Religion of the Tai Ahom

In the beginning there were no gods and men. The world was void and was surrounded by the water of the ocean. There were no air, no animals, no land, no ruler, no countries and no living beings. Also the sun, the moon and the stars did not exist. There was neither the earth nor the heaven.

There was only one omnipotent being, the Great God. He remained suspended in the sky like a swarm of bees in a hive. He had no head and no legs to walk. He had no mouth to speak. He resembled a lump of flesh hanging in the sky.

Then the God thought of changing His shape, otherwise no one would praise His name. Thus a long time passed.

Thus starts the creation myth of the Tai Ahom religion. As part of my fascination with my wife's (who is Ahom) culture and I have been wanting to lean more about (Tai) Ahoms and their religion. Thought she and her family follow neo-Vaishavism, the original Tai Ahom religion fascinates me nonetheless. The notes here are what I have learnt from her and a couple of authoritative texts on the subject like the 1976 book by Padmeshwar Gogoi^[1] and the PhD thesis of Shrutashwinee Gogoi ^[2].

The Tai Ahom people are identified to be a branch of the greater Tai people, called Tai Mao, who ruled the river valleys of the Yunnan province of China. The Tai Ahoms are said to have come around the early 13th century from the Moung Mao Lung region (in today's border between Myanmar and Yunnan Province of China) along with their leader prince Hso Ka Pha or Sukaphaa.

The Tai Ahom religion, similar to other religions in the region, is a polytheistic one. They believe in an Omnipotent God Pha Tu Ching Phrong Hum, with a hierarchy of gods originating from this Great God. Pha Tu Ching Phrong Hum, the ultimate creator and sustainer of the world, is impersonal without shape or form or void of any quality. As such, there no image or idol worship^[3].

Lengdon, a popular god, is the presiding deity of the heaven (Mung Phi) and the progenitor of the Tai Ahoms and their King being a direct descendant from Lengdon. Other gods are Khao Kham, Ai Leng Din, Jan Chai Hung, Chit Lam Cham, Mut-kum Tai Kum, and Chao Phi Dam.

The religion of Tai Ahoms, similar to other Tai people, is essentially ancestor worship. Ancestor worship is a crucial part of Tai heritage. Death transforms man to a god or Phi to be worshiped along with other gods. These ancestral gods remain as their guardians and should be propitiated with regular offerings of rice beer, animal sacrifice in ceremony called Dam Phi (lit. "dead god") to avoid raking their anger.

Animal sacrifice, along with other oblations, is essential in every ritual except the Phura Lung ceremony. The priestly classes like Changbuyn (Deodhai), Mo'hung (Mohan), Mo'pling (Bailung) conducts all the rituals.

The most important sacred text of the Tai Ahom religion is the Lit Lai Pak Peyn Kaka containing the origins of Pha Tu Ching Phrong Hum and other gods and goddesses in the pantheon. Besides this, there are other manuscripts and religious texts detailing the rituals, myths, divination practices associated with the Tai Ahon religion. In fact, such mythological books are called Buranji or literally history books and are considered authoritative.

Seng-ren is the name for the sacred place for worship. The shrines are called sal or than.

The inter-religious dialogues and interactions between Tai Ahom religion and other locally existing religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism gave way to a merging of religious ideologies, gods, and practices. As noted by [3], Langkuri - Shiva, Pha-Pin-Bet - Vishnu, Ban - Surya, Den - Chandra, Chang Dam - Brahma, Lengdon - Indra, Phri Nat Yao - Durga, Ai A Nang - Lakshmi.

The Tai Ahoms, settling in the Brahmaputra valley, called their land Mung Dun Hsun Hkam or Svarnabhumi (land of golden harvest) indicating the valley's fertile soil.

[1]	Gogoi, Padmeshwar, "Tai-Ahom Religion and Customs" (1976), Assam Publication Board.

[2]	Gogoi, Shrutashwinee. "Tai ahom religion a philosophical study." (2011).

[3]	As an exception, the god Chum Phra Rung Sheng Mung, commonly called Chum Deo, is depicted during the enthronement ceremony of Ahom kings called Kheun ren mai kaw or Singarighar utha. However, the actual imagery of this god seems to have been lost.