Zomi people
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The Zomi people are one of the main groups of the Zo (Kuki-Chin-Mizo-Zomi) tribes. They live in mostly the India–Myanmar border, as well as in Bangladesh.[1][2] The Zomis were divided into two by the Indian government as Kuki and the Myanmar government as Chin. The Zomi encompasses the various tribe like Paite, Zou, Gangte, simte, Vaiphei, sukte and Thangkhal in India and the Zomi tribe that is called Chin in Burma (Myanmar) is the Tiddim/Tedim. They call themselves Zomi and they speak their own language (all distinctly similar). The Zomi language is basically the language of the Tedim/Tiddim and is related to the Paite language.
Diaspora[edit]
As of 2018[update], the Zomi are the second-largest ethnic group in the Burmese diaspora in the United States.[3] Between 7000 and 9000 Zomi live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is referred to as "Zomi Town" within the Burmese diaspora.[4] The concentration of Zomi in Tulsa is related to the fact that the Zomi are a largely Christian ethnic group and faced persecution in Myanmar under the military dictatorship.[1] The resettlement of Zomi refugees to Tulsa was in part catalyzed by Dr. Chin Do Kham, who moved to Tulsa in the 1970s to study at Oral Roberts University, a Christian institution in southern Tulsa.[5]
Popular culture[edit]
The first Zomi-language movie to receive a full-length theatrical debut was a 2021 English-Zomi bilingual film, written and directed by Burmese refugee Thang Mung, called Thorn in the Center of the Heart. The film first premiered in Michigan, where Mung was resettled by U.S. refugee services as a teenager.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Zomi USA: How a city in Oklahoma became home to an ethnic group from Southeast Asia". NBC News. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
- ^ George, Sam (2019-01-15). Diaspora Christianities: Global Scattering and Gathering of South Asian Christians. Fortress Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-5064-4706-3.
- ^ Mung, Daniel (2018). The promised land : Zomi diaspora in Tulsa (Thesis).
- ^ Krishna, Priya (2022-06-27). "In Tulsa, a Burmese Cooking Tradition Takes the Spotlight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
- ^ Writer, TIM STANLEY World Staff (2013-10-16). "Former ORU professor, Myanmar native Chin Do Kham dies at 54". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
- ^ Shields, Lauren (August 30, 2021). ""Thorn in the Center of the Heart" will be Grand Ledge Sun Theatre's first showing since COVID". Fox 47 News. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
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