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Alternative name | Sadhayapur |
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Location | Lower Dibang Valley district, Arunachal Pradesh, India |
Coordinates | 28°02′48.2″N96°0′20.7″E / 28.046722°N 96.005750°E |
Type | Settlement |
Length | 4.5 km |
Width | 2.5 km |
History | |
Material | Bricks, Stone, Soil |
Founded | 8th century |
Abandoned | 16th century |
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Bhismaknagar is an archeological site in Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located near Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district. [1] The remains are generally ascribed to the rule of the Sutiyas, a Bodo-Kachari (Tibeto-Burmese) ethnic group [2] who ruled over the region of Sadiya from 11th to 16th Century CE. [3]
The name Bhismaknagar was first observed in the Assam District Gazetteer of the year 1928 [4] —reference to a work by the 16th-century seer Sankardev that was popular in the Sadiya region (which eventually found its way into the later Chutia chronicles.) [note 1]
Historically, the region was known as Sadhayapura (the rulers being Sadhayapur-ishwar) as per copper inscriptions [7] and the fort formed part of the capital region of the Chutia king Laksminarayana, [8] also known as Che-lung in Tai Buranjis (meaning "Great City" in English).
It is located in Lower Dibang Valley district. The campus of the old city is spread over an area of 2500 acres.
Bhismaknagar is an important ancient archeological site. The site was one of the stronghold of the Chutia Kingdom. The ruins have been dated between the 11th-15th centuries. [9] Bhismaknagar has been identified with Sadhayapuri (or Svadhayapuri), the political centre of the Chutia Kingdom. [10] Based on an inscriptions on brick, it is assumed to have been the capital of Chutia king Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, of the early 15th century. Paleographical analysis supports this dating. [11]
The fort, with its fortifications and buildings, is built of fired bricks. The fortified city is spread over an area of 10 square km. The wall, spread on the east, west and south directions, is 4.5 meters high and 6 meters wide, made using granite stone (6-9 courses) [12] [13] [14] and bricks. In the north, the Mishmi hills provided a natural barrier. Although very less excavation has been carried out by the Arunachal government, preliminary excavations have revealed three tanks and two gates in the eastern and western directions. [15]
The Bhismaknagar central complex extended over an area of 1860 square meters and displays three halls, six ingresses and two extension rooms. There is also a 2 meters high stone wall inside the complex. The architecture of the fort displays the medieval culture. While quarrying the fort the enormous pieces of work of art like potteries, terracotta figurines, terracotta plaques and decorative tiles were preserved. [13]
Arunachal Pradesh is a state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and largest town. It borders the Indian states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east, and a disputed 1,129 km border with China's Tibet Autonomous Region in the north at the McMahon Line. It is disputed by China and claimed as part of Tibet, although this claim is internationally unrecognized and India maintains its control over the state. China occupied some regions of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962 but later withdrew its forces.
Bihu is a set of three important cultural festivals unique to the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October or November, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The festivals present an admixture of Tibeto-Barman, Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan traditions entwined so intricately that it is impossible to separate them—festivals which are uniquely Assamese to which all communities of Assam had contributed elements. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival.
The Mishmi people are an ethnic group of Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh, India. The area is known as the Mishmi Hills. Only one group, called the Deng, occupy Zayu County in southern Tibet.
Lohit is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezu. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Arunachal Pradesh, after Papum Pare and Changlang.
Lakhimpur district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarter is located at North Lakhimpur. The district is bounded on the North by Siang and Papumpare districts of Arunachal Pradesh and on the East by Dhemaji District and Subansiri River. Majuli District stands on the Southern side and Biswanath District is on the West.
Sadiya is a town in Tinsukia district, Assam. It was the capital of the Chutia Kingdom and after the downfall of the kingdom it became the seat of the Sadiya-khowa-Gohain of the Ahom kingdom. Extensive remains of buildings and fortifications built during the rule of the Chutias near Sadiya still point to the importance of the region in the past. Historically Sadiya referred to the Chutiya kingdom which included at times the districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Tinsukia. It is claimed to be the center of development of the eastern Assamese dialects, the inscription here are written in a Tai script. Its stands on a grassy plain, almost surrounded by forested Himalayan mountains, on the right bank of Lohit River which is locally considered the main stream of the Brahmaputra River. The deepest point of the Brahmaputra River is located near this village. It is famous for a flower named satphul, which is much like Jasmine.
The Dimasa Kingdom was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom were examples of new states that emerged from indigenous communities in medieval Assam as a result of socio-political transformations in these communities. The British finally annexed the kingdom: the plains in 1832 and the hills in 1834. This kingdom gave its name to undivided Cachar district of colonial Assam. And after independence the undivided Cachar district was split into three districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district, Cachar district, Hailakandi district. The Ahom Buranjis called this kingdom Timisa.
Bodo–Kacharis is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. These peoples are speakers of either Bodo–Garo languages or Assamese. Some Tibeto-Burman speakers who live closely in and around the Brahmaputra valley, such as the Mising people and Karbi people, are not considered Bodo–Kachari. Many of these peoples have formed early states in the late Medieval era of Indian history and came under varying degrees of Sanskritisation.
Roing is the district headquarter of Lower Dibang Valley district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is the last major township at the north-eastern frontier of India.
The Deori people, are one of the major Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. They refer to themselves as "Jimochayan" which means children's of Sun in their native language. They historically lived in the area of Sadiya, Joidaam, Patkai foothills and in the upper plains or also called as the hinterland of the Brahmaputra Valley. Scanty information was found in few books and official records. The Deori language belongs to the Boro-Garo branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family. The community has maintained their racial traits, language, religion, folktales and traditional beliefs through the centuries. They were divided into Dibang-Diyongial(Dibongia), Midoyan/Tengapania, Luitugan/Borgoya,Patorgoya. The native language is retained only by the Dibongia group. They call themselves Jimochanaya.
The Chutia Kingdom was a late medieval state that developed around Sadiya in present Assam and adjoining areas in Arunachal Pradesh. It extended over almost the entire region of present districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, and some parts of Dibrugarh in Assam, as well as the plains and foothills of Arunachal Pradesh. The kingdom fell around the year 1524 to the Ahom Kingdom after a series of conflicts and the capital area ruled by the Chutia rulers became the administrative domain of the office of Sadia Khowa Gohain of the Ahom kingdom.
Deori is a Tibeto-Burman language in the la Tibeto-Burman languages family spoken by the Deori people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Deori are also a part of Bodo–Kachari people. Among the four territorial groups only the Dibongiya have retained the language. The others—Patorgoyan, Tengaponiya, and Borgoyan—have shifted to Assamese. It is spoken in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, and in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Sivsagar and Jorhat districts of Assam.
Ita Fort in Itanagar town is an important historical sites in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The name literally means "Fort of Bricks". It also lends its name to the city Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The Ita Fort at Arunachal Pradesh is generally assumed to be built by the Sutiya kings in the 14th or the 15th century. The fort has an irregular shape, built mainly with bricks dating back to the 14th - 15th century. The total brickwork is of 16,200 cubic metre lengths which was probably built by kings of the Sutiya kingdom which ruled the region during that time. The fort has three different entrances at three different sides, which are the western, the eastern and the southern side.
The Mishmi Hills are located at the northeastern tip of India, in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh. On the Chinese side, they form the southern parts of Nyingchi Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Gomsi is an ancient archaeological site located between Rani Village and Sika Tode in East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is dated to the 13th-14th century by the Directorate of Research, Government of Arunachal Pradesh and is associated with the Chutia Kingdom. It is located at the field of Rani Village, about 15 km from the town of Pasighat.
The Chutia people are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was widely displaced and dispersed in other parts of Upper Assam as well as Central Assam. They constitute one of the core groups that form the Assamese people.
Tamreswari temple is a temple for the tribal goddess called Kecaikhati is situated about 18 km away from Sadiya in Tinsukia district, Assam, India. The temple was in the custody of non-Brahmin tribal priests called Deoris. Some remains suggest that a Chutiya king built a wall or the temple itself in the year 1442. There were four different kinds of Deori priest who looked after the temple. The Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali collected dues of the temple and provides animals for sacrifice. The Bar Deori and the Saru Deori performs the sacrifice and sung hymns. The temple was dedicated to Kechaikhati/Pishasi, a powerful tribal deity or a form of the Buddhist deity Tara, commonly found among different Bodo-Kachari groups. The worship of the goddess even after coming under Hindu influence was performed according to her old tribal customs.
Biswanath is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It is one of newly created district in the year by 2015, declared by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 15 August 2015.
Malinithan is an archaeological site containing the ruins of an early medieval period temple on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is assumed to be built by the Chutia kings in the 13th-14th century. Kechai-Khaiti, a tribal goddess found among the Bodo-kachari groups or the Buddhist goddess Tara is considered to be the chief deity worshipped in the ruined temple. The worship of the goddess Kechaikheiti even after coming under Hindu influence was performed according to her old tribal customs.
Kecaikhati is a prominent goddesses from Northeast India. Her shrine is considered to be the Tamreswari Temple, near Paya in Arunachal Pradesh; and she is referred to as Dikkaravasini in the 9th century Kalika Purana whose temple formed the eastern limit of Kamarupa. But unlike Kamakhya and Kamakhya Temple, which acquired Brahmin priests and became associated with the legendary Narakasura and the historical Kamarupa kings, Kecaikhati continued to remain outside the ambit of Brahminical influence and remained under the control of Deori priests during the time of the Chutia kingdom and after up to the present time.