The Lai people [lower-alpha 1] (also called Pawi people) [1] [lower-alpha 2] mainly inhabit the southern parts of Chin Hills in Myanmar's Chin State, in the townships of Falam, Thantlang and Hakha. [3] They are also found in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India, where they have been granted the Lai Autonomous District Council. Outside this area they are scattered in Mizoram and in Manipur. Their languages "Laizo Lai" and "Hakha Lai" are classified as Central Kuki-Chin languages. [4]
The total population of the group was around 1,700,000 in 1991. [5] [ dubious – discuss ] The name Laimi often refers to Chin people who live in the Chin Hills or Central Chin which are Hakha, Thantlang, Falam, etc. [6]
The community is scattered in different parts of the world, mainly concentrating in Mizoram (Khuafo and Thlantlang/Tuichhak Pawih), Chin Hills (Hakha Township, Thantlang Township, Webulah, Zokhua, Keiphaw, Falam Township) of Burma, South Bangladesh (identified as Bawm {Bawmzo, Bawmlai, Panghawi, Ramthar, and Sunthla).
Chin state is 13,907 square miles. It is bordered by Sagaing Division to the east, Magway Division to the south-east, Rakhine State to the south, and Mizoram to the west. [6] According to the 2014 Myanmar population and housing census, the population of Chin state is about 478,801, 47.95% male, and 52.05% female. [7] Hakha is the capital city of Chin state, and there are nine townships: Hakha, Thantlang, Falam, Tiddim, Tonzang, Matupi, Mindat, Kanpalet, and Paletwa. Each township has its own subtribes, and there are about 53 subtribes. There are about 45 dialects of the Chin language. [8] Of these, the most widely spoken dialects are estimated, and they are: [9]
The different dialects are distinct enough that they are not largely mutually intelligible. [8]
The Lai who are living in the Lai Autonomous District of Mizoram are a segmented community of the much larger Lai population of Burma and elsewhere to whom whatever name may be given. They share common ancestry with many other tribes in Northeast India. Further back, a historic tradition has it that Lai people had once lived in China. They migrated through the Tibetan mountains moving further towards the East to become a major tribal group in the Chin Hills of Burma from where same few came to the present habitat (Mizoram) in the beginning of the 18th century or earlier.
The Lai are also believed to be from the main tree of the Qin Dynasty. It is also said that the word Shendoo or Shendu, which was frequently used to denote the Lakher (Mara) in the British records, were said to be the offspring of Lai. F. Chhawnmanga, a retired District Adult Education Officer, under the State Government of Mizoram, who has conducted an extensive personal interview with some chiefs of Lakher, tells. The Lakher chief Mr. Kilkhara of Saiha and Tawngliana of Serkawr Villages were the descendants of Lianchi and Alkheng respectively of Hlawnchhing family of Hakha. They spoke Lai language. However, after coming down to Mizoram, their names were translated into Lakher dialect and themselves Kikhaw and Thylai. The above arguments seem to be supported by the statement of Vumson, thus: They are the same people as Shendoo to whom Col. Lewin made constant reference in his various works and are still called Shendoo by the Arakanis. There are many common clan names like Hlawnchhing, Chinzah, Bawikhar, Khenglawt, Thianhlun, etc. which are found between the Lai and Maras. This is an indication of the fact that Lai and Mara were the same people. Apart from the above-mentioned groups, there are other linguistic groups that were found to have the same culture and customs, speak a similar language with the Lai. These groups do qualify for Lai in terms of social, cultural and linguistic. Those groups are Bawm and Tlanglau living in the western part of Mizoram and Bangladesh.
There are many tribes among the Chin people which includes Laimi, Matu, Asho, Cho (Sho), Khuami (M'ro), Lusei (Lushai), Kuki (Thadou) and Zomi . In each of these tribe group there are many sub-tribes groups. The following are some of the sub-tribes found in Chin State: Laizo, Khuangli, Khualsim, K’cho, Zahau, Zanngiat, Zophei, Lente, Lautu, Ngawn, Tlanglau, Dawn, Thlanrawn, Tlaisun, Hauhulh, Zokhua, Mara, Simhrin, Senthang, Mi-E, Towr and more. [6] [Not all listed]
Chin National day is celebrated each year on 20 February to commemorate the "General Assembly of Chinland" held in 1948. [10] The first Chin National day was held on 20 February 1951 in Mindat Town and was attended by U Nu, the first Prime Minister. [11] During the holiday, people from different ethnic groups display Rua Khua Tlak (bamboo dance), Khuang Cawi (lifting of decorative bamboo lifter), Sarlam (dance of the conquest), Rallu lam (Mizo dance) and many other dances and events. Some of the big events are fashion show, Miss competition and Laipaih (wrestling). The strongest laipaih or Chin wrestler from this generation is Rung Lian Ceu, he was from Chuncung town, and he is currently living in the United States. [12]
There are many different traditional clothing such as Matu, Hakha, Htantlang, Falam, Zophei, Zotung, Zo, Mindat etc. Every kind is uniquely colorful and different. Most traditional dresses’ colors are black and red. There are also accessories that are usually worn with the clothing such as necklaces, bracelets and hairpins. Chin people or Laimi do not wear them on a daily basis. They wear these traditional clothing on special occasions such as Chin National Day, Sundays, Christmas and wedding. [13]
The normal handshake is a common greeting in Chin cultures
The most common sports for the Laimi are soccer (football), volleyball, and traditional Chin wrestling (Lai Paih).
Tho Puai (Chin New Year/Chin Harvest)
Tho Puai is celebrated in the month of October, (Tho). This festival marks the harvest, as well as the indication of the new year.
The first Christian missionaries were Arthur Carson and his wife Laura arrived Hakha on 15 March 1899. Today, the majority of Chin are Christian.
Religion in Chin (2014) [14] | % |
---|---|
Christian | 85.4% |
Buddhist | 13.0% |
Animist | 0.4% |
Islam | 1.1% |
Other religion | 1.1% |
Chin State is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Manipur to the north. The population of Chin State is about 488,801 according to the 2014 census, and its capital city is Hakha.
The Mizo people, historically recorded as the Lushais, are an ethnic group native to the state of Mizoram in India and neighbouring states of Northeast India. They speak the Tibeto-Burman language of Mizo, the official language and lingua franca of Mizoram. The state is the second most literate state in India, at more than a rate of 90%.
The Chin people are an ethnic group native to the Chin State of Myanmar. Strictly speaking, the term "Chin" only refers to the 53 sub-tribes of the Chin ethnic group, divided and recognized by the Burmese government. They speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are often mutually unintelligible but are closely related.
The Zou people are an ethnic group, that is an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki people/Zo people. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Thadou people and Paite and the Simte peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the Chin people. They are a hill people, "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.
Thantlang is a town and the administrative center of Thantlang Township in Chin State, western Myanmar.
Zo is a Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo language originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India.
Matupi Township is a township of Matupi District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar). Matupi is the administrative center for the township.
Falam Township is a township of Falam District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar). Its administrative seat is the town of Falam. The population, as of 2014, is 41,457. Out of this population, 9,092 live in Falam town and 32,365 live in rural areas.
Thantlang Township is one of the nine townships in Chin State. Thantlang is the administrative town of inclusive nine circles attributed to the geographical and dialectical arrangements of the area. They are Khualhring Tlang, Vanzang Tlang, Zahnak Tlang, Bual Tlang, Vailam Tlang Lautu Tlang, Mara Tlang, Vailam Tlang, Zophei Tlang and Bawipa Tlang. Only four circles speak Lai dialect. Zophei(Zophei and Bawipa circles), Lautu, HawThai speak their tribal language. The other fives circles and in Thantlang town speak Lai dialect. In Thantlang township, Lai dialect is the common use dialect. Lai dialect is also spoken at Hakha township and Falam township.
Hakha Chin, or Laiholh, is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by more than 500,000 people. The majority of Hakha Chin speakers reside in Chin State in western Myanmar., with significant communities also found in the Sagaing and Magway regions of Myanmar. Additionally, the language is spoken in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram India, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh.
The Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages are a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in northeastern India, western Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. Most notable Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups are referred to collectively as the Zo people which includes: the Mizo of Mizoram, the Kuki of Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Bangladesh and the Chin of Chin State, Myanmar.
The Lai languages or Pawih/Pawi languages are various Central Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages spoken by the Lai people or Pawi. They include “ Laiṭong” (Falam-Chin) spoken in Falam district, Laiholh (Hakha-Chin) spoken around the Haka (Hakha/Halkha) capital of Chin State in Burma (Myanmar) and in the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram, India. In Bangladesh, a related language is spoken by the Bawm people. Other Lai languages are Mi-E, and the Zokhua dialect of Hakha Lai spoken in Zokhua village.
The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist militant group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Re-unification Organisation, was founded in April 1993.
Falam Chin is a Kuki-Chin language in Falam Township, Chin State, Myanmar, and also in Mizoram, India.
The Chin Association for Christian Communication (CACC) is non-profit, faith-based organization dedicated to the preservation of Chin culture and language. CACC is located in Hakha, Burma. The most well-known projects and activities undertaken by CACC are revising and updating Laiholh. At the moment, CACC is in-charge of standardizing Laiholh, the most widely spoken Chin dialects in Burma. Though there is no common language or official language in Chin State, Laiholh is used as a medium of communication among different Chin groups in Hakha, Thantlang, Matupi, Falam, Burma, and diasporas all over the world.
Chin Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination Myanmar. The headquarters is in Falam, Chin State, Myanmar. It is a member of the Myanmar Baptist Convention.
The Zanniat tribe are people of western Myanmar (Burma) who are a sub-group of the Chin peoples. The Zanniat tribe has fifty-seven sub-groupings and clans. The group's existence was recorded in Burma's 1931 census after being absent in the Chin Hills gazette of 1896. In 1943, the Zanniat tribal groups of eastern Falam Township were recorded by Henry Stevenson. The Zanniat may also be known by similar sounding names such as Zahnyiet, Zanniet, Zanngiat and Zannaing.
David Van Bik was the Lai Bible translator, a Chin biblical scholar, the author of Chin-English and English-Chin dictionaries, an ordained Baptist minister, and a recipient of the honorary Doctor of Divinity from his alma mater Berkeley School of Theology, USA.
The Chin Brotherhood Alliance (CBA) is a military and political alliance between several ethnic armed organisations active in Chin State, Myanmar. Formed on 30 December 2023 during the Myanmar civil war, the claimed goal of the alliance is to foster collaboration concerning affairs in Chin State and in the Chin ethnic community. The alliance was created by local Chin people's defence forces who believed that the establishment of the Chinland Constitution, the Chinland Council, and the State of Chinland "did not adhere to democratic standards, lacked equality, and failed to represent and reflect the unity of the entire Chin ethnic group."