Vaiphei people
The Vaiphei are an ethnic group who inhabit the North-East part of India and Burma. Lt. Colonel J. Shakespeare, 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 and at the 1991 census the number of Vaiphei speakers was 26,185. Each clan has a chief called ‘Upa’. The eldest son inherits his father's property. Considered to be the first among the Kuki group to settle in Manipur and hence were included under the "old Kuki" group based on arrival and settlement in the present borders of Manipur.
