The Kacháris

Marriages, etc. Infant betrothals would seem to be absolutely unknown, all marriages being restricted to adults, as a rule monogamous, though a second wife may be taken when the first proves childless. Occasionally the bridegroom carries off his bride by force, especially during the April Bihu, the union formed in this way being afterwards recognised by the girl’s parents. Sometimes the bride goes to her lover’s house of her own free will, without payment of the usual bride-price (pån). But as a rule as among other portions of the Bårå race, matrimonial engagements are entered into after negotiations between the parents of the persons concerned. The essential elements of a marriage in this case are (1) the payment of a bride-price (pån) of some Rs 20–100 to the girl’s parents, and (2) the giving of a feast at the bridegroom’s expense to the parents, relatives, and friends of the bride. The marriage ceremony is always non-Shástric, nor are Brahmins present, a Bhakat or dángariyá doing all that is deemed necessary. The ceremony itself may perhaps be described as “semi-chacklang,” some, though not all, of the rites practised among the Áhoms at what is called a chaklang marriage being frequently carried out.

Divorce. Divorce is permitted occasionally, but only when the wife is guilty of adultery with a man of lower caste-standing than her own. In these cases the husband brings back the erring wife to her father’s house with some betel-nuts and one rupee in an earthenware sarái; the father receives her and gives back a portion of the betel-nuts to the husband, and the woman is at once free to marry again. Widows are at liberty to remarry, but not with the deceased husband’s brother; but little or no ceremonial is observed at such a remarriage, a widow taking a substantially lower position than a virgin bride.

Disposal of dead. The dead are usually disposed of by burial, but the bodies of old Bhakats are sometimes cremated, the ashes being afterwards buried under a high earth mound known as a “moidám.” On the third day after death takes place the ceremony known as telani, when the near relatives are anointed with mustard seed oil (tel). This is followed ten days later by the dahá,51 when offerings of rice, salt, betel-nuts, etc., are offered by the relatives, and finally, after an interval of twenty days, the dahá káj is celebrated, when a general feast takes place both day and night. These observances have perhaps more in common with funeral wakes than with what is known among Hindus as a shráddha; no Brahmins are present.

6. Chutiyas (87,691).Deori Chutiyas, 4,000.Habitat. This once very powerful race, which still numbers almost 90,000 souls, has its chief home and habitat in the districts of Lakhimpur and Sibsagar, though a not inconsiderable number are found in the Darrang district (Mangaldai subdivision). Their general appearance and physical and mental characteristics prove clearly that they belong to the widely spread Bårå race, and this view is borne out by the language still spoken to some extent by one of the subdivisions of the race (the Deoris), which has very much in common with the Kachári of Darrang, and still more with the speech of the people (Dimásá) of the north Kachar Hills.

Traditional origin and history. Their origin is far from being clearly known. According to one tradition – probably the outcome of Hindu imaginativeness – they claim to be descendants of Khetrias who fled into Assam for refuge from the destroying arm of Paraśu-Ram (battle-axe Ram). But according to a tradition embodied in an old Assamese chronicle of uncertain date, the founder of the Chutiya kingdom, for some 200 years a very powerful one, was one Bihar (? Virapála), who is said to have had his home on “Golden Hill” (Suvarṇa-giri) in the mountains to the north of the modern Sadiya, which place was for a lengthened period the centre of Chutiya power, before the advent of the Áhoms in the 15th century. It is said that Kuvera (the Hindu Pluto) appeared to this Bihar, who was simply an ordinary peasant, and urged him to be reconciled to his wife (Rupavati), with whom he had quarrelled, as she was about to present him with a son who should make a name in history. Moreover, he was directed to make search under a certain tree where he would find a shield, a sword, and a spear; and underneath the shield a golden cat, which latter he was to preserve with the utmost care, as it was to be the talisman of his family’s fortunes. Kuvera’s instructions were duly carried out by Bihar, to whom a son was born, named Ratnadhwaj, who through force of character established his influence in the mountains; and then descending to the plains established a powerful kingdom at Sadiya which maintained itself there for over two centuries, when it fell before the rapidly growing influence of the warlike Áhoms. In order finally to break up the power of the Chutiyas their Áhom conquerors are said to have distributed the subjugated race over Assam and north-east Bengal. One not inconsiderable portion of the Mangaldai subdivision is still known as Chutiya deś; otherwise Kaupáti. To this Machiavellian policy of the Áhom rulers is perhaps due the present widely scattered condition of the once powerful Kachári race.

Subdivisions (modern).

There are four subdivisions of the Chutiya race still recognised, viz.:

1. Hindu Chutiya.

2. Áhom Chutiya.

3. Deori Chutiya – the Levite or priestly clan.

4. Baráhi Chutiya – the pig-eating clan.

Each of these subdivisions is said to have been in early days endogamous, though this is hardly so now, for members of the two upper clans can intermarry, and the same statement holds good of the two lower (Deori and Baráhi); but outside these limits marriage is said to be prohibited. The Hindu and Áhom Chutiyas have very largely adopted Hinduism of the Vaishnava type; but it is said that occasionally they indulge in secluded midnight revels known as “ráti soá khoá,” at which almost all kinds of food (beef alone excepted) are very freely consumed. The Deoris and Baráhis, however, still follow largely certain animistic rites; so far as they have adopted Hinduism at all, it would seem to be of a depraved type, Tantric rather than Vedic.

The Deoris. By far the most interesting, because the most primitive, characteristic of the four subdivisions of the Chutiya race mentioned above, is that which holds the third place in the list; i. e., the Deoris. It has been stated before more than once that this term Deoris is thus used to designate the recognised ministers of religion throughout the Bårå race; and this points to the fact that they are essentially what indeed their tribal name implies, a Levite or priestly body, and one in earlier days possessed of large influence which even yet has not been wholly lost. In point of mere numbers they are certainly not a powerful body, somewhat less than 4,000 all told. Their chief habitat is on and near the Dikrang river some thirty miles west of the subdivisional station of North Lakhimpur, while other villages may be found in the Májuli, the “Holy Land” of the modern (Hindu) Assamese, where they would seem to lead a very simple primitive life. A Deori Chutiya village has been well described as follows:

“It consists of some thirty houses built on bamboo platforms raised about five feet from the ground. A single house will often contain a family of forty persons, living in one great room without any compartments, though with separate fireplaces, with a verandah in front where visitors are entertained. The villagers are a tall, large, well-nourished folk, with features bearing a strong resemblance to that of the Kacháris. They drink strong liquor (home-made) and eat all kinds of flesh except beef.”

Language. There are two things which give a certain interest and importance to the Deoris in spite of the paucity of their numbers, i. e., (1) their language and (2) their religion. Like other members of the widely spread Bårå race, the Deoris are bilingual, speaking both Assamese and their own tongue, but giving a distinct preference to the latter, of which they are said to be not a little proud.52 The language itself is obviously very closely allied to that of the Kacháris of Darrang and still more so to the speech of the people of the North Kachár Hills (Dimásá), who, being more isolated from the plains than are the Kacháris, have no doubt preserved their mother tongue very largely in its primitive form. In all likelihood the language of the Deori Chutiyás gives us the purest and most archaic form of the Bårå speech, and there can be little doubt that in earlier times it was the dominant language of Eastern Assam.

The religion of the Deori Chutiyás is still largely animistic. There are a number of domestic gods, who hold a prominent place in family worship, and puja is often performed under big trees and by the side of rivers, as among the Darrang Kacháris. The Brahmaputra is held in special reverence and is spoken of as the mother of water (ji chimá, or chimá jimá) much as the Darrang Kacháris regard this huge volume of water as “Mater magna” (Hodgson).

Unlike the western Kacháris, however, the Deori Chutiyás pay no special regard to the ‘siju’ tree (Euphorbia splendens), a peculiarity which they share with the Dimásá, Lálungs, Gáros,53 and other members of the Bårå family who have their home mostly on the south of the great river. They have four great annual festivals, two of which correspond in some respects to the Assamese Mágh and Baisák Bihu, though not held exactly on the same dates. They have a great reputation as wizards, etc., and are supposed to have the power of causing their enemies to die mysteriously of slow occult wasting diseases, and in this way they are often consulted by their neighbours in cases of loss of cattle or undetected robberies. There would seem to be three principal gods: —

(1) Girasi-girá (Burá-buri), i. e., “the old ones,” always spoken of as a wedded pair (cf. the “Bathau and the Mainau” of the Darrang Kacháris and the “Warang-Berang,” ‘the old one’ of Hodgson’s Dhimals); they are specially worshipped by the Dibongiá khel, and their original temple was on the Kundil river, a little east of Sadiya.

(2) Pisha-dema (Bohza-hemata), “the elder son” worshipped by the Tengá pániya khel. His temple stood on Tengápáni river.

(3) Pisha-si, “the daughter,” known as (1) Támeshwari mái, the “mother of the copper temple,” and (2) Kechá-kháti, the “raw-flesh eater,” to whom human sacrifices were offered. She was worshipped by the Bargaya (Borgoniya) khel and her temple stood somewhere near “Chunpura” (‘lime-kiln’) on the Brahmaputra a few miles east of Sadiya.

In addition to these a fourth khel, Pátorgiya, is said to have once existed, but its status was inferior to those of the other three, and it has consequently become extinct. To each of these khels and temples four priests (pujáris) were attached, i. e., (1) a Bor Deori (Deori Dima) and (2) a Saru Deori (Deori Sarba); and (3) a Bor Bharáli, and (4) a Saru Bharáli.54 It is the former two (the Deoris), who alone perform the sacrifice, enter the temple and sing hymns, etc., which are hardly now understood by the laity. The office of the Bharális was an inferior one; it was their duty to collect all temple-offerings and to provide animals for sacrifice. They are also privileged to hold the head of the victim, which is nowadays usually a goat. As a rule no images, etc., are to be seen in the temples, though such images would seem to be provided from time to time as needed for purposes of public worship.

Human sacrifices (Narabali). Of the Deori temples mentioned above the oldest and most noteworthy is undoubtedly that known as the “Támar ghar” or copper temple, at Chunpura, the ruins of which are, it is said, still to be seen some miles east of Sadiya. It is described as a small stone building nearly square, built without cement, the stones joined by iron pins, not clamped. The roof, now fallen in, was of copper; hence the temple’s name. The interior is eight feet square; and the whole is enclosed by a brick wall 130 feet by 200. Near the grand entrance in the western wall is a small stone tripod. Here from a period unknown down to a comparatively recent date human sacrifices were offered year by year. It is said that latterly the Áhom kings gave up for this purpose malefactors who had been sentenced to capital punishment; but as suitable victims of this type were not always forthcoming, a certain special tribe (khel) of the king’s subjects were held bound to provide one and in return the members of this tribe were entitled to certain privileges, e. g., exemption from payment of ferry dues and market tolls, etc. It was necessary in all cases that the victims should be of high caste and “without blemish,”55 the slightest mutilation, even the boring of an ear, rendering them unfit to be offered.

All Brahmins and members of the royal family were exempted as a privilege; whilst Domes, Haris, Musalmáns and women were excluded as unfit. For some time preceding the sacrifice the victim to be immolated was detained at the temple and sumptuously fed there, until he attained a sufficiently plump condition to suit the assumed taste of the flesh-eating goddess. On the appointed day he was led forth, magnificently attired and decorated with gold and silver ornaments, to be shown to the crowds assembled for the occasion. He was then led away and taken, by a private path trodden only by the officiating priests and their victims, to the brink of a deep pit, where he was divested of his gay attire and decapitated so that the body fell into the pit. The head was added to a heap of ghastly skulls that were piled up before the shrine. The exact date when these fearful sacrifices ceased does not seem to be definitely known. Lieutenant (afterwards Colonel) Dalton, from whose highly interesting paper most of the above details are taken, states that they were in vogue down to the time when the Áhom Government was superseded by that of the Burmese, when the Deoris finally withdrew from the neighbourhood of the “copper temple.” Mr. Brown, on the other hand, tells us that these human sacrifices were abolished at a somewhat earlier date by Raja Gaurinath, who, also being unable to protect the Deoris from the Mishmis and other tribes, removed them to the Majuli,56 where some of their villages are still to be found.

Marriage, etc. As among other branches of the Bårå race, infant betrothal is unknown, no marriage being permitted until puberty is attained. Monogamy is the rule among Deoris and Baráhis; but a second wife is allowed where the first proves childless. Polygamy is common among Hindu and Áhom Chutiyas, but polyandry is quite unknown. Marriages are generally planned and arranged by the parents of the young people concerned, a bride-price varying from Rs. 10 to Rs. 100 being paid to the bride’s parents by those of the bridegroom, or an equivalent given in service in the bride’s household (cf. Genesis, xxix. 15–20: Jacob serving Laban seven years for Rachel).

The actual marriage ceremony seems to vary considerably in the four different clans (khels) which compose the Chutiya community. With the two lower sections, i. e., the Deoris and Baráhis, it consists in a feast given by the bridegroom’s people to the friends and fellow-villagers of the bride, accompanied by much singing of songs, etc., in honour of the clan gods and goddesses, whilst with not a few even this simple ceremonial is dispensed with, and the young man claims his bride by merely placing bracelets on her wrists and a string of beads, etc., on her neck (Kháru and mani pindhoá).57 But among the Áhom and Deori Chutiyas, who claim a somewhat higher position than the other two sections, a more elaborate ceremonial is observed. The Áhom Chutiyas to some extent still observe the form of marriage characteristic of their race, i. e., that known as the Chaklang. There is an exchange of temi and katári between bride and bridegroom, who are made formally to inhale the smell of turmeric together, and this is followed by the tying of the nuptial knot (lagun gáthi), and the distribution of simple refreshments (jal-pán) among the assembled friends and relatives; and finally the bridegroom is said to carry off his bride through a hole cut in the corner of the house, this last proceeding being perhaps a survival of the time when marriage by capture or stealth was not unknown. With the Hindu Chutiyas there is a still more elaborate ceremonial in vogue, one which approximates somewhat closely to the orthodox Hindu ideal. The chaklang form is superseded by that of the ‘hom,’ i. e., libations of clarified butter (ghi) are formally poured in sacrifice on the sacred fire, and certain special mantras are recited by the officiating priest in the presence of the bride and bridegroom, who are formally seated by his side, and formally united by the tying of the nuptial knot (lagun-gáthi). It is said, further, that matrimonial etiquette requires postponement of consummation of the marriage for a week or so after the completion of the wedding ceremonial.

Divorce, widow, remarriage, etc. Divorce, which would seem to be not very common, may and usually does follow adultery on the part of the wife, the adulterer paying a fine of Rs. 500 to the injured husband, and further being compelled to provide a home for the erring woman, whom no respectable man of the tribe would consent to marry. The form used in cases of divorce is the usual one of tearing a betel-leaf (pán-chirá) together by the husband and the wife. The remarriage of widows is permitted with few, if any, restrictions; but as a rule the full marriage ceremonial, whether ‘hom’ or ‘chaklang,’ is not observed in such widow remarriages.

Disposal of the dead. The bodies of the dead are usually disposed of by burning, except in cases of epidemics, when, through panic or like cause, they are thrown into the jungle, or left to perish where they fall. The cremation is generally followed by a funeral feast, lasting for a period of from five to nine days, either at the deceased’s house or at the river-side where the body was burnt. A shrádh with feasting of the dead man’s relatives takes place usually at the end of a month after the cremation. This shrádh marks the closing of the period of mourning, which in the case of an adult extends over about thirty days, during which period no flesh or fish may be eaten, though rice, ghi and potatoes are allowed. In the case of those who die in childhood no shrádh is observed, though the bereaved family usually go into mourning for some three days.

APPENDIX II58

To the stories taken by Mr. Endle from my little collection of Kachári folk-tales, I have ventured to add the following three tales, with an interlinear literal translation and some brief linguistic notes. This I have done in order to follow the example set in Sir C. J. Lyall’s edition of Mr. Edward Stack’s work on the Mikirs. A transcription followed by a loose translation is not of much use to linguistic students unless they have already some knowledge of the language. I ought to explain that I have not followed Mr. Endle’s system of transliteration. In a language which has no written character, it is best to trust to one’s own ear. In such languages dialect springs up quickly and local differences of pronunciation abound. I have merely tried, therefore, to record what I have myself heard. With the aid of the literal versions I now give, and by carefully reading Mr. Endle’s Grammar, anyone who wishes to compare Kachári with other Bodo languages, such as Garo and Tippera, ought to be able to make out the remainder of the stories in my little collection without much difficulty.

The vowels are recorded as follows: —

The sound represented by ŭ is rather difficult to describe to Europeans. To my ear, it seems rather guttural, something like the u in “ugh!” or the vulgar pronunciation of girl as “gurl.” Or, again, it may be said to be like the French eu in peu, as pronounced by English people. Or perhaps a still nearer approximation is the Englishman’s “er” when he pauses in making an after-dinner speech. The sound is of some importance, as – ŭi is the suffix by which the adverb in modern Kachári is formed from the adjective. Thus ga-hām, good; gahām-ŭi, well. Also the continuative participle, as, thāng-ŭi, thāng-ŭi; going, going – as he went.

When ā is added to a noun, it is, as in Assamese, the sign of the nominative. If the word ends in a vowel, and especially in the vowel ā, an euphonic i is inserted between the two vowels. Thus hingzau-sā, is “woman.” Hingzau-sā-i-ā is “the woman,” in a narrative. Similarly – au is the inflexion marking the locative case. If the word ends in ā, this letter is divided from au by an euphonic i.

Words borrowed from Assamese or other Indian languages are printed in Roman letters. Some such may have escaped me. If so, they have probably been so transmuted by Bodo habits of pronunciation as to have become completely naturalised.

Ā inserted or “infixed” in the middle of a verb (between stem and inflexion) is the sign of the negative. Sometimes the euphonic i precedes it. Sometimes, especially before a guttural sound, it is converted into e.

No other supplementary explanations beyond those given in Mr. Endle’s note on grammar seem required here.

(I) Ābrā-nī khorāng

Simpleton-of Story.

Sā-se

One

brai

old man

burui dangman.

old woman were.

Bi-sŭr-hā

Them-to

sā-se

one

gothō

boy

dangman.

was

Bī

He

sān 59 -se

day-one

brai-burui-nī-au

old-man old-woman-to

mosō

bullock

bai-nŭ

buy-to

lāgi

for

thākā

money

bī-naise.

beg-ged.

Khintu

But

brai

old man

burui

old woman

gothō-khō

boy-to

āzla

silly

nu-nānŭi

see-ing

thākā

money

hŭ-ā-man.

give-not-did.

Gothŏ-ā

Boy

em-brā-brā

again and again

bī-nai-khai

begging-because-of

thākā

money

zakhai-brŭi 60

four-fours

hŭ-naise.

give-did.

Phāre

Then

gothō-ā

boy

mosō

bullock

bai-nŭ

buy-to

lāgi

for

thāng-ŭi

go-ing

thāng-ŭi

go-ing

man-thām

three

āli-nī

roads-of

khāthi-au

near-at

ga-hām

good

mosō

bullock

mā-se

one

nu-nānŭi,

see-ing,

be

that

āli-au

road-on

thākā

money

din-nānŭi,

plac-ing,

mosō-khō

bullock-to

khā-nanŭi

bind-ing

lābo-naise.

take-did.

Thāng-ŭi

Going

thāng-ŭi

going

bī-hā

he

khī-nŭ

to ease himself

on-khāt-nānŭi

depart-ing

mosō-khō

bullock

hā-grā 61

forest

dai-se-au

branch-one-to

khā-nānŭi

bind-ing

din-nānŭi

plac-ing

khī-hŭi-bā 62

to ease himself go-ing

mosō-ā

bullock

be-thing

that-way

khāt-lāng-naise.

run-away-did.

Phāre

Then

be

he

khī-nai-nī-frai

easing-from

fai-nānŭi,

com-ing

mosō-khō

bullock

nu-e-khai

see not-because

hā-grā

forest

hā-grā

forest

namai-bai-naise.63

seek-wander-did.

Arŭ

And

bī

he

mŭi

deer

zonthrā

male

nu-nānŭi,

see-ing,

bī-khō-nŭ

it-indeed

bī-nī

him-of

mosō

bullock