The north-east part of our country is full of secrets, mostly because so little is known about it and its people. We are vaguely aware that there are a lot many tribes that inhabit this region but there is nothing more we know about these tribes. Here are five of the many tribes of the north-east that you probably haven’t even heard of.
Rengma Tribe
They are a tribal community that is found both in Nagaland and in Assam. This tribe is further divided into two categories: Western and Eastern Rengmas. They consist of a huge population, amounting to about 50,000 in Nagaland itself. The tribe is known for its expertise in terrace cultivation and for making yellow dye from the flowers of trees. Rengmas wear clothes according to the position and status of the weaver. Men wear a white cloth which is called Rikho.
Zekhring tribe
This tribal community belongs to Arunachal Pradesh. It would be interesting to know that they are just a handful in number. In fact, they occupy just a single village located by the banks of River Lohit near the Indo-China border. Reports say that their number barely touches 300. It is inevitable that this tribe will disappear in a few decades as the coming generation will inter-marry into other tribes and the Zekhring tribe will cease to exist as a separate tribe.
Nishi Tribe
This tribe is the one of the largest tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and its members share an Indo-Mongoloid ethnicity. Their way of life is colourful and different. Women plait their hair in different ways and finally tie it on their forehead and skewers made of brass are put through the hair to keep them in place. Men wear colourful sleeveless shirts. Nishi tribe’s language is unique in itself and the members of this tribe can be seen wearing rings made up of cane around the waist.
Lost Tribes of Israel
This tribe is not a particular tribe; instead it is a collection of tribes that are spread all over Mizoram. All of them hark to be members of the Bnei Menashe, or the ‘children of Menashe’ which is one of the ten lost tribes of Israel according to legend and which is said to have disappeared over 3000 years ago. It is also a very popularly said that Mizos have a Jewish connection which dates back to more than 1,000 years to an isolated cave in China and the people called themselves Chhinlung.
Maring Naga
This is one of the smallest tribal communities of the region found in Manipur. The name of the tribe is derived from ‘mei’ meaning fire and ‘ring’ stands for alive which means ‘the people who keep the fire alive’. This tribe is mostly shares the Christian faith. The people of this tribe are called Maringa and are also a part of the Naga community.
There is so much to be known about the dozens of tribes that can be found in north-east India. They not only have rich culture but a rich heritage too, but there is also dire need to preserve their way of life so that this heritage is not lost.
