Zeliangrong people are one of the major indigenous Naga communities living in the tri-junction of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

in India. They are the descendants of Nguiba. The term "Zeliangrong" refers to the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei Naga tribes combined. Earlier, the term also covered the Inpui tribe. The descendants of Hoi of Makuilongdi (Makhel) were divided and were made peripheral appendages to three political entities - Manipur, Naga Hills (Nagaland) and the Dima Hasao (Northern Kachar) of Assam. The Zeliangrong may be classified as an ethno-cultural entity. The Zeliangrong belong to the larger Southern Mongoloid population and their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages.

Etymology

The ethnonym ‘Zeliangrong’ is derived from 3 words ZE-LIANG-RONG. ZE from Zeme, LIANG from Liangmai and Rong from Rongmei. It traced back to the three kindred tribes. The three tribes are the ''Zeme'' (dwellers of the warmer) or ''Mejahme'' (lower region), ''Liangmai'' (men of the North) the original Northerner; on the other hand the term ''Rongmei'' (people settled in the south) and finally Inpui (Puimei). The word ''Zeliangrong'' was first coined on 15 February 1947 at Keishamthong Imphal. The terminology Zeliangrong was coined in coherence with the solidarity movement after India's independence.

Population

The population of Zeliangrong in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland is estimated to be around 3.7 lakhs. According to 2011 census data of India. In Nagaland state; Zeme and Liangmai numbers around 74,877. Whereas, In Manipur holds around 66,158. Hence, Rongmei holds a number of 170,908 in Manipur. Zeme Liangmai and Rongmei also settled in Dima Hasao region of Assam and other parts in Assam which holds to be in between 20 and 30 thousands.

Religion

The Zeliangrong worship the Supreme God Haipou Tingkao Ragwang or Tingwang(as known by the Zeme and liangmei) and other sylvan Gods. But most of them got converted to Christianity due to its wave during the 1950s.

Region

The Zeliangrongs have been living in the present location of their land since time immemorial, in a compact and contiguous geographical setting of approximately 12,000 km² lying between 93 degrees E and 94 degree E longitude and 94.40 degrees and 24 degrees N latitude in N. C Hills of Assam; Peren district of Nagaland; Tamenglong district, Senapati district, Kangvai subdivision of Churachanpur district, Jiribam subdivision of Imphal district, Imphal valley and Cachar District along with various villages and its adjoining slopes in Manipur. Earlier Manipur had only 9 districts but due to administrative changes, it led to formation of 7 new districts namely Kamjong, Kakching, Noney, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl and Jiribam.

References

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External links