The Khurmi Naga People: History, Land, and Identity : The Anal, Aimol, Chothe, Lamkang, Khoibu, Kom, Maring, Moyon, Monsang, Tarao and Tangkhul

This study, The Khurmi Naga People: History, Land, and Identity, examines the historical memory, ancestral landscapes, migration traditions, cultural identity, and socio-political experiences of the Khurmi Naga communities of Chandel and Tengnoupal districts of Manipur and the adjoining regions of present-day Myanmar. The study focuses particularly on the Anal, Aimol, Chothe, Lamkang, Khoibu, Kom, Maring, Moyon, Monsang and Tarao communities, whose traditions connect their origins and historical movements with places such as Khurdong, Kalembung, the Kabaw valley, the Chin Hills, and the southern and south-eastern regions of Manipur. Drawing upon oral traditions, tribal narratives, chronicles, folklore, archaeological references, colonial records, historical writings and secondary literature, the study reconstructs patterns of migration, settlement, inter-community relations and the development of territorial identities. Particular attention is given to the historical significance of Kalembung and the Lokkha-Haokha/Haika-Ralven region, Kabaw valley, Pherjawl, Churachandpur as well as to the role of rivers, mountains, villages, megaliths and other cultural landscapes in preserving collective memory. The manuscript also examines accounts concerning Poireiton, Wangbrel, and Khurmi Naga communities’ traditions and their interactions with the historical development of Manipur. A major concern of the study is the relationship between history, land and identity. It investigates how competing migration narratives and interpretations of indigenous status have influenced contemporary understandings of ancestral land and political belonging in Manipur and the adjoining areas. The study further considers the effects of colonial-era political developments, including the 1826 Treaty of Yandabo, and of the Indian and Burmese Government political intervention wherein the Kabaw valley Khurmi Ancestral Land was given or taken without the consent of the Indigenous populace. Subsequent such territorial changes, migration, displacement and conflicts affects the indigenous communities. The study argues for a closer examination and preservation of Khurmi Naga oral traditions, historical records, archaeological evidence and cultural landscapes as important sources for understanding the region's past. At the same time, because several chronological, genealogical, ethnographic and migration claims remain contested or are based on oral and interpretive traditions, they require systematic comparison with independent documentary, archaeological and linguistic evidence. The study therefore, contributes to an ongoing discussion on history, identity, land and memory in the eastern frontier of South Asia, while highlighting the importance of documenting indigenous histories with methodological care and scholarly objectivity.