Lalung

Tiwa is an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the states of Assam and Meghalaya in northeastern India. They are also found in some areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam. They were known as Lalungs in the Assamese Buranjis and in Colonial literature and in the Constitution of India, though members of the group prefer to call themselves Tiwa (meaning “the people who were lifted from below”). Some of their neighbours still call them Lalung.A striking peculiarity of the Tiwa is their division into two sub-groups, Hill Tiwa and Plains Tiwas, displaying contrasting cultural features. The founder of Tiwa community is Pha Poroi “Indrosing Dewri” who has contributed a lot to the construction of Tiwa society. He also wrote the Tiwa national anthem called – O Angé Tiwa Tosima.