Know Everything about Tribes of Assam

Assam is home to several indigenous communities, each with its own distinct culture, traditions, and way of life. In this article, we have written about some of the most famous tribes of Assam who are indigenous to the region. 

Bodo

Anthropologists and linguists refer to a group of ethnic communities as Bodo-Kacharis (also known as Bodos or Kacharis) who primarily inhabit the Northeastern Indian states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. These communities speak either Boro-Garo, which is a sub-branch of Tibeto-Burman languages, or Eastern Indo-Aryan languages like Assamese, and may have some common ancestry. However, some Tibeto-Burman speakers who live in the Brahmaputra valley region, such as the Mising and Karbi people, are not considered part of the Bodo-Kachari group.

Karbi

The Karbi community is the main indigenous group residing in the Karbi Anglong district and West Karbi Anglong district of the Indian State of Assam. These districts have been granted autonomy under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India since November 17th, 1951. The Karbi people also inhabit other areas, including Dima Hasao, Kamrup Metropolitan, Hojai, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, and Biswanath Chariali districts in Assam, as well as 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, and parts of Mizoram and Sylhet district in Bangladesh, although their distribution in these areas is not proportional.

Mising

The term "Mising" is an endonym that translates to "man of the soil." However, the term "Miri" is an exonym commonly used by people from the plains of Assam. The origins of the term "Miri" are still a topic of scholarly debate. Some colonial scholars believed that it referred to the Miri hills as an intermediary location between the Brahmaputra Valley and hill tribes to the north, while others like Grierson (1909) interpreted it as "gentleman," and Crooks thought it meant "hill man." More recent research links the term to religious functionaries in certain Tani hill-tribes. According to this theory, when the Misings migrated to the plains, they were recognized as coming from the Miri hills, whose mythical powers were well-known, and the name stuck.

Dimasa

The Dimasa people are an ethnic and linguistic community that presently resides in the Northeastern Indian states of Assam and Nagaland. Their native language is Dimasa, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family. The community is rather uniform and exclusive, with members being required to belong to both of their parents' separate clans. These people established the Dimasa kingdom, which was one of many early states in Assam after the fall of the Kamarupa kingdom. The Dimasas were historically agricultural, focusing on shifting agriculture; however, significant changes in the community have occurred in recent times. Due to political difficulties in the 18th century, the Dimasa ruler moved further south to the plains of Cachar, which resulted in a division among the Dimasa people. While the hill Dimasas maintained their traditional way of life and political exclusivity, the plains Dimasas did not attempt to assert themselves.

Tiwa

The Tiwa tribe is a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group primarily found in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland, as well as some parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. While they were historically known as Lalungs or Lalong in Assamese Buranjis and Colonial literature, the Tiwa people prefer to call themselves Tiwa, meaning "the people who were lifted from below." However, some of their neighbors still refer to them as Lalung.

The Tiwa community is divided into two sub-groups, Hill Tiwa and Plains Tiwa, which display contrasting cultural features. Pha Poroi "Indrosing Dewri" is the founder of the Tiwa community, and his contributions were essential in building the Tiwa society. He even wrote the Tiwa national anthem called "O Angé Tiwa Tosima." This tribe is known for their unique cultural practices and significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the Northeast Indian region.

Deori

The Deori tribe is a prominent Tibeto-Burman ethnic group residing in the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In their native language, they call themselves "Jimochayan," which translates to "children of the sun." The Deori people have a rich history of inhabiting the regions of Sadiya, Joidaam, Patkai foothills, and the hinterlands of the Brahmaputra Valley.

Rabha

The Rabha people, an ethnic group of Tibeto-Burman origin, primarily reside in the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya, with some populations in West Bengal. They predominantly inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some are also found in the Garo Hills. Although most Rabhas in Dooars identify themselves as Rabha, some declare themselves as Kocha.

The Rabha community has a distinct and diverse culture of their own, which they are proud of. The Rabha society follows a patrilineal system, and the village economy is largely dependent on agriculture, with both men and women working in the fields. Women weave their colorful clothing and wear a lot of beads and silver ornaments.

Sonowal Kachari

The Sonowal Kachari, or Xonowāl Kosāree in Assamese, are an indigenous group in the state of Assam in Northeast India. They belong to the Tibeto-Burman ethnic group and are closely linked to other Kachari communities in Assam. They are primarily concentrated in the districts of Dhemaji, North Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, and Dibrugarh, with smaller populations in Jorhat and Golaghat. The headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is located in Dibrugarh. 

The Sonowal Kachari tribe derives its name from the Assamese word 'Son,' meaning gold. Traditionally, the Sonowal Kacharis were involved in gold panning, extracting gold from riverbeds. The Ahom kings employed Kacharis as gold washers, who were then organized into a group known as Sonowal Khel, which later became known as the Sonowal Kacharis.

Tea Garden Community of Assam 

The tea-garden community in Assam is composed of various ethnic groups, including many tribal and caste groups, who are the descendants of indentured laborers brought by British colonial planters from regions such as Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh to work in tea gardens in colonial Assam during the 1860s–1990s. They are not a homogenous group, but rather a diverse, multi-ethnic group of people who speak different languages and have different cultures. They are primarily found in Upper Assam and the Northern Brahmaputra Belt in districts with a high concentration of tea gardens, such as Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, and Lakhimpur. They also have a significant population in the Barak Valley region of Assam, specifically in the districts of Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi.

Garo

The Garo people, an ethnic group of Tibeto-Burmese origin, primarily reside in Northeast India, specifically Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland. They also inhabit some neighboring regions in Bangladesh, such as Madhupur, Mymensingh, Haluaghat, Dhobaura, Durgapur, Kolmakanda, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Jhinaigati, Nalitabari, Gazini Hills Madhyanagar, Bakshiganj, and Sribardi. The Garo people are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya, accounting for approximately one-third of the local population.

Khasi

The Khasi people are an indigenous group primarily residing in Meghalaya, a state in north-eastern India, but they also have a significant presence in Assam and parts of Bangladesh. They make up the majority of the population in the eastern region of Meghalaya, known as Khasi Hills, and account for 78.3% of the population in the area. They are recognized as the largest community in Meghalaya, comprising roughly 48% of the state's total population. The Khasi people speak an Austroasiatic language, making them one of the few such groups in South Asia. They are also noteworthy for their matriarchal system, which is rare in today's world. As per the Indian Constitution, the Khasis have been granted Scheduled Tribe status.

Tai Ahom

In Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the Ahom (also known as Tai-Ahom) are an ethnic group that resulted from a mixture of Tai people and local indigenous people. The Tai people, led by Sukaphaa and 9000 others, arrived in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in 1228 and founded the Ahom kingdom, which ruled over a large portion of the Brahmaputra Valley until 1826. Today, the Ahom people and their culture are a blend of original Tai culture and the cultures of the Tibeto-Burman people they encountered and assimilated in Assam.

Mech

The Mech people are a Bodo-Kachari ethnic group and a scheduled tribe in both West Bengal and Assam, India. They are found in West Bengal, Nepal, Assam, and Nagaland. The Bodo-Kachari people migrated to India and spread throughout Assam, North Bengal, and parts of East Bengal. During their migration, one group settled in Assam and became known as Bodo or Boro, while another group moved west along the Himalayan foothills up to the Mechi River, settling on the north bank and becoming known as the Mech or Mechia. Later, they migrated to Darjeeling Terai, Baikanthpur in Jalpaiguri district, and further east to settle in the Dooars. Due to frequent floods, many Mech families migrated toward Assam by crossing the Sankosh river.

Tai Khamti

The Tai Khamti, also referred to as Hkamti Shan or simply Khamti, are an ethnic group that belongs to the Tai community. They are originally from the Hkamti Long, Mogaung, and Myitkyina regions of Kachin State in Myanmar, and the Hkamti District of Sagaing Division. The Tai Khamti are also found in several districts of India, such as Namsai, Changlang, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia in Assam, and possibly in some parts of China. The Tai Khamti has a population of 12,890 in India, according to the 2001 census, while their total population in Myanmar is estimated to be around 200,000. The Tai-Khamti people practice Theravada Buddhism and use their own script, known as 'Lik Tai', which is derived from the Shan (Tai) script of Myanmar.

Hajong

The Hajong people are an ethnic group residing in the Northeastern region of India and the northern parts of Bangladesh. The majority of the Hajongs have settled in India and primarily engage in rice farming. They are credited with introducing wet-field cultivation to the Garo Hills region, where the Garo people traditionally employed slash-and-burn agricultural techniques. The Hajongs are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in India and are the fourth-largest tribal group in the state of Meghalaya.

Also Read: List of Famous Wildlife Sanctuaries of Assam