Karbi people

The Karbis (Karbi:কাৰ্বি), mentioned as the Mikir in the Constitution Order of the Government of India and Assam till 1976 (vide Govt. of Assam Notification No. TAD/115/74/47),[5] are one of the major ethnic communities in Northeast India and especially in the hill areas of Assam. The great artist-scholar Bishnu Prasad Rabha refer to them as the Columbus of Assam.[6]

For the place in Armenia, see Karbi, Armenia.

Karbi
Arleng
A Karbi elder in traditional attire, wearing a Poho (white turban), a choi-hongthor (woven jacket), a lek paikom (gold-plated necklace) and another poho on his right shoulder
Total population
528,503 (2011)[1])
Regions with significant populations
Karbi Anglong (Assam)421,156 (2011 census)
Arunachal Pradesh1,053
Meghalaya19,289
Mizoram74
Nagaland210
Bangladeshno data
Languages
Karbi language, Amri language
Religion
Animism, Hinduism, Christianity
Part of a series on the
Culture of Assam

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Etymology

The origin of the word Karbi is unknown. Historically and by ancestry they called themselves Arleng (literally "man" in Karbi language) and are called Karbi by others.[7] The term Mikir is now considered derogatory.[8] There is no definitive meaning of the word Mikir in the Karbi language. The closest meaning of Mikir could be said to be derived from "Mekar" (English: Fire).[9]

Overview

The Karbis is the principal indigenous community in the Karbi Anglong district and West Karbi Anglong district of the Indian State of Assam, the district is administered as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, having an autonomous district of their own since 17 November 1951.[10] Besides Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi-inhabited areas include Dima Hasao, Kamrup Metropolitan, Hojai, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Biswanath Chariali districts of Assam; Balijan circle of Papumpare district in Arunachal Pradesh; Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and West Khasi Hills districts in Meghalaya; Dimapur District in Nagaland, Mizoram and Sylhet district of Bangladesh with disproportionate distribution.[5] However, Karbis in other Indian State, like Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, are unable to identify themselves as Schedule Tribe, as Constitution of India only recognise 'Mikir'. With a population of around 4 lakhs 21 thousand (421,156) as per 2011 Census in Karbi Anglong district alone, also found scattered in several other parts of Assam itself & Northeast India, the Karbis constitute a large community.

History

The Karbis linguistically belong to the Tibeto-Burman group. The original home of the various people speaking Tibeto-Burman languages was in western China near the Yang-Tee-Kiang and the Howang-ho rivers and from these places, they went down the courses of the Brahmaputra, the Chindwin, and the Irrawaddy and entered India and Burma. The Karbis, along with others, entered Assam from Central Asia.

The folk-lores of the Karbis, however, indicate that during the long past, once they used to live on the banks of the rivers the Kalang and the Kopili, along with Tiwas, Keot(Kaibarta) and Borahis, and the entire Kaziranga area, the famous National Park situated in Assam, was within their habitation. There are also stone monuments, monolithic & megalithic structures laying scattered in various parts of West Karbi Anglong district[5] which forms a part of folk-lore narratives and are yet to be properly researched. During the reigns of the Dimasa Kachari kings, they were driven to the hills and some of them entered into Jaintia hills, the erstwhile Jaintia Kingdom and lived under Jaintia suzerainty.

While a section of the Karbis remained in the Jaintia kingdom, others moved towards north-east by crossing the river Barapani, a tributary of the Kopili and entered into the Rongkhang Ranges. There they established their capital at a place called Socheng. The Karbis who migrated to the Ahom Kingdom had to face the Burmese invasion.

The Burmese who invaded Assam perpetrated inhumane oppression on the people. The Karbis took refuge in the deep jungles and high hills leaving their hearth and home in the sub-mountainous regions. In order to save themselves from the greedy eyes of the Burmese invaders, the young Karbi female started to use an indigo line, a form of tattoo, from the middle of forehead-through-nose-to-chin which is known a "Duk" to make themselves look ugly. While some of the Karbis migrated to Western Assam, some had crossed the Brahmaputra and settled in the north bank.

Religion


Most of the Karbis still practices Animism with their cultural and traditional influences. The practitioners of traditional Animism believe in reincarnation and honour the ancestors (Veneration of the dead). Census of India, 1961, mistakenly recorded Animism as Hinduism, leading to the overnight conversion of the majority of Karbi people to Hinduism and confusion of own religion. Many people follow Hinduism nowadays. There are also Karbi Christians (some 10-15% according to the census of India, 2011).

At the base of Karbi religion and belief system, it is basically composed of ritual honouring of their 'ancestor', worship of 'household deities' & 'territorial deities' and ritual for the dead ancestor or 'Karhi'. Practically, it's the 'Hemphu-Mukrang' duo that dominates the Karbi Pantheon (Teron, 2011). Thus, those Karbis who follow the traditional practices are known as the followers of 'Hemphu-Mukrang' for which they prefer themselves as 'Hemphu-Mukrang aso' meaning Son of Hemphu and Mukrang (Hanse, 2007). The Karbi deities can be divided into three groups according to their function and these are Hem-Angtar, Rongker and Thengpi-Thengso (Phangcho, 2003; Terang,2007).

In recent years, with the spread of new faiths (Aron Kimi), a number of new religious movements have come to fore, such as Lokhimon (A variation of Vaishnavism founded by Lokhon Ingti Hensek), Karbi Bhaktitom Trust (Founded by Smt. Ambika Tokbipi), Sat Sang (A reform of Hinduism founded by Thakur Anukul Chandra) and Honghari. These religious movements have influenced a section of Karbi population in the district. Apart from these movements, the change and progress achieved by a section of Karbis by embracing Christianity are also worth mentioning (Mishra & Athparia, 1995). [11][12][13][14][15]

Culture and tradition

Language
Main article: Karbi language

The Karbis mainly speak their native language, i.e. Karbi language. Karbis are well versed in Assamese which is used as lingua-franca to communicate with other indigenous Assamese communities. Many of the Plain Karbis use Assamese as their mother tongue. Several Assamese loan words have made their way into the Karbi Language and this is apparent in most parts of Karbi Anglong. For example, Kaam (Assamese origin word) is used in place of Sai which mean Work in english. Even Assamese also has loan words. For example "Hanseronk Tenga" ( Karbi origin word) "Hanseronk". There are also minute variations in native Karbi language that can be observed in different geographical regions inhabited by the Karbis. For example, the Plain Karbis and Hill Karbis.

Clan

The Karbis are a Patrilineal society. They are composed of five major clans or Kur. They are Engti (Lijang), Terang (Hanjang), Enghee (Ejang), Teron (Kronjang) and Timung (Tungjang) which are again divided into many sub-clans.

Marriage

Clans in Karbi are exogamous, in other words, marriages between members of the same clan are not allowed because they are considered brother and sister among themselves. Marriage between cousins (in-laws) is highly favored and so is a love marriage. Arranged marriages are rarely seen in modern Karbi society. After marriage, neither the bride nor the groom changes their surname i.e. they retain their original surname. Due to the same reason, a member of the same clan cannot marry each other. The children of the couple would inherit the surname of their father. The notion of Dowry doesn't exist in Karbi, as well as in the indigenous people of Northeast India region.

Governance

The traditional system of governance is headed by the Lindok, the king, who is assisted by the Katharpo, the Dilis, the Habes, and the Pinpos. These posts of administration, however, are now merely ceremonial with no real power.

Festivals

The Karbis celebrate many festivals. Among them, Hacha-Kekan, Chojun, Rongker, Peng Karkli, Thoi Asor Rit Asor and Botor Kekur are some such festivals held around the year and some of them are held at a specific time of the year. Botor Kekur is celebrated to request God to grace the earth with rain so that the crops could be sown. Rongker is celebrated either on 5 January or on 5 February as per the convenience of the villagers as a thanksgiving to God and asking for their assurance to protect them from any evil harm that may happen to the village and the people living in it.

Death

The Chomangkan (also known as "thi-karhi") is a festival unique to the Karbis. It is a ceremony performed by a family for the peace and safe passage of the soul of a deceased family member, who died recently or long ago. This is the final homage for the deceased person and no further death anniversary is celebrated/held again.

Clothing

Karbis have their own traditional attire. A wide range of clothing are very similar to Asian Sub-continent clothing, but with varied materials and design.

Song and musical instruments

Karbi have a rich oral song, which is different from normal spoken words. These songs are an oral narration of ancestors' stories passed through generations. Karbi history has been carried forward through narrative songs. Thanks to Rangsina Sarpo, the first mentor of music, art and culture of the Karbis, who was believed to have enlightened them and brought a renaissance in the domain of art and aesthetics by acting like a sauntering folk singer assisted by the Mirjeng brothers.[5]

Karbi musical instruments are similar to other indigenous tribal musical instruments. The difference is in the variance of play and beat.

Economy

The Karbis inhabiting in hills traditionally practice jhum cultivation (Slash-and-burn cultivation) whereas those dwelling in plains earn their livelihood by engaging in agriculture and livestock rearing. They grow a variety of crops which include foodgrains, vegetables and fruits like rice, maize, potato, sweet potato, tapioca, beans, ginger, and turmeric. They are quite self-sufficient and have homestead gardens with betel nut, jackfruit, oranges, pineapple, pear, peach, plum, etc. which fulfill their nutritional as well as food needs. However, with the integration of the traditional lifestyle with the market economy, many of the traditional institutions and way of life has been left damaged, bringing about unending sufferings on the people.

Karbi people have the highest HPI (Human Poverty Index) value of 33.52, indicating that this tribe has the highest number of people in human poverty. (Assam Human Development Report, 2003).

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See also
  • Karbi people

References
  1. "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
  2. "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019. Ahom [aho]
  3. "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
  4. "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
  5. Bori, Kamala Kanta (2012). Oral narratives of the Karbis an analytical study (PhD thesis). Gauhati University. hdl:10603/115233.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  6. "Karbi Tribes in Assam,Regional Karbi Tribes,Assam Karbi Tribes".
  7. http://multitree.org/codes/mjw.html
  8. Ethnologue profile
  9. Meaning of Mikir « Karbis Of Assam
  10. Karbi Anglong District At A Glance
  11. Hanse, H.M. (2007). Traditional Dwelling Process of Karbis. In P.C. Patniak & D.Borah (Eds), Tribes of India: Identity, Culture, and Lore (pp.61-79) Guwahati: Angik Prakashan
  12. Phangcho, P.C. (2003). The Karbis of North-East India. Guwahati: AngGik Prakashan.
  13. Terang, C.K. (2007). "Festival and Beliefs of the Karbi Tribe". In P.C. Patnaik; D. Borah (eds.). Tribes of India: Identity, Culture, and Lore (Special Focus on the Karbis of Assam). Guwahati: Angik Prakashan.
  14. Teron, D. (2011). Karbi Studies (Vol-2). Guwahati: Assam Book Hive.
  15. Mishra, S.S. and R.P. Athparia.(1995). Impact of Urbanization on the Karbis of Assam. In J.B. Ganguly (Ed.), Urbanization and Development in North-East India: Trends and Policy Implications (pp.199-205). New Delhi: Deep & Deep.

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