The Lusei (Old Mizo: Lushai) people are one of the eleven tribes of the Mizo people, native to Mizoram in Northeast India, Chin Hills in western Myanmar and Chittagong Hill Tracts of eastern Bangladesh.
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There have been many speculations as to what the name means. It was first interpreted 'long-headed', as they believe that it is actually 'lu-sei' and not 'Lusei' ('sei' means long), as the Lusei people tie their hair in knots at the back of their heads.
The Lusei people are usually described as "short, sturdy and heavy people of Mongolian type." The average height of men was usually between 162 cm and 170 cm. The average women's height ranged from 140 cm to 160 cm. Their skin complexion varied between dark brown to light yellow.
The Lusei, being one of the major tribes of the Mizo people, influenced neighbouring, smaller tribes, such as the Lai/Pawih, the Ralte, the Hmar, the Paite and the Rangte/Gangte.
Presently all the ethnic Lusei people are Christian. The major Christian denominations are Presbyterian, Baptist Church of Mizoram, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventist, Roman Catholic and Pentecostal.
In recent generations a small group of Mizo have claimed themselves as Jews; see Bnei Menashe.
Only one language is spoken by the Lusei people and it is called the Lusei language (spelled Lushai by the Colonial British). Other languages were also spoken in the Lusei hills. However, the main one spoken is Lusei. Many of the smaller tribes communicate amongst each other through their own language but usually speak Lusei with outsiders or in public, which subsequently became the official language of Mizoram State of India.
Lusei is commonly now known as Mizo language. Christian missionaries introduced written form of the Lusei dialect/language in 1890s using the Latin letters as its alphabet.
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