Chiru (''Naga'') is a Southern Naga language spoken mostly in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, 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 ...

. The Chiru population numbers approximately 8,599. It is an endangered spoken in three districts of Manipur:

Senapati Senapati (Sanskrit: सेनापति; ''sena-'' meaning "army", ''-pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of military commander or general of the army. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha ...

Noney Noney ( Meitei pronunciation: /nō-né/), also known as Longmai, is a town located in the western part of Manipur, India. It is west of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur. Its population is almost entirely made up of Rongmei Naga. P ...

district of Manipur and

Cachar Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills), Cachar district alongsid ...

district of Assam. Chiru has been recognized as a Scheduled Tribe of Manipur by the government of India since 1956 under "The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, Act No. 63 of 1956" Dated 25 September 1956. The total population of the native speakers of Chiru is only 8599 (Census of India: 2011). The native speakers have high proficiency in Meitei language. The language is neither used in schools nor in radio or mass media. Older people read and write in Meitei language (

Manipuri language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in pa ...

). The younger generation of Chiru speakers prefers

Roman 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 Italy ...

. The Chirus are one of the earliest inhabitants of

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Cheitharol Kumbaba ''Cheitharol Kumbaba'', also spelled ''Cheithalon Kumpapa'', is the court chronicle of the kings of Manipur. The oldest extant version was copied in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the puppet king installed after the Burmese invasion, ...

, the Royal Chronicle of Manipur mentioned that King Meidingu Chalamba defeated the Chirus in 1554. This proves that the Chirus had settled in Manipur long before this period. It was also mentioned in the Royal Chronicles of Manipur that an incidence of Meitei King's incursion on Nungsai Chiru Village occurred on 22nd day of Wakching (December–January) 1729 during the reign of Maharaja Garibniwaz (

: 1989:90). In spite of the considerably long period of their settlement in the two states (Manipur and Assam), the population of Chiru native speakers is shockingly very low. The growth rate of their population was extremely steady. This might be due to high mortality rate and low birth rate in the previous centuries. The domain of language use for Chiru is very limited. The usage of Chiru by Chiru native speakers is specifically confined only at home domain and within the community among the native speakers. The language proficiency of Chiru native speakers ranges from bilingual to multilingual. The native speakers in

have high proficiency in Meitei language (

) and those in

have high proficiency in

Hmar Hmar may refer to: *Hmars or Hmar people *Hmar language Hmar language, also known by its endonym Khawsak Ṭawng, belongs to the Kukish languages, Kukish branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The speakers of ...

, Meitei language and Sylheti Bengali. Chiru speakers in Manipur generally speak Meitei language,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

while those of Assam speak

, Sylheti Bengali, Meitei language or

at the time of interaction with non-Chiru speakers. The Chiru native speakers in Manipur usually speak either Meitei language or

in the market place, office etc. Moreover, they also speak Paior Thwhen they interact with, and speakers respectively. On the other hand, Chiru speakers of Assam speak Sylheti Bengali, Meitei language or

in the market places, offices or anywhere outside home domain. It is painful to mention that Chiru of Assam has not been recognized by the government of Assam. They are rather recognized as Hmar. Chiru is neither used in schools nor in radio or mass media. Even the children normally become bilingual at the minimum age of 5 since they acquire the second language in schools.Awan, Mechek Sampar and . Mary Kim. 2018. "Nature and Extent of Endangerment in Chiru" A research paper presented in the 6th International Conference on Endangered and Lesser-Known Languages, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru.

Geographical distribution

Chiru is spoken in the following locations of

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

('' Ethnologue'').Awan, Mechek Sampar. 2014. Segmental Phonology of Chiru. Language in India ISSN 1930-2940 Vol 14:10 *

Tamenglong district Tamenglong district ( Meitei pronunciation:/tæmɛŋˈlɒŋ/) is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. History In 1919, the British Government established four sub-divisions office in Manipur Hills known as North Eas ...

: Lamdangmei and Dolang villages **

Kangpokpi district Kangpokpi district ( Meitei pronunciation: /kāng-pōk-pī/), also known as Sadar Hills district, is one of the 16 districts in the Indian state of Manipur. It was created in December 2016 from areas in the Sadar Hills region which were prev ...

: Kangchup, Thangzing, Sadu (Thangthilon), Bungte, Nungsai, Dolang Khunou, and Uran villages **

Churachandpur district Churachandpur District ( Meitei pronunciation: ''/tʃʊraːˌtʃaːnɗpʊr/''), is one of the 16 districts in the southwestern corner of the Indian state of Manipur that covers an area of . It is named after the Meitei King Churachand Singh, ...

: Charoi Khullen village **

Thoubal district Thoubal district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈθɑʊbɑːl orˈθɑʊbəl/) is one of the sixteen districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. This district is bounded by Senapati district on the north, Ukhrul and Chandel districts on the ...

: Waithou Chiru **

Bishnupur district Bishnupur district ( Meitei pronunciation: /ˌbɪʃnʊˈpʊə/) is a district of Manipur state in northeastern India. Origin of name Its name is derived from a Vishnu temple located at Lamangdong. Geography Bishnupur town is the administrati ...

: Budon Village,

Cachar district Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills), Cachar district alongsid ...

(a village near Jiribam) *

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the ...

(scattered)

References

{{Hill tribes of Northeast India Southern Naga languages Languages of Assam Languages of Manipur Languages of Nagaland

Geographical distribution

See also

References