The Chothe tribe is one of the Old Kuki group of clans of the Kuki people

Kuki people

The Kukis are an ethnic group that spread throughout the Northeastern region of India, Northwest Burma and Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. In Northeast India they are present in all the states except Arunachal Pradesh. This dispersal across international borders is mainly attributed to the...

 found in some parts of Manipur

Manipur

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Some historians and anthropologists had recorded them as "Purums" which is a misnomer. At times the Chothe have been confused with the Purum of India.

Social Administration

Chothe villages form an executive body to administer themselves. Often an opposition group will also be formed to help scrutinize the functioning of the governing body of the village. Whenever a new Chothe village is established, its leaders are elected through competitions participated in by the representatives of each clan of the tribe. Then the posts are distributed according to the merits of the competitors. The governing body of a Chothe village is called "Hloukal." The Hloukal hold its meeting at a meeting place called "Ruisang" built of wood and thatch. There are usually seven different posts in the Chothe village government. Each of these seven posts is held by the seven main clans.

Apart from the Hloukal the Chothes also have another body called the "Loumi" represented by the same clans of the community. The body also has seven posts which are transferable from one clan to another. This body acts as the opposition to the village administration. The Loumi participate in all meetings called by the Hloukal. In general, the Hloukal cannot make important decisions without the consent of the Loumi. The Loumi also has the right to dismiss any member of the Hloukal but only with the support of its own members and the elders of the village. This system of semi-democratic self-administration tradition has always been a part of Chothe history.

Population

According to 1991 census, the population of Chothe tribe in Manipur was 2571. In the Census of 2001, it was reportedly increased to 2676.

Religion

Present day Chothe have shunned most all ancient customs and traditions except the system of self-administration and marriage customs, since the advent of Christianity in their midst 60 years ago.

Festivals

The main festival of the Chothe is Harvesting festival (sasuhang) along with Christmas, New Year, Good Friday, etc. Dance and Music are their cultual life both in religious and recreational events.

Craftmanship

The men make baskets of bamboos and the womenfolk collect firewood from the jungles and then sell their products at the nearest market to meet their daily needs. They no longer maintain their ancient weapons, tools and dress.

Occupation

They do practice cultivation and other agricultural works, but most of the paddy fields are owned by the other communities.

Health and Sanitation

The Chothe have no dependable health centers near their villages, so the nearest is the district hospitals. Though most of the Chothe villages are situated a few miles from towns and accessible by roads, they still live without electricity and proper sanitation system.

Marriage System

The Chothe have a unique system of rules regarding who can marry whom. Among the Chothes there are bride-giver clans and bride takers clans. If a man wants to marry he has to take his bride from those clans whose women he was meant to marry. There are seven major clans in the Chothe society community. They are Parpa,Thao, Mareem, Khiyaang, Rangshai, Makan And Yuhlung. For example, a man from the Parpa clan can marry women from the clans of Mareem, Rangshai, Yuhlung but not those from the remaining Thao,Khiyaang, Makan clans. Men from these remaining clans are traditionally destined to marry the Parpa women. A Khiyaang man can marry a Thao woman but a Thao man cannot marry a Khiyaang women. That is, a man cannot give his sisters in marriage to those clans from whom he was supposed to take his bride. However in the present generation, there are many who are breaking these traditional marriage laws. They are fined by the elders and the village authorities in the form of material and money. Because of the traditional marriage laws, many young couples prefer to elope. So, traditional marriages and ceremonies are becoming rare in Chothe society