BIRTH RELATED RITUALS OF SONOWAL KACHARI TRIBE OF ASSAM

The Sonowal Kacharis are one of the scheduled Bodo tribes of Assam. They are indigenous ethnic group of the North East part of India. The Sonowals were offered non-tribal titles like Saikia, Bora, Hazarika, in their…..Bhoj, Bahoor Utowa, Kechaikhati puza etc. Though there are no historical records, but like many other Kachari tribes, they nostalgically trace their ancestry from the Kachari Kingdom established in the eleventh century A.D.at Dimapur. Some even contended that in the middle of the ninth century a strong Kachari kingdom was established at Sadiya. After the advent of the Ahoms they shifted their kingdom to Dimapur in the thirteen century. Nevertheless the Sonowal Kacharis are the off short of the Tibeto-Burman Bodo people who are scattered in almost the entire north-eastern region of India. They branched out from the parent group and spread over to Sadiya of Assam and contributed immensely in moulding synthetic Assamse culture. At present these tribe men are mostly concentrated in the eastern part of Assam. In this paper an attempt has been made to birth related rituals of Sonowal Kachari tribes of Assam. In every human society the birth of a child, be it a male or a female, is an occasion of joy after the family. The Sonowal Kacharis perform certain rights and rituals at the birth of a child. Generally five or six rituals are held on the birth of a child. They are- Rituals related to Pregnant Women, Rituals of Rebirth system, Mukloga rituals, Bajuliwa rituals, Sudhi Sabah Ceremony.