Khamtis

Khamti Shan

Tai Khamti ชาวไทคำตี่
Diorama of Tai Khamti people in Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar
Total population
~214,031
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar	~200,000
India	14,031
Languages
Khamti, Shan, Burmese, Assamese, other
Religion
Theravada Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Thai people, Lao people, Shan people, Dai people

The Tai Khamti (Thai: ชาวไทคำตี่, Chao Tai Kam Dtee) (Burmese: ခန္တီးရှမ်းလူမျိုး, Hkamti Shan) (Shan language: တႆး ၶမ်းတီႈ [tai˥˩]) (Khamti : တဲး ၵံးတီႈ) or simply Khamti as they are also known, are a sub-group of the Tai peoples found in the Sagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Namsai district and Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Smaller numbers can be found in the Lakhimpur district of Assam and possibly in some parts of China. According to the census of India (2011) the Khamtis have a population of 140,31, out of which 12,925 live in Arunachal Pradesh and 1,106 in Assam. However in Myanmar their total population is estimated at 200,000 people¹. The tribe's name is also spelled Khampti by the Assamese.

The Tai Khamtis who inhabit the region around the Tengapani basin were descendants of migrants who came during the 18th century from the Hkamti region, the mountainous valley of the Irrawaddy. The Khamti possess South East Asian features.

The Tai-Khamti are followers of Theravada Buddhism. The Tai-Khamti adopted a script of Shan (Tai) origin, known as Lik-Tai for their language. Their mother tongue is known as Khamti language.