The Tarao are a minority community residing in the Chandel district of Manipur, India. They speak Taraotrong, but are also proficient in Meiteilon when communicating with others.¹
The Taraos are one of Manipur's numerous tribes. Historical accounts suggest that Maharaja Ching-Thang Khomba had an orchard near Pallel, and his orange trees were tended by the Taraos at Komlathabi (Kapaam).² They are primarily concentrated in four villages: Heikakpokpi, Leishokching, Khuringmul Laiminei, and Heikamul in Chandel District, with about 8 families also in Shajkeithel, Ukhrul District.³ Their main source of livelihood is cane and bamboo work, with mat-making being a predominant activity throughout the year. They also engage in cultivation in fields and plantation farms. Their land is considered one of the driest places in Manipur.⁴
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The Tarao are one of the smallest tribes in Manipur, with a population of over a few hundred as per the Chandel, Manipur, 2011 Census of India.⁵ The 2011 census specifically reported a population of 1,066 individuals for the Tarao tribe.⁶ Linguistically, the Tarao language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.⁷
Language
The Tarao language, also known as Taraotrong or Tarau, is an unclassified Tibeto-Burman language, possibly belonging to the Southern Naga sub-group. It shares marginal intelligibility (around 70%) with the Chothe language.⁸ While Tarao is considered a stable indigenous language, spoken as a first language by all within the ethnic community, it is not known to be taught in schools.⁹ In 2009, UNESCO declared the Tarao language as non-existent or extinct, which has sparked efforts to preserve it. Recent research, however, indicates that around 1,000 people still speak the language. There's a concern that the language is declining due to scattered settlements and the adoption of other languages. Suggestions have been made for the Tarao community to consolidate into one village to help preserve their language and culture. Historically, Manipur has seen the extinction of other languages, like Andro, Sengmai, and Chairel, whose speakers (the Lois community) now predominantly speak Meiteilon.¹⁰
Culture and Traditions
Tarao society is patriarchal, with the inheritance of property typically descending through the male line. Sons inherit both movable and immovable properties, while daughters generally do not inherit land or houses. However, unmarried daughters have absolute rights over their own earnings from activities like weaving; after marriage, ownership of her properties is usually shared with her husband. In the absence of a male heir, close kin such as brothers or the eldest male of the clan will inherit the properties, with the responsibility of caring for the family until the female children are grown and married. Ancestral property is highly valued and rarely sold outside the family.¹¹
Dress and Ornaments: The Tarao have used various colorful and attractive dresses and ornaments since time immemorial. The appearance and attractiveness of women are often enhanced by the dresses and ornaments they wear, which are rarely taken off. Dresses are considered incomplete without ornaments for Tarao women. During dances, a headdress called seikang is worn by females. All shawls and sarongs are intricately patterned with beautiful designs and checks of different colors, holding immense cultural significance. Different shawls and sarongs are designated for various groups of people, with some restrictions on usage; for instance, Leizing puun (a shawl designed as a python) is exclusively used by elderly persons.¹²
The marital status of Tarao women could traditionally be discerned from their hair and adornments. Unmarried women would cut their hair in front of their ears and eyebrows. Additionally, unmarried girls wore a belt called arkhah around their waist and kolpum, kolchao, and harngou on their wrists and arms. Upon marriage, they would change their hairstyle and were no longer permitted to use these specific ornaments.¹³
Marriage is a sacred and important institution in Tarao society. While children might have been engaged at an early age, marriages typically took place when they reached marriageable age (usually boys at 20+ and girls at 18+). Mothers play a significant role in marriage and engagement permissions, underscoring their influential position within the family and conferring a higher social status than in many other societies. Marriage between a sister's children was only permissible after three or four generations.¹⁴
Festivals
The Tarao participate in the larger Naga festivals in Manipur, notably Lui-Ngai-Ni. This is a seed-sowing festival that marks the beginning of the agricultural year for the Naga tribes of Manipur. Celebrated annually on February 15, it has been declared a state holiday since 1988. Lui-Ngai-Ni involves cultural exchange programs, the lighting of sacred fires, blessing of seeds, traditional log drum beating, folk dances, songs, and traditional fire-making.¹⁵
Individual Tarao villages also celebrate their own festivals. For example, Khuringmul Village, the largest Tarao village with a population of around 300, celebrated its 37th Annual Harvesting Festival on October 16-17, 2021, under the theme "Give honour to God with thy blessing of harvest." The festival highlighted traditional songs and dances in colorful attire, narrating folklores that pass down the history and traditions of the Tarao tribe.¹⁶
Modern Developments
Despite being a small and somewhat isolated community, the Tarao have seen some engagement with the outside world, particularly through their traditional bamboo and cane craft. A self-taught artisan-entrepreneur named Tabitha from Khuringmul village, working with other women, registered a small cooperative society in 2017. Through collaboration with experts from the National Institute of Design (NID), they have been able to envision new designs for traditional products like Phar, Ruupok, Bukkang, Lukpak, Luktong, and Peishep, and access markets beyond the local Haat in Chandel. This has significantly increased their income. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) has also sponsored Tarao women to participate in various exhibitions across the country.¹⁷
Notes
"Census of India 2011," Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, accessed July 20, 2025.
Ibid.
"Tarao language," Wikipedia, accessed July 20, 2025.
"Census of India 2011," Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, accessed July 20, 2025.
Ibid.
"Tarao people," Wikipedia, accessed July 20, 2025.
Braja B. Kumāra, Naga Identity (Concept Publishing Company, 2005), 81.
"Naga, Tarao Language (TRO)," Ethnologue, accessed July 20, 2025,
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tro/ Ibid.
"Tarao people : A community in the brink of Extinction," People of Northeast India, accessed July 20, 2025,
https://northeastindiawiki.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/tarao-people-a-community-in-the-brink-of-extinction/ "The Socio-Cultural Traditions of the Tarao Tribe in Reference to Family, Dress, Ornament," Recent Scientific, accessed July 20, 2025,
http://recentscientific.com/sites/default/files/11737-A-2018.pdf Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
"Lui Ngai Ni," Wikipedia, accessed July 20, 2025,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lui_Ngai_Ni "37th Harvesting Festival of the Tarao tribes at Khuringmul Village, Chandel :: 16th - 17th October 2021," E-Pao, accessed July 20, 2025,
https://e-pao.net/epGallery.asp?id=3&src=Community_Org/Tarao2021_6 "An Endangered Tribe's Walk To Prosperity," G20 alliance for empowerment and progression of women's economic representation, accessed July 20, 2025,
https://g20empower-india.org/stories/Manipur.php
