Tiwa people

Tiwa
Total population
371,000 appox.[1] (2011 Census)
Regions with significant populations
 India (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh

 Bangladesh

 Myanmar
Languages
Tiwa, Assamese (predominantly spoken)
Religion
Hinduism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Other Tibeto-Burman groups

The Tiwa people (Also known as Lalung)[2] is a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group primarily inhabiting the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, and some parts of neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar.[3]

A striking peculiarity of the Tiwa is their division into two sub-groups, Hills Tiwa and Plains Tiwa.[4] The founder of Tiwa community is Pha Poroi “Indrosing Dewri” who has contributed a lot to the construction of Tiwa society. He also wrote the Tiwa national anthem called - O Angé Tiwa Tosima.[5]

  1. ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ Driem, George van (12 September 2022). Languages of the Himalayas: Volume 2. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-51492-8.
  3. ^ Wouters, Jelle J. P.; Subba, Tanka B. (30 September 2022). The Routledge Companion to Northeast India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-63699-4.
  4. ^ "Many Tiwas account for the cultural dichotomy between hills Tiwas and plains Tiwas in terms of an acculturation to the Assamese dominated plain culture"(Ramirez 2014:20)
  5. ^ Pha Poroi - Indrasing Dewri, O Ange Tiwa Tosima, retrieved 8 October 2024