Chin

Member of a people of Mongol origin who speak a Tibeto-Burman language occupying western Myanmar and the Irrawaddy Valley. The Chin practice shifting cultivation, growing rice, maize, and millet and rearing animals, including the gayal, an Indian wild ox. Some groups are egalitarian, others are headed by hereditary chiefs who traditionally received agricultural tribute from commoners. Today some Chin are Hindus, some Christians, and others maintain their old religious beliefs.