124-561: The Karbis or Mikir are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group in Northeast India . They are mostly concentrated in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong of Assam. The origin of the word Karbi is unknown. Historically and by ancestry they called themselves Arleng (literally "man" in Karbi language ) and are called Karbi by others. They were referred to and identified as "Mikir" during British rule. The term Mikir
248-532: A Central branch of Tibeto-Burman based on morphological evidence. Roger Blench and Mark Post (2011) list a number of divergent languages of Arunachal Pradesh , in northeastern India, that might have non-Tibeto-Burman substrates, or could even be non-Tibeto-Burman language isolates : Blench and Post believe the remaining languages with these substratal characteristics are more clearly Sino-Tibetan: Notes Bibliography Ahom Kingdom The Ahom kingdom ( Ahom : 𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨, ahüm ; Assamese : আহোম), or
372-488: A clade of the phylogenetic tree . During the 18th century, several scholars noticed parallels between Tibetan and Burmese, both languages with extensive literary traditions. In the following century, Brian Houghton Hodgson collected a wealth of data on the non-literary languages of the Himalayas and northeast India, noting that many of these were related to Tibetan and Burmese. Others identified related languages in
496-505: A British officer, observed these unique institutions and novel system of government. Sukaphaa had instructed that events during his rule be chronicled, a practice sustained by his successors; and there emerged the institution of Buranji writing, a practice of historiography rare in India. In the late medieval era, the Ahom kingdom was known to be a kaghazi raj (a kingdom with records) just as
620-574: A descendant of the first king Sukaphaa . Succession was generally by primogeniture but occasionally the great Gohains ( Dangarias ) could elect another descendant of Sukaphaa from a different line or even depose an enthroned one. Dangarias : Sukaphaa had two great Gohains to aid him in administration: Burhagohain and the Borgohain . In the 1280s, they were given independent territories, they were veritable sovereigns in their given territories called bilat or rajya . The Burhagohain 's territory
744-536: A large depopulation due to emigration as well as execution, but the conflicts were never resolved. A much-weakened kingdom fell to repeated Burmese attacks and finally after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, the control of the kingdom passed into British hands. The Ahom kingdom was based on the Paik system , a type of corvee labor that is neither feudal nor Asiatic . The first coins were introduced by Jayadhwaj Singha in
868-579: A long period, leaving their affiliations difficult to determine. The grouping of the Bai language , with one million speakers in Yunnan, is particularly controversial, with some workers suggesting that it is a sister language to Chinese. The Naxi language of northern Yunnan is usually included in Lolo-Burmese, though other scholars prefer to leave it unclassified. The hills of northwestern Sichuan are home to
992-422: A network of embankments. The Tai- Shans had with them the basic political structures for state-building, surplus producing technologies such as sedentary wet-rice cultivation and hydrology, a patriarchal social organisation based on chiefs, and a literary form of their language . Whereas the earlier state formations ( Kamarupa ) borrowed political structures from North India that led to Indo-Aryan domination,
1116-491: A process called Ahomisation . Sukaphaa befriended those among the Morans and Barahi who were amenable to join him and put to the sword those who opposed him, and in due course, many others were incorporated into Ahom clans. The Ahoms were acutely aware of their smaller numbers, and adroitly avoided confrontations with larger groups. The additions via Ahomisation enhanced the Ahom numbers significantly. This process of Ahomization
1240-585: A section of the paiks at his command for his personal use (as opposed to the Dangariyas), the rest rendering service to the Ahom state. The Borphukan was in military and civil command over the region west of Kaliabor, and acted as the Swargadeo's viceroy in the west. Borbaruas were mostly from different Moran , Kachari, Chiring and Khamti communities, while the Borphukan of lower Assam was appointed from
1364-428: A small percentage of the population lived in such towns. Some important towns of Ahom time were Rangpur, Garhgoan, Guwahati and Hajo. The capital city of Rangpur , was found to be 20 miles (32.18 km) in extent and thickly populated by Capt. Welsh in 1794. The population, however, never exceeded 10 thousand souls. The Ahom kingdom was ruled by a king, called Swargadeo ( Ahom language : Chao-Pha ), who had to be
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#17327797040071488-478: A third Gohain, Borpatrogohain . The Borpatrogohain's territory was located between the territories of the other two Gohains. Royal officers : Pratap Singha added two offices, Borbarua and Borphukan , that were directly under the king. The Borbarua, who acted as the military as well as the judicial head, was in command of the region east of Kaliabor not under the command of the Dangarias . He could use only
1612-587: A valid subgroup in its own right. Most of the Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken in remote mountain areas, which has hampered their study. Many lack a written standard. It is generally easier to identify a language as Tibeto-Burman than to determine its precise relationship with other languages of the group. The subgroupings that have been established with certainty number several dozen, ranging from well-studied groups of dozens of languages with millions of speakers to several isolates , some only discovered in
1736-641: Is Burmese , the national language of Myanmar, with over 32 million speakers and a literary tradition dating from the early 12th century. It is one of the Lolo-Burmese languages , an intensively studied and well-defined group comprising approximately 100 languages spoken in Myanmar and the highlands of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southwest China . Major languages include the Loloish languages , with two million speakers in western Sichuan and northern Yunnan ,
1860-694: Is Lek. Leks are made of coins and colourful beads too and are locally known by the name of Ser Alek Pongting, Lek Pengkhara, Lek Bonghom, Lek Waikom, Lek Jingjiri, etc. Men too wear Leks – in gold. The traditional names of lek that men wear are Lek Ruve, Lek Sobai and Lek Manduli. Many of these ornaments are unfortunately no longer commonly found. Like women in any other community, Karbi women too wear bracelets, called Roi. A variety of Rois are in use such as Roi Pengkhara, Roi Ke-er, Roi Kelok, etc. The ornaments that women wear to adorn their ears are called No Thengpi. Again, there are different types of No Thengpis, such as Thengpi Angrongkatengbai, Angrong Kangchim, etc. Men of
1984-455: Is a long black cloth with designs and decorated fringes at the length end worn to cover the breasts. Nowadays it has been replaced by the blouse. The attire of men includes Choi, Poho, Rikong and Sator. Choi is the jacket worn by men. These are of different types like choi hongthor, choi ik, choi ang, choi miri etc. Choi hongthor a ki-ik, choi hongthor ake-lok are meant for young men. While choi ang, choi miri are for middle aged and aged men. Poho
2108-583: Is a square piece of cloth tied at the right shoulder. It can be of different colours and designs like pe sleng, pe duphirso, pe khonjari, pe luru, pe jangphong and pe sarpi. Pe sarpi is generally for older women, pe sleng, pe jangphong is for middle-aged women while pe duphirso is meant for young women. Vamkok is a belt used to tie the Pini tight at the waist. It has colourful fringes at both the length ends and can be found in designs like amekpi, amekso, abermung, thoithesuri angphar, suve arvo and phonglong angsu etc. Jiso
2232-610: Is an extensive literature in Classical Tibetan dating from the 8th century. The Tibetic languages are usually grouped with the smaller East Bodish languages of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh as the Bodish group. Many diverse Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Sizable groups that have been identified are the West Himalayish languages of Himachal Pradesh and western Nepal,
2356-504: Is central to the family in that it contains features of many of the other branches, and is also located around the center of the Tibeto-Burman-speaking area. Since Benedict (1972), many languages previously inadequately documented have received more attention with the publication of new grammars, dictionaries, and wordlists. This new research has greatly benefited comparative work, and Bradley (2002) incorporates much of
2480-656: Is known from inscriptions using a variant of the Gupta script . The Tangut language of the 12th century Western Xia of northern China is preserved in numerous texts written in the Chinese-inspired Tangut script . Over eight million people in the Tibetan Plateau and neighbouring areas in Baltistan , Ladakh , Nepal , Sikkim and Bhutan speak one of several related Tibetic languages . There
2604-448: Is now accepted by most linguists, with a few exceptions such as Roy Andrew Miller and Christopher Beckwith . More recent controversy has centred on the proposed primary branching of Sino-Tibetan into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman subgroups. In spite of the popularity of this classification, first proposed by Kuhn and Conrady, and also promoted by Paul Benedict (1972) and later James Matisoff , Tibeto-Burman has not been demonstrated to be
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#17327797040072728-581: Is now considered derogatory. There is no definitive meaning of the word Mikir in Karbi language. The closest meaning of Mikir could be said to be derived from "Mekar" (English: People) . The Karbi community is the principal indigenous community in the Karbi Anglong district and West Karbi Anglong district of the Indian State of Assam . The districts are administered as per the provisions of
2852-499: Is spoken in an area from eastern Nepal to western Bhutan. Most of the languages of Bhutan are Bodish, but it also has three small isolates, 'Ole ("Black Mountain Monpa"), Lhokpu and Gongduk and a larger community of speakers of Tshangla . The Tani languages include most of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Arunachal Pradesh and adjacent areas of Tibet. The remaining languages of Arunachal Pradesh are much more diverse, belonging to
2976-465: Is then divided into several branches, some of them geographic conveniences rather than linguistic proposals: Matisoff makes no claim that the families in the Kamarupan or Himalayish branches have a special relationship to one another other than a geographic one. They are intended rather as categories of convenience pending more detailed comparative work. Matisoff also notes that Jingpho–Nungish–Luish
3100-480: Is to preserve Karbis dying culture and traditions. Karbis have their own traditional attire. Their clothing resembles Southeast Asian clothing, but with varied materials and design. The traditional attire of women consists of Pini, Pekok, Vamkok and Jiso. Pini is a type of skirt of black colour and worn around the waist tied with a belt. It can be of different designs like jangre, santok, honki ranchom, marbong homkri, ahi cherop, chamburukso apini, mekserek etc. Pekok
3224-773: Is used as lingua-franca to communicate with other indigenous Assamese communities. Many of the plain Karbis use Assamese as their mother tongue. Several Assamese loan words have made their way into the Karbi Language and this is apparent in most parts of Karbi Anglong . For example, Kaam (Assamese origin word) is used in place of Sai which means Work in English. Even Assamese also has loan words. For example "Hanseronk Tenga" ( Karbi origin word) "Hanseronk". There are also minute variations in native Karbi language that can be observed in different geographical regions inhabited by
3348-415: Is worn around the head or used as a muffler. The different kinds of poho include the simple long white poho, poho ke-er, and poho kelok. Rikong is the loin cloth worn by men during work, but it is rarely used now. It is of various types like rikong jongjong with colourful designs and simple white rikong bamon. Sator is a white piece of cloth worn by men around the waist as the dhoti covering the whole length of
3472-548: The Linguistic Survey of India was devoted to the Tibeto-Burman languages of British India . Julius Klaproth had noted in 1823 that Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese all shared common basic vocabulary , but that Thai , Mon and Vietnamese were quite different. Several authors, including Ernst Kuhn in 1883 and August Conrady in 1896, described an "Indo-Chinese" family consisting of two branches, Tibeto-Burman and Chinese-Siamese. The Tai languages were included on
3596-850: The Ahom Kingdom had to face the Burmese invasion. The Burmese who invaded Assam perpetrated inhumane oppression on the people. The Karbis took refuge in the deep jungles and high hills leaving their hearth and home in the sub-mountainous regions. While some of the Karbis migrated to Western Assam , some had crossed the Brahmaputra and settled in the north bank which today encompasses the districts of Biswanath , Sonitpur and Lakhimpur . Many inland Karbis follow Animism as their religions that has been influenced by their culture and traditions. The practitioners of Animism believe in reincarnation and honor their ancestors even though with despite
3720-692: The Akha language and Hani languages , with two million speakers in southern Yunnan, eastern Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and Lisu and Lahu in Yunnan, northern Myanmar and northern Thailand. All languages of the Loloish subgroup show significant Austroasiatic influence. The Pai-lang songs, transcribed in Chinese characters in the 1st century, appear to record words from a Lolo-Burmese language, but arranged in Chinese order. The Tibeto-Burman languages of south-west China have been heavily influenced by Chinese over
3844-653: The Battle of Itakhuli , when the Ahoms were able to push the Mughals back to the west of the Manas river permanently. In 1657, owing to the 'War of succession' among the sons of Shah Jahan . Ahom king Jayadhwaj Singha extended his authority, occupied Kamrup , preventing the other rebellious Koch king Pran Narayan from securing his footing. He speedily extended his authority over whole of western Assam. He brought under his domain
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3968-577: The Chutia community. The Borbarua and Borphukan offices were not hereditary and thus could be chosen from any families. Patra Mantris : The five positions constituted the Patra Mantris (Council of Ministers). From the time of Supimphaa (1492–1497), one of the Patra Mantris was made the Rajmantri (Prime Minister, also Borpatro ; Ahom language : Shenglung ) who enjoyed additional powers and
4092-494: The First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands. Though it came to be called the Ahom kingdom in the colonial and subsequent times, it was largely multi-ethnic, with the ethnic Tai-Ahom people constituting less than 10% of the population toward the end. People from different ethnic groups became a part of the Ahom population due to
4216-653: The Jingpho–Luish languages , including Jingpho with nearly a million speakers. The Brahmaputran or Sal languages include at least the Boro–Garo and Konyak languages , spoken in an area stretching from northern Myanmar through the Indian states of Nagaland , Meghalaya , and Tripura , and are often considered to include the Jingpho–Luish group. The border highlands of Nagaland , Manipur and western Myanmar are home to
4340-531: The Kingdom of Assam ( / ˈ ɑː h ɔː m / , 1228–1826) was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley (present-day Assam ) that retained its independence for nearly 600 years despite encountering Mughal expansion in Northeast India . Established by Sukaphaa , a Tai prince from Mong Mao (present-day Yunnan Province , China ), it began as a mong in the upper reaches of
4464-634: The Koch Hajo branch, from 1603 to prop them as a buffer against the Mughals who had extended their rule to Bengal by 1576. The collapse of the Koch Hajo power in 1614 resulted in the Mughals coming to power up to the Barnadi river. The Mughals attempted further ingress to the east in 1616 with the Battle of Samdhara which marked the beginning of the Ahom–Mughal conflicts which lasted the till 1682 in
4588-606: The Kopili , along with Tiwas and Borahis, and the entire Kaziranga area, the famous National Park situated in Assam, was within their habitation. There are also stone monuments, monolithic & megalithic structures laying scattered in various parts of West Karbi Anglong district which forms a part of folklore narratives and are yet to be properly researched. During the reigns of the Dimasa Kachari kings, they were driven to
4712-523: The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) when more than half of the population fell off. Again, during the Burmese regime , the Burmese depredations (1817-1825) further reduced the population by 1/3. It shows that only 7/8 lakh people remained, at the time of British annexation. King Pratap Singha is who, systematised the population distribution and settlement of villages. The census of adult male population of
4836-492: The Moamoria rebellion , also festering internal conflicts that tore the kingdom asunder. According to Guha (1986) Ahom Assam continued to flourish till 1770. The Tungkhungia regime witnessed a relative time of peace till first half of the 18th century, where the population increased, trade expanded, Coinage and monetization made headway. New arts and crafts, new crops and even new style of dress were introduced. Rudra Singha alias Sukhrungphaa ( r. 1696–1714 ), under whom
4960-468: The Mughal Empire was. At the time of their advent, the Ahoms came with advanced technologies of rice cultivation, and it was their belief that they were divinely ordained to turn fallow land to agriculture and also to absorb stateless and shifting agriculturists to their own ways. The shifting people were called kha and many such kha people were ceremonially adopted into different Ahom clans,
5084-561: The Raidangia mel given to the chief queen. Forward governors, who were military commanders, ruled and administered forward territories. The officers were usually filled from the families that were eligible for the three great Gohains. Lesser governors were called Rajkhowas, and some of them were: The dependent kings or vassals were also called Raja . Except for the Raja of Rani, all paid an annual tribute. These Rajas were required to meet
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5208-478: The Songlin and Chamdo languages , both of which were only described in the 2010s. New Tibeto-Burman languages continue to be recognized, some not closely related to other languages. Distinct languages only recognized in the 2010s include Koki Naga . Randy LaPolla (2003) proposed a Rung branch of Tibeto-Burman, based on morphological evidence, but this is not widely accepted. Scott DeLancey (2015) proposed
5332-673: The Tamangic languages of western Nepal, including Tamang with one million speakers, and the Kiranti languages of eastern Nepal. The remaining groups are small, with several isolates. The Newar language (Nepal Bhasa) of central Nepal has a million speakers and literature dating from the 12th century, and nearly a million people speak Magaric languages , but the rest have small speech communities. Other isolates and small groups in Nepal are Dura , Raji–Raute , Chepangic and Dhimalish . Lepcha
5456-470: The 12th and 7th centuries respectively. Most of the other languages are spoken by much smaller communities, and many of them have not been described in detail. Though the division of Sino-Tibetan into Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman branches (e.g. Benedict, Matisoff) is widely used, some historical linguists criticize this classification, as the non-Sinitic Sino-Tibetan languages lack any shared innovations in phonology or morphology to show that they comprise
5580-517: The 17th century had helped the kingdom to repulse the repeated Mughal invasions, had become extremely outdated. The later phase of the rule was also marked by increasing social conflicts, leading to the Moamoria rebellion were able to capture and maintain power at the capital Rangpur for some years but were finally removed with the help of the British under Captain Welsh. The following repression led to
5704-456: The 17th century, though the system of personal service under the Paik system persisted. In the 17th century when the Ahom kingdom expanded to include erstwhile Koch and Mughal areas, it came into contact with their revenue systems and adapted accordingly. Trade was carried on usually through barter and use of circulation of money was limited. According to Shihabududdin Tailash, currency in
5828-568: The 21st century but in danger of extinction. These subgroups are here surveyed on a geographical basis. The southernmost group is the Karen languages , spoken by three million people on both sides of the Burma–Thailand border. They differ from all other Tibeto-Burman languages (except Bai) in having a subject–verb–object word order, attributed to contact with Tai–Kadai and Austroasiatic languages . The most widely spoken Tibeto-Burman language
5952-546: The Ahom domain occurred for the next two hundred years. The Ahom kingdom, for most of its history, had been closed and population movement closely monitored—nevertheless, there were two significant contacts. One was a friendly encounter with Chutia kingdom that turned into a conflict, and the other was a marriage alliance with the Kamata kingdom . At the end of the 14th century, the nascent Ahom polity faced crises of succession, two regicides, and three quick interregnum periods when
6076-400: The Ahom king to recover his country from the Burmese occupation . The first expeditionary force had to be routed off, which was sent through 'Naga Hills', in 1767 another force was despatched through the old Raha route. The second expedition was successful and achieved its objective in recovering Manipur. Kirti Chandra Borbarua who was the most influential noble in the Ahom court, had caused
6200-418: The Ahom kingdom consisted of cowries, rupees and gold coins. With the increase of external trade since the reign of Rudra Singha , there was a corresponding increase in the circulation of money. Inscriptions dating from the reign of Siva Singha , gives the price of number of commodities like rice, ghee, oil, pulses, goat, pigeon in connection with worship in different temples of the kingdom. This concludes that
6324-624: The Ahom kingdom. It was this formation of the Ahom kingdom that met the aggression from Bengal under Turbak in 1532 and it was able to eliminate the aggressive leadership (with significant loss to itself) and pursue the retreating invaders to the Karatoya river . In 1536, after the series of contacts with the Kachari kingdom , the Ahom rule extended up to the Kolong River in Nagaon; and by
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#17327797040076448-547: The Ahom kings among the new subjects Suhungmung assumed the title Swarganarayana ( Swargadeo ), though nothing like the Rajputisation process occurred with the Ahoms. The nature of the kings institutional relationship to the ministers changed with the creation of a new position, the Borpatrogohain , named after a Chutia office; and the creation of the offices of Sadiyakhowa Gohain (territories acquired from
6572-478: The Ahom kings into Hinduism did not occur till 1648. The Assamese language entered the Ahoms court for the first time and briefly coexisted and eventually replaced the Ahom language. No more major restructuring of the state structure was attempted until the end of the kingdom. After the division of the Koch kingdom between two branches of the Koch dynasty in 1581, the Ahoms allied with their immediate western neighbor,
6696-514: The Ahom state formation provided an alternate model built on Southeast Asian political structures, and which provided the space for the development of a distinct political, social and cultural identity. Though Brahminical myth-making was a common feature that all ancient and medieval kingdoms—such as Chutia and Kachari kingdoms—in Assam utilised for legitimacy to various degrees, the Ahoms were able to use their alternate Lengdon-based legitimacy to establish their rule and effectively negotiate with
6820-591: The Brahmans which enabled them to gain goodwill with the Indo-Aryanized tribal groups and consolidate power. The Ahom kingdom transitioned into a full state rather dramatically in a short period during the reign of Suhungmung Dihingia Raja ( r. 1497–1539 ). It began first with a consolidation of the militia in 1510, followed by an expansion into the Bhuyan region at Habung in 1512 (probably with
6944-408: 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
7068-708: The Chutia kingdom) and the Marangikhowa Gohain (territories acquired from the Kachari kingdom), both of which were reserved for the Borgohain and Burhagohain lineages. The traditional nobles ( Chao ) now aligned with the Brahmin literati and an expanded ruling class developed. And when the Ahoms under Ton Kham Borgohain pursued the invaders and reached the Karatoya river they began to see themselves as
7192-660: The Duliya Barua, who was in charge of the royal palanquins; the Chaudang Barua who superintended executions; Khanikar Barua was the chief artificer; Sonadar Barua was the mint master and chief jeweler; the Bez Barua was the physician to the royal family, Hati Barua, Ghora Barua, etc. Other officials included twelve Rajkhowas, and a number of Katakis, Kakatis, and Dolais. The Rajkhowas were governors of given territories and commanders of three thousand paiks . They were
7316-467: The Karbis. For example, the Plain Karbis and Hill Karbis. The Karbis are a patrilineal society. They are composed of five major clans or Kur. They are Engti (Lijang), Terang (Hanjang), Enghee (Ejang), Teron (Kronjang) and Timung (Tungjang) which are again divided into many sub-clans such as Tisso, Rongpi, Bey and others. Clans in Karbi are exogamous, in other words, marriages between members of
7440-591: The Kingdom attained its zenith. He subdued the kingdoms of Dimasa and Jaintia . He had made extensive preparations to extend the boundary west–towards, attempted to make a confederacy of Hindu kings of eastern India against Mughals . But he died right before he could execute his plans in 1714. Rudra Singha had re–instated the Vaisnava Satras, he himself had taken initiation of the Auniati Gosain (
7564-448: The Scheduled Tribes, as the Constitution of India only recognises ' Mikir' . With a population of around 4 lakhs 21 thousand (421,156) as per 2011 Census, the Karbis constitute a large community. The Karbis linguistically belong to the Tibeto-Burman group. The original home of the various people speaking Tibeto-Burman languages was in western China near the Yang-Tee-Kiang and the Howang-ho rivers and from these places, they went down
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#17327797040077688-735: The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, having been granted autonomy on 17 November 1951. Besides the Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi-inhabited areas include Dima Hasao , Kamrup Metropolitan, Hojai , Morigaon , Nagaon , Golaghat , Karimganj , Lakhimpur , Sonitpur and Biswanath Chariali districts of Assam ; Balijan circle of Papumpare district in Arunachal Pradesh ; Jaintia Hills , Ri Bhoi , East Khasi Hills and West Khasi Hills districts in Meghalaya ; Dimapur District in Nagaland , Mizoram and Sylhet district of Bangladesh with disproportionate distribution. However, Karbis in other Indian states like Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland are unable to identify themselves as belonging to
7812-400: The arbitrator who settled local disputes and supervised public works. The Katakis were envoys who dealt with foreign countries and hill tribes. The Kakatis were writers of official documents. The Dolais expounded astrology and determined auspicious time and dates for any important event and undertaking. Members of the royal families ruled certain areas, and they were called Raja . Members of
7936-406: The barter economy was in the process of being replaced by the money economy, which was the outcome of Assam's developing economic ties both with feudal India and the neighbouring countries of the north east. Due to trade with Tibet, a coin of Jayadhwaj Singha carries a single Chinese character on each side reading Zang Bao. This had been translated as 'treasury of your honour'. Nicholas Rodhes read
8060-456: The basis of vocabulary and typological features shared with Chinese. Jean Przyluski introduced the term sino-tibétain (Sino-Tibetan) as the title of his chapter on the group in Antoine Meillet and Marcel Cohen 's Les Langues du Monde in 1924. The Tai languages have not been included in most Western accounts of Sino-Tibetan since the Second World War, though many Chinese linguists still include them. The link between Tibeto-Burman and Chinese
8184-446: The burning of Buranjis . Rajeswar Singha's reign marked the end of Ahom supremacy and glory, the signs were decay was already visible during his reign. He was succeeded by his younger brother Lakshmi Singha alias Sunyeophaa ( r. 1769–1780 ). The Ahom kingdom by the mid-18th century was indeed an over-burdened hierarchical structure, supported by a weak institutional base and meagre economic surplus. The Paik system which in
8308-419: The clan allegiances that held the Ahom polity together earlier replacing it with political authority of the king, and introduced the tradition of the singarigharutha ceremony, the state coronation of the Ahom kings that symbolised royal Ahom sovereignty, authority and legitimacy. Sudangphaa settled Habung brahmins close his capital, settled the sons of his adopted Brahmin family in frontier areas, dismantled
8432-399: The classification of Sino-Tibetan and Tibeto-Burman languages, Shafer (1955) and Benedict (1972) , which were actually produced in the 1930s and 1940s respectively. Shafer's tentative classification took an agnostic position and did not recognize Tibeto-Burman, but placed Chinese (Sinitic) on the same level as the other branches of a Sino-Tibetan family. He retained Tai–Kadai (Daic) within
8556-400: The conflict with a treaty that fixed the boundary between the two polities at Patkai . This event was significant since it moved the Ahom polity from implicit subordination to explicit sovereignty, and this was accompanied by the transition of the name of the polity from Mong-Dun-Sun-Kham to "Assam", a derivative from Shan / Shyam . Sudangphaa established a new capital at Charagua, broke
8680-410: The courses of the Brahmaputra , the Chindwin , and the Irrawaddy and entered India and Burma . The Karbis, along with others, entered North East India from Central Asia or from South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines. The folklore of the Karbis, however, indicate that during the long past, once they used to live on the banks of the rivers the Kalang and
8804-402: The end of Suhungmung's reign, the size of the kingdom had effectively doubled. These expansions created significant changes in the kingdom—the Assamese-speaking Hinduized subjects outnumbered the Ahoms themselves; and the absorption of the Chutia kingdom meant a wide range of artisan skills became available to it increasing the scope for division of labour. To provide legitimacy to the rule of
8928-506: The end of its rule in the 19th century. The Ahom kingdom was established in 1228 when Sukaphaa , a Tai prince, entered the Brahmaputra valley having crossed the rugged Patkai mountain range from Mong Mao . Sukaphaa probably started his journey from his homeland with a small number, but he was supported and joined by other Tai chiefs and common followers along the way and entered Assam with approximately 9,000 persons. His destiny
9052-413: The end of the Battle of Saraighat , the Ahoms not only fended off a major Mughal invasion but extended their boundaries west, up to the Manas river . The western border was fixed at Manas river after the Battle of Itakhuli , which remained the same till the annexation by the British. Following the Battle of Saraighat , the kingdom fell straight under ten years of political disorder. During this period
9176-742: The erection of many temples and made numerous grants to the religious sites and brahmanas. He died in 1744, and his younger brother Pramatta Singha was set up on the throne setting aside the claims of Siva Singha's son. Pramatta Singha alias Sunenphaa ( r. 1744–1751 ), nothing of importance is recorded during his reign. He had erected the Rang Ghar with masonry and built the Sukreswar and Rudreswar temples in North–Guwahati. During his reign, Kirti Chandra Borbarua gained much of his political influence. In 1744, he received an ambassador from
9300-500: The family, allegedly at the insistence of colleagues, despite his personal belief that they were not related. A very influential, although also tentative, classification is that of Benedict (1972) , which was actually written around 1941. Like Shafer's work, this drew on the data assembled by the Sino-Tibetan Philology Project, which was directed by Shafer and Benedict in turn. Benedict envisaged Chinese as
9424-416: The first family to branch off, followed by Karen. The Tibeto-Burman family is then divided into seven primary branches: James Matisoff proposes a modification of Benedict that demoted Karen but kept the divergent position of Sinitic. Of the 7 branches within Tibeto-Burman, 2 branches (Baic and Karenic) have SVO -order languages, whereas all the other 5 branches have SOV -order languages. Tibeto-Burman
9548-562: The first mentor of music, art and culture of the Karbis, who was believed to have enlightened them and brought a renaissance in the domain of art and aesthetics by acting like a sauntering folk singer assisted by the Mirjeng brothers. Karbi musical instruments are similar to other indigenous tribal musical instruments. The difference is in the variance of play and beat. The Karbis residing in hilly areas traditionally practice jhum cultivation ( Slash-and-burn cultivation) whereas those dwelling in
9672-578: The followers of 'Hemphu-Mukrang' for which they prefer themselves as 'Hemphu-Mukrang aso' which means Son of Hemphu and Mukrang . The Karbi deities can be divided into three groups according to their function and these are Hem-Angtar, Rongker and Thengpi-Thengso. The Karbis have no idols, temples or shrines but they do worship the spirits of each particular space, area or territories called ‘Longri Arnam’ (territorial deities), which in Assamese in known as than (sacred place or groves). In recent years, with
9796-577: The forehead down to the chin. Locally referred as 'duk' in Karbi dialect, the tattoo was a symbol of culture, purity and status in the society. It was believed that duk was not a mere tattoo but possessed the divinity to purify the soul; girls who had not received duk were considered immature and unholy. Karbi have a rich oral tradition with songs, which are different from normal spoken words. These songs are an oral narration of ancestors' stories passed through generations. Karbi history has been carried forward through narrative songs. Thanks to Rangsina Sarpo,
9920-496: The help of the descendants of the Habungia Brahmans settled during Sudangpha's time ). The Indo-Aryan Bhuyans were relocated to the capital and absorbed into the lower echelons of the growing state as scribes and warriors. They in turn helped in the elimination of the royalty of the advanced Chutia kingdom in 1523; and that kingdom's nobility, commanders, professional classes, warriors and technologies were absorbed into
10044-586: The highlands of Southeast Asia and south-west China. The name "Tibeto-Burman" was first applied to this group in 1856 by James Logan , who added Karen in 1858. Charles Forbes viewed the family as uniting the Gangetic and Lohitic branches of Max Müller 's Turanian , a huge family consisting of all the Eurasian languages except the Semitic , "Aryan" ( Indo-European ) and Chinese languages. The third volume of
10168-588: The hills and some of them entered into Jaintia hills , the erstwhile Jaintia Kingdom and lived under Jaintia suzerainty. While a section of the Karbis remained in the Jaintia kingdom, others moved towards the north-east by crossing the river Barapani, a tributary of the Kopili and entered into the Rongkhang Ranges. There they established their capital at a place called Socheng. The Karbis who migrated to
10292-498: The indigenous people; nevertheless the later Tungkhungia kings veered towards Saktism and the persecution of the shudra Mahantas and their laity that began during the reign of Siva Singha led to the Moamoria rebellion and ultimately to the eclipse of the kingdom. Sukaphaa (1228–1268) spent a couple of decades moving from place to place establishing colonies and finally settled down in Charaideo in 1253. He established
10416-410: The initiation of Parvatiya Gosain and established him 'Nilachal mountain' with extensive land grants and paiks. Siva Singha was very much under the influence of Brahmanas and astrologers, 1722 it was predicted by the astrologers that his reign would soon come to a end owing to the evil influence of Chatra–bhanga–yoga . Therefore, he transferred the royal umbrella and throne to his wife Phuleshwari who
10540-483: The inscription as 'Currency of Tibet', Also these two characters were used by the Chinese in Lhasa between 1792 and 1836 with the meaning 'Tibetan currency. Furthermore, there was a significant contact between China and Tibet in the mid-seventeen century, so it is not unlikely that the Assamese would have thought have thought that a Chinese character was an appropriate for Assamese-Tibetan trade coin. This piece evidently
10664-511: The integration of the traditional lifestyle with the market economy, many of the traditional institutions and way of life has been left damaged, bringing about unending sufferings on the people. As of 2003, the district of Karbi Anglong has the highest HPI (Human Poverty Index) value of 33.52 within the entire state of Assam. 40°19′52″N 44°22′35″E / 40.3311°N 44.3764°E / 40.3311; 44.3764 Tibeto-Burman languages The Tibeto-Burman languages are
10788-551: The king of Twipra . He died in 1751. Rajeswar Singha alias Supremphaa ( r. 1751–1759 ), he was put on the throne by Kirti Chandra Borbarua by setting aside the claims of seniority of his elder brother Barjana Gohain . Rajeswar Singha had erected the most number of temples among the Ahom Kings, he was an orthodox Hindu and took initiation of Nati–Gosian (a relative of Pravatiya Gosain). In 1765, he sent an expedition to Manipur whose king Jay Singha made an appeal to
10912-513: The kingdom was without a king. Sudangphaa Bamuni Konwar ( r. 1397–1407 ), born and raised in a Brahmin household in Habung , was identified as a descendant of a past king and installed on the throne by the Burhaohain and Borgohain to end the period of crisis. He established Brahmin officers, advisors and communities near the capital and the Brahmin influence, though negligible,
11036-446: The legs. A long pe seleng is also used as sator with colourful designs all over and borders at both the length end which covers up to the knee. In the case of ornaments, the Karbi society has certain rules. Karbi women are usually not allowed to wear gold ornaments, which are reserved for men. Since women wear more ornaments than men, silver is abundantly used. A distinct piece of ornament that Karbi women wear around their necks in silver
11160-575: The most influential Brahmana Sattradhikar ) but later in his life he got inclined towards Shaktism , considering it to be more suitable for a monarch, he invited a famous Sakta Brahmana from Bengal–Krishnaram Bhattacharya alias Pravatiya Gosain. From his death bed he expressed his will that, all his five sons to be kings in an executive manner and advised them to take initiation of Parvatiya Gosain Siva Singha alias Sutanphaa ( r. 1714–1744 ), he dropped his father's plan to invade Benagal. He took
11284-565: The newer data. George van Driem rejects the primary split of Sinitic, making Tibeto-Burman synonymous with Sino-Tibetan. The internal structure of Tibeto-Burman is tentatively classified as follows by Matisoff (2015: xxxii, 1123–1127) in the final release of the Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT). The classification of Tujia is difficult due to extensive borrowing. Other unclassified Tibeto-Burman languages include Basum and
11408-411: The nobles exercised immense power, and seven kings were put on the throne and deposed. In the meantime, Kamrup went back in the hands of Mughals for a few years. Gadadhar Singha ( r. 1682–1696 ) established the 'Tungkhungia rule' in Assam, which continued to remain in power till the end of the kingdom. In 1682, the Mughals were defeated in the Battle of Itakhul , and Manas river was fixed as
11532-601: The non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family , over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia . Around 60 million people speak Tibeto-Burman languages. The name derives from the most widely spoken of these languages, Burmese and the Tibetic languages , which also have extensive literary traditions, dating from
11656-425: The north bank (Uttarkul), the south bank (Dakhinkul), and the island of Majuli . The north bank (Uttarkul) was more populated and fertile but the Ahom kings set up their capital on the south bank (Dakinkul) because it had more inaccessible strongholds and defensible central places. From 1500 to 1770 A.D., one comes across definite signs of demographic growth in the region. There was terrible depopulation In course of
11780-548: The offices of the Dangarias—; the Burhagohain ( Chao-Phrungmung ) and the Borgohain ( Chao-Thaonmung ). In the 1280s, these two offices were given independent regions of control; partly hereditary and partly elected, the king and the two counsellors held each other in check and balance. These institutions of checks and balances thus seeded held fast for six hundred years—in the 18th century John Peter Wade,
11904-435: The plains earn their livelihood by engaging in agriculture and livestock rearing. They grow a variety of crops which include foodgrains, vegetables and fruits like rice, maize, potato, sweet potato, tapioca, beans, ginger, and turmeric. They are quite self-sufficient and have homestead gardens with betel nut, jackfruit, oranges, pineapple, pear, peach, plum, etc. which fulfill their nutritional as well as food needs. However, with
12028-622: The power of Mong Mao faded to be replaced the power of Mong Kwang, at which point the Ahoms stopped the tributes. The Ahoms began to call their domain Mong Dun Sun Kham ("a country of golden gardens"). Though Sukaphaa had avoided the Namdang region mindful of the numerically small Ahom contingent, but his son Suteuphaa made the Kacharis withdraw on their own via a stratagem and the Ahoms expanded into it; but no further expansions of
12152-601: The process known as Ahomisation . The identity of the Ahom people in this kingdom was fluid, with the king controlling who belonged to it and who did not. The Ahoms initially called their kingdom Mong Dun Shun Kham till 1401 ( Assamese : xunor-xophura ; English: casket of gold ), but adopted Assam in later times. The British-controlled province after 1838 and later the Indian state of Assam came to be known by this name. The kingdom maintained close political ties with other Tai-states especially with Mong Kwang (Nara) till
12276-467: The rightful heir of the erstwhile Kamarupa kingdom . The Ahom kingdom became more broad-based and took many features of its mature form under Pratap Singha ( r. 1603–1641 ), primarily to meet the sustained attacks from the Mughals. The Paik system was reorganized in 1609 under the professional khel system, replacing the kinship-based phoid system; and paiks could be permanently alienated to non-royal institutions via royal grants. Under
12400-891: The royal boats, the Bhitarual Phukan, the Na Phukan, the Dihingia Phukan, the Deka Phukan, and the Neog Phukan formed the council of Phukan. The Borphukan also had a similar council of six subordinate Phukans whom he was bound to consult in all matters of importance. This council included Pani Phukan, who commanded six thousand paiks , Deka Phukan who commanded four thousand paiks , the Dihingia Phukan, Nek Phukan and two Chutiya Phukans. The superintending officers were called Barua s. The Baruas of whom there were twenty or more included Bhandari Barua or treasurer;
12524-399: The royal families who occupy lower positions are given regions called mel s, and were called meldangia or melkhowa raja . Meldangia Gohain s were princes of an even lesser grade, of which there were two: Majumelia Gohain and Sarumelia Gohain . Royal ladies were given individual mel s, and by the time of Rajeshwar Singha, there were twelve of them. The most important of these was
12648-461: The same clan are not allowed because they are considered brothers and sisters among themselves. Cousin Marriage (in-laws, Mother & Father side) is highly favoured and so is a love marriage . Arranged marriages are rarely seen in modern Karbi society. After marriage, neither the bride nor the groom changes their surname i.e. they retain their original surname. Due to the same reason, a member of
12772-880: The same clan cannot marry each other. The children of the couple would inherit the surname of their father. The notion of Dowry doesn't exist in Karbi, as well as in the indigenous people of Northeast India region. The traditional system of governance is headed by the Lindok, the king, who is assisted by the Katharpo, the Dilis, the Habes, and the Pinpos. These posts of administration, however, are now merely ceremonial with no real power. The Karbis celebrate many festivals. Among them Hacha-Kekan, Chojun, Rongker, Peng Karkli, Thoi Asor Rit Asor and Botor Kekur are some such festivals held around
12896-723: The same king, the offices of the Borphukan (viceroy of territories acquired from the Koches and the Mughals), and the Borbarua (the "secretary" of the royal government) were established to increase the number of Patra Mantris to five, along with other smaller offices. The practices of using Brahmins solely for diplomatic missions, the Ahom kings adopting a Hindu name in addition to their Ahom names, and patronising Hindu establishments began with Pratap Singha, though formal initiation of
13020-567: The service of a thousand additional paiks from the Jakaichuk village. The Borbarua and the Borphukan had military and judicial responsibilities, and they were aided by two separate councils ( sora ) of Phukans . The Borphukan's sora sat at Guwahati and the Borbarua's sora at the capital. Six of them formed the council of the Borbarua with each having his separate duties. The Naubaicha Phukan, who had an allotment of thousand men managed
13144-540: The significant Hindu religious plan and influence of the Vaishnavism variation. The Karbi religion and belief system is based on ritual ancestor worship , worship of household and territorial deities, and rituals for their ancestors, known as 'Karhi'. Practically, it is the 'Hemphu-Mukrang' duo that dominates the Karbi Pantheon Thus, those Karbis who still follows the traditional practices are known as
13268-484: The silver earned from these trading activities. Another point by which we can understand the trade relation of Ahoms with other nations is through the use of Silver coins. It is to be noted that there are no silver mines in the northeast or in the rest of India, so the metal entered as a result of trade. In extent the kingdom's length was about 500 miles (800 km) and with an average breadth of 60 miles (96 km). The kingdom can be divided into three major regions:
13392-632: The small Ao , Angami–Pochuri , Tangkhulic , and Zeme groups of languages, as well as the Karbi language . Meithei , the main language of Manipur with 1.4 million speakers, is sometimes linked with the 50 or so Kuki-Chin languages are spoken in Mizoram and the Chin State of Myanmar. The Mru language is spoken by a small group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts between Bangladesh and Myanmar. There have been two milestones in
13516-469: The small Qiangic and Rgyalrongic groups of languages, which preserve many archaic features. The most easterly Tibeto-Burman language is Tujia , spoken in the Wuling Mountains on the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing. Two historical languages are believed to be Tibeto-Burman, but their precise affiliation is uncertain. The Pyu language of central Myanmar in the first centuries
13640-487: The small Siangic , Kho-Bwa (or Kamengic), Hruso , Miju and Digaro languages (or Mishmic) groups. These groups have relatively little Tibeto-Burman vocabulary, and Bench and Post dispute their inclusion in Sino-Tibetan. The greatest variety of languages and subgroups is found in the highlands stretching from northern Myanmar to northeast India. Northern Myanmar is home to the small Nungish group, as well as
13764-564: The spread of new faiths (Aron Kimi), a number of new religious movements have come to fore, such as Lokhimon (A variation of Vaishnavism founded by Lokhon Ingti Hensek), Karbi Bhaktitom Trust (Founded by Smt. Ambika Tokbipi), Sat Sang (A reform of Hinduism founded by Thakur Anukul Chandra) and Honghari. These religious movements have influenced a section of Karbi population in the district. The Karbis mainly speak their native language, i.e. Karbi language . Karbis are well versed in Assamese which
13888-532: The state was taken very strictly so that every working man would be registered for the state service. The census were properly recorded in registers called paikar piyalar kakat . The following table estimates the population composition of classes, during the reign of king Rajeswar Singha (1751-1769). According to the population estimates computed by Gunabhiram Barua . population by Guha (1978) population by Bhuyan (1949) population by NPB population by Dutt (1958) There were towns, but only
14012-452: The tribal allegiances that held the polity together earlier and brought the Ahom kingdom very close to a full-fledged state. The next hundred years saw the kingdom mostly suppressing rebellious Naga groups, but a conflict with the Dimasa kingdom in 1490 saw the Ahoms, not strong enough to take them on frontally, suing for peace. The Ahom royalty continuously improved their relationship with
14136-412: The tribe too wear ear ornaments. They are called Norik, made of gold or silver. The rings that Karbis wear are called Arnan. Arnan Ke-et, Arnan Kelop, Rup Bonda, Ser Bonda and Vokapardon Arnan are some of the rings that Karbis commonly flaunt on their fingers. Karbi priests wear arnans only made of copper. Traditionally, a characteristic feature of a Karbi woman was her facial tattoo, dyed with indigo from
14260-461: The village and the people living in it. The Chomangkan (also known as "thi-karhi") is a festival of the Karbis. It is a ceremony conducted by a family to ensure the peace and safe passage of the soul of a deceased family member. The ceremony may be held recently or long after their death and is the final homage for the deceased person as no further death anniversary is held again. This is a yearly festival celebrated by Karbi people. The festival motto
14384-638: The western boundary. Gadadhar Singha came in conflict with the Vaisnava Satras who began commencing immense power and influence over the state and people, and started a wide–spread persecution of the Vaisnavites. The rule of Tungkhungia Ahom kings was marked by achievements in the Arts and engineering constructions, the Tungkhungia reigme witnessed a relative time of peace and stability till
14508-438: The whole Brahmaputra Valley, from Sadiya in the east and Sherpur on the south. Thus, the Ahom state attained the greatest territorial zenith. In 1662, Aurangzeb to bring the lost tracts and to punish the rebels elements in that quarter, launched an invasion under his chief lieutenant Mir Jumla II , in this invasion the Ahoms could not resist up well, and the Mughals occupied the capital, Garhgaon. Unable to keep it, and in at
14632-459: The year and some of them are held at a specific time of the year. Botor Kekur is celebrated to request God to grace the earth with rain so that the crops could be sown. This festival is celebrated after finishing harvesting of crops, mainly rice. Rongker is celebrated either on 5 January or on 5 February as per the convenience of the villagers as a thanksgiving to God and asking for their assurance to protect them from any evil harm that may happen to
14756-480: Was Upper Assam , earlier the domain of the Kamarupa kingdom but which had since lapsed into deteriorating conditions, and his intention was not to conquer and raid but to permanently settle in fallow land and practice agriculture —and the Ahoms were primarily responsible for converting the undulating alluvial forest and marshy plains in upper Assam to flat rice fields able to hold plain water for rice cultivation via
14880-402: Was an attempt by Jayadhwaj Singha to facilitate trade with Chinese knowing person coming from the direction of Tibet. Rudra Singha is also said to have established an extensive trade with Tibet and to have encouraged intercourse with other nations although he strictly limited the extent to which foreigners were allowed into the country. Presumably, some of the coins of his reign were struck with
15004-476: Was between Sadiya and Gerelua river in the north bank of the Brahmaputra river and the Borgohain's territory was to the west up to the Burai river. They were given total command over the paiks that they controlled. These positions were generally filled from specific families. Princes who were eligible for the position of Swargadeo were not considered for these positions and vice versa. In the 1527, Suhungmung added
15128-476: Was felt for the first time. A number of rebellions erupted purportedly against this influence but Sudangphaa was able to suppress them and solidify his rule. One of the rebels invited a military expedition from Mong Kwang (called Nara in the Buranjis, the successor state of Mong Mao to which the early Ahom kings used to send tribute) resulting in a clash in 1401—but Sudangphaa defeated the expedition and concluded
15252-511: Was given the title of 'Bar–Raja' on the advice of Pravatiya Gosain. Phuleswari melded too much with the religious affairs, she had caused the insult of the Shudra–Mahantas. After the death of Phuleswari, two other wives of Siva Singha were set on the position of 'Bar–Raja', namely Ambika and Sarbeswari. Siva Singha reign was peaceful, except an expedition sent against the Daflas, he had caused
15376-459: Was particularly significant till the 16th century when under Suhungmung , the kingdom made large territorial expansions at the cost of the Chutiya and the Kachari kingdoms. At this initial stage the kingdom was still not fully sovereign. Sukaphaa sent his word of allegiance and tributes to Mong Mao , a practice that was continued by some of his successors till about the early 14th century when
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