Vaiphei people

The Vaiphei are an ethnic group who inhabit the North-East part of India and Burma. Lt. Colonel J. Shakespeare (1887–1905), the first superintendent of the then Lushai Hills, referred to them as one of the Kuki clans of Manipur and recognized as part of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribe by the state government of Manipur. The group is originally from the Tan valley located in the province of northern Manipur. The group speak the Vaiphei language and at the 1991 census the number of Vaiphei speakers was 26,185. Each clan has a chief called ‘Upa’. The eldest son inherits his father's property.