Sakei Lu Lam, a ritualistic dance, was performed in the ancient times to appease the spirit of a killed tiger in
Mizoram. The tiger was considered a sacred animal and friend of the slaves. The tiger was supposed to lead the slaves to their freedom and therefore its killing was strictly prohibited.
In case a Tiger was accidentally killed, the people would perform the Sakei Lu Lam dance. During this ritualistic dance, the warrior or hunter who had killed the tiger used to claim that the cause of the death was the thunderbolt and not his gun. He had to don the clothes of a woman and had to arm himself with a loaded gun. He had to eat a hard-boiled egg in front of the people. The tiger’s head would then be brought to a spot decorated with bamboo posts containing flags symbolizing the tiger’s spirit.
