Tai Khamti tribe

Why in news?

• Recently deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh requested the central government to declare the Tai Khamti-British War of 1839 as the first war of India’s independence against the British.

About Tai Khamti tribe:

• They are a Tai ethnic group native to Myanmar
• In India, they are found in Namsai district and Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Smaller numbers are also present in Assam.
• The word ‘Khampti’ means ‘a land full of gold’.
• The Tai Khamtis who inhabit the region around the Tengapani basin were descendants of migrants who came during the century from the Hkamti long region, the mountainous valley of the Irrawaddy.
• The Tai-Khampti is the only tribe in the state to be known to have their own script which the people call it Tai script (Lik-Tai). It originated from the Shan (Tai) script of Myanmar.
• They are settled agriculturists.
• Sangken is the main festival of the Khamti.

Society:

• The Khamti society is divided into classes, each signifying distinct status in the social hierarchy. The chiefs occupy the highest positions, followed by the priests, who wield considerable influence over all ranks
• The community is greatly orthodox and all its socio-cultural activities are religious.
• They are believers of Theravada(Hinayana) Buddhism.

Khampti Dance:

• It is also known as ‘ka pung’ (‘ka’ implies ‘dance’and ‘pung’ means ‘story’).
• Khampti dance is a dance-drama that reflects the rich culture of the Buddhists in the territory and unfolds the myths and stories of moral values.
• It marks the celebration of Buddhist festivals such as Khamsang, Sangken, Potwah, Poi Lu kyong, Poi Lu Kyong kammathan etc.
• The Khamptis are also famous for their ‘cockfight dance’, it is called Ka-Fi fai .
• The dances are accompanied by musical instruments like drums (gongs), cymbals (pi seng), flutes (pee) etc

Tai Khamti revolt in 1839:

• It took places between the Tai Khamti people and the British.
• The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began.
• During the war, Tai Khamtis resisted colonization by the British. Some 80 British soldiers, including Col. Adam White, were killed in the resultant conflict.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Tai Khamti tribes are commonly inhabited in which of the following states?

(a) Madhya Pradesh

(b) Jharkhand

(c) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

Answer