Chin people
The Chin peoples are collection of ethnic groups native to the Chin State, Myanmar that speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are closely related but mutually unintelligible. The Chin identity, as a pan-ethnic identity, is a modern construction, shaped by British rule and post-independence ethnic politics that has built upon older tribal and regional identities.
Ethnonyms
Chin is a pseudo-exonym, a Burmese language adaptation of the Asho Chin word khlong or khlaung, which means "man" or "person." Burmese speakers approximated the Asho Chin word, and began to apply the exonym to all nearby groups residing in the Arakan Mountains and Chin Hills. The Burmese term first appeared in stone inscriptions dating to the reign of King Kyansittha in the 11th century.The term "Chin" is not universally accepted by all groups living in Chin State nor by all Kuki-Chin groups. Groups in the north prefer the ethnonym Zo, while related ethnolinguistic groups in India prefer the terms Zomi or Mizo.
During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish language speaking peoples, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature. The Burmese government classifies the Chin as a "national race" composed of 53 sub-groups that predominantly live in Chin State.
Subgroups
According to F.K. Lehman, the Chin people can be divided into broad cateogories under geography and culture known as the Northern Chin and the Southern Chin. The northern Chin are known as the hill Chin. The division between the Northern and Southern Chin is demarcated at 21°45'N. Lehman describes the Southern Chin as having poorer material culture compared to the North.In the Nothern Chin Hills, they can be divided into three tracts in the Tedim, Falam and Haka. The Tedim tract consists of Sukte, Kamhau and Sizang. These can be further subdivided into subtribes such as the Dim, Khuano, Hualngo, Sizang, Tedim, Saizang, Thado, Teizang, Vangte, Guite, Vaiphei and Zou. These groups identify as Zomi. The Falam tract is thickly populated by the tribes of Sunthla, Zahau, Hualngo, Khualsim, Tawyan, Zanniat, Ngawn, Laizo and Khuangli, who are sometimes known as Pawi. Historically, the British recorded them as Tashon as a corruption of Taisun or Klashun, a village west of Falam. In the Haka tract, the Hakas, Thantlang, Zokhua, Thettas and Kapis. They call themselves Laimi. The Haka tract inhabitants share similarities with the Maras.
The Southern Chin largely consists of the plains or valley Chin. Their cultural practicers differ such as the cremation of the dead and face tatoos. The Southern Chin consist of the Chinme, Welaung, Chinbok, Yindu, Chinbon, Khyang, Sho, Asho, Cho, Khami, Mro and some Burmese tribes such as the Anu, Kun, Pallaing and Sak/Thet. These groups live north of Arakan and the Pakkoku tracts.
Geographic distribution
In Myanmar
The Chin peoples predominantly live in the western part of Myanmar, stretching from the Singu Plateau to the Arakan Mountains, encompassing Chin and Rakhine States, Bago, Magwe, and Sagaing Region. Major cities like Yangon and Mandalay are also home to big Chin communities. Some of the Chin live in Rakhine State and most of them are Cumtu, Asho, Kongtu and Laitu. The Chin in Rakhine State live in Myebon, Minbya, Ann, Thandwe and Gwa, and are majority Cumtu Chin.Diaspora
Due to political instability in Myanmar, many Chin have migrated to Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United States as refugees. American Baptist, British, and Swedish Lutheran church groups have helped relocate thousands of Chin people. 20,000 Chin people refugees are living in Malaysia. Several thousands more are scattered in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.The Chin people who flee from Burma usually enter the United States directly from Thailand, Malaysia, and India. Leaving Myanmar is often illegal, dangerous, and costly. Refugees with limited means flee by boat, car, or on foot, while those with more resources may travel by air. Human smugglers, or brokers, typically charge around US$1,000 per person to cross borders. If caught by either Burmese or foreign authorities, refugees risk imprisonment and mistreatment, including beatings. In refugee camps—mainly in Thailand—families are advised that having children may improve their chances of resettlement in the United States. As a result, many young Chin parents arrive in the U.S. needing immediate employment to support their families.
In India
An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Chin refugees live in India, primarily in Mizoram. Due to restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by the SPDC, many flee Myanmar without documents and seek refuge across the border. While Mizoram initially welcomed the Chin, growing numbers led to backlash and deportations among local Mizos. The Young Mizo Association, which promotes Mizo identity, previously ordered Chin refugees to leave and assisted police in forced evictions—actions that violated the principle of non-refoulement. Chins in Mizoram live without legal status, making them vulnerable to arrest, detention, and exploitation. They face challenges accessing livelihoods, healthcare, and shelter, and often live on the margins of society.History
Origins
Ancestors of the Chin are believed to have originated between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in northwestern China. The Chins maintain a origin known as Chinlung. Due to the nature of oral history it is difficult to locate Chinlung but several theories have been proposed. Zawla, a Mizo historian, argues that the Chins left Chinlung during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. Sing Khaw Khai and CHawn Kio both argue that the Chin are desendents of the Tibeto-Burman historical Qiang people. Based on this account, the Chin originate in the Gansu-Tibet frontier.Gordon Luce states that the Qiang moved south due to disturbances by the Chinese. The Tibeto-Burman stock migrated in three waves with the Chin-Kachin-Naga group, followed by the Burman and Lolo peoples. However, the link of Tibeto-Burman groups with ancient China has been refuted by anthropologists. Anthropologists disclaim that the people did not originate from cultural units known today and cannot be identified with any particular groups of today. On this basis, F.K. Lehman states that the ancestors of the Chin and Burmese were distinct from each other even before migrating into Burma. He states that the Chin originated from western China and eastern Tibet towards the Hukong valley, which is different to the Burmese route. According to Lehman, Chin history begins in 750 A.D. with the development of Burmese civilisation and the Chin's interaction with it.
Chindwin settlement
Using historical evidence of Burman inscriptions of the Pagan dynasty, Luce argues that the earliest inscriptions mentioning the Chin begin in the middle of the 9th century, thus suggesting Chin settlement in the Chindwin Valley to begin in the 8th century, with possibilities dating as far back as the fourth century. The Chindwin was unoccupied despite being populated with other groups in its periphery. While the Burmese fought groups such as the Thet, Mon and Pyu, they did not fight the Chins. Luce states that Pagan Burman called the Chins 'friends'. They pushed up to the Yaw and the Irrawady but did not extend their territory to the Chindwin. Luce postulates that the Chin did not join the enemies of the Burmans due to hostile relations. The passage of the Chins through the Hulkong valley had divided the Thets into a western Manipur tribe and an eastern tribe. The Burmese referred to the Chin as khyan and inferred to have made an agreement of their occupation of the upper Chindwin.Kale-Kabaw Valley
The Chin would eventually migrate from the eastern bank of the Chindwin into the Kale valley, approximately in the final years of the 13th century or the early 14th century. This is because Pagan records, until its fall in 1295, inscribed that the Chin were located between the eastern bank of the upper Chindwin and west of the Irrawaddy River. Oral traditions dictate that a flood had forced the migration. Luce argued that the Chins lost their Pagan ally and moved for this reason. The Zophei and Laimi tribes recount floods driving them from the low valley into the mountains across the river. It is suggested that the name Kale, descends from Khatlei/ Khalei/ Khale meaning the other side of the river. Following this migration, the Chins were divided into different groups, clans and tribes and dialects.Following the fall of Pagan, the Chin lived in peace in the Kale-Kabaw valley for a century until the founding of the Shan's city of Kalemyo. The Chin founded their capital at Khampat in the Kabaw valley. However, in 1395, when the Shan built the city of Kalemyo at the border of the Chin Hills, the Kale Valley came to an end. The rise in Shan states in the regions of Upper Chindwin and Central Burma overshadowed the Chins. As a result, the Kale valley remained under Shan rule until British annexation. They conquered the Chin territory and established the Ahom Kingdom in Assam. However historians, Sing Khaw Khai and Lalthangliana argue the Chins lived among the Shan for a certain period. Zomi tribes note that a prince from below the mountains came up to govern Kalemyo. The Chins were made to build double walls and fortifications. This period of hardship under the Shan ruler is said to have been so great that the accidental cutoff of fingers were able to fill a big basket.
Chin Hills
The Chins left Kale and established new settlements in the hills, including the present township of Tiddim. Historian D.G.E. Hall argues that the Shans drove out the Chins into the Chin hills from the Chindwin valley. Lalthangliana, a Mizo historian, presents the oral story of the banyan sapling at the altar of the khua-hrum. The people planted the Banyan saplig before they were forced to abandon Khampat and pledged to return when the branches of the Sapling were to touch the ground. However, the true reason for why the Chins left Khampat and the Chindwin valley is unknown. The earliest reference to the Chins in the Chin Hills comes from the Manipur Chronicles, mentioning the Chin in 1554. Therefore, historians posit that the Chins left Kale-myo in 1395 and reached the northern Chin Hills at the furthest in 1554. The first settlement in the Chin Hills was called Chin Nwe or Cinnuai. Cartey and Tuck spelt it as "Chin Nwe". The Chins lived together in Chin Nwe until splitting into tribal groups due to political infighting and struggles. The main factor for this was economics as there was not enough land on the small hilly region for the population. One group split off to make a settlement in Lai-lung in present day Falam and formed the Laimi tribe. Another tribe in Locom become that the Mizo tribe. Tribes that moved north of Chin-Nwe became the Zomi people. Prior to Chin-Nwe there is no historical evidence of tribal differentiation and ethnic diaspora of the Zo people.Some Chins remained in the Chindwin and referred to as Chin. The Asho tribe split early from the Chins and scattered around the Irrawaddy delta, eventually going as far as Chittagong, where they were known as "Khyeng".