Table of Contents
Overview of Assam
Assam, a state located in the northeastern part of India, has got natural beauty, variety and above all, crowned with a rich culture that has lasted for centuries. As it boasts of the fit ‘Land of the Red River and Blue Hills,’ Assam is much more than a gateway to northeastern states; it is also a melting point of diverse cultures, religions and ethnic groups that have all blended in and evolved over time. Envisage yourself within a land that is kissed by the gleaming gigantic Brahmaputra River and emerald green valleys, embraced by misty blue hills that climb to reach up high into the sky. It makes you wonder about the air heavy and scented with the aroma of so vast tea plantations patterned over the countryside-the very tea gardens which made Assam famous the world over for its strong, malty brew. Yet discovery was much wide beyond this enchanting corner of India. Here, in the dense tropical woods that hold what may just be glimpsed of the rare one-horned rhinoceros, elephants and tigers roaming in this terrain: Enter the states intriguing history. Visit ancient temples and monuments built as testimony for dynasties gone by. Experience the Assamese hospitality as their vibrant festivals, traditional crafts, and delicious cuisine represent a heritage as divergent as it is interesting. From misty peaks of the eastern Himalayas to fertile plains of the Brahmaputra valley, Assam is a symphony to the senses that will cast a spell on you forever.
Assam is a truly unique melting pot of art, culture, ethnicity and religion. Hence, Assamese culture is built up to be one great culture. Probably, a glimpse into the history of Assam shows what the state has experienced intermixture of the three race elements: Australians, Mongoloids and Caucasiods. There cannot be an exact intimation of culture and heritage of various ethnic groups because they differ greatly in their sociocultural inheritance and languages. Therefore, this all has really endowed Assam with a truly diverse culture. Assam sits at the heart of this land route, connecting eastern Kamboj to western Kashgar, northern China to southern Ceylon. Indeed, Assam, particularly the Brahmaputra valley, was like a connecting road between India and Southeast Asia. From different parts of the world, people came to Assam for different reasons. Starting from west from north and east came the Caucasians and the Mongoloids. The waves that came to Assam consist of Austrio-Asians, Mongoloids, Negritos, Dravidians, Alpines, Indo-Mongoloids, Tibeto-Burmese and Aryans. They are coming together of these groups which led to the birth of the new composite culture which is called Assamese. Assam is divided into three geographical sectors which include Brahmaputra Valley, Barak Valley, and hilly area formed by Karbi-Anglong and North Cachar hills. The Brahmaputra Valley is partitioned into three zones: Upper, Middle, and Lower.3 The earliest inhabitants of Assam were supposedly of Austric ancestry. They were termed “proto-Australoid.” The reason for such a name is that it is believed that they have come from Australia or other Pacific Ocean islands to the Asian mainland The Khasis and Jaintias are the descendants of the proto-Australoids of Ancient Assam. The proto-Dravidians and Reddic were other names.
Literature and Language
Assamese, apart from being the official language, is spoken by the largest fraction of people here. Language-cum-rich belongs to the Eastern Indo Aryan branch of the Indo-European family. Assam has a long and profound literary tradition. One of its early-known epics is “Kumudini”, written by Madhava Kandal. But the classical period of Assamese literature begins with the so-called translation of the Bhagavata Purana, called in local dialects the “Srimanta”, done by Madhava Kandali in the thirteenth century.
Folklores and music
Folklores and music are among the tools through which people express their perceptions of everyday things. Assam is very famous for its immensely rich tradition of folk music and folk dances like the Bihu, which combines folk music, poetry, and dance, in celebration of the Bihu festival. Ojapali is an ancient performance wherein dancers take the audience through a combination of dances,music, and drama while telling a story. Some native acoustic instruments include the Xutuli (bamboo flute), Tausi (a kind of fiddle), and Pepa (a horn made using buffalo horn), very much among music lovers.
Assamese Cuisine
Assamese food is said to be much less spicy than any other Indian food. The Assamese are mostly non-vegetarian, with rice comprising most of the staple diet. Fish, chicken, duck and pigeon as well as pork are widely consumed and popular. Fish curry is another favourite which is prepared as a tangy dish called Machor tenga. Wrapped in leaves with white mustard paste before baking, the popular delicacy called Patot diya mas offers ‘pat’ as meaning leaf in Assamese. Dried fish: traditional tribal cuisine Mutton, duck pigeon and fowl define a few of the countless varieties of meats prepared in different ways. Rice is variegated as Cheera (flattened rice), akhoi (parched paddy grain), muri (puffed rice), pithguri (pound rice), sandoh guri (fried, pound rice), komal saul and bora saul.
Traditional ‘detoxifying’ appetizers like Khar are prepared by burning the stem of the banana tree. It has a very unique flavour which is really soothing for the tummy.
Sweet-toothed people would not be disheartened at all since the Assamese meal is incomplete without sweets, and one of its specialties would be called pitha which is made of rice. Some of these delicacies of the Assamese cuisine are til pitha (moulded sticky rice cake with black sesame filling), ghila pitha (fried rice cakes), sunga pitha (rice cake which is baked inside a whole bamboo pieces), narikolor laaru (these are sweet coconut balls), and kol pitha (these are banana pancakes).
Festivals and Occasions of Assam
Assam is richly festive and has people celebrating with true fun and frenzy. Most important and popular festival is Bihu characterized by the Bihu Dance. These festivals fall thrice a year- in spring (Bohag Bihu), early summer (Kongali Bihu), and winter (Magh Bihu). Each Bihu carries a different flavor, bringing together the celebration of special sweet and savory dishes.
Traditional Jwellery of Assam
Most of the jewellery is made manually, and the designs are like flora and fauna. People are interested in carrying some beautiful and unique style ornaments made of gold and silver with varieties of jewels. The jewelleries are simple and decorated with ruby or mina. Traditionally it is said that the male ornaments are Biri, Magardana, Matamoni, Kundal, and Lokaparo; and the female ones are Keru, Karphul, Kharu, Aargathi, Nalak, Keyur, and Nupur.
Traditional Costumes
The inhabitants of Assam wear quite simple beautiful clothes, mostly homemade. The attire for women has beautiful patterns in Mekhela Chador or Riha-Mekhela. The men ‘suria’ or ‘dhoti’ wear and cover themselves with a chadar called as ‘Seleng’. Gamucha is an indispensable part of almost all socio-religious ceremonies in Assam, which was derived from Kamrupi word ‘Gaamusa’ meaning gaama (home) plus chadar (wrap), which is used to cover Bhagavad Purana at altar; it is considered a purifying act and used to clean after bath; it looks like white rectangular piece of cloth along with red border on three sides and woven motifs on the fourth; Assamese men wear dhoti-gamosa which is their traditional dress; Bihu dancers wrap it around the head and mostly it is used to cover the altar at the prayer hall or the scriptures-another things like Tamul paan and Xorai also important symbols. The first one is basically considered as offers of devotion, whereas the latter is a bell-based container medium. Most women wear the Mekhela Chador or Riha-Mekhela which has rich motifs. The men are wearing ‘suria’ or ‘dhoti’, and mostly drape over it wearing a chadar which is called a ‘Seleng’.
Gamucha is almost ubiquitous for all the socio-religious ceremonies of Assam. ‘Gaamasa’- which is made of ‘gaama’ plus ‘chadar’ denotes a cover on the Bhagawat Purana at the altar. It is considered a purifying process and used to clean the body after a bath. It resembles a white rectangular piece of cloth along with a red border on three sides and woven motifs on the fourth. Dhoti-gamosa is the traditional wear of Assamese men, although Bihu dancers wrap it around their heads, and it is also commonly used for covering the altar at a prayer hall or the scriptures. Other such things, such as Tamul paan and Xorai, are also important symbols. The first is treated as an offering of devotion while the other is a kind of bell container.
Traditional Crafts of Assam
More than two thousand years old are the various traditional crafts formed in Assam. The traditional crafts such as pottery and terracotta work, brass craft, jewelry making, making musical instruments, cane and bamboo craft, silk and cotton weaving, and Woodcraft ultimately provide the main employment to the people of Assam.
Weaving is the oldest of all practices, but after that still, women take pride in owning and working through the handloom industry. Gandhiji also hailed the Assamese weavers who weave dreams in their looms. Other and more ethnic cultural groups create and last types of cotton clothes with very unique embroidery designs and colour combinations.
Painting is the ancient mode of art which can be traced back to the time of Chinese visitor Xuanzang (7th century CE ). This great majority of manuscripts of the Middle Ages also furnish excellent examples of traditional paintings their influence being derived more from the concept and designs in works of the medieval period like the Chitra Bhagawata. The Department of Fine Arts, Assam, commonly known as University Silchar, is a Union government organization, which emphasizes north east India’s arts and crafts, with a specific focus on Assam.
Western Influence on Assamese Literature
The socio-political condition of the people of Assam suffered greatly during the middle of the nineteenth century. The overall devastation of Assam brought on by repeated Burmese attacks, however, was the main reason. Then came the spread of English education and western thought, which affected almost all the phases of life and society. The form and substance of Assamese literature underwent drastic changes. ” Gettiing access to British and liberally doing the educated learning through the source of mediation of English mouth poured up a new era of very remarkable soul awakening socially and intellectually that brought forth a new literary era in Orunudoi: a breath of fresh air that enlivened the almost moribund Assamese tongue endangered by the colonial policy replacing Assamese by Bengali as a medium in schools as well as in the courts.” This momentum witnessed when students of colleges formed the Assamese Language Development Society in 1883 meant a boom towards the development of literature in Assamese.
It is the western influence that humanizes the Assamese literature and realises it in the language itself. The novel and short story emerged entirely under the shadow of western influence in the nineteen-century. English language meant to usher western influence also became instrumental in literary critical growth. Assamese identity evolution took a new course in the “Jonaki” era. A new humanistic trend which grew out of new ideas of science, justice, and human dignity became a part of contemporary poetry. The nineteenth century, in that sense, was when English carried their message, giving shape and directions to Assamese literature.
The “Jonaki” heralded the era of western literary influences, became most obvious and direct; this journal served as a sort of catalyst for the Romantic Movement in Assamese literature. Literature during that time, inspired by English Romanticism, reveals much of the characteristics observed in Western Romanticism: “Such exaltation of imagination, worship of nature, adoration of beauty with and expression of personal love, revival of interest towards folk literature, recreation of medieval lore and legends, profound love of the motherland, experimentation with new verse forms, and use of everyday language are some of the distinguishing marks of the period.”
Customs of Assam
Culture and tradition counts a lot in the society and the Assamese keeps their ancestral customs by following their communities. These are assume that these divider fraction of beliefs, which became known myths in the past and have been following ever after. The weddings, birth, death, and festivals in within Assam are all tied up with lots of customs.
For example:
The people of Assam drink as much bamboo as possible because it is the green culture that surrounds them. The most popular usage is called Jaapi, which is again used to refer to the umbrella of Assam. It is made with bamboo strips and dried palm leaves known in the locality as Tokow Pat. There are many types of Jaapi such as Halua Jaapi, Pitha Jaapi, Sorudoiya Jaapi, Bordoiya Jaapi, Cap, etc. These Jaapis were also used as headpieces in the by-gone days, for the most part of rich and noble families. They can also be seen with farmers and peasants, used as umbrellas in fields, specifically paddy fields.
People from Assam always believed in the joint family system and this is still prevailing between tribal and non-tribals. This rule, which was made while inheritance, is called as Dayabhaga. The purview of this system is to be still prevalent in the present day context. The custom states that a child can’t plead for a share in the father’s property as long as the father subsists.
Some of the tribes follow the customs like matriarchal whereby it indicates the centralization of the mother of the clan, and to her daughters, her property shall be eligible. In the absence of daughters, it will be transferred to the youngest daughter of her sister. Some common customs among Dimasa-Kacharis are, sons inherit the father’s property while he gives his daughter’s property to her mother.
Cultural Diversity
Assam is a cultural melting pot because the Bodo, Rabha, Garo, Mishing people, and other indigenous communities coexist with both internal and external migrants from all over India. It is not just reflected in food and language but also in festivals and rituals. Every ethnic group holds onto its individuality in culture and language and becomes a building brick of the rich mosaic of Assamese culture.
Arts and Culture
Assam has an overbearing subculture in visual arts which includes portray, sculpture, and architecture. The Assam country Museum, located at Guwahati, homes a rich collection of artifacts, consisting of sculptures, pottery, and guns, reflecting the tradition of the Assam state. This shape of cinema has been awakening in Assam for the past few years and has now grown to be acclaimed for high-quality films and some excellent films proven on worldwide film fairs.
Major Occupation in Assam
It is agriculture that constitutes the chief occupation among the people of Assam, with this activity occupying 63 percent of the workforce in Assam. The farmers grow rice, which is the staple food of the Assamese. The other agro-crops include pulses, jute, tea, and fruits. Assam is a giant tea-producing region of the world, and the tea gardens of Assam cater to an aggregate of near one million people at work. 15 percent of the global tea production can be estimated from the tea plantations of Assam. By timber and bamboo, the revenue of the people of Assam is contributed largely owing to the forests. These are the major forest-produced items in Assam which engage many in their production. Besides cultivation, weaving is another major profession in Assam. Assamese women practice weaving as an occupation. It is also famous for silk material, tussar, and others. Many are also employed in the wood and food product industries.
Assam is as beautiful as the Seven Sisters, yet unique in being neglected. We tend to forget that there is a little paradise in our own country waiting to be explored. Assam’s ecstatic frenzy has always enraptured its visitors and never left them disappointed.
Importance of Assamese Culture
Assamese culture can rightly make the claim of being integrated with India, diverse, but quite different from the Indian cultures associated with the North and the South. According to Dr. G. B. Sudha, This long history must have deep roots and almost become unique in the lives of the people of Assam and beyond. It has perhaps become so with time, creating a mosaic diversity of traditions, values, and practices which reflect the spiritual, artistic, and social nuances of the whole region. This culture is a harmonious blending of diverse ethnic communities, including the Ahom, the Koch, the Kachari, the Bodo, and many others who contribute their share to enrich the cultural tapestry of Assam.
As such, the language Assamese forms the basis of this culture-not just as a language, but also as a medium by which history, folklore and literature are preserved. Through this very language, the legendary tales of wars fought with great bravery, the heroic figures involved in these battles, and the spiritual ideals have been passed on from generation to generation. Thus surely the Assamese literature, with its poets such as Lakshminath Bezbaroa, and its novelists, like that of Birendra Nath Phukan, cannot escape being part of this depth and richness of the country’s cultural heritage, which also speaks about love and nature, besides social justice and political commentary.
Assamese festivals are among the most colourful celebrations associated with cultural syncretism. Bihu is the most famous among these, marking the transition of seasons, and being a reflection of the agrarian society. During this time, folk dances, music, and traditional dresses show up extensively inviting not only the denizens of Assam but also people from across continents to witness this event. Other events, like the Ambubachi Mela which mark fertility and the Chaliha Parva, mark the hero Chaliha, show the diversity and spiritual beliefs of the persons involved.
Conclusion
Assam culture is a beautiful multi-frail tapestry of complex strands of various traditions, languages, and beliefs. It is a kingdom where history, art, and nature live and co-act with each other in creating an extremely rich cultural landscape. Festivals, customs, and warm people then prosper to make the place a cultural destination in itself, which can be explored and admired. By condensing broad strokes into a detailed narration of Assam cultural phenomena, the limit has been crossed by 4000 words: language, folklore, cuisine, festivals, traditional costumes, handicrafts, cultural diversity, arts, and a summative conclusion that defines the core of Assam’s cultural heritage.
