Thadou - Kuki tribe at Sangai Festival 2013

Thadou tribe performing during the Sangai Festival, Manipur.

The Thadous (Thadou te) are a tribal people native to north-eastern India, Chin state and Sagaing Division in Burma (Myanmar) and eastern Bangladesh. Thadou is a Kukish language of the Tibeto-Burman family. Thadou is spoken in the different parts of North East India and adjacent portions of Burma and Bangladesh. It was the second language after Meiteilon (Manipuri) in the Manipur state during British Colonial Period. In Manipur, the Thadou are mostly found in Churachandpur district, Senapati district, Ukhrul district, South-Western Hills and Sadar Hills, Chandel district and Jiribam. They are one of the largest of the Kuki peoples.

Thadous are known as:

Thadou by the Chins of Myanmar(Burma).
Lusuong by the Lushais/Mizos.
Khongjai/Khongsai by the Meiteis.
Khongchai/Khachami by the Tangkhuls.
Kusamei by the Maos.
Makheng by the Anals.
Thangkumsa by the Kacharis.
Kuki/Cuci by the Bengalis.
New Kuki by the Britishers.

Sangai festival is an annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department on every year from November 21 to 30. Even though many editions of this Festival has been celebrated over the past few years with the name of Tourism Festival, since 2010 this has been renamed as the Sangai Festival to stage the uniqueness of the shy and gentle brow-antlered deer popularly known as the Sangai Deer, which is the state animal of Manipur. As this festival is being celebrated to promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination, it showcase the best of what the state has to offer to the world in terms of art and culture, handloom, handicrafts & fine arts, indigenous sports, cuisines & music, eco & adventure sports as well as the scenic natural beauty of the land.

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Its people include the Meitei, Pangal (Muslims), Naga, and Kuki, Zomi and Gorkhali(Nepali) who speak different languages of branches of the Tibeto-Burman family. The state is bounded by Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south, and Assam to the west; Burma lies to the east. It covers an area of 22,327 square kilometres (8,621 sq mi).

The Meitei, who live primarily in the state's valley region, form the primary ethnic group (60% of the total population).The term Meitei now refers to five social groups -- the Meitei marup (believe in only Meitei culture and God), Meitei Christians, Meitei goura Chaytonya (believe in both Meitei and Hindu gods), the Meitei Brahmins (Manipuri Brahmin locally called "Bamons") and the Meitei Muslims (called Miah Meitei or Pangal). All of them has Meiteilon as their mother-tongue. Their language, Meiteilon (also known as Manipuri), is the lingua franca in the state.

Source: Wikipedia



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