Khamti tribes, also been pronounced as Khampti by the local people of Assam, is actually the sub-tribal group of the Shan people located in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh of India. Few of the Khamti tribes are also been seen in several other districts of Arunachal Pradesh including East Siang district. The people of this tribal group are also inhabitants of Tengapani basin and are descendants of the migrants who came to India during the 18th century.

The houses of the Khamti tribes are constructed on elevated floors with `thatched` ceilings. They made these ceiling of such a low height that the walls remain hidden out. For floor covering special planks made of wood are used while the bamboo splices are utilized for making walls. Another integral part of the life style of Khamti tribes, are individual dormitories that are built for the unmarried ladies and bachelors. In fact dormitories play a significant position in the whole of the Khamti society. Each village has its own dormitory, with youthful girls at one end and little boys at the other. The girl who resides in the girl dormitory of the Khamti village is never been allowed to sleep at her own residence. Only she can go to her home to have her meals. The house of the maidens is considered to be a holy place and some aged maidens are in charge of these houses.

The societal structure of this tribal group is divided into different classes and they maintain their social hierarchy. The priests occupy a major position in the society. The physical characteristics of the Khamti people resemble to the East Asian people.

The Khamti are farmers by profession. The way they used to practice cultivation is quite unique. Setting apart from the practices that most of the other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh the use of the plough, locally known as Thai, is being driven by a single animal. The Khamti tribes produce crops like mustard (hanio), paddy (khapu), and potato (man kala). Although rice is their staple food, sometimes wide varieties of vegetables, meat and fish are widely consumed. `Thou` is a kind of beer prepared from rice and majority of the Khamti tribes have it as a beverage quite regularly.

After undergoing a through survey of the region, the famous Indian anthropologists have derived the fact that the Khamti society as whole, can be segregated into classes, each having distinctive status in the hierarchy of the society. Here, the leaders take the most eminent positions; the priests came just after wielding substantial influence over all the Khamti tribal communities. In the past, the slaves comprise of the lowest rank. The Khamti ardently follow Buddhism mainly Theravada Schools of Buddhism. However, they do not give up consuming meat, just like any other Buddhists. To speak, the Khamti tribes used a dialect of the Tai script, popularly known as Lik-Tai.

The culture of the Khamti tribes is quite enriched as depicted in their brilliant works of crafts, which had a demand in the whole of the Indian market. They made a special type of sword, locally known as dao, is popular especially amongst the people of Assam. What is even more interesting is that apart from carrying out religious norms in great reverence, the priests exhibit their acumen as craftsmanship in various products that they made, namely wooden, bone or ivory works.

Armoury is a part of their life showing an aura of their skill as warriors. Their weapons include poisoned bamboo spikes (panjis), bow and arrows, spear, sword and shields. The Khamti also have firearms, resembling ancient `flint muskets and horse pistols`. The Khamti tribes have the preference for conventional attires.

The costumes of the Khamti men comprise of a blue, skinny jacket, made from cotton cloth. They also wear full- `siu pajai` (sleeved cotton shirt) and phanoi (deep colored lungi). Women dresses constitutes of `siu pajao` (half-sleeved blouse) and also `siu` (deep colored skirt). Siu is prepared from cotton or silk. A colored silk scarf is also their favorite. Their jewelry consists dazzling `amber earrings` and `beaded coral necklaces`. The Khamti tribes adopted different styles of knotting their hairs with the support of a white turban. The Khamti leaders wear a Chinese coat made of silk. The topknots that the Khamti women used for tying hairs add to their beauty.