KHAMPAT SINGZABUANG (Khampat Banyan Tree)

This is the renowned Banyan Tree of the ZO peoples, situated in Khampat village, approximately a two-hour drive from Tamu, Myanmar, near the Moreh border in Chandel District, India.

Khampat is a ZO TOWN that includes communities such as the Chin, Kuki, Mizo, Falam, Haka, etc. The Tamu-Kalaymo highway runs through this village.

The tree is located near a Burmese village, about half a kilometre from Khampat.

Literally, Khampat can be translated as “the beginning of the mountain or hilly regions”, where “Kham” refers to a hill or mountainous range, and “pat” signifies the start or beginning.

Prophecy: In ancient times, a priest sat beneath this banyan tree and declared:
“The branches of the banyan tree will grow longer and longer until they eventually reach the ground. On the day the branches touch the ground, the ZO peoples will unite and reclaim dominion over their ancestral land.”

My friend, who accompanied me, explained, “Some Burmese chopped off the branches before they could touch the ground. A few years ago, lightning struck the tree, splitting it in two.”

Today, the ZO peoples — comprising Chin, Kuki, Mizo, Zomi, Kachin, and others — reside across Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill Tracts), Myanmar, and India.

Khampat Buangpui (in Mizo), Khampat Buongthing (in Kuki), and Khampat Buangkung or Singzabuang (in ZO).

This writer visited Khampat Buangkung on February 19, 2015.

~ Bruce K. Thangkhal, Joint Editor, Zogam Today

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