Traveling from Aizawl to Gauhati via Shillong way back in 1979 i came cross some people boarding from certain village after Sonapur. I faintly remember someone said they belong to Biete one of Kuki clans from NC Hills.I worked with one Biate officer who claims that they belong to Hmar and most of them inside Mizoram are integrated to Mizo mainstream. He told me that they have separate dialects which he himself does not speak.
Today one friend from USA asked me to check ethnicity of Biate community. They migrated from China (Chhinlung) to northeast India through Burma. I found that some settled in NC hills and rest spread out in parts of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. Majority are in the NC hills maintaining their identity either Biate/Baite/Biete having about 20000 population.
I wonder how Mizos are spread out :!: perhaps due to war between villages during those primitive days. In this globalization years will it really be possible and practical Zo-reunification. The Zo habited areas inside India, mostly hills inter-connected, is roughly 65,000 square kilometer still less than Arunachal Pradesh.
I am writing this in English to invite Neitham and others who may like to share well researched details of our brothers.
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- The Zo/Zou people
March 19th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Thanks for the invite. I do intend to visit every now and then and looking forward to learning as much as possible.
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July 12th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Came across this post only today. Lol.
Yes, the Biate/Biete are one of the sub-tribe/clan of the Hmar tribe. They settled mostly in NC Hills District of Assam and Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya.
Some of the Hmar sub-tribe or clans who (I believe) still speaks their dialects are: Aimol, Biete/Biate, Chawroi, Chawthe, Chiru, Darlong, Hrangkhawl, Kom, Lamkang, Langrawng, Sakechep/Sakechek, Thiek/Thiak.
Most of the dialects they spoke are similar to each other. Other clans also has their own dialects but are already *extinct*.
The British classified most of the Hmar sub-tribe/ clans under the Old Kuki.
The present Hmar language is an amalgamation of Dulian and all the other Hmar clans’ dialects. It came into common use maybe during the 1880s and 1900s and was referred to as “Khawsak Trong”.
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July 12th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
The Biate/Biete sub-clans: Betlu, Chongol/ Chungngol, Darnei, Fatlei, Hmunhring, Khurbi (Lienate), Nampui, Ngaite, Ngamlai, Puilo, Sawnlien, Tamlo, Tamte, Thienglai, Tlungngurh
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October 21st, 2010 at 12:49 pm
yea…… i am biate………v mstly stayd…in assam n meghalaya….some in mizoram or tripura….bt idnt thnk thy stll speaking biate language….
PLACE IN ASSAM:FIANGPUI,NEW SANGBAR,OLD SANGBAR,THINGDOL,KHOBAK,LENGPUI,VAITANG,MUALDAM,KHOTHLIER…ETC
PLACE IN MEGHALAYA:MUALSEI,SAIPUNG,THURUK,SAIZOL,SAIBUAL,RIBUK,MUALHOI,MUALCHENG,SORON ETC..
THNK U!!!! BY AENA DARNEI
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January 18th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Mangthra ri dua
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July 26th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
ÑÊÎËÜÊÎ ÑÒÎÈÒ ÄÅÌÎÍÒÀÆ ÄÎÌÀ…
minny…
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January 21st, 2013 at 3:44 pm
The Biates have their own dialect and that is used by those in Assam & Meghalaya. for information that can be found in some websites like https://ezralalsim.blogspot.in/2011/01/biate.html
MIzo hnam peng pakhat ania, MIzoram, Tripura, Manipur, Assam leh Meghalaya-a an awm ve thin. Mi tam tak chuan Hmar ti-in an ko thin, mahse Hmar an ni lo. Mizo hnam peng chu an ni.
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July 24th, 2014 at 12:09 pm
Accidentally, my eyes hit this post and I am very surprised to see the posts regarding the orgin of Biate tribes.
let me clearify this.the Biates are one of the oldest tribe of Lushai hills of the then undivided Assam ,long ago before ‘Mizo’ and ‘Hmar’ word was born. surprisingly the mizo, the Hmars and the Kukis are all claiming that the Biate are their sub tribes.
being a Biate,till date, i never heard my parents or other elderly people using the word or term mizo, but instead uses the word Lushai, the word mizo is used or referred only in the case of the name of the state ‘Mizoram’. till date there is a village in mizoram and Assam (Cachar) by the name Biate. but the people living there used other languages but still claimed themselves as Biate whereas the Biates of Meghalaya and Assam(N.C.Hills) still use the Biate dialect which they had used since centuries ago( and mind it, its not new).they had their own tradition, culture, dress code and many others which are somehow in a way similar to the khasis , mizos, hmars, kukis, hrangkhols, manipuris, etc etc. which significantly shows we are all related in a way or another, because we all had been living together for years and years.
let us not forget that the people of mizoram are referred mizo,assam as assamese, manipur as manipuris and it is a fact one cannot erase. but we must remember that all the people living in manipur are not manipuris, assam are not assamese, mizoram are not mizos.we love our own identity, and hence no argument about the identity of the biate. if the Biates of Mizoram can be called mizo,why not the Hmar.
let us not forget that the Biates have their journey started form sinlung to mizoram, rengram(tripura) to cachar and then this current places. on this journey some remained at Mizoram, some went to manipur side , rengram and cachar, and thats the reason , one can still find the biates in all these places
the Mizos claimed them as mizos as the Biate were the first settler of the soil of Mizoram ( thanks to them for these recognition)
the Kukis claimed them as Kukis as the British has termed the Biates as “Old Kukis’
the Hmars claimed them as Hmars because ( oops till date no one has clarify it. because no history, written documents has proved it yet.)
in view of the above, it can be accept that the Biates belong to the Chin Kuki Mizo tribe.
the Biate has Five clan- the NAMPUI,DARNEI,NGAMLAI,NGIRSIM,THEITE and these cannot be changed by mere writing or posting, or by fake historian. if one wants to know the fact, they can ask older people with good knowledge of Biate history.
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