AHOM TRADITIONS IN WRITING HISTORY OF ASSAM

The Ahoms ruled Assam for nearly a long period of six hundred years from 1228 AD to 1826 AD which is really unprecedented in the history of the world. Their contributions to Assam are vast and varied of which their historical literature or buranji is also one. The Ahoms used to write history from the beginning. Sukapha, the founder of the Ahom kingdom in Assam directed his two ministers - the Burhagohain and the Bargohain in go on writing the happenings good or bad, lost or gained. So it can be presumed that the writing of history in Assam was started from the year 1228 AD.

The word "Buranji" is derived from the Ahom language. According to Dr. Suryya Kumar Bhuyan it literally means "a store that teachers the ignorant." The older Ahom Buranjis are considered more important than the new ones. The Buranjis deal with various subjects but the majority of them are historical in character.

Many Buranjis were written during the Ahom rule. The earlier buranjis were written in the Tai-Ahom language. The first Assamese buranjis were written only in the reign of Suhungmung or Dihingia Raja. From that time onwards many buranjis were compiled both in Tai-Ahom are bigger in volume white Lit Buranjis are smaller in volume.

The Buranjis of the former class deal with all the topics relating to political history on the one hand and the buranjis of the latter class deal only with a single event on the other. "Ram Singhar Yuddhar Katha" dealing with the expedition of Ram Singha to Assam falls to the category of Lit Buranji. Chakaripheti Buranji is a class of Buranji which treats the origin and lineage of the Ahom families.

The Ahom Buranji written in the Tai Ahom language is the most important buranji which contains a complete account of the Ahom rule in Assam. Deodhai Assam Buranji was compiled from a number of old chronicles. It includes the translation of the above mentioned Ahom Buranji along with the important information from several original manuscripts in Assamese dealing with the political relations of the Ahoms the Naras, Chutias, Kacharis, Burmese and the Jayantias. Another Tai-Ahom Buranji's Assam translation has been incorporated in the Satsari Assam Buranji which gives us an account of the period from the Ahom king Kamaleswar Singha to king Purandar Singha.

The Tungkhungia Buranji is a history of the last dynasty of the Ahom kings, the Tungkhungias. This history describes in details the events from the reign of Gadadhar Singha to Chandrakanta Singha. It has also incorporated the English text of the Satsari Assam Buranji. An important Tai-Ahom chronicle is the Weissalisa which a compilation of two chronicles called Weissali-Hukong and Weissali-Mung-Dum-Sunkham, gives us a flood of light about the Burmese invasions of Assam.

There are different kinds of Assamese Buranjis. One class of Assamese Buranji is of the nature of reports and records etc. The Kataki Buranji belongs to this class. The Datiyalia Buranji gives us the information of the neighbouing states of the Ahoms. Chang-rung Phukanar Buranji deals with the construction maidams, temples roads, bridges and plantation of banyam tree on the roadsides etc. The Kachari Buranji, the Jayantia Buranji and the Tripura Buranji belong to the category of the Datiyalia Buranji. They deal with the political relations of the Ahom kings with the kings of Kachari kingdom, Jayantia kingdom and Tripura kingdom respectively.

Asamar Padya Buranji was edited from Kali-Bharati and Belimarar Buranji. The first gives an account of the Ahom rule from Sukapha to the transfer of the territories of the East India Company to the crown, while the second describes an account from captain Welsh's expedition to Assam in 1792 to the Burmese victory at Khagarijan in Nowgong in 1819. The Pabishah Buranji written in Assamese is of great importance because it provides us with information of Mirjumla's Assam expedition and Raja Ram Singha's activities besides giving a description of the Padshas of Delhi.

Two Buranjis as "Assam Buranjisar" and "Assam Buranji" written by Kashi Nath Tamuli Phukan and Hara Kanta Barua Sadaramin respectively which give us an account of the administration of the Ahoms up to 1838 AD when the English brought upper Assam under their belt in 1838 AD. Another important buranji named "Purani Assam Buranji" edited by H. C. Goswami gives us a detailed account of the reigns of the Dihingia Raja, Burha Raja and Chakradhvaj Singha besides giving a brief account of the reigns of other kings of Assam. Gunabhiram Barua's "Assam Buranji" narrates the history of great value because of the fact that it is the most detailed and systematic of all the buranjis of Assam.

Another Buranji named "Kamarupa Buranji" published in 1930 AD is a compilation from several original sources. This Buranji deals with the conflicts with Cooch Bihar and Assam and ends with the defeat of the Mughals in the hands of Swargadeo Gadadhar Singha in the battle of Itakhuli in 1682 AD.

Other historical works such as the Vamsavalis, Bhuyanr Puthi and Charitra Puthi etc were also written during the Ahom rule. The Darrang Raj-vamsavali deals with the family history of the Koch Rajas of Darrang. The chiefs of the states of Rani and Dimarua also maintained their own Vamsavalis like family Vamsavalis of some Ahom nobles. The Bhuyanr Puthi which gives us a flood of light about their genealogy and history.

The Satriya Vamsavalis describe the history of the Satras including their relations with the ruling power. The Mayamara Satrar Vamsavali and the Dihing Satrar Vamsavali enable us to know us about the contemporary socio-religious and political conditions of the people of Assam. The Charitra Puthis were written in prose and poetry.

There are many Charitra Puthis. They are Adi Charitra, Guru Charitra and Katha Guru Charitra etc. They are mostly biographies of the Vaishnava Gurus. They depict the pictures of the social life of the people of Assam for the period from the sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century.

The Ahoms had a historical sense and so they used to write their history. Of course all of their buranjis are not flawless. As for example, the dates mentioned in some buranjis are not all correct. Again, some buranjis could not focus the real description of the things sincerely and dauntlessly.

Again, from all the buranjis we cannot have an all round account of the social, political religious and economic descriptions of the time. Despite the same, the value of the buranjis as historical literature can ever be underrated.

The writing of history was an important matter of the administration of the Ahoms. It was so because buranji was an essential part of education. It is assumed that the Ahoms began to write history from the days of Sukapha. As such, many buranjis were written during the rule of the Ahoms from 1228 AD to 1826 AD. But the question is - are all the Ahom Buranjis now available? Of course, the answer is definitely negative. It is why, we can not have all the buranjis written in the Ahom rule. There are some reasons.

All the original Buranjis have not been discovered up till now. Many of them have been destroyed by natural calamities including the Moamaria rebellions. Kirtichandra Barbarua was also responsible for the loss of some we have numerous buranjis for which we may feel pride.

Really, history is an unending dialogue between the past and the present. It repeats itself. It is basically the mirror of past. Hence, sources play the pivotal part in this arena. In the words of G. A. Grierson, we can conclude that  "The Assamese are justly proud of their national literature. In no department have they been more successful than in a branch of study in which India is, as a rule, curiously deficient."