Mayong (or Mayang) is a village in Morigaon district,

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It lies on the bank of the river

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...

, approximately from the city of

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

. Once considered the cradle of Tantra Kriya in India, Mayong is a tourist attraction because of its history.

Etymology

The origins of the name may be based on any of several sources including the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

word ''

Maya (illusion) ''Maya'' (; Devanagari: , IAST: ), literally "illusion" or "magic", has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are no ...

'', the Chutia/ Tiwa/ Deori word ''Ma-yong'' which means ''mother'', the Kachari word for an elephant (''Miyong''), or from ''maa'' for ''Mother Shakti'' and ''ongo'' meaning ''part''. Some believe that Manipuris from the Moirang clan used to inhabit this area therefore; the name Moirang became Mayhong with time.

Mythology

Mayong along with Pragjyotishpura (the ancient name of Assam) find place in many epics, including the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

. Chief Ghatotkacha of

Kachari Kingdom The Dimasa Kingdom (also Kachari kingdom) was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others ( Kamata, Chutiya) that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom were exa ...

took part in The Great Battle of Mahabharata with his magical powers. It was also said about the Mayong that the Tantrik (one who knows tantra vidya) and the witches take shelter in mayong forest till now. According to recently published article on "Mayong - Land of Black Magic and Witchcraft" - many tales of men disappearing into thin air, people being converted into animals, or beasts being magically tamed, have been associated with Mayong. Sorcery and magic were traditionally practiced and passed down over generations.

History

''Narabali'' or

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherei ...

s were carried out in connection with the worship of Shakti until the early modern period. Excavators had recently dug up swords and other sharp weapons that resembled tools used for human sacrifice in other parts of

, suggesting that human sacrifice may have occurred in the Ahom era in Mayong.

Tourism

Mayong is a tourist and archaeological location because of its rich

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted f ...

, archaeology pilgrimage,

eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

adventure tourism Adventure travel is a type of niche tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has grown in r ...

, cultural tourism and river tourism.

Mayong Central Museum and Emporium

There are numerous archaeological relics and artefacts, including books on Tantra Kriya and Ayurveda at the Mayong Central Museum and Emporium, which was opened in 2002.Very close to Mayong is the

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary () is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district in Assam, India. It was declared in 1987 and covers , providing grassland and wetland habitat for the Indian rhinoceros. Pobitora ...

. This Sanctuary has the highest density of one horned rhinoceros in the world.

References