Main menu:


What is Cha-aw (Zawngṭah) in English?

What is Cha-aw in English? It is a Mara word, in Mizo it is called Zawngṭah.

Cha-aw, Zawngta, Tree Bean (Parkia Roxburghii)Many people have asked me and to tell you frankly, no other people like Cha-aw as much as we the people in the Hills do. In English, they do not have a fancy name for Cha-aw. They simply called Tree Bean. Parkia Roxburghii is the scientific name of Cha-aw.

According to J. Herbert Lorrain (L), Author of English-Mizo Dictionary:

Zawng-ṭah (which is Cha-aw), (p. 562) [ zawng-ṭah, ] n the name of a tree (Parkia Roxburghii. Wenger.) and its fruit which resembles a large bean growing in drooping clusters at the end of a long stalk. This bean after having its skin scraped off is eaten raw or cooked by the Lushais and other hill people, the seeds only being rejected if they are too old and hard for that purpose. The Lushais are so fond of the zawngṭah fruit that they watch its growth with interest and give special names to the different stages. The first stage, which in other trees would be called the forming of the flower bud, is spoken of as zawngṭah bilbawlâwk. The second stage, which in other trees would be called the opening of the blossom, is spoken of as zawngṭah pâr tuvû. The third stage, which in other trees would be called the forming of the fruit, is spoken of as zawngṭah ar-kê.

For those who love hahaha.com at Pogo TV Channel:
Zawng in Mizo is Monkey, ṭah is Cry. Literally it could well be translated as Monkey-cry. Besides, Tree Bean sounds strange too. English is a very rich language but when it comes to this, the name seems ambiguous.

Note: Rev. J. Herbert Lorrain (L) is a Baptist Pioneer Missionary to Mizo people living in Southern part of Mizoram, it had its Headquarter at Serkawr, Lunglei. His younger brother Rev. Reginald Arthur Lorrain (L) too was a Pioneer Missionary to Mara people in West Maraland (India) and (East Maraland) Myanmar.

Related Posts

    English-Mizo online dictionary (English-Lushai)
    Aizawl Times advertisement
    Mizo literature will vanish one day, predicts Mizoram University Lecturer
    Mara Autonomous District Council Press release in Mizo
    Bomb blasts in New Delhi - India’s capital

Comments

Comment from Globetrotter
Time: June 13, 2007, 9:45 am

Interesting…

Write a comment