Historians believe that the Mizos are a part of the great wave of the Mongolian race spilling over into the eastern and southern India centuries ago. The Mizos are divided into several tribes - the Lushais, Pawis, Paithes, Raltes, Pang, Himars, and Kukis etc. Previously believers of the good spirit called Pathan; the Mizo community today is greatly influenced by Christianity. They came under the influence of the British Missionaries in the 19th century, and now most of the Mizos are Christians. One of the beneficial results of Missionary activities was the spread of education. The Mizos are a distinct community and the social unit was the village. Around it revolved the life of a Mizo. The Mizo village is usually set on the top of a hill with the chief's house at the center and the bachelor’s dormitory called Zawlbuk. In a way the focal point in the village was the Zawlbuk where all young bachelors of the village slept. Zawlbuk was the training ground, and indeed, the cradle where the Mizo youth was shaped into a responsible adult member of the society.

The fabric of social life in the Mizo society has undergone tremendous changes over years. Before the British moved into the hills, for all practical purposes the village and the clan formed units of Mizo society. The Mizo code of ethics or Dharma moved around ‘Tlawmngaihna’, an untranslatable term meaning on the part of everyone to be hospitable, kind, unselfish and helpful to others. Tlawmngaihna to Mizo stands for the compelling moral force which finds expression in self-sacrifice for the service of the others.