As the creation of every culture is defined by a myth, Mizos have a breathtaking story of how they came to existence. Commonly, they are referred to as ‘Chhinlung Chhuak‘ meaning ‘Coming out of the earth.’
It has been a perception carried by our ancestors since time immemorial.
According to the legends, the goddess Khuanu is the protector and creator of men, women, and animals. The creations communicate in one language, dwell in sweet accord and depended on the fruits from the trees. Completely elated with her creations, she loved them whole-heartedly. Since they did not have any ruler among themselves, they selected a king to rule over them.
One full moon night, the humans and animals were enjoying a merry moment, celebrating the full moon, while the king was taking a nap. Suddenly the moon disappeared. The creatures were panicking and frantically started making all the noise they could. The moon then reappeared and they felt relieved. Later, the king recounted a nightmare where he swallowed the moon, but after hearing terrific noise, he spat it out. After he recited this, the elders noticed that his mouth was filled with blood and torn with cuts.
After a few days, he expired and turned into a creature that could swallow the moon, and frequently did. Once he swallowed the moon for so long, the darkness surrounded the earth and caused massive transformations. The little boys and girls turned into monkeys, the elders turned into a flock of birds, the hunter turned into a tiger, and so on.
Khuanu was devastated by the transformations. She decided to put a couple from each human clan, as well as representatives of each animal species, into a deep pit and sealed the pit with a huge rock called Chhinlung.
After generations, she felt that there were enough creatures to sustain life back to earth and lifted the rock. As the rock was lifted, humans, as well as animals, emerged from under the rock. At the moment the Ralte clan emerged, they were so noisy that the goddess could not tolerate it and so the rock was sealed once and for all.
This is how the Mizos are believed to walk on the earth, to freshen and enlighten your thought!