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, Christian missionary influence, and post-independence ethnic politics that has built upon older tribal and regional identities.
Ethnonyms
Chin (ချင်း, MLCTS: khyang:) 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
Petroglyph 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.
During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish languages speaking peoples, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature.[Violence and identity in North-east India: Naga-Kuki conflict – Page 201 S. R. Tohring – 2010 "... for these tribes including • the Kuki/ speaking tribe such as: 'Chin', 'Mizo', 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo', 'CHIKIM', 'Zomi', 'Zou', 'Zo'. ... During the British era, the British rulers used the term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' and the Government of India seemed to follow ..."][Amy Alexander Burma: "we are Like Forgotten People" : the Chin People of Burma Page 16 2009 "... within Chin State, Chin nationalist leaders popularized the term "Chin" following Burma's independence from Britain."]
Geographic distribution
In Myanmar
The Chin peoples predominantly live in the western part of Myanmar, stretching from the
Letha Taung to the
Arakan Mountains, encompassing
Chin State and
Rakhine State,
Bago Division,
Magwe Division, 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 Township,
Minbya,
Ann Township,
Thandwe and
Gwa Township, 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
Sweden 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.
[Chin Human Rights Organization, 2010.]
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.
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.
[ Threats to our Existence: Persecution of ethnic Chins in Burma, page 14.][ Seeking Refuge , page 15.] While Mizoram initially welcomed the Chin, growing numbers led to backlash and deportations among local Mizos. The Young Mizo Association (YMA), which promotes Mizo identity, previously ordered Chin refugees to leave and assisted police in forced evictions—actions that violated the principle of
non-refoulement.
[Human Rights Watch interview with S.A., Saiha, Mizoram, India, March 7, 2008.] 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.
[ Seeking Refuge , pages 81–82.]
History and politics
Origins
Ancestors of the Chin are believed to have originated between the
Yangtze and
Yellow River in northwestern China.
They migrated to the
Chindwin River during the first millenium, before populating the
Kalay,
Gangaw District, and
Myittha River.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, they made contact with Burmese kingdoms, and subsequently moved to the highlands, where fertile land was scarce.
The scarcity of land resources created a clan-oriented society among the Chin.
By the 19th century, the Falam clan controlled most of the Chin peoples.
In the pre-colonial era, the Chin peoples were not a unified pan-ethnic group, and were instead were organized into independent clans, tribes, and villages with their own dialects and customs.
British rule
Following the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the British annexed Chin-speaking areas as part of British Burma. British administrators grouped diverse hill tribes under umbrella terms like “Chin,” “
Kachin people,” and “
Karen people” for ease of governance and classification. The label “Chin” became an administrative and ethnographic category, applied to many ethnolinguistic groups across what are now Chin State, Sagaing Region, and Rakhine State. Christian missionary activity (especially by American Baptists) and colonial census practices helped reinforce this collective identity.
Post-independence era
The newfound democracy in Chin State ended abruptly in 1962 with the onset of military rule under
Ne Win in Burma.
The 1974 Burmese constitution granted statehood to
Chin State, which had previously been administered as Chin Special Division since Burma's independence in 1948.
Ne Win remained in power until 1988, when nationwide protests against the regime erupted.
Post-coup Myanmar
Chin State voters overwhelmingly voted for the National League for Democracy in the 2020 Myanmar general election.
Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Chin residents participated in anti-coup protests,
This sentiment was echoed across the state. The YMA built refugee camps and coordinated donations of food, clothing, and funds from across Mizoram.
Tribes and clans
The Chin peoples are divided into six main tribes, namely the Asho, Cho (Sho),
Khumi people (M'ro),
Kuki people,
Mizo people (Lushai), and
Zomi people, which can be further distinguished by at least 60 different sub-tribal categories.
The Chin have adopted clan names based on their ancestral origins; for instance the
Sizang language have adopted a common clan name, Siyin.
Chin politics and society remain largely based on tribal affiliation, which has translated into rivalry or division among different Chin communities.
Culture
Cuisine
Chin cuisine is typified by abundant use of vegetables, and meat is typically boiled and served with vegetables.
,
Maize, and
millet are common staple foods.
The Chin have faced severe famines due to an ecological phenomenon called
mautam.
The Chin brew a homemade alcohol called
zu, which plays a ritual role in Chin culture.
Alcohol abuse is common among male Chin refugees.
Chin elders also consume nicotine juice called
thibur, which is carried in small gourd containers.
Clothing
There are several traditional dresses such as Matu, Falam,
Tedim,
Zo people, Tapong,
Zotung people,
Mindat District, Daa Yindu (Kanpetlet),
Mara people, etc. The main colors use for these traditional dresses are red, green and black. Accessories such as bracelets, necklaces, hairpins and rings also play a huge role when it comes to traditional clothing as they complete the overall looks of the Chin. Chin people do not wear these clothes in daily life. They wear these on special occasions like Sundays, weddings, Chin National Day and other important occasions.
[ A Brief Historical of Zomi National Day Pu Lian Uk. Sunday, 20 February 2011 17:37. Last Updated on Thursday, 28 April 2011 18:15 Tongsan]
Holidays
The Chin celebrate Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas.
The Chin National Day is celebrated annually on 20 February, which is the day the Chin peoples abolished the slavery system or chieftainship. The first Chin National Day was celebrated in 1951 at Mindat.
Sports
Wrestling is a part of the Chins' sporting traditions.
Chin United F.C. represents the Chin people in Burmese association football. The club play in the Myanmar National League.
Languages
The Chin peoples speak a variety of related but mutually unintelligible Kuki-Chin languages, which are conservative in maintaining Proto-Tibeto-Burman phonology, including preservation of many initial and final consonants.
Several Chin languages are facing extinction due to competing local and national languages, such as Lamtuk, which is being displaced by
Hakha Chin and Burmese.
Multilingualism is common among the Chin, who invariably speak a native language, a nearby local language, and the national language, like Burmese.
In 2019, the Chin State government tentatively proposed prioritising five Chin languages - Tedim language (for Tedim Township and Tonzang Township), Falam language (for Falam Township), Hakha Chin (for Hakha Township and Thantlang), Khumi language (for Paletwa District), and Kcho (for Mindat Township and Kanpalet) - to be taught as First language at state schools.
Ethnologue lists 49 languages in this group, of which 20 contain the word "Chin" in their name.[ Ethnologue report for Kuki-Chin. Retrieved 2009-12-07.] The following are widely-spoken Chin languages:
-
Tedim language, with an estimated 411,000 speakers
-
Thadou language, with an estimated 346,100 speakers
-
Hakha Chin, with an estimated 210,410 speakers
-
Falam language, with an estimated 107,900 speakers
-
Asho Chin, with an estimated 174,000 speakers
-
Khumi language, with an estimated 64,000 speakers
-
Mara language, with an estimated 62,400 speakers
-
Zotung language, with an estimated 40,000 speakers
-
Matu Chin, with an estimated 40,000 speakers
-
Dai Chin, with an estimated 40000 to 50000 Speakers in only Chin State.( Note: excluded in other State/Region in Myanmar and Foreign countries)
Religion
Historically, the Chin peoples were
, professing a belief in good and evil spirits that inhabited natural phenomena.
The Chin also worshipped a powerful supreme god, Pathian, who is believed to command the universe.
were commonly sacrificed during religious rituals.
In the late 1800s, the first Christian missionaries arrived in Chin State, and began converting the Chin to Christianity.[David Shavit. "The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary". Retrieved 2012-05-13.] Christianity grew from 35% in 1966 to 90% in 2010.
Several Chin tribes, including the Asho Chin, are majority Buddhist.
Since the late 20th century, a group of Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples have claimed descent from Bnei Menashe, one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted Judaism.[Weil, Shalva. "Double Conversion among the 'Children of Menasseh'" in Georg Pfeffer and Deepak K. Behera (eds) Contemporary Society Tribal Studies, New Delhi: Concept, pp. 84–102. 1996 Weil, Shalva. "Lost Israelites from North-East India: Re-Traditionalisation and Conversion among the Shinlung from the Indo-Burmese Borderlands", The Anthropologist, 2004 . 6(3): 219–233.]
Human rights violations
Since the 1962 military coup by
Ne Win, the Chin—an mostly Christian minority in a predominantly Buddhist Myanmar—have faced systemic ethnic and religious persecution.
[ Threats to our Existence: Persecution of ethnic Chins in Burma, page 64.][[8], page 82.] The
Tatmadaw and successive military juntas, including the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) have committed widespread abuses, including
Forced labour,
torture, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings.
[[9], page 4.] Fear of retaliation and restrictions on movement and the press have made it difficult for Chin to speak out.
These conditions have driven many to flee to India, Thailand, and Malaysia, often without legal protection or refugee status.
[ BBC News][ Seeking Refuge]
Myanmar’s report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) claims legal protections for human rights under its constitution and penal code.
Extrajudicial killings
Although Myanmar is not party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it is still bound by other international obligations that protect the right to life.
Despite this, the SPDC and Tatmadaw continue to commit extrajudicial killings in Chin State with impunity.
[[12], page 26.] Human Rights Watch and the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) have documented killings, including children and women, for suspected opposition ties.
[ CHRO submission, page 4.]
Arbitrary arrests and detention
Myanmar's legal code prohibits arbitrary arrest and guarantees legal representation, but these rights are often ignored.
[ Myanmar Criminal Procedure Code] Chin detainees report being beaten, tortured, and denied basic needs, including clean food and water, while held in unsanitary and overcrowded prisons.
[[15], page 36.][Human Rights Watch interviews, 2006–2008.]
Forced labor
Despite Myanmar’s ratification of the 1930 Forced Labour Convention, forced labor remains widespread.
[ ILO country list][ ILO Core Conventions] Chin civilians are often forced to construct military buildings, carry supplies, or serve as porters under threat of violence.
[[18], page 40.][Human Rights Watch interviews, 2005–2008.] A 2011 study using household interviews found that 92% of Chin households surveyed experienced forced labor, and 76% were forced to build infrastructure. Thirty-six reported detentions.
[ PLOS Medicine]
Notable Chin people
-
Gokhothang, Guite people prince from Mualpi, also known as Goukhothang, Go Khaw Thang, Go Khua Thang, or Kokutung (the latter being the name used by the historians Carey and Tuck). He is the only Zomi prince whom the neighboring Meitei people (Manipur) kingdom ever acknowledged as Raja (or Ningthou in Metei language). His powerful dominion included over seventy cities, towns, and villages.
[Gougin, History of Zomi, 67ff] He became known as the leader of all Zo people.[Bertram S. Carey and Henry N. Tuck, Chin Hills, Vol 1 (1896), page 141.]
-
Pau Cin Hau, Zomi prophet who lived and created a script for the Zo people named Zo tuallai. He also founded the Laipan religion, which was very popular among the Zo people before the arrival of American missionaries.
-
Khai Kam (), Chin leader that ruled over the largest fiefdom in the Chin Hills. Khai Kam College in Kalemyo was named in his honor, although it had since been renamed Kale College.
-
Zoramthanga, amateur boxing who won a bronze medal at the 1990 Bombay Boxing World Cup.
-
Taik Chun, soldier and recipient of Aung San Thuriya medal, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry and bravery.
-
Henry Van Thio, politician and vice-president of Burma.
-
Cheery Zahau, human rights and women's right activist, feminist, politician, writer, development and peace leader. She is the founder and leader of "Women's League of Chinland" and winner of UNDP's N-Peace Awards 2017.
-
Thet Mon Myint, Burmese Myanmar Academy Award-winning actress
-
Benjamin Sum, singer and runner up of Myanmar Idol season 4
-
Esther Dawt Chin Sung, singer and winner of Myanmar Idol season 4
See also
External links
