Total population | |
---|---|
(4 million (2011 est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Assam | 3.9 million |
Arunachal Pradesh | 50,000 |
Languages | |
Ahom (formerly), Assamese | |
Religion | |
Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Satsana Phi | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Shan, Thai, and other Tai groups, Assamese people, |
Ahom | |
---|---|
Varna | Kshatriya |
Religions | Hinduism, Buddhism, Phu-Ra-Lung |
Languages | Assamese, Ahom |
Populated states | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh. |
The Ahom (Pron: /ˈɑːhɑːm, ˈɑːhəm/, Assamese: আহোম, people of Assam) are the descendants of the ethnic Tai people that accompanied the Tai prince into the Brahmaputra valley in 1228 and ruled the area for six centuries. Sukaphaa and his followers established the Ahom kingdom (1228–1826) and the Ahom dynasty ruled and expanded the kingdom until the British gained control of the region through the Treaty of Yandabo upon winning the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1826.
The modern Ahom people and their culture are a syncretic blend of the original Tai culture, the indigenous Tibeto-Burmans and Hinduism. Some ethnic groups, including the Tibeto-Burman speaking Borahi people, were completely subsumed into the Ahom community. Members of other communities, based on their allegiance to the Ahom kingdom or the usefulness of their talents, were accepted as Ahoms. Nowadays Ahoms form the largest mongoloid community of Assam and North East India. They are in majority in Upper Assam
The Tibeto-Burman locals near the Ahoms gave them the name "Ahom".
In the early 13th century, Mong Mao was a small kingdom of Tai people, related to the Shan, in present-day Yunnan Province, Myanmar. In 1228, the Mong Mao prince Chao-lung Sukaphaa began his journey with about 9000 followers, mostly men. He crossed the Patkai Hills and reached the Brahmaputra valley in 1228. He moved from place to place, searching for a seat. He decided not to attack the Morans and Borahis but befriend them instead. His depleted followers married into the Borahi and the Moran ethnic groups. The Borahis, a Tibeto-Burman people, were subsumed into the Ahom fold, though the Moran maintained their independent ethnicity. Sukaphaa established his capital at Charaideo near present-day Sivasagar in 1253 and began the task of state formation.