Mizo

Mizo, any of a number of ethnic groups, most speaking Tibeto-Burman languages, whose homeland lies in the Mizo Hills, a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram state in northeastern India. Beyond the homeland proper, many Mizo have settled in the neighbouring states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland, as well as in adjacent areas of Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh. Like the Kuki tribes, with whom they have affinities, the Mizo traditionally practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, moving their villages frequently. Their migratory habits facilitated rapid expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries at the expense of weaker Kuki clans. Among the most prominent of the Mizo groups are the Lushai (whose name is often mistakenly applied to the entire Mizo community), Pawi (Lai), Lakher (Mara), and Hmar. In the early 21st century the Mizo numbered about one million.

Mizo villages traditionally were situated on the crests of hills or spurs and, until the pacification of the country under British rule, were fortified by stockades. Every village, though comprising members of several distinct clans, was an independent political unit ruled by a hereditary chief. The stratified Mizo society originally consisted of chiefs, commoners, serfs, and slaves (war captives). The British suppressed feuding and headhunting but administered the area through the indigenous chiefs.