Sinlung (origin:

Hmar Hmar may refer to: *Hmars or Hmar people, in northeastern India **Hmar languages, Tibeto-Burman subfamily of languages, spoken by the Hmar ***Hmar language The Hmar language (Hmar: ''Khawsak Țawng'') is a Northern Mizo language spoken by the ...

; ''Chhinlung'' in Mizo; ''Chinlung'' in

Chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

; ''Khul'' in Thadou and Paite) is the supposed 'ancestral origin' of the

Hmar people Hmar people are a scheduled tribe ethnic group from the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, and Meghalaya in Northeast India. They use the Hmar language as their primary language. In 2023, the Hmar Inpui, an apex body of the tribe 'reaffirmed' t ...

(or the larger

Mizo people The Mizo people, historically called the Lushais, are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group primarily from Mizoram in northeastern India. They speak Mizo, one of the state's official languages and its lingua franca. Beyond Mizoram, sizable Mizo commu ...

), the

Chin people The Chin peoples (, ) are collection of ethnic groups native to the Chin State, Myanmar that speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are closely related but mutually unintelligible. The Chin identity, as a pan-ethnic identity, is a modern c ...

, etc. The exact location is unknown, but it is believed to be somewhere in southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Several narratives of Sinlung have been 'enshrined' largely in Hmar folklore, such as the ''Sikpui Hla''.

Etymology

Several scholars agree that 'Sinlung' literally translates to 'sin' as 'lid' and 'lung' as 'stone' (in the

Hmar language The Hmar language (Hmar: ''Khawsak Țawng'') is a Northern Mizo language spoken by the Hmar people of Northeast India. It belongs to the Kuki-Chin branch of this language family. Speakers of Hmar often use Mizo(Duhlian) as their second lan ...

). Therefore, there is an assumption that Sinlung refers to a 'cave with a stone lid.'

Usage of the term

Sinlung Hills Council The Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) is a local body government in Mizoram. Unlike other autonomous district councils in Mizoram, the council have a limited administrative autonomy. It was created on July 9, 2018, as an administrative body for the Hm ...

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

. * ''Sinlung''. A book published by the Hmar Literature Society for high school (and higher secondary) students. * Sinlung Royal Riders.

Possible insights

Location

According to historian and anthropologist, B. Lalthangliana, the Mizos who were Tibeto-Burman most likely lived in the Tao valley in

Gansu province Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

or northeast of Tibet. The reason for the Tibeto-Burmans leaving the valley is commonly attributed to the constant wars and disturbances of the Chinese kingdoms.

Eponym

According to Lalbiakthanga, Chin Lung was the name of a king or chief. He purports that Chin Lung was the son of

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

who built the Great Wall. It was proposed that in rebellion to his father, one of the princes left the kingdom and settled in Burma. However, such a theory is only seen as a possible legend with little historicity.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book , last1=Verghese , first1=C.G., last2=Thanzawna, first2=R.L., title=A History of the Mizos , date=1997 , publisher=Vikas Publishing House , location=New Delhi Hmar Culture of Mizoram People from Mizoram Mizoram History of Mizoram