Indo-Mongoloid people of Assam

Indo-Mongoloid people of Assam
Languages
Assamese • English• others
Religion
• Hinduism • Christianity• Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Tibetian, Burmese, Tai

Indo-Mongoloid people of Assam are the different groups of mongoloid people who migrated from East Asia and Southeast Asia into the Brahmaputra valley during the ancient and medieval period. Today, they represent almost 60% of the population of Assam and have made a strong impact on the social, cultural and political aspects of the state.

History

Migration into Assam

Pre-historic

The first group of Indo-Mongoloid people migrated from Tibet and southern China who spoke Tibeto-Burmese of the Eastern Himalayan, North Assam, Bodo and Naga groups of languages during the 2nd century BC. These people are today identified as Monpas and Sherdukpens of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, the Bodo-Kachari groups scattered all over Assam and the Karbis of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. According to sir E.A Gait, Bodos are perhaps the first inhabitants of the Brahmaputra valley.

Ancient

The second wave of Indo-Mongoloid were Tibeto-Burman language speaking group of the same Bodo-Kachari group, migrating from the Sichuan province of China. They hold some of their ancestry to the Shan race in Myanmar and Northern Thailand. They are today recognised as Koch, Sutiya in the Brahmaputra valley together with the Tiprasa in the state of Tripura.

Medieval

The third wave of Mongoloid group into Assam was led by a Shan group called Ahom when Sukaphaa lead his group into Assam via the Pangsau pass in the Patkai from South China. The Ahoms were followed by other Tai people who were Buddhists (6): Khamti, Khamyang, Aiton, Phake and Turung peoples who settled in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

State formation

The earliest state by the Mongoloid people of Assam began during the 7th century AD by the Mlechchha rulers. The Mlechchha dynasty of Kamarupa ruled almost the entire Brahmaputra valley from 655 to 900.

During the medieval period most of the state formations were done by the Mongoloid people in Assam. The most prominent of them were the Ahoms, Sutiya, Kachari and Koch dynasty.

The Ahom kingdom formerly had its power in located in the Sibsagar district of modern Assam and later on it expanded to control the entire Assam valley. The Sutiya, a group of both Tibeto-Burman and Shan as their ancestry had their centre of power on the north bank of Brahmaputra in eastern Assam from Parshuram Kund in Arunachal Pradesh to Vishwanath in Sonitpur district of Assam. The Kachari rulers controlled the areas of south Assam while the Koch dynasty held their power in present western Assam districts. Among other dynasties, Borahi and Muttock had their kingdom in eastern Assam.

Groups

The list of groups of the Indo-Mongoloid people of Assam:-

References