Identification. The Purum are an Old Kuki tribe occupying the Manipur Hills area of India and Myanmar (Burma). In 1931 they were located in four independent villages: Purum Khulen, Purum Tampak, Purum Changninglong, and Purum Chumbang. The name "Purum" might mean "hide from tiger," as Tarakchandra Das and John Shakespear have suggested.
Location. The geographic extent of the region inhabited by the Purum ranges from 24°23′ to 24°27′ N and from 93°56′ to 94°2′ E.
Demography. As of 1931 there were 303 Purums living in Khulen, Tampak, Chumbang, and Changninglong. In 1977 the Purum population numbered 300.
Linguistic Affiliation. Purum (also called Puram) is a Tibeto-Burman language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan Phylum.
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