Vaiphei

The Vaiphei people is an ethnic group who live in North-East Indian state of Manipur and its neighbouring country of Myanmar (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 Siyin valley located in the northern part of Chin State. The group speak the Vaiphei language.Each clan has a chief called ‘Upa’. The Vaiphei people follows primogeniture system where the eldest son inherits his father’s property. Considered to be the first among the Chin-Kuki-Mizo groups to settle in Manipur and hence were included under the “Old Kuki” group based on arrival and settlement in the present borders of Manipur.