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Jinghpo,Wunpong,Zaizo,Dungzo,景頗,ဂျိန်းဖော | |
|---|---|
 Jingpo women in traditional dress | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Myanmar | 1,000,000–1,500,000[1] |
∟ Kachin State | 540,763[2] |
 China | 160,471 (2020 census) |
 United States | 10,000 |
 India | 7,958 |
 Taiwan | 100–200 |
| Languages | |
| Jingpo,Lisu,Zaiwa,Maru,Lashi,Pela,Burmese, andSouthwestern Mandarin | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Christianity[3] Minority: Theravāda Buddhism[4] Animism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| |
| Jingpo people | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 景颇族 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Burmese name | |||||||
| Burmese | ဂျိန်းဖော | ||||||
TheJingpo people[a] (Burmese:ဂျိန်းဖော;Chinese:景颇族;pinyin:Jǐngpō zú;siŋphou), also speltJinghpaw orJingphaw, are aTibeto-Burmanethnic group who inhabit northern Myanmar, northeastern India, and southwestern China. The Jingpo are the largest subgroup of theKachin peoples.[5][b] The Jingpo speak theJingpo language, which is used as alingua franca among the Kachin peoples and is distantly related to other Kachin languages.
Jingpo (Chinese:景颇族;pinyin:Jǐngpō zú) is the Chineseexonym for the ethnic group. The endonym isJinghpaw, which is also transcribedJingphaw. In India, the Jingpo are known as theSingpho.Kachin is often used interchangeably with Jingpo, especially inBurmese, although the former more precisely refers to the collection of ethnic groups including the Jingpo.In Burmese historical text they were called as Theinbaw (သိန်းဖော).The Jingpo were previously known by various exonyms in Chinese:Echang,Zhexie, andYeren (野人,lit. 'wild people')—the latter used in China from theYuan dynasty until the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
The Burmese government officially classifies the Jingpo as one of the 12 ethnic groups under theKachin national race, while the Chinese government classifies the Jingpo as one of the country's 56 officially recognized ethnicities. In China, the Jingpo are divided into five subgroups, namely the Jingpo,Zaiwa, Leqi, Lang'e (Langsu) andBola.[6] The Indian government recognises the Singpho as a Scheduled Tribe.
The Singphos are divided into a number of clans, known as Gams, each under a chief. The principal Gams include the Bessa, Duffa, Luttao, Luttora, Tesari, Mirip, Lophae, Lutong and Magrong. The Singpho are also divided into four classes, namely Shangai, Myung, Lubrung and Mirip.
The Jingpo largely inhabit theKachin Hills in northernMyanmar'sKachin State and neighbouringDehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of China.
In Myanmar (Burma), an estimated 630,000 Jingpo people live inKachin State.[7] In China, the Jingpo form one of the55 ethnic minorities, where they numbered 147,828 people in the 2010 census.
There is also a significant Jingpo community in northeast India, where they are known as the Singpho. The Singpho live in the state ofArunachal Pradesh in the district ofLohit andChanglang and inAssam inhabits in the district ofTinsukia and scattered in some other district likeSivasagar,Jorhat andGolaghat. Comprising a population of at least 7,900 in India, they live in the villages, namelyBordumsa,Miao, Innao, N-hpum, Namgo, Ketetong, Pangna, Phup, N-htem, Mungong, Kumchai, Pangsun, Hasak, Katha, Bisa, Dibong, Duwarmara, Namo andNamsai, etc.[8] They speak theSingpho dialect of theJingpo language.
Taiwan is home to a small Jingpo community numbering between 100 and 200, primarily in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung, and other cities. They are the descendants of 52 tribespeople who were members of the Yunnan People's Anti-Communist Volunteer Army who fled to Taiwan after the defeat of theKuomintang in mainland China. Every October, they host performances where they dance in traditional costumes. There is also a "Jingpo Taiwanese Friendship Association."
The ancestors of the Jingpo people lived on theTibetan Plateau and gradually migrated southward. Upon their arrival in the present-day province ofYunnan, the Jingpo were referred to asXunchuanman.The Jingpo polity inUpper Myanmar was recognized as atusi by the ChineseMing dynasty and is referred to as Cha-shan in the Chinese chronicleMing Shilu. According to the text, the polity extended from theNmai River in today'sKachin State,Myanmar, eastward toLu-shui County inYunnan.[9]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Jingpo continued migrating to their present territory. In the 17th century, the Jingpo were involved in trade exchanges between theAhom kingdom and China, dealing in commodities such as ivory, copper, and silver.[10] During the British colonial period, some tribes were well integrated into the state, while others operated with a large degree of autonomy. Kachin people, including those organized as theKachin Levies, provided assistance to British units fighting the Japanese Imperial Army duringWorld War II.
Following the end of World War II and Burma's independence from Britain, long-standing ethnic conflicts between frontier peoples such as the Kachin and the Burman-dominated central government resurfaced. The first uprising occurred in 1949 and escalated after the declaration of Buddhism (which is not practiced by the Kachin people) as the national religion in 1961. However, Kachin people fought both for and against the government during most of the ethnic conflicts. Kachin soldiers once formed a core part of the Burmese armed forces, and many remained loyal after the formation of theKachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and its military wing, theKachin Independence Army (KIA), in 1961. AfterNe Win's coup in 1962, opportunities for Kachin people in the Burma Army diminished. For many years, much of Kachin State outside of cities and larger towns was administered by the KIO.
The KIO formed alliances with other ethnic groups resisting the Burmese government and, despite its non-communist stance, along with China, informally supported theCommunist Party of Burma (CPB), which held strategically sensitive parts of the country adjacent to Kachin positions. The KIO continued to fight when Ne Win's dictatorship was succeeded by another incarnation of the military junta in 1988, called theState Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). However, with a gradual withdrawal of Chinese support, the CPB disintegrated in 1989 into warlord-led groups that negotiated ceasefire deals with the junta. This led to the KIO being surrounded by organizations effectively aligned with the SPDC. It was pressured by redeployed battalions of the rearmed and expanding Burma Army and urged to make peace by a civilian population suffering from years of warfare. In 1994, the KIO entered into a ceasefire with the junta. The ceasefire delivered neither security nor prosperity to the Kachin. Following the end of hostilities, the Burma Army's presence increased considerably, along with allegations of atrocities against the civilian population, including forced labor and rape. High demand from China is currently encouraging logging-based deforestation in the Kachin region of Burma.[11] Increasingly impoverished, some Jingpo women and children are drawn into the sex trade inThailand,China, andYangon (KWAT 2005).
The Jingpo have migrated to Malaysia and Thailand due to theKachin conflict. This conflict has caused Kachins to leave their homeland and seek asylum in Thailand and Malaysia. Since neither Thailand nor Malaysia are signatories to the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, these countries serve as temporary refuges for Kachin refugees, who must seek resettlement in third countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other EU nations through the UNHCR's resettlement program. Due to the high number of refugees in Malaysia, the resettlement process often takes five to seven years. Most Kachin refugees reside in IDP camps, with some in Malaysia.
Around 90% of the Jingpo people inMyanmar followChristianity, while the remaining 10% areanimists orTheravada Buddhists.[3] The majority of Singphos inIndia followTheravāda Buddhism.
Before the arrival of Buddhism and Christianity, animism was widely followed; the ancestors of the Singpho or Jinghpaws worshiped spirits or gods, such as a well-known spirit named Madai. Jingpo animists believe that spirits reside everywhere, from the sun to animals, and that these spirits bring good or bad luck. For the Jingpo, all living creatures are believed to have souls. Rituals are carried out for protection in almost all daily activities, from planting crops to warfare.
Traditional Jingpo dwellings are usually two stories and built out ofwood andbamboo. The houses are of oval form; the first floor serves as storage and stable space, while the second is utilized for living quarters. Women often dress in black jackets withsilver decorations and wear wool skirts made in bright colors. Men often wear white and black pants, covering their heads withturbans: youths with white turbans and adults with black turbans.
Jingpo proper (spelledJinghpaw in Jinghpaw) is spoken by 1,500,000 people in Burma and by 150,000 people in China. It is classified asSino-Tibetan,Tibeto-Burman,Kachin–Luic, and is more closely related to Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in northeastern India, like theNorthern Naga languages.[12] Jingpo proper is also understood by many speakers ofZaiwa. The standard Jingpo dialect taught in China is based on the dialect ofEnkun (in Yingjiang – west-northwest part of Dehong Prefecture). The Jingpo in India speak theSingpho dialect. Due to the dominance of Jingpo, it has been adopted as a common lingua franca among the Kachin peoples.[12] Jingpo has significantly influenced the lexico-semantics of Zaiwa, Lhaovo, and Lacid, and to a lesser extent, Rawang and Lisu.[12]
Zaiwa (also spelledTsaiwa; calledAtsi in Jingpo proper,Zǎiwǎyǔ (载瓦语) inChinese, andZi inBurmese) is spoken by approximately 80,000 people in China and 30,000 people in Burma. It is classified as Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Yi-Burman, and Northern Burmic, and is closely related to theBurmese language.[12] After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, a written language based on the dialect of the village of Longzhun (in Xishan district in Luxi county) and using theLatin alphabet was created and officially introduced in 1957. Due to language contact, Zaiwa has been significantly influenced by Jingpo, especially in terms of its lexicon and semantics.[12]
Multilingualism is common among the Jingpo, and many Jingpo speak other Kachin languages, in addition to Burmese in Myanmar,Standard Chinese in China,Assamese in India, andShan as a trade language.[12]
Unlike mosthill-people, shifting cultivation (jhum) is not as widely practiced, although tea is widely planted. When the British attempted to introduce Chinese tea plants for cultivation in Assam were unsuccessful, they discovered that the Singpho people cultivated tea. By hybridizing the Singpho and Chinese strains, and using Chinese tea cultivation techniques, the basis for large-scale tea cultivation in Assam was laid. The Singpho produce their tea by plucking the tender leaves and drying them in the sun and exposing them to the night dew for three days and nights. The leaves are then placed in the hollow tube of bamboo, and the cylinder will be exposed to the smoke of the fire. In this way, their tea can be kept for years without losing its flavor. The Singpho also depended on yams and other edible tubers as their staple food.
They are the earliest people to haveused tea in India, but there is no substantial documentation of the history of tea drinking in the Indian subcontinent for the pre-colonial period. One can only speculate that tea leaves were widely used in ancient India since the plant is native to some parts of India. TheSingpho tribe and theKhamti tribe, inhabitants of the regions where theCamellia sinensis plant grew native, have been consuming tea since the 12th century. It is also possible that tea may have been used under another name. Frederick R. Dannaway, in the essay "Tea As Soma",[13] argues that tea was perhaps better known as "Soma" in Indian mythology.
Singpho dwellings are usually two stories and built out of wood and bamboo. The houses are of oval form; the first floor serves as a storage and stable while the second is utilized for living quarters.
The Jingpho made shields from buffalo hide, many of them can be as long as four feet. They also have helmets are made from either buffalo hide or rattan-work, and vanished black and decorated with the boar's tusks. Most men tie their hair in a large knot on the crown of the head. The women dress their hair gathered into a broad knot on the crown of the head, fastening it by silver bodkins, chains and tassels, which is similar to the architecture of the modern skyscrapers. The maidens tie their tresses into a roll and keep it tied just above the nape. Women often dress in black jackets with silver decorations during festival known asmanau. They also wear wool skirts made in bright red colors. The men often wear a white shirt with colorfullongyi, covering their heads withturbans.
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| Sino-Tibetan |
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| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||
| Mongolic | |||||||||||
| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||
| Turkic | |||||||||||
| Indo-European | |||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||
| Mizoram |  Naga woman | |
|---|---|---|
| Nagaland | ||
| Meghalaya | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | ||
| Manipur | ||
| Tripura | ||
| Assam | ||
| Sikkim | ||
| Kuki tribes including: | ||
| Naga tribes including: | ||
