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Zotung ancestors originally lived in the middle of Chin State in Myanmar. The term “Zotung” is first used after British colonial invasion of modern Zotungland. Among Chin ethnic groups, there are certain ethnic groups that use the terminology “Zo” for their ethnical name and also for the entire Chin race. The word seems to be first used by the British colonial or other Chin ethnical groups to distinguish Zotung people from other Chin tribal groups as Zotung people initially used the term “Zo” for their ethnical name. They also used this name for the entire Chin. It means that they did not have their clan name separately from the whole Chin at first. In other word, according to this aboriginal people the term “Zo” stood for both Zotung and Chin. For example, even till today if they are among Burma people or any no other Chin tribe, they say, “A maw tuh Zo paw nyh thua, Vae paw thua khyh.” (He is a Zo, not a Burma) to be identified as any Chin tribe. To refer a traditional Chin house, they say, “Zo inn tuh eh hang khyh.” (Traditional Chin house is not too high). Their language is absolutely different from other Chins’ languages. No one knows when their language began to be spoken. Their language is the most significant thing that makes them a unique race. Other ritual practices and beliefs were almost the same to other Chins’. According to their literature, they did not have literal written form till 1934, the year Paw Khua Ming invented “Zoccaw” or “Zotung ccaw” (Zotung literature), using English alphabets. Since they did not have literature or any written document, most of their formal histories were lost in the past. According to the legends, their story was written on the leather and unfortunately eaten by a dog. Then, only some handful interesting events can be known through traditional oral stories handed down through the generations. After the arrival of Christianity, not only their beliefs and ritual practices but also their living standard has changed a lot. We can say that Christianity opened their eyes to see and face the world. In the long run process, some of them move to lower land of Myanmar among Burman people and eventually to foreign countries because of economical hardship and political danger in their own land. As a consequent, they are facing discrimination wherever they go, even in their own country Myanmar. Hopefully, as all Zotung people are Christians, they unite in everywhere they are by the grace of GOD.

Zotung people are one of Chin tribal group, having almost the same identities as other Chins have. As time has changed very fast, some of their characteristics have changed little by little. However, there are some identities that never changed through the times and they will never change even till the world ends. In physical appearance, as they are Tibeto-Burman, they are short, having wide and rounded noses, back hair and eyes, and reddish complexion. In the past, around their wrist and waist, they wore traditional jewelries made of brass and silver and strings of beads called ‘pyngcci’ on their neck. Those kinds of jewelries have become so valuable in price. Now such traditional artifacts have become very rare among Zotung people as they have sold them for considerably high price. Men kept their hair in the shoulder length style, knotting on the top of their head with traditional ornamental hair pin. For clothing, they did not have any shirt or pan like people in developing countries till the middle of twenty century, but they wore small long mantle, covering on only sex organs. However, in spite of those thin cloths in the cool weather, they could survive and were even healthy and strong as they heavily ate maize, meat and fish. They were patient and kind even though they used to revenge for their murder. They exempted any criminal by means of pouring animals’ blood for repentance and to appeal the principle in the crime. This is a distinct character of Zotung people. Nowadays, they cannot be differentiated as they have changed a lot not only physically but also mentally, contrasted to their ancestors four or five decades ago.

As Zotung is one of 53 tribes of Chin ethnical group, they can corroborate the settlement of Chin ancestors as those tribes, too. Zotung people have a strong concept that they came from China as the same to other Chin tribal groups. For these indigenous people who had no writing system of their own, an oral tradition consisting of 'sungoolaw' folksong and 'phongpaw' folklore was the most reliable mean of transmitting past events and collective memories through time. The songs 'sungoolaw' were sung repeatedly during all kinds of ritual feasts and festivals, and the tales that made up Zo (Chin) folklore were retold again and again over the generations. The ancestors maintained their historical events by this way. Some elder people said that their ancestors recalled the memory of 'tuiraw' the white river by oral tradition through each generation. That white river in their handed down memory must be the Chindwin River. Chin prominent scholar Lian H Sakhong also wrote that “There is ample evidence that the Chin were the first who settled in the Chindwin Valley”. Hence it is clear that the Chindwin Valley is where their history begins. They moved from Chindwin Valley to Kale Valley because of water flood or war or any other danger. It can be assumed that the Chin settlement in the Kale Valley began just before the end of thirteenth century A.D. After they were expelled from their original homeland, the Kale Valley in Upper Chindwin, by the flood as oral traditions recount it—or conquered by the Shan as modern scholars have suggested—the Chin split into different tribal groups speaking different dialects, with different tribal names. For they preferred liberty to civilization, they settled to the quiet and peaceful places along the edge of western Burma, avoiding battles and eventually they reached on the Chin Hills where they built hill society. They lived in 'Zoran' the Chinland as independent nation till the British invaded their land in the late 19th century and annexed all their territory into British Empire in the early 20th century.

By Pasui