The Sizang, Siyin or Taute people are primarily the descendants of Pu Thuantak, also known as Suantak in the

Tedim language The Tedim or Zomi language is spoken mostly in Myanmar and India. In Chin State (Khamtunggam), it is spoken in Tedim and Tonzang townships, while in Sagaing Division, it is spoken in Kalay and Mawlaik townships (''Ethnologue''). Dialects are Sok ...

and by related clans, and their adopted sons and daughters. The Siyin Valley is in present-day

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. The Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, Bangladesh to the south-west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Ma ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and was settled by descendants of the Pu Thuantak who moved from their original home of

Ciimnuai Ciimnuai was the legendary city-state of Zomi, who are mostly referred to as Chins in Myanmar, Mizo, Kuki in India, and Bawmzo in Bangladesh. Being their birthplace, Ciimnuai bears many accounts of myths and legends of Zomi. Carey and Tuck even ...

with other Zo (Chin) people such as the Sukte, Thado, Zou, and other related tribes. The Zo lived in Ciimnuai until their population increased, forcing them to find more fertile soil, and they dispersed throughout the mountains and valleys in and around Chin State. Due to communication difficulties and isolation, each group from Ciimnuai developed a unique

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

. The

Sizang language Sizang (Sizang, Shiyang), or Siyin (Siyin Chin), is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by the Sizang people in southern Tedim Township, Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. The Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division an ...

emerged similarly to Vaiphei, Teizang, Saizang, Val, Zou, Dim, Khuangsai and Hangmi/Milhiem, and the languages are closely related. In 2019, the Sizang population was about 10,000.

Etymology

''Si'' means "salt water", and ''zang'' is a northern side or plain; the Sizang originated north of a

brine spring A brine spring or salt spring is a saltwater spring. Brine springs are not necessarily associated with halite deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became soggy with brine seeped downsl ...

. ''Taute'', as they are known in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

records, means "fat people".

Culture

The Sizang had a warrior tradition similar to that of the

Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administere ...

Headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in h ...

was widely practiced. Sizang society was patriarchal, with inheritances going to sons. The marriage of a man and woman from the same village, known as ''phungkhawm'', was forbidden. The eldest man in the groom's tribe would go to the bride's tribe to propose marriage, bringing a gift of ''modokzu'' () for the bride's family. If the proposal was declined, he returned with the ''modokzu''. Male babies are named five days after birth, and female babies after three days. They are given a temporary surname to protect them from spirits. Parents choose the name; the first son is named after his paternal grandfather and the first daughter is named after her paternal grandmother.

Religion

Before their

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, the Sizang were animists; they worshiped nature, Doai (the devil), and Pathian (God). They also worshiped unknown spirits to avoid harm. Illnesses were believed to be caused by evil spirits. The Sizang believed that their ancestors emerged from a gourd in the village of Chin-Nwe.

History

During the late 19th century, when the British Imperial Army tried to colonise the

Chin Hills The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state. Geography The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, or Mount Victoria, in southern Chin State, whic ...

, the Sizang resisted.

Economy

The main occupation is

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

agriculture. Livestock such as

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

gayal The gayal (''Bos frontalis''), also known as the Drung ox or mithun, is a large domestic cattle distributed in Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and in Yunnan, China.Simoons, F. J. (1984). ''Gayal or mithan''. In: Mason, I. L. (ed.) ''Evolut ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

s and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s are also raised. Some Sizang work in the public sector as civil servants.

Language

The

resembles the

and India's Meitei and

Thadou language Thadou (Thado, Thaadou, Thado-Pao, Thadou-Kuki) is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo linguistic sub branch. It is spoken in the northeastern part of India (specifically in Manipur and Assam). It is spoken by the Thadou pe ...

s. Sizang, which did not have a written script until British colonisation, is written in

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern I ...

References

External links

Zaangsiseino - Siyin Youth Association

Ni Kong Hong - Siyin Online Magazine

US Siyin Baptist Church

Siyin Bible

Siyin Hymns and Praise Songs

Sial-Lum Fort Photo Gallery
{{Ethnic groups in Burma Ethnic groups in Myanmar