History
Like other Naga tribes, there are few written historical records of Rengmas.
According to the local traditions, the Rengmas and the Lothas (or Lhotas) were once part of a single tribe. There are also oral records of a mighty struggle between the combined Rengma villages, and the Lotha village of Phiro. There are records of the Rengmas' conflict with the Angami Nagas.
Slavery used to be a practice among the Rengmas, and the slaves were known by the names menugetenyu and itsakesa. By the time the British arrived in the Naga region, the slavery was a declining practice, and no Rengma appears to have been a slave during this time.
In Assam, the Rengma tribals are found in the Rengma Hills which was once a part of Naga Hills but brought under assam jurisdiction for administrative convinience and now the refugees (karbis) who migrated from khasi hills have taken over. Compared to the Mikirs or karbis, they are the sons of the land. The karbis however, by their political strategies managed to name the land land as Karbi Anglong. But as Rengmas prgress more in the field of education they are now seeking justice.
Read more about this topic: Rengma Naga
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