Sinlung

Sinlung or Chhinlung, is the ancestral home of the Chin/Kuki/Mizo people. The Mizo, Hmar - Mizo, and other Zo people trace their origin to Chhinlung (Sinlung) region.

Location and origin
Historians differ on the issue of the location of Sinlung and the origin of the name. Several theories and views regarding the origin and location have been put forward. Historian Hranglien Songate believed it to have been in South West China, possibly in the present Dali or Silung of Yunnan Province of today's China.

Hmars leave Sinlung
The Hmars, the majority of whom now belong to a tribe of the Mizo people, eventually left Sinlung, for reasons which are not known for sure, but historians suggest either economic reasons, oppressive Chinese rulers or powerful enemies in the area.

There were successive waves of migrants southward from China before 1000 AD into Southeast Asia. Historian Edward Thomas Williams, writes about the Qin Dynasty who, "violated all the rules of courteous warfare, triumphed and took over the territory and symbols of the rule of the Zhou dynasty (their predecessors)". It is believed that the Hmars might have been moving along with one of these waves towards the south, and eventually into India.

Shan
Hmar folk tales and songs describe the second settlement of the Hmars as being in Shan, which was marked by a time of prosperity and peace.