Vangteh - History and Legend - Independent City-state

Independent City-state

Further, this new settlement in the Tawizawi is meant more than finding a new place to the citizens. It was actually making a new history under the leadership of their crowned prince, Kul Gen. This concept is clearly evidenced in the shorter genealogical list of the Vangteh Guite family, in which several names of previous ancestors, except seemed very significant, were totally omitted and stress was visibly given on Kul Gen and Gen Dong, the son of Prince Kul Gen born in this new settlement. For instance, the shorter list of Vangteh Guite tradition can be read as following:

Guite beget Ni Gui, Ni Gui beget Gui Gen, Gui Gen beget Gui Mang, Gui Mang beget three sons (Mang Suum, Kul Gen, and Nak Sau ).

However, in longer list, there are even more than ten ancestral names were entered between Guite the Great and Gui Mang the Great. This is, as stated, an evidence of the independent status of Vangteh from Ciimnuai though the ruling family continuously retained the name Guite to indicate their legitimacy and affinity to the greater Guite dynasty.

This independent state of Vangteh is more than evident in the oral tradition, in which the division of royal right between this two legendary brothers, Mang Suum and Kul Gen, was always remembered as a nursery poem was sung by babysitter. The poem simply says:

Ka nau aw ee, Gen Dong aw, Ciimnuai dongah Gen dong aw .

(Translation):

My little baby, named Gen Dong (meaning Gen is asking or taking counsel), that Gen (reference to Kul Gen) has asked of me to far Ciimnuai in showing of his respect...

This poem reflects what had happened behind the song. According to oral tradition related to this poem, when Prince Kul Gen saw his first-born son in his new place, in showing his respect, he sent his armour-bearer called Langgsum to Ciimnuai to ask for baby's new name and blessing. Being greatly pleased with this brotherly love and respect, Prince Mang Suum chanted a prayer and composed this nursery poem to be sung at the occasion of giving name and sent the armour-bearer back to Tawizawi-Vangteh with a gift of billy goat for his baby nephew. However, unfortunately, on his way-back home through lower bridge, poor Langgsum, tightly tying the billy goat at his wrist, fell of from the bridge while crossing the Sialtang creek so were poorly died without any rescuer under heavy rain as it was said to be during fall.

Therefore, being assumed that Langgsum was kidnapped or killed by enemies or beast on the way, Kul Gen summoned a council and decided to go to Cimmnuai in query of the situation. Therefore, Prince Mang Suum decided to delegate his authority to his younger brother so that there would not be a need to come to Ciimnuai again and that the Vangteh people should decide their own future by themselves. This story was told as "hausa tuul khenna" throughout generations in Vangteh. The following is the commeorative song of this event that Prince Mang Suum and Prince Kul Gen were said, without prearrangement, sang spontaneously that is traditionally believed as a kind of inspired prophetic utterance.

Ciim leh Tawi tui a ih maankhawm in, ning leh ai-sa in kizawituah ang;

Tuu bang suanh dang in ki-el lo-in, phung Gui ni nuai-ah kibawmtuah ang .

(Translation):

As long as the people of Ciim (short form for Ciimnuai) and people of Tawi (short form for Tawizawi) reign or prosper, let us maintain our fellowship banquet, a banquet of wine and meat;

Let our offspring not go against each other but let us join together under the name of solar Gui family.

With this news of "tuul khenna", Prince Kul Gen and his council came back to Tawizawi through the lower bridge, called Bizaang Lei, and there they found the body of poor Langgsum, hanging on the other side of the bridge and the billy goat on another. To remember this event, Kul Gen added another sentence to the poem so it was sung as following in Vangteh until this present time:

Ka nau aw ee, Gen Dong aw, Ciimnuai dongah Gen dong aw; Keeltal kai in si aw ee

(Translation):

My little baby, named Gen Dong, that Gen (reference to Kul Gen) has asked of me to far Ciimnuai in showing of his respect; but, he poorly died in attempt to bring the billy goat home