Draft:Lusei Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Lusei

The Lusei tribe (also known as Lushai or Duhlian) is one of the 5 major tribes of Mizoram and is considered to be the largest among the Mizo people. The Lusei speak Duhlian Ṭawng, which came to be known as Mizo Ṭawng. The term Lusei was utilised as a colonial misnomer, "Lushai", to all tribes residing within the area. The term Lusei became rehabilitated back into a tribe with the introduction of the term "Mizo" to refer to the commonly originated tribes.^[1]

The historical origin of the term Lusei is debated. Early British ethnographers such as Thomas Herbert Lewin argued that Lu refers to head and sha refers to cutting, hence indicating the tribe's origin as headhunters.^[2] John Shakespear later rebuked this by arguing that the name Lusei derived as an eponym of an individual.^[3] The individual identified is assumed to have been a powerful common ancestor known as Luseia.^[4]

Other offered explanations argue that Lusei refers to 'long-head'. This is in opposition to 'lutawi' (short head), which refers to commoners. Lusei (long head) would refer to the well-to-do chiefs and leaders. Another argument is that Lusei is an exonym as a Burmese term. Lu meaning people and Se meaning ten. This refers to the Lusei as one of the ten distinct groups identified by the Burmese when they inhabited the Kabaw Valley.^[4]

The Lusei were difficult to identify to early British administrators. It was stated via colonial research that the Lusei tribe was a mix of Northern Zo tribes.^[5] In a linguistic survey, G.A. Grierson states there are no tribes that can be distinctly identified as Lusei. The term Lusei, in a general sense, is used to identify clans or tribes that speak the Duhlien language. However, unlike other tribes, there is no genealogical tree or history to draw upon for further investigations.^[6]

The Lusei tribes are of Tibeto-Burman origin, just like the other Zo hnahthlak. Like all the present day Mizo tribes their origin is believed to be from Kabaw Valley, where they migrated to Than tlang at c. 1300-1400.^[7]

From Than tlang, they crossed the Run lui and settled on its banks and on the foot of the Len tlang, while some continued migrating (c. 1400-1600)

• Lewin, Thomas Herbert (1874). Progressive Colloquial Exercises in the Lushai Dialect of the ʹDzoʹ Or Kúki Language: With Vocabularies and Popular Tales. Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press Company Limited. p. 3.

• Shakespear, John (1912). The Lushai Kuki Clans. London: Macmillan and Co, Limited.

• Prakash, Colonel Ved (2007). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. India: Atlantic Publishers & Distributers. ISBN 978-81-269-0706-9. Retrieved 2 July 2025.

• Khai, Sing Khaw (1995). Zo People and Their Cultureː a historical, cultural study and critical analysis of Zo and its ethnic tribes. Manipur: Khampu Hatzaw. Retrieved 2 July 2025.

• Roluahpuia (2023). Nationalism in the Vernacular: State, Tribes, and Politics of Peace in Northeast India. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-33954-4. Retrieved 2 July 2025.