Tarao Naga

Tarao is a minority community in Chandel district, Manipur, India speaking Taraotrong but Meiteilon as well. As one of the oldest tribes of Manipur, accounts of the Tarao are also found in the Royal Chronicles of Manipur, Cheitharol Kumbaba, reflecting their involvement in state affairs as early as A.D. 1263-1467 (Iboongohal and Khelchandra, 1967). In the Royal Chronicle, the reference to Sangkhuleima, (Pi Tarte) the goddess of the Tarao, occurs in A.D. 1872 during the reign of Chandrakirti Maharaja (A.D.1850-1886). It is also said that Maharaja Ching-Thang Khomba had an orchard at a place near Pallel and his orange trees were looked after by the Taraos at Komlathabi (Kapaam).

Presently, the Taraos are mainly concentrated in four villages with a population of just about a thousand (as per Chandel, Manipur, 2011 Census of India).Their main source of livelihood is cane & bamboo, out of which, mat-making is predominant all the year round. They are also involved in cultivation works in the fields and plantation farms. Their land is considered to be one of the driest places in Manipur.

Linguistically, the Tarao language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.[2] John Shakespeare in The Lushei-Kuki Clans (1912) has also noted the close similarity between the Tarao and Lusei dialects.