Mizo Studies July - September 2019 273 Vol. VIII No. 3 July- September 2019 MIZO STUDIES (A Quarterly Refereed Journal) Editor Prof. Ralte Lal Thanmawia Managing Editors Prof. Laltluangliana Khiangte Dr. Ruth Lalremruati Mr. Lalsangzuala Circulation Managers Lalhlimpuii C. Lallianzuala PUBLISHED BY DEPARTMENT OF MIZO, MIZORAM UNIVERSITY, AIZAWL. 274 Mizo Studies July - September 2019 MIZO STUDIES Vol. VIII No. 3 (A Quarterly Refereed Journal) July-September 2019 © Dept. of Mizo, Mizoram University No part of any article published in this Journal may be reproduced in print or electronic form without the permission of the publishers. The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are the intellectual property of the contributors who are solely responsible for the effects they may have. The Editorial Board and publisher of the Journal do not entertain legal responsibility. ISSN 2319-6041 UGC Journal No. 47167 _________________________________________________ Published by Prof R.L.Thanmawia, on behalf of the Department of Mizo, Mizoram University, Aizawl, and printed at the Gilzom Offset, Electric Veng, Aizawl. Mizo Studies July - September 2019 275 CONTENTS English Section 1. Brenda LaldinglianiSailo............................................. 277 The Fear of the Unknown: The Quintessence of Lalzuithanga’sThlahrang 2. Dr. Zoramdinthara......................................................... 287 Situating Mizo Community formation with special reference to selected Mizo fiction 3. Chawngkhuma Chawngthu............................................ 299 Character of Mara Language 4. Lalnunzira........................................................................ 307 Portrayal of Man in the selected Fictions: Hawilopari and Lali Mizo Section 1. Dr. Laltluangliana Khiangte............................................. 318 Sem Sem Dam Dam, Ei Bil Thi Thi (Mizo Core Philosophy of Life) 2. Sangrozami ................................................................... 329 Hmangaih Vangkhua Lemchan Thlirna 4. Dr. C. Vanlalhruaia........................................................ 341 V. Thangzama Hla Kalhmang Zirchianna 5. V. Lalberkhawpuimawia.................................................. 356 RL Kamlala Ram Hmangaihna 276 Mizo Studies July - September 2019 (Pathianin Zoram a hmangaihna nge RL Kamlala ram hmangaihna) 6. V. Lalnunmawia............................................................. 363 Tumpang Sial 7. Lalrinkimi....................................................................... 380 Mizo |awng Danglamna |henkhat 7. F. Lalzuithanga............................................................... 390 Book Review: Thim Zinga Eng Regular Featuress: 1) Tell Me Your Story......................................................... 399 Ngalsia 2) Hlahril ............................................................................. 401 Zirtirtute- Zoramtharmawia Zirlai- Lalnunhlima 3) Department Thuthar ......................................................... 404 Mizo Studies July - September 2019 277 Mizo Studies Vol. VIII : 3 ISSN:2319-6041 © Dept. of Mizo, MZU The Fear of the Unknown: The Quintessence of Lalzuithanga’sThlahrang Brenda LaldinglianiSailo* Abstract: Thlahrang is a Horror Genre of Fiction which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle the readers or viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. The genre of horror has ancient origins with roots in folklore and religious traditions, focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic and the principle of the thing embodied in the person. These were manifested in stories of beings such as witches, vampires, werewolves and ghosts. In Mizo context, this may be manifested in Ramhuai such as Tau meichher chhi, Khawhring; Phung as in Kawlkhawla phung, Phumkhur, Tualphung, Chawm, Dengsur; Tulum, Khawmu, etc,. Besides these the Mizo people believed in ‘Huai’ that seems to be the spirit of a particular place like ‘Tuihuai’, ‘Tlanghuai’, ‘Bung huai’, ‘Sihhuai’, etc,. *Asst. Professor, Dept of English, Govt. J.Thankima College 278 Mizo Studies July - September 2019 Introduction: Literary historian J. A. Cuddon has defined the horror story as “a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing”. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society. Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as “a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay.” It stands to reason that “horror fiction” is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. If we accept this definition, then horror can deal with the mundane or the supernatural, with the fantastic or the normal. It does not have to be full of ghosts, ghouls, and things to go bump in the night. Its only true requirement is that it elicits an emotional reaction that includes some aspect of fear or dread. The beginnings of the genre of literature of horror can be derived from the formation of the tradition of gothic literature, which rose in the 18th century. However, the very beginning of the horror is connected with the works of English authors who followed and developed the gothic tradition. They created characters that became archetypes for the genre of horror (monster, vampire etc.). Based on the historic tradition and the frequent occurrence of supernatural elements, the genre of horror is considered as one “apex of the popular fantasy triangle” together with fantasy and science fiction. It is so despite the fact that fantastic horror is only one of the two flows of this genre that exist together with the so-called realistic horror. Unlike science fiction and fantasy, the definitions of the genre of horror do not stand on the structure of various works; they rather focus on the aesthetic aspect and emotions, which are evoked in the readers (fear, horror, anxiety etc.) Based on this, horror is Mizo Studies July - September 2019 279 defined as “a genre of popular literature focused on evoking emotions of dread, fear and tension”. One of the attributes of horror is some typical archetypal characters: vampire, werewolf, zombie, monster, mad scientist, demon, ghost, eternal wanderer, serial killer, psychopath, bad child, possessed person, and antichrist. The genre is characterized by dynamism, and therefore it is necessary to note that these are only just a few of the archetypes, because they keep evolving along with the genre and new archetypal characters are created perpetually. Fear: a necessary element in Horror Genre: The oldest and strongest human emotion is fear. It is embedded in people since time began. It was fear that initiated the establishment of faith and religion. It was the fear of unknown and mysterious phenomena, which people could not explain otherwise than via impersonating a high power, which decides their fates. To every unexplainable phenomenon they attributed a character, human or inhuman, which they associated with supernatural skills and invincible power. And since the human imagination knows no limits, a wide scale of archetypal characters have been created, such as gods, demons, ghosts, spirits, freaks, monsters or villains. Stories and legends describing their insurmountable power started to spread about them. Despite the fact by the development of science many so far incomprehensible phenomena have been explained, these archetypes and legends are still being used in literature and other branches of art. Fear is the driving force behind any horror story. If a story does not elicit fear in the reader then it cannot fall into the horror genre. Fear is the element that sets apart horror from other genres because it evokes human emotion. One of the defining traits of the genre of horror is that it provokes a response; emotional, psychological or physical, within readers that causes them 280 Mizo Studies July - September 2019 to react with fear. One of H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous quotes about the genre is: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” (The first sentence from his seminal essay, “Supernatural Horror in Literature”) Fear of the Unknown in Thlahrang: We come across different accounts of fear in Thlahrang; the opening of the novel recounts how Tawia, in the wee hours of the morning, was woken up by the sound of a woman’s distress call for help. He propped himself up from his bed listening more intently, but on hearing nothing more he got out of bed taking a torchlight from his pillow side. As he was about to open the door, he again heard the same voice calling for help but could not pin point the exact location of where the voice came from. He stood outside for some good fifteen minutes but as he could no longer hear the voice he decided to go back to bed. As he was just about to lock the door, he again heard the same voice. He could clearly tell that it was a distressed woman crying out for help. He thought it must have come from the river side and felt the cry had echoed all over the ravine. He was anxious and worried, wondering who it could have been and what might have caused such a panicked cry in the early hours of the morning. The readers and Tawia soon encountered another kind of ominous gloom and fear as his sister Chawii related her nightmares to him. She said