The Zos are Tibeto-mongoloid group of people, a sub-family of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo race. The name Zo or Zou is the name of a group of Tibeto-Burman people inhabiting the ChinHills in Mynamar and Manipur in India. It is also recorded as Yo,Jou,Zou by many colonial civil servants and modern writers. While colonial records referred to the Zou tribe variously as ‘Yo’ or ‘Yaw’, the Zou community living in Manipur called themselves ‘Jou’. The first Christian church established by the Zou tribe in Manipur was called Jou Christian Association (JCA) on 20 February 1954. But the Government of India officially recognised the name of this tribe as ‘Zou’ in 1956.
I) The earliest historical records of Zo was written by Fan-Cho a diplomat of Tang dynasty of China who mentioned of a kingdom in Chindween valley whose princes and chiefs were callled Zo or Shou or Zhou in the year 862 A. D.
II) The most genuine historical records of the Zos/Zous were written down by Rev.Fr.Vincentious Sangermano; a Roman Catholic Missionary who came to Burma in 1783 A.D. He wrote a book entitled “A Description of the Burmese Empire” it was published in 1835 A.D in Rome in latin language, later on it was translated into English by William Tandy D.D. (reprinted at the Goverment Press,Yangon;MDCL XXXV) Page 35; wrote about the Jou.
The extracts are given as under:-
“To the East of Chien Mountains between 20o30’ seconds and 21o30’ North latitude is apetty nation called ‘JOU'. They are supposed to have been Chein,who in progress of time, have become Burmaniszed,speaking their language,although very corruptly, and adopting all their customs”
III) Betram S.Carey CIE,Assitant Commissioner,Burma, and Political Officer,Chin Hills and H.N.Tuck ,Extra Assitant Commissioner,Burma and Assistant Political Officer,Chin Hills wrote 'THE CHIN HILLS'. In that book Volume I page 140 they wrote about the Zos as follows:-
“The Yos[Zos} tribe three generations back occupied the tract now occupied by the Kanhow clan of Soktes, and many of the Kanhow villages are inhabited still by Yos,whose tribal name has given way to that of Kanhow. As has been shown in the previous chapter,Kantum, the Sokte, conquered all the inhabitants right up to the borders of Manipur, and Kanhow, his so, founded Tiddim village and ruled the newly acquired conquests of his father. The conquered Yos thus became known as Kanhowte,Kanhow’s men, and as they intermaried with the Soktes who settled north with Kanhow Kanhow,there is no real difference between the conquerors and the conquered”.
V ) F. K. Lehman of Illinois Studies in Anthropology No.3, The University of Illinois Press Urbans 1963, Page 179 states as follows:
Between Burma and India there lived a racial group people who are living with their tradition and customs firmly. They are not easy to ruling. They worship “SHA” which was their dead peoples spirits. They called their dead people’s evil spirit JIN. Their origin name is “JOU”
VI) The terms ‘Zo’ have been employed in many books written by the people. The first complete version of the Holy Bible in Zo language(1983 A D) used the title as 'The Holy Bible in Zo' and the second complete Holy Bible also used the word 'Zokam'.
Pu. T.Gougin used the terminology :Zo and Zomi to denote this community in the book 'A Brief History of Zou'(1961 A.D.) and (L)Pu. Thangkhanlal also used the term 'Zo' in his Zo primer(1973) and Pu. Goupau in 'Zo Sannemla' others.
The term ‘Zou’ is officially accepted to refer to the Zou tribe in Manipur since 1956. But in Myanmar(Burma) these very same people; they have been using the term 'Zo' to denote themselves in Chin Hills and Sagaing division of Myanmar since the beginning of Roman script for writing perhaps as early as 1920s. The name 'Zo' has been used by Zo Baptist Association (ZBA) and Zo Presbyterian Synod Church in Myanmar.
In the year 1926 two missionaries Mr. Hrangchuaka and Mr.Dawnthawma visited the Zo country and wrote their about them in the bulletin ‘Khristian’.
Free translation of the above write up is given below:-
“First of all,I would like to tell briefly about the land as described below:- The country is located in the Imphal areas and north of Guite tracts,between the lands of Meitei and Sukte along the valley of Imphal river. Like, the Lushei country they people have petty chieftains in the small villages which are not extensive enough. They all called themselves by the racial name or tribal name; Zo and their chief amongst them belongs to the Manlun clan, below them there are two other tribes but they are not worth mentioning, they are very ignorant and illiterate; I learnt that they fought against the Government few years back. Religion: they are all worshippers of spirits of their forefathers, and they practised animal sacrifices to propitiate the spirits.. ‘I donot have a son. If I follow God will I have a son? They used to asked me,thus,the Zo ram ‘Zo country’ does not hear that God sent his only begotten son to redeem the sinners,therefore,I implore to you to please pray for this Zo people”.
A brief Historical linguistics of Kuki-Chin languages with special reference to Diachronic linguistic studies of Zo language in India and Burma During the ancient period the Zo people are said to have possess their own script written on parchments. In course of their migration to distant lands these parchments were lost. Some believed that they were eaten by hungry dogs. Zo language is believed to be very old language as told by elders of the community. Zo language had been in usage cir A.D 850, Prof. G.H Luce stated that the though it is known as Tibeto-Burman their common language is either Chin or Kachin or the combination of both of them. The Zo language is very closely related to the Kachin language.
The coming of missionaries into the land of the Zo people nearly coincides with the education of the people and thus we may say that the historical linguistics of Zo language begins with the advent of the missionaries into the Zo country; eastern and western regions.
Lushai/Mizo language
In 1893 R.Arthington of the Arthington Aborigines Mission sent two missionaries to Aizawl. In 1894 F.W.Savidge and J.H.Lorraine reached southwest Mizoram. They learned the Lushai(Mizo) language and introduced the Roman script for writing the unwritten Lushai language. They translated some Bible parables and started preparing the Lusei-English Dictionary . They taught the people how to read and write in their mission schools. They translated the Gospel of St. John and the Acts of the Aposltes in Lushai language. They were transferred in 1897. Thus, Lushai/Lusei literature began its long journey from then onwards. In 1898, Rev.D.E Jones reached the western part of Lushai Hills. By 1899,he visited all the important villages they opened up missionary schools and taught the Duhlien dialect.
Haka(Lai) and Khalkha languages
In 1898,Rev.Carson and his wife reached Haka to preach the Good News. On 15,March,1899, Rev. Arthur Carson and his wife of A.B.M reached Haka the capital of the Chin State/Hills,with much difficulties he managed to convert one person in 1904,after struggling for five years. He introduced the Roman alphabet and taught the people how to write in their mother tongue. He translated the New Testament into different dialects. He died on 1,April,1908 at Haka.
On 5,April,1906 Chester Strait arrived at Haka. He learnt the Haka(Lai) language well. He established a Bible school at Haka in May,1928 with few students. He prepared Sunday school lessons and translated the New Testament in Lai(Haka) language which was published by Mission Press Rangoon in 1940.
Tangkhul language
In 1894,February William Pettigrew who was incharge of the American Baptist Mission,opened a school among the Meitei Hindus at Imphal. He was not welcomed in the land of Meiteis. In 1895,he establish a Mission centre at Ukhrul. From the years 1895 to 1910 he learnt the local language,later on he developed the Tangkhul language by unifying the various village dialectical groups into one single language; Hundung/Ukhrul dialect.
Thado-Kuki language
On the demand of Rev. William Pettigrew,Dr.Grozier came to Kangpokpi in the last part of 1909. From 1910 onwards,he set up a Medical Centre at Kangpokpi Mission Compound servving as Doctor for the sick and the poor. The history of this language began with the arrival of the missionaries at Kangpokpi,Manipur state. T.C Hodson(1905) called this language as Thado,Rev. William Pettigrew named it Thadou. Longkhobel Kilong(1922) and Thomsong Ngulhao(Lekhabul,Thadou Kuki first Primer 1927) called it Thadou Kuki.
T.Lunkim,in the early 1970s proposed the name of this language as 'Kuki'. He wrote the Holy Bible in Kuki.
Mssrs. Lt.R.Steward (author of ' A slight notice of the Grammar of Thado or New Kuki language published in the Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal 1857) and Dament called it Thado language and local dialect it is known as Thado pao. Thadou or Thadou-Kuki is a language spoken in the states of Assam,Nagaland,Mizoram,Manipur and in the Chin Hills of Burma and Chittagong tracts of Bangladesh.It is widely spoken language belonging to the Kuki-Chin sub-group of Tibeto-Burman sub-family of Sino-Tibetan families of languages.It shares linguistic similarities and ethnographic similarities with the other dialects of th Kuki-Chin sub-groups.
Hmar language: The Hmar language belongs to the Kuki-Chin-Naga sub-group of Tibeto-Burman stock of the great Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.
Hmar speakers are scattered over a vast area in Mizoram,Manipur, NC Hills and Cachar districts of Assam state,India. There is no homogenous settlement of Hmar speakers alone. Hmar is a recognised language in the School curriculum of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram, and also recently recognised as one of the Modern Indian Language (MIL) at Manipur University. Board of Secondary Education, Assam has also included Hmar as an MIL in its matriculation syllabus from 2005.
In the year 1912 A.D the Royal Asiatic Society,Calcutta was founded with Dr.George A.Grierson as one of its founders. In one of its journal they proposed Roman alphabet to write the dialects of the wild tribes. Zo literature also saw its birth sometime in the second decade of the 20th century. In1904-1930,Dr.George A.Grierson prepared a detailed descriptions of Kuki-Chin languages in Part 3 Vol No.3
Diachronic Linguistic Studies of Zo language in Burma and India
Kamhau dialect and Tiddim-Chin language
In Burma the development of Zo language and literature owes to one great missionary in the person of Rev. Joseph Hebert Cope of American Baptist Mission. In December 21,1908, he reached Haka and learnt the Haka and Falam dialects to spread the word of God but he was not very successful. In 1910, he arrived at Tedim town in Chin Hills and he began to learn the local language;Tedim-Chin or Tiddim-Chin. He had to face a lot of resistance and hardships. The practice of social drinking was prevalent in those days,it took quie a long time to convert souls for Christ due to the orthodox religion of the Zo people who used to worship a supreme being called ‘Pasien’ and their ancestors’ spirits called ‘Pusha’ and form of worship known as ‘Pusha Bieh’. Their form of ancient religion may be called ‘Lawkism’ in anglicized terminlogy.
The beginning of the 20th century Pu. Kamhau was oen of the Sukte rulers(Innpite) of Tedim,Tonzang and other Zo villages in Chin Hills,his dialect was similar to the Tiddim-Chin dialect, therefore, he propagated his own dialect amongst his subjects after his name; Kamhau and he made it as the official language of his tracts with the patronage of the British Rulers and missionaries of those days. It was known as Kamhau dialect.
J.H. Cope compiled hymn book in Tedim dialect and he also published portions of the Gospels. In 1913, he compiled the first Chin Primer in Tedim dialect using Roman Scripts called Mang Tual Lai). In 1915,J.H Cope translated the ‘Mate Lai Siangtho’ (Gospel of St.Mathew) in Kamhau dialect printed by British & Foreign Bible Society,Rangoon and the ‘Zawhang Lai Siangtho’(Gospel of St.John) in Kamhau dialect,1923. These Bibles were the forerunners of the later days Tiddim-Chin Bibles. In 1931,The Sermont on the Mount was published in Pau Cin Hau script with the help of Mrs. Cope and Pu.Thang Cin Kham of Tonzang village. Due to the non-availability of printing technology for this script it could not be fully developed as a means of education in schools. He began to publish a 16 page bulletin called Tedim Thukizakna with the help of local pastors and literates from 1919 till his death in 1938.
About 1920-21,there was a Educational Conference at Falam which agreed to develop the Roman alphabet as a medium of instructions for schools in place of Burmese. The Chin Education Conference at Maymyo was held on 23rd October 1923,wherein the members resolved to prepare school textbooks in Tiddim-Chin language. Consequently,Rev. In 1922, J.H Cope was confered the rank of Honorary Inspector of Schools for the whole of Chin Hills. Hence forth,he was known as Sangmang Pa ‘Master of Schools’. In the year 1925,he organized all the Primary Schools into Tedim Chin Primary Schools.
It is recorded that as told by Rev. Thang Kho Chin of Phaitu village, that when Rev. J.H Cope tried to prepare folktales in the Tedim-Chin Readers he could not satisfactory gather detail accounts of the Zo folktales among the Tedim speaking people of Tedim town,he said that some Tedim speaking elders pointed out to J.H Cope that the Zo people who preserve their customs,traditions and folktales still in tact,should be consulted for the purpose of writing folktales and other stories and so he approached them accordingly. So,he consulted and interviewed Pu.Tuong Za Go of Lomzang village in Tongzang Myuone who knew many folktales and stories,thus many Zo folktales and legends of course, the native Zo language also came to be incorporated into the Tedim-Chin Reader which was later on through several revisions the native Zo language was gradually dropped in place of Tiddim-Chin dialect. By 1925 A.D he prepared the Tiddim-Chin Readers.
In 1931,he translated portions of the New Testament in Tedim dialect. In 1938,he completed the New Testament,Tedim dialect(Lai Siang tho thak Tedim kam).
In 1932,he with the held of his assistant;Sia Vial Nang,the first complete New Testament Bible in the Chin Hills was published by British and Foreign Bible Society(Rangoon) in Kamhau/Tiddim-Chin dialect.
After the British Rulers left India and Burma,the Zo language suffered much disintegration and diversifications in terms of its orthographies specially in N.E India.
With coming of the tribe recognition act in the beginning of 1950s,various speech communities of the Kuki-Chin groups began to adopt their own dialects as the basis of their ethnic differentiation and identities. The Kuki-Chin linguistic world was split up into various ethnic components such as ; Kom, Chothe,Anal,Paite, Simte,Thadou, Zo, Gangte,Vaiphei etc.
We have already seen the growth and develpment of Zo language in Burma through the pioneering works of Rev.J.H Cope,the Zos also benefitted from the point of literature and religion.
Prior to the 1950s, the Zos were staunch believers of their ancient forefathers religion; ancestor worship which I may be called it ‘Lawkism’ in anglicized terminology. In the early 1950s,with the advent and invasion of foreign religion in the form of Christianity, the majority of the Zos were converted into Christian faith some were converted individually,major chunk of population underwent mass conversion resulting in drastic transformations of their social systems,kinship systems,customs,culture,and tribe solidarity. The advent of the new faith and its missionary activities came the western education. Many youngmen became literate and enlightened. In course of time,the newly educated people felt the necessity of having a denomination based on their tribe or community . The Zos of India and Burma were using either the Paite or Tedim Hymn Books and Gospels since the beginnning of the 20th century. Some even used to read the Lushai Bible. They also longed to have hymn books and the Bible in their own mother tongue.
In 1946,some schools were opened among the Zos in South district of Manipur state. The E.C.C missionaries Mssrs.Vungdal,Khamzalian,Thongluon came to preach the gospel among the Zos. Some people were converted to Christianity. However,in those days,there was no organised single Zo Christian denomination amongst them, in fact, they were scattered among various denominations such as E.C.C,E.A.C etc. After few years many Zos left their parent denominations which were under N.E.I.G now known as E.C.C.I.
Some newly educated Zos began to organise the new converts into associations . On 20,February1,1954, they founded a new denomination known as ‘Jou Christian Association’ at Daizang village,South district,Manipur under the Chairmanship of Ngulzakhup. Through their newly established church denomination; ‘Jou Christian Association’ the Zos began to develop their own language and literature in their own mother tongue. The first hymn book called ‘Zomi Christian Labupi’ was printed in 1954(500 copies) compiled and edited by Zomi Theme Committee,Tuaitengphai under the leadership of Pu. Thonghang(T.Tungnung), Pu.Kaizakham(K.Phiemphu) and Pu.Semkhopao (S.K.Samte). They can be given the status of the Pioneers of Zo literature in Manipur(India). The second,third,fourth editions came out in 1956(2,000 copies),1970(3000 copies), 1985( 1000 copies) and 1989(3000 copies;tonic solfa) respectively.
Pu.S.K Samte published the first newspaper known as 'Jougam-Thusuo' in 1954. He used a mixture of Hunterian orthography and the A,B,C....Z system based on phonological features of the then unwritten Zo language,as it is evident from the spellings found in the newspaper1.
In 1956 A.D, (L) Pu. T. Nengkhogin prepared and published a Zo primer known as ‘Jou Simpat Bu2 ’ with the assistance of Pu.S.K Samte. In that he proposed the use of the Roman Script,which is today known as the English Alphabet. Since,he was the pioneer in Zo orthography(reading and writing system) in Manipur he could be given the title of the Father of Zo Literature(Zo Laipa) in Indian context. In 1957, Pu. T.Gougin,Sub. Peter Thangkhokam, Pu.Vummâng and Pu.Jâmkhogin all of them painstakingly collected and compiled the ancient mores,customs and traditions of the Zos from the various chiefs. On 1.12.1957, they published the first ever Jou Customary Law3 book with the patronage of the Zo chiefs. Thus,all of them may be given the titles of the Fathers of Zo Customary Law book.
In 1958,Pu. S.K.Samte prepared 4(four) books they are; Jou Lai Bu Ina,Jou Lai Bu IIna,Tuottung Bu and Jou Hindi Simpat. In 1961,Pu. T.Gougin M.A published a book on Zo people known as ‘A Brief History of Zou’. In 1967,the first New Testament in Zokam was translated and published by Pu.S.K.Samte.
In 1967,Pu.Thangkhanlal prepared 6(six) books on Zo language viz; Zolai Bu Khatna,Zolai Bu Nina,Naupangte Zolai Patna,Learners English Grammar and Hindi Vocabulary. He followed the Hunterian system i.e A,AW,B,CH orthography which is adopted by the Lushai(Mizo) literature and partly of Rev. J.H Cope’s orthography which is still used by the Tedim-Chins and some Zo people in Burma.
Pu. S.Mangsuanthang also prepared some Zo Primer following the same orthography. But the spelling usages employed by the two authors are not same.
In the early 1980s a man named Pu.Siehzathang claimed to have discovered the lost script of Zo language in his dreams!. Later on,UZO accepted it to be the script for Zou vernacular in 1983. But,on detailed analysis it seems to be admixture of Burmese and Bengali script. Of course,the invention of this script shows his creativity of thought and his love of language.This script also needs fine tuning in terms of tones and vowel system.
In 1983,the first complete Holy Bible in Zo (including the first Apocripha translation among the Kuki-Chin group of languages)was released at Good Shepherd Parish, Churachandpur, Manipur.
In 1995,under the aegis of the Bible Society of India, Bangalore, Rev. L.Taithul published the Holy Bible in Zomi minus Apocripha. These two versions of the Holy Bible in Zokam has greatly influenced the literature world of the Zos. The old orthographies of the John H.Cope and James Herbert Lorraine(he followed the Hunterian system developed by Sir William Hunter-author of Imperial Gazetteer,1900) underwent profound changes during the past 27 years of the existence of the Bibles in Zokam/Zoham(Zo language) in India and Burma.
In 2000, the Zou Literature Society, Manipur published books for Cl.IX and X which is studied in the state of Manipur India. The orthography used in these books are mostly based on the Bibles in Zo language but there are lot of double vowels which gives the writings very clumsy looks. Then,the punctuations are filled with hyphens and dashes which again gives the writings uneconomical and cumbersome. The contents of the books are mostly upto the mark.
In 2001, the Zo Baptist Association Hqtrs, Kalaymyo, Myanmar(Burma) published a magazine known as ‘A.D 2000, ZO MAGAZINE’ dated March 2001 which gives a lot of information about the history, language, culture and religions of Zos in Burma.
One notable feature of this book is that it is written according to the orthography followed in the Zo Bibles(1983 and 1995). In this magazine there are proper blends of the old orthography(J.H Cope,Hunterian) and new orthography A,B,C,D,….Z system propounded by Mr. T. Aloysius Nehkhojang B.A,B.Th which also again consists of beautiful blends of the old ones and the new ones. The orthography adopted in this magazine is easy to read but this newest trend in Zo linguistics still requires much more fine tuning and proper refinements for its final adoption as the orthography of Zo language.
In 2006, under the aegis of the Zo Cultural-cum-Literature Society India Mr. Philip Thanglienmang, DANICS,B.E(Civil), M.A(Linguistics) published 5 books the most prominent being; ‘Dictionary of Zo Poetic Words,Metaphors and Similes Vol.I’. After the publication of this dictionary,some of the local leaders and small time writers of Zou vernacular of Churachandpur could not digest this monumental piece of works due to various reasons best known to themselves.
In 2006,the Zou Literature Society Manipur publised two books for Cl.X and XII viz; Chinthu Zaila by ZLSM and Zouham Zahdan by Philip Thanglienmang,DANICS.
In 2006,the Zo Baptist Association,Hqtrs,Myanmar with the help of Bible Society of India,Bangalore published the Zo Lai Siengtho; Zo Bible consisting of the New Testament version with Psalms for their own use in Burma and India.
Bibliographies:
1. J.C.A; JOUGAM-THUSUO Vol.I Douta March 1954 Ist year which is recorded as 10 Feb,1954 by M.G.P/M.E.P in JCA Golden Jubilee Souvenir 2004.
2. Jou simpat Bu; JOUGAM-THUSUO Vol.I Douta March 1954 Ist year
3. Jou Customary Book; Jou Tawndan collected and compiled by Pu.T. Gougin M.A dated 1-12-1957
4. Leivui Panin by Late Rev. Khup Za Go
5. Zou Lai Khantousah dingdan thu(How to develop the Zou Literature) ‘A Seminar Paper presented at the U.Z.O Lamka Block Conference on the 12th Dec 1995 by Nehkhojang B.A.,B.D,B.Ph,Secretary, Literature,U.Z.O Hqs.
6. Zomi Christian Church,Tapidaw-40 (1954-1994) Souvenir editor: David K.Samte
7. Tapidaw Golden Jubilee 2004 sungah "Tawndan leh Tapidaw biehna" by Upa Suonkhanmang Chief of Tangpijol
8. A.D 2000,ZO MAGAZINE dated March 2001,Kalaymyo,Myanmar(Burma)
9. Tapidaw 50 Golden Jubilee 2004
10. What is in a name? Everything is in a name! Thado vs Kuki by Dr.M.S Thirumalai dated 9th Sept,2005.
By Philip Thanglienmang, DANICS, M.A. (Linguistic)
I) The earliest historical records of Zo was written by Fan-Cho a diplomat of Tang dynasty of China who mentioned of a kingdom in Chindween valley whose princes and chiefs were callled Zo or Shou or Zhou in the year 862 A. D.
II) The most genuine historical records of the Zos/Zous were written down by Rev.Fr.Vincentious Sangermano; a Roman Catholic Missionary who came to Burma in 1783 A.D. He wrote a book entitled “A Description of the Burmese Empire” it was published in 1835 A.D in Rome in latin language, later on it was translated into English by William Tandy D.D. (reprinted at the Goverment Press,Yangon;MDCL XXXV) Page 35; wrote about the Jou.
The extracts are given as under:-
“To the East of Chien Mountains between 20o30’ seconds and 21o30’ North latitude is apetty nation called ‘JOU'. They are supposed to have been Chein,who in progress of time, have become Burmaniszed,speaking their language,although very corruptly, and adopting all their customs”
III) Betram S.Carey CIE,Assitant Commissioner,Burma, and Political Officer,Chin Hills and H.N.Tuck ,Extra Assitant Commissioner,Burma and Assistant Political Officer,Chin Hills wrote 'THE CHIN HILLS'. In that book Volume I page 140 they wrote about the Zos as follows:-
“The Yos[Zos} tribe three generations back occupied the tract now occupied by the Kanhow clan of Soktes, and many of the Kanhow villages are inhabited still by Yos,whose tribal name has given way to that of Kanhow. As has been shown in the previous chapter,Kantum, the Sokte, conquered all the inhabitants right up to the borders of Manipur, and Kanhow, his so, founded Tiddim village and ruled the newly acquired conquests of his father. The conquered Yos thus became known as Kanhowte,Kanhow’s men, and as they intermaried with the Soktes who settled north with Kanhow Kanhow,there is no real difference between the conquerors and the conquered”.
V ) F. K. Lehman of Illinois Studies in Anthropology No.3, The University of Illinois Press Urbans 1963, Page 179 states as follows:
Between Burma and India there lived a racial group people who are living with their tradition and customs firmly. They are not easy to ruling. They worship “SHA” which was their dead peoples spirits. They called their dead people’s evil spirit JIN. Their origin name is “JOU”
VI) The terms ‘Zo’ have been employed in many books written by the people. The first complete version of the Holy Bible in Zo language(1983 A D) used the title as 'The Holy Bible in Zo' and the second complete Holy Bible also used the word 'Zokam'.
Pu. T.Gougin used the terminology :Zo and Zomi to denote this community in the book 'A Brief History of Zou'(1961 A.D.) and (L)Pu. Thangkhanlal also used the term 'Zo' in his Zo primer(1973) and Pu. Goupau in 'Zo Sannemla' others.
The term ‘Zou’ is officially accepted to refer to the Zou tribe in Manipur since 1956. But in Myanmar(Burma) these very same people; they have been using the term 'Zo' to denote themselves in Chin Hills and Sagaing division of Myanmar since the beginning of Roman script for writing perhaps as early as 1920s. The name 'Zo' has been used by Zo Baptist Association (ZBA) and Zo Presbyterian Synod Church in Myanmar.
In the year 1926 two missionaries Mr. Hrangchuaka and Mr.Dawnthawma visited the Zo country and wrote their about them in the bulletin ‘Khristian’.
Free translation of the above write up is given below:-
“First of all,I would like to tell briefly about the land as described below:- The country is located in the Imphal areas and north of Guite tracts,between the lands of Meitei and Sukte along the valley of Imphal river. Like, the Lushei country they people have petty chieftains in the small villages which are not extensive enough. They all called themselves by the racial name or tribal name; Zo and their chief amongst them belongs to the Manlun clan, below them there are two other tribes but they are not worth mentioning, they are very ignorant and illiterate; I learnt that they fought against the Government few years back. Religion: they are all worshippers of spirits of their forefathers, and they practised animal sacrifices to propitiate the spirits.. ‘I donot have a son. If I follow God will I have a son? They used to asked me,thus,the Zo ram ‘Zo country’ does not hear that God sent his only begotten son to redeem the sinners,therefore,I implore to you to please pray for this Zo people”.
A brief Historical linguistics of Kuki-Chin languages with special reference to Diachronic linguistic studies of Zo language in India and Burma During the ancient period the Zo people are said to have possess their own script written on parchments. In course of their migration to distant lands these parchments were lost. Some believed that they were eaten by hungry dogs. Zo language is believed to be very old language as told by elders of the community. Zo language had been in usage cir A.D 850, Prof. G.H Luce stated that the though it is known as Tibeto-Burman their common language is either Chin or Kachin or the combination of both of them. The Zo language is very closely related to the Kachin language.
The coming of missionaries into the land of the Zo people nearly coincides with the education of the people and thus we may say that the historical linguistics of Zo language begins with the advent of the missionaries into the Zo country; eastern and western regions.
Lushai/Mizo language
In 1893 R.Arthington of the Arthington Aborigines Mission sent two missionaries to Aizawl. In 1894 F.W.Savidge and J.H.Lorraine reached southwest Mizoram. They learned the Lushai(Mizo) language and introduced the Roman script for writing the unwritten Lushai language. They translated some Bible parables and started preparing the Lusei-English Dictionary . They taught the people how to read and write in their mission schools. They translated the Gospel of St. John and the Acts of the Aposltes in Lushai language. They were transferred in 1897. Thus, Lushai/Lusei literature began its long journey from then onwards. In 1898, Rev.D.E Jones reached the western part of Lushai Hills. By 1899,he visited all the important villages they opened up missionary schools and taught the Duhlien dialect.
Haka(Lai) and Khalkha languages
In 1898,Rev.Carson and his wife reached Haka to preach the Good News. On 15,March,1899, Rev. Arthur Carson and his wife of A.B.M reached Haka the capital of the Chin State/Hills,with much difficulties he managed to convert one person in 1904,after struggling for five years. He introduced the Roman alphabet and taught the people how to write in their mother tongue. He translated the New Testament into different dialects. He died on 1,April,1908 at Haka.
On 5,April,1906 Chester Strait arrived at Haka. He learnt the Haka(Lai) language well. He established a Bible school at Haka in May,1928 with few students. He prepared Sunday school lessons and translated the New Testament in Lai(Haka) language which was published by Mission Press Rangoon in 1940.
Tangkhul language
In 1894,February William Pettigrew who was incharge of the American Baptist Mission,opened a school among the Meitei Hindus at Imphal. He was not welcomed in the land of Meiteis. In 1895,he establish a Mission centre at Ukhrul. From the years 1895 to 1910 he learnt the local language,later on he developed the Tangkhul language by unifying the various village dialectical groups into one single language; Hundung/Ukhrul dialect.
Thado-Kuki language
On the demand of Rev. William Pettigrew,Dr.Grozier came to Kangpokpi in the last part of 1909. From 1910 onwards,he set up a Medical Centre at Kangpokpi Mission Compound servving as Doctor for the sick and the poor. The history of this language began with the arrival of the missionaries at Kangpokpi,Manipur state. T.C Hodson(1905) called this language as Thado,Rev. William Pettigrew named it Thadou. Longkhobel Kilong(1922) and Thomsong Ngulhao(Lekhabul,Thadou Kuki first Primer 1927) called it Thadou Kuki.
T.Lunkim,in the early 1970s proposed the name of this language as 'Kuki'. He wrote the Holy Bible in Kuki.
Mssrs. Lt.R.Steward (author of ' A slight notice of the Grammar of Thado or New Kuki language published in the Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal 1857) and Dament called it Thado language and local dialect it is known as Thado pao. Thadou or Thadou-Kuki is a language spoken in the states of Assam,Nagaland,Mizoram,Manipur and in the Chin Hills of Burma and Chittagong tracts of Bangladesh.It is widely spoken language belonging to the Kuki-Chin sub-group of Tibeto-Burman sub-family of Sino-Tibetan families of languages.It shares linguistic similarities and ethnographic similarities with the other dialects of th Kuki-Chin sub-groups.
Hmar language: The Hmar language belongs to the Kuki-Chin-Naga sub-group of Tibeto-Burman stock of the great Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.
Hmar speakers are scattered over a vast area in Mizoram,Manipur, NC Hills and Cachar districts of Assam state,India. There is no homogenous settlement of Hmar speakers alone. Hmar is a recognised language in the School curriculum of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram, and also recently recognised as one of the Modern Indian Language (MIL) at Manipur University. Board of Secondary Education, Assam has also included Hmar as an MIL in its matriculation syllabus from 2005.
In the year 1912 A.D the Royal Asiatic Society,Calcutta was founded with Dr.George A.Grierson as one of its founders. In one of its journal they proposed Roman alphabet to write the dialects of the wild tribes. Zo literature also saw its birth sometime in the second decade of the 20th century. In1904-1930,Dr.George A.Grierson prepared a detailed descriptions of Kuki-Chin languages in Part 3 Vol No.3
Diachronic Linguistic Studies of Zo language in Burma and India
Kamhau dialect and Tiddim-Chin language
In Burma the development of Zo language and literature owes to one great missionary in the person of Rev. Joseph Hebert Cope of American Baptist Mission. In December 21,1908, he reached Haka and learnt the Haka and Falam dialects to spread the word of God but he was not very successful. In 1910, he arrived at Tedim town in Chin Hills and he began to learn the local language;Tedim-Chin or Tiddim-Chin. He had to face a lot of resistance and hardships. The practice of social drinking was prevalent in those days,it took quie a long time to convert souls for Christ due to the orthodox religion of the Zo people who used to worship a supreme being called ‘Pasien’ and their ancestors’ spirits called ‘Pusha’ and form of worship known as ‘Pusha Bieh’. Their form of ancient religion may be called ‘Lawkism’ in anglicized terminlogy.
The beginning of the 20th century Pu. Kamhau was oen of the Sukte rulers(Innpite) of Tedim,Tonzang and other Zo villages in Chin Hills,his dialect was similar to the Tiddim-Chin dialect, therefore, he propagated his own dialect amongst his subjects after his name; Kamhau and he made it as the official language of his tracts with the patronage of the British Rulers and missionaries of those days. It was known as Kamhau dialect.
J.H. Cope compiled hymn book in Tedim dialect and he also published portions of the Gospels. In 1913, he compiled the first Chin Primer in Tedim dialect using Roman Scripts called Mang Tual Lai). In 1915,J.H Cope translated the ‘Mate Lai Siangtho’ (Gospel of St.Mathew) in Kamhau dialect printed by British & Foreign Bible Society,Rangoon and the ‘Zawhang Lai Siangtho’(Gospel of St.John) in Kamhau dialect,1923. These Bibles were the forerunners of the later days Tiddim-Chin Bibles. In 1931,The Sermont on the Mount was published in Pau Cin Hau script with the help of Mrs. Cope and Pu.Thang Cin Kham of Tonzang village. Due to the non-availability of printing technology for this script it could not be fully developed as a means of education in schools. He began to publish a 16 page bulletin called Tedim Thukizakna with the help of local pastors and literates from 1919 till his death in 1938.
About 1920-21,there was a Educational Conference at Falam which agreed to develop the Roman alphabet as a medium of instructions for schools in place of Burmese. The Chin Education Conference at Maymyo was held on 23rd October 1923,wherein the members resolved to prepare school textbooks in Tiddim-Chin language. Consequently,Rev. In 1922, J.H Cope was confered the rank of Honorary Inspector of Schools for the whole of Chin Hills. Hence forth,he was known as Sangmang Pa ‘Master of Schools’. In the year 1925,he organized all the Primary Schools into Tedim Chin Primary Schools.
It is recorded that as told by Rev. Thang Kho Chin of Phaitu village, that when Rev. J.H Cope tried to prepare folktales in the Tedim-Chin Readers he could not satisfactory gather detail accounts of the Zo folktales among the Tedim speaking people of Tedim town,he said that some Tedim speaking elders pointed out to J.H Cope that the Zo people who preserve their customs,traditions and folktales still in tact,should be consulted for the purpose of writing folktales and other stories and so he approached them accordingly. So,he consulted and interviewed Pu.Tuong Za Go of Lomzang village in Tongzang Myuone who knew many folktales and stories,thus many Zo folktales and legends of course, the native Zo language also came to be incorporated into the Tedim-Chin Reader which was later on through several revisions the native Zo language was gradually dropped in place of Tiddim-Chin dialect. By 1925 A.D he prepared the Tiddim-Chin Readers.
In 1931,he translated portions of the New Testament in Tedim dialect. In 1938,he completed the New Testament,Tedim dialect(Lai Siang tho thak Tedim kam).
In 1932,he with the held of his assistant;Sia Vial Nang,the first complete New Testament Bible in the Chin Hills was published by British and Foreign Bible Society(Rangoon) in Kamhau/Tiddim-Chin dialect.
After the British Rulers left India and Burma,the Zo language suffered much disintegration and diversifications in terms of its orthographies specially in N.E India.
With coming of the tribe recognition act in the beginning of 1950s,various speech communities of the Kuki-Chin groups began to adopt their own dialects as the basis of their ethnic differentiation and identities. The Kuki-Chin linguistic world was split up into various ethnic components such as ; Kom, Chothe,Anal,Paite, Simte,Thadou, Zo, Gangte,Vaiphei etc.
We have already seen the growth and develpment of Zo language in Burma through the pioneering works of Rev.J.H Cope,the Zos also benefitted from the point of literature and religion.
Prior to the 1950s, the Zos were staunch believers of their ancient forefathers religion; ancestor worship which I may be called it ‘Lawkism’ in anglicized terminology. In the early 1950s,with the advent and invasion of foreign religion in the form of Christianity, the majority of the Zos were converted into Christian faith some were converted individually,major chunk of population underwent mass conversion resulting in drastic transformations of their social systems,kinship systems,customs,culture,and tribe solidarity. The advent of the new faith and its missionary activities came the western education. Many youngmen became literate and enlightened. In course of time,the newly educated people felt the necessity of having a denomination based on their tribe or community . The Zos of India and Burma were using either the Paite or Tedim Hymn Books and Gospels since the beginnning of the 20th century. Some even used to read the Lushai Bible. They also longed to have hymn books and the Bible in their own mother tongue.
In 1946,some schools were opened among the Zos in South district of Manipur state. The E.C.C missionaries Mssrs.Vungdal,Khamzalian,Thongluon came to preach the gospel among the Zos. Some people were converted to Christianity. However,in those days,there was no organised single Zo Christian denomination amongst them, in fact, they were scattered among various denominations such as E.C.C,E.A.C etc. After few years many Zos left their parent denominations which were under N.E.I.G now known as E.C.C.I.
Some newly educated Zos began to organise the new converts into associations . On 20,February1,1954, they founded a new denomination known as ‘Jou Christian Association’ at Daizang village,South district,Manipur under the Chairmanship of Ngulzakhup. Through their newly established church denomination; ‘Jou Christian Association’ the Zos began to develop their own language and literature in their own mother tongue. The first hymn book called ‘Zomi Christian Labupi’ was printed in 1954(500 copies) compiled and edited by Zomi Theme Committee,Tuaitengphai under the leadership of Pu. Thonghang(T.Tungnung), Pu.Kaizakham(K.Phiemphu) and Pu.Semkhopao (S.K.Samte). They can be given the status of the Pioneers of Zo literature in Manipur(India). The second,third,fourth editions came out in 1956(2,000 copies),1970(3000 copies), 1985( 1000 copies) and 1989(3000 copies;tonic solfa) respectively.
Pu.S.K Samte published the first newspaper known as 'Jougam-Thusuo' in 1954. He used a mixture of Hunterian orthography and the A,B,C....Z system based on phonological features of the then unwritten Zo language,as it is evident from the spellings found in the newspaper1.
In 1956 A.D, (L) Pu. T. Nengkhogin prepared and published a Zo primer known as ‘Jou Simpat Bu2 ’ with the assistance of Pu.S.K Samte. In that he proposed the use of the Roman Script,which is today known as the English Alphabet. Since,he was the pioneer in Zo orthography(reading and writing system) in Manipur he could be given the title of the Father of Zo Literature(Zo Laipa) in Indian context. In 1957, Pu. T.Gougin,Sub. Peter Thangkhokam, Pu.Vummâng and Pu.Jâmkhogin all of them painstakingly collected and compiled the ancient mores,customs and traditions of the Zos from the various chiefs. On 1.12.1957, they published the first ever Jou Customary Law3 book with the patronage of the Zo chiefs. Thus,all of them may be given the titles of the Fathers of Zo Customary Law book.
In 1958,Pu. S.K.Samte prepared 4(four) books they are; Jou Lai Bu Ina,Jou Lai Bu IIna,Tuottung Bu and Jou Hindi Simpat. In 1961,Pu. T.Gougin M.A published a book on Zo people known as ‘A Brief History of Zou’. In 1967,the first New Testament in Zokam was translated and published by Pu.S.K.Samte.
In 1967,Pu.Thangkhanlal prepared 6(six) books on Zo language viz; Zolai Bu Khatna,Zolai Bu Nina,Naupangte Zolai Patna,Learners English Grammar and Hindi Vocabulary. He followed the Hunterian system i.e A,AW,B,CH orthography which is adopted by the Lushai(Mizo) literature and partly of Rev. J.H Cope’s orthography which is still used by the Tedim-Chins and some Zo people in Burma.
Pu. S.Mangsuanthang also prepared some Zo Primer following the same orthography. But the spelling usages employed by the two authors are not same.
In the early 1980s a man named Pu.Siehzathang claimed to have discovered the lost script of Zo language in his dreams!. Later on,UZO accepted it to be the script for Zou vernacular in 1983. But,on detailed analysis it seems to be admixture of Burmese and Bengali script. Of course,the invention of this script shows his creativity of thought and his love of language.This script also needs fine tuning in terms of tones and vowel system.
In 1983,the first complete Holy Bible in Zo (including the first Apocripha translation among the Kuki-Chin group of languages)was released at Good Shepherd Parish, Churachandpur, Manipur.
In 1995,under the aegis of the Bible Society of India, Bangalore, Rev. L.Taithul published the Holy Bible in Zomi minus Apocripha. These two versions of the Holy Bible in Zokam has greatly influenced the literature world of the Zos. The old orthographies of the John H.Cope and James Herbert Lorraine(he followed the Hunterian system developed by Sir William Hunter-author of Imperial Gazetteer,1900) underwent profound changes during the past 27 years of the existence of the Bibles in Zokam/Zoham(Zo language) in India and Burma.
In 2000, the Zou Literature Society, Manipur published books for Cl.IX and X which is studied in the state of Manipur India. The orthography used in these books are mostly based on the Bibles in Zo language but there are lot of double vowels which gives the writings very clumsy looks. Then,the punctuations are filled with hyphens and dashes which again gives the writings uneconomical and cumbersome. The contents of the books are mostly upto the mark.
In 2001, the Zo Baptist Association Hqtrs, Kalaymyo, Myanmar(Burma) published a magazine known as ‘A.D 2000, ZO MAGAZINE’ dated March 2001 which gives a lot of information about the history, language, culture and religions of Zos in Burma.
One notable feature of this book is that it is written according to the orthography followed in the Zo Bibles(1983 and 1995). In this magazine there are proper blends of the old orthography(J.H Cope,Hunterian) and new orthography A,B,C,D,….Z system propounded by Mr. T. Aloysius Nehkhojang B.A,B.Th which also again consists of beautiful blends of the old ones and the new ones. The orthography adopted in this magazine is easy to read but this newest trend in Zo linguistics still requires much more fine tuning and proper refinements for its final adoption as the orthography of Zo language.
In 2006, under the aegis of the Zo Cultural-cum-Literature Society India Mr. Philip Thanglienmang, DANICS,B.E(Civil), M.A(Linguistics) published 5 books the most prominent being; ‘Dictionary of Zo Poetic Words,Metaphors and Similes Vol.I’. After the publication of this dictionary,some of the local leaders and small time writers of Zou vernacular of Churachandpur could not digest this monumental piece of works due to various reasons best known to themselves.
In 2006,the Zou Literature Society Manipur publised two books for Cl.X and XII viz; Chinthu Zaila by ZLSM and Zouham Zahdan by Philip Thanglienmang,DANICS.
In 2006,the Zo Baptist Association,Hqtrs,Myanmar with the help of Bible Society of India,Bangalore published the Zo Lai Siengtho; Zo Bible consisting of the New Testament version with Psalms for their own use in Burma and India.
Bibliographies:
1. J.C.A; JOUGAM-THUSUO Vol.I Douta March 1954 Ist year which is recorded as 10 Feb,1954 by M.G.P/M.E.P in JCA Golden Jubilee Souvenir 2004.
2. Jou simpat Bu; JOUGAM-THUSUO Vol.I Douta March 1954 Ist year
3. Jou Customary Book; Jou Tawndan collected and compiled by Pu.T. Gougin M.A dated 1-12-1957
4. Leivui Panin by Late Rev. Khup Za Go
5. Zou Lai Khantousah dingdan thu(How to develop the Zou Literature) ‘A Seminar Paper presented at the U.Z.O Lamka Block Conference on the 12th Dec 1995 by Nehkhojang B.A.,B.D,B.Ph,Secretary, Literature,U.Z.O Hqs.
6. Zomi Christian Church,Tapidaw-40 (1954-1994) Souvenir editor: David K.Samte
7. Tapidaw Golden Jubilee 2004 sungah "Tawndan leh Tapidaw biehna" by Upa Suonkhanmang Chief of Tangpijol
8. A.D 2000,ZO MAGAZINE dated March 2001,Kalaymyo,Myanmar(Burma)
9. Tapidaw 50 Golden Jubilee 2004
10. What is in a name? Everything is in a name! Thado vs Kuki by Dr.M.S Thirumalai dated 9th Sept,2005.
By Philip Thanglienmang, DANICS, M.A. (Linguistic)
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