Describes the patrilineal system of the Mizo's. The people of Mizoram are known as Mizos. The term 'Mizo' is made of two words, mainly Mi and Zo. 'Mi' means people and 'Zo' means Hill. Thus Mizo means "hill people" and gives them a racial and distinctive ethnic identity. This collective name was given by their neighbours to a number of tribes which settled in the area

1. Patrilineal system of the Mizos
M.N.Laloo
Assistant Professor
Synod College
Shillong

2. Mizo is made of two words
Mi = people
Zo = hill
Mizo means “people of the high land”

3. Descent and Inheritance
 male line
 “series of father - child unit”
 ultimogeniture / primogeniture

4. Family
 Comprised of grand parents, children and grand-children
 Practise teknonymy

5. Socialisation
Girl
Learned skills and expertise
from her mother, aunts or
grandmothers
Culture of the society was
learned through exposure
to the community
Boy
Learned the art of hunting
and skill from his father or
his kin members and
friends
Imparted all the traditional
knowledge from Zawlbuk

6. It functioned as the security force of the village
It functioned as educational institution
It functioned as an "Indoor Stadium"

7. Marriage
Lungvar Tawnsabawp
Luhkhung
Tlandun
Riahbuk
thingfawn
Fan

8. Father and brothers of
the bride
Nearest male relatives
of the bride
If the bride had no male relative and
was brought up by her mother alone,
and the mother had not married
again, then the mother can claim
Bride Price
Divorce also made room for refund of marriage price

9. Authority Structure
• father or husband
dominated family
Family life
(celebration, issues of
inheritance)
• mother was
decisiveDomestic affairs
Patriarchal but not dictatorial
Authority structure in the family seems to follow division of
labour

10. Strong tradition of
Western choral singing
Animal sacrifices has
been stopped
Zawlbuk replaced by
modern education
Formally executed
written “will”
Payment of bride-price still continued
Changes brought about by the Western Missionaries

11. THANK YOU