Turung people
The Turung people (also known as the Tai Turung, Assamese: টাই টুৰুং) are a numerically small Buddhist community in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Assam Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Languages | |
| Assamese, Turung (former) | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Singpho, Bamars |
They originally migrated from Upper Burma and settled in Assam in the latter part of 18th century. During migration, they were captured and made slaves by the Singpho people and hence have had a lot of Singpho influences on their culture, language, and lifestyle.
They presently reside in certain pockets in Upper Assam in the districts of Golaghat, Jorhat and Karbi Anglong.
Although the origin of the word Turung is not known, many believe that it is derived from the name of a river in Patkai region named Turungpani. Another school of thought is that the word Turung is derived from the word Tai Long meaning Great Tai since these people were of Shan origin.
The present population of the community is unknown but is believed to be around 10,000.