Sonowal is a designation of the gold-washers of Assam. [1] They were previously addressed as Xunia thakur. [2]
Sonowal is a designation of the gold-washers of Assam. [1] They were previously addressed as Xunia thakur. [2]
The name Sonowal comes from the word 'Son' (Assamese : সোন/Xün) which means gold in Assamese. [web 1]
Sonowal was a multicaste 'khel' (guild) of the many khels that existed in the Ahom Kingdom of the late medieval [3] period. This khel was involved in the gold-washing business and it consisted paiks from different communities viz, Kacharis, Bihiyas (Chutias), [4] [5] Koch, Miri (Mising), Dafla (Nyishi) and Keot . [2] However, the Kachari and Bihiya Sonowals were most numerous. Most of these Sonowals migrated from Sadiya and Sisi-Dhemaji regions respectively and resided in the forested area between the Buri Dihing and Dibru rivers (Matak territories) during the early 19th century. [6] Gold-washing was the occupation of Sonowal paiks but other paiks sometimes used to join them and receives their share. [1]
Although the designation of these paiks was Sonowal, they were generally known only by the names of their 'khel' or tribe or chief under whom they resided. They were placed in different parts of the country (Assam) under the authority of Phukans, Baruahs and other chiefs. [1]
However, the Kachari Sonowal was a distinct class from rest of the Sonowals. And unlike others, they were entirely under the orders of the King himself, and they supplied him with gold when called upon to do so. They formerly resided at Sadiya and its vicinity. [1]
Some Sonowals were associated with Silver-washing, they were called Rupowal or 'Rupia Thakur'.
The Keot Sonowals went extinct in due course of time. [2] The Kachari Sonowal is the only khel that exists today and is recognized as one of the Scheduled Tribes (ST) of Assam.
The paiks in a khel were organized under a gradation of officials who commanded a set number of them. They were Bora (20 paiks), Saikia (100), Hazarika (1000), Baruah and Phukan (6000).
It is to be noted that the designations Thengal Baruah and Sonowal Baruah were introduced only in the reign of the Ahom King Purandar Singha (1818–19, 1833–1838). [7] These officers remained in overall charges of these guilds and had to take a note of the total output of such washings conducted under the state initiative. [8]
Formerly, the descendants of these officials used to use these designations as surnames. But as these surnames are common to all Assamese people irrespective of their caste, some frauds were found to take advantage of it in getting ST certificate. [web 2] Hence, as per guidance of All Assam Tribal Sangha, all the new generation of Kachari Sonowals have started using 'Sonowal' as a surname.
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.
The Battle of Saraighat was a naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire, and the Ahom Kingdom on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati, Assam, India. This was the decisive battle that ended the years long Mughal siege of Guwahati, with the Ahoms pushing away the Mughals west beyond the Manas river.
Dibrugarh district (Pron:ˌdɪbru:ˈgor:) is a district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located within the city of Dibrugarh.
The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) was an 18th-century uprising in Ahom kingdom of present-day Assam that began as power struggle between the Moamorias (Mataks), the adherents of the Mayamara Sattra, and the Ahom kings. This uprising spread widely to other sections of Ahom kingdom including disgruntled elements of the Ahom aristocracy leading to two periods in which the Ahom king lost control of the capital. Retaking the capital was accompanied by a massacre of subjects, leading to a steep depopulation of large tracts. The Ahom king failed to retake the entire kingdom; a portion in the north-east, Bengmara, became known as Matak Rajya ruled by a newly created office called Borsenapati, became a tribute-paying but virtually independent territory.
Suhungmung, or Dihingia Roja was one of the most prominent Ahom Kings who ruled at the cusp of Assam's medieval history. His reign broke from the early Ahom rule and established a multi-ethnic polity in his kingdom. Under him the Ahom Kingdom expanded greatly for the first time since Sukaphaa, at the cost of the Chutia and the Dimasa kingdoms. He also successfully defended his kingdom against Muslim invasions, first by a general called Bar Ujjir and another by Turbak Khan. During his time, the Khen dynasty collapsed and the Koch dynasty ascended in the Kamata kingdom. His general, Ton-kham, pursued the Muslims up to the Karatoya river, the western boundary of the erstwhile Kamarupa Kingdom, the farthest west an Ahom military force had ventured in its entire six hundred years of rule.
The Ahom kingdom, or the Kingdom of Assam 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 and 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.
Titabor is a town in the Jorhat district of Assam in India. It is about 20 km away from Jorhat City. It is one of the highly greeny places of Assam, surrounded by different tea-estates. The town serves as the administrative headquarters of the Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council.
Borboruah was one of the five patra mantris (councillors) in the Ahom kingdom, a position created by the Ahom king Prataap Singha in 1621. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the Ahom kingdom east of Kaliabor river and those regions not governed by the three great Gohains, and the princely estates. The region to the west of Kaliabor was governed by the Borphukan.
Borphukan was one of the five patra mantris (councillors) in the Ahom kingdom, a position that was created by the Ahom king Prataap Singha. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the Ahom kingdom west of Kaliabor river. The headquarters of Borphukan was based in Kaliabor and after the Battle of Itakhuli in 1681 in Itakhuli in Guwahati. This position was particularly important and powerful because of its distance from the Ahom capital, giving it a semblance of independence. The region to the east of Kaliabor was governed by the Borbarua. Lachit Deka later became Borphukan or the ruler of Lower Assam according to the fifth chronicles of the Satsori Asom Buranji.
The Paik system was a type of corvee labour system on which the economy of the Ahom kingdom of medieval Assam depended. In this system, adult and able males, called paiks were obligated to render service to the state and form its militia in return for a piece of land for cultivation owned by the kingdom—believed to be a legacy the Ahoms brought with them from South-Eastern Asia in 1228. But it wasn't the Ahom kingdom alone that used a corvee system like this in Northeast India—Kingdom of Manipur and in a simpler form Jaintia kingdom and the Kachari kingdom too used similar systems that had tribal origins. The mature structure was designed by Momai Tamuli Borbarua in 1608, and extensively and exhaustively implemented by 1658 during the reign of Sutamla Jayadhwaj Singha. The system continued to evolve over time to meet the needs of the Ahom state and in time began to accumulate contradictions. By the end of the Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) the Paik system had collapsed.
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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 Sonowal Kachari are one of the indigenous peoples of the state of Assam in Northeast India. They are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and are closely associated with the other ethnic groups of Assam, which are commonly referred to as Kachari.
Hazarika was a Paik officer under the administration of the Ahom kingdom and Koch kingdom. The commander over 1,000 (Hazar) paiks was known as a Hazarika. As it was a purely administrative position, the title holder could belong to diverse ethnic groups and religions.
Saikia was a Paik officer of the Ahom militia who led a hundred paiks. The Koch kingdom had a similar system in place. As it was a purely administrative position, the title holder could belong to diverse ethnic groups or religions. Today, this title is used as a surname by Assamese people of various ethnic origins. The post of Saikia in the Paik system was higher in rank to the Bora but lower in rank to the Hazarika.
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.
The Thengal Kachari people are an indigenous ethnic group of Assam, India. They are a part of greater Bodo-Kachari family. They are mainly concentrated in the Jorhat, Golaghat, North Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Karbi Anglong districts.Their traditional festival is "Tora Chira" bihu. They commonly known as "Kachari" people.
Poley Poley Urey Mon is a 2011 Indian Assamese language drama film directed by Timothy Das Hanche, produced by Phukan Konwar, Purnananda Gogoi and Beauty Baruah under the banner Hills Motion Pictures Association of Diphu. The casts of the movie are Nipon Goswami, Moloya Goswami, Barsha Rani Bishaya, Gayatri Mahanta, Ravi Sarma, Rimpi Das, Parineeta Borthakur, Tarun Arora, Mahika Sharma etc. Bollywood actor Raza Murad and former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi also performed a cameo in this movie.
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