Zogam History

Glossary

Words you’ll meet on this site, explained simply. Each one links to where you can read more.

Bungpui
A banyan tree. The great banyan at Khampat is remembered as a symbol of the ancestors’ old home in the valley. In 2016 India asked Myanmar to help protect it. [1] Stories
Chhinlung / Khul
The cave the ancestors are said to have come out of, at the start of Zo history. Kuki tradition calls it Khul; Mizo and Chin traditions call it Chhinlung. [2] Origins
Chin
A name for many Zo peoples, used for Chin State in Myanmar. It came into use through Burmese, not Zo languages, but many people now hold it with pride. [3] [4] Names
Chin Hills Regulation
The British law of 1896 that ruled the Chin Hills through the local chiefs. [5] Colonial Era
Chin National Day
20 February. On that day in 1948, Chin representatives voted to replace rule by chiefs with democracy. [6] Modern History
Ciimnuai
A village near Tedim remembered as the first home of the northern Zo in the hills. The British recorded it as “Chinnwe” in 1896. [7] Stories
Kabaw Valley
A river valley in Myanmar where historians think Zo ancestors lived before moving up into the hills. [8] Origins
Khampat
A town in the Kabaw Valley remembered as a Zo home before the move into the hills. [9] Origins
Khuado
The biggest Zomi festival of the year: a harvest and New Year celebration, usually in October. [10] [11] Culture
Kuki
A name for related peoples in Manipur and nearby. It was first used by Bengalis, not by the people themselves, and is now a strongly held identity. [12] [13] Names
Lai
The self-name of people around Hakha and Falam, recorded by the British in 1896. [3] Names
Laipian
The religious movement started by Pau Cin Hau, which teaches worship of one creator. [14] [15] Faith
Mautam
When the bamboo flowers all at once, rats multiply and eat the crops. The mautam of 1959 caused famine in the Lushai Hills. [16] Stories
Mizo
“Zo people.” The name used in Mizoram, India. [17] [18] Names
Panglong Agreement
The 1947 agreement in which Chin, Kachin and Shan leaders agreed to form the Union of Burma together. [19] [20] Modern History
Pasian / Pathian
The creator in traditional Zo belief, and the word for God today. [21] Faith
Pau Cin Hau
A healer and teacher (1859–1948) who created a Zo writing system. His alphabet was added to Unicode in 2014. [14] [22] Faith
Puan
Hand-woven cloth, made on a backstrap loom. Each area has its own colours: Tedim’s are black, green, white and red. [23] Culture
Siampu
A village priest who led sacrifices and festivals in the old religion. [24] Faith
Zo
The shared ancestral name of the Zomi, Chin, Kuki, Lai and Mizo peoples. In 1896 the British wrote it as “Yo.” [25] [3] Names
Zogam
“Land of the Zo”: the hills of Chin State, Manipur, Mizoram and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. [26]
Zomi
“Zo people.” A name chosen in 1950 and adopted by the Zomi Baptist Convention in 1953. [27] Names
ZORO
The Zo Reunification Organization, founded in 1988 to bring Zo people across borders together peacefully. [17] [28] Modern History
Zou
A tribe of southern Manipur and the Chin border. Not the same as “Zo.” [29] Names
Zou Gal
The Zou name for the 1917–1919 war against British rule, also called the Anglo-Kuki War. [30] [31] Colonial Era

Missing a word? Email tangthu@khual.net.

Sources for this page (31)

Tap to see where every fact comes from

The small numbers in the text link here. Each source is labelled by type. Colonial, missionary and advocacy sources are included as evidence of a viewpoint, not as neutral authority.

  1. News report “India Writes to Myanmar Seeking Help to Protect Mizo Family Tree.” The Wire, 20 October 2016. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  2. Scholarly work Haokip, Leah K. & Lakhimai Milli. “Stories Before the Borders: The Shared Origins of Chin-Kuki-Mizo People.” Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities, 2026. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  3. Primary source Carey, Bertram S. & H. N. Tuck. The Chin Hills: A History of the People, Our Dealings with Them, Their Customs and Manners, and a Gazetteer of Their Country. Vol. I. Rangoon: Government Printing, 1896. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
    Full text on archive.org; checked 19 October 2026. Written by British officers who led the annexation: a colonial perspective.
  4. Community organisation Zomi Education Centre, Taman Cheras (Kuala Lumpur). “Who Are the Zomi?” Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  5. Primary source The Chin Hills Regulation, 1896 (Regulation 5 of 1896), enacted 13 August 1896. India Code, Government of India. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  6. Community essay Chan Khar, B. “Why Do the Chins Celebrate Chin National Day?” Academia.edu. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  7. Primary source Carey, Bertram S. & H. N. Tuck. The Chin Hills. Vol. II (Gazetteer of villages). Rangoon: Government Printing, 1896. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
    Full text on archive.org; checked 19 October 2026. Colonial perspective.
  8. Scholarly work Lehman, F. K. “Chin.” In Encyclopedia of World Cultures (via Encyclopedia.com, updated 2018). Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
    Reference entry by the anthropologist F. K. Lehman. The inscriptions it mentions have not been examined for this site.
  9. Scholarly work Chakraborty, Anup Shekhar. “Memory of a Lost Past, Memory of Rape: Nostalgia, Trauma and the Construction of Collective Social Memory among the Zo Hnahthlak.” Identity, Culture and Politics 11, no. 2 (2010). DOI 10.57054/icp.v11i2.5132. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  10. Reference work “Khuado.” Wikipedia. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  11. News report “Khuado Festival: Zomis in Yangon Celebrate Traditional ‘Khuado Pawipi’.” Myanmar International TV, 16 October 2019. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  12. Scholarly work Lalhmingliana, C. “The Lost Identity: A Study of the Zo People.” Mizoram University Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences 4, no. 2 (December 2018). Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  13. Scholarly work Guite, Jangkhomang & Thongkholal Haokip, eds. The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919: A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during the First World War. London: Routledge India, 2019. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  14. Technical standard Pandey, Anshuman. Preliminary Proposal to Encode the Pau Cin Hau Script in ISO/IEC 10646. Unicode L2/10-080, 2010. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  15. News report Bhattacharya, Bikash K. “The script creator.” Aeon, 17 October 2024. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  16. News report Ranganathan, Anand. “A brief history of Mizoram: From the Aizawl bombing to the Mizo Accord.” Newslaundry, 6 August 2015. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  17. Reference work “Zo Reunification Organization.” Wikipedia. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  18. Primary source The Lushai Hills District (Change of Name) Act, 1954 (Act 18 of 1954). Government of India. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  19. Primary source Panglong Agreement and committee decisions, 6–12 February 1947. Reproduced in Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, The Shan of Burma (Singapore: ISEAS, 2010), appendices. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  20. News report “Chin National Day.” Burma News International. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  21. Scholarly work Thawn, Cing Sian. “Faith and Identity: The Making of Zomi Christians.” Didache: Faithful Teaching 25, no. 1 (2026). Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  22. Technical standard Unicode Consortium. “Announcing The Unicode Standard, Version 7.0.” 16 June 2014. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  23. News report McDougall, Eileen. “The Revival of Backstrap Weaving in Western Myanmar.” Cocoa & Jasmine, 25 December 2018. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  24. Scholarly work Thangtungnung, H. “Zomi Traditional Festivals and Sacrifices: An Analytical Study.” International Journal of Tribal Tribune 6(4). Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  25. Scholarly work Thangtungnung, H. “Origin and Migration of the Zo People.” Man in India 94, no. 1–2 (2014): 225–240. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  26. Reference work “Zo nationalism.” Wikipedia. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  27. Scholarly work Thangsuanhau, P. & V. Jamkhanpau. “Zomi Diaspora, Culture and Politics.” JTICI 1, no. 2 (December 2013): 51–65. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  28. News report “ZORO convenes talks between Chin Brotherhood and ICNCC.” Khonumthung News / Burma News International, 23 August 2024. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  29. Scholarly work Kipgen, Ngamjahao & Doungul Letkhojam Haokip, eds. Against the Empire: Polity, Economy and Culture during the Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919. London: Routledge, 2021. Includes S. Thangboi Zou, “The Zou Gal (1917–19): A Military History with Special Reference to the Zou in Manipur-Chin Borders.” Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  30. Scholarly work Zou, S. Thangboi. “The Zou Gal 1917–19: A Military History with Special Reference to the Zou in Manipur-Chin Borders.” In N. Kipgen & D. L. Haokip, eds., Against the Empire. London: Routledge, 2021. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
  31. News report Zaman, Rokibuz. “Why a battle of narratives has broken out in Manipur over the 1917–1919 Anglo-Kuki War.” Scroll.in, 20 August 2023. Read the source Accessed 19 October 2026
Cite this page: Zogam History. “Glossary.” Accessed 19 October 2026. (Use the page address from your browser.)