LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 26:7 July 2026
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Some Aspects of Kinship Terminology in Reang

Dr. Daimalu Brahma, MA, NET, PhD. and
Dr. Rotnojoy Reang, MA, MPhil, PhD.

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to discuss on Kinship Terminology of Reang spoken in Tripura and Mizoram. The Reang are patrilineal kinship system that serves as a vital linguistic framework for organizing social and familial hierarchies. Belonging to the Bodo-Garo subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman language family, the Reang lexicon consists primarily of monosyllabic bound roots that cannot stand alone. To form grammatically complete words, these roots strictly require pronominal possessive prefixes to mark perspective, such as the first-person prefix /a-/ or /ai-/, second-person /n?-/, /ni-/ or /nu-/, and third-person /b?-/, /bi-/ or /bu-/. The language rigorously categorizes consanguine, collateral, and affinal relations based on generational seniority, relative age, and strict rules of tribal endogamy. A defining feature of Reang kinship terminology is its emphasis on relative age and strict decorum-based taboos that forbid family members from addressing elders or spouses by their personal names. For instance, within one's own generation, collateral branches are merged with direct siblings and classified purely by relative seniority to Ego, using terms like ata for an elder brother/male cousin and phaiyong for a younger brother/male cousin. To avoid direct name usage between spouses, the community relies heavily on teknonymy, addressing each other through their children using phrases like Sareti ?mpha 'father of Sareti'. The paper will focus on morphological features of the kinship words in the language. The prefix /?m-/ is also discussed in this paper where the affix can form kinship words as well as other lexical nouns.

Keywords:Koireng; Reduplication; Tibeto-Burman Language; Morphology; Linguistic Anthropology

Introduction

The Reang is an ethnic tribe of Tripura and their language belongs to the Bodo-Garo subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is primarily spoken in Tripura and some adjacent parts of Mizoram and Assam as well as some parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. While ‘Reang’ is a widely recognized exonym-historically the name of the community's last 'Kaskau' (king)-the native endonym is Bru. Etymologically, Bru is derived from beraiha, meaning 'wanderer,' reflecting the community's ancestral history of migration in search of food and shelter (Reang, 2021). According to the 2011 Census of India, the population of this community stands at approximately 1,88,080. The Reang is used in the home domain language and in the local village markets. The language is also known as Kau Bru (Kau means language; Bru means people). It is closely related to other Bodo-Garo languages such as Kokborok, Dimasa and Bodo. The term 'Reang' is popularly known by the people of different linguistic communities. The present study of the language is Tripura variety.

Review of Literature

The study of kinship terminology in the Reang (Kau-Bru) is a Tibeto-Burman tongue primarily spoken in Tripura and some adjacent parts of Mizoram. The study reveals a complex system that intertwines linguistic structure with social hierarchy. While specific scholarly works dedicated solely to 'Reang kinship terminology' are limited compared to those of sister languages; existing research highlights several key dimensions.

Prof. G. Baskaran (2016) mentioned in his 'Reang Word Book' regarding the lists of basic vocabulary about natural objects, body parts, housing, and household articles, numerals, adjectives verbs, and Adverbs, etc.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Daimalu Brahma, MA, NET, PhD.
Assistant Professor,
Barama College, Barama, Baksa-781346, Assam
daimalubrahma85@gmail.com
&
Dr. Rotnojoy Reang, MA, MPhil, PhD.
Junior Research Officer, RIWATCH
Centre for Mother Languages, Khinjili, Roing-792110, Arunachal Pradesh
rotnojoyreang@gmail.com

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