How much do we truly know about a culture from the Northeast that not only ruled for over 600 years but also managed to remain undefeated by the Mughal rulers?
As New Delhi prepares to host UNESCO’s 46th World Heritage Committee from July 21 to 31, 2024, among other things, this committee will evaluate 27 sites from across the globe for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty—Moidams—is India’s submission this year. If inscribed, it will become the first cultural heritage site from the Northeast to achieve world heritage status.
During a visit to Assam in 2022, we were captivated by the heritage sites in and around Sivasagar. A short drive from there lies Charaideo, home to the Moidams. Despite their beauty, cultural and historical significance, it was surprising to find that these sites are not at the top of national and international travel lists. Although local tourists frequent the area, the lack of tourist facilities in Sivasagar remains a challenge. However, recognition like this could catapult places like Sivasagar not only to gain significant revenue through tourism but also to enhance their ability to preserve and promote their rich cultural heritage.
So, who are the Ahoms? And why did they build these burial mounds?
The Ahoms, originating from Yunnan in the east, formed the political nucleus and identity of Assam for nearly 600 years. The dynasty was established in 1228 AD by Sukaphaa, also known as Chao-lung or ‘Great Lord’, who crossed the rugged Pat Kai mountains with Tai warriors and settled in the upper Brahmaputra Valley. Sukaphaa swiftly established alliances through strategic marriages, laying the groundwork for the formidable Ahom Empire. Over centuries, the empire expanded, with diverse tribes pledging allegiance to their rule, including Bodo ethnic groups such as, Chutiyas and Dimasas, the hill people such as Nagas and Karbis; at their zenith, almost all the tribes in the region, including the Kacharis, Khasis and Jaintias, owed allegiance to them.
The Ahoms, descendants of the Tai race, did not merely assimilate but adapted and eventually embraced Hinduism, unlike other invading rulers. One distinct aspect of their culture that endured, albeit transformed, was the practice of burials. They were highly cultured people who had their own language (Tai), religion (Taoism), customs and knowledge and literature including books on history, astrology, etc. While Ahom kings gradually gave up their language and religion to adopt those of their subjects, a tangible representation of the forgotten culture is seen through the Moidams or burial mounds of the Ahoms.
The Moidams, predominantly located in Charaideo—the initial capital of the Ahom kingdom—are constructed as brick-and-stone or wooden burial vaults covered by a hemispherical earthen mound, topped by a shrine (Chou Chali) placed at the centre of the octagonal dwarf wall (Garh). The shape is reflective of a Tai universe, with the burial chamber at its core with additional chambers for burial goods and staff.
Often compared to the pyramids of Egypt for their spiritual significance, these Moidams served as the final resting places for Ahom royalty, believed to ensure a royal afterlife for the departed. The visual and ritualistic similarities of Moidams are strikingly widespread. From burial mounds in Wales in the west to Mongolia in the east, the tomb clusters of Vietnam, and the ancient tumuli in Japan. These cultures, like the Ahom, built elaborate burial sites that not only served as final resting places but also as ceremonial centers, underscoring beliefs in an afterlife where ancestral worship is integral to community rituals, and it is believed that departed souls continued to be with and bless the society. It is this cultural practice and the distinct structures that symbolize the identity of a migrant culture within the Indian subcontinent, setting them apart. These mounds may not have been designed as grand works of architecture, but serene resting places that were designed to blend in with nature rather than standing out. Perhaps a strong cultural statement of oneness with nature or back to earth. The protected Maidams are designed to be at the pinnacles of gently sloping landscape at the foothills of the Patkai Mountain, forming manmade peaks in a landscape of expansive golden green fields. The scale of the peaks is clearly not in competition with nature’s creation and perhaps symbolising the mortal and evanescent nature of human life with an overall effect of a surreal landscape dotted with mounds that depict spirits of the departed.
The burial process itself was elaborate and time-consuming, often extending over several months. It began with meticulous rituals performed by Ahom priests to alleviate the suffering of a ruler on his deathbed. Once deceased, the king’s body was preserved, adorned in royal attire, and laid upon a bed decorated with gold foil and precious stones. The tomb was filled with personal items and fineries that a person of royal stature would be accustomed to, including gem-studded swords, ivory carvings, etc. It is said that at least ten servants and orderlies were buried alive to serve the king in his afterlife.
The significant shift in these rituals came during the reign of Swargadeo Rudra Singha (1696-1714 A.D.), when Hinduism was fully adopted and the Ahoms moved from burial to cremation. Although the ashes of the dead continued to be housed within Moidams.
The prominence of Charaideo waned following the British annexation of the region after the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. The last of the Ahom kings, Purandar Singha had made appeals to safeguard the Moidam land. Despite his efforts, the area was repurposed for tea cultivation and the establishment of factories and labor camps. The Jorhat-Furkating railway construction in 1925 led to the destruction of several Moidams by orders from the British government.
The Archaeological Survey of India secured the protection of four significant Moidams in Charaideo in 1951 and granted them the status of national historical properties by 1975. With the hope that the deliberations at the World Heritage Committee unanimously agree to give this unique cultural heritage in Northeast India its well-deserved place in the world heritage list. Earlier in 2019, the World Heritage Committee announced the official registration of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan on its World Heritage list. The 49 burial mounds in the group were constructed from the late fourth to the late fifth centuries.