Sutiya community

Sutiya
চুতীয়া
Total population
(2 - 2.5 million[1])
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly in Upper Assam[2] and Central Assam; urban areas across Assam, India; 7,000 - 9,000 settled across India and abroad
Languages
Assamese (Predominant) • Sutiya (Traditional)
Religion

Modern: Hinduism • Panentheistic (Vaishnavism: Ekasarana)

Historical: Shaktism[3] • Bon
Related ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan

Sutiya[6] /ˈsʊðiːjɑː/ (Assamese: চুতীয়া) is a community or an ethnic group originating from the Indian state of Assam and are the descendants of the Sino-Tibetan family of Mongoloid stock.[7] The earliest recorded history about the Sutiyas is found in the Assamese chronicle, which names Assambhina as the first Sutiya king to dwelt on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the 7th century A.D.[8] The Sutiya people through the Sutiya dynasty formed their kingdom in the present Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and reigned from 1187 to 1673.

They are a physically diverse ethnic group of mixed East Asian and Indo Aryan appearance and make one of the major and earliest section of the plain inhabitants of Assam to have migrated from Southern China, predominantly from the present Tibet and Sichuan. The seat of the Sutiyas when they were in the ascendant, appears to have been about Lakhimpur and the back of the Subansiri River. They hold all the countries to the north of the Brahmaputra as far down as Biswanath. They spoke a language of Tibeto-Burman origin but overtime started speaking Assamese language and adopted Hinduism. Sutiyas along with Koch Rajbongshi and Ahom are sometimes referred to as semi-Hinduised caste.[9]

The Sutiya community are recognised as OBC by the Govt. Of India and are an ethnic Assamese speaking group.[10] Today, most of them reside in Upper Assam districts and a fair amount are found in lower Assam districts of Kamrup and Kamrup metro.The 1901 census report showed nearly 86,000[11] individual belonging to the Sutiya group with other numerically strong groups: Kochs (222,000), Rajbansis (120,000), Ahoms (178,000). The 2011 census report estimated 2,600,000 (26 lakhs)

Etymology

According to Sutiya language, the word Sutiya stands for glory.

Origin

The Sutiyas are semi-Hinduised people who had a large kingdom in upper Assam. They are generally alleged to be of Shan origin, though Dalton believed from their language to be closely related to Kacharis. They seem to have largely intermarried with the Ahoms, so that the latter have a subdivision called 'Sutiya'. The Sutiyas have sections calling themselves 'Ahoms'. The Sutiyas display prominent Caucasoid features due to the absorption of the Pal dynasty by the Sutiya kings in the middle of the 13th century[12] and due this inclusion they show close genetic affinities with some Caucasoid groups mainly the Hindu caste of Assam .[13] They are now chiefly found in the upper Assam districts side by side with the Ahoms. Edward Gait in his book "A History of Assam" wrote:

“ The Sutiyas now number about a twelfth of a million and are found chiefly in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts and the adjacent Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat districts. Their language, which is still known to the Deoris, or priestly section of the group, is unmistakably Bodo, but their appearance suggests that they have in their frames a considerable infusion of Shan(Tai) blood. They occupied a tract nor far removed from the home of the Shans, and the probability is that they absorbed considerable numbers of earlier immigrants of that race, just as in more recent times they have intermarried with the Ahoms, to such extent that, at the census of 1891, one third of those who recorded their sub-group described themselves as Ahom-Sutiya. ”

[14]

The Sutiya rule (1187-1673)

A 15th century statue of a Sutiya warrior

The Sutiya Kingdom was established by Birpal in 1187 on the northern bank of the river Brahmaputra. The kingdom absorbed the ancient Pal dynasty and reigned for over 400 years in northeastern Assam and areas of present-day Arunachal Pradesh, with the capital at Sadiya. The kingdom controlled the entire region of present Assam districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia and parts of Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur.

It was the dominant kingdom in upper Assam till the 16th century in which it expanded from Parshuram Kund in the east to Vishwanath in the west and had absorbed many local communities and tribes. Most illustrious of the Sutiya kings was Gaurinarayan (Ratnadhwajpal), son of Birpal. He brought many other Sutiya groups into his kingdom. In 1224 Ratnadhwajpal defeated Bhadrasena, the king of Swetagiri. Then he went on to subjugate Nyayapal and marched toward Kamatapur, where he formed an alliance with the Kamata ruler by marrying a princess. Then he marched to Dhaka, and made friends with the Gauda ruler.

The hostilities with the Ahoms began when the Sutiya Kingdom expanded to the south and during which Ahom king, Sutuphaa, was killed by the Sutiya king during a friendly negotiation.This conflict triggered a number of battles between the two sides, which saw great lost of men and money. The simmering dispute often flared till 1523 when the Ahoms struck the Sutiya Kingdom in its weakest state, they finally took Sadiya and killed the then king Nityapal. The Ahoms established their rule by instituting the position of Sadiyakhowa Gohain, the governor in charge of Sadiya. But the Sutiya had dispersed to frontier regions, and continued raids against the Ahoms. It finally ended in 1673, when the Sutiyas fall under the domination of the Ahoms.

Language

The original language of the Sutiyas belong to the Tibeto-Burman language group, also known by the same name i.e. Sutiya. Although, the language is no longer spoken, it is well preserved by the Deuri people or the priestly section of the group.[15]

Edward Gait in his book A History of Assam claimed the Sutiya language to be the original language of upper Assam.[16]

Religion

In the early medieval period, the Sutiyas followed a religion closely related to Buddhism i.e. Bon before adopting Hinduism. During the rule of the Sutiya Dynasty, they worshipped various forms of Kali with the help of their tribal priests, Deuris. Their favourite form of worshipping this deity was that of Kesai Khaiti. A crude form of Hinduism became the state religion at a very early time and influence of tantric form of Shaktism was felt in the royal court. Human sacrifices of criminals was offered to tutelary Goddess, Khesai Khati and pilgrims from region far more remote i.e. Tibet and China brought their offerings as a token of faith for Tantricism.[17]

In modern times, majority of them are followers of Hinduism and Ekasarana Dharma, a panentheistic religion founded and propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva during the 15th century in Assam.

Subdivisions

Historically, they have been divided into five important groups:[18]

The Hindu Sutiya represented the majority of the population and were formed by the marriage of the Sutiyas with remains of the Pal dynasty during the 13th century. The Ahom Sutiya were formed by the intermarriage between the Sutiyas and the Ahoms and also by having different position in administration of Ahom kingdom for example Mummai Tamuly Borbooruah. Similarly some Miris and Borahis were absorbed into the community.

The Deuri are at present recognised as one of the plain tribes of Assam.

Surnames

Most of them write the conferred titles given to them by the Ahom kings while the rest use local Assamese surnames.

Some common surnames used by the Sutiya community :-

There may be other spellings of the same surnames or middle names, prefixes added to the surnames. This is an incomplete list.

Organisations

There are numerous organisations that accommodate with the needs of the group. Some of the known organisations are :

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sati Sadhani.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sutiyas to shun congress".
  2. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  3. ↑ (Col. Ved Prakash:911–916)
  4. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  5. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  6. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40).The term chutiya is an expletive in Hindi language. The group name is pronounced Sutiya and not Chutiya.
  7. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  8. ↑ (Col. Ved Prakash:912)
  9. ↑ Genetic heterogeneity in northeastern India
  10. ↑ "Genetic heterogeneity in northeastern India: Reflection of Tribe–Caste continuum in the genetic structure". American Journal of Human Biology. 16: 334–345. doi:10.1002/ajhb.20027.
  11. ↑ (Bengal Census Report 1901:382–83)
  12. ↑ (Report on the administration of northeast India:31)
  13. ↑ "Human Population Genetics A Centennial Tribute to J. B. S. Haldane".
  14. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  15. ↑ (Col. Ved Prakash:911–916)
  16. ↑ (Gait 1906:38–40)
  17. ↑ (Col. Ved Prakash:911–916)
  18. ↑ (Guptajit Pathak:82)

References

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