Zogam
|
Zogam is the name for territory, approximately 60,000 square miles (155,000 km²), in Burma, India and Bangladesh. It is the traditional home of the Zomi who lived in this area before the colonial period under British rulership.
It does not include Asho settlements in Lower Burma and Masho settlements in the Arakan (Burma). The area extends from latitude 25º 30’ North in the Somra tracts facing Mt. Saramati, and in Nagaland across the Namtakik River and the North Cachar Hills, to about 20º 30’ North Latitude. The longitudinal extension is between 92º 10’ East and 94º 20’ east. The North-South length of the Zogam is roughly 350 miles (560 km) and East-West is generally about 120 miles (190 km) wide.
One Zomi folksong delineates the area of Zogam as follows:
“Penlehpi leh Kangtui minthang, A tua tong Zouta kual sung chi ua; Khang Vaimang leh tuan a pupa Tongchiamna Kangtui minthang aw” (The famous Penlehpi and Kangtui Between the two is the Zomi country The Southern King and our forefathers Made an agreement at the famous Kangtui)
This old folk song tells of the area of the Zomi ancestral homeland, for Penlehpi is a Burmese word for the Bay of Bengal and Kangtui is identified with Tuikang (Chindwin River).