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Judima is a traditional ethnic rice wine associated with the Dimasa people of Assam. [4] It has received a geographical indication tag in 2021. It is prepared from a starter kit, and is distinguished by the use of a wild herb local to Dima Hasao district called thembra (Accacia pennata). [5] [4] It is used ritualistically by the Dimasa people in events such as birth, marriage and death. [4]
Judima is prepared in broadly a two-step process—the preparation of the starter cake and the use of the starter cake to ferment cooked rice.
The starter cake for Judima is called Humao. It is prepared from the dried powdered thembra bark, made into a dough with rice powder and water and then air-dried.
For fermentation glutinous bora rice is used, and among its may varieties the one called bairing is preferred. The rice is boiled/steamed, and then spread to cool over banana leaves. The starter cake is crushed and mixed with the cooled rice, and then set aside in earthen vessels for three to five days (longer in the winters). At the end of this period, the liquid that is produced is strained—which is Judima. [6]
Judima that is distilled is called Juharo.
Ahom [aho]
Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01 MDDS.XLS
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 Ahom or Tai-Ahom is an ethnic group from the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The members of this group are admixed descendants of the Tai people who reached the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in 1228 and the local indigenous people who joined them over the course of history. Sukaphaa, the leader of the Tai group and his 9,000 followers established the Ahom kingdom, which controlled much of the Brahmaputra Valley in modern Assam until 1826.
The music of Assam consists various genres of folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from the late eighties, popular artistes have modernized the music catering to local popular demand.
Assamese cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Assam. It is a style of cooking that is a confluence of cooking habits of the hills that favour fermentation and drying as forms of preservation and those from the plains that provide extremely wide variety of fresh vegetables and greens, and an abundance of fish and meat. Both are centred on the main ingredient — rice. It is a mixture of different indigenous styles with considerable regional variations and some external influences. The traditional way of cooking and the cuisine of Assam is very similar to South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and others. The cuisine is characterized by very little use of spices, little cooking over fire, and strong flavours due mainly to the use of endemic exotic fruits and vegetables that are either fresh, dried or fermented. Fish is widely used, and birds like duck, pigeon, squab, etc. are very popular, which are often paired with a main vegetable or ingredient; beef used to be eaten before British colonialism, and some continue to do so. Preparations are rarely elaborate. The practice of bhuna, the gentle frying of spices before the addition of the main ingredients so common in Indian cooking, is absent in the cuisine of Assam. The preferred oil for cooking is the pungent mustard oil.
The Dimasa people are an ethnolinguistic community presently inhabiting in Assam and Nagaland states in Northeastern India. They speak Dimasa, a Tibeto-Burman language. This community is fairly homogeneous and exclusive, with members required to draw from both parents' separate clans. Dimasa kingdom, one of many early states in Assam following the downfall of Kamarupa kingdom, was established by these people. The Dimasas were till recently agricultural, centering on shifting agriculture; but in recent times this has changed with profound changes in the community. Following political problems in the 18th century, the Dimasa ruler moved further south in the plains of Cachar and there took place a division among them–with the hills Dimasa maintaining their traditional living and political exclusiveness, the plains Dimasas have made no attempt to assert themselves.
Barua is a common Assamese surname. This term is different and not to be confused with the surname used by Buddhists from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Tripura, who also use Barua as surname.
Boro culture is the culture of the Boro people in Assam. For long, the Boros have been farmers living in an Agrarian society with a strong tradition of fishery, poultry, piggery, with rice and jute cultivation, and betel nut plantation. They make their own clothing from scratch, such as traditional attires. In recent decades, the Boros are influenced by recent social reforms under Boro Brahma Dharma and the spread of Christianity.
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.
Jaapi or Japi (Bodo:Khofri) is a traditional conical hat from Assam, India similar to other Asian conical hats is made from tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and tokou paat a large, palm leaf. The word jaapi derives from jaap meaning a bundle of tokou leaves. In the past, plain jaapi were used by ordinary people in Assam and by farmers for protection from the sun, while ornate jaapi were worn as a status symbol by royalty and nobility. Decorative sorudoi jaapi are made with intricate cloth designs that are integrated into the weaving.
Jolpan, or snacks, are often served at breakfast in the cuisine of Assam, although they may also be served at Bihu festivals or weddings. The word jolpan includes all the preparations namely jolpan, pitha, laru and tea. Other common items served for breakfast may include roti, luchi, ghugni and sometimes paratha etc. Jolpan are also found in Bengal. The word literally derives from "water and betel leaf" but can mean any snack.
Jonbeel Mela is a three-day annual indigenous Tiwa Community fair held the weekend of Magh Bihu at a historic place known as Dayang Belguri at Joonbeel. It is 3 km from Jagiroad in Morigaon district of Assam and 65 km from Guwahati. The National Highway connecting the mela is NH 37. The Joonbeel is so called because a large natural water body is shaped like a crescent moon.
Folk dances of Assam include the Bihu and the Bagurumba, the Bhortal, the Ojapali dance. Assam is home to many groups: Muslim, Indo-Aryan, Rabha, Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, Mising, Sonowal Kacharis, Mishmi and Tiwa (Lalung) etc. These cultures come together to create an Assamese culture. Residents of the state of Assam are known as "Axomiya" (Assamese). Most tribes have their own language, although Assamese is the primary language of the state.
Bathouism is the folk religion of the Boro people of Assam in Northeast India. The name Bathou in Boro means five principles. The five principles are: bar (air), orr (fire), ha (earth), dwi (water) and okhrang (ether). The chief deity, called Bathoubwrai — omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent— is said to have created the five principles. Though there are other minor gods and goddesses, Bathoubwrai is considered the Supreme God. Bathoubwrai is unseen. The second most important deity is Mainao, the daughter of Bathoubwrai, who is considered as the "protector of the rice fields".
Singarigharutha was the traditional coronation ceremony of the king of the Ahom kingdom, a medieval kingdom in Assam. During the period of Ahom supremacy in Assam, the Singarigharutha ceremony had important constitutional significance. It was believed that even though an Ahom prince became king, he could not attain the status of full-fledged monarch until his Singarigharutha ceremony was completely performed. Therefore, each Ahom ruler after their accession to the throne tried to organize the ceremony as soon as possible. But it was not as easy since the ceremony was very expensive and there were records when some of the Ahom kings had to postpone it owing to emergency situations or due to financial crisis of the state.
Davaka was a kingdom of ancient Indian subcontinent, located in current central region of Assam state. The references to it comes from the 4th century Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, where it is mentioned as one of five frontier kingdoms of the Gupta Empire.
Apo, apong, or poka is an alcohol drink commonly found among the tribes in the Northeast India states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It is prepared by fermentation of rice. It is known by various names across different tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
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.
Assamese Brahmins are the Brahmins present in the Assamese society. There they promoted learning, Vedic religion, astrology, ayurveda and as well as imparting general vedic knowledge to the public. The Brahmins migrated to Assam from Videha (Mithila), Kannauj, Bengal and many other places.
The Ahom religion is the ethnic religion of the Ahom people. The Ahom people came into Assam in 1228, led by a Tai prince Sukaphaa, and admixed with the local people. The people who came into Assam included two clans of priests, joined later by a third, who brought with them their own religion, rituals, practices and scriptures. The religion is based on ritual-oriented ancestor worship that required animal sacrifice (Ban-Phi), though there was at least one Buddhism influenced ritual in which sacrifice was forbidden (Phuralung). Ancestor worship and the animistic concept of khwan are two elements it shares with other Tai folk religions. There is no idolatry except for the titular god of the Ahom king and though there is a concept of heaven or a heavenly kingdom, there is no concept of hell. It was the state religion of the Ahom kingdom in the initial period.
