Zanniat
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The Zanniat
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
are people of western Myanmar (Burma) who are a sub-group of the Chin peoples. The Zanniat tribe has fifty-seven sub-groupings and clans. The group's existence was recorded (along with three of its many sub-groups) in Burma's 1931 census after being absent in the Chin Hills gazette of 1896. In 1943, the Zanniat tribal groups of eastern Falam Township were recorded by Henry Stevenson (b. 1903, British colonial service in Burma). The Zanniat may also be known by similar sounding names such as ''Zahnyiet'', ''Zanniet'', ''Zanngiat'' and ''Zannaing''.


Geography

The capital city or myo (IPA: mjó) of the Zanniat is Webula. The Zanniat tribal lands stretch from the hilly regions around the eastern part of the
Manipur river __NOTOC__ Manipur River ( my, မဏိပူရမြစ်), also called Kathe Khyoung (ကသည်းချောင်း), is a river in India's Manipur state that flows into Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciatio ...
to the plains of the
Sagaing region Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
and fall within Falam Township. The Manipuri river, flowing in a south-easterly direction within the Falam township, makes a clear natural boundary of Zanniat lands. The Zanniat tribal land abuts Ngawn tribal land and the Tedim township in the north The land has thick vegetation with fauna. Forests within the area include the Khuanghlum, Lianthar, and Ngalsip forests. The lands encompass thirty-four villages and towns.


Language

Zanniat is one of the
Sino-Tibetan languages Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
. Ethnologue lists Zanniat as one of the dialects of Falam language.


History

Zanniat are the descendants of Zanniat. Zanniat was one of the sons of Chin Lung/ Chin Dung, a Shan Sawbwa (
Saopha Chao-Pha (; Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the Tai peoples of ...
) of
Kalemyo Kalay ( my, ကလေး), also known as Kale, is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located upstream from Mandalay and Monywa on the Myittha River, a tributary of the Chindwin River. The town is the district headquarters of the Ka ...
, whose father was Kale Kyitaungnyu, the ruler of
Ava kingdom The Kingdom of Ava ( my, အင်းဝခေတ်, ) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing t ...
of Burma (Myanmar). Zanniat, Hlawnceu and Thuankai were three brothers who left Kalay or Vingpui (meaning fort in Zanniat language) from conflict, then moved to higher elevation which later known as Chin hills. Zanniat decided to settle down in Runral (The word "Runral" refers to the other side of a river in Zanniat language), a land which is eastern from Manipur river and it became Locom village and the name Locom means to settle in Zanniat language. Some of Zanniat's sons were Phunnim, Sumthang, Laizo, Siahthang, Zanniat (Niat Hang) and the descendants from each son were later became clans and families. Thuankai had two sons, named Hlawn Ceu and Phurh Hlum. Phurh Hlum had two wives. The descendants from Phurh Hlum's first wife are known as Nuhma family, meaning pervious or first in Zanniat language. Phurh Hlum had a second wife from Locom village and the descendants from his second wife are later known as Nuhnua family, meaning later or second in Zanniat language. One of Phurh Hlum sons was named as Zanniat, to commemorate the great grand father Zanniat and the descendants from this man are later known as Zanniat clan or family, which later cause conflicts in understanding the origin of Zanniat. The descendants comprising from Zanniat and Phurh Hlum, living in eastern side of Manipur river are commonly known as Zanniat people or Zanniat tribe. Among the sons of Zanniat, Laizo descendants live around Lumbang, while Sumthang descendants live around Webulah, Hluansang descendants being Chiefly clans settle in every Central Chin and Maraic tribal villages and in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(
Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...
) and
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
( Chittagong hills tracts. Taisun ashon Lerngo (Hualngo), Torr and Khualsim tribes also later settled with Zanniat tribe. Zanniat people trace their ancestry to the Chin, of
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
descent from origins in
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. The early Chin people settled in the western plains of
Sagaing Sagaing (, ) is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located in the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and m ...
when it was known as "Kauka" or "Vingpui", and later as " Kale". The word "Vingpui" refers to a type of brick fort. Thuankai had a son named Tlaisun ( Tashons people)in English) whose later became one of the strongest tribe, founder of Falam or Fahlam, ruling most parts of Chin hills.


Taisun ashonrule

In 1810 A.D Taisun tribe collaborated with Zokhua and Chuncung villages and attacked and Khualai village of Zanniat tribe which resulted whole Zanniat tribe and the land became under the rule of Taisun.


British rule

The British ruled Burma from 1824 to 1948. Traditionally, Zanniat culture emphasized the importance of the rule of the head of a group of any size, from household to nation. The Zanniat did not adapt to British rule and operated a ''Pau Chin Hau'' governance avoiding centralised rule or local puppet chiefs.


Religion

Traditionally, Zanniat people believed in the existence of a supernatural being called "Pathian". The people also believed in other spiritual beings known as "Khuazing", to whom they offered sacrifices in return for favours and blessings. People also believed in the existence of bad spiritual beings and demons such as "Khawsia". The first
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Christian missionaries reached 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 ...
on 15 March 1899. They were
American Baptist American Baptist may refer to: * American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA), formed (as the Northern Baptist Convention) in 1907 * American Baptist Association, formed 1924 * American Baptist College, Nashville, Tennessee, formed 1924 by the National B ...
workers, Laura and Arthur Carson.Hre Kio S
A Short History of Christianity in Burma
Mount Pleasant Christian Church documents.
In 1906, Thang Tsin became the first Christian among Zanniat people.
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
missionaries arrived later.


References

{{Ethnic groups in Burma Tribes of Asia Ethnic groups in Myanmar