Kuki

Kuki, a Southeast Asian people living in the Mizo (formerly Lushai) Hills on the border between India and Myanmar (Burma) and numbering about 12,000 in the 1970s. They have been largely assimilated by the more populous Mizo (q.v.), adopting their customs and language.

Traditionally the Kuki lived in small settlements in the jungles, each ruled by its own chief. The youngest son of the chief inherited his father’s property, while the other sons were provided with wives from the village and sent out to found villages of their own. The Kuki live an isolated existence in the bamboo forests, which provide them with their building and handicraft materials. They grow rice, first burning off the jungle to clear the ground. They hunt wild animals and keep dogs, pigs, buffalo, goats, and poultry.