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'''Zou Tribe''' is one of the Schedule Tribes of Manipur. The Zou tribal populace is mainly concentrated in two districts of the state, namely, Churachandpur and Chandel. Zou language has been incorporated in the study curriculum of several high schools and also some of the higher secondary schools in the state of Manipur.
{{Short description|Ethnic group living in Myanmar and Northeast India}}
Zou tribes are a less known indigenous community residing along the Indo-Burma border. Zou tribe is officially recognised as Indian Scheduled Tribe in the state of Manipur. Zou tribal population in the country is estimated to be nearly 20,000 to 25,000, although there are no official records. Zou tribal community is mostly concentrated in and around Churachandpur district and Chandel district of this state of North-East India. According to 2001 census report, the Zou population has been ranked as the 10th largest amongst the Scheduled Tribe population in Manipur. Zou language is one of the set Major Indian Languages taught in the high schools and higher secondary schools of the state.
{{For|the larger group of Mizo-Kuki-Chin people|Zo people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{cleanup rewrite|it has readability issues|date=January 2021}}


In [[India]], the '''Zou''' are officially recognized as one of the thirty-three indigenous peoples within the state of Manipur, and are one of the scheduled tribes. According to the 2001 Census, the Zou population in Manipur is around 20,000, less than 3% of the population. The community is concentrated in Churachandpur and Chandel districts of Manipur in North-East India.
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Zou people
| native_name      = Zou people (Zo te)
| population      =
| image            = [[File:Zou girl.JPG|200px]]
| image_caption    = A Zou girl in traditional costume
| region1          = [[Chin Hills]] (Burma)
| pop1            = {{circa}} 111,000 estimated
| ref1            =
| region2          = [[Manipur]] (India)
| pop2            = 27,000 ([[2011 census of India|2011 census]])
| ref2            =
| languages        = [[Zou language]] / Zoham / Zoupao
| religions        = [[File:Christian cross.svg|12px]] [[Christianity]]
| related          = [[Kuki people|Kuki]], [[Tedim people|Tedim]], [[Paite people|Paite]], [[Ranglong]], [[Thadou people|Thadou]]
| footnotes        =
}}
The '''Zou people''' (also spelled '''Yo''' or '''Zo''' or '''Jo''' or '''Jou''') are an ethnic group, that is an [[indigenous community]] living along the frontier of [[India]] and [[Burma]], they are a sub-group of the [[Kuki-Zo people]]. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the [[Thadou people]] and [[Paite people|Paite]]<ref name="bareh">{{cite book|last=Bareh|first=Hamlet|title=Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Manipu|year=2001|publisher=Mittal|isbn=978-81-7099-790-0|pages=260ff|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XScmdGvMf7IC&pg=PA260|access-date=22 November 2010|chapter=Zou}}</ref> and the [[Simte people|Simte]] peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the [[Chin people]]. They are a [[Hill tribes of Northeast India|hill people]], "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.<ref>Chinlunthang & Peter L (2017): Zou/Zo: A Preserver of Pu Zo Identity, in David V. Zou & S.T. Zou (eds),''A History of the Zou People'', UZO-India publication, pp.118-137</ref>


==History of Zou Tribe==
In India, the Zou are officially recognized as one of the thirty-three [[Adivasi|indigenous peoples]] within the state of [[Manipur]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Manipur List of Scheduled Tribes|url=http://www.tribal.nic.in/WriteReadData/CMS/Documents/201305070539207823885Manipur.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203194912/http://www.tribal.nic.in/WriteReadData/CMS/Documents/201305070539207823885Manipur.pdf|archive-date=3 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and are one of the [[Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes|Scheduled tribes]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Alphabetical List of India's Scheduled Tribes|url=http://www.tribal.nic.in/alphabetical_list.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210171227/http://tribal.nic.in/alphabetical_list.html|archive-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[Demographics of India|2001 Census]], the Zou/Zo population in Manipur is around 20,000, less than 3% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Manipur. Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_manipur.pdf|publisher=Census of India 2001|access-date=21 November 2010}}</ref> The community is concentrated in [[Churachandpur]] and [[Chandel district|Chandel]] districts of Manipur in [[North-East India]].<ref name="sen">{{cite book|last=Sen|first=Sipra|title=Tribes and castes of Manipur: description and select bibliography|year=1992|publisher=Mittal|isbn=978-81-7099-310-0|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQQNCU-QWBAC&pg=PA64}}</ref>
The history of Zou tribe is not very clear. The Zou tribes have Indo-Chinese origin and the in the local dialect of the Zou people, the name of the tribal group suggests 'human being'. There is a saying among the tribal community that mankind is born from trees, leaves and soil. It is believed that the early history of Zou community is lost in legends and myths. The linguistic and racial evidences imply that they are of Indo-Chinese origin. Linguists said that the Zomi language belongs to Tibeto-Burman language family. In the South-East Asian region, there had been some dynasties, places and people, which bear the mark, Zou with some variations in spelling. Further, some scholars also suggest that around 200 BC because of regular Chinese attacks, the Zomis probably have moved to the north east of Tibet. The Zou tribe successfully resisted the British invasion and have maintained their culture and indigenous customs.


==Language==
==Historical background==
The Zou tribal community has a script of its own, which is known as "Zolai". All the write ups of the Zou tribes are being done using the script. Today, this Zolai script has gained popularity amongst Zou youths who have started to learn the script with lots of enthusiasm and excitement. However, Roman script is the official script that has been used by the Zou population. Even the holy book Bible has been translated in to Zou language making use of Roman script. In Manipur, the literacy rate of the Zou tribes is low and it is around 61.6 percent according to 2001 Census report. It is to be noted that the Zou dialectal group is just a branch of the huge traditional group, namely, Chin-Kuki-Lushai ethnic group.
[[File:Zou troupe.JPG|thumb|right|Zou cultural troupe in full traditional attire]]


==Notes on Zou Language==
The early history of the Zou people is lost in myths and legends; they claim an origin somewhere in the north,<ref name="bareh" /> and some claim that they are originally the same as the [[Paite people|Paite]] and were only separated at the end of the [[British Raj]].<ref name="bareh" /> Linguistic and racial evidence suggest the Indo-Chinese origin of the people.{{Citation needed|reason=ethnic statement|date=February 2014}} Linguists classified the Zou language as [[Tibeto-Burman]], with only small differences between Zote and Paite.<ref name="bareh" />
Original Mother Tongue of Zote (Zomi)


Round about 1450 A.D, Pu Hanghil (the father of Chie Manlun) and Pu Gen Kun of Taithul family founded Hai Daw village from Suih Mual village. Pu Gen Kun was appointed to be the Headman of Hai Dawi village. Both of them fought together against Bum Zang village which was about two miles from Hai Dawi. There they defeated the villagers of Bum Zang village. Later, Pu Hang Hil was appointed as Headman of Bum Zang village. Later, Pu Hang Hil shifted to Khua Dai village which is about three miles from Bum Zang village. There his sons Man Lun, Ma Tuang, Mang Son, Hang Vung and Mat Mang were born. As they grew in about 1500 A.D Manlun started his ruling as a chief Khuangnung in village. Mantuang in 1550 A.D at Phaitu village, Mangson at Gamngai and Hangvung at Khuadai village(?). So, we can simply point out that the first Zote Khua was Hai Dawi village. Up to this day Hai Dawi people still exist a people and they speak Hai Dawi dialect. To the original tongue of Zote might be Hai Dawi dialect.
The American Baptist missionary, [[J.H. Cope]], made an attempt to trace the pre-colonial history of the [[Chin Hills]] in a church journal, ''Tedim Thu Kizakna Lai.''<ref>Tedim Thu Kizakna Lai (Tedim Journal), July 1937, p.4.</ref> The journal (edited by Cope) provides a glimpse of the Zomis in Chin Hills before the arrival of British imperialism. Under the Manlun chiefs,<ref>Fowler, E.O. (1924) Letter to Howchinkhup, General Department, No. 3432/7M-11, office of the Commissioner, North West Border Division, 25 March 1924, in Acts and Achievements of Hau Chin Khup, KMS, Chief of the Kamhau clan, Chin Hills, Tiddim (Ratnadipan Pitika Press, Mandalay, 1927) p. 17.</ref>


As the Israelites retained the Hebrew language so also if we are going to retain our real mother tongue, we must speak Hai Dawi dialect, for it was the first and lingua franca of Zote descendants. Similarly if any one among Zote descendants would like to print any book or Bible, he would use the Hai Dawi dialect words, not because of its fitness, but only for its originality. I believe we all agree to give first priority to Hai Dawi dialect as our Zote-original mother tongue.
== Zou language ==
{{main|Zou language}}
Zou/Jou is similar to Paite.<ref name="bareh"/> It is classified as a northern Tibeto-Burman tribe. According to [[Ethnologue]], there are 20,600 speakers in India (based on the 2001 Indian census) and around 31,000 speakers in Burma (no source given).<ref>{{cite web|editor-last=Lewis|editor-first=Paul |title=Zo|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=zom|publisher=[[Ethnologue]]|access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref> The [[Zou language|Zou/Zo language]] is one of the prescribed major Indian languages in the high schools.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cicmanipur.nic.in/html/c_syll_bsem.asp | title=Official List of First Languages | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011082509/http://cicmanipur.nic.in/html/c_syll_bsem.asp | publisher=Manipur Board of Secondary Education | archive-date=11 October 2007 | url-status=dead}}</ref>


'''The Hai Dawi dialect'''
==Zous in Manipur==


Maw na sung ma naw in, amaw sa pi ma in leimi in i piang a, a khawh ma ma - gam lua a i lua suhsuh ih mawnate ma ei bawl in eima pumpi ei man muda maithei, Ih mawnate -eeng taang gol lua a hi man in khat veivei eima mawnate eimon maisah zolo maithei va-ia kim lai, tuate lip khap sih saang a pamai eisa, ei khua tua ngeet-nguut ngeng ngong man a ih dial dual liang luang mawna nei van nuai ei mai sah thop valong, abieh huai tapo ma Jehova ki chi Pasian khat a na om ngang tangh hi.
===Crisis of pagan ''Sakhua'' religion===
The Zou people resisted the [[British Raj]] and its colonial culture, including [[Christianity|Christian]] conversion. The [[Maharajah]] of Manipur too did not permit Christian missionaries to work in the Imphal valley. However, a missionary called [[Watkin Roberts]] arrived at Senvawn village in the southern hills of Manipur in 1910. The Zou community did not come directly in contact with any Western [[missionary]]. While their neighbouring communities converted to Christianity, the Zous clung on to their [[traditional religion]] called ''Sakhua''. (In the Chin hills of Burma, the ''Sakhua'' was also called ''Lawki'' religion). This [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] form of worship is broadly and not so accurately labelled as "[[animism]]" in the [[ethnographic]] literature. The old ''Sakhua'' used to provide a satisfying explanation of the pre-colonial world; but the Zou colonial encounter exposed cracks in the old system. The experience of many young Zomis as a labour corps in World War I made them more open to Western education. The NEIG [[Mission Compound (Old Churachandpur)|Mission Compound at Old Churachand]] became the centre of literate culture in southern Manipur since 1930. By the time of India's independence, many neo-literates among the Zous were convinced about the power of [[western education]] and medicine, perceiving these things as synonymous with Christianity itself.


Translation:
===Local church movement under the Jou Christian Association (JCA)===
As we are born in sin, we cannot even love ourselves and there is no knowledge about what is forgiveness, because of the enormous sins inherited in us. Eventhough we are in this situation, inspite of our enormous sins the one who has mercy, sympathises us and forgives us our sins is the God called Jehovah.
[[File:JCA stone.JPG|thumb|left|JCA jubilee monument at [[Daizang]] village]]
Tua Jehovah Pasian in atapa neisun Zeisu tawh ei maw nei leimite ei tat ngam giap na, itna sang a a uang gol zaw lim itna dang leitung ah tu dong kimu nai va-ia lo hi.


Transaltion:
====20th-century developments====
Jehovah God's love in giving his only begotten son for the remission of our sins and its horrible consequence is the greatest love in the world. There is greater love in the world up to this day.
The pagan ''Sakhua'' religion was under direct assault in Southern Manipur with the establishment of NEIG Mission at Old Churachand (Mission Compound) in 1930. The [[Vaiphei people|Vaiphei]], [[Hmar people|Hmar]], Paite and [[Thadou people|Thadou]] tribes were among the earliest advocates of Christian conversion. Along with the Simte, the Zou tribe was slow in responding to new ideas ushered in by the Christian mission. Perhaps due to their [[anti-colonial]] legacy, the Zous became the last bastion of pagan "Sakhua" in the area. Though cultural rootedness has its own merits, it was a setback for [[modernization]]. By the 1950s, there were a handful of Christian converts among the Zous too. But the Zou converts were disorganised and scattered. The new Zou Christian converts joined different [[dialectal]] groups, especially the Paite and Thado Christian groups. Among the intelligent sections of the Zou, there was a strong desire to stem the tide of this social crisis. Their solution was to embrace the local Church Movement by preserving the unity of the Zou community ironically through mass conversion.


Tui khang bang a leitung a tomkal khat ih mit phet va huausung teng beeh, upna a muan tawh Jehovah Pasian um kha popo lei-ih zaw? Aman eite chidamna, khansauna, pilna, hauna, lungnopna, ji hoi, pasal hoi, tanu tapa meel hoi neitheina thuphate tawh ei ang vaan tuah valon ding baan ah, ih si zaw chiang na ngawn a ih hla in van tung ah hindenna nga ding-chi te a kammal tawh ei khap saa ma tah khu.
===Social impact of Christian conversion===
Zous today preserve the best part of their traditional culture through their indigenous local church. Their customary laws related to marriage practices have been institutionalized by the church. Their tribal musical instrument (''khuang'' made of wood and animal skin) is an integral part of [[church music]]. The Bible translations and hymnals preserved the best part of their traditional vocabulary harnessed to a different purpose. According to K. S. Singh, "The introduction of a new religion [Christianity] has not made any impact on their folk songs, the institution of indongta, and customs related to marriage, bride price and the dissolution of marriage. However, ancestor worship is being abandoned."<ref>Singh, K.S. Singh (1994) People of India, National Series Volume III, The Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 1204 - 1207</ref>


Translation:
Recent scholarship, however, pointed out that Bible translations among the tribes of [[North-East India]] have become a victim of dialectal [[chauvinism]].<ref>Go, Khup Za (1996) ''A Critical Historical Study of Bible Translations among the Zou people in Northeast India'', Churachandpur: Chin Baptist Literature Board</ref> Multiplying Bible translations in closely related but slightly different dialects have canonized and hardened ethnic divisions within the tribal groups of Manipur. For instance, the Zou language itself constitutes dialectal variants like Haidawi, Khuangnung, Thangkhal, Khodai and Tungkua.<ref>Zou, David Vumlallian (2009) "The Pasts of a fringe Community: Ethno-history and fluid identity of the Zou in Manipur" ''Indian Historical Review'', 36 (2) 209 - 235 http://ihr.sagepub.com/content/36/2/209.abstract</ref> All these dialects contribute to Zou language in a process of give and take. Nevertheless, Haidawi is usually promoted as the standard literary language in the vernacular Bible and hymnals.<ref name="autogenerated223">Zou, David Vumlallian (2009) "The Pasts of a fringe Community" ibid., p. 223</ref> Meanwhile, Khuangnung is popular among urban Zou speakers and Thangkhal heavily influences traditional Zou folk songs. Tungkua and Khodai still remain confined to remote villages. The inclusion of Zou as a Major Indian Language (till Standard XII) by the government of Manipur also contributed to the evolution of Zou as a standard literary language.<ref name="autogenerated223"/>
Within our span of vaporous life, if we believe in Jehovah God rightly, there are numerous promises abounded for health, prosperity, wisdom, longevity, good husband, good wife, and even our offspring would see beauty and excellence and above all eternal bliss after life will be received.


==Culture==
The Zous in Burma constitute a distinct Zou dialect influenced primarily by [[Tedim language|Tedim Chin]]. Though the Zous in India and Burma had been using a common Bible for decades, the Zous in Burma recently came up with their own [[Bible translation]]. At present, it is difficult to assess the social impact of such translation projects.
These Zou tribes, following the trend of the other tribes, too follow Christianity as their main religion. This Zou community has a plethora of rituals and customs, both religious as well as social, undergo sea change to keep up with the trend of present day modern trends. The Zou people follow ceremonies associated with nature. The Zou tribal society still loyally maintains their old patriarchal structure.


Hunting and agriculture are the major occupation of the Zou tribal people. Modern education system empowered the Zou women to enter today's job market.
===Patriarchy and tribal Christianity===
In early 1920, Pi Lam Za Vung of Phaitu Village, [[Tonzang Township]], [[Chin State]], [[Burma]] (Myanmar) was converted to [[Christianity]] by [[Evangelism|Evangelist]] Hat Go, and became the first [[Christian convert]] among Zo people. Access to modern education since the 1950s and 60s empowered some Zou women in the "secular" sphere and the job market. But ironically women are still discriminated in the "sacred" sphere of the church on gender basis. The Zou society, despite Christian conversion, still staunchly maintains its old patriarchal structure. The first generation of educated Zomi women, like Khan Niang and Geneve Vung Za Mawi, championed the cause of female education as late as the 1970s.<ref>Lalnunmawi, E (1996) ''Impact of Christianity on the Zou women'' (Unpublised Dissertation) Banglalore: South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS)</ref> A handful of Zou women (such as Dim Kho Chin, Ning Hoih Kim, and Ngai Vung) graduated in [[theology]] in the 1980s. There is limited space for women theologians within the formal church structure which is jealously guarded as a privileged male enclave. The church hierarchy still excludes women from any position of authority and "ordained" offices like that of [[minister (Christianity)|minister]] or [[elder (Christianity)|elder]]. Despite the advances made by women in the secular world, a recent study suggests that the status of women has been degraded (not upgraded) within the patriarchal world of the tribal church (cf. Downs 1996: 80–81).<ref>Downs, Frederick S. (1996) ''The Christian Impact on the Status of Women in North East India'', Shillong: NEHU Publications</ref>


==Customs==
However, women are encouraged in [[fundraising]] projects where they have made excellent contributions through strategies like ''antang pham'' (handful of rice collection), ''thabituh'' (annual labour targets), and ''veipung'' (profitable micro-investment). ''Antang pham'' remains the main source of fund raising by ladies. The idea was originally imported from [[Mizoram]] where women like Chhingtei of Durtlang and Siniboni (a Khasi lady) were instrumental in introducing the practice, sometime in 1913.<ref>Ralte, Lalrinawmi (2004) ''Bible Women-te Nghilhlohnan'' (In Memory of Bible Women), Bangalore: Shalom Publications</ref> The money collected by ladies is seldom invested in projects that benefit women as a specific group. Given the inequality of opportunities for men and women, this way of resource allocation is questionable. Recent statistics by the census of India (2001) show a significant [[gender differences|gender gap]] between male and female literacy with 53.0% for female Zou and 70.2% for male Zou. Likewise, the sex ratio of the Zous in Manipur at 944 is lower than the state average of 978 (according to 2001 census). This compares poorly, for instance, with the [[human sex ratio|sex ratio]] for [[Simte people|Simte]] at 1030 and for [[Vaiphei people|Vaiphei]] at 1001 during the same period.
The traditional customs, practices and other related issues of this small tribe has recently been explored systematically. Unfortunately, this tribe has escaped the attention of social scientists in general and sociologists in particular. The Zous like other tribal communities in the northeast India have maintained their age-old customary practices.


==Types of marriage==
==Political consciousness==
The Zou tribe generally follows what is called as "Patrilineal cross-cousin's marriage" which is their first choice known as Neita. It is generally observed that the traditional marriage system of the Zou tribes is regulated either by (i) Tong Mou (Arranged marriage), (ii) Neita (Cross cousin Marriage), and (ii) Elopement Marriage. THe above three types of marriage of course consist of arrange as well as love marriage. There are minute details to be explored with related to Zou customary marriage practices, I am not going to elaborate on all these minute details at the moment.  This article aims at the contemporary practices without going in deep studies.
Pu T. Gougin was the best known political leader who hailed form the Zou community. But this political entrepreneur soon transcended the narrow interests of his own 'tribe' to launch a pan-Zo or pan-Zomi solidarity movement to mobilise his co-ethnic members in [[Manipur]], [[Mizoram]] and [[Myanmar]].<ref>Zou, David Vumlallian (2010) 'A Historical Study of the Zo Struggle' ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (EPW), Vol. 45, No. 14, 3–9 April 2010, pp. 56- 63</ref>


==Zou folklore==
==See also==
===Khupcing And Ngambawm===
*[[Zou Presbyterian Church Synod]]
Once there were two woman who were great friends and they loved each other very much. One day they made an agreement that if one gives birth to a male baby and other give birth to a female baby they would marry them to each other. Later in the use two pregnant women gave birth to a female and the other woman gave birth to a male baby.The male baby was named Ngambawm and the female baby was named Khupching. Khupching belongs to a royal family whereas Ngambawm belong to a poor family. So their social disparities created a social barrier. Khupching’s parents retracted from their agreement to marry these two people.So they tried to seeparate them rightr from their babyhood. They used different cradles,but it was so amazing that the two babies join themselves in one cradle. Even in the field they thought that they had separated while ploughing the field they found the two babies join together in the evening in one cradle.As they grew up Khupching and Ngambawm loved each other very much. One day Ngambawm asked Khupching to marry him.
But Khupching replied in songs:


(a) Ka tun va dongin,ka zuo va dong in khuokhâl tui bang hing la ve aw.
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
[ask my mother ask my father fetch me like the dry season(autumn) waters.]
Ngambawm asked her parents.They refused/rejected him flatly.
 
'''Ngambawm sang this song:'''
''(a) Na tun lah dong ing na zuo lah dong ing khuokhâl tui bang lâh nâilou e.''
I had asked your mother and father, they flatly refused to marry you to me, but I can not fetch you like dry season (autumn) waters. On hearing her parents refused him, her love for Ngambawm increased day by day.
 
One day Ngambawm plucked a single hair of Khupching and he placed it under a stone which was near a waterfall of a stream.Khupching fell ill since then.Her mother decalred that if someone could cure her he will be her husand. When he heard this news ngambawm took back the hair from under the stone and put it back into Khupching’s head. Ngambawm cured her but her parents still refused him marriage to her. Ngambawm again took back and he put it under the stone nearby stream once again. She became ill bagain. Her parents again promised the same as before to one who could cure her. He took the hair and put it back into her head and she was cured. In this way he cured her many times.But her parents were adamanat not to mary her off to him. Ngambawm again hid her hair under a stone unfortunately this time her hair was lost in the running stream. So Khupching fell ill and died. When the body was about to be buried her body swelled like a big balloon and the people could not extricate out of the house. The people were flabber-gasted and amazed about this phenomenon. No one could solve the problem. So they requested Ngambawm to come and help them out. Ngambawm spoke to the corpse saying “Darling we are separated but this is the will of God, make your self small again and get out of the the door”. After that the corpse became small and was able to get out the door easily. Once again the corpse refused to get out of the entrance of the gate of the house by swelling big. again. Ngambawm said “Darling, make yourself small again one more and get out of the entrance gate of the house.” After that the corpse was easily taken out of the entrance gate.After Khupching was buried Ngambawm returned to his house filled with tears.
 
''(a) Atui in hal e, têu a tui in hal ,hal jou nailou zawlching ngâi ing e. ''
(b) Atui suh inlu ong damdiel in luong e, Ching aw vâi bang na thâm na hie?
[The waterfall was between us but it could not separate us I love Chingkhup more and more. The water flows gently but you died in this flowing water.]
 
One day Ngambawm planted a cockscomb flower on the tomb of Khupching. He saw a wild cat coming to pluck the flowers and he caught it by chance.When he asked the wild cat as to why it plucked the flowers every night it told him that it was sent by Khupching. He told the wild cat to pluck out the chicken’s feathers on its way to the Khupching’s village till he arrives there. Following the trail of plumes he finally arrived at the village where Khupching lives. On seeing her his joy knew no bounds. He and Khupching lived together in the house. One day the villagers went for fishing expedition She sent him also to join the villagers and she gave him the bamboo basket for collecting fishes.
 
One day Khupching said to Ngambawm, “ Please go back to your village,as soon as you reach your home kill one pig and eat its meat. After that hang a spear above your bed, and let free all the chicken from their roosts. Then, lie down on your bed facing the roof of your house whre you hanged the spear”. As advised by her he returned to his village soon and he did whatever things to be done as told by Khupching.As he lay on his bed the spear accidentally fell on his chest and he was killed instantly. After his death his spirit went the village of Khupching. He reached her house and they both met each other happily ever after.


==References==
{{Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribes}}
* https://www.indianetzone.com/8/zou_tribe.htm
{{Hill tribes of Northeast India}}
* https://www.pdx.edu/multicultural-topics-communication-sciences-disorders/zou{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Ethnic groups in Burma}}
* http://zoindigenous.blogspot.com/2010/03/zou-tribe-celebrate-zogal-day-and-zoton.html


==External links==
* [http://melcindia.org MELC INDIA - Manipur Evangelical Lutheran Church, India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310141128/http://melcindia.org/ |date=10 March 2019 }} (formerly known as Zomi Christian Church)
* [http://www.zoinn.in ZOiNN.in - The Relic Center: To protect, promote and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Zo/Zou] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310101704/http://www.zoinn.in/ |date=10 March 2023 }}


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[[Category:Manipur]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zou People (India)}}
[[Category:Indian people|*]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Manipur]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of South Asia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Headhunting]]
[[Category:Kuki tribes]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Manipur]]
[[Category:Hill tribes of Northeast India]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Northeast India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Tribes of India]]

Latest revision as of 20:25, 11 March 2026


For the larger group of Mizo-Kuki-Chin people, see Zo people.

Zou people
Zou people (Zo te)
A Zou girl in traditional costume
Regions with significant populations
Chin Hills (Burma)c. 111,000 estimated
Manipur (India)27,000 (2011 census)
Languages
Zou language / Zoham / Zoupao
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Kuki, Tedim, Paite, Ranglong, Thadou

The Zou people (also spelled Yo or Zo or Jo or Jou) are an ethnic group, that is an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma, they are a sub-group of the Kuki-Zo people. In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Thadou people and Paite[1] and the Simte peoples. In Burma, the Zou are counted among the Chin people. They are a hill people, "Zou" may plainly means "Hills" denoting the Zous are "people of the hills" or "of the hills", and "Zou" has also a different meaning in Zou language that is "complete" or another word for it is "finish". But, the Zou people believed that they incepted the name 'Zou' from their forefather 'Zou' or 'Zo', believed to be the progenitor of the broad Chin-Kuki-Mizo people.[2]

In India, the Zou are officially recognized as one of the thirty-three indigenous peoples within the state of Manipur,[3] and are one of the Scheduled tribes.[4] According to the 2001 Census, the Zou/Zo population in Manipur is around 20,000, less than 3% of the population.[5] The community is concentrated in Churachandpur and Chandel districts of Manipur in North-East India.[6]

Historical background[edit | edit source]

Zou cultural troupe in full traditional attire

The early history of the Zou people is lost in myths and legends; they claim an origin somewhere in the north,[1] and some claim that they are originally the same as the Paite and were only separated at the end of the British Raj.[1] Linguistic and racial evidence suggest the Indo-Chinese origin of the people.[citation needed] Linguists classified the Zou language as Tibeto-Burman, with only small differences between Zote and Paite.[1]

The American Baptist missionary, J.H. Cope, made an attempt to trace the pre-colonial history of the Chin Hills in a church journal, Tedim Thu Kizakna Lai.[7] The journal (edited by Cope) provides a glimpse of the Zomis in Chin Hills before the arrival of British imperialism. Under the Manlun chiefs,[8]

Zou language[edit | edit source]

Main article: Zou language

Zou/Jou is similar to Paite.[1] It is classified as a northern Tibeto-Burman tribe. According to Ethnologue, there are 20,600 speakers in India (based on the 2001 Indian census) and around 31,000 speakers in Burma (no source given).[9] The Zou/Zo language is one of the prescribed major Indian languages in the high schools.[10]

Zous in Manipur[edit | edit source]

Crisis of pagan Sakhua religion[edit | edit source]

The Zou people resisted the British Raj and its colonial culture, including Christian conversion. The Maharajah of Manipur too did not permit Christian missionaries to work in the Imphal valley. However, a missionary called Watkin Roberts arrived at Senvawn village in the southern hills of Manipur in 1910. The Zou community did not come directly in contact with any Western missionary. While their neighbouring communities converted to Christianity, the Zous clung on to their traditional religion called Sakhua. (In the Chin hills of Burma, the Sakhua was also called Lawki religion). This indigenous form of worship is broadly and not so accurately labelled as "animism" in the ethnographic literature. The old Sakhua used to provide a satisfying explanation of the pre-colonial world; but the Zou colonial encounter exposed cracks in the old system. The experience of many young Zomis as a labour corps in World War I made them more open to Western education. The NEIG Mission Compound at Old Churachand became the centre of literate culture in southern Manipur since 1930. By the time of India's independence, many neo-literates among the Zous were convinced about the power of western education and medicine, perceiving these things as synonymous with Christianity itself.

Local church movement under the Jou Christian Association (JCA)[edit | edit source]

File:JCA stone.JPG
JCA jubilee monument at Daizang village

20th-century developments[edit | edit source]

The pagan Sakhua religion was under direct assault in Southern Manipur with the establishment of NEIG Mission at Old Churachand (Mission Compound) in 1930. The Vaiphei, Hmar, Paite and Thadou tribes were among the earliest advocates of Christian conversion. Along with the Simte, the Zou tribe was slow in responding to new ideas ushered in by the Christian mission. Perhaps due to their anti-colonial legacy, the Zous became the last bastion of pagan "Sakhua" in the area. Though cultural rootedness has its own merits, it was a setback for modernization. By the 1950s, there were a handful of Christian converts among the Zous too. But the Zou converts were disorganised and scattered. The new Zou Christian converts joined different dialectal groups, especially the Paite and Thado Christian groups. Among the intelligent sections of the Zou, there was a strong desire to stem the tide of this social crisis. Their solution was to embrace the local Church Movement by preserving the unity of the Zou community ironically through mass conversion.

Social impact of Christian conversion[edit | edit source]

Zous today preserve the best part of their traditional culture through their indigenous local church. Their customary laws related to marriage practices have been institutionalized by the church. Their tribal musical instrument (khuang made of wood and animal skin) is an integral part of church music. The Bible translations and hymnals preserved the best part of their traditional vocabulary harnessed to a different purpose. According to K. S. Singh, "The introduction of a new religion [Christianity] has not made any impact on their folk songs, the institution of indongta, and customs related to marriage, bride price and the dissolution of marriage. However, ancestor worship is being abandoned."[11]

Recent scholarship, however, pointed out that Bible translations among the tribes of North-East India have become a victim of dialectal chauvinism.[12] Multiplying Bible translations in closely related but slightly different dialects have canonized and hardened ethnic divisions within the tribal groups of Manipur. For instance, the Zou language itself constitutes dialectal variants like Haidawi, Khuangnung, Thangkhal, Khodai and Tungkua.[13] All these dialects contribute to Zou language in a process of give and take. Nevertheless, Haidawi is usually promoted as the standard literary language in the vernacular Bible and hymnals.[14] Meanwhile, Khuangnung is popular among urban Zou speakers and Thangkhal heavily influences traditional Zou folk songs. Tungkua and Khodai still remain confined to remote villages. The inclusion of Zou as a Major Indian Language (till Standard XII) by the government of Manipur also contributed to the evolution of Zou as a standard literary language.[14]

The Zous in Burma constitute a distinct Zou dialect influenced primarily by Tedim Chin. Though the Zous in India and Burma had been using a common Bible for decades, the Zous in Burma recently came up with their own Bible translation. At present, it is difficult to assess the social impact of such translation projects.

Patriarchy and tribal Christianity[edit | edit source]

In early 1920, Pi Lam Za Vung of Phaitu Village, Tonzang Township, Chin State, Burma (Myanmar) was converted to Christianity by Evangelist Hat Go, and became the first Christian convert among Zo people. Access to modern education since the 1950s and 60s empowered some Zou women in the "secular" sphere and the job market. But ironically women are still discriminated in the "sacred" sphere of the church on gender basis. The Zou society, despite Christian conversion, still staunchly maintains its old patriarchal structure. The first generation of educated Zomi women, like Khan Niang and Geneve Vung Za Mawi, championed the cause of female education as late as the 1970s.[15] A handful of Zou women (such as Dim Kho Chin, Ning Hoih Kim, and Ngai Vung) graduated in theology in the 1980s. There is limited space for women theologians within the formal church structure which is jealously guarded as a privileged male enclave. The church hierarchy still excludes women from any position of authority and "ordained" offices like that of minister or elder. Despite the advances made by women in the secular world, a recent study suggests that the status of women has been degraded (not upgraded) within the patriarchal world of the tribal church (cf. Downs 1996: 80–81).[16]

However, women are encouraged in fundraising projects where they have made excellent contributions through strategies like antang pham (handful of rice collection), thabituh (annual labour targets), and veipung (profitable micro-investment). Antang pham remains the main source of fund raising by ladies. The idea was originally imported from Mizoram where women like Chhingtei of Durtlang and Siniboni (a Khasi lady) were instrumental in introducing the practice, sometime in 1913.[17] The money collected by ladies is seldom invested in projects that benefit women as a specific group. Given the inequality of opportunities for men and women, this way of resource allocation is questionable. Recent statistics by the census of India (2001) show a significant gender gap between male and female literacy with 53.0% for female Zou and 70.2% for male Zou. Likewise, the sex ratio of the Zous in Manipur at 944 is lower than the state average of 978 (according to 2001 census). This compares poorly, for instance, with the sex ratio for Simte at 1030 and for Vaiphei at 1001 during the same period.

Political consciousness[edit | edit source]

Pu T. Gougin was the best known political leader who hailed form the Zou community. But this political entrepreneur soon transcended the narrow interests of his own 'tribe' to launch a pan-Zo or pan-Zomi solidarity movement to mobilise his co-ethnic members in Manipur, Mizoram and Myanmar.[18]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bareh, Hamlet (2001). "Zou". Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Manipu. Mittal. pp. 260ff. ISBN 978-81-7099-790-0. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Chinlunthang & Peter L (2017): Zou/Zo: A Preserver of Pu Zo Identity, in David V. Zou & S.T. Zou (eds),A History of the Zou People, UZO-India publication, pp.118-137
  3. ↑ "Manipur List of Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Alphabetical List of India's Scheduled Tribes". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009.
  5. ↑ "Manipur. Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census of India 2001. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Sen, Sipra (1992). Tribes and castes of Manipur: description and select bibliography. Mittal. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-7099-310-0.
  7. ↑ Tedim Thu Kizakna Lai (Tedim Journal), July 1937, p.4.
  8. ↑ Fowler, E.O. (1924) Letter to Howchinkhup, General Department, No. 3432/7M-11, office of the Commissioner, North West Border Division, 25 March 1924, in Acts and Achievements of Hau Chin Khup, KMS, Chief of the Kamhau clan, Chin Hills, Tiddim (Ratnadipan Pitika Press, Mandalay, 1927) p. 17.
  9. ↑ Lewis, Paul (ed.). "Zo". Ethnologue. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "Official List of First Languages". Manipur Board of Secondary Education. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  11. ↑ Singh, K.S. Singh (1994) People of India, National Series Volume III, The Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 1204 - 1207
  12. ↑ Go, Khup Za (1996) A Critical Historical Study of Bible Translations among the Zou people in Northeast India, Churachandpur: Chin Baptist Literature Board
  13. ↑ Zou, David Vumlallian (2009) "The Pasts of a fringe Community: Ethno-history and fluid identity of the Zou in Manipur" Indian Historical Review, 36 (2) 209 - 235 http://ihr.sagepub.com/content/36/2/209.abstract
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Zou, David Vumlallian (2009) "The Pasts of a fringe Community" ibid., p. 223
  15. ↑ Lalnunmawi, E (1996) Impact of Christianity on the Zou women (Unpublised Dissertation) Banglalore: South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS)
  16. ↑ Downs, Frederick S. (1996) The Christian Impact on the Status of Women in North East India, Shillong: NEHU Publications
  17. ↑ Ralte, Lalrinawmi (2004) Bible Women-te Nghilhlohnan (In Memory of Bible Women), Bangalore: Shalom Publications
  18. ↑ Zou, David Vumlallian (2010) 'A Historical Study of the Zo Struggle' Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), Vol. 45, No. 14, 3–9 April 2010, pp. 56- 63

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