are an ethnic group that spread throughout the Northeastern region of India, Northwest Burma and Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. In Northeast India they are present in all the states except Arunachal Pradesh. This dispersal across international borders is mainly attributed to the British colonial policy. the term ‘Kuki’ has a definite meaning and include Aimol, Chothe, Chiru, Koireng, Kom, Purum, Anal, Lamkang, Moyon, Monsang, Gangte, Vaiphei, Simte, Paite, Thadou, Zou etc. G.A. Grierson in Linguistic Survey of India, 1967
stated that the tribes connoted by Kuki are able to understand others dialect.
The term Kuki
, in literature, first appeared in the writing of Rawlins when he wrote about the tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
. It refers to "Hillsmen" comprising numerous clans. These clans share a common past, culture, customs and tradition. They speak in dialects that have a common root language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman group.Grierson (1909), Linguistic Survey of India
, Vol. 111, Tibeto-Burman Family, General Introduction, Specimens of the Tibetan Dialects, The Himalayan Dialects and The North Assam Group, Pt. II, with Grierson (1903), Specimens of the Bodo, Naga and Kachin Groups,... Read More