Siu-Ka-Pha and the Tai Traditions
Siu-Ka-Pha, the great left the country Mung Maolung in which he was the reigning prince with his maternal uncle Pa-meo-pung as the king there in the Tai year (Lakni) Kat-Rao after spending nineteen years there. In the administrative hierarchy in the Tai tradition, there were always two Ministers, the priests and a few nobles assisting the king in the administration of the country. Siu-Ka-Pha followed this Tai tradition and brought with him one Prime Minister namely Thaomung Kotok and one Deputy Prime Minister Thaomung Kan-gnan along with five other Phukin-Myung (governors). Also he brought with him two royal priests namely Thaomung Mo'sham of Laokhri-Changbun clan and Thaomung Mo-shai (Chengkaluk) of Pujak-ji clan. They were known as Deodhai and Mohung or Mohan later on. Siu-Ka-Pha found Mo'plong of Puhai Po-phi-su lineage in Myung-Dun-Sun-Kham (presently Assam) who belonged to the third priestly class namely Bailung. Thus Siu-Ka-Pha patronized the priestly classes and desired that they should keep up the Tai tradition of worshipping the forefathers, the gods in heaven as well as of seeing the books of astrology and astronomy to predict the future as well as advising the king about the auspicious dates of ascension to the throne and setting up a new capital, a new house etc and of the worship of the gods and the goddesses etc.
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In Khamjang in which he set up his first kingdom, he asked the Ministers and the nobles to count the number of persons who accompanied him from his father's country Myung-Khu Myung-Ja. They found that 120 persons died and 9 (nine) got lost out of the total of 9000 men who accompanied the prince. He ordered the royal priests Mo'sham and Mo'shai to systematically record the happenings which paved the way for the scientific recording of history called Buranji which is unique in the sense that no other nation or country in the whole world has such recorded history. This has been widely acclaimed by the British administrators and the scholars. Thus he set up the tradition of writing history which is the first of its kind.
The concept of Myung or Mung as an administrative unit is another Tai tradition which was introduced by Siu-Ka-Pha. When he set up his first administrative unit Myung Khamjang situated on the other side of Patkai hills (then called Doi-Kao-Rong), he left it under the control of the Phukin-Myung or a governor under him. The king was called Chao-Pha and all the governors were under him. While at Tipam, he set up another kingdom or an unit of administration called Myung-Tipam which he left to the governorship of Thaomung Kan-Ngan, his deputy prime-minister.
Here the Tai tradition of getting tributes in kind was enforced and both the governors (Phu-kin-Myung) paid him the tributes annually. The tradition of compulsory service to the king by his subjects was another Tai tradition which followed by Siu-Ka-Pha. There was an elaborate administrative set up under him in the Tai tradition and the nobles and the officers were instrumental in the governance of the country. These officers of the kingdom (Myung) were Phrang-Myung, Thaye-Myung, Thao, Ru-Ring, Ru-Pak, Ru-Chao, Phu-Kan, Phu-ke, Phu-kin-Myung, Niu-Myung etc. There were Ru-Chao, Ru-Pak and Ru-Ring who were called later Bora, Saikia and Hazarika at the grass root levels.
Another Tai tradition followed by the Ahoms was that only a person of king's clan could become a king. All the nobles and the officials of the court respected this tradition. This Tai tradition was first introduced when King Ai-Jep-Tyat-Pha of Myung-Ri Myung Ram and the son of the heavenly prince. Khunlai, the brother of Khun-Lung died issueless and the nobles brought Kham-Pong-Pha, a grandson of Khunlung and installed him as the king of Myung-Ri-Myung-Ram, the first Tai kingdom. During the Ahom rule, the powerful Prime Minister Atan Buragohain did not succumb to the pressure of the officials of the court for ascending the throne saying that a person who was not a descendant of Siu-Ka-Pha, the heavenly king should never even aspire to be the Ahom king as the heavenly throne would be tainted. This tradition was respected by all including Laluksola Borphukan, who gave away Guwahati and the lower part of Assam to the Mughals on their promise of making him the king of Assam and on receipt of four lakhs gold coins during the reign of Parbatia Raja Siu-Doi-Pha (1677 AD) but Laluksola did not dare to ascend the throne.
Another Tai tradition brought in by Siu-Ka-Pha was the system of wet paddy cultivation. It is said where there is water, there are the Tais. Siu-Ka-Pha's selection of his capital cities was based on the concept that the country around it should not be unsuitable for wet paddy cultivation and it should not be excessively flood affected. His rejection of Tipam, Habung (in present Dhemaji district) etc and his selection of Chariadeo as his permanent capital were the result of such considerations.
Siu-Ka-Pha encouraged the wet paddy cultivation in his new kingdom by opening three huge agricultural farms namely Gochikal, Angera and Borhat and engaging the Tais to irrigate the fields and plough and sow the seeds which he brought from his native place. The use of a buffalo with a plough was demonstrated to the delight of the local populace namely Mataks, Barahis, Chutias and Kacharis who were ignorant of the ways of wet paddy cultivation as they practiced the jhumming. This revolutionized the concept of agriculture here.
Another Tai tradition brought in by Siu-Ka-Pha was the Tai astrology, astronomy and divination. The system of sixty years' cycle called Taoshinga and years (lakni) was introduced by him. In all Ahom manuscripts written in Tai language, the system of calculation was always Tao-Shinga and Lakni. Moreover, nowhere, in the Tai Ahom manuscripts, the Ahoms were called Ahoms but they were always called Tais. The days and the months are also in Tai language.
Ban-Sheng or the system of divination was also brought in by him. Many manuscripts of divination written in Tai Ahom language and script are still available and the knowledgeable persons belonging to Deodhai, Mohan and Bailung can consult them and predict the future as well as the omens and the ways of setting off the evil omens. Phe-lung Phe-ban manuscripts contain the details of astrology and astronomy. It is interesting to note that Rahi-Jora (Phe), the system of matching of the bride and as the groom is also there with the beautiful paintings and the texts illustrating in which cases the matching is good. The manuscripts are also preserved from the days of Siu-Ka-Pha. B.J. Tierwel and Ranoo Wichasin two scholars on Tais praised the Ahom system of astrology and astronomy.
Rik-Khwan or the revitalization-ritual was also brought in by Siu-Ka-Pha. This is an unique Tai tradition which is practised even to this day by all the Tai speaking people including the Buddhist Tais / Thais of the world. The concept of unit of vitality called Khwan dwelling on the human body and shifting its position everyday of the month is unknown to the Indians. The Ahom kings used to hold Rik-Khwan Myung Khwan to revitalize the people of the country after a battle or a war, or after a famine etc. At the level of the common men also, the Rik-Khwan rituals like Saru-Phai, Maju-Phai and Bor-Phai to revitalize a person after sickness, fright etc are observed. Only the priestly classes know this ritual. There are the Tai manuscripts detailing the process. Siu-Ka-Pha performed this ritual in the lakni year Raimit after building a city and opening the paddy fields and the new court yard in charaideo (Che-lung Che-Kham). There were exchanges of gifts between him and his maternal cousin Siu-Kha-Pha, the king of the Tai country Myung-Mao-Lung besides his kingdoms of Myung-Tipam, Myung Aiton and Myung Khamjang and the non Tai kingdoms of Kamata, Teora (Chutia) and Tumisa (Kachari)
The most important Tai tradition is the Tai religion which was practiced by the Tais in the Tai kingdoms of Myung Maolung, Myung-Ri-Myung-Ram and Myung Khu Myung-Ja, the maternal and paternal countries of Siu-Ka-Pha. As the Tais accompanying the Prince Siu-Ka-Pha were professing the traditional religion which was mostly animism i.e. gods associated with the natural forces and the nature, with the concept of God Almighty and the gods in heaven, the foreign scholars studying the comparative religion of the Tais/ Thais are interested to study the Tai Ahom religion which is the original religion of the Tais before they embraced Hinayana Buddhism. The Tais who came with Siu-Ka-Pha practiced the traditional religion Banphi which was, however, influenced by the concepts of Taoism, Confucianism and Mahayani Buddhism to a lesser degree. The Tai Ahoms have the concept of associating gods with the natural forces which is nothing but the manifestation of animism. They have the gods of heaven like Pha-Nu-Ru Lengdom (the lord of Heaven), Khaokham (the god of the waters), Ai-Lengdin (the god of the earth), Janshaihung (the /guru of the gods), Mut-Kum Tai Kum (the sun and the moon gods), Chit-Lam-Sham (the gods of Thunder, storms, lightening, sunshine, light, dew, fog, rivers and ocean). They have the frontier gods (of wilderness) Po-phi-su, Langkuri, Nang Chi-Chao etc.
It is recorded in the manuscript history that Siu-Ka-Pha worshipped the ancient god Langkuri in Chariadeo and constructed a place of worship (Deosal) there. Pophisu, the great god of wilderness was dwelling in the big pipul tree and Siu-Ka-Pha planted such a tree to commemorate establishing his permanent capital in Chariadeo. It took the shape of an Umpha-worship and here he displayed his ingenuinety and generosity by accommodating the Hindu God Mahadev, Gossani, Ai Na Bhani and their attendants in his pantheon as the Mother goddess had already come to his side on his entry into Myung-Dun-Sun-Kham. This was a great occasion of integration and assimilation as some of the local people like Mataks, Barahis, Chutias Kacharis etc embraced his religion and became Tais.
The system of ancestor worship which is vibrant and positive even today which is called Me-Dam-Me-Phi was introduced by him. He held this ritual four times after he left his native place. This is a Tai tradition brought in by him here.
The concept of the duality of the soul namely Pu and Phu might have been inspired by Taoism although it is a bit different.
Another interesting factor in the traditional religion is the worship of God Almighty called Pha-Tyu-Shing-Phrong Hum in a ritual called Phuralung which is characterized by the absence of sacrifices which is otherwise, the hallmark of the Ahom religion. This might have been inspired by Mahayani Buddhism. The sacred Jataka story "Nemimang Phura" is read in the Phuralung ritual observed on the occasion of the death of a person.
Another Tai tradition is the system of marriage called Chaklong which is unique in its own way as the presiding deity of the Ahoms, that is Pha-Nu-Ru-Lengdon married Nang-Hung-Pha, the daughter of the heavenly priest Kanjangpha by observing this ritual.
The Ahom religion does not have any idol, Only the royalty used to worship the idl of Chumdeo (Chumpharung sheng Myung) which, however, could not be touched by anyone except the Ahom King. Interestingly king Siu-Ka-Pha appointed a Chutia as the guard of the temple of Chumdeo which exemplifies his zeal for integration and assimilation with the local populace.
For the linguists, the Tai Ahom language and script are of utmost interest as the script is ancient and the language is of the original Tais. Besides these traditions Siu-Ka-Pha brought in many Tai artifacts like Nora (Tai) sola (dresses) khingkhap etc, the Nora ornaments besides the traditional sward Hengdan and the utensils like Ban Kanhi, Ban Dati etc.
Thus Siu-Ka-Pha laid down the foundation of the united country through the processes of inter marriage and assimilation while retaining the age old Tai traditions. In the matter of adapting the traditional religion to the local environs, he was a fore-runner and made his name by inducting some of the important local gods and goddesses. His efforts in this regard should be recognized as the most unique as it took place in the first half of the thirteenth century much earlier than Akbar, the great. The entombment of the dead bodies of the royalty started on his death and the Moidam tradition of keeping the embalmed dead bodies inside the inner chambers rings the bell of the pyramids of Egypt.
(Published on the occasion of the Siu-KaPha Divas)
