village but there was disagreement over his appointments and the Dawn Chief Mr Sailuai appointed Mr Satlung (Hlawncheu) instead to be the first Chief of the Ralpel Village. Mr. Thanhlira (Tlanglian) paid a tax of Ks 30/- and 6 hand-spans of copper pot for establishing Ralpel Village. For this reason, he was entitled to different kinds of the contemporaneous village taxes.

The term Ralpel is derived from the two Mizo / Lai words: Ral and Pel. In both Mizo and Lai "ral" means "enemy" and "pel" means "hunting". So the word "Ralpel" in its simplest form would be "Hunting the enemy" or "The place for hunting the enemy". Older people consider Ralpel and Dawn Village as a single-separated village.

The neighboring villages call Ralpel `Leisen`. The origin of this term 'Leisen' is not known, however, the term is believed to be used by these villages because the soil of the Ralpel is mostly red, and hence the term 'Leisen' which literally means 'Red Soil'.

Village Council Presidents

The following is the list village council presidents[1] of Ralpel Village till today:

Sl.No. Name Clan From To
1. Satlunga Hlawnceu 1893 1926
2. Lenghmunga Hlawnceu 1926 1939
3. Thangchhuma Hlawnceu 1939 1948
4. Phircheua Hlawnceu 1948 1954
5. Ramhnina Hrengsa 1954 1966
6. Mangduma Hlawnceu 1966 1971
7. Rualkama Hnamler 1971 1974
8. Hrangkhuma Ramlawt 1974 1978
9. Rualkama Hnamler 1978 1981
10. Nawltlinga Hlawnceu 1981 1988
11. Hrangvea Bawitlung 1988 1994
12. Tluangala Tluanglian 1994 2005
13. Lalrema Hlawnceu 2005 2006
14. Nawltlinga Hlawnceu Jan 2006 - Mar 2006
15. Thazova Hlawnceu Apr 2006 - Jun 2006
16. Khawvelthanga Bawitlung 2006 2008
17. Sangchhina Zathang 2008 2010
18. Tluangala Tlanglian 2010 2013
19. Sangchhina Zathang 2014
20. Sanguka Hrengsa 2015
21. Biaktluanga Hlawnceu 2016 2017
22 Sanguka Hrengsa 2017 Present

Transportation

Jeepable road leading to Lungler village was started to construct in 1996 and was finished in 2010. For the first time in the history of Ralpel, a jeep reached Ralpel village in 2010. Tluangal, the then President of the Village Council contributed Ks 100000/- to make it possible. The construction work on the jeepable road to the Tiau-River was started in 2013, but the construction improved slowly and still under development.

Education

The first Primary School was established in the village in 1944. The government of Burma affiliated the school in 1968. The first Middle school was established in 1980. Only one student name Laltanpuia (now Dr.Laltanpuia) could follow higher education. The middle school was discontinued due to lack of teachers and poverty. However the middle school was re-established in 1994 by the then Village President Tluangala with the help of the financial contribution from parents.

Notes and references
  1. Tluangala, Tlanglian (2016). Ralpel History. Ralpel Village: Ralpel Village Council. p. 25.
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