Karbi people
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Arlêng | |
|---|---|
_Nation.svg) | |
 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 | |
| N/A | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India | 528,503 (2011)[1] |
| Karbi Anglong (Assam) | 511,732 (2011 census) |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 1536 |
| Meghalaya | 14380 |
| Mizoram | 8 |
| Nagaland | 584 |
 Bangladesh | N/A |
| Languages | |
| Karbi language, Amri language | |
| Religion | |
| Animism, Christianity, Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Tibeto-Burman groups (Chin people, Kuki people, Dimasa people, Naga people, Bamar people) | |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Assam |
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The Karbis or Mikir[5] are one of the major ethnic community in Northeast India. They are mostly concentrated in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong of Assam.
Etymology
[edit]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.[6] The term Mikir is now considered derogatory. 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: People).[7]
Overview
[edit]The Karbi community is the principal indigenous community in the Karbi Anglong district and West Karbi Anglong district of the Indian State of Assam. The districts are administered as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, having been granted autonomy on 17 November 1951.[8] Besides the 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 states like Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland are unable to identify themselves as belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, as the Constitution of India only recognises 'Mikir'. With a population of around 4 lakhs 21 thousand (421,156) as per 2011 Census, the Karbis constitute a large community.
History
[edit]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 North East India from Central Asia or from South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines.[9]
The folklore 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 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 folklore 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 the 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. While some of the Karbis migrated to Western Assam, some had crossed the Brahmaputra and settled in the north bank which today encompasses the districts of Biswanath, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur.
Religion
[edit]Many inland Karbis follow Animism as their religions that has been influenced by their culture and traditions. The practitioners of Animism believe in reincarnation and honor their ancestors even though with despite the significant Hindu religious plan and influence of the Vaishnavism variation. The Karbi religion and belief system is based on ritual ancestor worship, worship of household and territorial deities, and rituals for their ancestors, known as 'Karhi'. Practically, it is the 'Hemphu-Mukrang' duo that dominates the Karbi Pantheon (Teron, 2011).[10] Thus, those Karbis who still follows the traditional practices are known as the followers of 'Hemphu-Mukrang' for which they prefer themselves as 'Hemphu-Mukrang aso' which means Son of Hemphu and Mukrang (Hanse, 2007).[11] 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).[12][13]
The Karbis have no idols, temples or shrines (Lyall, 1908 ,as cited in Bhattacharjee 2020) but they do worship the spirits of each particular space, area or territories called ‘Longri Arnam’ (territorial deities), which in Assamese in known as than (sacred place or groves).[14]
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.[15]
 | This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (September 2019) |
- ^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
- ^ "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]
- ^ "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
- ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01 MDDS.XLS
- ^ a b c Bori, Kamala Kanta (2012). Oral narratives of the Karbis an analytical study (PhD thesis). Gauhati University. hdl:10603/115233.
- ^ "Multitree | The LINGUIST List". linguistlist.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Meaning of Mikir". Karbis Of Assam. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "District Profile of Karbi Anglong". karbianglong.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Tribes and Culture | Karbi Anglong District | Government Of Assam, India". karbianglong.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ Teron, D. (2011). Karbi Studies (Vol-2). Guwahati: Assam Book Hive.
- ^ 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
- ^ Phangcho, P.C. (2003). The Karbis of North-East India. Guwahati: AngGik Prakashan.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Somenath (5 April 2020). "Tradition and Contemporary Changes in the Religious Belief of the Karbi People in Karbi Anglong, Assam". The Anthropologist. 40 (1–3). doi:10.31901/24566802.2020/40.1-3.2054.
- ^ 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.