Sonowal Kachari people
Xonowal Kosari man and woman
Total population
235,881[1]
Regions with significant populations
Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur and other districts of Upper Assam
Languages
Assamese
Religion
Ekasarana Dharma
Related ethnic groups

The Sonowal Kachari (Assamese : সোনোৱাল কছাৰী, IPA: [xʊnʊwal kɔsarɪ]) are one of the oldest indigenous peoples of the state of Assam in Northeast India. They are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and are closely related with other indigenous ethnic groups of Assam, which are commonly referred to as Kachari.

They are predominantly inhabitants of Dhemaji, North Lakhimpur, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of Assam, along with pocket populations in Jorhat, Sivsagar, Golaghat district of Assam and in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is at Dibrugarh.

Origin

The Sonowal Kacharis are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Northeastern part of India and are one of the many Kachari tribes in the region. The Sonowal Kacharis had no written records or history in their language but references of them can be found amply in the Ahom Buranjis of Assam.

It is said that during the reign of the Ahom kings, some of the kacharis were engaged in washing gold particles from the sands of the rivers and therefore the prefix ‘Sonowal’ (Gold Washers), was added to signify them.

Late Sarbananda Rajkumar who studied the Sonowal Kacharis reveals - “Sadiya Anchalat thaka Tamreswari Mandir aru Nadi bilakor naamor pora Chutiya sakalor agote tat Kachari rajyo asil buli anuman koribo pari”. Meaning — The Tamreswari temple and name of the river at Sadiya justify the existence of a Kachari Kingdom at Sadiya before Chutiya kingdom. Late Dr. Lila Gogoi opines that at Sadiya, a Kachari king named Manik ruled at sometime in 11th/12th century A.D. Folklores of the Sonowal Kacharis have ample references of Manik. The tale runs as follows :

Obtaining the blessing of ‘Khiring Raja’ the wife of a Kachari named Manik gave birth to a cat. The cat was put inside a mustard loaded bamboo basket (Sariyahar Duli) and surprisingly the ordinary cat was turned into a golden cat. Due to this heavenly gift Manik could become the king of Sadiya (Halali). Later on he bequeathed the kingdom to his son-in-law ‘Mukuta’.

Even to this day the members of ‘Manikal’ and ‘Muktal’ clans refer to their glorious ancestors.

Society

The Sonowal Kacharis have seven clans called 'Khel'. The clans are strictly exogamous. They are-

  • Balikhitiari
  • Chiripuria
  • Amarabamiya
  • Dhulial
  • Ujani-Kuchiya
  • Namoni-Kuchiya
  • Tipamiya

These clans are again subdivided into fourteen sub-clans. They are

  1. Hagral
  2. Muktal
  3. Madan
  4. Manikiyal
  5. Ahmal
  6. Formal
  7. Borttajoal
  8. Saru Hajowal
  9. Kumral
  10. Dhekial
  11. Oingial
  12. Lothial
  13. Dangral
  14. Chetial

These are again divided into 108 ‘Poriyals’ or families. Some are- 'Mokrari'. 'Dapulari', 'Nezkatari', 'Khakalari', ‘Langiri’, ‘Baglari’ etc. Since the clans and sub-clans are exogamous, marriages among the same clans are strictly prohibited.The Sonowals were offered paik positions like Hazarika, Saikia, Bora, etc in their process of assimilation with the non-tribal people, specially during the Ahom rule.

Language

The Sonowal Kacharis at present have completely abandoned their own language and accepted the Assamese language during their assimilation with the greater Assamese speaking population. Nearly all Sonowal Kacharis speak Assamese as their mother tongue. Some remaining Sonowal Kachari words still used are-

  • Mimdung : Coriander Leaf
  • Aboi : Grandmother
  • Niling : Axel
  • Thumun : Hammer
  • Daahi : Fiery Woman
  • Hadang : Near
  • Jamuna : Tomato
  • Doka : Thick
  • Kepong : Branch of a Tree
  • Lapha : Mushroom
  • Thummora : To get ready to Fight
  • Dhoina : Gate
  • Ghoga Loga : To Catch a cold
  • Thola : Horn
  • Huping : An instrument to catch Fish

etc.

Religion and Culture

Most Sonowal Kacharis follow a dual religious system. They follow ‘Baitho Dharma’ (Not to be confused with Bathouism, which is predominantly followed by Boro people) and Shankardev’s Ekasarana Dharma. But there's a vast difference between the system of two religions in terms of beliefs and practices. Though they have faith in Naamdharma which is against the worship of any other god and goddess with or without sacrifice, yet they have not completely abolished their traditional religious systems.

‘Baitho’ religious practices.

There are two kinds of worship — Community and Household. The people worship a large number of deities. Their main or supreme deity is ‘Khiring Khiring Baitho Roja’. To maintain peace in the family they hold household worship and community worship for the welfare of the villagers. Some of the community worship are- ‘Baitho Puja, ‘Bagh puja’, ‘Bator Sabah’, ‘Gyati Guru Sabah’, ‘Gupini Sabah’, Worship of Kecaikhati etc. Some of the household rituals are, ‘Ancestors worship’, ‘Swargadeo puja’ etc.

Festivals

Bihu is the main festival of Sonowal Kacharis. Like other communities of Assam, the Sonowals also consider Bihu as their traditional community festival. There are three Bihus in a year. They are Bohag or Rongali bihu, Magh or Bhogali Bihu, Kati or Kongali Bihu.

Folklores and Folksongs

The Sonowal Kacharis have a very rich stream of culture which flourished through the generations. They have a lot of Folklores and Folksongs which are associated with their rites and customs, social systems, religious faiths etc. Prominent ‘Geets’ of Sonowal Kacharis are given below:

  • Haidang Geet:

The oldest and the most ancient folk-song of the Sonowal Kacharis is Haidang Geet. In this song we find about the creation of the Universe and it is divided into eleven sections. In the first section, we find the earth, the sky, fire, air, water, land etc. were created. In the second section, mystery of the creation of creatures is discussed. In the third section there is a comparative amount of God and Devil's and how they were worshipped by the primitive people is discussed in this section.In the fourth section, how the lineage of Sonowal Kacharis with seven clans (Khel) and Sub clans (Hons) was created is discussed. From Fifth to Eight sections how and Whom ‘Khiring Khiring Baitho Roja’ married is described elaborately. In the ninth and tenth sections, a description of worshipping different gods is found. In the eleventh section, the prayer is offered to the God ‘Baitho’ to pardon the people for any sort of omissions committed by them while worshipping different gods.

  • Husori Geet:

Bihu is the traditional community festival of not only Sonowal Kacharis but every every indigenous community living in Assam. During the period of Bihu ‘Husori Geet' is sung both by the young boys and girls in every household of the village. Sonowal Kacharis have their own variation of husori known as ‘Haidang Husori’.


Dance of the Sonowal Kacharis

Bohua nrityo

Some of the traditional dances of the Sonowal Kacharis are ‘Leseri Bihu’, ‘Log Bihu’, ‘Hugra dance’, ‘Bohuwa dance’ ‘Haidang dance’ etc.


Notable people

  • Pradan Baruah, Indian politician, former member of Assam Legislative assembly, MP of Lakhimpur Lok Sabha.
  • Jitul Sonowal, singer, music director, composer, lyricist and entertainer in the field of Assamese music since 1992.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Sonowal, Ripunjoy. (2014). Some Folklore Medicines of the Sonowal Kachari tribe of Upper Assam, North East India. Scholars Academic Journal of Biosciences. 2. 541-543.

References

Printed sources

  • Dutta, Sristidhar (1985), The Mataks and their Kingdom, Allahabad: Chugh Publications
  • Baruah, Amlan; Choudhury, S. B. Roy (1999). Assam State Gazetteer. Government of Assam.

Internet

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.