Kuki people

{{Short description|Ethnic group in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{use Indian English|date=September 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Kuki people | image = File:Kuki Manipur.jpg | caption = A Kuki woman | total =  | region1 = {{flag|India}} | pop1 = ''Not stated'' | region2 = {{flag|Myanmar}} | pop2 = ''Not stated'' | region3 = {{flag|Bangladesh}} | pop3 = ''Not stated'' | languages = Kuki-Chin languages | religions = Predominantly Christianity (Baptist); historically Animism with sizeable minorities following Animism, Judaism (Bnei Menashe) and Islam<ref>Syed Ayan Mojib, [https://www.thestatesman.com/india/1503186629who-are-kukis-meiteis-the-warring-tribes-in-manipur-1503186629.html Who are Kukis & Meiteis, the warring tribes in Manipur], The Statesman (Kolkata), 2 June 2023.</ref> | related_groups = Chins {{·}} Halams {{·}} Mizos {{·}} Zomis {{·}} Others (Karbis, Nagas, Meiteis, Kachins) | footnotes = | native_name = | native_name_lang = }}

thumb|260px|Approximate extent of the area traditionally inhabited by the Kuki people The '''Kuki people''', or '''Kuki-Zo people''',<ref name=":0">Rakhi Bose, [https://www.outlookindia.com/national/in-tense-manipur-sub-categorisation-and-creamy-layer-could-open-a-pandoras-box In Tense Manipur, Sub-Categorisation And 'Creamy Layer' Could Open A Pandora's Box], Outlook, 11 September 2024. [Quoting general secretary of the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), Kangpokpi] <nowiki>''</nowiki>At present, all tribal communities in Manipur (other than the Nagas) are united and organised under the banner of Kuki-Zo, and we want separate administration for our regions in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal.”</ref> are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mizo {{!}} people |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mizo |access-date=2021-04-21 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> 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.{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|p=14}}<ref>T. Haokip, 'The Kuki Tribes of Meghalaya: A Study of their Socio-Political Problems', in S.R. Padhi (Ed.). ''[https://www.academia.edu/4392866/The_Kuki_Tribes_of_Meghalaya_A_Study_of_their_Socio-Political_Problems Current Tribal Situation: Strategies for Planning, Welfare and Sustainable Development]''. Delhi: Mangalam Publications, 2013, p. 85.</ref> The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.

Some fifty tribes of Kuki peoples in India are recognised as scheduled tribes in India,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alphabetical List of India's Scheduled Tribes |url=http://tribal.nic.in/writereaddata/mainlinkFile/File939.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417072648/http://tribal.nic.in/writereaddata/mainlinkFile/File939.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2012 }}</ref> based on the dialect spoken by that particular Kuki community as well as their region of origin.

== Name == The term "Kuki" is an exonym: it was used by Bengalis to refer to the tribes inhabiting Patkai–Arakan Yomas, the eastern extension of the Himalayas running north–south between India and Myanmar.{{sfnp|Intelligence Branch, ''Frontier and Overseas Expeditions'', Vol. 4|1907|loc=p. 235: "From period of which we have any knowledge, the Lushai Hills have been inhabited by collection of tribes known to the Bengalis as Kukis."}} The term is witnessed in the chronicles of Tripura from the reign of Dhanya Manikya ({{reign|1490|1515}}) and fairly regularly afterwards.{{sfnp|Lunminthang, Rethinking the Political History of Northeast India|2016|pp=72–73}} From even earlier, a couplet in Sanskrit is found mentioning a 12th century land grant in ''Kukisthana'' (Kuki-land).{{sfnp|Lunminthang, Rethinking the Political History of Northeast India|2016|p=79}} The Tibetan Buddhist writer Taranatha (1575–1634) wrote a description of the Kuki (''Ko-ki'') country, including in it almost the entire eastern hill range and beyond.{{sfnp|Lunminthang, Rethinking the Political History of Northeast India|2016|loc=pp. 77–78: "Proceeding further east from this region [Girivarta], (one reaches) Namga-ta on the slopes of the northern mountains. Bordering on the sea are Pukan, Balaku, etc.,—the country of Munans. Further, Cakma, Kam-bo-ja etc. All these are collectively called Kuki (Ko-ki)."}} The term also occurs in traditional Meitei hymns where the Kuki king is praised along with the Meitei king.{{sfnp|Lunminthang, Rethinking the Political History of Northeast India|2016|p=74}}

The term came into British usage in 1777, when the chief of Chittagong appealed to the British governor general Warren Hastings for help against Kuki raids from the hills.{{sfnp|Intelligence Branch, ''Frontier and Overseas Expeditions'', Vol. 4|1907|p=235}}<ref name="SRTohring_2010">{{cite book |author=S. R. Tohring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zlaIRKRspYQC&pg=PA8 |title=Violence and Identity in North-east India: Naga-Kuki Conflict |publisher=Mittal Publications |year=2010 |isbn=978-81-8324-344-5 |pages=8–9}}</ref>

The same collection of tribes were called "Chins" by the Burmese (spelt "Khyangs" in the original Burmese spelling).{{sfnp|Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict|2007|p=187}}{{sfnp|Go, Zo Chronicles|2008|loc=p. 182: [Quoting G. A. Grierson] "Chin is a Burmese word to denote the various hill tribes living in the country between Burma and the Province of Assam and Bengal. [It] is written and dialectically [pronounced]''Khyang''."}} The British also used the term "Lushais" to refer to the tribes inhabiting the Lushai Hills region to the south of the Manipur valley, eventually dividing it into separate "Lushai Hills" in India and "Chin Hills" in Burma.

Over time, the British came to distinguish the tribes currently called "Kukis" from the remaining "Lushais". An Intelligence Branch report from 1907 listed Ralte, Paite, Thadou, Lakher, Hmar and Poi tribes among Kukis. It stated that each of these tribes had its own language, and these languages were unintelligible to the "Lushais".{{sfnp|Intelligence Branch, ''Frontier and Overseas Expeditions'', Vol. 4|1907|pp=232–233}}

The Manipuris used the term "'''Khongjai'''"{{Efn|Alternative spellings: '''Khongchai''' and '''Khongsai'''.}} to refer to the tribes to the south and southwest of the Imphal Valley,{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|loc=p. 53: "Cognate tribes who occupied vast tracts of land in south of the valley of Manipur were broadly referred as Kukis by colonial rulers and ‘Khongjai’ by the Meitei."}} a usage witnessed from 1508.<ref name="KuRF dates"> [https://ukhrultimes.com/kuki-research-forum-kurf-on-objective-historical-position-of-the-kukis-in-manipur/ Kuki Research Forum on objective historical position of the Kukis in Manipur], 25 May 2022. "A comparison of the first appearance of the names of different tribes in the ''Cheitharol'' is self-evident. For instance, the term Maring first appeared in 1302, Tangkhuns (Tangkhuls) in 1404, Koirengs in 1404, Kyangs (Chins) in 1467, Khongjai in 1508, Sairem in 1523, Takhen (Tripura) in 1533, Tekhao (Assam) in 1536, Anan/Namphou in 1559, Sakang in 1562, Lamkang in 1570, Kapui (Kabui) in 1573, Mayon (Muyon) in 1580, Maram in 1583, Monsang in 1595, Chothe in 1597, Langlong (Ranglong) in 1603, Purum in 1608, Cheeroi in 1641, Kharam in 1672, Aaimon (Aimol) in 1678, and so on. The mention of ‘Khongjai’ in 1503 [''sic''] is especially to be noted." </ref> This appears to have been a geographical term.{{efn|Other Kukis were referred to as "Takhens" (Tripuris), "Tekhao" (Assamese) and "Saitons" (inhabiting the Saiton hills) in the Manipur Chronicles.<ref name="KuRF"/>}} The "Old Kuki" tribes in Manipur were referred to by their individual names, which were also partly of geographical origin.

Some Kuki and Chin tribes reject both of these terms as being of colonial origin, and use the self-designation "Zo", which is a generic term that has variants in most Kuki-Chin dialects. "Zomi" (meaning "Zo people") is also used.{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|loc=pp. 14–15: "Linguistically these whole congeries of tribes belong to the Kuki-Chin group of the Tibeto-Burman family (Grierson 1904: 1), and ethnologically they belong to the same ethnic group called Zo, a generic term and the only all-encompassing one for the so-called Chin, Kuki and Lushai people.... Today, many of these tribes were found in Manipur and the Lushai Hills (Mizoram) as their settlements have been demarcated by the colonial and postcolonial borders. They commonly identify themselves as Zomi, which means Zo people."}}{{sfnp|Go, Zo Chronicles|2008|loc=p.184: 'For instance. based on his findings, GA. Grierson concludes thus: "The name (Chin) is not used by the tribes themselves, who use titles such as Zo or Yo and Sho".... Now we find that the word somewhat like Zo or Yo in its various forms is commonly contained in the names of nearly almost all Chin tribal or linguistic groups.}} The term "Kuki" is still enthusiastically adopted by the Thadou language-speaking clans. Thus, "Kuki" is sometimes used in this ''narrow'' sense to refer to the Thadou-speaking Kukis, with even the Thadou language referred to as the "Kuki language".<ref> {{citation |last=Haokip |first=Ngamkhohao |title=Politics of Tribe Identity with reference to the Kukis |journal=Journal of North East India Studies |volume=2 |number=2 |year=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/4204259 |via=academia.edu |pages=67–68}} </ref>

By 2023, a consensus seems to have developed among the Kuki tribes of Manipur to use the compound term "'''Kuki-Zo'''" to refer to themselves.<ref>"Second round of talk with Kuki UGs held at Delhi", Imphal Free Press, 21 October 2016. {{ProQuest|1830470827}} "KNO and UPF submitted the detailed document entitled, "A case Statement for a Separate State for the Kuki/Zo people" to the government of India"</ref><ref> [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kuki-zo-people-hold-rally-for-separate-administration-in-churachandpur/article67102568.ece Kuki-Zo people hold rally for separate administration in Churachandpur], The Hindu, 21 July 2023. </ref><ref name=":0" />

== History == === Early history === Ethnologist C. A. Soppitt argued that the Kuki tribes must have settled in region west of Irrawaddy River from before the 11th century, based on the fact that they had no traces of Buddhism, which was already prevalent in Burma by that time.<ref name= "Sinha 2007"> {{cite book |first=S. P. |last=Sinha |title=Lost Opportunities: 50 Years of Insurgency in the North-east and India's Response |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ngtgH9RYB0EC&pg=PA120 |year=2007 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-81-7062-162-1 |pages=120–}} </ref>{{sfnp|Soppitt, ''A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes''|1887|p=viii-ix}} He grouped the Kuki tribes into two broad classes: Hrangkhol along with the co-tribe Biate in one class, and Changsan along with the co-tribe Thadou in the other class. Each of them was grouped with several subtribes.{{sfnp|Soppitt, ''A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes''|1887|p=3}} Soppitt suggested that, by the 16th century, the Hrangkhols and Biate inhabited the Lushai Hills region (currently divided between Mizoram and Chin State). He believed that they were pushed out by Changsan, who moved in from the east along with Thadou, forcing them to move to the North Cachar Hills, Manipur and Tripura. Further, the Changsan–Thadou combine was believed to have been in turn forced out by newer tribes in the 19th century, and then followed the same routes as the earlier tribes. The first two groups were referred to as '''Old Kukis''' and '''New Kukis''' by the British administrators, which did not receive endorsement from Soppitt.{{sfnp|Soppitt, ''A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes''|1887|pp=7–8}} Modern scholars also disapprove the terminology of "Old Kukis" and "New Kukis", but it does appear that the two groups followed different migration routes and thus developed significant cultural differences.<ref>{{citation |last=Kipgen |first=Nehginpao |title=Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case Study of the Kukis and the Nagas in Manipur |date=October–December 2011 |journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science |volume=72 |number=4 |page=1048 |jstor=41856539}}</ref>

Per the 1881 census, the Kukis are estimated to have numbered 20,000 in the North Cachar Hills (present-day Dima Hasao district), 15,000 in the Naga Hills (present-day Nagaland), 30,000–40,000 in Manipur and 6,000 in Tipperah (Tripura). In addition, the plains of Cachar had 6,000 people.{{sfnp|Soppitt, ''A Short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes''|1887|p=1}} The ''Gazetteer of Manipur'' (1886), based on the same census, noted that the Kukis of Manipur wee composed of approximately 8,000 "Old Kukis" and 17,000 "New Kukis".{{sfnp|Dun, ''Gazetteer of Manipur''|1886|pp=32–33}} Borders of Manipur were expanded after this date to include the Kuki-inhabited southern parts of the present Churachandpur and Chandel districts, adding further Kuki populations to the state of Manipur.{{Efn|The southern part of the Churachandpur and Chandel districts were added to Manipur in 1894 during a Manipur-Chin Hills border settlement.{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|pp=163–164}}}} During the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919, the Kukis in Manipur were estimated to number 40,000.{{sfnp|Haokip, Hunger is more savage than cannon|2021|p=99}}

=== Manipur === thumb|right|260px|The princely state of Manipur with approximate southern borders prior to 1894{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|pp=53, 56–57, 61}} ''Cheitharol Kumbaba'', the court chronicle of the Manipur kings, mentions various Kuki tribes and clans from 1404 onwards.<ref name="KuRF dates"/> The largest of the Kuki tribes, the Thadous, lived in the southern hills of the present-day Manipur, which was ungoverned territory for most of the historical period.<ref name="Cary & Tuck Thadous"/> The Manipuris referred to them as "Khongjais".{{efn|"Khongjai" is the British spelling of the name. The Manipuris spelt it as "Khongchai" and the Kukis as "Khongsai".<ref name="KuRF"/>}}{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|loc=p. 53: "Cognate tribes who occupied vast tracts of land in south of the valley of Manipur were broadly referred as Kukis by colonial rulers and 'Khongjai' by the Meitei [Manipuris], a term that only later was recognised to indicate several groups or clans."}}{{sfnp|Dun, Gazetteer of Manipur|1886|loc=p. 49: "Until some 32 years ago, the tribes to the south in contact with the Manipuris were the Khongjai and Kom Kukis."}} The naming was apparently based on a village called "Khongchai" in the Tuipui river valley,{{efn|Judging from the description, the village is likely to have been in the vicinity of present-day Leijangphai, on the National Highway 2.}} with the surrounding hills also referred to as Khongjai Hills. The Manipur ruler Bhagya Chandra (also known as Jai Singh) made war on this region in 1786, and subjugated the Kuki chieftain in the central village.<ref name="KuRF"> [https://ukhrultimes.com/kuki-research-forum-kurf-on-objective-historical-position-of-the-kukis-in-manipur/ Kuki Research Forum on objective historical position of the Kukis in Manipur], 25 May 2022. </ref>{{sfnp|Parratt, The Court Chronicle, Vol. 2|2009|pp=25–26}} Other regions in southern hills remained relatively untouched until 1894 when the British defined the border of the Manipur state to include the southern hills.{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|pp=161–164}}

The term "Kuki" to refer to these tribes was introduced by the British in the 1820s. By 1850s, they imported the terminology of "New Kuki" for the Khongjai tribes and "Old Kuki" for the other Kuki tribes such as Kom and Aimol.<ref name="KuRF"/> The scholars of Kuki Research Forum consider the terminology misleading because the historical record does not justify such a progression in time.<ref name="KuRF dates"/>

The British testimony regarding Kukis in Manipur was variable. British Commissioner Pemberton wrote in 1835 that the Khongjais stretched along the hills from the south of the Manipur valley to the Arakan Mountains.{{sfnp|Pemberton, Report on the Eastern Frontier|1835|loc=pp. 15–16: "Of these [hill tribes], the principal are the Murams [Marams], who occupy the tract of country between Assam and Muneepoor [Manipur]; the Kupooees [Kabuis], known in Bengal by the term Nagas, who reside on the several ranges of hills between the latter country and Cachar, and the Khongjuees [Khongjais], who under the more generally known names of Kookies [Kukis], Koochungg, and Kuci, stretch from the southern borders of the Muneepoor valley to the northern limit of the province of Arracan [Arakan];..."}} British Residents, William McCulloch (1844–1863) and Colonel Johnstone (1877–1886), wrote that Khongjais had long been subjects of Manipur, but "new immigrants" of them came through between 1830 and 1840. They "poured into the hill tracts" in large numbers, according to the Residents, driving away the older inhabitants. The Residents believed that these Khongjais were driven north by stronger tribes from the south, and hence settled all around the Imphal Valley.{{sfnp|McCulloch, Account of the Valley of Munnipore|1859|loc=p. 55: "The Khongjais or Kookies [Kukis] until lately occupied the hills to the South of the Koupooees [Kabuis]. Whilst in this position, little or nothing of them was known, but they caused fear from their numbers and the bloody attacks they sometimes made upon their neighbours. South of them lay the Poi, Sooté [Sukte], Tauté, Loosei [Lushai], and other tribes, better armed than they were and of the same genus as themselves, but at feud with them. By these, they were driven from their native hills, the task being rendered easier by the internal animosities of the Khongjais themselves, and are now scattered around the Valley of Munnipore, and thence through the hills to North and South Cachar."}}{{sfnp|Johnstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills|1896|loc=pp. 25–26: "The Kukis are a wandering race consisting of several tribes who have long been working up from the South. They were first heard of as Kukis, in Manipur, between 1830 and 1840; though tribes of the same race had long been subject to the Rajah of Manipur. The new immigrants began to cause anxiety about the year 1845, and soon poured into the hill tracts of Manipur in such numbers, as to drive away many of the older inhabitants.... Seeing that the Kukis had been driven north by kindred but more powerful tribes, and that their first object was to secure land for cultivation; McCulloch, as they arrived, settled them down, allotting to them lands in different places according to their numbers, and where their presence would be useful on exposed frontiers."}}

Scholar Pum Khan Pau notes that, around 1830, when the British established a political agency in Manipur, the area to the south of present-day Manipur (Tonzang and Tedim townships of present-day Chin State) witnessed the rise of a powerful Sukte chieftain called Khan Thuam. Along with his son Kam Hau, he embarked upon a territorial expansion, pushing the less powerful tribes towards the border of Manipur. But many tribesmen also submitted to the Suktes, paid tribute, and participated in the expansion process. This period witnessed many raids from the south on the border of Manipur, which was roughly in line with the southern boundary of the Manipur valley.{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|pp=56–57}} A popular folk song summarised the position of Khan Thuam:{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|p=57}} {{blockquote|<poem> What I rule extends to Manipur in the north, and ends at Falam in the south; Manipur to the north and Falam to the south, I am the tiger in the middle. </poem>}} After Khan Thuam's death, his dominion came to be divided between his elder son Kam Hau, based at Mualpi and the younger son Za Pau, based at Tedim. The combined tribe earned the name "Kamhau-Sukte" and became "one of the most dreaded powers in Manipur, Lushai Hills and the Kale-Kabaw Valley".{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|p=58}}

The domain of the Kamhau-Sukte tribes extended all the way to the south of the Manipur valley, encompassing major portions of the present-day Churachandpur and Chandel districts, driving the tribes in these districts further north. Their movement threatened the Naga tribes to the north, in particular the Kabuis to the west of the Manipur valley. McCulloch arranged for a line of Kuki settlements to the south of their area to serve as a buffer and armed the settlers. These villages came to be known as "sepoy villages".{{sfnp|Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier|2019|loc=p. 59: "The Sylhet-Manipur road, which was then under construction, passed through the Kabui Naga territory. The upkeep of this road greatly depended on the Kabuis who felt constantly threatened by the northward movement of the Kukis... McCulloch's solution was to plant a line of Kuki colonies as a buffer to the Kabui villages."}}<ref>[https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/16069403#map=10/24.7157/93.9765&layers=C Cachar–Bishnupur Road], OpenStreetMap, retrieved 5 November 2023. (This road was part of the then Sylhet–Manipur road, which was strategic for the British, needed for the transport of troops to the Burma border). </ref> According to McCulloch, sepoy villages were also set up along the southern frontier of the Manipur valley.{{sfnp|Mackenzie, Relations with the Hill Tribes|1884|p=157}}

According to modern scholars, the British administrators overemphasized the Kukis' "migration from south", because they had inadequate knowledge of the Kukis already present in the hills of Manipur.{{sfnp|Chongloi, Reinterpreting Kuki Chieftainship|2018|loc=pp. 488–489: "[There] are claims of colonial writers that the Kukis as 'first heard in 1830s and 1840s' (Johnstone, 1896) and as 'migrants from the south' (Shakespeare, 1912) and introduced and settled in Manipur to serve as a buffer zone against enemy tribes of British subjects (MacCulloch, 1980). In this regard the claims sounded one-sided since the hill areas of the Kukis were little known till the close of the 19th century. The Chahsads, for that matter, who settled a long time ago in the region bordering Burma (Myanmar), came to notice only in 1870s (Mackenzie, 2014)."}} In addition, some of the larger tribes such as Thadous are said to have been native to the southern hills (Churachandpur and Chandel districts) that were later added to Manipur territory in the 1890s.<ref name="Cary & Tuck Thadous">{{harvp|Carey & Tuck, The Chin Hills|1896|loc=p. 135: "The [Thadou] hillmen, known as the Kukis or Khongjais, live for the greater part north of the Chin Hills boundary line and in hill territory belonging to Manipur..."}}</ref>

An important landmark in the history of the Kuki people was the arrival of missionaries and the spread of Christianity among them. Missionary activity had considerable social, cultural and political ramifications while the acceptance of Christianity marked a departure from the traditional religion of the Kuki peoples as well as their ancestral customs and traditions. The spread of English education introduced the Kuki people to the "modern era". William Pettigrew, the first foreign missionary, came to Manipur on 6 February 1894 and was sponsored by the American Baptist Mission Union. He, along with Dr. Crozier, worked in the North and the Northeast of Manipur. In the south, Watkins Robert of the Welsh Presbytery mission organised the Indo-Burma '''Thadou-Kuki Pioneer Mission''' in 1913. To have a broader scope, the mission's name was changed to '''North East India General Mission''' (NEIGM) in 1924.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haokip |first1=Thongkholal |title=Kuki Churches Unification Movements |url=https://www.academia.edu/29134905 |journal=Journal of North East India Studies |date=July–December 2012 |volume=2 |issue=1 |page=35}}</ref>

The first resistance to British hegemony by the Kuki people was the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–19, also known as the Anglo-Kuki War, after which their territory was subjugated by the British.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guite |first=Jangkhomang |date=2019-02-23 |title=Colonial violence and its 'Small Wars': fighting the Kuki 'guerillas' during the Great War in Northeast India, 1917–1919 |journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=447–478 |doi=10.1080/09592318.2018.1546369 |issn=0959-2318 |s2cid=189972384 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2018.1546369|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Until their defeat in 1919, the Kukis had been an independent people ruled by their chieftains. The Dobashi, Lengjang Kuki was credited as responsible for preventing the Kukis of the Naga Hills from joining the Kuki Rebellion of Manipur.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 January 2019 |title=A Dobashi of par excellence |work=Nagaland Post |url=https://nagalandpost.com/index.php/a-dobashi-of-par-excellence/ |archive-date=29 May 2023 |access-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529001353/https://nagalandpost.com/index.php/a-dobashi-of-par-excellence/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During World War II, seeing an opportunity to regain independence, the Kuki fought with the Imperial Japanese Army and the Indian National Army led by Subhas Chandra Bose but the success of the Allied forces over the Axis group dashed their hopes.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Guite |first=Jangkhomang |date=2010 |title=Representing Local Participation in INA–Japanese Imphal Campaign: The Case of the Kukis in Manipur, 1943–45 |journal=Indian Historical Review |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=291–309 |doi=10.1177/037698361003700206 |s2cid=145397505}}</ref>

=== Tripura === On 31 January 1860, Kuki Riang led the Kukis of Hill Tippera in raiding the Chhagalnaiya plains (then under the administration of the Twipra Kingdom) which was inhabited by ethnic Bengalis and British officers.<ref name=Webster>{{cite book |last1= Webster |first1=John Edward |title=Eastern Bengal and Assam District Gazetteers |volume=4. Noakhali |year=1911 |publisher=The Pioneer Press |page=30 |chapter=History |location=Allahabad |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/noakhali00webs/page/30/mode/2up}}</ref> The Kukis looted the area of Bakhshganj and murdered Kamal Poddar of Basantpur. They then proceeded to molest Poddar's women until Guna Ghazi and Jakimal waged war against them in the village of Kulapara. Whilst the Kukis abducted 700 women, Munshi Abdul Ali informed the British authorities of the atrocities. 185 Britons were assassinated, 100 of them were kidnapped and the Kukis remained in the plains for one or two days. British troops and policemen were finally despatched from Noakhali, Tipperah (Comilla) and Chittagong to suppress them but the Kukis had already fled to the jungles of the princely state and they never returned to Chhagalnaiya ever again.<ref name=Karim>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98119/page/n103/mode/2up |title=A Descriptive Catalogue Of Bengali Manuscripts |author1=Abdul Karim, Munshi |author2=Sharif, Ahmed |editor=Hussain, Syed Sajjad |location=Dacca |publisher=Asiatic Society of Pakistan |year=1960 |pages=74}}</ref>

=== Post-colonial history === The ''Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Part C States) Order, 1951'' included "any Kuki tribe", "any Lushai tribe" and "any Naga tribe" as umbrella terms among the scheduled tribes in Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. Among the "any Kuki" classification, it listed 39 subtribes/clans.{{sfnp|Suan, Rethinking 'tribe' identities|2011|p=163}}{{sfnp|Sielen Haokip, What Price, Twenty Years of Peace|2012|p=90}}{{sfnp|Kipgen, Ethnic Conflict in India|2011|p=1048}} The 1951 census recorded the Kuki population of Manipur as 69,855, that in Assam as 18,200,{{Efn|The Assam state of 1951 included the present-day states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.}} and that in Tripura as 3,428.{{sfnp|Haokip, Hunger is more savage than cannon|2021|p=99}}

The 21 Kuki tribes of Manipur (as per the nomenclature used in the British colonial times) gathered together in 1948 to form an organisation called '''Kuki Company'''. They also contributed to the construction of Kuki Inn in Imphal, to serve as the office for the organisation. Soon afterwards, frictions developed over the use of the Thadou language for the business of the organisation.{{efn|The Thadous form the largest Kuki tribe in Manipur, constituting 7.6% of the population in 2011. All the remaining New Kuki tribes together constitute 8.1%, and the Old Kuki tribes constitute 3.6%.}} As a result, almost all the tribes other than Thadou Kukis left the Kuki Company, and formed a separate '''Khulmi National Union'''.{{sfnp|Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict|2007|pp=189–190}} In 1950s, ten Old Kuki tribes changed their affiliation to 'Naga', induced to do so by the Tangkhuls.{{efn|The ten tribes are: Anal, Chothe, Koirao, Lamkang, Maring, Moyon, Monsang, Purum and Tarao.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kom |first=Ch. Sekholal |date=June 2015 |title=Ethno-nationalism: Competing Micro-nationalist Dissents in Manipur |journal=Social Change |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=289–307 |doi=10.1177/0049085715574192 |s2cid=147919896 |issn=0049-0857}}</ref>}} Seven New Kuki tribes eventually adopted the Zomi identity in the 1990s.{{sfnp|Haokip, The Kuki-Paite Conflict|2007|p=190}}

In the 1950s, when the Kaka Kalelkar Commission visited Manipur, there was a concerted attempt by the Kuki and Naga tribes to delineate each tribe separately in the Schedule Tribe Order's list. Consequently, in 1956, the umbrella terms such as 'any Kuki' and 'any Naga' were deleted, and 29 tribes of Manipur were listed individually. This revision completely left out other unlisted tribes from the scheduled tribes list. In other states of India, however, the old classification of "any Kuki tribe" remained. In 2003, the term "any Kuki tribes" was re-added to the list in Manipur as well.{{sfnp|Suan, Rethinking 'tribe' identities|2011|p=163}}{{sfnp|Sielen Haokip, What Price, Twenty Years of Peace|2012|p=90}}{{sfnp|Kipgen, Ethnic Conflict in India|2011|p=1048}}

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

===Sawm=== Sawm, a community centre for boys – was the centre of learning in which the ''Sawm-upa'' (an elder) did the teaching, while ''Sawm-nu'' took care of chores, such as combing of the boy's hair, washing of the garments and making the beds. The best students were recommended to the King's or the Chief's service, and eventually would achieve the office of ''Semang'' and ''Pachong'' (ministers) in their courts, or ''gal –lamkai'' (leaders, warriors) in the army.<ref name="Paokhohao Haokp 2013">Paokhohao Haokp, "Reinculcating Traditional Values of the Kukis with Special Reference to Lom and Som", in T. Haokip (ed.). ''The Kukis of Northeast India: Politics and Culture''. New Delhi: Bookwell, 2013, Chapter 11.</ref>

===Lawm=== Lawm (a traditional type of youth club) was an institution in which boys and girls engaged in social activities for the benefit of the individual and the community. It was also another learning institution. Every Lawm has a ''Lawm-upa'' (a senior member), a ''To’llai-pao'' (an overseer or superintendent) and a ''Lawm-tangvo'' (assistant superintendent). Besides being a source of traditional learning, the institution of the Lawm also facilitated the transmission of both technical as well as practical knowledge to its members, especially with regard to particular methods of farming, hunting, fishing and sporting activities such as ''Kung–Kal'' (high jump, especially over a choice ''mithun''), ''Ka’ng Ka’p'', ''Ka’ngchoi Ka’p'' (top game), ''Suhtumkhawh'' (javelin throw using the heavy wooden implement for pounding-de-husking-paddy) and ''So’ngse'' (shot put).<ref name="Paokhohao Haokp 2013"/>

The Lawm was also a centre where young Kuki people learned discipline and social etiquette. After harvest season, the ''Lawm meet'' is celebrated with a ''Lawm-se’l'' and, as a commemoration, a pillar is erected. The event is accompanied by dance and drinking rice-beer, which sometimes continues for days and nights.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

==Laws and government==

===Governance=== With regard to governance, Semang (cabinet) is the annual assembly of a Kuki village community held at the Chief's residence represents the Inpi (Assembly). In such an assembly, the Chief and his Semang and Pachong (cabinet members and auxiliary of Inpi) and all the household heads of the village congregate to discuss and resolve matters relating to the village and the community.<ref>T. Lunkim, "Traditional System of Kuki Administration", in T. Haokip (ed.). ''The Kukis of Northeast India: Politics and Culture''. New Delhi: Bookwell, 2013, Chapter 1.</ref>

==Religions== Prior to conversion in the early 20th century to Christianity by Welsh Baptist missionaries, the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples were animists; among their practices were ritual headhunting.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Head-Hunting among the Hill Tribes of Assam |last1=Hodson |first1=T. C. |journal=Folklore |year=1909 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=132–143 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1909.9719869 |jstor=1254109|url=https://zenodo.org/record/2223741 }}</ref> Christian missionaries entered Manipur in the late 19th century but did not yet make inroads into the tribal areas. The victory of the British in Anglo-Kuki War of 1917–1919 opened up their mind of the Kukis to the Christian God of the British, who was thought of as the victor. This led them to rapidly convert to Christianity. Conversion to Christianity has transformed their ideas, mentality and social practices at the cost of their traditions and customs.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Seikhohao |last1=Kipgen |chapter=Keeping them under control: impact of the Anglo-Kuki War |editor=Jangkhomang Guite |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALJqDwAAQBAJ |title=The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919: A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during the First World War |last2=Haokip |first2=Thongkholal |date=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-429-77494-2}}</ref> The majority of Kukis are now Christians, with most belonging to Protestant denominations, especially Baptist.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ethnomed.org/culture/chin/ |title=Chin}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2023}}

Since the late 20th century, some of these peoples have begun following Messianic Judaism. The Bnei Menashe ({{langx|he|בני מנשה}}, "Sons of Menasseh") are a small group within India's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram; since the late 20th century, they claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism.<ref>Weil, Shalva. "Double Conversion among the 'Children of Menasseh'" in Georg Pfeffer and Deepak K. Behera (eds) ''Contemporary Society Tribal Studies'', New Delhi: Concept, pp. 84–102. 1996 Weil, Shalva. "Lost Israelites from North-East India: Re-Traditionalisation and Conversion among the Shinlung from the Indo-Burmese Borderlands", ''The Anthropologist, ''2004''. ''6(3): 219–233.</ref> The Bnei Menashe are made up of Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples, who all speak Tibeto-Burman languages, and whose ancestors migrated into northeast India from Burma mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/july2005/morphologynortheast1.html |title=Issues in Morphological Analysis of North-East Indian Languages |date=2005-07-07 |access-date=2007-03-04 |work=Language in India |first1=Vijayanand |last1=Kommaluri |first2=R |last2=Subramanian |first3=Anand |last3=Sagar K}}</ref> They are called Chin in Burma. In the late 20th century, an Israeli rabbi investigating their claims named them Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh. Of the 3.7 million people living in these two northeast states only about 9,000 belong to the Bnei Menashe, several thousands have emigrated to Israel. Some have supported other movements to separate from India.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Due to the close proximity to Muslim-majority Bengal, a Kuki Muslim community has also developed. They are said to be descendants of Kuki men who had married Bengali Muslim women, a relationship requiring the husband to be a Muslim. They are mostly centred around the village of North Chandrapur in the Tripuri city of Udaipur. Notable Kuki Muslims include Khirod Ali Sardar of Chandrapur and Ali Mia of Sonamura.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Muslim women in Tripura: aspects of their status, roles, problems and prospects |author=Chakraborty, Anjali |publisher=University of North Bengal |year=2006 |url=https://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/166 |website=Institutional Repository NBA |chapter=Muslims of Tripura: A Profile}}</ref> The community has been subject to scorn by other Kukis.<ref>{{cite book |title=ত্রিপুরা রাজ��যে তিরিশ বছর: উদয়পুর বিবরণ |trans-title=Thirty years of the Tripura state: Udaipur details |language=bn |year=1972 |publisher=Government of Tripura |author=Datta, B. C.}}</ref>

== Notes == {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

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==External links== {{Commons category}}

{{Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribes}} {{Scheduled tribes of India}} {{Ethnic groups in Bangladesh}} {{Ethnic groups in Burma}} {{Hill tribes of Northeast India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuki People}} Category:Kuki people Category:Ethnic groups in Bangladesh Category:Ethnic groups in Manipur Category:Ethnic groups in Tripura Category:Ethnic groups in Myanmar Category:Ethnic groups in Northeast India Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia Category:Headhunting Category:Scheduled Tribes of Assam Category:Scheduled Tribes of Meghalaya Category:Scheduled Tribes of Mizoram Category:Scheduled Tribes of Nagaland Category:Tribes of Assam Category:Tribes of India