Hajong people

Hajong

Hajǒng
Hajong women fishing with 'Jakha' a traditional fishing implement
Total population
200,000 (approx.)
Regions with significant populations
Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal
Languages
Hajong Bhasa
Religion
Hinduism (Dyaoism)
Related ethnic groups
Kachari people, Bodo people, Garo people

The Hajong people are tribal people of North-eastern India and Bengal. They are the fourth largest ethnicity in Meghalaya. Hajong people are spread out across North East India West Bengal and Bangladesh. Majority of the Hajongs are settled in India. At present their population is more than 150,000 in India and 50,000 in Bangladesh. Hajongs are predominantly rice farmers. Hajong have the status of a Scheduled Tribe in India.

There are different opinions on the origin of the tribe, its name and migration to India. Some authors like Rev. S. Endle and Mr. B. C. Allen opined that the Hajongs are an offshoot of the great Bodo race. According to a legend popularly prevalent among the Hajongs, they are Suryawanshi (Surjo bung-shi in Hajong) or the descendants of Surjo or Bila (sun)and they are Kshatriyas. The Hajongs belong to the Indo-Tibetan group of the main mongoloid race. They had come from Tibet to the north-east India along the Brahmaputra and Tista and their tributaries and had spread over in the Sankush Valley. Some records state that the Hajongs were a section of the Indo-Burmese group of the Mongoloid Race. From the far Southeast Asia they had penetrated into Assam through Burma and had settled firstly in Kamrup, Assam. The Hajongs claim that their ancestral home was in Hajo area of present Nalbari district of Assam. The meaning of 'Hajong' can be comprehended as 'descendants of Hajo'.

The Hajongs have five different clans (Hajong Bhasa: Nikni). Marriage within the same clan is prohibited. Their culture slightly differs from clan to clan :

Hajongs are endogamous people. In Hajong society matriarchy declined with the influence of Hinduism, leading towards the growing dominance of patriarchy in Hajong society. Within Hajong culture, romantic love and widow remarriage are allowed, and monogamy was the norm for the Hajong people. Exorbitant dowry system was absent in the Hajong society. The Hajongs would give a tolerable bride price or groom price called pôn. Widows are allowed to remarry and this type of marriage is called Hang'a or Sang'a in Hajong.

The Hajongs are Hindus. They have been following Hindu rites and customs since a long time. The animistic beliefs are still prevalent among the Hajongs. Not much is known about the customs and beliefs of their pre-Hindu period.