Assamese Brahmin

Assamese Brahmins
	A Brahmin priest performing daily prayers
Regions with significant populations
	Assam, India
Languages
	Assamese
Religion
	Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
	Kanyakubja Brahmin, Maithil Brahmin, Utkala Brahmin, Bahun, Bengali Brahmins, Saraswat Brahmins, Kulin Brahmins

Assamese Brahmins are the Brahmins present in the Assamese society. There they promoted learning, Vedic religion, astrology, ayurveda and as well as imparting general vedic knowledge to the public.^[4] The Brahmins migrated to Assam from Videha (Mithila), Kannauj, Bengal and many other places.^[5]

History

The earliest historical evidence of settlement of Brahmins in Assam comes from epigraphic sources of the Varman dynasty (350–650).^[6] In the late medieval period beginning with the early 16th century, a number of Brahmins from Mithila, Benaras, Kanauj, Bengal and Puri (Srikshetra), were settled in western Assam by the Koch kings for performing Brahminical rites.^[7]^[8]^[9] During the reign of Nara Narayan (1554-1587) of the Koch dynasty, two Brahmins named Siddhantavagisa and Vidyavagisa were brought from Gauda and Siddhantavagisa was responsible for the spread of Hinduism in the Koch kingdom^[10] Even during the reign of Koch king Prannarayana (1633-1655), Brahmins were brought from Mithilia to serve in the Koch kingdom^[11] and this process was later continued by the Ahom state especially under the Tungkhungia Ahom kings with Siva Singha donating 19 out of the 48 landgrants by the Ahom kings to Brahmins.^[12] The migration of Brahmins into Assam took place from Central Himalayas as well.^[13] Most of these migration took place due to the foreign invasions in North India and on the invitation by the local rulers.^[14] Traditionally these Brahmins held the highest positions in society.^[15]

Tradition and culture

Lagundeoni/Upanayana

Traditionally, the ceremony of Lagundeoni – one of the samskaras or rites of passage marking acceptance of a student by a guru, is a quite prevalent ritual within the community.^[16]

Death rituals

Brahmins of the Assam valley follow a different death ritual as opposed to the other indigenous communities in Assam. A religious rite, known as Caturthā is performed on the 4th day of a person's demise unlike Tiloni, performed on the 3rd day of person's demise by non–Brahmin indigenous communities.^[17]

Lifestyle

Although in general Brahmins observe all the customary rituals, they appear usually less rigid^[18] in some of their traditional lifestyle choices, such as they may eat meat, fish, unlike their counterparts in other parts of India like the North and the South.^[19] Other Brahmins in India view Assamese Brahmins as polluted and impure.^[20]

Present

The Brahmins constitute one of the Forward classes of Assam based on the classifications of Government of India, although the recent trend on economic condition has not been very well within the community. Assam's former Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi announced setting up of development councils for several communities in the state, including Brahmins.^[21]

Notes

^ "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019. Ahom [aho]
^ "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. 2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01 MDDS.XLS
^ (Dikshit & Dikshit 2013, p. 397)
^ (Dikshit & Dikshit 2013, p. 390)
^ "On the other hand, this story may reflect the historical process of the expansion of agrarian settlements of the brahmanas which has been recognized from the Bhauma-Varman dynasty." ( & Shin 2010:10)
^ Shin (2010), p. 22: "It is suggested that under the Koch kings, patronage of brahmans began earlier and more vigorously than in the Ahom kingdom. Encouraged both by the Koch kings and the regional bhuiyan landlords, a number of brahmanas from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal migrated into western Assam in the sixteen century"
^ (Adhikary 2018): Apart from this Maharaja Biswa Singha (Koch dynasty) invited a large number of Brahmins from Kanouj, Benaras and other learning places and provided them rent free lands to perform religious practice. He also appointed Ballabhacharya, the chief priest of Kamakhya Temple to Koch Kingdom."
^ (Sheikh 2012, p. 251): "He (Biswa Singha) brought some learned Brahmanas from Mithila, Benaras, Kanauj, and Srikshetra (Puri) to his kingdom in order to perform the Brahminical rituals"
^ (Sheikh 2012:251)
^ (Shin 2021:32)
^ Das (2014), p. 158: "The practice of giving grants to gain religious merit can be seem in full blossom in Ahom times"
^ (Witzel 1993:266)
^ (Witzel 1993:266)
^ (Bose 1989)
^ "Assam State Gazetteer Vol. 1, page 317 – Government of Assam". Mr. Amlan Baruah and S.B. Roy Choudhury. 1999. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^ (Sarma 1990, p. 54)
^ (Bose 1989, p. 44)
^ "Assam Government Withdraws Meat Sale Ban at Cultural Festival After Social Media Outcry". The Wire. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
^ Saikia, Yasmin (9 November 2004). Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. Duke University Press. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-8223-8616-2. Assamese Brahmins are not vegetarians, but they are very judgmental about other peoples' food and eating habits. Brahmins else- where in India consider the Assamese Brahmins polluted and impure
^ "Gogoi announces development councils for Brahmins, others". India Today. Retrieved 9 August 2023.

References

Published-sources

Witzel, Michael (1993), "Towards a History of the Brahmins", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 113 (2), American Oriental Society: 264–268, doi:10.2307/603031, JSTOR 603031
Shin, Jae-Eun (2010). "Yoni, Yoginīs and Mahāvidyās: Feminine Divinities from Early Medieval Kāmarūpa to Medieval Koch Behar, Studies in History". Studies in History. 26 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1177/025764301002600101. S2CID 155252564.
Adhikary, Madhab. (2018), "Development of Saiva Cult in Koch Kingdom Under Maharaja Biswa Singha (1496-1540).", Uttar Prasanga, 12 (3–4): 25–31
Das, Sneha (2014). "Engraved Histories: A Study of Legend of Naraka and Political Legitimacy in the Kamarupa Region". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75. Indian History Congress: 153–159. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158374.
Sheikh, Amiruzzaman (2012). "The 16th century Koch kingdom: Evolving patterns of sanskritisation". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 73: 249–254. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44156212.
Barua, Preeti (2000). Nalinibala Devi. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 9788126009169.
Dikshit, K. R.; Dikshit, Jutta K. (2013). North-East India: Land, People and Economy. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9789400770553.
Bose, Manilal (1989). Social History of Assam: Being a Study of the Origins of Ethnic Identity and Social Tension During the British Period, 1905-1947 – Pre–British History and Society. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788170222248.
Patra, S. C. (2011). Socio-economic profile of Rural India (series II) – Roots. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788180697241.
Sarma, Anjali (1990). Among the Luminaries in Assam: A Study of Assamese Biography. Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788170992073. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Shin, Jae-Eun (2021). "Sword and Words: A Conflict Between Kings and Brahmins in the Bengal Frontier, Kāmatāpur 15th-16th Centuries". Journal of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. 3. Government of West Bengal: 21–36.

Internet

[1] "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019. Ahom [aho]

[2] "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities

[census2011-3] "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. 2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01 MDDS.XLS

[4] (Dikshit & Dikshit 2013, p. 397)

[5] (Dikshit & Dikshit 2013, p. 390)

[6] "On the other hand, this story may reflect the historical process of the expansion of agrarian settlements of the brahmanas which has been recognized from the Bhauma-Varman dynasty." ( & Shin 2010:10)

[7] Shin (2010), p. 22: "It is suggested that under the Koch kings, patronage of brahmans began earlier and more vigorously than in the Ahom kingdom. Encouraged both by the Koch kings and the regional bhuiyan landlords, a number of brahmanas from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal migrated into western Assam in the sixteen century"

[8] (Adhikary 2018): Apart from this Maharaja Biswa Singha (Koch dynasty) invited a large number of Brahmins from Kanouj, Benaras and other learning places and provided them rent free lands to perform religious practice. He also appointed Ballabhacharya, the chief priest of Kamakhya Temple to Koch Kingdom."

[9] (Sheikh 2012, p. 251): "He (Biswa Singha) brought some learned Brahmanas from Mithila, Benaras, Kanauj, and Srikshetra (Puri) to his kingdom in order to perform the Brahminical rituals"

[10] (Sheikh 2012:251)

[11] (Shin 2021:32)

[12] Das (2014), p. 158: "The practice of giving grants to gain religious merit can be seem in full blossom in Ahom times"

[13] (Witzel 1993:266)

[14] (Witzel 1993:266)

[15] (Bose 1989)

[16] "Assam State Gazetteer Vol. 1, page 317 – Government of Assam". Mr. Amlan Baruah and S.B. Roy Choudhury. 1999. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2017.

[17] (Sarma 1990, p. 54)

[18] (Bose 1989, p. 44)

[19] "Assam Government Withdraws Meat Sale Ban at Cultural Festival After Social Media Outcry". The Wire. Retrieved 9 August 2023.

[20] Saikia, Yasmin (9 November 2004). Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. Duke University Press. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-8223-8616-2. Assamese Brahmins are not vegetarians, but they are very judgmental about other peoples' food and eating habits. Brahmins else- where in India consider the Assamese Brahmins polluted and impure

[21] "Gogoi announces development councils for Brahmins, others". India Today. Retrieved 9 August 2023.