Bihu is of three types and it is an important cultural festival 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.
Buranjis are a class of historical chronicles and manuscripts associated with the Ahom kingdom. There were written initially in the Ahom Language and later in the Assamese language as well. The Buranjis are an example of historical literature which is rare in India—they bear resemblance to Southeast Asian traditions of historical literature instead. The Buranjis are generally found in manuscript form, a number of these manuscripts have been compiled and published especially in the Assamese language.
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 history of Assam is the history of a confluence of people from the east, west, south and the north; the confluence of the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Tai and Indo-Aryan cultures. Although invaded over the centuries, it was never a vassal or a colony to an external power until the third Burmese invasion in 1821, and, subsequently, the British ingress into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
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.
The Ahom kingdom was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley that retained its independence for nearly 600 years despite encountering Mughal expansion in Northeast India. Established by Sukaphaa, a Tai prince from Mong Mao, it began as a mong in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra based on wet rice agriculture. It expanded suddenly under Suhungmung in the 16th century. The Chutiya kingdom began to decline with the beginning of the 16th century, seizing the opportunity presented by the disorder within the Chutia kingdom under the rule of the ineffective Dhirnarayan (c1504–1523), the Ahom King Suhungmung or Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) annexed the kingdom in 1523, and Ahom kingdom in turn became multi-ethnic in character, casting a profound effect on the political and social life of the entire Brahmaputra valley. The kingdom became weaker with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion, and subsequently fell to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam. With the defeat of the Burmese after the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands.
Barua is a common Assamese surname shared by the Assamese communities much like Aroras of Punjab.
Buragohain was the first of the two original counsellors in the Ahom kingdom. He was selected by the Ahom king from members of the Ahom nobility ,who vowed not to fight for the position of Ahom kingship, rather act as a guide to the Ahom king in matters of administering his province in an efficient manner. The other original counsellor is Chao Thao Lung or Borgohain. Both the positions existed from the time of the first Ahom king, Sukaphaa.
Borgohain was the second of the two original counselors in the Ahom kingdom. He was selected by the Ahom king from members of the Ahom nobility, who vowed not to fight for the position of Ahom kingship, rather act as a guide to the Ahom king in matters of administering his province in an efficient manner .The other original counsellor is the Burhagohain. Both the positions existed from the time of the first Ahom king, Sukaphaa. After the first major expansion of the Ahom kingdom, the Sadiya province was initially given to the Borgohain to administer. But later in the year 1527, he was replaced by King-lun Buragohain who was made Thao-mung Bo-ngen. After that, he was given the region south of the Dikhou river to Kaliabor on the south bank. In later times, he administered the region east of Burai on the north bank, as Borbarua was given the charge of territories between Sadiya province to Kaliabor.
The pepa is a hornpipe musical instrument that is used in traditional music in Assam, India. In Boro language, it is known as Phenpha. It is usually made with the horn of a buffalo.
Suklingphaa, or Kamaleswar Singha, was a king of the Ahom kingdom. He came to power when he was a toddler, and died in his teens during a small pox epidemic. The de facto ruler during his reign was Purnanada Burhagohain, who was able to consolidate power after installing him on the throne; and his parents Kadamdighala and Numali also were very powerful. Kamaleswar Singha's reign witnessed the suppression of Moamoria rebellion and restoration of Ahom rule over Upper Assam. The Dundiya Revolution in Kamrup was also suppressed during his reign. In Nagaon, the Ahom army also managed to defeat a coalition of Moamoria rebels and the Kacharis of Kachari Kingdom. Much of this was the handiwork of Purnananda Burhagohain and not Kamaleshwar Singha.
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.
The Tiwa people, are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group primarily inhabiting the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, and some parts of neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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.
Muga silk is a variety of wild silk geographically tagged to the state of Assam in India. The silk is known for its extreme durability and has a natural yellowish-golden tint with a shimmering, glossy texture. It was previously reserved for the use of royalty.
Bhismaknagar is an archeological site in Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located near Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district. The remains are generally ascribed to the rule of the Sutiyas, a Bodo-Kachari (Tibeto-Burmese) ethnic group who ruled over the region of Sadiya from 11th to 16th Century CE.
The Moamoria were the adherents of the egalitarian, proselytizing Mayamara Satra of 18th-century Assam, who initiated the Moamoria rebellion against the Ahom kingdom in the 18th century. The rebellion weakened the Ahom kingdom to such an extent that the kingdom became vulnerable to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam and the subsequent colonization by the British. The Moamorias were also called Mataks. Over time, the main groups that had supported the Ahom kingdom came to owe allegiance to the Moamara sattra: Morans, the Sonowal Kacharis (gold-washers), Chutias, professional castes such as Hiras (potters), Tantis (weavers), Kaibartas, and Ahom nobles and officers. The largest group among the Mataks were the Morans, followed by the Chutias.
Ahomisation was an assimilation process in the former Ahom kingdom of Assam by which the people from different ethnic groups in the region became a part of what is now considered as the Ahom population.
