Tribes & Ethnic groups in Assam
APSC Assam Geography Notes & Study Materials
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Assam became the settling ground for many civilizations who came here through different routes as it was connected by land to many states and country. Negritos, Dravidians, Alpines, Tibeto Burmese and Aryans were the major races that made a settlement in Assam. They made Assam there home and came to be known as Asamese. The largest population in Assam is of the Tibeto Burmese origin like the Bodo tribe and Mishing tribe. Major tribes of Assam earn their livelihood through agriculture and by selling their handicrafts. Different types of tribes are famous for variety of handicrafts. Some are famous for handloom and some have mastered in metal of pottery works. Their languages too differ according to their place of origin.
Major tribes of Assam have their own rich cultural identity. And because of geographic unity and acceptability to change and mix, they added quintessence to Assamese folk music, thus forming the soul of it. All tribes has their own music hence, indigenous musical instruments, used in different festivals.
Important Tribal Communities/ Ethnic groups in Assam
Bodo Tribe
Bodo People were one of the earliest tribes to move to Assam. Today they constitute a large part of Assam population accounting to around 5.3%. They are not restricted to any specific area and are found in almost all parts of Assam. The speak Bodo language that is derived Tibeto Burmese family of language. Most of them are engaged in rice cultivation, tea plantation and poultry farming. Bodo Women engage themselves in weaving which has become a known culture of Bodo Tribe. Bodos were earlier known to worship their forefathers, however in recent times they have started practicing Hinduism and Bathouism.
Karbi People
Karbi tribe generally reside in hilly areas of Assam and form the major portion of population of Karbi Anglong district. They also inhabit places in North Cachar Hills, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts of Assam. They are mentioned as Mikir in the constitution of India.
Mishing Tribe
The Mishing Tribe belonging to Tibeto Burmese group have agriculture as their occupation. They inhabit districts of Tinsukia, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, Jorhat and Golaghat. Mishing people found the most fertile land on the banks of River Brahmaputra and settled on sides of the river. Though their production was great, frequent floods prevented them from climbing the economic ladder. The main festival of Mishing tribe is Ali-Lye-Ligangin the month of February which is the harvest festival. They speak language known as Mishing language.
Phake Tribe
Residing in Dirugarh and Tinsukia district of Assam, along Dihing river. They are said to have come here from Thailand in the late 18th century. They speak Assamese language as well as Phake language. These group is also known as Phakial and are a follower of Theravada Buddhism.
Dimasa
The Dimasa people or Dimasa-Kachari are part of the greater Kachari group, one of the ancient Kachari tribes. They live mostly in the northern half of the Dima Hasao District, an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam that includes the ravines of the Jatinga valley and adjoining land. Kacharis appear to be one of the earliest indigenous ethnic groups of north eastern India.
Kachari people
Kachari is a generic term applied to a number of ethnic groups predominantly in Assam speaking Tibeto-Burman languages or claiming a common ancestry. They are considered to have reached the Brahmaputra valley via Tibet or southern China and settled in the foothills of the eastern Himalayan range. That the Bodo-Kacharis were early colonizers of the river valleys is taken from the fact that most of the rivers in the Brahmaputra valley today carry Tibeto-Burman names—Dibang, Dihang, Dikhou, Dihing and others, where Di- means water in Dimasa dialect of Tibeto-Burman speaking language.
Based on an 1881 census, there were 19 groups within the Kachari classification: 1. Boro, 2. Dimasa, 3. Dhimal, 4. Garo, 5. Hajong, 6. Hojai(Dimasa), 7. Lalung(Tiwa), 8. Madani, 9.Mahalia, 10. Mech, 11. Matak, 12. Moran, 13. Phulgaria, 14. Rabha, 15. Sonowal, 16.Sutiya, 17. Saraniya, 18. Solaimiya and 19. Tipra- Jamatia, Bru , Mogs, Uchai, Noatia, Debbarma
Khamti people
The Khamti, or Tai Khamti, are a sub-group of the Shan people found in theSagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Smaller numbers can be found in parts of Assam as well as the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Khamyang people
Khamyang, also known as Shyam, is a tribal group found primarily in Tinsukia, Jorhat and Sivasagar districts of Assam as well as adjacent parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Their population totals about 3,500 of which only a small minority speak the native Tai Khamyang language. The Khamyang are followers of Theravada Buddhism and are closely related to the Khampti.
Khelma people
The Khelma are one of the old Kuki tribes of Northeastern parts of India. The Khelma tribe is one of the smallest tribes in the Old Kuki community. They mainly inhabit in the areas of Assam’s Dima Hasao, Cachar and Karbi Anglong districts.
Rabha tribe
Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. In Assam, the Rabhas live mostly in Goalpara and Kamrup districts.The Rabhas belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group of people and have similarities with other members of Bodo group such as Garos, Kachari, Mech, Koch,Hajong and others.
Tai Aiton people
Tai Aitons are one among the six Indigenous Tai communities of Assam. They are Buddhist by religion. They came to Assam far back in the 16th-17th century from the east crossing the Patkai hills. Presently they live in small pockets in Upper Assam along with the Turungand Khamyang people.
Tea-tribes
The Tea-tribes are found mainly in the districts of Darrang, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj Tinsukia and almost all the districts of Assam in India. They were brought in by the colonial planters (British) as indentured labourers from the Chhota Nagpur Plateau region.
According to the 2001 census, the Scheduled Tribes population as in percentage of the total population of Assam was 12.4 percent. The Assam Tribune reported in 2009 that the tribal communities of Assam now officially account for 15.64 percent of the total population.
The Constitution of India categorizes the tribes of Assam into two groups: Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains). Since hills tribes living in the plains and plains tribes living in the hills in large numbers are not recognised as scheduled tribes in the respective places, the census data may not reflect the correct figures. The Assam Tribune has claimed that if these categories of tribes are counted the actual population. Assamese language is used as the lingua franca by most of the tribes.
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