2.0 Introduction
Assam, a state of Indian Union, is situated in the North-Eastern part of India and surrounded by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh in the north, and Mizoram and Tripura in the south.
It has common a boundary with Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh in the east and Meghalaya and West Bengal in the west. It is located in the region between latitudes 24°3' and 27°58' North and longitudes 89°5' and 96°1' East. The state was annexed along with British India in different phases from 1826; and since then it is a politico- administrative part of the main land of India, though there are lots of oppositions in the state after India’s independence. The present territory of Assam got its shape finally in 1972 as per provisions of state re-organisation Acts.Assam has a long history of its own which dates back to the ancient period. It has also references in the mythologies in different names. In ancient time, Assam was known by different names in the epics and in early historical literature. According to the epigraphs and literature, Assam was known as Pragjyotisha or Kamrupa (Bharali 2005:61). Both the epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have mentioned this area as Pragjyotisha which includes whole of Assam and present Bangladesh as well as the hill tracts up to the border with China (Barpujari 2004:1). The popular name of this land, i.e. Assam is probably derived from the word ‘Asama’ which means uneven as distinguished from the samanata (evenness, plains) (Baruah 2013:76). The geographical composition of Assam is not homogenous. Hills and mountains prominently form the topography of the state. B. K. Kakati is of the opinion that the word Asama (peerless) might have been latter Sanskritisation of an earlier form of Acham which means ‘undefeated’ or ‘conquerors’. On the other hand, some historians and writers, on the basis of relevant documents, argued that the word Assam might have been derived from the word Ahom (Baruah 2013:76), a race which ruled the state for a period of about six hundred years, whom history recognises as a warrior and unchallengeable community of those times (Saikia 2013:23).
The Ahom, a Tai-Mongoloid group who migrated to Assam from present-day Yunan Province of China in 1228, are basically the people of Syam-Chinese linguistic stock and originally inhabited the central and sub-central parts of China till 400 BC (Gogoi 2021).
30
DOI: 10.4324/9781003516415-4
According to some historians, this community of people was involved in frequent fights and wars with other groups of Chinese people for their survival. Due to this reason and the unfavourable demographic and climatic condition of their original habitat, a fraction of the Tai community of China including the Tai Ahom started migrating to the foothills of the Chinese mountain range where they lived for several decades. In further courses of time, they spread up to the South-East Asian locations especially to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, North East India, and many other places for permanent settlement (Gogoi 2021). S. L. Boruah mentioned that as a result of a dispute with a brother, Siu-ka-Pha, the first Ahom king in Assam, left his home land in 1215 AD and settled in Assam in 1228; and slowly and steadily through a policy of conciliation and assimilation and military might, he consolidated and expanded his position in the Brahmaputra Valley (Baruah 2013:220-221). The contribution of Tai Ahom towards the formation of Assamese society, culture, and tradition is remarkable. In Puspa Gogoi’s The Tai of North East and the Ahom Religion and Custom, J. N. Phukan’s The Tai Ahom Language, Umesh Chetia’s Tai Ahom Buranji Aru Sanskriti, Lila Gogoi’s Tai Ahom Culture and Sanskriti, etc. explicitly depict the contributions of the Tai Ahom to the composite Assamese culture. The Tai Ahom presently live in upper Assam, particularly in the districts of Sibsagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Morigaon, Kamrup (both Metro and Rural), and Karbi Anglong.
The Ahom are rich in their cultural heritage. Their culture and rituals are something different from other communities of Assam.
They have an unambiguous system of social, political, economic, and religious traditions, beliefs, and customs, and a language and script of their own, which are completely different from the other people who have been living in Brahmaputra Valley. However, to assimilate with the other communities of the valley and considering the changing socio-political situation, the Tai Ahom adopted some traditions and customs of other local communities, probably as a political expediency. Due to this reason many Hindu rites and beliefs have been adopted by the Tai Ahom community. Similarly, the Tai Ahom have also come under the influence of the Neo-Vaishnavism movement of Srimant Sankardeva and Sri Madhabdeva. Hence, some Vaishnavite customs, rituals, and principles have also been adopted by these people. Despite the changes, the priest classes of Ahom such as Mohan, Deodhai, and Bailung still continue to observe their customary ceremonies, religious rituals, and festivals following traditional norms and practices. Here, an attempt has been made to discuss different traditional rituals, festivals, and customs of Tai Ahom of Assam which are still extant.2.1