Joymoti Konwari

Joymoti Konwari was the wife of Ahom prince Gadapani (later Supatphaa). She died at the hands of the royalists under Sulikphaa ''Loraa Roja'' without disclosing her exiled husband Gadapani's whereabouts in the Naga Hills, thereby enabling her husband to rise in revolt and assume kingship.

Biography

Joymoti was born in the middle of the 17th-century in Maduri to Laithepena Borgohain and Chandradaru. She was married to Langi Gadapani Konwar, later an Ahom king, Supatphaa, who established the Tungkhungia line of kings.

A few buranjis mention her but not as Joymati but only as a nameless Gadapani’s wife. Most of what is known about her life is obtained from the ballads and folklore popular among the people of Upper Assam and not on actual evidence.

Legacy

Since the early 20th-century literary figures such as Padmanath Gohain Baruah and Lakshminath Bezbaruah transformed the "ordinary story" of Joymati into a "fictional tale" of a female hero's moral victory against the male military might and as a representation of the Ahom glory.

The story of Joymati attained a new fame when it was filmed in 1935 by Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

By 1918, Joymoti came to be seen as a virtuous Hindu women with Kumudeswar Barthakur first bestowing the title of Sati
upon Jaymati and publishing ''Jaymati Kahini'' (1918) in which she was represented as the embodiment of Hindu female chastity, devoted to her husband and dharma. This depiction of her by Barthakur was an effort to "Indianise" her character away from her Tai roots.

Memorials and monuments

Joysagar Tank

Joymoti and Gadadhar Singha's eldest son Rudra Singha ( Sukhrungphaa, 1696–1714) succeeded his father. In honour of the memory of his mother Joymoti, Rudra Singha built the Joysagar Tank in 1697 at Sibsagar. It is believed to be the biggest man-made lake in India, comprising an area covering of land, including its four banks, out of which is filled with fresh water. A 2 km-long earthen water pipeline once ran from the tank to the Rangpur Palace (Kareng Ghar), supplying water to the royal palace.

Fakuwa Dol

Rudra Singha also built the Fakuwa Dol in 1703–04, a pyramid-shaped temple constructed before the Rangnath (Shiva) Temple on the banks of the Joysagar Tank. It is said that Rudra Singha, once again to perpetuate the memory of his mother Soti Joymoti, constructed the temple and placed a golden idol of her within it. The circumference of the Dol was about , and its height from base to top was . There were eight brick pillars around the temple.

Joymoti Day

Sati Joymoti Divas, commemoration day of Joymoti, is held annually in Assam on 27 March.

Sati Joymoti Award

The State Government of Assam has instituted an annual award in the name of Joymoti, presented to women in recognition of excellence in their chosen fields of work.

Film and theatre

''Joymoti'' (1935 film) was the first Assamese language film, directed and produced by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala. In 2006, Manju Borah released another film by the same name. The 19th-century Assamese writer Lakshminath Bezbaruah depicted her life in the drama ''Joymoti Kuwori''.

See also

* Sati Sadhani
* Ahom Dynasty

Notes

References

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External links

Joymoti Konwari: an epitome of ideal womanhood
– Dr Kathita Hatibaruah

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joymoti, Soti
Indian female royalty
People of the Ahom kingdom
People from Sivasagar
Indian torture victims
17th-century Indian monarchs
17th-century Indian women
17th-century Indian people
1680 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Ahom kingdom