Bodo-Kachari is a generic term applied to a number of ethnic groups predominantly in Assam speaking Tibeto-Burman languages or claiming a common ancestry.
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They were first classified by S. Endle as the Kacharis. Here, Bodo is derived from Bod which means a unit of substances or bod or bud means unit in Dimasa dialect. Tibet is Dimasa origin, its real mean is Di-bodo>Ti-bud>Tibet, it later became Tibet in foreigners dialect and Kachari is derived from Kachar meaning an areas near the river and sea. They are considered to have reached the Brahmaputra valley via Tibet or southern China and settled in the foothills of the eastern Himalayan range which includes the whole of Assam, Tripura, North Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. That the Bodo-Kacharis were early colonizers of the river valleys is taken from the fact that most of the rivers in the Brahmaputra valley today carry Tibeto-Burman names—Dibang, Dihang, Dikhou, Dihing and others, where di- means water in Dimasa dialect of Tibeto-Burman.
Based on an 1881 census,there were 18 groups within the Kachari classification: 1. Bodo 2. Dimasa 3. Dhimal 4. Garo 5. Hajong 6. Hojai 7. Lalung 8. Madani 9. Mahalia 10. Mech 11. Matak 12. Moran 13. Phulgaria 14. Rabha 15. Sonowal 16. Sutiya 17. Saraniya 18. Solaimiya 19. Tipra
Some of the groups, such as Sutiya, Matak, Moran and Saraniya consider themselves as lower-caste Hindus. Other groups,such as the Garo,Rabha,Lalung and Hajong,having been isolated from the parental stock,have established separate identities.With the exception of the Garo,which is still a matrilineal society,the other groups have given up the rules of matrilineal society.
The Mech in Western Assam,the Bodo in central Assam; the Dimasa in Dima Hasao District (DHD) early on North of Cachar Hills,Hojai Kachari in Nagaon distrct, Barman in Cachar district,Kachari in Nagaland state and the Sonowal and Thengal in the eastern part of the Brahmaputra now represent the Kachari.
The Tripuri, Sutiya and Dimasa had established powerful kingdoms in the past. The Tripuri kings had even defeated the Mughals and the Burmese kingdoms in the past. Today, the Bodos, the Tripuris and the Garos have established a strong political and ethnic identity and are developing their language and literature. The Sonowal Kachari are also a branch of Bodo-Kachari. They live in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Golaghat and Jorhat.
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