23-527: The Tai Khamti ( Khamti : တဲး ၵံးတီႈ ), also known as the Hkamti Shan ( Burmese : ခန္တီးရှမ်းလူမျိုး ; Chinese : 康迪人) or simply as Khamti , are a Tai ethnic group of India, China and Myanmar. The Tai-Khamti are followers of Theravada Buddhism . The Tai-Khamti have their own script for their language, known as 'Lik Tai', which originated from the Shan (Tai) script of Myanmar. Their mother tongue
46-518: A male of higher status is /tsau / or /tsau nuai/ . Khamti uses a triparte pronoun system, consisting of singular, dual and plural forms. The dual form and the first person plural form are further divided between inclusive and exclusive forms. The following set of pronouns are the pronouns found in the Khamti language: Khamti uses the following demonstratives: The Tai Khamtis have their own writing system called 'Lik-Tai', which they share with
69-527: A religious background. Some of the most widespread Tai Khamti dance dramas are: Sangken is the main festival of the Khamti. It is celebrated on 14 April. The Indian national colours are displayed at the Sangken festival where people irrespective of their tribe, caste, culture, race, etc., participate in the rituals. The main attraction of the festival is splashing clean water, which is the symbol of peace and purity. The images of Buddha are taken out and after
92-473: A shorter green wrap-around cloth (langwat). Their jewelry consists of bright amber earplugs, coral, beaded necklaces, silver hairpins, bangles and gold ornaments. The Khamti men usually tattoo their bodies. The Khamti tie their hair into a large knot, which is supported by a white turban (pha-ho). The chiefs wear a long coat made of silk. The hair is drawn up from the back and sides in one massive roll, measuring four to five inches in length. An embroidered band,
115-549: Is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Myanmar and India by the Khamti people . It is closely related to, and sometimes considered a dialect of, Shan . Khamti has been variously rendered Hkamti , Khampti , Kam Ti , Kamti , Tai Kam Ti , Tai-Khamti , Khamti Shan , Khampti Shan , Khandi Shan , Hkampti Shan , and Khampti Sam ( Burmese : ခန္တီးရှမ်းလူမျိုး ). The name Khamti means 'place of gold'. In Burma, Khamti
138-559: Is also possible that tea may have been used under another name. Frederick R. Dannaway, in the essay "Tea As Soma", argues that tea was perhaps better known as " Soma " in Indian mythology. Khamti is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Myanmar and India by the Khamti people. It is a Daic language, specifically Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai, Southwestern, Northwest branch. The language seems to have originated around Mogoung in Upper Myanmar . It
161-687: Is carried on the front of the body so that its hilt can be grasped in the right hand if needed. The dance "Ka Poong Tai" is one of the main dramatic art forms of the Tai Khamtis. Unlike many forms of traditional Arunachali dance, the Khamti dance is a dance drama, reflecting the culture of the Khamti Buddhists. The traditional folk dances of the Tai Khamtis have their roots in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Myanmar. The community has many folk dances and each dance has
184-557: Is closely related to Thai and Lao languages. The name "Khamti" means "place of gold". Three dialects of Khamti are known: North Burma Khamti, Assam Khamti, and Sinkaling Khamti. Speakers of Khamti are bilingual, largely in Assamese and Burmese. The Tai Khamtis have their own writing system called 'Lik-Tai', which closely resembles the Northern Shan script of Myanmar with some of the letters taking divergent shapes. Their script
207-493: Is divided into classes, each signifying distinct status in the social hierarchy. The chiefs occupy the highest positions, followed by the priests, who wield considerable influence over all ranks. In the past, the slaves constituted the lowest rank. The Tai-Khamti are very strong believers of Theravada Buddhism . Houses have a prayer room, and they pray every morning and evening by offerings flowers (nam taw yongli) and food (khao tang som). They are traditionally peaceful. Houses of
230-585: Is evidently derived from the Lik Tho Ngok script since hundreds of years ago. There are 35 letters including 17 consonants and 14 vowels. The script is traditionally taught in monasteries on subjects like tripitaka, Jataka tales, code of conduct, doctrines and philosophy, history, law codes, astrology, and palmistry etc. The first printed book was published in 1960. In 1992 it was edited by the Tai Literature Committee, Chongkham. In 2003 it
253-458: Is known as Khamti language . It is a Tai language , closely related to Thai and Lao . According to 2001 census of India, the Tai Khamtis have a population of 12,890. In Myanmar their total population is estimated at 200,000 people. The Tai Khamtis who inhabit the region around the Tengapani basin of Arunachal Pradesh were descendants of migrants who came during the eighteenth century from
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#1732791631184276-466: 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. The Singpho tribe and the Khamti tribe, inhabitants of the regions where the Camellia sinensis plant grew native, have been consuming tea since the 12th century. It
299-504: Is rice, usually supplemented by vegetables, meat and fish. They drink a beer made from rice (lau) as a beverage that is not served during festivals. Some of the well-known dishes are khao puk (made out of sticky rice and sesame seeds), khao lam (bamboo rice), paa sa (fresh river fish soup with special herbs), paa som , and nam som among others. Beef is considered taboo. They are the earliest people to have used tea in India. But there
322-872: Is spoken by 3,500 near Myitkyina and by 4,500 in Putao District, Kachin State (both reported in 2000). In India, it is spoken by 5,000 in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh , in the Dikrong Valley , Narayanpur , and north bank of the Brahmaputra (reported in 2007). Three dialects of Khamti are known: North Burma Khamti, Assam Khamti, and Sinkaling Khamti. All speakers of Khamti are bilingual, largely in Assamese and Burmese. The language seems to have originated around Mogoung in Upper Burma. Mung Kang
345-880: The Shan region of Hkamti Long , in the western source of the Irrawaddy River Valley. They are located in Hkamti Long , Mogaung and Myitkyina regions of Kachin State as well as Hkamti District of Sagaing Division of Myanmar . In India , they are found in Namsai district and Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh . Smaller numbers are present in Lakhimpur district , Dhemaji district and Munglang Khamti village in Tinsukia district of Assam and possibly in some parts of China . The Khamti society
368-681: The Tai Phake people and Tai Aiton people . It closely resembles the Northern Shan script of Myanmar, which is a variant of the Mon–Burmese script , with some of the letters taking divergent shapes. Their script is evidently derived from the Lik Tho Ngok script since hundreds of years ago. There are 35 letters including 17 consonants and 14 vowels. The script is traditionally taught in monasteries on subjects like Tripitaka , Jataka tales , code of conduct, doctrines and philosophy, history, law codes, astrology, and palmistry etc. The first printed book
391-545: The Tai-Khampti are built on raised floors with thatched roofs. The roofs are constructed so low that the walls remain concealed. Wooden planks are used for flooring, and the walls are made of bamboo splices. The Khamti are settled, agriculturists. They use a plough (thaie) drawn by a single animal, either an ox or a buffalo (or even an elephant in olden days). The Khamti raise crops such as paddy rice (khow), mustard/sesame seeds (nga) and potato (man-kala). Their staple food
414-538: The ceremonial bath. The procession is accompanied by drums, dances, and enjoyment. This holy bath of is an auspicious event. The celebration takes place for three consecutive days. During the celebration, the locals make homemade sweet and distribute them. The exchange of gifts is a common trait of the festival. There are festivals other than Sangken celebrated throughout the year. Some of the festivals are Poi-Pee-Mau (Tai Khampti New Year), Mai-Kasung-Phai, Khoa-Wa, Poat-Wa, etc. Khamti language The Khamti language
437-414: The following vowels: /ɤ/ only appears in the dialect in Myanmar. Khamti uses five tones, namely: low falling /21/, mid rising /34/, mid falling /42/, high falling /53/~[33], and high level /55/~[44]. Unlike other Tai languages that display SVO word order, Khamti has SOV word order. Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns can pluralized by adding /nai khau/ behind
460-585: The fringed and tasseled ends of which hang down behind, encircles the roll. The Khamti are renowned for their craftsmanship. Their sword is known as pha-nap. Their priests are known to be amateur craftsmen, who use wood, bone or ivory to carve religious statues. It is believed that by shaping ivory handles of weapons they will evince great skill. Their weapons include poisoned bamboo spikes (panjis), spear, bow and arrow, sword, and shield, usually made of rhinoceros or buffalo hide. The Khamti also have firearms which resemble old flint muskets and horse pistols. The sword
483-450: The noun. Common nouns are class categorized by using classifiers such as the generic /an /, /ko / for people and /to / for animals. People's names and place names are classified as proper nouns. Khamti prefixes people's names, depending on the social class or status of that person. These prefixes are gender specific. The prefix for Miss is /na:ng / and the prefix for Mr is /tsa:i / . A prefix for Mr used to respectfully address
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#1732791631184506-452: Was again modified with tone marking by scholars of Northern Myanmar and Arunachal Pradesh. The traditional Khamti dress of men is a full-sleeved cotton shirt (siu pachai) and multi-coloured sarong (phanoi). The women's dress consists of a long sleeve shirt (siu pasao), a deep-coloured long sarong ( sinh ) made from cotton or silk, and a coloured silk scarf (phamai). Married woman wear in plain black long wrap-around sarong (sinn) and above that
529-565: Was captured, a large group of Khamtis moved to the north and east of Lakhimpur . In the year 1850, 300–400 Khamtis settled in Assam. Khamti has the following initial consonants: /c/ can be heard as [c] or [tʃ] across dialects. /s/ can also be heard as [ʃ]. Note: only the variety found in Myanmar uses the palatal nasal /ɲ/ and the rhotic /r/. Khamti has the following final consonants: -[w] occurs after front vowels and [a]-, -[j] occurs after back vowels and [a]-. The Khamti language uses
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