Assamese Brahmins are the Brahmin community present in the Assamese society. There they promoted learning, Vedic religion,

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

and as well as imparting general vedic knowledge to the public. The Brahmins migrated to

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

from Videha (Mithila),

Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

(Gauda) and many other places.

History

The earliest historical evidence of settlement of Brahmins in Assam comes from epigraphic sources of the

Varman dynasty The Varman dynasty (350–650) was the first historical dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. It was established by Pushyavarman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. The earlier Varmans were subordinates of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Gup ...

(350–650). In the late medieval period beginning with the early 16th century, a number of Brahmins from

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

Benaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of ...

Kanauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawah, ...

and

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

(Srikshetra), were settled in western Assam by the Koch kings for performing Brahminical rites. During the reign of

Nara Narayan Naranarayan ( 1554–1587) was the last ruler of the undivided Koch dynasty of the Kamata Kingdom. He succeeded his father, Biswa Singha. Under him the Koch kingdom reached its cultural and political zenith. Under his rule, and under the mi ...

(1554-1587) of the

Koch dynasty The Koch dynasty (; 1515–1949) ruled parts of eastern Indian subcontinent in present-day Assam and Bengal. Biswa Singha established power in the erstwhile Kamata Kingdom which had emerged from the decaying Kamarupa Kingdom. The dynasty c ...

, two Brahmins named Siddhantavagisa and Vidyavagisa were brought from Gauda and Siddhantavagisa was responsible for the spread of Hinduism in the Koch kingdom Even during the reign of Koch king Prannarayana (1633-1655), Brahmins were brought from Mithilia to serve in the Koch kingdom and this process was later continued by the Ahom state especially under the Tungkhungia Ahom kings with

Siva Singha Swargadeo Siva Singha ( – 14 December 1744), with Tai name Sutanphaa, was the 31st king of Assam from the Ahom dynasty who reigned from (1714 to 1744 A.D.) He was the eldest son of King Rudra Singha. Siva Singha was with his dying father at Guw ...

donating 19 out of the 48 landgrants by the Ahom kings to Brahmins. The migration of Brahmins into Assam took place from Central

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

as well. Most of these migration took place due to the foreign invasions in

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

and on the invitation by the local rulers. Traditionally these Brahmins held the highest positions in society.

Tradition and culture

Lagundeoni/Upanayana

Traditionally, the ceremony of Lagundeoni – one of the

samskaras Samskara, saṃskāra, saṅskāra or sanskara may refer to: * Samskara (rite of passage), Hindu and Jain rites of passage * Samskara (ayurvedic), a technique in ayurvedic medicine * Samskara (Indian philosophy), the concept of imprints or impress ...

or rites of passage marking acceptance of a student by a

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

, is a quite prevalent ritual within the community.

Death rituals

Brahmins of the Assam valley follow a different death ritual as opposed to the other indigenous communities in Assam. A religious rite, known as ''Caturthā'' is performed on the 4th day of a person's demise unlike ''Tiloni'', performed on the 3rd day of person's demise by non–Brahmin indigenous communities.

Lifestyle

Although in general Brahmins observe all the customary rituals, they appear usually less rigid in some of their traditional lifestyle choices, such as they may eat meat, fish, unlike their counterparts in other parts of India like the North and the South.

Present

The Brahmins constitute one of the Forward classes of Assam based on the classifications of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, although the recent trend on economic condition has not been very well within the community. Assam's former Chief Minister,

Tarun Gogoi Tarun Gogoi (1 April 1936 – 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 13th Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was the longest serving Chief Minister of Assam. He was a member of the Indian National Con ...

announced setting up of development councils for several communities in the state, including Brahmins.

Notable People

Notes

References

Published-sources

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Internet

{{Assam Assamese people Brahmin communities of Assam Brahmin communities by language