Zou people facts for kids

The Zou Tribe is one of the special groups of people, called Scheduled Tribes, in a state in India called Manipur. Most Zou people live in two districts of Manipur: Churachandpur and Chandel. Their language, Zou, is even taught in some high schools and higher secondary schools in the state.

The Zou are an ancient community living near the border between India and Myanmar (Burma). The Indian government officially recognizes them as a Scheduled Tribe in Manipur. There are about 20,000 to 25,000 Zou people in India, though this is an estimate. In 2001, the Zou population was the 10th largest among the Scheduled Tribes in Manipur.

History of the Zou People

The early history of the Zou people is a bit of a mystery, mixed with old stories and legends. They are believed to have come from the Indo-Chinese region. In their own language, the word "Zou" means "human being." There's a saying among them that people were born from trees, leaves, and soil.

Experts who study languages say that the Zou language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family. This family includes many languages spoken in Southeast Asia. Some scholars think that around 200 BC, the Zou people might have moved towards the northeast of Tibet because of attacks from China. The Zou tribe was strong and managed to keep their culture and traditions even when the British tried to take over their land.

Zou Language

The Zou community has its own writing system called "Zolai." All their writings used to be done in this script. Today, many young Zou people are excited to learn Zolai. However, the Roman script (the one used for English) is now the official writing system for the Zou people. Even the Bible has been translated into the Zou language using the Roman script.

In Manipur, the number of Zou people who can read and write is around 61.6 percent, based on a 2001 report. The Zou language is part of a larger group of languages called the Chin-Kuki-Lushai ethnic group.

Some Zou people believe that the original mother tongue of the Zote (Zomi) people is the Hai Dawi dialect. This dialect comes from the Hai Dawi village, which was founded a long time ago, around 1450 A.D. People from Hai Dawi still speak this dialect today. Many believe that if they want to keep their true original language, they should speak Hai Dawi.

Zou Culture

Like many other tribes in the region, most Zou people follow Christianity as their main religion. The Zou community has many traditions and customs. These include religious practices and social ways of life. Some of these traditions have changed over time to fit in with modern trends. However, the Zou people still follow ceremonies connected to nature. Their society also keeps its old structure where men are usually the heads of families and communities.

Hunting and farming are the main ways Zou people earn a living. In recent times, modern education has helped Zou women get jobs and join the workforce.

Zou Customs

The traditional customs and practices of the Zou tribe have recently been studied more closely. The Zou people, like other tribal communities in Northeast India, have kept their old customary practices for a very long time.

Types of Marriage

The Zou tribe has different ways of getting married. One common type is called "Patrilineal cross-cousin's marriage," which is their first choice and known as Neita. This means a person might marry a cousin from their father's side.

Generally, the traditional marriage system of the Zou people includes three main types:

• Tong Mou (Arranged marriage): This is when families arrange for two people to get married.
• Neita (Cross-cousin marriage): This is when cousins marry each other.
• Elopement Marriage: This is when a couple runs away to get married without their parents' full permission at first.

These types of marriages can involve both arranged unions and love matches. There are many small details about Zou marriage customs, but these are the main ways people get married in their community today.

Zou Folklore: Khupcing And Ngambawm

Once upon a time, there were two women who were very close friends. They made a promise that if one had a baby boy and the other had a baby girl, their children would marry each other. Later, one friend had a girl named Khupcing, and the other had a boy named Ngambawm.

Khupcing came from a royal family, but Ngambawm's family was poor. Because of this difference, Khupcing's parents changed their minds about the marriage. They tried to keep the babies apart from the very beginning. They put them in different cradles, but amazingly, the two babies always ended up in the same cradle! Even when they tried to separate them in the fields, the babies would be together in one cradle by evening.

As Khupcing and Ngambawm grew up, they fell deeply in love. One day, Ngambawm asked Khupcing to marry him. Khupcing told him to ask her parents. But her parents flatly refused. Ngambawm was sad, but Khupcing's love for him grew even stronger after her parents refused.

One day, Ngambawm took a single strand of Khupcing's hair and hid it under a stone near a waterfall. After that, Khupcing became very sick. Her mother announced that whoever could cure her would become her husband. When Ngambawm heard this, he went back, took the hair from under the stone, and put it back on Khupcing's head. She immediately got better! But her parents still refused to let them marry.

Ngambawm hid her hair again, and she became sick again. Her parents made the same promise. Ngambawm cured her again. He did this many times, but her parents remained stubborn. One time, Ngambawm hid her hair again, but sadly, it was lost in the flowing stream. Khupcing became very ill and died.

When her body was about to be buried, it swelled up so much that no one could move it out of the house. Everyone was shocked. They asked Ngambawm for help. Ngambawm spoke to Khupcing's body, saying, "Darling, we are separated, but this is God's will. Make yourself small again and get out of the door." And just like that, her body became small and could be moved.

But then, at the gate of the house, her body swelled up again! Ngambawm spoke to her again, and she became small enough to be carried out. After Khupcing was buried, Ngambawm returned home, heartbroken.

One day, Ngambawm planted a cockscomb flower on Khupcing's grave. He saw a wild cat trying to pick the flowers and caught it. The cat told him that Khupcing had sent it. Ngambawm told the cat to pluck chicken feathers on its way to Khupcing's village, so he could follow the trail. He followed the feathers and finally arrived at the village where Khupcing lived! He was overjoyed to see her, and they lived together in her house.

One day, Khupcing told Ngambawm, "Please go back to your village. When you get home, kill a pig and eat its meat. Then, hang a spear above your bed and let all the chickens out of their coops. After that, lie on your bed facing the roof where you hung the spear." Ngambawm did exactly as she said. As he lay on his bed, the spear accidentally fell and killed him instantly. After his death, his spirit went to Khupcing's village. He reached her house, and they met each other happily, living together forever in the spirit world.

Images for kids

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  Zou cultural troupe in traditional clothes

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  JCA jubilee monument at Daizang village