Paite people

Last updated

Paite
Total population
c. 80,000+ [1] [2]
Regions with significant populations
Manipur, Chin State, Assam, Mizoram
Languages
Paite language
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups

Ranglong

The Paite people [a] are an ethnic group in Northeast India, mainly living in Manipur and Mizoram. The Paites are recognized as a scheduled tribe in these two states. [7] They are part of the larger Zo people, [8] but also use their Zomi identity along with all the 7 tribes under "Zomi Council". [9] [10] [11] "Guite" is a major clan of the Paite people. [8]

Contents

Identification

According to anthropologist H. Kamkhenthang, the term "Paite" was initially used only in the Lushai areas (present-day Mizoram, and possibly the Churachandpur district of Manipur). In the Chin Hills region, according to him, they were known as Tedim Chins, and they included the Kamhau-Suktes. [5] [12] According to scholar N. K. Das, the Simte people listed in the Gazetteer of Manipur are the same as Paites. [13] Ethnologue states that the Paite, Simte and Tedim Zomi dialects are almost identical. [14] However, the Government of India recognises the Paites and Simtes as separate tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes. [15] In the 2001 census of India, the Paites numbered 64,100 and the Simtes numbered 10,225 (by language use). [2]

In the British colonial records, Paites were often identified by the clan name of Guite (older spelling: "Nwite"), who provided the chiefs for the Paite people. Carey and Tuck state that the Guites used to be originally settled around Tedim, but migrated north to the southern border of Manipur and the northeast corner of Mizoram. The reason was evidently the onslaught of the Sukte chieftain Khan Thuam ("Kantum", the father of Kam Hau). Some of the Guites submitted to Khan Thuam and eventually got absorbed into the Suktes, while others migrated north to settle in the present-day Tonzang Township and the adjoining parts of Churachandpur and Chandel districts, which were at that time not part of the Manipur kingdom. [16]

Manipur

In Manipur, the Paites number about 55,000 as of 2018, forming 1.94 percent of the state's population. [1] They are concentrated in the Churachandpur district and dominate the Churachandpur Town (locally known as Lamka). The Paite language is considered the lingua franca of the town. [3] The Paites are believed to be the most recent entrants into Manipur from Chin Hills, some stating that they moved after World War II. [17]

In the Churachandpur area, Paites have local organisations such the Paite Tribe Council, Young Paite Association, Paite Literature Society and Siamsinpawlpi (SSPP, students' welfare body). They mostly follow the Christian faith, with the majority belonging to the Evangelical Baptist Convention Church. [7]

Paites were part of the Kuki National Assembly (KNA) formed in 1946, [18] but soon intra-tribal rivalries took over and the majority of the tribes moved out of KNA to form a rival Khulmi National Union (also called "Khul Union"). [19] [20] [21] [b] The essential point of tension was the apprehension that the Thadou Kukis, who are much more numerous than the other tribes in Manipur, would dominate the KNA. [19] The Khulmi National Union contested the legislative assembly elections in 1948 and won seven seats. It participated in government formation, which was however short-lived due to Manipur's merger with Indian Union. [22]

"Khulmi" was meant to be an alternative identity to rival the Kuki identity, but the Government of India gave recognition to the Kuki identity, by listing "Any Kuki tribe" in the list of Scheduled Tribes in 1951. [22] Subsequently, many of the Old Kuki tribes in the Khul Union moved towards the Naga identity, and the seven larger tribes led by Paites stood alone. [23] In 1995, these seven tribes chose the Zomi identity and formed the Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO) at the instance of the Paites. [24]

During 1997–1998, there was an ethnic clash between the Paites and Thadou-speaking Kuki tribes in the Churachandpur district, which saw 352 people dead and thousands displaced, but a peace agreement was reached in the end. On this occasion, an underground militant wing of ZRO, called the "Zomi Reunification Army" or "Zomi Revolution Army" (ZRA), was formed. [25] [26] [c] According to security expert E. N. Rammohan, the Paites were not well-armed and took a beating in the clashes. ZRA fled across the border to Myanmar, where it formed an alliance with the Naga militant group NSCN-IM. [26]

Paites also dominate the underground group United People's Front (UPF). [11]

Mizoram

In Mizoram, the Paites numbered about 23,000 as of 2011. [1] They are found living in more than 20 villages spread across 4 districts, namely Saitual district, Champhai district, Aizawl district and Khawzawl district. [27]

The Paites living in the region "Sialkal Tangdung" are given a special administration in aid to develop and uplift the local areas called the Sialkal Range Development Council (SRDC). Mimbung, Teikhang, Hiangmun, Kawlbem, Selam and Vaikhawtang villages are included in it.[ citation needed ]

SRDC was first set up as the Sialkal Tlangdung Development Board by the Government of Mizoram in February 2012. It was changed to a Council in 2013. [28]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Alternative spellings: Paitei, [3] Paithe, [4] Paihte. [5] Older spellings: "Pytai". [6]
  2. ↑ "Khulmi" meant the people of the cave origin, referring to the originary myth shared by all Kuki-Chin tribes.
  3. ↑ There is another organisation named "Zomi Revolutionary Army" in the Chin State of Myanmar, formed by Tedim Chins.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churachandpur district</span> District in Manipur, India

Churachandpur District, is one of the 16 districts of the Indian state of Manipur populated mainly by Kuki-Zo people. The name honours former Maharaja Sir Churachand Singh of Manipur. The district headquarters is located in the Churachandpur town, which is also locally known by the name Lamka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuki people</span> Ethnic group in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar

The Kuki people, or Kuki-Zo people, are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Kukis form one of the largest hill tribe communities in this region. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh. The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zou people</span> Ethnic group living in Myanmar and Northeast India

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.

Zo is a Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo language originating in western Burma and spoken also in Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India.

Thadou, Kuki, or Thado Chin is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin sub-branch. It is spoken by the Thadou people in Northeast India. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

Guite is the progenitor clan of Zomi people, also called Chin in Myanmar, Mizo, or Paite, or even Kuki in India. According to Zam, Nigui Guite is the elder brother of the ancestral fathers of the Thadou people, namely Thangpi, Sattawng, and Neirawng. This genealogy was recently inscribed on the tribal memorial stone at Bungmual, Lamka in the presence of each family-head of the three major clans, Doungel, Kipgen, and Haokip, on August 7, 2011. Some historians, like Shakespeare, assumed Lamlei was the Nigui Guite himself but the Guites themselves recounted Tuahciang, the father of Lamlei, as the son of Nigui Guite instead, in their social-religious rites. Regarding Guite as the born son of Songthu and his sister, Nemnep, it was the practice of ancient royalty to issue royal heir and also to keep their bloodline pure instead. Depending on local pronunciation, the clan was also called by different names such as Nguite or Vuite, Gwite, Nwite, Paihte by the Lushei. In accord with the claim of their solar origin, the Guite clan has been called nampi, meaning noble or major or even dominant people, of the region in local dialect in the past.

Churachandpur, locally known as Lamka is the second largest town in the Indian state of Manipur and the district headquarters of the Churachandpur District. The name "Churachandpur" was transferred from the earlier headquarters of the district at Songpi to the present location, and honours Churachand Singh, former maharaja of the Manipur princely state. The local people reject the name as a colonial imposition and prefer using the native name "Lamka".

The Sukte are one of the clans of Tedim Chins that mainly inhabit the Tedim district in Myanmar, with small numbers in India, in Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam states. They are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in Manipur. From 1995, they have been part of the Zomi Re-unification Organisation in Manipur.

The Kuki-Chin 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 Kuki–Paite Conflict, also called Kuki–Zomi Conflict, was an ethnic conflict during 1997–1998 between tribal communities in Churachandpur district in Manipur, India. The conflict started when a Kuki insurgent group, KNF, mercilessly killed 10 Paite villagers of Saikul Village on June 24, 1997, which led to pitting one group that subscribed to the Kuki label against another group that subscribed to the Zomi label, the latter being led by the Paites. The conflict lasted for over a year, during which 352 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and over 13,000 people were displaced. The Government of India sent in the Indian Army to attempt to stop the violence, but peace was restored in September–October 1998 only with the initiative of the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Revolutionary Army</span> Nationalist insurgent group

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.

The Zo people is a term to denote the ethnolinguistically related speakers of the Kuki-Chin languages who primarily inhabit northeastern India, western Myanmar, and southeastern Bangladesh.

Paite is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Paite people. There are different Paite dialects; some notable Paite dialects are Bukpi, Lousau, Valpau, Dapzal, Tuichiap, Sukte, Dim, Lamzang and Sihzang. The language exhibits mutual intelligibility with the other languages of the region including Thadou, Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Kom, Gangte and other languages. The name Paite could translate to 'the people who went', 'a group of people marching'. Paite refers to a group of people who enter today Manipur and Mizoram (India) crossing the run river during the pre colonial era, so the word Paite itself means "those who went out".... It is fairly necessary to note that there are amongst those group of people who do not leave today Burma and still settle there. They cannot be called Paite since they do not leave or set out, So to put an umbrella term on all the ethnic groups between two international countries the word "Zomi" is unifiedly used. They are a part of the Chin/Kuki/Mizo/Zomi (CHIKIMZO)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi people</span> Group of people in India and Myanmar


Zomi is a collective identity adopted some of the Kuki-Chin language-speaking people in India and Myanmar. The term means "Zo people". The groups adopting the Zomi identity reject the conventional labels "Kuki" and "Chin", popularised during the British Raj, as colonial impositions. Even though "Zomi" was originally coined as an all-encompassing identity of the Kuki-Chin-speaking people, in practice, it has proved to be divisive, with considerable number of groups continuing to use the traditional labels "Kuki" and "Chin" and only certain sections adopting the Zomi identity. The groups covered in the identity has varied with time. Compound names such as "Kuki-Zo" and "Zomi Chin" are sometimes used to paper over the divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Congress for Democracy</span> Political party in Myanmar

The Zomi Congress for Democracy, formerly Zomi National Congress, is a political party in Myanmar. Originally formed in Manipur, India, most of its current support comes from Chin State, where the party was originally headquartered. The party is most popular in the Tonzang, Tedim, and Kalay Townships where their headquarters and strongholds are. The party has 15,000 members in Chin State.

Northern Kuki-Chin is a branch of Kuki-Chin languages. It is called Northeastern Kuki-Chin by Peterson (2017) to distinguish it from the Northwestern Kuki-Chin languages. VanBik (2009:31) also calls the branch Northern Chin or Zo.

In the state of Manipur in northeast India, conflict arose between the Kukis and Nagas soon after India's independence. The Nagas, who dominated the northern hill regions of the state, attempted to homogenise the area in order to demand integration with the Naga Hills region further north. This caused displacement of Kukis to the southern districts as well as the central hill regions during the 1950s. Major clashes again occurred during 1992-98, leading to the deaths of more than 1,000 people and diplacement of 50,000–100,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Kuki society</span> Overview of prostitution in Kuki society

Prostitution is practised by some people in the Kuki society. Kuki tribes live mainly concentrated in Myanmar's Chin State, Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts and Northeast India, mainly in Manipur and Mizoram.

Mombi, original name Lawmpi or Lonpi, is a census village in the Chandel district in the Manipur state of India. It had a population of 464 in the 2011 census.

Ukha Loikhai is a village in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. It is on the western slopes of the Thangjing Hill and has ongoing claims to the top of the hill itself. In the 2011 census, Ukha Loikhai had a population of 418 people. Ukha was one of the leading villages in the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Religion Data of Census 2011: XXXI Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland". Centre for Policy Studies. 18 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Census of India - Language tools". Census of India. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Guite & Vualzong, Paitei Tribe of Churachandpur (2018), p. 334.
  4. ↑ Ethnologue, 15th Edition (2005), p. 358.
  5. 1 2 Kamkhenthang, The Paite (1988), pp. 7–8.
  6. ↑ Brown, R. (1874), Statistical Account of the Native State of Manipur and the Hill Territory under Its Rule, Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, p. 56
  7. 1 2 Guite & Vualzong, Paitei Tribe of Churachandpur (2018), pp. 334–335.
  8. 1 2 Zou, Patriots and Utilitarians in the Anglo-Kuki War (2021) , pp.159–160: "... the backdrop of a triangular contest between three dialectal groups – the Zou (led by Manlun chiefs), the Paite (led by Guite chiefs) and the Thadou (led by Haokip chiefs). In colonial records, all the three groups were known as ‘new Kukis’ because of their linguistic and cultural affinities."
  9. ↑ Choudhury, Sanghamitra (2016), Women and Conflict in India, Routledge, pp. 38–39, ISBN   9781317553625, Local Paitei preferred to be called 'Zomi', whereas the local Thadous preferred to be called 'Kukis'.
  10. ↑ Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict (2007), p. 191: "In 1995, the name of the 'Seven Tribes' in Churachandpur district was changed to “Zomi Re-unification Organization (ZRO)” at the initiative of the Paite.".
  11. 1 2 Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, Fears Over Land, Identity Fuel Manipur's Bonfire of Anxieties, The Wire, 9 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Former residents of Paite Veng recount their 'Kristallnacht'". The Times of India . 25 July 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Das, Politics of 'Belonging' Among Zomi-Chin-Kuki People (2021), pp. 225–226.
  14. ↑ Ethnologue, 15th Edition , SIL International, 2005, Entry for "Zome", (p. 467) – via archive.org
  15. ↑ Kipgen, Nehginpao (October–December 2011), "Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case Study of the Kukis and the Nagas in Manipur", The Indian Journal of Political Science, 72 (4): 1048, JSTOR   41856539
  16. ↑ Carey & Tuck, The Chin Hills (1896), pp. 140–141.
  17. ↑ Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict (2007), p. 188.
  18. ↑ Haokip, Genesis of Kuki Autonomy Movement (2012), pp. 53–54.
  19. 1 2 Kipgen, Ethnic Conflict in India (2011), p. 1049.
  20. ↑ Ranjit Singh & Thomas, Ethnic movements of the small tribes of Manipur (2001), pp. 10–11.
  21. ↑ Lal Dena, Lal Robul Pudaite, Colonial Divide In Manipur: Tracing The Journey Of State Between 1835 And 1947, Outlook, 4 September 2023.
  22. 1 2 W. Nabakumar, Ethnic relationship of different communities in Manipur, Kukiforum blog, 27 August 2007.
  23. ↑ Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict (2007), p. 190.
  24. ↑ Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict (2007), p. 191.
  25. ↑ Choudhury, Sanghamitra (2016), Women and Conflict in India, Routledge, pp. 38–39, ISBN   9781317553625
  26. 1 2 Rammohan, E. N. (April–June 2002), "Blue Print for Counterinsurgency in Manipur", The Journal of the United Services Institution of India, CXXXII
  27. ↑ "A-11 Appendix: District wise scheduled tribe population (Appendix)". censusindia.gov.in.
  28. ↑ "Brief History of Sialkal Range Development Council". gad.mizoram.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
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