5 Interesting Facts One Must Know About Ahom Community

Ahoms: Brave and culturally rich community of Assam

  "Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death"- Omar N. Bradley             Celebrating the brave Ahom Kingdom   This quote is so true for Ahom community of Assam. Renowned for their bravery, the Mighty Ahom Kingdom was once the largest kingdom of North East India. Dedicated to their motherland they maintained their sovereinity for nearly 600 years. They were the only dynasty that didn’t fall to the might of Mughal Empire.   When in 13 th century Tai prince Sukapha settled in Brahmaputra valley, he didn’t knew that centuries later his Ahom kingdom would become the largest kingdom of this area. Ahoms as the descendants are called are so blended with Assamese culture that now they have become an important identity of this region. Check out the 5 interesting things about the Ahom community  

• The great Architecture

  Beautiful!   Tolatol Ghor and Karen Ghor of Rangpur Palace is main architectural landmark of Ahom Kingdom of Assam. This structure was built of baked bricks and organic cements made with sticky rice and eggs of ducks. Some parts of the structure are in ruins even than it’s a must visit place to get an insight of Ahom architecture. Even the Joysagar and Sibasagar tanks which add beauty to the purity of Joydol and Shivdol were built by them.  

• Bihu, the most precious gift to Assam by Ahoms

  Follow my steps!   No one can imagine Assam without Bihu dance. It was the Rang Ghar amphitheatre where Ahom king Rudra Singha invited the performers for Bihu on the occasion of Rongali Bihu. From here the journey of Bihu started to the eternal fame. This energetic dance is performed by both males and females to show their joy on the arrival of spring.  

• Delicious cuisines

  Taste the local cuisine   Ahoms are famous for their non vegetarian delicacies. One can see south East Asian influences in their food. Juit pura gahori mankho (fried pork) and pork rice is a must have delicacies. Go to any family they will welcome you with their mouth watering food and rice liquor. Distinct flavour of the cuisine has made the Ahom food more popular in Assam.  

• Special Celebrations

  Cooking for the celebration   Ahoms are very proud of their traditions and they celebrate Me-Dam-Me-Phi to keep connected to their roots. To show respect to their ancestors every year on 31 January they celebrate this festival. The Ahom community believes that a man after his death remains Dam (ancestor) only for only few days and soon he becomes Phi (God). So every family worships and celebrates this with homemade rice wine, mah-prasad and rice with various items of meat and fish. They also sing songs, dance and recite poems in their special Tai language.  

• Traditional Ahom marriage

  Chaklong   Ahom community follows a very special tradition of marriage known as Chaklong. The dynamic display of hundreds of earthen lamps arranged beautifully is a feast to one’s eyes. The marital vows are taken with Hangdang (symbol of courage) and the Kavas Kapur (symbol of protection of family), which is a perfect way to merge two souls into one. If you are planning to visit Assam or even stay in this area do connect with Ahom community. You will be charmed by their welcoming nature.