Deori people
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Assam, Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Languages | |
| Assamese, Deori | |
| Religion | |
| Folk religion, Ekasarana Dharma | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Boros, Morans, Sonowal Kacharis, Chutias |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Assam |
|---|
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Major
Others  Ahom •  Bathouism •  Christianity •  Islam •  Sikhism |
The Deori are one of the major indigenous communities of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. and are commonly associated with Bodo-Kachari group. They historically lived in the area of Sadiya, Joidaam, Patkai foothills and in the upper plains or also called as the hinterland of the Brahmaputra Valley. Concrete documented records about the history of the tribe is very limited. Scanty information was found in few books and official records. The Deori community belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family. In ancient times, the Deoris served as priests of Chutia community. In the British census reports, the Deoris were termed as Deori-Chutias.[4] The community has maintained their racial traits, language, religion, folktales and traditional beliefs through the centuries.[5] They were divided into Jimochayan/Dibang-Diyongial(Dibongia), Midoyan/Tengapania, Luitugan/Borgoya.[6] The native language is retained only by the Dibongia group.
History[]
Origin folklore[]
Although the Deori tribe today form a separate community with Scheduled Tribe status and an autonomous council, the folklore of the Deori people connects their past with the Chutia kingdom. As per the origin folklore of the Deori tribe,[7][8] once goddess Tamreswari took the form of a huge stone and floated in the water of Dibang River. The king (which they refer to as (Bhismak) had sent many people in order to bring the stone to its assigned place but everyone failed. Four Chutia people came forward for the task. With a great sense of loyalty and devotion they started praying the goddess. The goddess became satisfied and the stone become automatically light. The four people brought the stone and placed it in the temple. The King became satisfied and appointed them as priests. They are the fore father of the four clans of the Deori people.
Migration[]
The homeland of the Deoris was in the eastern regions of undivided Assam. As per the folklore of the tribe, they are settlers of the area of Joidaam and Patkai foothills and upper valley of Brahmaputra. During Burmese (Maan as called by Deoris) aggression (1817-1826) the tribe lost a lot of lives. Many slaughtered and many taken as captive. Again the destructive earthquake of 1869 devastated the whole community. The uncertainty about future prevailed amongst those who floated down in the river using bamboo and banana plant made raft. They migrated to different places alongside the rivers they floated down. As they entered and landed in their new territory, they took the name of that particular river as their clan name. Deoris under the ruler of the new land had followed the law of the land. Those Deoris who migrated to places with less interest and influence of the outside rulers had followed their culture and traditions and continued their dialect.
Some experts, like Bishnu Prasad Rabha, claim that the Pator-goya clan assimilated with the Tiwa tribe in central Assam but there has been no scientific evidence to support the claim, which prompted a section of Deoris to begin a search. A preliminary investigation from 30 September to 5 October under the aegis of Jimachaya Giyan Aru Juktibadi Samaj has given a positive indication of the presence of Deori people in Kachin province and near Yangon in Myanmar. A team of researchers has decided to visit Myanmar in search of the lost clan.[9] Most of the people of Dibongiya class can speak their own mother tongue along with Assamese, but the rest of the 3 other classes/clans ( except few elderly persons) only understand and speak Assamese as their mother tongue. The three classes of Deoris live in the districts mentioned above.
Language[]
The Deori language is one of the languages of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Deori language is mainly spoken in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Over the years, Deori speakers, barring the Dibongia clan which uses it rigorously, have shifted to speaking the Assamese language, which can be attributed to the Language shift phenomenon.
Deori society[]
Deori clans[]
The people of Deori tribe are mainly divided into four groups or clans, namely Dibongia, Borgoya, Tengaponiya and Pator-goya. The entire people of each main clan or main group are again subdivided into several sub-clans or sub-groups. The word "sub-clan" or "sub-group" is called "Boja" or "Bahor" in Deori language. Some of the commonly known sub-clan are like Ariya, Kumotaya, Bihiya, Naroda, Sundhariya, Patriya, Dupiya, Marangya, Chariya, Lagasuya, Chitigaya, Mehedaya, Kuliya, Khutiya/Buruk, Machiya, Bikomiya, Phaporiya, Fagimegia, Senaboriya, Chakucharu, Ekacharul/Busaru, Simocharu, Hizaru, Popharu, Gucharu etc.[10] Each Deori people wants to know or wants to inform about their main clan and sub-clan (sub-group) in their first introduction. Otherwise, their introduction remains incomplete.
Notes[]
- ^ "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
Ahom [aho]
- ^ "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
- ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
- ^ Census of India: Part 1, p. 127., p.30.
- ^ Sharma, S.K. Discovery of Northeast India: Volume 2. Mittal Publications,2005, p. 81.
- ^ Deoram, L.D.,Study of Mishing and Deori Community,p. 50.
- ^ Report on the Census of Assam 1881: Chapter 6, p.76
- ^ Deka Ratul, A comparative study of the folktales of the Mising and Deori tribes in Assam in terms of structuralist narratology,p.149
- ^ Talukdar, Sushanta (9 October 2014). "To Myanmar, in search of a lost clan of the Deoris tribe of Assam". The Hindu.
- ^ http://www.deori.in/Sociallife.html
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- Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh
- Tribes of Assam
- Ethnic groups in Northeast India
- Ethnic groups in South Asia