[5] They were known as Lalungs/Lalong/Laleng in the Assamese Buranjis and in Colonial literature[6][7] and in the Constitution of India, though members of the group prefer to call themselves Tiwa (meaning "the people who were lifted from below").

According to Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the Tiwas are originally the Pator-goya clan of the ethnic Deori people.

From this, it can be presumed that the Tiwa people first met the Karbis when they proceeded towards the west to Nagoan by crossing the Brahmaputra.This is moreover supported by the folklore of the Tiwa people who believe that they migrated a long time back from their homeland which was situated in the eastern part of undivided Darrang district (Sonitpur district).

This folklore of Hilali is also shared by the Sadiyal Kacharis (i.e. Sonowals, Chutias, Deoris) which points out to the fact that the entire area including the hills of Arunachal, and the present-day districts of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar was once a single kingdom which was bounded by the Dikarai and Dikhou.

However, some other experts believe that there has been no scientific evidence to support the claim that the Tiwas are related to the Pator-goya clan, which prompted a section of the Deoris to begin a search.

A preliminary investigation from 30 September to 5 October under the aegis of Jimachaya Giyan Aru Juktibadi Samaj has given a positive indication of the presence of Deori people in Kachin province and near Yangon in Myanmar.

In the Assam Census report of 1881, Wadell made a significant proposition about the Tiwas, "The Lalungs got mixed up with the Garos and the Mikirs.

The historical role of Kobâ (Gobha) and the Tiwas as mediators between plains and hills in Central Assam is enacted every year during an old fair, the Jonbeel Mela (Chunbîl Melâ).

The chief of the Tiwas tried to yoke off the Ahom supremacy during the reign of Siva Singha but was suppressed.

This state was formerly an appendages of the government of Guwahati under the Borphukan, but during the Moamoria rebellion, the area came under the rule of the Jaintias.

The Hills Tiwa live in the westernmost areas "The Ancient Lalung - Tiwa Hills" now known as Umswai Valley of Amri Constituency under the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council of Amri block in West Karbi Anglong district (Assam) and as well as in the Northeastern corner of Ri-Bhoi district (Meghalaya).

[15] In most cases, the husband goes to live in her wife's family settlement (matrilocality), and their children are included in their mother's clan.

[citation needed] The Hill Tiwas society is organized around seven old villages which constitute its political as well as ritual center.

Plains Tiwa live on the flatlands of the Southern bank of the Brahmaputra valley, The following places below are the areas mostly in Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, Kamrup (Rural) and (Metro), Sibsagar, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts.

Their patronymics are not derived from their clan's names but are common Assamese surname-names instead (mostly Lalung, Pator, Senapati, Manta, Dekaraja, Dewraja, Bordoloi, Konwar, Doloi, Kakoti, Deka, Dewri, Deuri, Deory, Deori, Bhuyan, etc.).

(Note: Pisû = Bihu Kham = Festivals, Phûja = Puja).They also organize the Jonbeel Mela every year in which the barter system of trade is still prevalent.

[web 2][web 3] Government (35) Bharatiya Janata Party: 33 Asom Gana Parishad: 2 Opposition (1) Indian National Congress: 1 Tiwas, under the denomination of "Lalung", have been recorded as a Scheduled Tribe since the first Constitution Order (1950) for the State of Assam excluding the autonomous districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills (now named Dima Hasao), thus leaving the Hill Tiwas out.