The K'Cho People

Who are KCho ?

  K'Cho or Cho Chins are the people of Southern Chin State who are particularly living in Mindat and Kampetlet townships, Myanmar.They call themselves K'Cho or Cho. K'Cho people speak Kcho dialect. Among Chin Dialects in Myanmar, K'Cho dialect is unique. It stands uniquely and does not mixed with other Chin Languages. Commonly, one type of Chin dialects can be communicate with another type of Chin dialect ( Haka dialect can be understand by Htantlang, Tiddim dialect can be use to communicate with Ton Zang dialect etc...). For some reason Kcho dialect is hard to learn and it is a little bit similar hear and there with all other Chin dialects. K'Cho is their native language and they speak Myanmar as a second language. The people of Mindat and Kampetlet are called K'Cho as well as their language is also called K'Cho. The K'Cho Chin group is composed of smaller linguistically diverse groups of Müün, Dai and M'Kaang. Although the K'Cho Chin group is composed of smaller linguistically diverse groups of Müün, Dai and M'Kaang , K'Cho language is used as a common language in the area of Mindat and Kampetlet.

  Even today Chin State is highly inaccessible - in the rainy season the rivers gush down steep valleys and the roads and tracks become nearly impassable. The K'Cho have traditionally lived in scattered villages along the mountain tops in the south of the State. They have practiced swidden field agriculture there, and engaged in trade with surrounding areas. 

The K'Cho language, lifestyle and worldview have been tied in closely to the seasons and the land. Even now if you are to make a well constructed sentence in the language about where you are about to go, you must add to the verb a term which states whether it is upwards, downwards or away from your present location.

The people themselves are reknowned for their sense of family and clan, their hospitality, 'zu' beer drinking, and personal courage. In colonial days, K'Cho men along with other Chin became prized by the British army for their physical consitution, bravery and loyalty.

Other Names for K'Cho

K'cho is the main name used by the speakers of the language to refer to themselves. There are however other names which have been used in referring to them. These are listed up below.

Müün

A term used by the K'cho to distinguish themselves from their immediate neighbours. It is pronounced like the word 'mern' would be in English, and is a term of unclear origin.

Ng'meen

This is the name of a particular village of K'cho speakers. The term has been used in some linguistic papers on the language but is too limited geographically to refer to the whole tribe.

Yawdwin Chin

A term meaning the 'Chin from the Yawdwin River'. Other tribes live in the same vicinity so this is not the most precise of names.
Chinme
An uncomplimentary term meaning 'black Chin' perhaps denoting the facial tatoos of the women. Some of the tattoo patterns could appear black. 

Chinbok 

A derogatory term from Burmese meaning 'rotten Chin'. It goes without saying that such terms should be avoided. It is only mentioned here because of its usage in older langauge and tribal surveys of the region.

K'Cho are not Chinbok !

  There is no place or people named as Chinbok before or after our grandparents throughout the history. 

The Chin people of Burma 

The K'Cho are a sub-group of the Chin. There are many tribes and languages of Chin - not only in Burma but also in the surrounding nations of India and Bangladesh. The K'Cho are only one of the many related people groups, and as mentioned they are found in the vicinity of Mindat in Chin State.

Chin is a name with an unclear history. Some have said it comes from the word for 'basket', since the Chin are known for their skills in weaving. Others have said that it originates in the Burmese word for 'friend' and reflects the favorable relations that the two peoples have shared over time. Little more can be said than this now. Conclusive evidence simply has not been found that would prove where the name comes from, and it may well be lost in history.

These days there is a misplaced, but increasingly publicized notion that all Chin refer to themselves as 'Zo', or 'Zomi'. This is not true, and although it is possible that the many terms used by the variousChin tribes to identify themselves may be related historically, i.e. Mizo, Asho, Lai, Hyou, Khumi etc., it is not correct nor helpful to claim one name for all Chin who so clearly have their own ways of referring to themselves.

The K'cho call themselves and all other Chin 'Kcho'. To this they add place names to distinguish tribes from each other when necessary, e.g. Hakha K'cho, Batu K'cho, Yopa K'cho etc.

K'Cho Land

Welcome To KChoKhaw

 The Land is named by KCho People as KChoKhaw which means KChoLand (the land of the Kcho people of Southern Chin State of Western Burma). The chin people who are particularly living in Mindat & Kanpetlet Townships of Southern Chin State are called K'Cho. 

Geographical Description of K'Cho Land 

The K'Cho land is the area of Mindat and Kanpetlet townships.Mindat and Kanpetlet townships are in southern Chin State bordering with Thilin,Kyawk-htu, and Saw township of Yaw Valley in the east. Paletwa township in the West, Matupi township in the North, and Minpya township of Rakhine State in the South.

The land of K'Cho people is mountainous as it is part of the western mountain ranges of Myanmar. Khawnu or Victoria peak, one of the tourist attractions for hiking , bird seeing, observing of various rare birds and orchid species, is the highest point in Chin State. Vast stretches of mountains are still covered with virgin forest teeming with a wide variety of native orchids and flowers, rare species of birds in the world. But forest from large areas of the region has depleted or degraded due to the practice of subsistence shifting cultivation locally called Taungya, a common farming for the daily food of local people.There are big forests left only in the area of Khawnu National park strictly restricted to cut the trees for no reason.
 Economic condition of K'Cho 

Generally, Chin State is one of the most remote, mountainous, land least developed regions inhabited by indigenous hill tribes of Myanmar. Especially, the people of southern Chin State are the poorest among Chin people in terms of their material possession and intellectual level. The northern Chins, compared to their southern brothers, are generally better off by deeply penetrating into the business world as well as educational circles. Extreme poverty has crippled these people in all aspects of life, even the struggle for survival in today's globalized and competitive world. The needs of these people are so profound and numerous that help in greater volume and scope is yet required. Among some of the emergency needs for the people are improving healthcare, raising educational level of the people, and documenting fast-dwindling local culture and language.

Education Background of Local K'Cho

Education is the key for a community to open the door to development. Without proper educatinal foundation, other forms of development hardly will occur. Even well intended development programme for the community in the end will become difficult to be sustained. Government primary schools are located within easy access for most villages. However, there are numerous untold difficulties. Economic conditins of the family often intervene and many children, especially girls than boys are forced to help family in the fields or drop from school altogether before completion of elementary educatin. In most village schools, teachers show up and teach only a couple of months within the entire school year. It's not the fault of teachers that many of them are coerced to engage in some form of business their teaching job just to keep their family afloat. Consequently, overall educational level of the local children is far below the expected and reported level. The elementary students are not supported by the Government for their academic year. They have to pay for everything on their own within the entire school year. Mostly, the students have not got their Text Books in hand for their class untill half of the academic year.

Education higher than elementary becomes difficult for children from most village communities. The greater percentage of children from villages do not make to middle school level due maily to economic reasons of the family. Children need to stay in other villages where middle school is located carrying their own food supply, which most family cannot afforded since just a few middle schools are located in villages in the area.

Extremely low number of children from villages affords High School level education, which is available only in town. Lodging, food educatinal and other costs for their children are beyond the capacity of poor hill-field farmers. Some religious groups are trying to help by arranging food and accommodation of children from villages attending High school in Mindat.

College education becomes even more difficult for most children both from town and villages. Only some K'Cho young people who have passed high school level are able to continue to acquire college education exclusively through Correspondence. There is no full time college student from the area. The students who get a degree through Correspondence from University of Distence Education,Myanmar do not have a chance to get government jobs, especially for those Mountain people from Kachin, Kayin, Chin, Mon etc.

Ministry for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affair opened fully funded government centers to allow free accommodation, food, and stipend for other costs for the local children attending both high school and college level. Moreover, children from these government centers are assured employment in government jobs. However, religious discremination at the centers, under the supervision of Buddhist Missionary monasteries, makes it difficult or inaccessible for non-Buddhist children, who are the majority in the region.

English language and computer knowledge is far beyond the dream of K'Cho young people because training in these fields is available only in cities like Yangon and Mandalay. Vocational trainings (not governmental but private) such as handicraft, carpentry, sewing and weaving are rarely available in the local and some youngpeople can't afford to attend the trainings as they are mostly struggling for their daily food.

Mei Owm Law !

 Mei Owm Law ! ( Welcome To K'Cho Land )

Welcome to Kchokhaw (the land of the Kcho people of Southern Chin State of Western Burma). This website is intended to promote the unique cultures of the Kcho people and their way of life. Available documents and articles about the kcho people are collected and posted in this website. People who are interested in exploring unique cultures of the Kcho and the Chins in general will find useful informations here in this web. The documents and articles posted here are by no means considered final researched documents. Corrections and suggestions are warmly welcomed and if such occured, they will be treated with utmost respect. Any comment and suggestions can be sent to webmaster.