Tangkhul is a tribe which has settled in the Ukhrul district of the North
East Indian state Manipur. Ukhrul is located along the Indo-Burma border
with an area of 4,544 square km. It is approximately 84 km away from the
capital Imphal.
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| Tangkhul girls with traditional attires and dresses |
However, many Tangkhul families have scattered all along the state for some
other purposes, such as education, occupation and employment.
The name Tangkhul was given to them by their neighbours Meiteis, the
majority people in Manipur. Ethnologically, Tangkhul belong to the
Mongoloid group of race, and linguistically they fall under the category
of Sino-Tibetan, and the sub-family Tibeto-Burman. They have also settled
in the neighbouring country Myanmar (Burma) to a large extent of
population.
Population:
According to the Census conducted in 2011, the population of Ukhrul
district is 183,998, out of which male were – 94,718 and female were –
89,280.
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| Tangkhul men and women with their respective traditional attires |
Literacy:
The latest report of literacy rate of Ukhrul, provided in 2011 was
81.35%.
Language: Hunphun is the dialect spoken by the Tangkhul people, and it has no similarity with any other group of the Naga tribe. Hunphun is also the traditional name of the Ukhrul.
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| Young Tangkhul girls with their traditional dresses and attires |
Religion: Many historians stated that Tangkhul people had their own traditional religion in the olden days. Later on, after the arrival of the Western missionaries to this hilly terrain region they converted to Christians, as their major religion. Some sources claim that, Tangkhul were the first tribe in Manipur to become Christians. In 1894, Reverend William Pettigrew stepped in Manipur through the American Baptist Mission (ABM). He is credited to be the first foreign Baptist Missionary of British origin to have entered Manipur and spread the teachings of the Bible to the natives.
Festivals: Although Tangkhuls celebrate a festival in every season, the major and popular festivals are described below.
Chumpa – This festival is celebrated by the Tangkhul women for continuous seven days, in the month of December after the completion of harvesting. Men are not allowed to enter the venue of the festival, as it marks a special festival only for women.
Luira – Also called Luira Phanit, is celebrated in the Ringui village, which comes alive with several traditional dances and songs. It is the festival of seed sowing of the Tangkhuls in several villages of Ukhrul in the beginning of the new year.
Christmas – Like Christians in other parts of the world, Tangkhuls also celebrate Christmas on 25th December every year.
