Early History & Migration
The early history of the Zomi is obscure, shrouded in myths and legends. In the absence of written documents, it is extremely difficult to trace their early history. However, through historical, linguistics, archaeological findings, and ethnic relationships, it is now accepted that they belong to the Tibeto-Burman. Thus their movements can only be studied and identified in terms of the general movements of the Tibeto-Burman tribes. Like the other tribes of the Indo-Burma frontier areas, the Zomi too could have originated from China.
The area which lies between the upper course of the Yangtze Kiang and the Hwang Ho Rivers are believed to be the original home of these people. S. K. Chatterji also makes an attempt to identify the area of the “North-West China, between the head waters of the Hwang Ho and the Yangtze Kiang Rivers” as the origin of the Sino-Tibetan migration into India and Burma. Dr. Grierson wrote “…tradition and comparative physiology agree in pointing to North-Western China between the upper course of the Yangtze Kiang and of the Hwang Ho as the original home of the Tibeto-China race, to which the Tibeto-Burman and the Siamese-Chinese groups belong”. Though acceptable because of lack of any other plausible explanation, the original home of the Zomi remain indeterminate. But still it is quite obscure to know when and how they were originated from this place.
It is claimed that the Zomi is one of the oldest groups of people who settled in Burma. Regarding the pattern of their historical movements, the theory advanced by F. K. Lehman quoted below is worthwhile to note –
“Ethnic and linguistic differentiation certainly existed at an early period. The ancestor of the Chin and of the Burmans must have been distinct from each other even before they first appeared in Burma. Undoubtedly, these various ancestral groups were descended in part from groups immigrating into Burma, starting about the Christian era. But it is also probable that some of these groups were in Burma in the remote past, long before the date indicated by any present historical evidence”.
There is, however, no doubt that the Zomi had entered into Burma in different waves along with other groups of people. This argument is supported by folklores, oral tradition and legends. They came into this region by different routes. Some groups had gone up into the Tibetan plateau to the north while other groups moved into Burma in three waves. The First people who migrated from China were the Mon-Khmer races, and the second wave was that of the Tibeto-Burman races which consist of the Zomi, the Burmese, Lolo, Kachin, etc. The third wave was that of the Tai-Chinese consisting of Shan, Siamese, Karen, etc. The Mon-Khmer group moved first from Central Asia and entered into the Indo-Chinese peninsula. They mainly moved southwards following the Mekong Valley as far south as into Kampuchea and Thailand, whence by a lateral westward movement they reached Burma.
The Tibeto-Burman wave, which includes the Zomi, moved south-westward, on the line of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin (Tuikang) and disbursed along the mountainous regions of the Indo-Burma areas and of Burma on its western side. Regarding the north southward migrations, Prof. F. K. Lehman wrote:
“Historical linguistics, archaeology, and racial relationships definitely indicate the ancestors of these various peoples did indeed come from the North… history shows, however, that both hills and plain peoples have moved about within the general region of South-West China and Southeast Asia over considerable distances for many centuries until recent past”.
With regard to the Zomi, it is mentioned that they had migrated from the north to the southern valley areas of the Chindwin River, and then stopped by the Bay of Bengal before turning to the north again. Carey and Tuck are also of the same opinion. And when they reached the plains of Burma they were divided into several groups. One group moved towards the areas lying between the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers. The other groups moved towards the south and the west of Chindwin via Hukawang valley, Zou country and Arakan before 1000 A.D. the last immigrants were perhaps the Lushei and Hmar ancestors who, according to Pu K. Zawla, came to the Chindwin belt around 996 A.D. According to their local tradition, the first known settlement of the Hmar tribes was the Shan Village (Shan Khua) where they came in contact with the Shans as borne out by folk songs like the one quoted below:
“Ka pa lam thak a tha’n dang,
Sinlung lam thak aw a tha’n dang;
Shan khua ah thapo in vang…..
(My father’s step were remarkably good,
Sinlung’s steps were remarkably good;
Tens are the good men in Shan village….)
According to legendary sources, right from the early historical period the Zomi made their settlement in the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin valleys. After their kingdom was destroyed by the Chinese, they crossed the Chindwin and settled in the area of Kale-Kabaw-Myitha-Yaw Valleys and Panduang Hills. They made a permanent settlement in the valley areas of the river which they called ‘Tuikang’ – white water. But later the Burmese called the river ‘Chindwin’ (Cin/Chin=Burmese name for Zomi; Dwin = valley or region) and the name stuck through British acceptance.
Another theory based on folktales and legends claim that the Zomi had founded a kingdom called “Pugam” and its capital was Pagan. According to Chinese writers, this kingdom was situated between two and three hundred li (1 li = ½ kilometer) to the south-west of Yung-Chiang, a border state of China, on the north and northeast Nanchao (Thai) states of Upper Burma and Northern Siam; on the north and north-east of the Cheula (Kamboja), and to the east the seas (Gulf of Marteban) to the south (Cambodia). The Burmese and Chinese called this place “Piao-khua”.
It is said that the Zomi ancestors had settled there since 484 B.C. Fan Ch’o, a historian-turned-diplomat of the Tang dynasty, who was the author of “Man-Shu” (Story of Nanchao), 863 A.D. had identified the Chindwin river as “Mi-no-Chiang” (Chiang means River). He also mentioned the existence of three kingdoms in the ninth century A. D. They were Mino, Min-Ch’en and P’iao. Prof. Luce tried to identify the “Mi-Ch’en” (Zomi) as the ‘Man Kingdom of Kyontu’, a Burmese area situated near Waw qt, the old mouth of Pegu river, about 20 miles northeast of Pegu and P’iao with the Pyu or Pu Kingdom at Halin town in Shwabo area in Burma. Regarding Mino, it was, with Zo kingdom, situated near the Chindwin River. As Sir J. C. Scott remarks,
“Probably they (the Zomi) may be taken to be a presentiment of the Pagan Burman before he acquired Buddhism. It is also undisputed that the Thet or Sak, of Thara Keltara, who moved from to found and start the Burmese race as we know, are a Chin clan”.
The Asho Zomi tradition says that the original name of Pagan was “Pugam” which literally means country or Kingdom of our ancestors.(Pu=ancestors/forefathers; gam= kingdom/country). But, unfortunately, it has come to be written as “Pugan” in Burmese. Yet “Pugam”, “Pugan” and “Pagan” are not Burmese words. They are Zomi words. Moreover, Mount Popa also is simply “Pupa Mual”, a word or term absent in the Burmese vocabulary. This undeniable fact has been approved as true by the Burmese Socialist Programme Party Research office, Rangoon Apart from this tradition, the Zomi of Yaw country in the Pakokku District also claims that they had come from Pupa (Popa) hills.
The Zomi folksongs give the picture of their settlement, prosperity and the civilization that evolved in the plains of Burma until the hand of Tartars (Mongols) struck them in the last part of the 13th century A.D. Dr. Francis Mason also mentioned that the Zomi had established an independent state in the Upper Chindwin areas The observation about the establishment of a kingdom is clearly evident by the terms “Kumpi”, “Mang”, and “Leng” which are equivalent to Kingship.
However, their prosperity did not last long. They were destroyed by the Mongols. Lt. Trant wrote:
“The interlopers disposed their king and put many of their chieftains to death; they obligated the others to seek for refuge in flight…with them went some members of the royal family, but in course of time, and from deaths and changes of residence, all traces of them were lost and they know not whether any of the royal blood exists or not”.
Archeological Remains
Archaeological evidences also have clearly pointed out the settlement of the Zomi in the plains of Burma. In 1971, S.B. Khamtinzamvungh had discovered beads from necklace, remnants of copper belts, and pieces of smoking pipes, made of copper, etc. from Sabani village in the present Sagang Division of Burma. All these articles are quite identical with the articles used by the Zomi. From this finding, it can also be deduced that the Zomi had their settlement in the plain areas of Burma
Evidence of ancient manufacture of beads of fossilized wood called Chin Padi or Zomi beads which were discovered in 1904 near the pale-walled city of Wate, suggests that there were trends of communication between the Zomi and the Pagan Burmans.
The Burmese too recognized the settlement of Zomi in the plain areas. Some sort of social intercourse developed between the Zomi and the Burmese. King Alaungpaya of Ava (1044-1287 AD) even established a separate army of Zomis and called the areas where the Zomi had made their settlements as Zou country or Yaw country. Yaw was derived from Zo
Entry Into Zo Country
According to traditional verses, a sizeable group of the Zomi from the Kale-Kabaw valley area of the Myitha River entered the north-western corner of Burma and made their settlements there. This area or region came to be called Zogam or Zo Country, but is now called Chin State. Another group went up from the Kalemyo area and settled at Thuamvum (also known as Kennedy Peak). From there again another small group went to Nawmkailou and established a village called Zangpitam where they joined the people of Chiimnuai. Pu Thangtuan wrote:
“Starting from Kawlpigam (Kale-Kabaw Valleys), it was along the Tuingou and across the Thangmual that they went and arrived at the khul (khul=cave or pit) and from there they founded Chiimnuai.”
Chiimnuai is a place situated between the modern Phaileng and Saizang villages, about 10 miles from Tedim. Subsequently, the descendents of the various northern Zomi clans spread along the different sides of Chiimnuai, and Sihzang. The Galte, Gangte, Paite, Sukte, Simte, Thadou, Vaiphei, Zoute, etc. are the branches of the Zomi people of this area.
Another later group of the Zomi who moved from the Myitha River went to the central Chin Hills and made a temporary settlement at Hmunli. From Hmunli they moved to Lailun near Sunthla Village located between Falam and Haka. According to the version of the Hualngou or Lushei and Ngawn people their forefathers originated from Seipui and Kawlni areas of the valley of the Manipur River which was running through the Falam and the Tedim townships.
As mentioned above, the settlement of the Zomi in the plain areas was severely disturbed by the invasion of the Tartars and the influx of the Shans. Thus, they fled into the hill areas and made their settlement either in caves or in cliffy areas. From this a new notion developed among the Zomi of the northern areas that they originated from Khul. For example, the people of Saizang strongly believed that the Zomi were descendants of a couple named Thungthu and Nemvung, whom they took to have been from Leinuai (underworld) and sprung out of the khul. On the basis of this belief the people of Saizang area even today perform a religious rite by sacrificing a he-goat every year at the Khul. The same practice is done at the Lailun cave also by the Zomi people of the Falam area.
For about four generations all the northern Zomi lived at Chiimnuai without any problems. In due course there was a tremendous increase in population. Then evolved clan divisions, the institution of tulip (priesthood) on clan or family lines and the naming of clans emerged gradually. It is said that the clan system which exists today in the Zomi society started during this time. After some decades, the people again started to settle in different areas under different names. The practice of assuming names after the topographical or place names and the names of their ancestors began and their speech, too, began to crystallize or change into various local dialects. It is mentioned that these people who settled at a place where “Gamsai” (a kind of wood/grass) was abundant, are called “Saizangs”; those who lived in a region of “Gang” (a kind of creeper) are called “Gangte” and those who lived in a place where “Teising” (a kind of hard wood) grew, are known as “Teizangs” while those who lived beyond the Manipur River are known as “Gaalte”. Similarly, those people who settled down at the Thangtang-hilly place are known as Zoute and those people who went southward are known as “Sukte”. Thus the Zo people expanded their settlements under different names or nomenclature. Later on they emerged as a distinctive ethnic group under able leaderships.
It is recorded that in the middle of the 14th century AD a group of Zomi people entered into Tripura, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Assam and Lushai Hills and made their settlements there. They were called “Kuki” by the plain people. The other groups of Zomi who had migrated first from Chin Hills into the Lushai Hills, Cachar, Tripura and Manipur were also called by different names, such as the Khelma, the Bete (Baite), the Rangkhols, the Langrong, the Aimual (Aimol), the Anal, the Chiru, the Lamkang, the Kolken, the Kom, the Chote (Purum) and the Hmar (Mar).
The Hmar tribes after crossing the Thantlang and Len range of the Chin Hills settled at Champhai and its surrounding areas. They were, however soon ousted by the Pawis. As a result, many clans of the Hmars, such as the Darlong, Dawn, Bawng, Mualthuam, Faihriam and Hrangkhawl moved westward and later along/across the Dawiartlang and Mawmrang ranges (in present Mizoram) and from there they entered into Tripura and North Cachar Hills.
The Anal migrated from the Chin Hills to Manipur via the Lushai Hills. According to John Shakespear, “the Chiru and Anal are mentioned in the Manipur Chronicle as early as the sixteenth century while the Aimol made their first appearance in 1723. The Chirus, another group of Zomi, who settled in the areas between Phaileng and Darlawn in the Lushai Hills, migrated towards the north and settled down at Tinsuang, Sanglel, Chorui Kholen and Dolang and lastly at Luanglevaisuah in the tri-junction area of Manipur-Mizoram-Assam state of India.
The Gaalte was the first group of the northern Zomi who migrated from Chiimnuai and made their settlement at Tonglui, Suangphai, Heiki and Kawlni, bordering Ngawn area of present Falam District.
The Vaiphei began their migration from Chiimnuai to Khovaiphei in the Sihzang area and settled down there for quite some time. The tribe name “Vaiphei”, originated from there. (Kho=village, Vai=breadth; phei=plains).
The first wave of the Zomi who settled in Sadar Hills area of Manipur came to be known as the Kukis by anthropologists, whereas the second group of the Vaiphei moved during the Chin Hills Expedition (1892-93). During the years 1772-74 the Thadous, along with other tribes, like the Gangte, the Vaiphei, the Simte, the Zoute, etc. migrated into the Lushai Hills.
In 1848-49, the Lusheis (Lusheis/Luseis) drove out the Thadous from the Lushai Hills and they entered into Cachar. From there, the Thadous entered into Manipur in three groups. The first group consisting of Sithlous, Singsons, Changsans, Lhamgums, etc. moved towards the North Cachar Hills. The second group consisting of other Sitlous and their adherents moved along the hills between the Barak River and the valley of Manipur. The third group which was composed of the Haokip clans moved up the eastern hills. The Chahsat (Taksat) chief with his followers moved up along the hills on the east of the valley of Manipur. The majority of the Doungel clan migrated from the south-western hills to the eastern hills and settled in a country claimed by the Manipur and Thangdut states.
The Luseis were the last major emigrants from the Chin Hills into the Lushai Hills. They built the town of Selesih and Zoupui after crossing the Tiau River. The Zopui town was built under the leadership of Lallula in about 1765 AD. The Lushei clans under various chiefs of the Thangur family came into prominence in the eighteenth century. John Shakespear said that from the Thangura sprang Rokhum, Zadeng, Thangluah, Palian, Rivung and Sailo .
About 1870 the great exodus of the Guite from around Tedim occurred. They adopted two routes, one was northward with settlement at and around Mualpi under Goukhothang and the other party migrated into the Lushai Hills and settled down among the Luseis under Chief Poiboi. In the Annual Administration Report of Manipur Agency, 1877-78, it is stated that about 2000 persons belonging to the Sukte clan migrated during the year into Manipur territory where they settled down on lands assigned to them by the Maharajah, in the neighbourhood of Moirang, to the south-west of the Valley. These people were chiefly the Paites as they are known today. Carey and Tuck says, “They migrated, by stages, northwards and we can now trace their course by the deserted ruins of large villages and heaps of stones and stone slabs which they set up as monuments in years gone by”.
There are other groups who came to Manipur from the Tedim area via the Lushai hills. From Chin Hills they entered the then Lushai Hills and finally came over to Manipur. The Luseis called them “Dapzar”/”Dapzal”. The term “Dapzal” was derived from their practice of covering the roofs of houses with split bamboos. (Dap=split bamboo; zar/zal=spread/flatten). A dialect known as Dapzal was born there whose accent is nearer to the Lushei language because of their long contact and association with them.
Another group of Paite entered Manipur in the year 1870 under the leadership of Hen-Gou of the Naulak clan. They came from Chin Hills through Mizoram. They left Dimpi Village and went to Lushai Hills and settled in Ngurtlang. At Ngurtlang they lived in a big cave called Bukpi (now Bukpui).
The Teizang group of Paites entered the Lushai Hills late in 1830 during British rule. They made their first settlement at Vapar. They were followed by some other groups or clans who founded villages at Ngur, Kelkang, Leisenzou, Sesih, Mualkawk, Lailiphai and Ngaizawl.
The Zomi movements and present settlement today, however, should not be misconstrued as an intrusion or being immigrants to a particular country because they settle in an ‘uninhabited’, ‘un-administered area’ which remains terra incognito for decades even after the arrival of the British in their country. Their independent settlement towards south of the famous Loktak Lake (Manipur) can be corroborated by the peace agreement made between the Maharaja of Manipur and Sumkam, s/o Raja Goukhothang in March 1873. Based on this agreement, the Zomi folksong tellingly delineates their country as
“Tuan a pupa leh Khang vaimangte,
Tongchiam kangtui minthang aw,
Pu leh Pi leh kangtui minthang,
A tua Zota kual hi e.”
(Free Translation:
Our fore-fathers had a promise with the Meiteis of Loktak;
From the famous Loktak to Chindwin,
It is the land of the Zomi).
Ethnic and linguistic differentiation certainly existed at an early period. The ancestor of the Chin and of the Burmans must have been distinct from each other even before they first appeared in Burma. Undoubtedly, these various ancestral groups were descended in part from groups immigrating into Burma, starting about the Christian era. But it is also probable that some of these groups were in Burma in the remote past, long before the date indicated by any present historical evidence
“Common Identity: In the continuation of Zomi movement, the members felt the necessity of having a common identity with which all tribes can identify themselves without any reservation or hesitation for unity, solidarity and safety. The leaders present, therefore, adopted the name ZOMI for common identity which will take immediate effect from today.”
“Had the word Kuki or Chin or Lushai been changed to ZOMI at that time, the right word for calling the various tribes and clans of the Zo race inhabiting the areas joining Burma, East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and Assam (India) would have been answered a long time ago.”
“We proclaim that the racial name ‘Chin’ should be done away with and Zou (Zo) must be re-instated to its proper place and status of racial identity.”