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Revision as of 01:38, 24 August 2023

Ethnic group(nomadic and barbaric tribe) in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar

Ethnic group
Kuki people
A Kuki woman
Total population
83,968 (2011)
Regions with significant populations
 India
Languages
Chin-Kuki-Mizo languages
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Baptist); historically Animism with sizeable minorities following Animism, Judaism (Bnei Menashe) and Islam
Related ethnic groups
Chins  · Halams  · Mizos  · Zomis  · Others (Karbis, Nagas, Meiteis, Kachins)
Approximate extent of the area traditionally inhabited by the Kuki people.

The Kuki people are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh.

Some fifty tribes of Kuki peoples in India are recognised as scheduled tribes, based on the dialect spoken by that particular Kuki community as well as their region of origin.

Name

The term "Kuki" is an exonym: it was used by Bengalis to refer to the 'coolies' inhabiting Lushai Hills, the easternmost branch of Himalayas running north–south between India and Burma. The term came into British usage in 1777, when the chief of Chittagong appealed to the British governor general Warren Hastings for help against Kuki raids from the hills.

The same collection of tribes were called "Chins" by the Burmese and "Lushais" by the British. The modern term that encompasses all the groups is "Zo" or "Zomi" (meaning "Zo people").

Over time, the British came to distinguish the tribes currently called "Kukis" from the remaining "Lushais". An Intelligence Branch report from 1907 listed Ralte, Paite, Thadou, Lakher, Hmar and Poi tribes among Kukis. It stated that each of these tribes had its own language, and these languages were unintelligible to the "Lushais".

The Manipuris used the term "Khongjai" to refer to the tribes immediately to the south of the Imphal Valley. The other Kuki tribes in the interior of Manipur were still called "Kukis" (or sometimes "old Kukis").

History

Early history

Ethnologist C. A. Soppitt argued that the Kuki tribes must have settled in region west of Irrawaddy river from at least the 11th century, based on the fact that they had no traces of Buddhism, which was already prevalent in Burma by that time. He grouped the Kuki tribes into two broad classes: Hrangkhol along with the co-tribe Biate, and Changsan along with the co-tribe Thadou, each of them grouped with several subtribes. Soppitt suggested that, by the 16th century, the Hrangkhols and Biate inhabited the Lushai Hills district (present-day Mizoram State). They were pushed out by the Changsan, who moved in from the east along with Thadou, forcing them to move to the North Cachar Hills, Manipur and Tripura. The Changsan-Thadou combine was, in turn forced out by newer tribes in the 19th century, and followed the same routes as the earlier tribes. The two waves of the Kuki tribes received the labelling of "old Kukis" and "new Kukis" in the target regions of Cachar Hills, Manipur and Tripura. The latest arrivals in Lushai Hills received the label of "Lushais" in the British nomenclature.

Per the 1881 census, the Kukis and Nagas together numbered 20,000 in the North Cachar Hills (present-day Assam), 15,000 in the Naga Hills (present-day Nagaland), 30,000–40,000 in Manipur and 6,000 in Tipperah (Tripura). In addition, the plains of Cachar had 6,000 people. The Gazetteer of Manipur (1886), based on the same census, noted that there were approximately 8,000 "old Kukis" in Manipur, who traditionally lived in the state, and about 17,000 "new Kukis" who migrated from Lushai Hills on the south during the early 19th century. There were also considerable number of Kukis in Lushai Hills, which was not covered in the 1881 census.

Tripura

On 31 January 1860, Kuki Riang led the Kukis of Hill Tippera in raiding the Chhagalnaiya plains (then under the administration of the Twipra Kingdom) which was inhabited by ethnic Bengalis and British officers. The Kukis looted the area of Bakhshganj and murdered Kamal Poddar of Basantpur. They then proceeded to molest Poddar's women until Guna Ghazi and Jakimal waged war against them in the village of Kulapara. Whilst the Kukis abducted 700 women, Munshi Abdul Ali informed the British authorities of the atrocities. 185 Britons were assassinated, 100 of them were kidnapped and the Kukis remained in the plains for one or two days. British troops and policemen were finally despatched from Noakhali, Tipperah (Comilla) and Chittagong to suppress them but the Kukis had already fled to the jungles of the princely state and they never returned to Chhagalnaiya ever again.

Manipur

No kukis in Manipur.

Cultures and traditions

The land of the Kukis has a number of customs and traditions.

Sawm

Sawm, a community centre for boys – was the centre of learning in which the Sawm-upa (an elder) did the teaching, while Sawm-nu took care of chores, such as combing of the boy's hair, washing of the garments and making the beds. The best students were recommended to the King's or the Chief's service, and eventually would achieve the office of Semang and Pachong (ministers) in their courts, or gal –lamkai (leaders, warriors) in the army.

Lawm

Lawm (a traditional type of youth club) was an institution in which boys and girls engaged in social activities for the benefit of the individual and the community. It was also another learning institution. Every Lawm has a Lawm-upa (a senior member), a To’llai-pao (an overseer or superintendent) and a Lawm-tangvo (assistant superintendent). Besides being a source of traditional learning, the institution of the Lawm also facilitated the transmission of both technical as well as practical knowledge to its members, especially with regard to particular methods of farming, hunting, fishing and sporting activities such as Kung–Kal (high jump, especially over a choice mithun), Ka’ng Ka’p, Ka’ngchoi Ka’p (top game), Suhtumkhawh (javelin throw using the heavy wooden implement for pounding-de-husking-paddy) and So’ngse (shot put).

The Lawm was also a centre where young Kuki people learned discipline and social etiquette. After harvest season, the Lawm meet is celebrated with a Lawm-se’l and, as a commemoration, a pillar is erected. The event is accompanied by dance and drinking rice-beer, which sometimes continues for days and nights.

Laws and government

Governance

With regard to governance, Semang (cabinet) is the annual assembly of a Kuki village community held at the Chief's residence represents the Inpi (Assembly). In such an assembly, the Chief and his Semang and Pachong (cabinet members and auxiliary of Inpi) and all the household heads of the village congregate to discuss and resolve matters relating to the village and the community.

Religions

Prior to conversion in the early 20th century to Christianity by Welsh Baptist missionaries, the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples were animists; among their practices were ritual headhunting. Christian missionaries entered Manipur in the late 19th century but did not yet make inroads into the tribal areas. The victory of the British in Anglo-Kuki War of 1917–1919 opened up their mind of the Kukis to the Christian God of the British, who was thought of as the victor. This led them to rapidly convert to Christianity. Conversion to Christianity has transformed their ideas, mentality and social practices at the cost of their traditions and customs. The majority of Kukis are now Christians, with most belonging to Protestant denominations, especially Baptist.

Since the late 20th century, some of these peoples have begun following Messianic Judaism. The Bnei Menashe (Template:Lang-he, "Sons of Menasseh") are a small group within the of India's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram; since the late 20th century, they claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism. The Bnei Menashe are made up of Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples, who all speak Tibeto-Burman languages, and whose ancestors migrated into northeast India from Burma mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are called Chin in Burma. In the late 20th century, an Israeli rabbi investigating their claims named them Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh. Of the 3.7 million people living in these two northeast states only about 9,000 belong to the Bnei Menashe, several thousands have emigrated to Israel. Some have supported other movements to separate from India.

Due to the close proximity to Muslim-majority Bengal, a Kuki Muslim community has also developed. They are said to be descendants of Kuki men who had married Bengali Muslim women, a relationship requiring the husband to be a Muslim. They are mostly centred around the village of North Chandrapur in the Tripuri city of Udaipur. Notable Kuki Muslims include Khirod Ali Sardar of Chandrapur and Ali Mia of Sonamura. The community has been subject to scorn by other Kukis.

See also

Notes

  1. Alternative spellings: Khongchai and Khongsai.

References

  1. "Language" (PDF). Census of India. 2011.
  2. Syed Ayan Mojib, Who are Kukis & Meiteis, the warring tribes in Manipur, The Statesman (Kolkata), 2 June 2023.
  3. Called "Chin" Burmese: ချင်းလူမျိုး; MLCTS: hkyang lu. myui:, pronounced [tɕɪ́ɰ̃ lù mjó] in Myanmar
  4. "Mizo | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. "A Glimpse of the Indigenous Tribes of Myanmar and lost tribe of Israel (Part 1)".
  6. Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills (2019), p. 14.
  7. T. Haokip, 'The Kuki Tribes of Meghalaya: A Study of their Socio-Political Problems', in S.R. Padhi (Ed.). Current Tribal Situation: Strategies for Planning, Welfare and Sustainable Development. Delhi: Mangalam Publications, 2013, p. 85.
  8. "Alphabetical List of India's Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2012.
  9. Intelligence Branch, Frontier and Overseas Expeditions, Vol. 4 (1907), p. 235: "From period of which we have any knowledge, the Lushai Hills have been inhabited by collection of tribes known to the Bengalis as Kukis.".
  10. Intelligence Branch, Frontier and Overseas Expeditions, Vol. 4 (1907), p. 235.
  11. S. R. Tohring (2010). Violence and Identity in North-east India: Naga-Kuki Conflict. Mittal Publications. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-81-8324-344-5.
  12. Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills (2019), pp. 14–15.
  13. Intelligence Branch, Frontier and Overseas Expeditions, Vol. 4 (1907), pp. 232–233.
  14. Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills (2019), p. 53.
  15. Cite error: The named reference SPSinha_2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. Soppitt, A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes (1887), p. viii-ix.
  17. Soppitt, A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes (1887), p. 3.
  18. Soppitt, A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes (1887), pp. 7–8.
  19. Soppitt, A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes (1887), p. 1.
  20. Dun, Gazetteer of Manipur (1886), pp. 32–33.
  21. Webster, John Edward (1911). "History". Eastern Bengal and Assam District Gazetteers. Vol. 4. Noakhali. Allahabad: The Pioneer Press. p. 30.
  22. Abdul Karim, Munshi; Sharif, Ahmed (1960). Hussain, Syed Sajjad (ed.). A Descriptive Catalogue Of Bengali Manuscripts. Dacca: Asiatic Society of Pakistan. p. 74.
  23. ^ Paokhohao Haokp, "Reinculcating Traditional Values of the Kukis with Special Reference to Lom and Som", in T. Haokip (ed.). The Kukis of Northeast India: Politics and Culture. New Delhi: Bookwell, 2013, Chapter 11.
  24. T. Lunkim, "Traditional System of Kuki Administration", in T. Haokip (ed.). The Kukis of Northeast India: Politics and Culture. New Delhi: Bookwell, 2013, Chapter 1.
  25. Hodson, T. C. (1909). "Head-Hunting among the Hill Tribes of Assam". Folklore. 20 (2): 132–143. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1909.9719869. JSTOR 1254109.
  26. Kipgen, Seikhohao; Haokip, Thongkholal (2018). "Keeping them under control: impact of the Anglo-Kuki War". In Jangkhomang Guite (ed.). The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919: A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during the First World War. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-77494-2.
  27. "Chin".
  28. Weil, Shalva. "Double Conversion among the 'Children of Menasseh'" in Georg Pfeffer and Deepak K. Behera (eds) Contemporary Society Tribal Studies, New Delhi: Concept, pp. 84–102. 1996 Weil, Shalva. "Lost Israelites from North-East India: Re-Traditionalisation and Conversion among the Shinlung from the Indo-Burmese Borderlands", The Anthropologist, 2004. 6(3): 219–233.
  29. Kommaluri, Vijayanand; Subramanian, R; Sagar K, Anand (7 July 2005). "Issues in Morphological Analysis of North-East Indian Languages". Language in India. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  30. Chakraborty, Anjali (2006). "Muslims of Tripura: A Profile". Muslim women in Tripura: aspects of their status, roles, problems and prospects. Institutional Repository NBA (Thesis). University of North Bengal.
  31. Datta, B. C. (1972). ত্রিপুরা রাজ্যে তিরিশ বছর: উদয়পুর বিবরণ [Thirty years of the Tripura state: Udaipur details] (in Bengali). Government of Tripura.

Bibliography

External links

Ethnic groups of the Zo people and its clans
Zo people (Kuki-Chin-Mizo people)
Chin
Kuki-Zomi
Kuki
Zomi
Mizo
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Hill tribes of Northeast India
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