Inheritance of Property

Among the Kacháris the laws and customs relating to the inheritance of property seem to be very vague, and it is not at all easy to obtain any definite information on the subject. Generally speaking, on the decease of the head of the household the eldest son takes charge of all property, making a home for the time for his widowed mother and his brothers and sisters. In this way the family may be kept together for some years; but eventually it breaks up as the children grow up and marry, in which case the father’s property is broken up into equal shares, the eldest son taking one share and a half, while what remains is divided fairly among the other brothers. The daughters, especially if married, can claim nothing. When a man dies without sons, the property usually passes to his eldest surviving brother, who generally makes some provision for the deceased man’s widow and daughters.

Disputes, whether matrimonial or otherwise (e.g., inheritance of property, &c.), are almost invariably referred to the council of village elders, whose members are not necessarily limited to five or other definite number; and the decision of this rural council is very rarely questioned or opposed in any way. It might be well to develop and enlarge this simple and very effective way of settling disputes, so that the villagers may be to a great extent saved from the necessity of coming under the contaminating, demoralising influence of our civil and criminal courts. As all the Kacháris of this district (Darrang) are ordinary cultivators, holding land directly under Government like their Hindu and Musulman neighbours, no remarks are needed under the head of “tenure of land, and laws regarding land.” So too with the sections dealing with “war, and head-hunting,” it is only necessary to say that the latter practice (head-hunting) is quite unknown here, though it would seem to have been very common in earlier days among the closely cognate race known to us as Garos.

[1] On this point Col. Gurdon, Hon. Director of Ethnography, Assam, writes as follows:—“I entertain grave doubts as to the correctness of the author’s remark that the Kachári totemistic clans were originally endogamous. If it had not been for the most unfortunate death of the author before this work went to press, we might have hoped to have had some light on this obscure point. Amongst the Mech, who are the first cousins of the Kacháris, and who live alongside of them, marriage is exogamous, vide page 124 of the Monograph, so also amongst the Garos, who may be described as second cousins of the Kacháris. Mr. Friel, Sub-Divisional Officer of Mangaldai, which division of the Darrang district contains a large number of Kacháris, met an old Kachári who stated quite positively that ‘before the Dewangari war, Kacháris were not allowed to marry within their own sub-tribe.’ It is true that Mr. Friel’s informant afterwards contradicted himself, but I think it is quite possible his first statement was the correct one. On the other hand, it should be stated in favour of Mr. Endle’s theory that three men were found in Sekhar mauza of Mangaldai who stated that in former days ‘a penance had to be performed if one married outside one’s own kur.’ My own view, however, is that stated above, and I do not think the statement that the Kachári totemistic clans were endogamous should be accepted without further investigation.” [↑]

[2] In the Dhubri subdivision there is a place called “Ding-dinga.” Perhaps this takes its name from the sept.—[Ed.] [↑]

[3] Cf. Assamese, guā, betel, to which Guā-hāti, the capital of Assam, is said to owe its name. [↑]

[4] Rāmshā is one of the old Mauzas of Kamrup. It is situated close to Gauhati.—[Ed.] [↑]

[5] Sanskrit, vamsa, bamboo; vāms-vāri is the Assamese word for a bamboo grove.—[Ed.] [↑]

[6] The Moámári or Máomári bil is said to have given its name to the Moamaria faction which gave so much trouble in the time of the Assamese king Gaurinath Singha.—[Ed.] [↑]

[7] In adopting a word from the language of their Hindu neighbours (Assamese), the Kacháris often use an aspirated letter where none exists in the original.—S. E. [↑]

[8] It is certainly strange that amongst the Meches, who are kinsmen of the Kacháris, the sub-tribes are exogamous, whereas the Kachári sub-tribes are said by the author to have been originally endogamous.—[Ed.] [↑]

[9] Cf. the case of the Mech sub-tribes. [↑]

[10] Há, earth; chum (-gă-chúm), black (cf. Dimá gá-chum, black-water); sá, folk, people. [↑]

[11] “Śánti-Jal,” water of peace (reconciliation), usually prepared by immersing in water leaves of the Tulsi plant, Dub grass, cow-dung, rice, &c. Money is sometimes added in the form of small silver coins (four-anna bits) or even rupees; and rings, or other personal ornaments, are sometimes thrown into this “Śánti-Jal.” [↑]

SECTION IV

Religion

General character of popular beliefs. The religion of the Kachári race is distinctly of the type commonly known as “animistic,” and its underlying principle is characteristically one of fear or dread. The statement “Timor fecit deos” certainly holds good of this people in its widest and strictest sense; and their religion thus stands in very marked, not to say violent, contrast[1] with the teaching of the Faith in Christ. In the typical Kachári village as a rule neither idol nor place of worship is to be found; but to the Kachári mind and imagination earth, air, and sky are alike peopled with a vast number of invisible spiritual beings, known usually as “Modai,” all possessing powers and faculties far greater than those of man, and almost invariably inclined to use these powers for malignant and malevolent, rather than benevolent, purposes. In a certain stage of moral and spiritual development men are undoubtedly influenced far more by what they fear than by what they love; and this truth certainly applies to the Kachári race in the most unqualified way. The Kachári Duars of this district (Darrang) were in earlier days looked upon as being especially unhealthy, and to some extent they retain that character still. It has repeatedly fallen to the lot of the writer, when entering a Kachári village to find one or more of its inhabitants prostrate with malarial fever of a virulent type; and on asking what was wrong the reply has very commonly been “modai[2] hāmdang,” i.e., an (evil) spirit has got hold (of me). And this reply may be looked upon as typical and characteristic, and as accurately expressing the very spirit and true inwardness of Kachári religion. Of sin, i.e., the conscious violation of the moral Law of a righteous God, the Kachári has of course no idea whatever. But he does believe in the existence and active interference in the affairs of men of certain invisible spiritual beings who are the authors of sickness, famine, earthquakes, &c.; who are for the most part influenced by malevolent motives, and whose ill-will towards mankind must be propitiated and bought off by frequent offerings of rice, plantains, pigs, goats, poultry, &c., in ways regarding which some little information is given below.

Worship of ancestors. 1. Ancestor-worship would not seem to be in vogue to any extent among the Kacháris of this district, though perhaps it is not altogether unknown; e.g., when the head of a family or other man of note passes away, it is not unusual at certain festivals to place on a platform a small quantity of the viands of which the deceased was known to be fond during his lifetime on earth, presumably for his use and behoof. No adult members of the village community will ever presume to touch these viands, though the village children are apparently at liberty to consume them at their pleasure.

Worship of natural forces. 2. The worship of natural forces also would seem to be not at all common, though some traces of it may perhaps be noted here and there. For instance, (A) in connection with the popular festival known as the April (Vaisákh) Bihu, there takes place what is called the “Parwa” show or bhotheli, a festival apparently common to Hindu and Kachári alike. The parwa is a tall bamboo pole draped with rags, flags, &c., taken from the village on the last day of the Bihu, and put up in a field alongside a tree, where the people amuse themselves by dancing, wrestling, and tom-toming, &c., around it. It is possible that this may be a relic or survival of phallic worship, the parwa taking the place of the lingam or phallus. (B) Again, water would seem to have about it something of a sacred character in the mind of the average Kachári. The dead are often buried or cremated on or near the banks of running streams, which are also favourite localities for the celebration of the greater pujas. This reverence for water is perhaps specially marked among the Kacháris of North-east Bengal (Jalpaiguri, &c), in which part of the Province, Mr. Bryan Hodgson informs us, all the smaller streams are regarded as a kind of lesser deities (dii inferiores), whilst the Brahmaputra is looked upon as the mother of them all (mater magna). It may be noted also in this connection that one of the principal branches of the widely spread Bara race, i.e., the people of the North Cachar Hills, still speak of themselves as Di-má-sá, i.e., “sons of the big river,” or “children of the great water,” even though none of them would seem now to dwell anywhere near a large river or lake, &c. It may therefore perhaps be safely inferred that the element of water, though now apparently not often actually worshipped, has ever been held in special regard by the Kachári race.

Worship of deities. The Kachári Pantheon is a very extensive one, though it seems probable that only a comparatively small number are strictly of tribal or national origin, many having obviously been borrowed from their Hindu neighbours. The popular Kachári deities fall naturally into two classes, i.e., (1) household gods (nă-ni madái); (2) village gods (gámi-ni madái).[3] The former are worshipped inside the house, or at least in the homestead (compound); the latter by the whole village collectively, outside the house, and usually near the sacred grove of trees or bamboos, often to be seen some fifteen or twenty yards from the village, and known as the thānsāli. A long list of these gods is given in an interesting paper by Maulvi Mahibuddin Ahmed, some nineteen names of household gods being therein enumerated, whilst the village gods number no fewer than sixty-five. Only a small proportion of these deities would, however, seem to obtain recognition in this district (Darrang), and it hardly seems necessary to mention by name more than a few of them.

A. Household Deities.

Among the household deities may be placed the following:—

1. Bátháu (Siju, i.e., Euphorbia splendens).

Of these household gods by far the most important is the first-mentioned, i.e., Bátháu, who is pre-eminently the guardian of the family interests and family honour. He is never represented in idol form, but is well in evidence through his living symbol, the siju (hiju) tree (Euphorbia splendens), which is often to be seen in the Kachári homestead surrounded by a circular fence of split bamboo. Among the Meches of Goalpara, almost every home, it is said, has its Bátháu (siju), though in Darrang it is less frequently met with. Bátháu is said not to be worshipped separately, but always in conjunction with Ai-Deo. Inside the house a slightly raised altar, called dhám, is often erected in honour of Song Rájá, and at this women especially pay their devotions and make offerings, particularly at the monthly periods (menses). All offerings, however, made to Song Rájá are finally brought outside the house, and laid at the foot of Bátháu; and the writer has often seen such offerings in the form of heads of goats, pigs, fowls, &c., as well as plantains, támul-nuts, pán-leaves, gazi (i.e., a mixture of rice and pulse), &c., humbly laid down for Bátháu’s acceptance. In this way it is held that disease, famine, and misfortunes of all kinds may be kept at bay, through the influence of this powerful guardian of the family interest and well-being.

Siju Tree (Euphorbia splendens).

From a photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun.

It may be added that it is apparently only among the northern section of the Kachári race that the siju tree is regarded with special reverence. The Garos are said to know this tree and to use certain parts of it for medical purposes e.g., the preparation of poultices, &c.; but to them it is never an object of worship. The Dimásá of the North Cachar Hills, on the other hand, seem to have no special regard for the siju or any other tree.

2. Maináo (Ceres).

Only second to Bátháu is his good consort, Maináo, though, unlike her husband, she has no special emblem visible to the human eye. Her special function is that of “Guardian of the rice-fields”;[4] and among a purely agricultural community like that of the Kacháris, she of course is held in very high regard. She is, in short, to the Kachári peasant very much what Ceres was to the old heathen Roman cultivator. Eggs are the offering that finds most favour in her eyes, and these are presented to her in unstinted quantity. She is apparently especially worshipped at the period of harvesting the áśu and śáli crops; hence the twofold designation given above (Nos. 3 and 4, household gods), Ásu Maináo, and Śáli Maináo.

Of the other domestic deities above mentioned, it is not necessary to say much. Nos. 5 and 6 (Song Rájá and Song Brái) seem to be the especial objects of devotion to women, worshipped for the most part inside the house, whilst No. 7 (Burá Bágh Rájá) is apparently merely the name of the tiger, often spoken of with bated breath as the “monarch of the woods” (banar-rájá), especially by men travelling at night, when danger from the tiger may well be apprehended.

B. Village Deities.

There would seem to be little need to dwell much on the village deities; for no small proportion of them have evidently been adopted from the Hindu Pantheon, as will be obvious from the names given below. Some sixty-five such names are given in the valuable paper above mentioned of village deities recognised in Kamrup, though the writer only knows of some three or four of these gods as reverenced in this district (Darrang). Among these may perhaps be mentioned the following:—

It is needless to continue the list, for almost all the names are obviously borrowed from popular Hinduism; e.g., Kuber is almost certainly the Hindu god of wealth and of the lower regions (Pluto). Others are in all likelihood merely names of deified mortals of some pre-eminence above their fellow men; cf. Ram, Krishna, &c. A notable illustration of this principle of deification is probably that given as No. 10 in the above list, i.e., Sila Rai.[5] This is almost certainly the name of the well-known Commander-in-Chief of the most famous of the Koch Kings, Nar Narayan, in whose time the Koch kingdom reached the zenith of its power. As a soldier and commander this man (Sila Rai) seems to have been the foremost captain of his time in North-east India; and his striking personality would seem so to have impressed the minds and imaginations of his contemporaries as to lead to his apotheosis after death.

As might be expected among a purely agricultural community, the great annual pujas, which are three in number, are directly connected with the ingathering of the three chief rice crops of the year, i.e., the Áhu, Pharma, and Śáli crops. The dates for these annual pujas do not seem to be at all rigidly fixed, but are apparently settled by the village elders to meet the public convenience. There is no prescribed form of religious worship; indeed, the whole gathering is rather of the nature of a village merry-making than a religious service; and there is invariably a very large consumption of the national beverage (rice-beer) at all these gatherings.

There is said to be another puja known as morong-puja, of which the special object is to propitiate the cholera demon, to whom are made offerings of he-goats, pigeons, fowls and betel-nuts, &c. In addition to these, flowers, eggs, pounded rice-flour, &c., are sometimes placed on rafts and set afloat on a river; and occasionally animals (goats, &c.) are exposed in this way on rafts as an oblation to the river god (dǒi-ni madai).[6] It may be taken for granted that, whenever these rafts are found on streams in the Kachári country, cholera or other malignant disease is or has been doing its deadly work among the people. In addition to the pujas above mentioned, which are more or less of a general character, offerings of goats, chickens, and a mixture of pulse and rice known as gazi, are often placed at the foot of certain trees, usually old trees, and finally left there. As a rule, only the heads of the goats, chicken, &c., so offered will be found at the foot of such trees, the bodies of the slaughtered animals being consumed by the offerers. These oblations are made, not by the village community as a whole, but by the heads of individual families, some one member of which is in severe trouble from sickness or other like cause. The money value of such offerings is sometimes not inconsiderable.