Assam Profile
Assam: Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura
From the second half of the last century with opening of tea-gardens in many parts of Assam, peoples of various tribal groups like Munda, Gond, Santhal, Savara, Oraon migrated to Assam to work in the tea gardens.
Australoid:
- autocthonous people-
- Australoids came to Northeast India before Mongoloids
- names: Pre-Dravidian, Proto-Australoids, Nishada, Veddid
- short stature, dolichocephalic head, platyrrhine nose (depressed at the root), dark brown skin, wavy and curly head hair, prominent supra-orbital ridges, slightly retreating forehead
- dolichocephalic-platyrrhine people: Kuki, Khasi, Manipuri, Kachari
- Australoid populations in Central and South India.
- Anthropometric data of some Bodo group of Tribes like Garo, Rabha and Kachari contained certain Australoid ethnic traits
- Mros of Chittagong hills have complete absence of Mongoloid character (old Veddid pocket)
- Crania found in Nagaland (Australoid type)
- B.M. Das: Australoid elements are present in the caste population also.
These elements are present among all castes of India, particularly the lower castes.
Austric languages:
- Khasis of Meghalaya,
- Wanchoos, a tribe in Arunachal Pradesh use some Austric words,
Mon-Khmer
- Khasi
Tai languages
- Mhamti, Khamyang, Phakial, original language of Ahoms
Mongoloids
- All the tribes of Northeast India are basically Mongoloid.
- They came to this part of the country in successive waves at different intervals from North, Northeast and Southeast.
- Some got admixtures with non-Mongoloid populations to varying extent
Khasis
- matriarchy: authority is on mother, property is inherited by daughters, descent is matrilineal and after marriage a girl does not go to live in the house of the husband
- head: mesocephalic
- nose: mesorrhine
Tibeto-Burman languages
- Bodo group of tribes of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya
- Nagas of Nagaland
- Mizo-Nukis of Mizoram
- Karbis of Assam
- Meitheis of Manipur
1398-1518. Kabir
1449 Birth of Shankaradeva
1481 Shankaradeva set out on his first pilgrimage
1493 Shankaradeva’s mind charged with bhakti dharma.
Bhakti movement an attempt to bring Hindus and Muslims nearer
Bhakti found an echo in Akbar’s Hindu philosophy
References
Abedin, D.J. (ed.)(2005). Brahmaputra Beckons. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Brahmaputra Civilization. Goalpara, Assam: Brahmaputra Civilization Research Society.
Das, B.M. (2005). “Ethnic element in North East India”. In: Abedin (ed.), 13-19.