Life Cycle Rituals
Life cycle rituals, primarily birth, marriage, and death, are crucial aspects of the Ahom’s total worldview. These are discussed in brief as under:
2.3.1 Birth Rituals
Several rituals and taboos related to births are also important elements in the Tai Ahom’s religious beliefs.
Just after the pregnancy of her daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law takes care of her. She keeps herself alert for any situation. She asks her son not to involve himself in any anti-religious activities during the time of his wife’s pregnancy. Even he is not allowed to go out at night. The house is sealed and protected by the mantra (incantations). Some articles such as jaal (fishing net), bogari kayat (branch of plum tree), etc. are hung in the front and back doors and also in other entry or exit passages of the house with the belief that evil spirits cannot enter inside. It is believed that if the husband goes out from the house at night then evil spirits may enter the house with him and harm the foetus (Phukan 2016:82-83). In the fifth month panchamrit five different items such as milk, sugar, ghee, honey, and banana are fed to the pregnant woman. On the day of birth, the lady is segregated in a room and is looked after by a specially trained woman of the village. Men are not permitted to enter the room. After birth, a bamboo sliver is used to cut the umbilical cord of the newly born baby (Phukan 2016:83). The family members beat drums to inform the villagers about the arrival of a new member in their house. To protect the mother and child from bad winds and outside spirits, the movement of mother is restricted to a room. A fire is lit near her bed for quick healing of the womb and recuperating her strength (Phukan 2016:83). On the third day of birth, a ritual is conducted which is known as kacchujaal khuwa or jaal diya. In this ritual, mother is given a special meal with kacchujaal (tender colossi shoots cooked with the powder of black pepper). Along with kacchujaal, meat curry, preferably duck meat is prepared by the family members for the new mother and relatives who are invited to the ritual. After the umbilical cord is dropped off the baby, another ritual is also observed which is known as baj oliuwa. On that day, the new born baby is taken out by the mother’s mother and sacred water is sprinkled on the mother and child for their wellbeing and protection from evil eyes. The ritual is followed by another ritual. The baby is placed on a pira (flat wooden seat) in the sunshine. The grandmother (mother’s mother or father’s mother) slaps the four corners of the pira with a potaguti (grinding stone). It is a symbolic action to protect the baby from dangers. With prayer to God, she slaps or hits the pira and says that ‘from today your enemy and danger from air, water, fire, sky end and you are safe from these dangers’. Within nine to 20 days of birth, hudhi huwa ceremony is observed. It is performed for the purification of the mother, baby, and all members of the family. The social and religious elites of society who are invited to the ceremony give a name to the young for social identification. After this ceremony, the mother and the other members of the family are considered free from pollution related restrictions and allowed to go out and take part in any social ceremony (Phukan 2016:83).2.3.2 Marriage
The Tai Ahom community have some specific and unique marriage rituals. Child marriage is restricted, but the marriage of a widow is permitted in the community. Polygyny was a practice in early time (Rajkumar 2000:64). Marrying a girl from other communities/clans is not a taboo, but they prefer their girls not to marry in other communities/clans. On the other hand, marriage in between same khel (same branch of the clan) is not permitted (Rajkumar 2000:64). For example a girl from the king’s clan cannot marry a boy from the priestly clan, but a boy from the king’s clan can marry a girl from the said clan.
They also follow the rule of clan exogamy. So, for example, a Mohan (a priestly clan) cannot marry a Mohan or a Deodhai (another priestly clan) cannot marry a Deodhai, but a Mohan can marry into Deodhai clan and vice versa. It is also the practice that a boy from a lower ranked clan can marry a girl of an upper ranked clan, but a lower ranked clan’s girl cannot marry an upper ranked clan’s boy. The promotion and demotion of social rank, particularly of individuals, was determined through the institution of marriage. For example, if a prince marries a lower class girl then the social status of the girl would go up, but if a princess marries the boy from a lower ranked clan then her social status would demote. This rule prevails in other clans of the Ahom. Therefore, to keep away from same clan marriage the Tai Ahom people generally follow the vamshawali (their detailed genealogies) before the marriage negotiation. If everything is found in order, then both parties i.e. parents and relatives of the girl and boy fix a date for marriage. Before the date of marriage or on the morning of the marriage day, a ritual is performed which is known as jurandiya. It is a pre-marriage ceremony where the groom’s party assemble in the bride’s house to offer dress, ornaments, and other items to the bride for use on the day of marriage. After the jurandiya, chak-long is observed to complete the whole marriage system. Chalk-long is the age old custom of the Ahom marriage rule. In Chalk-long marriage, a circle, popularly known as Mo-rol is drawn on the ground with a beautiful design of a lotus of seven different colours where 101 earthen lamps are lit. The Tai Ahom people believe that burning lamps placed on the mural indicate the presence of ancestors as witness to the occasion. The bride and groom sit by the side of the mural with other relatives. Simultaneously, the three traditional priests collectively perform their religious rituals and recite the hymns from their traditional text while the ceremony goes on. Finally, the bride and groom take oath before the lit earthen lamp on the mural. The bride offers a traditional sword, known as hengdang, to the groom and says: “with this hengdang first you have to save the nation, then the family and finally me from the enemy”. Rik-khwan is another important part of chak-long. It is also called as ayu tula or pani tula ceremony in which the female folks go to the tank, pond, or river to bring khwan or ayu (water). With that water the bride and groom take baths following traditional norms in their own houses respectively. Padmeswar Gogoi, a renowned Tai Scholar, mentions that the marriage rituals of Ahom are a perfect blend of ancient Tai-Ahom, Buddhist, and Hindu formalities. The ceremonies of Rik khvan, Deo ban, and Ap-tang; consultation of Buranji (history); presentation of hengdang (a sword with wider blade); the exchange of gold rings, lime box, and knife; and oblation to the five deities are from Tai-Ahom custom. But, the lotus circle with one hundred one lamps, ceremonial bath, and uruli (hulu huli sound made with tongue) are from Buddhist and Hindu traditions respectively. In recent years the design has changed to simple circles.2.3.3 Death Ritual
The death ritual of the Tai Ahom community of Assam is performed in two different ways. One is typically Ahom custom and the other is Hindu influenced tradition. In the past the Tai Ahom people buried their dead in the maidam.6 But after 1722, a section of the Tai-Ahom people started cremating the bodies of the dead under the influence of Hindu- Aryan culture (Rajkumar 2000:64). It is noted that though the dead body was cremated according to the Hindu-Aryan culture, the maidam was built for the dead. The practice of maidam way of burial is still in currency among the Phuralungs and a few sections of the Ahom who follow Moamoria (a section of Neo-Vaishnavism led by Moamoria Mahant - a high caste Hindu priest) and also by certain families professing Hindu religion (Rajkumar 2000:64).
The maidam dia or gor kora is a unique custom of the Ahom. In a ruk-dang (coffin), made of urium (Bischofia javanica) timber, the dead body is brought to the burial place. Today, this timber is scarce or no longer available in many areas. Hence, the people who practise the maidam way of burial make their ruk-dang from other timber or bamboo. Before the dead body is put in to the ruk-dang, the body is washed with a special paste prepared from the combination of black gram and turmeric. Oil is also applied to the body. Then new clothes are offered to the dead body and wrapped around (Phukan 2016:83). In the case of kings of the Ahom dynasty it was different. The king was kept in a special room wearing his royal dress and ornaments along with other goods such as gold, diamond, silver, etc. which the king used in his life. Numbers of ligira-likshow (attendants) were also deployed to look after the dead body. Until completion of construction of maidam, the king was kept inside said room. After the completion of maidam, the king was buried along with all articles and some animals, such as elephants, and the servants (Rajkumar 2000:78). Other religious practices were done by the Deodhai, the Mohan, and the Bailong, the priest clan members of the Tai Ahom subsequently. This maidam system is still alive in some selective districts of Upper Assam.The priest clans and converted Hindu Ahoms observe traditional halita jaluwa (also called halita laguwa) ritual in the house of the dead before the dead body is brought to the burial place. It is believed that just after the death, the dead transforms to a griha dam. The Ahom who believe in Neo-Vaishnavism of Sankardeva and Madhabdeva, do not believe in ancestor worship and hence, the halita jaluwa ritual is not observed in their households. Whether it is maidam practice of the Phuralung or cremation practice of Ahom Hindus to dispose of the dead, the death rituals performed by both sections follow traditional norms. The death ritual ceremonies of the Tai Ahom are generally observed on the third, tenth, and 11th day of death (Phukan 2016:84).
Each three sections of Tai Ahom i.e. the Phuralung and the priest clans, converted Hindu Ahom, and the Ahom who follow the Neo-Vaishavism of Sankardev and Madhabdev, observe tiloni ritual after the third day of death. The tiloni is regarded a purificatory ritual and its observance differs from other sections. The Hindu, the Phuralung, and the Neo-Vaishnavite follow their respective customs. After the completion of religious activities they take local Luk - lao or laopani (rice beer) with a vegetable curry and salt. After the end of the ritual activities the family members and the relatives take boiled food.The converted Hindu Ahom and followers of Neo-Vaishnavism sections observe tiloni in similar way. The villagers arrange a religious function followed by feeding of pitha guri (rice powder) to the family members and relatives so that they break the fast.
On the tenth day of death, Phuralung and the priest clans organise another ritual which is known as chum phun ban phi (ancestor worship). In a similar way, on the 11th or 13th day, they observe damotdiya or dam phi to honour and remember the deceased ancestors. The other two sections of the Ahom observe dahha (ritual of offering pinda - the ball of rice and other items - in the river and performance of purificatory rituals) and kaj (socioreligious performance) on the tenth and 11th day of death respectively. Dahha and kaj are essentially ceremonial rituals of purification. On the tenth day, daha is observed by the villagers to purify the household from the akhush or suwa or pollution (the Tai Ahom people believe that the house in which death occurs and the houses of the family’s relatives become polluted). If daha is complete it is believed that the house becomes purified. Accordingly, on 11th day of death, the kaj is organised widely in the house of the dead. In kaj the converted Hindu Ahom do their ritual following Bamuniya Niyam (Brhamanical precept). After the early part of rituals, nam kirtan (repeated recitation of the name of the Lord Krishna followed by playing of musical instruments like khol (a type of drum), and tal (cymbal)) is organised by the villagers (Phukan 2016:84). The Vaishnavites do not believe in Brahmin culture but believe in nam kirtan only. Therefore, they organise only nam kirtan on that day. On the night of the 11th day or the next day another ceremony is organised which is known as giyatoli bhuj for maishya sparsha.7 The disciples of Srimanta Shankardeva Sangh (the largest religious organisation of the state of Assam, India) follow rituals which emphasise vegetarianism and hence they perform a toilla sparsha (touching oil) ritual. After completion of these rituals, the family members of the dead are free from all types of restrictions and permitted to take part in the social and religious functions of the society.
Apart from the gods and goddesses invoked during the festivals mentioned, the Tai Ahom people also observe several other rituals and worship other gods and goddesses at different times. Among them, worship of Jashingpha (goddess of wisdom) and Lakshmi ( goddess of wealth) are worth mentioning. For enlightenment and knowledge, the Tai Ahom worshipJashingpha annually and perform Lakshmi Puja for peace and stability. The Ahom priests perform these rituals in the traditional method offering different materials, birds, and animals for sacrifice. The main aim of the worship of the goddess is to earn blessings for good health, wealth, prestige, and power.
2.4