Mythologies of the Tangkhul Tribes

The Tangkhul people, also known as the Tangkhul , are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group living in the Indo–Mayanmar border area, occupying the Ukhrul district and Kamjong district in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur, and in parts of neighbouring Myanmar. Despite this international border, many Tangkhul have continued to regard themselves as "one nation". The name "Tangkhul" is originated from the Meitei language words, "Tang" meaning "scarce" and "Khul" meaning "village" respectively. According to another theory of origin, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language. The Tangkhuls are believed to have migrated from China via Myanmar along with Meitei and other Naga tribes like Mao, Poumai, Maram, Thangal and Zeliangrong and dispersed together from Makhel, Senapati. Haoreima, the Meitei goddess of tragic love and separation, was actually a deified person of the Tangkhul origin. She was a daughter of Khelemba, a Tangkhul chief of Chingdai village, and was married to Khamlangba, a Tangkhul chief of Chingshong village. Despite marrying Khamlangba, she had a secret love affair with Meitei king Meidingu Tabungba, also called Tabung Saphaba (1359-1394). Upon discovering the secret relationship between the two, Khamlangba, getting furious, beheaded Tabung Saphaba. Shocked by the tragic death of her lover, Haoreima took away her lover's head to the Kanglei Pungmayol. Later, she also died, following her lover's path and was eventually venerated as the Meitei goddess of tragic love and separation. She is also identified as goddess Ireima, who's also an incarnation of goddess Panthoibi of the Meitei pantheon.

The Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur&rsquos Ukhrul district are a remarkable tribe of polyglots. In Tangkhul country, the local language fades into a new dialect every 20kms, adding up to over a hundred Tangkhul dialects, many of which are practically different languages from each other. To overcome this, the Tangkhuls have decided on one common language, using which tribesmen from different villages in Ukhrul communicate with each other. Then, of course, there&rsquos &lsquoManipuri,&rsquo which different tribes of Manipur use to communicate with each other. Once headhunters, the Tangkhuls are now among the Manipuri tribes with the highest literacy rates, so most young Tangkhuls also speak English. Many of them, especially the traders, also choose to learn Hindi, a useful language for business. Not only do the Tangkhuls&mdashwho occupy Manipur&rsquos Ukhrul district on the Indo-Burmese border, and even parts of Myanmar and beyond&mdashhave no common native language as a tribe, until recently they didn&rsquot even have a script for any of their individual dialects and yet they managed to maintain their identity as &lsquoone tribe&rsquo for centuries. They never needed the written word, because their real &lsquoscript&rsquo was in their folk songs, dances, wood carvings, crafts and handmade textiles and their &lsquolanguage&rsquo of choice has always been music. The Khangahon, for instance&mdashan impressive form of vocal music sung in groups to the Pheizak dance, while planting or harvesting paddy&mdashdoesn&rsquot even contain words or lyrics just humming and exhaling in rhythmic, choir-like acapella style, by both men and women in sequence. The Tangkhuls also believe that singing deliberate hums in groups while exhaling gives you more energy to do physical work. While the performance is certainly melodious&mdashthere&rsquos a formal method and protocol to even this melodious social humming&mdashfrom the tone of each singer&rsquos hum, you can tell whether they&rsquore old or young, married or available, etc&hellip an indigenous form of &lsquostatus update,&rsquo without using silly gadgets

The Tangkhul Naga Tribe lives mostly in the Indo- Myanmar- Border area occupying the Ukhrul District of Manipur. According to Meitei dialect, “Tangkhul” can also be interpreted as ‘costly village’. Anthropologists too understood the name and meaning of the ‘Tangkhul’ and their origins in different ways. Different scholars called them as Luhuppa, Luppa, Tagkhul, Thangkhum, Tangkhul etc. as their alternative names. Tangkhuls are no doubt a highly cultured people. They belong to the great Mongolian race which has now spread all over the World. They speak the Sino-Tibeto-Burman language groups. Tangkhuls are fair in complexion and colourful in terms of their traditional wears. Historically, these colourful peoples were a self-sufficient people and lived themselves independently. Tangkhuls can be classified into a number of clans. The following can be mentioned as some of its big clans; Zimik, Luikham, Keishing, Horam, Shaiza, Jajo, Kashung etc. Tangkhuls are the village loving people. Right from the beginning, every Tangkhul village had been a well organized and independent political unit. Within its territory, every village enjoyed both internal as well as external independent of its own. The villages were guided by their customary and traditional laws. Most of the Tangkhul village sites were located near the spring or stream to ensure them dependable supply of drinking water. Another most important factor responsible for determining the location of a village was the security. They fulfilled all those criteria of a full-fledged state by possessing population, definite territory of their own and sovereignty of both internal as well as external. They were a self-sufficient and politically well organized democratic state. Most of the Tangkhul villages are thickly populated. In which, villages were generally ruled by the King/Headman (Awunga) with the support of the village council. As such their administration was indigenous and independent. Every Tangkhul villages had a strong defense system of their own in order to protect themselves from any external forces. Most of the Tangkhul villages were very strong and big in the past. Christianity is the only religion of the Tangkhul Naga today. Tangkhul people are the first community in Manipur to become Christian. Christianity was first brought to the Tangkhul people by Rev. William Pettigrew of Scotland in 1895. Festivals had been the main interpreter of village or the social life, belief, culture and custom of the Tangkhul people. Festival as a part of their culture and custom played a significant role in Tangkhul Society. There were several types of festivals at the village. The ancestors were agriculturists, in the year cycle festivals were associated with the year-round seasonal agricultural activities. All those festivals were associated with sacred religious rituals. They followed some strict codes of conduct for all those festivals. Some of the big festivals of the Tangkhuls which are still celebrating are; (1) Luira Phanit (seed sowing) (2) Yarra (Youth festival) (3) Mangkhap Phanit etc.

Ukhrul District is the home of the Tangkhul tribes, who are a highly cultured people. The name Tangkhul was given to them by their neighbours, the Meiteis. The northern Tangkhuls were also called the Luhupas. The name Naga was given to them and similar tribes by the Burmese ( Myanmar ), which, in Myanmar means people with pierced earlobes. Piercing of the earlobes is wide-spread practice among the Naga people including the Tangkhuls. The Tangkhuls belong to the great Mongolian race which is spread all over the World. Linguistically, they belong to a large language family called Sino-Tibetan, within that family to the sub-family Tibeto-Burman. The earliest home of the Tangkhuls was the upper reaches of Huang heo and Yangtze Rivers which lies in the Zinjiang province of China. Like the other desert areas of the world, the people including the Tangkhuls, due to hardship of life, dispersed from this place to different directions. One group moved towards east and southeast to be become known as Chinese, another group moved southward to become the tribes of Tibeto-Burman which includes the Tangkhuls and other Naga sub tribes. That was between 10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. This movement has continued into recent historic times. S.K. Chatterjee noted that from 2000 B.C. onwards, Sino-Tibetan spreads from China pushed south and west, and entered India. According to W.I. Singh, in his “The History of Manipur”, the Tangkhuls settled in Samshok (Thuangdut) area in Myanmar. They belong to Yakkha tribe in China. The Tangkhuls were first noticed in Manipur by Poireiton, one of the earliest kings of a principality in Manipur valley. The Tangkhuls as also other Naga tribes came to Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh through Myanmar. Some of them also settled down in Myanmar and did not venture further. However, their movement over Myanmar and into India was spread over a period of time. They entered the present habitat in waves following one another and in some cases in close succession. The Tangkhuls came together with the Maos, Poumeis, Marams and Thangals because all of them have references to their dispersal from Makhel a Mao village in Senapati district. They had also erected megaliths at Makhel in memory of their having dispersed from there to various directions. The Tangkhuls point out to the association of their forefathers with the seashore. Most of the ornaments of the Tangkhuls such as kongsang, huishon, etc. were made of sea shells, cowrie and conch shells a prominent feature of the people who live on the shore.

Tangkhuls are a major ethnic group living in the Indo-Burma border area occupying the Ukhrul and Kamjong district in Manipur, India and the Somra tract hills, Layshi township, Homalin township and Tamu Township in Burma. Despite this international border, many Tangkhul have continued to regard themselves as "one nation". Tangkhuls living in Burma are also known as Hogo Naga/Eastern Tangkhul/Somra Tangkhul. Also Kokak Naga and Akyaung Ari Naga are included tribally within Tangkhul Naga tribe but their language are quite distinct. The Tangkhul (Somra/Hogo) language in Myanmar is very different from Tangkhul (Ukhrul) spoken in India. The villages in the north like Jessami, Soraphung and Chingjaroi (swimi) have quite a different culture than the main Tangkhul group but have more cultural ties with that of the Chakhesang (Jessami and Soraphung) poumai (chingjaroi )tribes. The Tangkhuls, as with other tribes on the hills, came to Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from Myanmar entering their present habitats in successive waves of immigration. The Tangkhuls came together with the Angamis, Chakhesangs, Zeliangrongs, Maos, Poumais, Marams and Thangals because all of them have references to their dispersal from Makhel, a Mao village in Senapati district. They had also erected megaliths at Makhel in memory of their having dispersed from there to various directions. The meitei community is widely considered to have broken apart from the Tangkhul's roughly 2400 years ago. In course of time every Tangkhul village became a small republic like the Greek city states. Every village had an unwritten constitution made up of age-old conventions and traditions. The Tangkhul villages were self-sufficient except for salt, and self-governing units ruled by hereditary or elected chief assisted by a Council of Elders. The chief was a judge, administrator and commander rolled into one.

Ukhrul district is the home of the Tangkhuls. They are a highly cultured people. The name Tangkhul was given to them by their neighbours, the Meiteis. The northern Tangkhuls were also called the Luhupas. The name Naga was given to them by the Burmese (Myanmar), which, in Myanmar means people with pierced earlobes. Piercing of the earlobes is wide-spread practice among the Naga people including the Tangkhuls. The Tangkhuls belong to the great Mongolian race which is spread all over the World. Linguistically, they belong to a large language family called Sino-Tibetan, within that family to the sub-family Tibeto-Burman. In general this points towards an origin in the north, that is south-west China and Tibet. The earliest home of the Tangkhuls was the upper reaches of Huang heo and Yangtze rivers which lies in the Zinjiang province of China. Like the other desert areas of the world, the people including the Tangkhuls, due to hardship of life, dispersed from this place to different directions. One group moved towards east and southeast to be become known as Chinese, another group moved southward to become the tribes of Tibeto-Burman which includes the Tangkhuls and other Naga sub tribes. That was between c, 10,000 B.C. to 8000 B.C. This movement has continued into recent historic times. S.K. Chatterjee noted that from 2000 B.C. onwards, Sino-Tibetan speakers from China pushed south and west and entered India. According to W.I. Singh, in his “The History of Manipur”, the Tangkhuls settled in Samjok (Thuangdut) area in Myanmar. They belong to Yakkha tribe in China. The Tangkhuls were first noticed in Manipur by Poireiton, one of the earliest kings of a principality in Manipur valley. The Tangkhuls as also other Naga tribes came to Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh through Myanmar. Some of them also settled down in Myanmar and did not venture further. However, their movement over Myanmar and into India was spread over a period of time. They entered the present habitat in waves following one another and in some cases in close succession. The Tangkhuls came together with the Maos, Poumeis, Marams and Thangals because all of them have references to their dispersal from Makhel a Mao village in Senapati district. They had also erected megaliths at Makhel in memory of their having dispersed from there to various directions. The Tangkhuls point out to the association of their forefathers with the seashore. Most of the ornaments of the Tangkhuls such as kongsang, huishon, etc. were made of sea shells, cowrie and conch shells a prominent feature of the people who live on the shore.

Tangkhul is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tangkhulic branch, spoken in different villages of Ukhrul district, Manipur, India. The term "Tangkhul" is derived from the Meitei language terms, tāng (ꯇꯥꯡ, 'scarce') and khūl (ꯈꯨꯜ, 'village'). According to another theory, the term "Tangkhul" is derived from "Thankhul", meaning "Than village" in Meitei language. Tangkhul became a written language for the first time in the year 1897, when William Pettigrew compiled "Tangkhul Primer and Catechism", during his Christian missionary activities. The Department of Language Planning and Implementation of the Government of Manipur offers a sum of ₹5,000 (equivalent to ₹8,500 or US$100 in 2023), to every individual who learns Tangkhul language, under certain terms and conditions. Tangkhul shares 93%–94% lexical similarity with the Somra variety of Tangkhul, 31% with Tangkhul Naga spoken in India, 51%–52% with Akyaung Ari Naga, and 29%–32% with Koki Naga.

Tangkhul Naga is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Ukhrul district of Manipur, and also in Nagaland and Tripura states in the northeast of India. According to the 2001 census there are about 142,000 Tangkhul Naga speakers. Dialects include Ukhrul, Khunggoi, Khangoi, Kupome and Phadang. Ukhrul is the main dialect and the basis for the written language. The language is taught in some schools, and used in literature, newspapers and on the radio.

Tangkhul, one of the major sub-tribes within the Naga tribe, native inhabitants of present Ukhrul district in Manipur state, within the Union of India, has a very unique past. Blessed by the quiet and green surroundings, it is said that life used to be very pleasant and peaceful. The Tangkhul tribe, as it is said, was well known as one of the most hostile tribes among the Naga tribes, in the days when head hunting was considered a heroic sport. Agriculture and hunting being the chief occupations, life is said to be hectic and busy. However, there always seem to be a special space for merriment, entertainment and healthy social interaction to grow, in spite of their busy daily chores. Every Old men in their octogenarian stage claim that life in the past was more calm and ideal and social life to be more robust than that of the present day. Looking at the youngsters of today, most of them lament, ‘You have missed so much fun and merriment as youths.’ Of course, what they perceive and what we have to say about the present are two different poles, which cannot be compared. However, the real problem lies in our inability to find the point where the past and the present converge.