VII. Literature:

Mizo is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Kuki-Chin group spoken in Northeast India. There are some speakers scattered in the adjoining hill states of Manipur and Tripura as well as along with the border areas of Burma and Bangladesh. Like other Tibeto-Burman languages, Mizo, too, conforms to almost all the typological features of an SOV language. Mizo is a verb-final language and is left branching in the unmarked word order. Mizos are known as singing tribe. They have a variety of styles and genres that include folk narratives, proverbs, songs, tales, nursery rhymes, riddles, war songs, sacrificial chants etc. The major clan speaks different dialects, but they have strong and direct link and mutually comprehensible forms. In the course of political development, Duhlian, which was spoken by politically dominant Lusei clan became the lingua franca of the majority under the Mizo nationality. Rev. F. W. Savidge and Rev. J. Lorrain reduced this to writing using Roman script in 1894 (R. Thnagvunga). Mizos had a very rich oral tradition before the arrival of Christian missionaries. The older pre-Christian oral literature is more diverse in nature than the literature after being reduced to writing after conversion of Christians. The content of the oral literature tradition includes telling of legends and stories, celebrating the latest victory and exploits, riddles and moral fables, the chanting of Haldo and Bawh Hla (hunting and war cry), songs of merry and dancing bents etc. There are legends and myths flowing down the centuries pointing to a deeper experience of cataclysmic events of races and languages, giants and angels, superhuman, dragons, ghosts and hobgoblins, magic and witchcraft etc. R. Thangvunga lists the varieties of folklore as:

1.	The myth of Chhinlung, a cave or stonewall, whence people issued. 
	(Imputed to be the Mizo Origin).
2.	The myth of Thim Zing, a great darkness enveloping the world, when people
	were transformed into animals.
3.	The myth of Pialral (Elysium), Mitthi Khua (Heads)
4.	The legend of Palova (No father), adventuring in quest of his unknown father.
5.	The legend of Ngaiteii and her father’s spirit causing flood to claim her.
6.	The legend of Mualzavata, a superman.
7.	The legend of Chhura, a comic cornucopia.
8.	The legend of seven brothers, the youngest Tiumtea, courting the lady of 
	sky (an allegory of ideal character for a young man).
9.	The legend of Lalruanga, the magician.
10.	The legend of Chawngchilhi and the serpent.
11.	The story of Liandova and Tuaisiala, orphan’s triumphant by virtue.
12.	The romance of Chala and Thangi, of Duhmanga and Dardin, of Raldawna 
	and Tumchhingi, masterpieces of plot and realism. 

There is no systematic documentation of the rich oral tradition, though a few writers and poets are doing some work in this regard.

Chronological Developments:

1. Deputy commissioner of Chittagaong hills, Lt. colonel Thomas Herbert Lewin (1839-1916) published a book A Colloquial Exercise in the Lushai Dialects of the Dzo or Kuki with vocabularies and popular tales in 1874. The book had a good number of word collection and folk tales of the Lushai hill tribes.

2. The arrival of Christian missionaries made a significant change in the Mizo society and education. Two of the first missionaries, F. W. Savidge and J. H. Lorrain arrived in the Lushai hills in January 1894. They stayed for more than three years and did the ground work in the direction of the systematic documentation of facts about the language spoken in the area. They produced a series of books for elementary schools from which the beginners could start to read and write Lushai in Roman script. Their first series of books include-a. Zirtanbu (The Primer), b. Zawhnu leh Channa (Questions and Answers). These books were published in 1896. They started translating the Bible in Mizo. They first translated the Gospel of St. Luke and then the Gospel of St. John and Acts. The British and Foreign Bible Society published these gospels in 1898.

3. The government of Assam published the first grammar book on Lushai in 1898 at the Assam Secretariat printing office, Shillong under the title A Grammar of the Lushai Language by J. Herbert Lorrain and Fred W. Savidge.

4. As Dr. Laltlungliana Khaingte points out, ‘unlike any other folk literature, the composer or the one whose name the composition bears can be identified in Mizo folk songs.’ In his book he lists Hmuaki, Lianchiari, Saikuti, Darpawngi, Laltheri, Lianrikhumi, Darlenglehi, and Darmani as female composers of folk songs and poems. Among prominent male composers he lists Mangsela, Zakuala, Darchhuma. Lalsuthalaha, Laltuchhingpa, Lalawithangpa etc.

5. After T. H. Lewin, the superintendent of Lusahi Hills j. Shakespeare published a few Mizo folk tales and non-Mizo tales in Mizo under the title ‘Mizo and Non-Mizo Tales’ in 1898.

6. Rev. F. J. Sandy, a welsh missionary to the Presbyterian Church of Mizoram, published A Legend of Old Lushai in 1919. This book had twenty-two short tales. This was reprinted in 1926. 7. P. S. Dahrawka collected a large number of Mizo folk tales and published it under the title Mizo Thawnthu (Mizo Folk Tales) in 1962. 8. At present Dr. Laltlungliana Khiangte, head of the Mizo department, is doing a commendable work, collecting Mizo folk tale and translating them in English for non-Mizo readers. He has a good number of contemporary poems, stories and plays in Mizo to his credit. After reducing Mizo language to writing using Roman script, the missionaries indulged in publishing school text books in Mizo. This was a remarkable step towards Mizo literacy, which brought significant change in the community life. The first school textbook ZirtirbuThar (New Primer) was published in 1899. The book had some moral and religious lessons and a few sections of general facts. In 1902 Rev. Edwin Rowlands introduced two new textbooks in the local language, Thu ro Bu (New Reader) and Hriselna Bu (Sanitation Primer). These two books followed a number of other books that founded a systematic curriculum material in Mizo language. They include Chhiar Kawpnai (Arithmetic), Khawmualpui Thu (Continents and Oceans), Hma Bu (First Primer), Grammatical Primer, India Ram Canchin (Indian History), Alai Bu (Middle Book), English Primer, and English Reader in Mizo etc. Apart from these textbooks and the Bible, some Christian literature and hymns were translated and published in Mizo. Rev. Chuatera translated and published ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ in 1910 and Rev. Challiana translated and published ‘The Story of the Bible’ in 1909. The awareness about the world and education brought a revolutionary change in the Mizo way of life and thoughts. The first Mizo journal Mizo Chanchin Laishuih (The Highlander’s News) was published in 1898. It was a hand written cyclostyled tabloid. Later, a monthly journal Mizo leh vai Chanchin Lekhabu was published by the then superintendent of the Lushai Hills Tract, J. Shakespeare and printed at Dina Nath Press, Syhlet in 1902. This journal included contributions of the first generations of literate Mizo people. After this, the first government monthly journal, The Presbyterian Church Mission, Aizawl published the first issue of a monthly journal Kristian Tlangau in 1911, which is in print till today. After these significant publications many journals and magazines were published and a few of them contributed a great deal towards the development and promotion of education and awareness among the Mizo readers. Among them the old MZP Chanchin (A publication of Mizo Students Union), Meichher (A publication of Mizo Adult Education Wing), Thu leh Hla (a publication of Mizo academy of Letters, Aizawl) are of special mention.