Kuki people

Kuki people
A Kuki woman
Regions with significant populations
 IndiaNot stated
 MyanmarNot stated
 BangladeshNot stated
Languages
Kuki-Chin languages
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Baptist); historically Animism with sizeable minorities following Animism, Judaism (Bnei Menashe) and Islam[1]
Related ethnic groups
Chins  · Halams  · Mizos  · Zomis  · Others (Karbis, Nagas, Meiteis, Kachins)
Approximate extent of the area traditionally inhabited by the Kuki people.

The Kuki people, or Kuki-Zo people,[2] are an ethnic group in the Northeastern Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram,[3] as well as the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar.[4] 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.[5][6] 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,[7] based on the dialect spoken by that particular Kuki community as well as their region of origin.

  1. ^ Syed Ayan Mojib, Who are Kukis & Meiteis, the warring tribes in Manipur, The Statesman (Kolkata), 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ Rakhi Bose, 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] ''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.”
  3. ^ "Mizo | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. ^ "A Glimpse of the Indigenous Tribes of Myanmar and lost tribe of Israel (Part 1)".
  5. ^ Pau, Indo-Burma Frontier (2019), p. 14.
  6. ^ T. Haokip, 'The Kuki Tribes of Meghalaya: A Study of their Socio-Political Problems', in S.R. Padhi (Ed.). Current Tribal Situation: Strategies for Planning, Welfare and Sustainable Development. Delhi: Mangalam Publications, 2013, p. 85.
  7. ^ "Alphabetical List of India's Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2012.