The Zemes are one of the tribes found in Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur. They belong to the family of the Tibeto-Burman language group. They have a population of 30,703 (2001 Census). Formerly, they have known as ‘Zeliangrong’ comprised of Zeme, Liangmai, and Rongmei. However, they experienced a stage of confusion in the 1980s. Eventually, the Zemes of the upper range changed the nomenclature from the Zeliangrong Baptist Association to the Zeme Baptist Church Council (ZBCC) which is used to the present day. Further, they resolved to attach (N) along with the name ‘Zeme’ which indicates ‘North’ in order to differentiate the nomenclature of the dialect from the Southern Zeme group of Assam and Manipur. In fact, the Gospel reached these people in the last part of the 19th century through the works of the American Baptist Missionaries. However, there was a period of stagnation till 1924. By 1925 the people started embracing the Gospel and in course of time, many accepted Jesus as their Saviour. Today majority of them embraced Christianity out of which one-third of its population still practice traditional religion. The Bible Society published the Zeme (N) NT in 1992. This venture brought a significant impact upon the church. The present project is accepted by the Bible Society and initiated in 1993. This project has been launched with a view to benefiting both Christians and Non-Christians. It is expected that through this project the Christian growth will also be strengthened. Thus the Zeme Naga Bible CL was published in 2009.
This translation, published by the Bible Society of India, was published in 2009.
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