The Taungtha people or Rungtu are an unrecognized ethnic group primarily found in Magway Region, a central region in Myanmar. The Taungtha are not officially recognized by the Burmese state as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The Taungtha population is approximately 30,000 to 35,000 strong.
The origins of the Taungtha people are unclear. The Taungtha claim descent from the Pyu people, who had established a number of city-states in modern-day Myanmar. The Taungtha believe that during the rise of Pagan Kingdom in subsequent centuries, the purported ancestors of the Taungtha fled north from their original home near Mount Popa to their present-day location, earning the moniker "Taungtha". Some Taungtha date their migration to the reign of Thamoddarit, a legendary king of Pagan. The historical origins may be that the Taungtha are in fact Burmanized Chins; their native language, Rungtu, belongs to the family of Southern Kuki-Chin languages, and like other Chin-speaking groups living outside of Chin State, they do not self-identify as Chin.
Official recognition
The Taungtha formerly self-identified as "Taungtha" on identity documents, until stricter enforcement of the recognized ethnic groups in recent times required them to begin self-identifying as Bamar. On 17 January 2018, Kyaw Myint, a regional lawmaker at the Magway Region Hluttaw convened a proposal to submit a formal request to the national-level Assembly of the Union in order to gain official recognition of the Taungtha people as an indigenous ethnic group, but the measure failed. The basis for the proposal, according to Kyaw Myint, who is of Taungtha descent, was to preserve the cultural heritage, literature, and language of the Taungtha people. Opposing lawmakers voiced concern about the need to fund and conduct additional research to further examine the history and origins of minority groups such as the Taungtha as a precursor to further action.
While Taungtha men are indistinguishable from their Bamar counterparts , Taungtha women traditionally wear a costume called taung thamawut, consisting of a red shawl worn as a body wrap, over a long white robe or gown. Historically, the color of the shawls reflected a female's relative age and marital status: girls wore white shawls, single young women wore red shawls, while married women wore darker-colored shawls. The majority of Taungtha are farmers who cultivate rice paddy, beans and pulses, lemons, oranges, onions, and peppers. As of 2018, community-based tourism initiatives are also being established in Taungtha villages. Traditional meals consist of an assortment of dishes eaten on a daunglan''. Hospitality and generosity are important facets of Taungtha culture. Traditional houses are built of wood, and without nails, with structures fastened together using wooden hinges.
Religion
The Taungtha have syncretic beliefs, practicing Theravada Buddhism while worshipping traditional nats.
