Lushai

The term "Lushai" is often mistakenly applied to the entire Mizo community, but it specifically refers to one of the prominent Mizo groups. The Mizo people, who speak Tibeto-Burman languages, primarily inhabit the Mizo Hills in northeastern India.1

The Lushai are a nomadic people, historically associated with the Chin or Kuki groups of southern Assam. Traditionally, they practiced slash-and-burn agriculture and frequently moved their villages, which facilitated their expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mizo villages were typically fortified and ruled by hereditary chiefs, with a society structured into chiefs, commoners, serfs, and slaves. British rule suppressed feuding and headhunting, and the area was administered through the indigenous chiefs.21