TAI – KHAMPTI
Location:
Namsai District
General Information:
As per historians their original settlement was traced near
Irrawady and migrated from the Shan province of Burma (now Myanmar)
to present location via Assam. They have pan-international relation
with their cognate tribes in Thailand, Yunnan province of China besides Myanmar.
They have a script of their own. They speak Indo-Chinese language of the Tai group.
Chieftainship is prevalent in their society and it is hereditary.
The Khamptis are settled cultivators and enterprising traders. They produce good
quality of rice and vegetables especially potatoes. Their staple food is rice.
hey do not take beef.
They are Buddhist by religion and follow the Theravada (Hinayana) Sect.
They have Viharas (temples). Their main festival is Sang-Ken, a socio
religious festival celebrated in the month of April.
They possess rich tradition and culture. Their rich and unique indigenous
knowledge systems have been recorded in their manuscripts and preserved at
Viharas and other Buddhist Temples.
The women are expert in weaving, as the men in wood carving, mask and doll making.
Almost all the households have a handloom for weaving. They have unique paddy
husking and pounding mills operated by running water.