The Vaiphei people is an ethnic group who live in

North-East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

n state of

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 ...

and its neighbouring country of

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 ...

(

Burma 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 ...

). Lt. Colonel J. Shakespeare (1887–1905), the first superintendent of the then Lushai Hills, referred to them as one of the ''Kuki'' clans of

and recognized as part of the '' Chin-Kuki-Mizo'' tribe by the state government of Manipur. The group is originally from the Siyin valley located in the northern part of

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 ...

. The group speak the

Vaiphei language Vaiphei is a Sino-Tibetan language belonging to the Kuki-Chin linguistic subbranch of the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. It is spoken mainly in the Indian state of Manipur and minutely in Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. The dialect ...

. Each clan has a chief called ‘Upa’. The Vaiphei people follows primogeniture system where the eldest son inherits his father's property. Considered to be the first among the Chin-Kuki-Mizo groups to settle in

and hence were included under the "Old Kuki" group based on arrival and settlement in the present borders of Manipur.

References

Ethnic groups in Manipur Social groups of India Kuki tribes Ethnic groups in Nepal Ethnic groups in Myanmar {{India-ethno-stub