profile of a burma frontier man part ii

8/14/2019 Profile of a Burma Frontier Man Part II

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HISTORY OF THE ZO Ml CHIN) RACE"The Ch in is o f i n te res t , becau se he revea ls the ma ter ia l ou t o f wh ich Buddh ismand c iv i l i sa t ion have be tween them ev o lve d the Burmese pe op le ; the C h i n , inshor t , is the rough wo od ou t o f wh ich the Burman has been c ar ve d " .

"The S il k en E as t " , by V . C . S c o t t O 'C on no r

T H E C h i n H i l l s G az e t t ee r r ec o r ded t he f ac t s that Zo (Ch ins) and the so ca l led Kuk is were on eand the same race and that Sok tes , Yos and Kamhaus were one pe op le . It further summar ized thef a c t that a l l be l ong t o one an d the s am e K uk i r ac e . H a d the w o r d K uk i been c hanged t o Z oa t that t ime, the right wo rd fo r ca l l i ng the var ious t r ibes an d c lans o f the Zo race inhab i t ingthe areas jo in ing Burma, Eas t Pak is tan and A ss am wo u ld have been answe red a long time ago .Th is pub l i ca t ion was ra re fo r a long time a nd was no t ava i lab le to la te r au thors on the var iou sraces o f Burma.

"There can be no doubt that the C h ins and the Kuk is a re one and the same race , fo r the i rappearance, manners , cus toms, and language a l l point t o th i s c on c l us i on " . The C h i n H i l l s G az e t t e e r1896 chap x i i pp 135.

" S e c t i o n s o f the Ch ins who have m ig ra ted into Burma from the T ibe tan p la teau a lmo st ina s t ra igh t l ine dow n south are to be foun d from t he S om r a H i l l T r ac t s dow n C a p e N eg r a i s . TheC h i n s , the peo p le l i v ing in the nor thern Ch in H i l l s be l ie ved then most l y that the i r fo rem ostfa thers se t t led in C im nu a i , Sa iz ing from where they spre ad to o the r p lac es in the Ch in H i l l s .The peop l e c a l l t hem s el v es Z O M l . M i m ean i ng M an . F r om C i m nu a i s om e went sou th and ca l ledthemse lves Suk te , some move d eas t to the a lka l i va l ley S i Za ng and la te r known as S izang (S iy in ) .The Tha do branch move d nor th , and some more branches m ove d west and s t i l l ca l l them se lvesM l Z O but known by the Br i t ish as Lushai (Luse i ) .

" S e c t i o n s o f the Ch ins who have m igra ted into Burma from the T ibe tan p la teau a lmost ina s t ra ight l ine down south are to be found from t he S om r a H i l l T r ac t s dow n t o C a p e N eg r a i s .The Ch ins , then most l y in No r th - We ste rn Burma, a re known to have ha d soc ia l i n te rcourse withthe Burmese at the time o f the K in gdo m of P agan (104 4-12 87) . There were Ch in lev ies in thea r m i es o f K i ng B ay i nnaung o f Toungoo ( 1551 - 81 ) and o f K i ng A l a un gp ay a o f A v a ( 1752 - 60 ) .

" L o c a l tradition has it that the ances tors o f some o f the pe op le fo rm ing the pr in c ipa lt r i bes asce nde d the Ch i n lands from t he K a l e - K ab aw and t he M y i t t h a R i v e r v a l l ey s . O n e g r oupwent there by the foothill Burmese v i l l ag e , Ya za gy o, and are the c lans now inhab i t ing the nor th eas t r eg i on o f T i dd i m . A no t he r g r oup went u p M o u n t K e n n e d y from the K a le Va l ley . They thendes cen ded the wes tern s lope o f Kenn edy Peak and se t t led in Za ng p i ta m abo ve Thuk la i V i l l a ge ,Siy in V a l l ey . La t e r t hey c on t i nued t he ir m ov e to C i m nua i nea r S a i z ang V i l l ag e , S ok t e a r ea .The i r descendants spread a long var ious rou tes from C i m nua i and a r e be l i ev ed t o be t heances tors o f the present t r i bes o f S iy in , Sok te , Kam hau , Zo and Th ad o. The remainder mo vedfrom the M y i t t h a R i v e r v a l l ey into the Ce nt r a l C h in coun t ry a nd were the ances tors o f theZan n ia ts , Zaha us , Tashons o f F a lam and var ious t r ibes o f H ak a.

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I t is not within tribal m e m o r y that any f u l l - s c a l e o r ga n i z ed w a r w as ev e r w a ge d be t w een t heBurmese K ings and the C h i n s , bu t m in or hos t i l i t ies used to occ ur a t t imes in the foothill v a l l ey s ,resu l t i ng in ra ids and sk i rm ishes on the bo rde r .

B r it is h t r oops w e r e i n ac t i o n aga i ns t t he N o r t he r n C h i ns a f t e r t he annex a t i on o f U pp e rBurma f o r a c on t i nue d pe r i od o f s ev en m on t hs o r the r ea bou t s am ong the f oo t h i l l s now pas s edb y t h e K a l e m y o - F o r t W h i t e - T i d d i m R o a d , a t a p la ce c a l le d L e isan (now known as the BashaH i l l ) . The C h i n s r es i s ted t he adv anc e o f B r i ti s h t r oops f ea r l es s l y til l they w ere sub due d. It wasn o t until 1892 that the no r t he r n peop l e now i nhab i t i ng t he T i dd i m S ubd i v i s i on w e r e totallyd i s a r m ed . The C e n t r a l C h i ns d i d no t o f f e r any f u l l - s c a l e r es i s t anc e . Fu r t he r dow n i n t he s ou th ,t he v a r ious tr i bes o f t he H ak a S ub d i v i s i on , r es i st ed s te r n l y t he a dv a nc e o f t he f o r c es from theG a n g a w V a l l e y .

The r e is a g r ea t de a l o f s oc i a l i n t e r c ou r s e be t w e en t he C h i n s and t he B u r m es e an d a c o n s i de r ab l e num be r o f C h i n s s peak B u r m es e . M an y C h i n s l iv i ng i n t he P ak ok k u , Tha y e t m y o , P r om eend Hen z ad a D i s t r i c t s hav e bec om e B u r m a n i z ed , be i ng m os t l y B uddh i s t s . E v en i n r es p ec t o f t heC h i n s in t he C h i n H i l l s D i s t r i c t , t hos e w ho i nhab i t t he s ou t he rn po r t i on and t hos e a r eas ad j ac en tt o t h e K a l e - K a b a w V a l l e y a r e i n c l o s e t o u c h with t he B u r m es e . The C h i ns hav e f r eq uen t l yexpressed a des i re to h ave Burmese as the me d ium o f ins t ruc t ion in the i r sch oo ls . Re po r t o fF r on t i e r A r e as C o m m i t t ee o f E nq u i r y 1947 .

' A m o n g s t t he K hong j a i s ( K huangs a i ) t hem s e l v es , t he c r eam o f t he Thados , t he Thados pa rex c e l l enc e a r e m a l e des c enda n t s o f Tha do i n d i r e c t l i nea l des c e n t . To t hes e m uc h r es pec t ispa i d by t he y oun ge r b r anc he s , w ho i n t ok en t he r e o f p r es en t t o t he C h i e f o f t he i r pa r t i c u l a rb r anc hes one t us k o f eac h e l ep han t t hey m a y c ap t u r e , t hes e C h i e f s aga i n m ak i ng a p r es en t t o t he i r -s upe r i o r , t he he ad o f a l l .

"O r i g i na l l y t hey w e r e no t m i g r a t o r y , bu t hav e as s um ed t h is c ha r a c t e r l a t e l y . S i nc e t he i rexpu ls ion from thei r own hi l ls , the different t r i bes hav e bec om e m i x ed up toge t he r i n t he v i ll agess i t ua t ed i n pos i t i ons s e l ec t ed with r e f e r e n c e t o c o n v e n i e n c e o f c u l t i v a t i o n , b u t with little r ega r dto hea l th iness .

" T h e Y o tribe t h r e e g e n e r a t io n s b a c k o c c u p i e d t h e tract o f c ou n t r y now i nhab i t ed by t heK anh ow c l an o f S ok t es , and m any o f t he K an how v i l l ages a r e i nh ab i t ed s t i l l b y Y o s , w hos e tribalnam e has g i v en w ay t o that o f " K a n h o w " . S o k t e s , Y o s , a n d K a n h o w s a r e p r a c t i c a l l y o n e p e o p l e ;f o r m any y ea r s pas t , as is s how n in t he M an i pu r rec o r ds , num be r s o f em i g r an t s c r os s ed t he N o r thern C h i n bo r d e r an d s e t t led dow n a l o ng the s ou th o f M an i pu r p l a i n , w es t o f t he l on g i t udeo f H o w b i Peak.

The Chin Hills are peopled by many clans and comm unities, calling themse lves by variousname s and believing themse lves to be of distinct and superior origin. It is evident, howev er thatall belong to one and the same , the Kuki race, which, owing firstly to the want of a writtenlanguage and secondly to the interminable inter-village warfare, has split up and resulted in ababel of tongues, a variety of custom s, and a diversity of modes of living.

" P h y s i c a l l y the C h i n is a f i ne man , ta l le r an d s tou te r than h is ne igh bours in the p la ins onboth th e north an d eas t , a nd a l thoug h he fa l l s shor t o f the bu i ld o f the Path an, h is measu rementsc o m p a r e m o r e t h a n f a v o u r a b l y with t hos e o f the G u r k h a . It is no unc om m on o c c u r enc e t o findmen 5 feet 10 inches and 5 feet M inches in he igh t with c hes t m eas u r em en t o f 39 i nc hes and

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with a c a l f me a s u r e me n t o f t h e a b n o r ma l size o f 16 inche s. Ind iv idua l fa l l m en are fou nd in theKuk i v i l l a g e s imm e d ia te l y s o u th o f M a n ip u r a n d a mo n g th e S o k te s , b u t t h e f i n e s t built men in theh i l ls a re the S iy ins , H aka s , and inde pen den t sou therners .

" T h e S iy ins , though sma l l in s ta tu re , a re sp le nd i d ly l imb ed and a re the mos t even ly builttribe in the h i l l s , though the H aka s and indep end en t sou therners a re as a wh o le ta l le r and p rod ucethe f ines t ind iv id ua l me n . The Ch in s and the sou thern Kuk is o f M an ip ur be in g the same race , l i v ingin the same c lass o f coun t r y and under the same con d i t ion s , a re , as is to be exp ec t ed , equ a l ly g oo dc a r r i e r s " . C h i n H i l l s G a z e t t e e r .

C h i n Lev ies bes ide invad ing coun t r ies ad ja cen t to the C h i n H i l l s such as the Eas t Ind iac o m p a n y o c c u p ie d a re a s o f E a s t B e n g a l i n c l u d in g t h e C h i t t a g o n g a r e a s , t h e y v o lu n te e r e d f o rs e r v i c e u n d e r K i n g A l a u n g p a y a .

" A l a u n g p a y a h imse l f r e tu rned with a l a r g e f o r c e , c o n ta i n i n g S h a n a n d C h in l e v i e s, t o S y r i a mw h ic h his me n h a d s ta r t e d t o b e s ie g e s o o n a f t e r t h e c a p tu r e o f R a n g o o n " H a r v e y .

" T h e app rox im ate cause in 1757 was , f i r s t l y , the fa i lu re o f the Ta la in g gove rnm ent tosub juga te the north imm e d ia te l y a f t e r e n te r i n g A v a a n d b e fo r e w i t h d r a w in g t h e bu lk o f t h e a r my ;s e c o n d l y , they were d iv i de d in the i r coun c i ls , wh i le the Burmese were un i ted under a g rea tl e a d e r ; th i r d ly , they h ad on ly the i r own co rne r o f Burma to d r aw on fo r m en , whereas A la un gp a y a ' s numbers were fed by Shan , K a c h i n , C h i n a n d K a d u l e v i e s " . H a r v e y 1 9 2 5 .

The p op u la t ion o f the Kh yen g (C h in ) in the d is t r i c ts o f Ar ak an as i t s tood a t the censuso f 1 87 2 w a s a s f o l l o w s : ( J A S B fo r 1875 V o l . XL IV P t I ).

I. A ky ab 3 ,917'2 . Ram ree 10 ,3243. S a n d o w a y 4 , 7 1 5

18,956

" T h e K h y e n g s c a l l t h e ms e l v e s H IO U o r S H O U (zo, yo) and s tate that the Sh indoo s , Khum is ,and Lungkhes , a re mem bers o f the same race as them se lves . They h ave a t r ad i t ion that theyc a m e d o w n f r o m th e K y e n d w e n g ( C h in d w in ) r iv e r , b u t t h e y possess no written r eco rd o f the i rd e s c e n t ; they a re fon d , how ever , o f s ing ing rude ba l lad s , wh ich po r t ray the de l igh ts o f the i ra n c ie n t c o u n t r y " .

In h is " M i s s i o n t o th e C o u r t o f A v a " , H e n r y Y u le r e c o r d e d t h e s u r ve y s ma d e a b o u t t h eo c c u p i e d an d uno ccup ied par ts o f Burma :

" O f la rge t r ac ts we have s t i l l no accura te de sc r ip t ion . Such a re the eas te rn pa r ts o f BurmaP r ope r f r o m th e I r a w a d i t o th e S h a n s ta te s , t h o u g h o n t h is M a j o r A l l a n h as c o l l e c te d a g o o dd e a l o f n a t i v e i n fo r m a t i o n ; t h e Y a u ( Z o ) c o u n t r y , w e s t o f t h e mo u th o f t h e K y e n - d w e n ; t h ein te r i o r o f t h e D o a b , b e tw e e n t h e I r a w a d i a n d K y e n - d w e n , f r o m M o u t - s h o b o ( Mu k s o b u ) u p wards ; and the who le o f the h i l l coun t r y eas t and nor th -eas t o f the ca p i ta l , towa rds the Rub y -mines, t h e u p p e r c o u rs e o f t h e M y i t n g e , a n d t h e C h in e s e frontier.

' S e v e n r aces a re rec ogn is ed by the Burmese as o f the M ya m m a s tock ; v iz . the Raka in , o rp e o p l e o f A r a c a n ; t he p r o p e r B u r ma ; t h e T a la i n ; t h e K y e n o f t h e A r a c a n mo u n ta i n s ; t h e

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K a r e n o f the fo res ts o f l ower Burma, Pegu, and Tennas s e r i m ; t he Y au ; and t he T av oy e r . The r eare t rac es , ho wev er , i n the Burmese h is to ry , o f even the pro pe r Burma hav ing bee n am alg am ate df r om v a r i ous r ac es . Y u l e ' s M i s s i on t o A v a .

" S t i l l further w es t w a r d i n t he N a ga c oun t r y , be t w e en long i t ud e 93 and 95 , and a g r ea tmu l t ip le mass o f m oun ta ins s ta r ts southwards f rom the A s s a m c ha i n . E nc l os i ng first the leve la l l uv i a l v a l l ey o f M un n i po o r , a t a he i gh t o f 2500 f ee t ab ov e t he s ea , i t t hen s p r ead ou t w es t w a r dt o T i pu r a and t he c oas t o f C h i t t a go ng and no r t he r n A r a c a n a b r o ad s uc c es s i on o f unex p l o r edand f o r e s t - c ov e r ed s pu rs , inhab i t ed by a v as t v a r i e t y o f w i l d t r i bes o f I ndo - C h i nes e k ind r ed , k now nas K o o k i s , N a g a s , K hy ens , and by m any m or e s pec i f i c nam es . C o n t r ac t i ng t o a m o re de f i n edc h a i n , o r to us mo re de f i ne d be cau se we know i t be t te r , th i s me r id ian range s t i ll passes sou thwardunde r t he nam e o f t he A r ac an Y um a- doung , til l 700 m i les f rom i ts o r ig in in the N ag a w i lds i ts inks in the sea hard by Negrais, i ts last bluff c ro w n e d b y t h e g o l d e n P a g o d a o f M o d a i n ,g l eam i ng f a r t o s eaw ar d , a B u r m es e S un i um . Fanc y m i gh t t r ac e t he s ubm ar i ne p r o l onga t i on o f t herange in the do t ted l i ne o f the P repa r i s , the C c c o s , t h e A n d a m a n s , t h e N i c o b a r s , til l i t emergesaga i n t o t r av e r s e S um a t r a and t he v as t c ha i n o f t he J av an i c isles.

"B e t w een t hes e t w o g r ea t m e r i d i an r anges that hav e been i nd i c a t ed , the one eas t w a r d o fthe I rawa d i a nd the S i tan g, the o ther we s tward o f the Kyen -dw en and the I rawad i , l i e what hav ebeen c ha r a c t e r i s ed abo v e as t he first th ree d iv i s ions o f the Burm an territory, and these be foret he de t ac hm en t o f P egu m igh t hav e been c ons i de r ed as f o r m i ng t he k i ngdom o f B u r m a .

" A little be l ow t he S hw e- l i , eac h s ide o f the I r aw ad i , a t M y a do un g on t he eas t and a tTh igya in on th e wes t , there are the remains o f o ld s tone fo r ts . Tha t a t Th igya in i s sa id to ha vebeen in anc ien t t imes the cap i ta l o f the K a d o s , a tribe now sca t te re d over the in te r io r o f theM o n y e e n d is t r ic t a n d that o f P y e n z a l a , west of the r iver .

( " A p r i v a t e no t e f r om C o l o ne l Ha nny s peak s o f the K a dos as be i ng t he m os t i n t e r es t ingof the nor thern t r ibes , " l i ke the Yo s , one o f the o ld Burmese races , and s im i la r in t ype to whatwe see o f the Bhurs an d Ra u je Bhurs o f the presen t da y , a race known by t rad i t i o n as the o ldes to f I nd i an r ac es " ) .Yule's Mission to Ava mentions fhe YAU (ZO) country.

"W e s t o f t he ri v e r , be t w ee n t he pa r a l l e l s o f 22 30 ' and 24 30 ' , s t r e tc hes f r om north tosouth the va l ley o f K a b o . ( K abo is t he nam e app l i e d t o t he S hans i n the M u nn i po o r i l anguag e ) .Th i s v a l l ey , t he no r t he r n pa r t o f w h i c h w as l ong a bone o f c on t e n t i on be t w een A v a and M unn i po or , was in 1833 ma de ove r to the fo rm er by the au thor i t y o f the B r i ti sh Gov ern me nt , a t thei ns t anc e o f C o l on e l B u r ney , c om pen s a t i on be i ng m a de t o M u nn i po o r . I t is a l ong s tr i p , no t m o r et han ten t o f i f t een m i les i n g r ea t es t w i d t h , s epa r a t ed f r om t he K y en - dw e n by a r ange o f un in hab i t ed and f o r es t - c ov e r ed h i ll s , c a l l e d U ng oc h i ng . The no r t he rn po r t i on o f t he v a l l ey , c a l l e dby t he B u r m es e Thoung t hw o t , by t he K a t hes , o r M u nn i po o r i es , S am j ok ; and t he s ou t he r n , c a l l e dK a l e , a re s t i l l under the ru le o f the n a t i ve Shan Tsaubw as tributary t o A v a ; t he on l y s uch w hohav e 'm a i n t a i ned t he i r p os i t i on unde r t he B u r m es e G o v e r nm en t on th i s s i de o f t he I r aw a d i . Thec en t r a l po r t i on , K hum ba t , i s unde r a B u r m es e G o v e r no r . K a l e is m uc h t he m os t popu l ous pa r to f the va l ley , and i t has an ex i t fo r i ts teak by the Nar en jar a , o r M un n ip oo r r i ver , wh ich 'passesth rough i t into t he K y en - d w en . It a l s o p r oduc e s r ic e and c o t t on , with wax and i vory . Ka le i s oneof the s i tes to w h ich Burman h is to ry o r leg end a t tach es the dyn as ty o f anc ien t H ind oo

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imm ig r a n t s . A n d t h e c lass ic name o f the Ka bo va l ley is M au re ey a . The h i ll s on the wes t o fK a l e a re occu p ie d by the Kh yens , a race ex tend in g sou thward th rough ou t the long range o f theY o m a - d o u n g to the la t i tude o f Prom e.

( " C o lo n e l H a n n y i d e n t i f i e s t h e K h y e n swith the Na ga s o f the A s s a m moun ta ins . They mus talso be c lose ly a l l ie d to the K ook is . In T ran t ' s accoun t o f the K hyens , on the Ae n g pass, hement ions the i r worsh ip o f a d iv in i ty ca l le d Passine (Pas ia n ) ; and L ieu tenan t S tew ar t , in h isno t ice o f the "ne w K oo k is " o f no r the rn K ach ar , says that t h e y r e c o g n is e o n e a l l - p o w e r fu l G o das the au thor o f the un ive rse , whom they te rm "P u t he n" (Pa th ian ) T ran t ' s Two Years in A v a ,a nd J o u r . A s ia t i c S o c ie t y B e n . 1 8 5 5 , p . 6 2 8 ) .

" O f the Y O o r Ya u coun t r y , l y in g a lon g the r i ve r o f that name, be tw een the bar ren Tan gy ihil ls that l in e t h e I ra w a d i , o p p o s i t e P a g a n a n d t h e b a s e o f t h e A r a c a n Y o m a - d o u n g , n o th i n g mo r eis known, I am sor r y to say , than was reco rded long a go by Dr . Buc hanan . The peo p le a re be l i e v e d to be o f the same race with the Burmese , bu t , f r o m the i r sec lud ed pos i t io n , speak thel anguage in a pec u l ia r d ia le c t . There a re pa ths f r om the Ya u cou n t r y into t h e K a la d a n v a l l e yi n A r a c a n , w h i c h K in g T h a w a w a d i ma d e s o me talk o f r ender ing p assab le fo r t r oo ps , when hew as b rea th ing wa r in 1839 . They mus t t r averse the cou n t r y o f some o f the w i ldes t t r ibes o f theY u m a , and no th ing o f them is known. The Yaus a re g rea t t r aders , and a re the ch ie f ped le rs and.car r iers of nor thern B urm a.

" S o u t h o f the Yaus come s the d is t r i c t o f Tsa len , a r i ch a l luv ia l va l ley be tween the sk i r ts o f theY u m a - d o u n g , a nd the r i ve r , and cons id e red one o f the mos t p roduc t ive d is t r i c ts o f the emp i re .

" T r i b e s under a g r ea t va r ie ty o f names , and in every s tage f r om se mi - c iv i l i sa t ion to deepba r ba r i s m , inhab i t the b roa des t pa r t o f th is g rea t wes te rn moun ta in bou ndary o f Burma. The mos tex ten s ive ly -d i f fused o f these t r ibes , ex tend ing f r om la t . 28 , pe rhaps , to the A s s a m frontier, isthe race o f the Khyens .

Fr om T rave ls in Sou th Eas t A s i a b y t h e R e v . H o w a r d M a l c o m , o f B o s to n 1 8 3 9 :" T o w a r d s the h i ll s is the M ro o o r M ro on g t r ibe , a bou t f i ve thousa nd . Beyond these , on thelower h i l ls , are the Kyens , a mo u n t i n g t o f i f t e e n t h o u s a n d ; a n d b e y o n d t h e s e, o n t h e Y o m a d o n gM o u n t a i n s , a re the Arung s o r Ar ing s , am oun t ing to ten th ousa nd .

" T h e Y a w s ( Z o ) a r e o n t h e l o w e r w a te r s o f t h e K y e n d w e e n ( C h in d w in ) , n o t f a r f r o m A v a .The d is t r i c t is somet imes ca l le d Y o o r J o . The langu age is essen t ia l l y B urman, bu t spoken witha d ia lec t in te l l ig ib le on ly to themse lves . They a re an agr icu l tu ra l and pas to ra l pe op le , en jo y inga coun t r y o f ex t reme sa lub r i ty and f r u i t fu lness . They manu fac tu re sugar , and expor t i t to o the rpar ts o f the emp i re ; and o f te n resor t to A v a fo r the purpose o f t r ad e .

" T h e K y e n s a r e s o me t ime s c a l l e d N a - g a s , and by the Burmans C h i n s . They occupy par t o ft h e A r r a c a n a n d M u n i p o r e frontier, ch ie f l y the moun ta ins o f the d is t r i c t o f Ku bo , and am ountto a b o u t f i f ty t h o u s a n d , d i v i d e d into va r ious t r ibes , as the C h a n g s e l , t h e K o n g ju , t h e C h e d o o ,the K upo ree , e tc . Som e o f the t r ibes a re tributary o f Burmah, o the rs to the Eas t Ind ia C om pa ny ,a n d so me a r e c o m p le te l y i n d e p e n d e n t . On e tribe tattoo the i r women 's faces in a ho r r ib le manner ; o f whom I have seen a number . They gen era l l y ca l l them se lves Ko lou n . H am i l to n regardsthem as one o f the o r ig ina l t r ibes o f fa r the r Ind ia , a nd that, u nder v ar iou s nam es, such asK o o k i e s (Kuk is) , C o s s y a h s (Kh as i ) , e tc . , and in va r ious s tages o f c iv i l i sa t ion , they a re sp read ,more o r less over th is who le pen ins u la . W i t h i n the l im i ts o f Ar r ac an a re abo u t f i f te en thou sand ,

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w ho m i gh t be r eac h ed t h r ough A k y a b and K y ouk P hy oo . A c ons i de r ab l e v i l l age o f t hese pe op l es t ands a t t he en t r anc e o f t he O o - t ha - l ong N u l l ah , ten day s by w a t e r f r om A k y a b . M an y o fthem l i ve in the in te rmed ia te space . The h i l l t r i bes are f i e rce , and dreaded by a l l the i r ne ighbou r s , bu t t he l ow l and e r s c u l t i v a t e t he ea r t h pea c e f u l l y , an d hav e s e t t l ed hab i t a t i ons . Thos eunder Burman auth or i t y pa y the i r tribute ch ie f l y in i vory , wax , coars e co t tons , g inge r , an dturme r ic . Th ey are g rea t l y ad d ic te d to a r rack ex t rac t ed f rom r i ce . I have seen c lo ths and o therar t i c les ma de by them , wh ich d isp la y exce l len t sk i ll and tas te . The i r l angua ge is pec u l ia r andunw r i t ten , a nd t he d i a l ec t s o f t he d i f f e r en t t r i bes v a r y c ons i de r a b l y .

"The N a gas a r e a v e r y num er ous peo p l e on t he bo r de r s o f C a c h a r , M u n i p o r e , and A s a m .The i r c oun t r y be l ongs pa r t l y t o t he o t he r o f t hes e s t a t es . They a re c a l l e d N agas ( li t e r a l l y " nak e dpeop l e " ) f r om t he i r a l m os t total want o f d ress . There are many c lans or t r i bes o f them , d i f fe r inggrea t l y in the i r measure o f c i v i l i sa t ion . The be t te r sor t dw e l l i n co mp ac t v i l lage s o f we l l -bu i l thouses on h i gh h i l ls , and a r e repo r t ed t o be a v e r y hands om e and a t h l e t i c r ac e ; ac t i v e , bo t hi n ag r i c u l t u r e and m er c hand i s e .

" T h e J O O - M E A r es i de c h i e f l y i n C h i t t a go ng , on a r ange o f h i ll c oun t r y , on t he head w a te r so f the K u l la d in e , be tween the m ounta ins an d the p la ins . There are some t r ibes o f them in T ip pe ra ,and s om e i n A r r a c a n . They c u l t i v a t e h i ll r i c e and c o t t o n . The i r l anguage is w ho l l y un i n t e l l i g i b l eboth to Mu gs and Benga lees , an d is unw r i t ten . T he i r re l ig ion is impure Boo dh ism . They pa ytribute t o t he go v e r nm en t a t C h i t t ag on g , t h r ough a na t i v e z em i nda r ; w ho l iv es in c ons i de r ab l es ta te a t Baz i l eah , eas t w a r d o f C h i t t ag on g and c a l l s h i m s e l f r a j a .

" T h e C H A K - M A tribe i s a l l i ed t o t he J o o M e a ( Z O M l ) , and p r ac t i s e the s am e r e l ig i onThey a r e w ho l l y c on f i ne d t o t he h i l l y i n t e r i o r o f C h i t t ag on g , and a r e s uppos ed t o am oun t t oabou t s ev en t een t hous an d . They a r e c ons i de r ab l y c i v i l i z ed , and s om e c an r ead B eng a l ee ; bu tg e n e r a l l y write i t i n Burman cha rac ter . These an d the Joo -m ea s are a hard ly a nd indus t r iousp e o p l e , and cu t a l l the sh ip and furniture t i m be r w h i c h is b r ough t dow n C h i t t a go ng R i v e r . Theyare remarked a lso fo r in t rep id i t y as hunters , and fo r gene ra l gent leness and p rob i t y o f man ners"

A l t ho ug h there were t r ib a l wars and m igra t ions fo r o ther causes fo r genera t ion s many c lanshad s tuck to the i r fa m i l y t rees acco rd in g to cus tom As a resu l t very fa i r l y a ccu ra te ge ne a lo g ica lt r ees o f t he Zo f am i l y c ou l d be c om p i l ed .

A c c o r d i ng t o t he S i y i n p ri es t s and S i y i n c l an f am i l i e s N g en gu , V ang l ok and D a i t on g hadone more bro ther Ne i lu t . The i r fa the r was Thuantak wh o had two o ther b ro thers T oh in an dSeaktak . Thuantak was the younges t and he i r . Toh in and Se ak tak m igra ted to the north andthe i r des cend ants a re now known as Y o , Tha do or Khuan gsa i Som e c lan o f the Zo fam i l y a renow i n t he M an i pu r S t a t e , A s s a m and t he N a q a H i l l s . Thado and T ha l un w e r e t he t w o s ons o fSeak tak . Seak tak had four sons, Thad o , Tha l un , Tong l ua i and Han gs i ng . M o s t o f the v oc ab u l a r i esare s t i ll t he same and even the cus tom o f abs t .ne nce f rom m eat by w ives o f abse ntee husbandsis s t i l l t he same The comm on gen ea log ica l t ree ta l l i es up to the time o f sepa ra t ion be tween thethree bro thers o f Toh in , Seakrak and Thuantak (Suan tak) .

The c om p i l e r s o f the C h i n H i l l s G az e t t ee r r ec o r ds unde r t he title "H i s t o r y o f t he Thados ,Y o s and Nw i te s" , ,The h ' l lmen, known as the Kuk is o r Kho ng ja is , l i ve fo r the grea ter par t northof the Ch in H i l l s boundary l i ne and in h i l l territory be l ong i ng t o M an i pu r . The M a n i pu r i s c a l li he Kuk is , Kho ng ja i Th e,C h in s , howe ver , know thern on ly by the name o f the i r o r ig ina l p rog en i to r ,

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Thado , t hough t hey d i v i de t hem into var ious fam i l i es , the ch ie f o f wh ich is the M a n g Vum fam i l y ,w h i c h is a t the p r es en t da y f ound i nhab i t ing t he v i ll ages o f Lo r m p i ( M om be e ) , Tw e l bung , Ewan-kwa, S i nnum , S a i v um , and S h i m w e l l , a l l unde r M an i pu r . O t he r and less a r i s t oc r a t i c f am i l i e s a r ei he V um l u and V un t am , w h i c h a r e f ou nd in K a i nz o i and K w un K am ( S av um K w a) i n M a n i p u rterritory, a n d i n H i a n z a n ( H i a n g z a n g ) , B a l b i l , H a i t s i , H a n k e n , a n d H o l k o m i n t h e C h i n H i l l s .

C o l o n e l M c C u l l o c h w ho w as P o l i t i c a l A g en t i n M a n i p u r f o r m any y ea r s r ec o r ds :"The r e c an be no doub t that the Ch ins and the Kuk is a re one and the same race , fo r the i r

app eara nce, mann ers ; cus toms, and lang uage a l l po in t to th is con c lus ion ."The y pay m uc h a t t en t i on t o t he i r ge nea l ogy , and p r o f es s t o k now t he nam es o f t he i r C h i e f s

i n s uc c es s ion f r om t he i r l eade r up t o t he p r es en t t i m e . A bo u t t he nam es o f t hos e p r ev i oust o Thado t he r e m ay be dou b t , bu t f r om t h is g r ea t C h i e f f r om w hom t he w h o l e r a c e t ak es t heapp e l l a t i on o f Thad o I do no t think there is any.

"A m ong s t t he K hong j a i s t hem s e l v es , t he c r eam o f t he Th ados , t he Thados po r ex c e l l enc e a r emale descend ants o f Tha do in d i re c t l i nea l desce nt . The present Ch ie f o f a l l the Thado s is ay oung m an nam ed K oo d i n g M an g . The Th l ungum s a r e d i s t i nc t f r om t he C h a n s e l s , and the Thadost hem s e l v es a r e d i v i ded into t h e g r e a t e r c l an s o f T h a d o , S h in g s o l , C h o n g l o i , H a n g s e e n ( H a n g -s i ng ), K eepgen ( K i png en ) , H ank eep , f r om w hom aga i n hav e s p rung m any o t he r c l ans i n f e r io r i nr ank bu t num er ous as t hem s e l v es , s uc h as C h on g f oo t , Te l nok , Ho l t un g , M an gv oo ng ( M a ng V um ) ,V o o n g t u n g ( V um T a rn ) e t c " C o l . M c C u l l o c h .

" T h e Y o tribe t h r ee gene r a t i ons bac k oc c up i ed t he tract o f count ry now inhab i te d by theKanhow c lan o f Sok tes , and many o f the Kan how v i l l ages are inh ab i te d s t i l l by Yo s . Sok tes , Yo sand K anhow s a r e p r a c t i c a l l y one peo p l e , t hough no S ok t e C h i e f w ou l d adm i t that he is not ofsuper io r birth t o a Y o . Y os as w e l l as t he Thados and N w i t es a r e c a l l e d b y t he M a n i pu r i s K uk isor Khong ja is , bu t the peo p le ca l l themse lves by the name o f Yo , an d those wh o b e lon g to the" M a n Lu n " f am i l y c ons i de r that they have a right t o be p r oud o f the i r b i r t h " .

"The Tas hon t r i bes m en , un l ik e t he S i y i ns and t he S ok t es , do no t c l a i m one c om m on p r o gen i t o r . They a r e a c om m un i t y c o m p os e d o f a l i ens , w ho hav e been c o l l e c t e d unde r one f am i l yby c onq ues t , o r m o r e c o r r ec t l y by s t r a t egy . The es p r i f de c o r ps i n t he tribe there fore fa l l s fa rshor t o f that d i s p l ay ed i n t he S i y i n , S ok t e , and Thado t r i bes . The m em ber s o f t he Fa l am c ounc i la re no t look ed up to as eve ry man 's hered i ta ry an d law fu l l o rd , as in the case with C h i e f s i nt he no r t h . They a r e pa r v enus and a l i ens w ho c ann o t ex p ec t t o be t r ea t e d with the respec t wh ichh igh birth demands and secures in a l l Kuk i t r i bes .

var ious"The C h i n H i l l s a r e pe op l ed by m any c l ans and c om m un i t i es c a l l i n g t hem s e l v es bynames and be l ie v ing themse lves to be o f d is t inc t and sup er io r o r ig in . It is ev id ent , howe ver , thata l l be lon g to one an d the sam e, rhe Kuk i race , wh ic h , ow in g firstly to the want of a writtenl angua ge and sec ond ly to the in te rm inab le in te r -v i l l ag e wa r fa re , has sp l i t up an d resu l ted in abab e l o f t ongues , a v a r i e t y o f c us t om s , and a d i v e r s i t y o f m odes o f l i v i n g " .

" Ind iv idu a l ta l l m en are found in the Kuk i v i ll ages imm edia te ly south o f M an ipu r and amo ngthe Sok tes , bu t the f ine s t built men in the h i l l s a re S iy ins , H aka s and in dep en den t southerners

"Th e S iy ins , though smal l i n s ta tu re , a re sp lend id ly l imb ed and are the most even ly builttribe i n t he H i l l s , t hough t he H ak a s and i ndepen den t s ou t he r ne rs a r e a w ho l e t a l l e r a nd p r odu c e

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t he f i nes t i nd i v i dua l m e n . The w o r s t built and pun ies t m en in the h i l l s a re found am ong the 'Tashons, who are as a who le d is t inc t l y in fe r io r to the o ther t r i bes in phys iqu e and in ca r ry in gcapab i l i t y . There i s a say ing in the north " on e S iy in is equa l to th ree Tashon s , bu t then therea r e ov e r 15 Tas hons t o ev e r y S i y i n " .

If the h igh de ve lop me nt o f l i t e ra ry and ar t i s t i c tas tes i s to be taken as a c r i te r ion o f c i v i l i sat ion i t is not l ikely that eve n in th i s respec t Euro pe 'has muc h cause to th row contem ptuousg lances a t C h i n a .

I think the t ende nc y i n o l den day s w as t o c a l l the o t he r r ac e " ba r b a r i a n " .J ohns t one s ay s " A t Ta c h i en l u w e c om e i n c on t ac t with represen ta t i ves o f a l l the var ious

t r ibes o f wes tern C h i na an d eas tern T ibe t , bu t they are near l y a l l l ab e l l ed e i ther Man-c h ' ia o rM a n - t z u . The f o r m e r t e r m m eans "ba r ba r i an f am i l i e s , and in p r a c t i c e i s app l i ed t o t he peo p l ew hom t he C h i nes e c hoos e to r ega r d as true T ibe tan s as d is t inc t f rom the w i lde r den izens o f theh i l ls and fo res ts . The T ibe tan lang uage i s Ma n-h ua ( the langu age o f the ba rba r ians ) , and theC h i n e s e l anguage i s H an - hu a ( t he l anguage o f the m en o f H a n ) . "

The te rm Ma n- tz u ma y now fo r p ra c t i c a l purpo se be res t r i c ted to cer ta in o f the wes ternh i l l- t r ibes t o w hom bo t h T i be t an and C h i n es e a r e f o r e i gn l anguages , and w ho p r es e r v e d i s t i nc tcus toms o f the i r own in the mat te rs o f d ress , re l ig ion and so c ia l i n te rcourse . A c ons idera b le p ropo r t i on o f t he p eop l e w ho i nha b i t t he s c a t t e r ed v i l l ages o f the k i ngdom o f C h a l a , th rough wh ichl ay m y r ou te t o t he Y a l u ng , a r e t he M a n - t z u , no t M an - c h i a . M . B on i n , w ho has t r av e l l ed w i d e l yin wes tern Ss uchu 'an , iden t i f i es the Ma n- t zu (us ing the te rm in the nar rowe r sense) with the Lo los .I n c om m on with m a ny o t he r E u r opeans he has obs e r v e d that the word Lo lo , whate ver i t maym e a n , i s an oppr obr ious ep i th e t , wh ich is no t used by the L o los themse lves and shou ld neverbe used in the i r p res ence . H e cons ide rs that t he w o r d Lo l o s hou l d be d r o pp ed a l t oge t he r , andthat w e s hou l d s ubs t it u t e M a n - t z u as t he de s i gna l i on o f b o t h peo p l es . Th i s w o r d , he says, has thea d v a n t a g e o f c o m p r e h e n d i n g M o - s o , H s i F a n , K u - t su n g , M e n i a a n d L i so , who are , he cons ide rs ,a l l o f the same or ig in .

P r oba b l y no one has a be t t e r ac q u a i n t an c e with t he Lo l os than t he C a t ho l i c m i s s i ona ry ,M . Pau l V i a l . H e has l i ved fo r many years amo ng the N y i (o r N g i ) Lo lo s o f Y unn an, and hasc om e t o t he c onc l us i on that " M a n - t z u e t Lo l os ne s on t q u ' une s eu l e e t m em e r a c e " .

In the s tudy o f l angua ges and d ia lec fs I foun d that there are many words wh ich are verym uc h t he s am e b e t w een t he T i be t an l anguage and t he l anguages s pok en by t he Z O M l ( C h i n )and Burmans.Engl ishO n eTw oThreeFourFiveSixSevenEightN i neTen

Tibetan Z o Mi (Chin) Burmesechig khat titnyi ni hnitsum thum thonezhi li linga nga ngadirug luk (rug) chaukdun salih khuhnitgye liat giat; riat) shitgu kua kuchu sawm (hra) seh

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In the lower p la ins o f B urma the Z o Ch ins hav e ass im i la ted with f he B u r m ans g r ad ua l l y ,bu t i n t he s ub - m on t ane r eg i ons li k e N a t c h aun g , S i dok - t a y a , Y aw - T i l i n and G an ga w and P auk ando t he r a r eas a l ong t he m a i n A r a k a n Y o m a h dow n t o P r om e , t he peop l es a l t hough B u r m an i s edt hem s e lv es adm i t the i r be i ng Z o , Y a w , Y o , S ho w h i c h is t he s am e nam e g i v en by t he ea r l i e r

pmakers to a l l the peo p le inha b i t ing the who le W es te rn ranges up to A s s a m i den t i f y i ng t hem -ve s with t he nom ec l a t u r e g i v en t hem s e l v es by t he m a j o r i t y o f t he C h i n s within a. id without theaselves with

Chin Hi l ls .N o t o n l y a r e t he C h i ns s c a t t e r ed ou t s i de B u r m a bu t the i r a l l i ed l anguages a r e f oun d i n

severa l par ts o f A s s a m : "S o u t h o f t he N a ga H i l l s l ie s t he S t a t e o f M a n i p u r , and he re w e firstm ee t t he g r oup o f languages k now n as K u k i - C h i n . M e i t h e i , t he o f f i c i a l l anguage o f t he S t a t e , isthe one o f them which possesses an a l phab e t and a l i t e r a t u r e . O w i n g t o t he ex is t enc e o f t hel a t t e r i t s dev e l opm en t has been r e t a r d ed , s o that i t is in an older stage that the rest . The othersa r e s c a t t e r ed i n c o l on i es ov e r M a n i p u r an d C a c h a r , and ex t end s ou t h , t h r ough t he h i l l c oun t r y ,as fa r as the San dow ay D is t r i c t o f B urma. S ince they oc cu p ie d th is la t te r a re a , there has bee n ac ons t an t t endenc y t o ex pand no r t hw a r ds . O n the W es t t hey w e r e ba r r ed b y t he s ea , and on t hes ou th and eas t by the s t ab l e gov e r nm en t o f B u r m a . Thus w av e a f t e r w av e has been d r i v en t oth e north b y t hos e w ho w e r e be h i nd . The K uk i - C h i ns o f M an i pu r and C a c h a r o n c e o c c u p i e d t h eh i l ls imme dia te ly to the south , and these are now he ld b y the Lusha is , who we re or ig ina l l ypus hed f o r w a r d f r o m t he s ou t h -eas t and d r ov e t he m o n . Thi s p r og r es s has been a r r es t ed byou r c onv e r s i on o f C a c h a r into s e t t l ed territory. The r e a r e m o r e t han thirty K uk i - C h i n l anguages ,our convers ionsome with severa l d ia lec ts

The K hy engs c a l l t hem s e lv es H i o u o r S hou and s t a t e that the S h indo os , Khum is , and Lungkhesare mem bers o f the same race as themse lves . They have a t rad i t i on that they c am e dow n f r omt he K y endw eng r i v e r , bu t t hey possess no written r e c o r d o f t he i r des c en t ; t hey a r e f on d , how ev e r ,o f s ing ing rude ba l lads , wh ich por t ra y the de l igh ts o f the i r an c ien t cou nt ry , sp ec ime n o f wh ichis here g iven :

1 . A n i a la chan do n a kho a , e e e e2 . h toan za na ba le ng a hpuan a , e e e e3 . apok a po ich i a oa t m lu a , e e e e4 . h toan za na ba leng a hpuan a ,5. ane ye olo ve dim o e , e e e e6. s i sho e lo po e hn aun g e, e e e e7. son sho e a toan e sy e, e e e e8 . kanau o suam e i o htui y o .

T r ans l a t i on1. To t he uppe r ( c oun t r y o f the ) K y e ndw eng river)2 . To the leve l (p la ins o f the) ba len g and dry h toan (g rasses)3 . To the br ick (wa l led) c i t y o f our fo re fa the rs4 . To the leve l (p la ins o f the) b a le ng and dry h toan (g rasses)5 . W h i c h a r e so c ha r m i ng ( l it . no t a little c ha r m i ng )6 . Le t us h ie , com e a lo ng "7. Let us has te with e v e r y s peed8 O h my fa i ry l i ke you ng bro th er "

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The above is quoted from " O n the Khyeng People of the Sandoway District , Ara ka n" byMa jor G . E. Fryer, Deputy C ommissioner, Sandoway.

The words "Hiou or Shou" has little di fference p honetical ly from "Z o , Yo , Y aw ". Takinginto accou nt the distance of the hundred miles or so which separates the Z o Chins from thepla ins Hiou/Shou or Yaw Chins, the similarity existing among the differe nt words is sti l l moststriking. Thus we might conclude that the races foun d in between or around must have oncebelonged to the same stock.

O ne historical account of the Siyin Zos is that once all the Zo (Yaw Chins) inhabited theKalemyo valley. The Go ve rno r of K ale who was a son of the King of A va was, however, mostoppressive and force d the peop le to construct a pa latia l four walled fort with a moat runningall around it l ike the one at Av a . W ith the incessant raids from Ma nipu r the peo ple could devotelittle t ime to ploughing their f ields and all the time was spent in building the fort. It is relatedthat the fingers accid en tally cut during the course of this forc ed labo ur fi l led a whole basket. Thepeople tired of this oppression decided to migrate west and south. Those who went up the westcame into the hil l region by way of Thuam Vum (Kennedy Peak) and by Natchaung-Webula road,and several went down south to Ti l in, Ga nga w, Sidoktaya, Min bu and down to Arak an. The Hiouor Shou (Khyengs) l iving in Sandoway distr ict, whose ballads are recorded by Fryer mention abrick walled city :

"To the brick (walled) city of our forefa thers " in the third stanza and they claimed alsoto have descen ded from the Kyend weng river. The Frontier Are as Enquiry Com mission of 1947recorded the same history.

F A C T U A L D I S TR IB U TI ON O F Z O M l ( Y A W C H I N ) P O P U L A T I O N IN PLA INS B U R M A .

Ac co rdin g to the 1931 census the fo l lowin g towns in Burma proper have the most Z o Chins :Thayetmyo : 22,8 03; Minb u : 20,9 61; Ma gw e 2,34 8; Pakokku : 22 ,149 Prome : 13,951; A ky ab :29,516; Kyaukpyu : 17,935; Sa nd ow ay : 8,425.

The pop ulation of the Khyeng (H iou , Shou) in the distr icts o f Ara kan as it stood a t thecensus of 1872 was according to Ma jor G . E. Fryer as fol lo ws :

1. Ak ya b ' 3,9172. Ramree 10,3243. Sandoway 4,715

18,956

An othe r prov incial census of Z o Chins found in British Burma (Lower Burma) pr io r ' to theannexation of the Chin Hil ls proper, taken in 1881 according to Dr Forchhammer was:

1. Tha yetm yo district 16,4162. Kyau kpyu I 1.6173., Prome 10,0004. He nzada 3,652

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That the demo graphic picture be m ore complete, Iwill now give the emigrant Chin populationacco rding to Divisions in Burma, also acco rding to the 1931 ce ns us :

1. Magwe Div is ion : Thayetm yo: 22,803; M in b u : 20 ,96 1; Magwe : 2 ,3 48 ; Pakokku :22,149.

2. Arakan Div is ion : A k y a b : 29,516; Ky auk pyu : 17,935; San dow ay: 8,425.3 . Pegu Div is ion : Pro m e: 13,951; Ra ngo on: 331; P e g u : 1,305; Tharrawaddy : 1,265; Han

tha wa ddy : 31 ; Insein : 280.4. Sagaing Division : Uppe r Chindw in : 8,539; Lower Chindwin : 38; Bhamo : 43 ; My i tkyina :

2 9 1 ; Shwebo : 27; Sagaing : 553 ; Ka tha : 95.5 . Mand alay Div is ion : M an da lay : 4 ,507; Kyaukse : 25 ; M yin gy an : 5 ; Meikt i l a : 17 ;

Yam ethin : 1,782.6. I rrawaddy Div isio n: H enzada : 4,528; Bassein : 96 9; Myaun gmya : 19; M aubin : 18;

Pyapon : I.7. Tenasserim Division : Salween : I; Thaton : 4; A m he rs t: 24 ; Tav oy : 3; Toungoo : 628 .The po pulation of the Chin s in the Ch in H il ls prop er in 1931 is enumerated as 185,488.

The total population o f the Zo Chins in the Chin H i l ls, in the plains Burma, Assam andPakistan is bel ieved to be between 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 . There is no other Frontier race whohas a large popu lation in plains Burma as well as in neighbouring coun try. The al l ied Kuki andLushai Chins are sti l l more numerous outside the boundaries of Burma Proper, namely in theregions of East Pakistan where m ost of the Lushai Ch ins stil l l ive as far down as Lungleh andthroughout the Lushai H i l ls and even up to the Khasi and Ja inti a H i l ls where the Khasis claimthemselves to be of the Kuki-Chin group, together with the Nagas.

I t had been establ ished by the Ch in H i l ls Ga zette er that a l l the Z O M i (Ch in) t r ibes suchas Sukte, Kamhau , Siyin , Thad o, Z o , Lushei, Tangkun, Khuangsai were al l related . This fac t wasconf i rmed by Wi l l iam Shaw who wrote about the Thad o Kukis l iving in Assam, outside the ChinHi l l s . The book i s en t it led "No tes on THE TH A D O U K U K I S " by Wi l l i am Shaw, Assam C iv i lServicewith Introduction, notes etc by J . H . Hu tton, publ ished in 1929 by the G ov t, of Assam :

"The Koms , Aimo ls, Khothlangs, T hadous, Lusheis, Ch ins,'Pois, Suktes, Paites, Gangtes, etcare undoubtedly al l conne cted. The language alone has many similari t ies an d the syntax is notdissimilar. Ag ain there are their customs ' which have a common princ iple running through themal l . The Thadous admit coming from the south where a ll the o ther tribe s men tioned a re nowresiding. Wars and want of land fo r cult ivation were certainly the main causes for the northwardmovement, and I suggest that this movement, which had to be repe ated so frequen tly mighthave been a cause of the d evelopm ent of the wander-lust. The tradit ions of the Thadous al lpoint to the south and they ad mit ha ving come northward.

"The affinity of the Thado with the other branches of the Kuki race mentioned by M r.Shaw is unquestionable, I think, but there is no doubt whatever in my mind that there has beenan infi l tration, often a very strong on e, of the same stock, into most of the Naga tr ibes. MajorFryer (O n the Khyeng People of the Sandoway Distr ict , Arak an, J .A .S .B. No. I of 1878) convincingly traces the Ch in migration to the upper sources of the Ch indw in, in which case the Kukirace has first migrated from north to south down the val ley of that river, and then, stopped


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by the Bay o f B eng a l , tu rne d north ag a in up the ranges fo rm ing the wate rshe d to the wes to f i t (c f . Lew i n , W i l d R a c e s o f S ou t h - E as t e r n I nd i a , pp 138 , 73 ) Th r ow n o f f > dur in g the longcourse o f t he s ou t hw a r d m i g r a t i on , o f f s hoo t s o f t he K uk i undo ub t ed l y pene t r a t edt he w es te r n w a t e r s hed o f t he C h i ndw i n V a l l ey l ong be f o r e t he Tha do c am e up t he w a t e r s hedf r om t he s ou th aga i n . Thus t he M a r l n q tribe i n c l udes a v i l l ag e , K ho i b u , w h i c h w i l l no t i n t e r m a r r ywith o t he r v i l l ages , and w h i c h has a t r ad i t i on o f a c om m on o r i g i n with t he P o i o f F a l a m , hav i ngm i g r a t ed t o t he M a n i p u r V a l l ey f r om the K a ba w V a l l ey ( nea r the C h i nd w i n ) appa r en t l y with theg e n u in e M a r i n g v il l a g e s ( " M a n i n I n d i a " V I , N o . 4 N o t e s o f i h e M a r i n q s b y M r G i m s o n ) . T h eTangk hul s hav e one o r i g i n l egend a s s oc i a t i ng t hem with t he M a r i n g s ( H o d s o n , N a g a T ri b e s o fM a n i p u r ) a n d th e A n g a m i , s ti ll further north wes t , have a lege nd o f o r ig in f ro m the Ta ngkhu lc oun t r y . O n t he o t he r hand the r e a r e m any t r ad i t i ons w h i c h show that t he ' l a s t i m m i g r an ts into theA n ga m i c oun t r y s peak a l anguage c l as s i f i ed by G r i e r s o n ( L i ngu i s t i c S u r v ey o f I nd i a III, i i) a sN a g a - K u k i . " R e l a t i o n s h i p with t he K uk i s " , s ay s H od s on " i s d i r ec t l y c l a i m e d by t he peop l e o fY a n g " , i .e . t he K ac h ha N ag a v i l l age o f Y an g - K h u l en o r C h ek w em a . The A o t r i be , in t he northo f t he N a ga H i l l s d i s t r ic t s hows en t i r e l y unex p ec t ed tr ac es o f K uk i i n f luenc es , and the Sema tribei n w hom t he dom i na n t e l em en t is de r i v e d f r om a m i g r a t ion f r om t he s ou t h -w es t in the M a n i p u rS t a t e , has i ts w ho l e s o c i a l and po l i t i c a l s y s t em c l ea r l y m od e l l ed on a K uk i - pa t t e r n .

To return t o F r y e r , t he C h i n t r ad i t i o n , q uo t ed by h i m f r o m a C h i n ba l l ad , o f t he b r i c kwa l led c i t y o f the i r fo re fa thers , sugges ts rhat the Kuk is ma y h ave o nc e possessed a h ighercu l tu re than they have now . If so , th i s wo u ld perh aps a cco un t fo r the exc ept io na l read iness withw h i c h he adop t s t he s tr ange c u l t u r e o f f e r ed t o h i m by the A m er i c an M i s s i ona r i es , a c ha r a c t e r i s t ic in wh ich he d i f fe rs f rom a l l Nag as that I know , excep t the A o , and poss ib ly the Sema J H. Hutton.

The p r ev a i l i ng trait o f s e l f - i m po r t anc e and s e l f- ex a l t a t i on am ong t he Thadous is unde r s t oodwhen i t is rem em ber ed that f o r l ong y ea r s t hey c om pos ed t he Ley i es o f t he M an i pu r S t a t e an dw er e a l l ow e d t o do v e r y m u c h as t hey p l e as e d with a l l am o ng w hom t hey t ook up the i r ab od e .A t t im es t he i r am b i t i ons hav e go t the be t t e r o f t hem and t hey b r ok e ou t i n open r ebe l l i on i n1918-1 9. The i r ta i l s a re no t do wn and I have hea rd i t sa id that t h e y h o p e t o b e c o m e a " R a j "s o m e d a y . W i l l i a m S h a w . .

The ope r a t i ons a ga i ns t t he r ebe l l ious Thado o f t he M a n i p u r S t a t e i n 1918 and 1919 led t o av e r y m uc h be t t e r ac q ua i n t a nc e with h im , and f rom the n onwa rds the more I have seen o f theTh ado , the more I have respe c ted h im and the be t te r I hav e l i ked h im . For p luck , in te l l i gen ce,s t r a i gh t- f o r w a r dnes s and c hee r fu l nes s he s t ands h igh am o ng his ne i ghbou r s , J . H . H u t t o n .

A c c o r d i n g t o " T H E T H A D O U K U K I S " b y W i l l i am S haw , I . C . S . s om e o f t he m a i n C l a n s o ff he Thado w e r e T H A D O U , C H O N G L O I a n d H A N G S H I N G . S u b C l a n s fr om abov e w e r eK I P G E N , H A O K I P , P H O H H I L , S H I N G S H O N , S H I T L H O U e tc .

The names o f the desc end ants a re s t i l l the same as those l i v in g in the T id d im s ubd iv is ion ,such as the Te d im , Suk te and S iy ins . The de sce nd an ts o f the ab ove are no t o n ly to be t ra ce di n t h e T i d d i m M a n i p u r a n d A s s a m p ro v ince s bu t a lso in the N ag a H i l l s o f Ind ia as we l l as fheN a g a H i l l s o f t he U n i on o f B u r m a .

A c c o r d i n g t o W i l l i a m S haw ' s book q uo t e d abo v e , G o u p i K uk i o f S hongs hang v i l l age o f t heN a g a H i l l s is t he s en i o r l i v i ng des c e ndan t o f t he M a ng j e l ( M an g Ze l ) b r anc h . V um k ho 'a l

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( a l m os t l ik e V um K h o H a u ; m y nam e c ou l d be s pe l t V um K o H au , V um K haw H au , V um K hoH a u , Vum Kho H o w ; bu t I have used the first two on ly ) is the head o f the Lho u jem bran ch andl i ves in Abong in Nor th C a c h a r H i l l s . M a n g m i n l e n ( M a n g M i n L i a n ) o f A i t h u v i l la g e o f T a m e n -long Sub d iv is ion is the hea d o f the Lhouvu m bra nch . Lhu n japa o (Lun Z a Pau) o f Le iko t v i l l ag eo f C hu r a C han dpu r S ubd i v i s i on o f M an i pu r S t a t e is t he l iv i ng head o f the K i pg en b r anc h . Lhuk-homan g (Luh Kho Ma ng ) o f C ha sa t v i l l age in Ukhru l subd iv i s ion o f Ma n ip ur S ta te is the heado f t he Hao k i p b r anc h . Tonk hohen o f B o m ba l v i l l age o f S ada r A r ea o f M a n i p u r S t a t e a t p r es en ta t C hong j ang v i l l age o f t he N A G A H I LL S D I S TR I C T , is t he l i v ing head o f t he P hon H i l b r an c h .Ma ng pu o f To lbu ng v i l l ag e in Ch ur a Ch an dp ur subd iv i s ion i s the l i v ing hea d o f the Sh ingshonb r anc h .

The sen ior l i v ing desc end ant o f the Ch on g l o i c lan is Lun Kho Pao who is l i v ing in Jan gn o iv i l l age o f S ada r A r ea o f M an i pu r S t a t e . The s en i o r l i v i ng des c enda n t o f t he Lu t s ong b r anc his Thang kot l i v ing in Then jo l v i l l ag e in the N A G A H I LL S D I S T R I C T . The s en i o r l i v i ng des c en dan t o ft he S andou b r anc h is N g am J a P ao l i v ing i n P on l en Hao hen v i l l age o f Tam en l ong s ubd i v i s ion o ft he M a n i pu r S t a t e . The s en i or l i v ing des c endan t o f t he H aoc hen g b r anc h is S he i J a K hup o fShongshang v i l l age in the N A G A H I LL S D I S T R I C T . The s en i o r l i v i ng des c enda n t o f the H angs h i ngC l a n is K O P J A V U M ( so n o f V U M J A K H U P ) o f V ong j an g v i ll age i n Tam en l ong s ubd i v i si ono f M an i pu r s t a t e . T O N G K H O H E N is t he s en io r l i v ing des c en dan t o f P hohh i l . He l iv es a tC ho ng j a ng v i ll age i n t he N a ga H i l l s district. ( H i s father was S H O N G J A K H U P ). M A N G P Uy ounge r b r o t he r o f Lunk ho t i n thang ( Lun K ho T i n Thang ) o f To l bun g v i l l age o f C hu r a C ha ndp u r s ub d iv i s ion is the sen ior l i v ing des cen dan t o f the Sh ingshons and pays shaf ing sathin) to Khu TinThang, the head o f the Sh i t lhous . O f the Thomshong b ranch the sen ior l i v ing desce nda nt i s no tknown but is sa id to be in the N ag a H i l l s (Ng u l K im o f Te i jang , I think- J . H . Hutton). O f t heSh i thao branc h Ma n g J a She i o f Le iku l v i l l ag e in the No r th C a c h a r H i l l s is the sen ior l i v in gh e a d . Thong K ho M an g o f To l bung v i l l ag e i n C hu r a C ha ndp u r s ubd i v is i on in M a n i pu r s ta t e isthe sen ior l i v ing desc end ant o f the Lhoutongs . Eh Kh o Tha ng o f Nungthut v i l l age i n C hu r aC h and pu r s ubd i v i s i on o f M a n i p u r s t a t e i s t he s en i o r l i v i ng des c e ndan t o f t he P hohc hungs . O fthe Dou M an g branc h Tongka i o f To lbun g v i l l age o f the N ag a H i l l s is the sen ior l i v ing des cen dan t .O f t he To l s hou b r anc h N g u l J a M an g o f V ak o t v i l l age i n N o r t h C a c h a r H i l ls is the senior l iv in gh e a d . O f t he S h i ng V ung b r anc h Lun M a ng o f B o l bun g v i l lage , N ag a H i l l s i s t he head .

Sir J.G. Scott, K.C.I.E. mad e a fairly accurate account of the ZO (Chin) Race in his bookBURMA :

"The nam es K uk i and C h i n a r e no t na t i ona l , and hav e been g i v en t o them b y their ne ighbours .Kuk i is an Assame se or Benga l i name g iven by them to a l l the hill t r ibes in their n e i g h b o u r h o o d .C h i n is the Burmese name give n to al l the peo ple in the co untr y be twe en Burma and A s s a m .Its o r ig in has no t been dete rm in ed.

" T h e C H I N S c a l l t h e m se l ve s Z H O , o r S H U , Y O , o r L A I . O n e s u g ge s ti o n is that Chin is acor ru p t ion o f the Ch ines e jen the word f o r M a n , bu t this savours rather of the Divers ions orPur ley . S i r A r th ur Phayre was o f op in ion that C h i n w as a c o r r up t i on , through A r ak anes e , o fK i a n g , th e word f o r a M a n , a n d this seems em i nen t l y p r o ba b l e .

"The C H I N s ub - g r oup , ac c o r d i ng t o the l i ngu i s ti c s u r v ey o f I nd i a , c on t a i ns ov e r thirty d i s t inc tlanguages , and e igh teen o f these are spoken in Burmese territory. They a r e d i v i d ed geo g r aph i ca l l y as fo l lows :

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" T h e N o r t h e r n C h i n s , who l ive in the h i l ls more o r less pa ra l le l to the C hin dw in Rive r , asfa r sou th as i ts con f luence with the I r rawaddy :

1. T H A D O -2 . S O K T E3 . - S I Y I N

- The Central Chins;1. T A S H O N2 . L A I3 . S H O N S H E

The S o u th e r n C h i n s , the much more b roken up and less fo r m ida b le t r ibes who ex tend towardsthe I r rawad dy De l ta and the sou th o f Ara ka n

1. C H I N M E 5 . Y I N D O , o r S H E N D U 9 . S A K , o r T H E T2 . C H I N B O N 6 . T A U N G T H A 10 . Y O M A C H I N3. W E L A U N G 7 . K H A M I4 . Y A W D W I N 8. A N U

T o these may be ad de d the o ld Kuk i r ace , the K va w who l i ve fa r to the sou th on the bankso f t h e K u la d a in g .

The theory abo u t the Ch ins mos t fav oure d is that the y ' a re an o f fsho o t from the o r ig ina lBurman invaders , who left the m ain hord e in the extrem e north o f t h e p r o v i n c e , ma r c h e d d o w nthe C h in dw in , and c l im be d the h i l l s wes t o f the r ive r , and then sp rea d wes tw ard into the Lushaic o u n t r y , a n d s o u th w a r d o v e r t h e A r a k a n Y o m a s . T h e y left be fo re any g rea t change had comeo v e r the anc ien t form o f speech , and M r . Taw Se in Ko is o f op in io n that some o f the C h i ncus toms, in r eg ard to s lavery , inher i tance , ma r r iage , and the l ike , g ive a p ro ba b le p ic tu re o f thep r e - B uddh i s t i c Burman usages . The C H I N S , the refo re, o f a l l the non-Bu rman races in the p rov i nc e , have the c loses t e thn ica l conn ec t ion with the Burmese.

The ch ief t r ibes are the H a k a , T a s h o n , S i y in , S o k te , T h a d o , T l a n g t l a n g , Y o K h u a . Y o N w i t ea pd Va ip e i The Sok te a re the mos t no r the r ly tribe in Burma territory, and eas t , o f th em , roundFor t Wh i t e , l i ve the S iy ins . The S iy ins a re the Tau tes and Tauk tes o f the M an iou r records , andthe y an d the So kte were the ch ief s lav e hunters until qu i te recen t t imes I t appe ars from a c o n s id e r a t i o n o f th e C h in L a w s , a s c o l l e c te d a n d c o d i f i e d b y M a u n g T e t P y o , that the race wasat one time more un i ted , and c e r ta in ly much more c iv i l i sed , than we foun d it . The thirty-sixC l a n s , o r Z O , o f wh ich we a re to ld , an d o f wh ich the names have been p res erved , do no tnow ex is t any long er " . S i r G eo rg e Sco t t ma de a s imi la r s ta temen t in ano ther book "B urm a andBeyond",

Like others, the people do not accept the name given to them by the B urmese and ourselves; they do not call themselve s Chins, and they equa lly flout the name of Kuki which theirAssamese and Bengali neighbours use They call themselves ZHO or SHU , and in other partsYO or LAI.

Fr om a c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e C h in L a w s , c o l l e c te d a n d c o d i f i e d b y Ma u n g T e t P y o , i t a p p e a r sthat the Ch in race was a t one time m ore u n i ted , and ce r ta in ly m ore c iv i l i sed , than when wefoun d them . The C h i n is a ta l le r n ian . then mo s t o f h is ne igh bours ; some o f them reachnear ly s ix feet T h e ' f i n e s t built men a re the H aka s , and the S iy ins in the north and thesou therh t r ibesm en. - Som e o f the m measure s ix teen inches round the c a l f o f the le g" S i rG e o r g e Sco t t , K .C I .E .


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"Th e ind igenous races o f Burma are M on go lo id s tock . The mem bers o f th i s s tock foun d inBurma de r i v e f r om t h r ee m a i n b r anc hes , the T i be t o - B u r m an , t he M o n - K hm er and t he T a i - C h i -nese. The T ibe to-Bu rma n gro up inc ludes th ree main sub-grou ps , v i z ( I ) th e Burmese and ro to -B u rm es e ( 2 ) t he C h i n - K ac h i n , an d ( 3 ) t he Lo l o . The C h i n - K ac h i n i nc l ude bes i des C h i n s an dKach ins , N a g a , G a u r i a n d D u l e n g .

The T i be t o - B u r m a n m i g r an t s , m ov i ng i n t h r ee m a i n w av es , c am e s ou t hw a r ds , p r o bab l yt h r ough t he headw a t e r s o f t he I r r aw addy , w henc e t he C h i n s m o v ed into the wes tern h i l ls . Thepr in c ipa l wa ve, the Burmese and P ro to-Burme se, mo ve d southwards by much the sa me rou te ,leav ing sma l l se t t l eme nts as they ca me to fo rm the m inor races o f the i r s tock in nor thern Burm a.In the h i ll s o f A r a k e n l i v e a v a r i e t y o f r ac es C h i n s , D a i ngne t , M r o , Taung t ha , K am i , m os t o fT i be t o - B u r m a n s t oc k . The N a ga s , w ho a r e r e l a t ed t o t he C h i ns and K ac h i ns , i nhab i t t he h i ll so f t he no r th - w es t o f B u rm a , a r oun d t he Hu k aw n g V a l l ey a nd w es t o f t he C h i ndw i n r i v e r . Thep r i nc i pa l C h i n c l ans o f t he T i d d i m a r ea a r e t he Thad o , K am how , S ok t e and S y i n . The Thad o ,howe ver , a re more numerous across the Ass am borde r , where they are known as Kuk is . TheF a l a m C h i ns a r e t he Tas hon , Lom bang , La i z o , K hua ng l i , W h e l n go and Y ah ow . The s ou t he r nC h i n s a r e t h e H s e m t a n g , Z h o t u n g , L a w h tu , V a m t u , H a k a , Y o k w a , K l a n K i a n g , B w a l a n d K w a l -r ing t lan g. The S iy in Ch in s are the most h igh ly c i v i l i se d o f the grou ps . In gen era l Kam how isund ers to od in the nor th , La i Zo in the cen t re and La i in the so uth . " From " B U R M A H A N D B O O K " , pub l i s hed by the G o v e r nm en t o f B u r m a , S i m l a , 1943 .

" O f t he C h i n w ho l i e upon the m oun t a i ns w h i c h s e pa r a t e t he true B u rm a f r om A r ac anand A s s am t he r e a r e t w o g r ea t d i v i s ions t he N o r t he r n and t he S ou t he r n . O f t hes e the S ou t hern C h i n , l i v ing as they do upon the nar rowest p or t io n o f the i r c oun t ry , a re o f the leas t con -sequense . They have y ie ld ed most to the pressure o f the Burmese races on ea ch s ide o f them,and t hey a r e a s pa rs e and d i s o r gan i s ed peo p l e . The ir t r i bes l ap ov e r into the subs id ia ry va l leysw h i c h l i e be t w een t he I r raw addy and the m a i n s p i ne o f t he A r ac an Y o m a . The N o r t he r n C h i nhav e a w i de r territory, k now n a dm i n i s t r a t i v e ' y as "Th e C h i n H i l l s " . I t c ons i s ts o f a m uc h b r ok enand co nto r te d mass o f moun ta ins , i n te rsec ted by de ep va l ley s , and i t is utterly dev o i d o f p l a i nsand t ab l e l an ds . The N o r t he r n C h i n hav e a s t r ong t r i ba l o r gan i s a t i on , and t im e has de v e l o pe din eac h o f the i r t r i bes a sep ara te id ios yncra sy . The C h i n is o f i n te res t , be cau se, he revea ls them a t e r i a l ou t o f w h i c h B uddh i s m and c i v i l i s a t i on hav e be t w een t hem ev o l v ed the B u rm es e pe op l e ;th e C h i n , i n shor t , i s the rough wo od out o f wh ich the Burman has bee n ca rv e d" . "Th e S i l kenE a s t " b y V . C . S c o t t O ' C o n n o r .

"The C h i ns f o r m a c o l l ec t i on o f t r ibes be l ong i ng , l ik e t he B u r m ans , t he K ac h i ns , t he N a gas ,and o ther com mun i t ies o f Fur ther A s i a , t o t he T i be t o - B u r m an g r oup o f the I ndo - C h i nes e r ac e .There is reason to be l ieve that, soo n a f te r the preh is to r i c ances tors o f the Burmans had des cen ded f rom the h i ll s in the eas t o f T ibe t towards the head -waters o f the I r rawad dy , and be foreany m a t e r i a l c hange had c om e ov e r t he i r anc i en t f o r m o f s peec h , pa r t o f t he i m m i g r a t i on w av ethat w as ev en t ua l l y t o f l ow dow n into t he I r raw addy v a l l ey w as de f l e c t ed t o t he w es t, en t e r edt he C h i n dw i n r eg i on , and ev en t ua l l y s p r ead s ou t hw a r ds and W es t w a r d s ov e r t he h i ll s t o t heBenga l s ide o f the Ch indw in , and down into what is now known as the A r ak an Y o m a . The Kuk iso r C h i ns f o r m ed a po r t i on o f t hi s s i de - s t r eam . The r e a r e t h r ee m a i n ge og r ap h i c a l d iv i s i ons o fthe pe op le : the nor thern Ch ins , who inhab i t the C h i n H i l l s p rop er as we l l as a smal l a rea tohe no r t h ; t he c e n t r a l C h i n s , w ho , unde r t he nam e o f K am i s o r K w em i s , M r os , C h i nbo ns , e t c

o c c u p y t he N o r t he r n A r a k a n d i s t r i c t and t he P ak ok ku C h i n H i l l s ; and t he s ou t he rn C h i n s , t he

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i nhab i t an t s o f t he A r ak an Y o m a . It is with t he no r t he r n C h i ns that w e a r e he r e c on c e r n ed .I hey a r e a s t u r dy , w a r l i k e , hos p i t ab l e peop l e , s l ow o f speech , g r av e o f hab i t , pay i ng g r ea trega rd to rank and to the t ies o f the c l a n . S la ver y in a m od i f ie d fo rm s t i l l ex is ts am ong theC h i n s , bu t i t i s fas t v a n i s h i ng , and w ou l d d i s ap pe a r no do ub t s t i l l f a s t e r w e r e t he s l av es hab i t u a l l y i l l - t r e a t ed . A s a m a t t e r o f f ac t , t he c ond i Ho n o f t he s e r fs is one o f f a i r l y av e r age c om f o r t ,and t hey hav e v e r y little t o g a i n b y f r e e d o m . " T h e Im p e r i a l G a z e t t e e r o f I n d i a , O x f o r d .

A s l ong ago as I860, F . M a s o n , D . D . , M . R . A . S . ha d rec ord ed in h is vo lum inous work" B U R M A H " t he Y A U o r Y O o r J O as a B u rm es e t r i be . "Th e Y au r s , o r Y a u s , o r Y o s , o r J o s ,are a sma l l Burmese t r ibe dw el l i ng in the va l le y o f the Ya u r i ver , wh ich fa l l s in to the I r rawadd yon the wes t s ide a few m i les south o f Pugan . Y u l e s ay s " t he Y a u s a r e g r ea t t r ade r s , and a r et he c h i e f ped l a r s and c a r r i e r s o f n o r t he r n B u r m ah " .

The K hy ens , o r Kayns , o r C h i ns a r e a c ons i de r ab l e t r i be w hos e hom e is on t he Y o m a m oun ta ins that s t r e t c h up f r om A r ac an t o t he N a ga h i ll s , bu t w ho a r e s c a t t e r e d in s m a l l s e t t lem en t son the no r t h o f P egu as f a r eas t as To ung oo . C o l on e l Ha nny i den t i f i e s t hem with th e Nagas ,and C a p t . Y u l e s ay s : "Th ey m us t be c l os e l y a l l i ed to t he K o ok i es " . M a j o r P hay r e appea r st o r ega r d t hem as a B u r m es e t r i be , w h i l e I f ee l d i s p os e d t o c lass t hem with the Kar ens . I t i s sa idt he i r w om en w e r e v e r y hands om e , and m any o f t hem w e r e t he r e f o r e c ap t u r e d f o r t he k i ng ' sha r em , a nd t he c us t om o r i g i na t ed t o p r ev e n t t h i s c a l a m i t y . U n de r t he E ng li s h gov e r nm en t t hepra c t i c e w i l l p r ob ab ly fa l l i n to d isuse. I have seen one g i r l o f f i f te en or s i x teen that had no tb e e n t a t t oo ed and w hos e ag r e eab l e f ea t u r es s eem ed t o s how t he k ing 's go od t as t e . P hay r esays : "Thes e pe op l e c a l l t hem s e l v es S H Y O U , o r S H Y U " .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e w r i te r K h i n M y o C h i t in T h e G u a r d i a n , t h e w o r d C h i n w as a f o r e i g n c o r r up t i on o f t he a nc i en t B u r m ese w o r d K h i n o r K hy en , m ean i ng B r o t he r . The abo v e s ub t r i ba lpeop les w ho are known to fo re igners by va r ious na mes, such as C h i n , Y a w , L u s h a i C h i n , K huangs a i ,Thado , N a g a and K uk i C h i n a r e , in r ea l i t y , one and t he s am e Z o ( Y a w , J o ) r a c e , w h i c h i s am a i n s ub r ac e o f t he B u r m ans o r the T i be t o - B u r m a n r a c e . The T i be t o - B u r m a n r ac e as t henam e im p l i es does no t be l on g t o t he I nd o - A r y an o r t he C h i ne s e ( pauk phaw ) r ac e a l t houghthere is mo re e th no log ica l a f f i n i t y to the la t te r than the fo rm er .

: o :

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AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SONGS

It w as c us t om ar y am on g t he S i y ins t o c om pos e s ongs t o r ec o r d one ' s l i f e . S om e o f m yf o r bea r s s t a r t i ng with m y g r ea t - g r ea t - g r e a t - g r an d f a t he r had r ec o r d ed i n s ongs t he i r success o rm i s f o r t une . I had o f t en been as k ed t o c om pos e s om e f o r s i ng i ng .

Fo l l ow i ng a r e s om e o f m y c o m po s i t i ons :

1. Se i no z ing maBang k i pat ahThe i lo th iamthil s in ing ngeLam tu i ma ng tawTong t i am K haw m ahSing taw i talem zawng sak nge

2 . H on g t o ta ehH o n g khang ta zePan tu i taH o n g lang ta zeLam tu i tua l omlum la i tak ahD o in khuaiban g suan ta eh

3 . M o m no t ang ngua lka l en pu i tenN g u a l la i kanka saa ng t i ehThin la i ngu l ingbang do ahhan lung ka t iam,Z a n g len tua l ah ,K a h m in van nua is ing na eh

4 . Ta an g ka lung tupDo ang kawm ahN gu a l t aw t an

kirn ing nge

Since c h i l d h o o dI took to learn in gthingsunknownI n c on f e r enc ewith F r on t i e r Leade r sB r i ng i ng peac ewith fr i end l y f oes

Ihey c am e onw ar dsThey adv anc ed upon usSons o f N i p p o nC a m e a s w a r m i ngW h i l e w e l e dP e a c e f u l l i feLike beesw er e w e o c c u pied

C h i l d h o o d f r iendsc l a i m o ft he i r success

S t r i v i ng ha r dW i t h c o u r a g e o u s h e ar tM y nam e g r ow i ngin fameacross theN a t i o n s p r e a d i n g

M y a s p i r a t i onsf r om am ongs t t he c r ow dwas unequa lwith o thers

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N i bang (un kanSang sawn te zongLa i kuang umpui le i ing nge

5. Phak ih sap pa n ;Do lun mang tenZ a n g tawi tualAng ah s ia ehA h kum za tarnAng ah s ia t saVu i khau bangSut kik ing nge

6 . Za ng le i daw tarnH en ko l sut naPhak sap ahZing z in ing ngeS a u k i pei s iatS u a n g sawn tung ahM e l mak tawTong t iam ing nge

7. Khua van nua i ah ,Lun m ing tang teK a t i am pu i ngaw lO m ngaw l ZeKa t iam pui ngawlO m ngaw l ahLung de i ahK i zawng z ia l eh

8. Ng am zang lum bangS u n g hen t i ahNgua l in ka mmLo ta ehThin la i phel nguaBang kha ing ngeS i n g ngual ngenA h om ing nge 1

I d inedW i t hThe famousLof t ie r than sun

From across the oc ea nC a m e l o rd ly enemieso c c u p y i n gfa i r Va l le ys o f Bu rmaThe knotthat c ha i nedthe land so longI tear .asunder

To break the cha insof the Va l leysI t r av e l l edA c r o s s the oceansIn histo r ic m ansionI metW i t h f o r e i gn l eade r si n c on f e r enc e .

There were no leaderswhom I have not meti n c on f e r enc e

In harmony a lwayswas there mee t ing

I was chosenTo preserve the Fath er lan dwith sh ie ldand swordF or my ab le courageous s tandsFor m y peop l esI was pra ised by a l l

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9. Va n s in nuah ahT a i nga m in thangZ a n g s i khua mualA h suang ngeTuu bang ka suanK huam bang k a phuK h a n g sawn ka s ia lN a h i z ia

I b rou ght b ackh ighes t o f f i ceo f s ta tesmansh ipto the S iy in Va l leyF o r the b ene f i thave I sownf o r future gene r a t i onsc h i l d r en o f t he U n i on

10. Z o tu i ngam kuamLum bang sung tunNam t i tanM a t i ang suan ehZ a a n g le i ngam kuamNg i t bang hung tunPhak sap pan omA w t i ze

A l l t he Z o r ac esE l e c t e d m eA s E x e c u t i v e C ou ns e l l o r

To look a f te ri he U n i on V a l l eyI reside inD i s t a n t C a p i t a l

11 . Ta an g ngua l phak sapDo lun vang khuaA h n gam kuam za iV a mu ngeL a n g ah lam seSeh sum pal la iThang t iang l iTu i ting bang ze

12 . Sei no ngua l kawiLun l ian nu awngM u n z ang s au m angZam siak t iaN i khat ho lungK o n g kup pui ngawlK a w i aw ng na haw mThiam sang nge

13 . M i Lun tuan na "V a i m ang l ep t h i amN e i no awngSesum t aw t u i bang l ange

I sawdis tan t landsthat c on t em po r a r i es m i ner e a c h e d notM a t e r i a l w e a l t hThey possessedso u n f a t h o m a b l e

M y c h i l dhood l ov ee r ec t ed dw e l l i ngf o r c oup l eO n t r ad i t i ona l s i te f o r C l a n

W i t h ou t t he usecf l imbsl r is possibleto reachdes t i na t i on

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22/205

17 . Zua khan ngua l awng Dea r U n c l e sDo sul zu i ah Tra ve l l i ng in enemy d i re c t ionPhak sap p ian tu i Yo u reac hedV a ban t ia D is tan t fo re ig n landsDo ta th iam th i l , Innocent o f cus tomsTong luang thei l o end languagesLa i l ung na zuang D id you no t fee l sad ?Tek nam maw

18 . Se i ham taan g ngua l Dea r b r o t he rsZ i ng na z i t l a i W he n y ou t r av e l l edLi tu i tuang lam Yo u used the ocean sin nei t ia A s road sK e i z ing z in ing , W h en I t rav e l le dV a n l a i zaw l ah C ro ss in g the hor i zonV u i s i tuan g I used the skyLam in nei ing A s roads19 To t he J apan es e T r oops i n the C h i n H i l l s

19 . Do awng nga ban g EnemiesN o ng l en l a i i n W he n y ou c am eN a m t i l a i l ung Yo u a f f ec ted the l i vesA ban teh o f every onePhak sap ngam zang I was under the impress ionMa naw ding sang You would advance forwardLa i neem l iang But re t rea ted with t i gh ten ed wa is tSu l heek awng nge Ut te r l y de fea ted .

E P I L O G U E2 0 . Ka sen la i i n In ch i ldh oo d

Ka zua tong dam 1 r ec e i v ed adv i c eSang i ng nge From my w ise fa therK an sang ing nge In ado lesc entV a i m ang t h i am thil I e x c e l l edA h thang inge In know ledg eZin g ma patna L ike o ld pos tK h u a m thing bang I c hang ed

* La i kik Ing nge Firs t jobK ang t u i lun t aw A n d bec am eTan bang K i m A n eq ua lN a Le i Ing nge To the gov ern ors .

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2 1 . N g am z ang l um bangSung Tu leTong k a i thiam TuTang K e i D uang ahLung tup tu iBang Tung veh ehLun Ka tarn ngualTen nong aw iPu i tek nam m awTh i an Za l u n aw ngSun nau bangO m lai in naw

2 2 . Zan gs i Lun leZ o tui taT o n g tiam khawm ahThang c iang khua ahDo taw z ingV a i hawm veng nge

Tha v ang eng t enN u c i ang s u lHeek aw t i eTh i ang M ang aw i ahPh u thing b a n gK h o l a i veng nge

E l e c t e d C ou f i s e l l o r t o t he G ov e r n o r o f

2 3 . S im le i nam t inA h K uam aTong dok teng tawPhaksap V a i m a n gS au l im ahTong kum ing ngeK h u a t i teng laVu i khau bangK o n zo veng nge

- S ing tawi ta IanM e l a tianSa k zo veng nge

Respons ib i l i t yTo shieldnat iona l her i tageTo lead the peop lesH a d been trustedU nt o m eM a y G o dPrese rve m eA s H is ch i ld jW h i c h y o uM y brethrenH a d chosen

Siy in and Zo peop l esE l e c t e d m eA s their Leade rI metN a t i ona l Leade r sa n d d e c i d e dfuture o f U n i onD es p i t eThe bet rayersA n d C o n s p i r a c y o fT he just M a n d a t eS t i l l sound am Ias s o l i d f ounda t i onb y g r a c e o f G o d

Burma 1947 by overw he lm ing majori

W e d i s c us s ed s anc t i onsIn mansionsIn dist an t la ndWith representa t i veso f U n i t ed N a t i ons

I have t raversedto var ious landsg r ee t ed andr ec ogn i s ed bymany grea t m inds

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24 . Za ng l e i daw t amIh lai ahZ a Thum lai ahTa i N ga S ep t h i amKumt in T iBang teel ve eh

Se sum za tamSulzu i ahP ian tu i mang tawN g am z ang nge l dawTam khawm tuTong c i am v eang nge

In the Va l le y of BurmaRepresenta t i vesfor s ta tesmansh ipW e r e a p p o i n t e dEvery year

In order thatPeaceM a y re ignO n ear thW e m e t in c on f e r enc eWith fo re ign s ta tesmen

R ep r es en t a t i v e t o U . N . G e ne r a l A s s em b l y , N ew Y o r k 19532 5 . Vang Khua suan tu

Thang va i mangK i l bang khan la iK huam bang do d i ngZ a ta inD a i bang p ia l eh

Zang s i l a i ah ,L ia l e TaangKhua i bang hang zeV a n g Khua suan tuDo ta pa lBang nang veeng nge

W h e n e n e m i e s a d v a n c e dto occupy our landA l l i e s withdrewLeav ing us

In the S iy in Va l leyM e n , w om enbrave l ike beesa t t ac k ed enem yw ho c am eto take the Va l ley

Siy in . I ndependenc e A r m y aga i ns t J apane s e Imperial A r m y .\

2 6 . C h i e f K hup L ian o f Lophe i f o r nephew V um K o H au 9 S ep t em be r 1955 .

C i Ka Suan awngSawn Lunm aang aw ngZ a la i ahK a n Sa ng ve t ia

K um p i haw m thiamK huam bang La i t i aV a n nua i l unmangSing Ve t ia

M y s e e d a n d d e s c e n d e n tO f nob les t he i rY o u a re loftierThan the multitude

In rep lac ingThe o ld governo rsA s new foun dat io n fo r o ldY o u exce l led a l l


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Do la i ba tphuThaam zong tu ban gPhung in sau bangH on g s awm v e t eLun sau phualM e i bang Tuan t ia

3 1 . Va n s i in nuah ahM i tiin von to iSil puan bang hua iTh iam ve t iaThing t i lun paakZang v an baw m ahN a h t ongdamZ a tan bawm z ia

3 2 . The i bang sen ahZ u a ma t iang so tL a i to i tu i ba ngTi im awng nge

Z o tui na khuaMin law na tuDo sau tu ban gS u a n ve t ia

3 3 . Lung tup tu i bangTung ta henN a t i kom ah

j N a tong hawm ahS im le i kuamDaw tam ta z ia

Phung zong awi seTh ian zong SunN i bang aw i henKiak kum tung z ongKum suang sawmSak la i hen naw

Y o u h a v e d e f e n d e dS o many k indso f peop l esunder the sky

B i rds are a t t r ac tedBy b l os s om i ng f l ow e r sBut s ta tesmansh ipA t t r a c t e d t h e multitude

Guided byPaterna l i ns t ruc t ionsS i n c e c h i l d h o o dW i s e manhav e y ou bec om e

To pe r pe t ua t eThe Z o c oun t r yes tab l i sh ingLearned ins t i tu t ions

A c c o r d i ng t o y ou r v i s ionY o u r s ta tesmansh ipH a v e b r ough t U n i on and PeaceThroughout the na t ion

A p p r e c i a t e d b y y o u r C o l l e a g u e sM a y G o d a l so a p p r o v epreserveand lengthen thy life


27/205

34 . S o n g d e d i c a t e d t o H o n ' b l e U V u m K oby bay a Thuk K amZ a n g Si Lun leV a i t u i Lun m angN a hawm th iam zaLa i taan z iaV a i m ang ngam z angLun ang s iat saN gam ng i ah z i a lK ik veu te

H a u a n d H o n ' b l e U A u n g S a n

The pow er o f s t a t es m ans h i pO f t he Lo r d l y S i y i nA nd the Lo r d l y B u r m anH a d shone in the hor izonThe V a l l ey s and H i l l sL o n g pros t ra ted u nder fo re ig n ru leH a d been r edeem edBy you both

3 5 . D e d i c a t e d t o H o n ' b l e V u m K o H a ,u b y S a y a Thuk KamTh i an M ang haw m t h i amLun toi suang sawnN a V ang S un N iBang Taan z i aKhua van nua i ahN am c i z a t amN a tung ah t uangO m ngaw l z ia

By t he g r ac e o f H eav enD es c en t o f nob le l i nea geY o u r power isl ike sunshineIn the nat io nY o u hav e eq ua l l edothers in status

3 6 . Nu a i s im le i ahA h min ngei belKangtu i Lun vangThang be l z iaM i n nge i vang thangTun ni taw k imNgi l va a l bangU a p ve t ia

O n ear thThe Br i t ish weremost we l l known

These f am ous pe op l eH a d g i v e n w a yTo y ou r dem ands

3 7 . D e d i c a t e d to V u m K o H a u b y U V u mTuai aw va bangN a p i l kom ahZ a t a daw ngKong hong ve t ia

N a m c i va i mangTaw t iam ve t iaZ a tan nun nopN a n nei ze

Y ounge r b r o t he rO n a c c o u n to f y ou r w i s domy ou open t he G a t e sFor the multitudeY o u hav e c on f e r r edwith var ious LeadersA n d t h e multitude had en j oy edThe fruits o f y ou r w i s dom

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3 8 . Va n S in nua i ahLuntong dok saM is ing ta inThav ang eang ahPhuung min theibang sen zak z iaV o n awng Tu i ba ngN a C i i m k om ahV a i M a an g Th i am t h i lSing ngual ngen BelZo t u i phu bangK h o ta zia

3 9 . Do Vangkh ua he iZ a n g S i H au To iPu Pa khan nguiN a zaw zop nanV a i t u i M a n g t a wTiam Khawm t iaN a Khun seam z iaK h u a V a n n u a i Z a a mKhua k i im dawN a Ta m sak AwK i hantho tna D im T ing L imkha i .

T h e N o b l e O n eW hos e w i s dom had been s ough tBy th e multitudeTr a i t o r s a t t em p t edTo besmi rchThe fa i r nameBut your DeedsW e r eEstab l i shedInThe land

T r av e r s i ng f o r e i gn l andsS iy in n o b l e M a nIn foo ts teps o fI l lust r ious ForbearsY o u made ta lks fo r futureW i t h f o r e i gn s t a t es m enM a y Y ou s p r eadP e a c e and P rosper i t yT oA l l and sundry


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SONGS OFCHIEF HAU VUM LUNMUN

A . Sen pu von pawN i bang lun eK a i tam nahS a w l bang pha e

B. Za t aang p i an naM i n t hang t a eTeng khawi tu kawiIn nei e

A . M i i m bang p i an naPa zuah min ngeiZ a n g tawi tan d aw nLa i law e

B. N a von m in thangTang khau vawh ngeN a sawmsia l maTiang suan nge

A . T i in n ih ngel tawH an l ung t i am m aPhung lun mun ahM u a n g p h e a n g z e

B. P hung t eng puan ba ngKa hua i nanN ing bea l ngua l ahV u i v eang nge

A . The i l o va i mangK i l bang khang ahTa i nga sa bangH a w m t a z e

B. Phung taw tu i ban gK i a m na tu ahZ i n lea ng puak le iTa i nga hawm maTan hing nge( B r i t i s h annex a t i on dep r i v ed h i m

M y f o r bea r sW e r e l o r d l y l i ke s unW i t h t he i r t r i bu t es

M y b i r t h p l a c eW h e r e i n m a t e sS e r v e d as l imbsB e c a m e f am ous

M y c r ea

profile of a burma frontier man part ii

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