Genesis

As per the Ahom Chronicles, the Nocte tribe have been living in Tirap since the beginning of 12th Century AD. The Nocte tribe migrated from at least five places of Myanmar, and speak four dialects.

The term Nocte/Nokte, was coined in the 1950s. It has been derived from two words: Nok, which means village, and Tey, which means people. In the medieval and pre-colonial period, the Nocte tribe was called Noga or Naga, because of the tribe's close ethnic relation with the Naga tribes of Nagaland. As per the location of the village, the Ahoms called the Noctes as Namsangya or Namsangia, Borduaria or Bor Duris and Paniduaria. The native name of the above villages are Hakhunthin or Thinnyan, Sahla and Longchang, respectively. Read about the History of the Nocte term.

In 1814, under the lead of Lowang and Mongwang families of Namsang, a small group of Noctes belonging to various villages came down from the hills and settled on the banks of Dihing River at Jeypore in Naharkatia (Assam), which is about 30 kilometres away from the tribe’s mainland. This Nocte village in Assam is called Pontuan. As of 2020, there are around 38 houses in Pontuan village with a population of not more than 200. Read more on Pontuan Noctes. 

A considerable number of Nocte families reside in Rajanagar area of Changlang district.

Wang Hang, was the name of the chief who led the migration of the Nocte group from Hukong in Myanmar. He is the ancestor of the ruling families of Borduria, Namsang and Laptang villages. In some texts, he is mentioned as Khunbao. Khunbao is actually a Tai word which is used to signify a person of a royal blood and given the fact that the Noctes were Buddhist in Myanmar, the name should not sound alien. Wang Hang had two sons Khunlang and Khunlai. They were succeeded by Tangthok and Tankam. 

Another group of Noctes migrated from Hakhi Haja in Myanmar under the lead of Dambang Kakon . He is the ancestor of the ruling family of Dadam village.

Naisan led another group from Wakka area of Longding district. He is the ancestor of the ruling family of Lapnan and Luthong villages.

The group led by Wang Hang migrated from Hukong Valley in Myanmar. They came via Pongsau Pass and down to Jeypore in Assam, along the Dihing river. Then they came up the hill and settled near the present Laptang village. They followed Buddhism in Myanmar. Golden umbrellas, stone tablets and wood bark writings in Bali or Pali language, were found in the possession of Wang Hang's descendants, as a testimony of their origin. 

Dambang Kakon and his group migrated from a place called Hakhi Haja, under Patkai Hill range, in Myanmar and settled in present Dadam village. On their way, they stayed in the Laju circle, home of Ollo and Tutsa tribes, for three days and three nights.

Dadam was originally inhabited by the Wakka Wanchos. To clear them away, Kakon invited Kamhua Wanchos and then settled down together. For this reason, Dadam have two chiefs, representing two different groups - one, the group of Kakon, and two, the group of Kamhua. However, Kamhua group speaks the Nocte language.

Under the lead of Naisan, a group of eighty families migrated from a place called Ofan nu, from Myanmar. Then they migrated to Wakka village of Longding district. After that, they moved to Kam Sinjong near present Kheti village. The people of Kheti frequently attacked them, and thus, they migrated to Luthong or Lothung. When their population increased, Lapnan village was formed.

The forefathers of Doidam village migrated from a place called Mankong in Myanmar and came to the Patkai Hills via Soro and Tilang. Crossing the hills, they came to Changlang district. From there, they went to Fanglim. Then they moved to Tutnu, Wakka, Tilang etc., and finally to Doidam. The main cause of their migration was to find suitable land for cultivation. At Tilang, they were divided into two groups - one settled in Doidam, and the other went to Changlang.

In search of suitable land for cultivation, the forefathers of Soha village abandoned their homeland called Ngeimung in Myanmar. Crossing the Patkai Hills, they came to a place called Thungja and then to Phungsa. Both these places are on the bank of Barap river in Laju circle. From Phungsa, they crossed a Langtok Hill and briefly stayed in Longcho. Then they came to Moinak, and finally to present day Soha village.

The Nocte language falls within the Tibeto-Burman language family. There are four main dialects in the Nocte language, and they are:

The migratory groups from Hukong and Hakhi Haja speak the Hawa dialect. There are many villages who speak the Hawa dialect, and some of them are Bera, Borduria, Chinkoi, Dadam, Namsang, Hunkan, Kaimai, Kheti, Kuthin, Laho, Laptang, Moktowa, Sipini, Sumsi, Khunchha, Wasathong etc.

Hawa dialect has been given the code ISO 639:3:njb Naga, Nocte. As per renowned anthropologist and linguist, Robbins Burling, the Nocte language can be categorized together with Bodo-Garo, Koch, Konyak and Jingphaw languages into the Sal subgroup of Tibeto Burman language family. 

Know more about the Hawa dialect from Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal (1849) and Verbal Agreement and Grammatical Description of Hawa (2016).

Khappa dialect is rich in terms of vocabulary and grammar. It is spoken in only three villages, namely, Noksa, Tupi and Polung. Khappa people also migrated from Hukong. In the beginning, they were ruled by the Tangdong dynasty, but with the passage of time, Wang Hang and his descendants became the ruling family. An agreement was reached between them, and it was decided that the common tongue of the Noctes will be the Hawa dialect, and all the folk songs will be sung in Khapa dialect.

People who migrated from Mankong and Ngeimung, speak the Fong dialect, sometimes also written as Phong. This dialect is spoken in a number of villages such as Doidam, Dongrong, Kenon, Makat, Mopaya, Soha etc. They are originally Tangsa tribe of Changlang district.

Wancho is not a dialect, but a rich language, with script, of the Wancho tribe of Longding district. Villages such as Lapnan, Luthong and Chasa, speak the Wancho language.