Introduction
The East Asians in North East India can be grouped into three groups which are Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai and Austroasiatic. The Sino-Tibetan groups form the largest East Asian group. The population estimate below is of 2011 AD.Boro-Garo
The Boro-Garo group comprises various Sino-Tibetan sub-tribes such as Boro, Garo, Koch, Tripuri, Dimasa, Rabha, Kachari who live mainly in Assam and Tripura states. This group is the earliest inhabitants of Brahmaputra valley.
There are about 4.5 million Boro people in India. The Garo people has a population of around 0.9 million.
There are about 4.5 million Boro people in India. The Garo people has a population of around 0.9 million.
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| Boro dance |
South Naga & Chin
Nagas are part of Sino-Tibetan people and can be grouped into South Naga and North Naga. There is an ethnic map of the South and North Naga at the end of this article. There are about 1.8 million Nagas in India.South Nagas live mainly in the mountains of Manipur and Nagaland in India, they also live in Sagaing region in Myanmar.
The South Naga comprise various sub-tribes such as Poumai, Angami, Mao, Tangkhul, Zeme, Lotha, Maram, Ao.
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| Ao Naga |
Chin people are the closest relatives to the South Naga people and live mainly in Mizoram state.
Tani
The Tani group live mainly in Arunachal Pradesh aka South Tibet. This group comprises various Sino-Tibetan sub-tribes such as Nyishi, Adi, Mishing, Apatani, Galo, Tagin. It is estimated that there are about 800,000 Tani people. |
| Nyishi tribe |
Ahom
Ahom are Tai speaking people and live mainly in Assam. They are related to ethnic Shan in Myanmar and to ethnic Tai in Thailand. There are approximately 3.9 million Ahom in India.
Khasi
Ethnic maps of North-east India
The origins of the East Asian tribes in North-east India are diverse. They came mainly from the north via Tibet or from the east via Myanmar and settled in the areas depicted below.
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| North and South Naga tribes |
Related links
Origin of Sino-Tibetan tribeshttp://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2018/08/origin-of-sino-tibetan-tribes.html
Last updated: 11 Aug 2019
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This article doesn't include the Meiteis (Manipuris). I'm sure they are sino-tibetan and with a sizable population, can you make it clear like which branch they are in?
ReplyDeleteThe exact Sino-Tibetan branch is disputable among the linguists. It was previously grouped under Naga-Kuki branch by some linguists but it seems they might belong to a separate Mikir-Meitei branch according to the link below.
Deletehttp://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Meithei.htmleop
Naga, Kuki-chin, Meitei and Karbi (Mikir) are classified as Kuki-Chin-Naga languistic group by James Matisoff. It's still used in Glottolog and Ethnologue.
DeleteThe Meiteis are concentrated in a small area now but had much bigger influence in the past. They are one of the few mongoloids groups in NE India to have written script, feudal customs, Kingdom and literature. Linguistically, it has been influenced by Bengali and Sanskrit loan words but it is closely related to Naga and Kuki-Chin languages.
ReplyDeleteAs for being related to Mikir, I personally find it hard to believe as the Mikirs or Karbis as we're not in contact with Meiteis and there is almost no mention of them in any Meitei folk tale or literature.