The Dimasa people (local pronunciation:[dimāsā]) are an ethnolinguistic community presently inhabiting in Assam and Nagaland states in Northeastern India. They speak Dimasa, a Tibeto-Burman language. This community is fairly homogeneous and exclusive, with members required to draw from both parents' separate clans. Dimasa kingdom, one of many early states in Assam following the downfall of Kamarupa kingdom, was established by these people.[5] The Dimasas were till recently agricultural, centering on shifting agriculture; but in recent times this has changed with profound changes in the community.[6] Following political problems in the 18th century, the Dimasa ruler moved further south in the plains of Cachar and there took place a division among them–with the hills Dimasa maintaining their traditional living and political exclusiveness, the plains Dimasas have made no attempt to assert themselves.[7]
Dimasa Kachari
Dimasa
Barman Dimasa girl while performing Baidima, the traditional dance of Dimasa.
Ancient Dimasa tradition maintains that sixty thousand (60,000) Moon months (Lunar months) ago, they left their ancestral land when it suffered a severe drought. After long wandering, they settled at Di-laobra Sangibra, the confluence of the Brahmaputra and Sangi or Di-tsang, where they held a great assembly.[8]
The Dimasas form a "sealed" society—every member drawing his or her patriarchal lineage from one of the forty two male clans (sengphong—"holder of the sword") and the matriarchal lineage from one of the forty-two female clans (jalik or julu).[9] These clans are distributed among twelve territorial "sacred groves" called daikhos. The Dimasas are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Northeastern part of India and is one of the many Kachari tribes. They live mostly in Dima Hasao District, an administrative autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam that includes the ravines of the Jatinga Valley and Dhansiri Valley, Diphu City and Howraghat region of Karbi Anglong district (East), West Karbi Anglong, Kampur region of Nagaon district, Hojai district, Cachar district, Hailakandi district, Karimganj district of Assam and Dimapur district of Nagaland and parts in Jiribam district of Manipur respectively.
It stands for Di-ma-sa meaning sons of big waters[10] referring to Brahmaputra river (known as Dilao in Dimasa). Kacharis appear to be one of the earliest indigenous ethnic groups of northeastern India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups of Northeast India which includes Boro, Tripuri, Rabha, Garo, Tiwa, Koch, Moran etc. peoples of northeast india. They speak Dimasa language a Boro-Garo language of the Tibeto-Burman family.
Clansedit
Dimasa men are divided into 40 patriarchal clans. These are:[11][12]
Ardaosa
Mitherpangsa
Diphusa
Hagjersa
Thaosensa
Phonglosa
Sengyungsa
Raijungsa
Bader-Baiga
Daulagajao
Daolagupu
Hojaisa
Kemprai
Jidungsa
Baindosa (Nunisa)
Khersa
Hasnu
Haflongbar
Bodosa/Bathari
Hapila
Diruwasa
Naidingsa
Daodunglangtha
Karigapsa
Joraisa
Hasamsa
Nabensa
Dibragede
Langthasa
Girisa
Porbosa
Maibangsa
Johorisa
Sorongpang
Gorlosa
Hakmaosa
Maramsa
Jrambusa
Labtaisa
Laobangdisa
Distributionedit
Distribution of Dimasa, as reported in the Language Survey of India 1903
Baroduwar Dimasa Kachari Palace, Khaspur in Cachar distArchitectural stones inscription of Dimasa King Naranarayan Hasnusa at Maibang
According to the 2011 Census of India, more than 99% of all Dimasa living in Assam are Hindu.[14]
Societyedit
The traditional village headman, who is at the top of the village administration, is a Khunang. He has both executive and judiciary powers. He is assisted by another official called the Dillik (Assistant Headman). Next to him is Daulathu who occupies the third place. Next to the Daulathu is the Haphaisgao, who holds office for two years. Other village officials include Phrai, Montri, Hangsbukhu, and Jalairao.[15]
Festivalsedit
Since 1994 as per the decision of Dimasa community of Dima Hasao, the Autonomous Council of Dima Hasao had officially declared 27 January as Busu Dima festival day.[16]
Dress and ornamentsedit
Ornamentsedit
The male Dimasa use only two types of ornaments namely Yaocher and Kharik.
^"ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community - Assam". census.gov.in. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
^"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
^. 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
^"Another local kingdom ... was that of the Dimasas in the north Cachar hills. They were known to the Ahoms as Timisa, clearly a corruption of Dimasa..." (Shin 2020:61)
^" Culturally speaking, present-day Cachar Dimasa can hardly be distinguished from the Bengali majority and they seem to make little attempt politically to assert their identity. In the hills, however, Dimasa remained demographically dominant whilst cohabiting with Hmar-Kukis and Zemi Nagas." (Ramirez 2007:93)
^Baruah, Manjeet (29 November 2020), "Buranjis and Sankari Culture: Language and Narrative in Pre-colonial Textual Traditions", Frontier Cultures, Routledge India, pp. 41–75, doi:10.4324/9781003157281-4, ISBN9781003157281, S2CID 229455719, retrieved 25 November 2021
^Surnames, Dimasa (25 April 2021). "Dimasa language surnames | Dimasa surnames list or last name". from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
^Monograph Series, Census of India (1961). Dimasa Kacharis of Assam(PDF). New Delhi: Government of India.
^"ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community - Assam". census.gov.in. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
^Haflongbar, Sangeeta; De, Aparajita (1 December 2017). "Traditional Knowledge of Plant Classification among Dimasa Tribe of Dima Hasao District, Assam, India". Nelumbo. 59 (1): 71. doi:10.20324/nelumbo/v59/2017/115986. ISSN 0976-5069. S2CID 134950348.
^"Dimasa Cachari", Tribal Architecture in Northeast India, BRILL, pp. 53–55, 1 January 2014, doi:10.1163/9789004263925_007, ISBN9789004263925, retrieved 25 November 2021
^"Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
^"JPAM Doctoral Dissertation Listing 2016". Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 36 (3): 713–735. 23 May 2017. doi:10.1002/pam.22001. ISSN 0276-8739.
^Dance, Baidima. "Baidima Dance | Dimasa Traditional Dance | Baidima Folk Dance of Assam - Traditional Folk Dances of India". from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
^Janssen, Rosalind (1 February 2021). "The Pleated Dress of Nywty". PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology. 17 (1): 1–11. doi:10.48080/jae.v17i1.3. ISSN 1567-214X. S2CID 234010733.
Referencesedit
Annexure - Ib: List of Notified Scheduled Tribes (PDF) (Report). Census of India. 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
Jacquesson, François (2008). "Discovering Boro-Garo" (PDF). History of an Analytical and Descriptive Linguistic Category.
Bareh, H. Gazetteer of India
Barman, N. K. Queen of Cachar of Herambo and the History of the Kachchhari
Barpujari, S. K. (ed) (1997) History of the Dimasas: from the earliest times to 1896 AD, Haflong: Autonomous Council, N.C. Hills District (Assam) .
Bathari, Uttam (2014). Memory History and polity a study of dimasa identity in colonial past and post colonial present (PhD). Gauhati University. hdl:10603/115353.
Bhattacharjee, J. B. (1992), "The Kachari (Dimasa) state formation", in Barpujari, H. K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 391–397
Bordoloi, B. N. (1988) The Dimasa Kachari, Tribal Research Institute of Assam, Guwahati.
Danda, D. (1989) The Dimasa Kacharis of Assam, Concept Publishing co. New Delhi.
Gait, Edward A. (1906) A History of Assam, Calcutta 1906.
Rhodes, N. G. and Bose, S. K. (2006) A History of the Dimasa Kacharis - As Seen through Coinage New Delhi : Mira Basu Publishers.
Roy, Babul (1998) "Socio-Cultural and Environmental Dimensions of Tribal Health: A Study among the Dimasa Kacharis and the Zeme Nagas of N. C. Hills in Assam" Ph. D. Thesis (Unpublished), Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam (India).
Roy, Babul (2000) "Medical Pluralism and Pattern of Acceptance of Medicine among the Dimasa Kacharis of Assam" The Journal of Human Ecology. Kamal-Raj Pub., Delhi.
Roy, Babul (2002) "Descent groupings, belief system and social structure among the Dimasa Kacharies of Assam", Man in India, Vol.82,No.1&2.
Ramirez, Ramirez (2007), "Politico-ritual variations on the Assamese fringes: Do social systems exist?", in Sadan, Mandy; Robinne., François (eds.), Social Dynamics in the Highlands of Southeast Asia Reconsidering Political Systems of Highland Burma, Boston: Brill, pp. 91–107
Shin, Jae-Eun (2020). "Descending from demons, ascending to kshatriyas: Genealogical claims and political process in pre-modern Northeast India, The Chutiyas and the Dimasas". The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 57 (1): 49–75. doi:10.1177/0019464619894134. S2CID 213213265.
November 26, 2023
dimasa, people, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding,. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dimasa people news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Dimasa people local pronunciation dimasa are an ethnolinguistic community presently inhabiting in Assam and Nagaland states in Northeastern India They speak Dimasa a Tibeto Burman language This community is fairly homogeneous and exclusive with members required to draw from both parents separate clans Dimasa kingdom one of many early states in Assam following the downfall of Kamarupa kingdom was established by these people 5 The Dimasas were till recently agricultural centering on shifting agriculture but in recent times this has changed with profound changes in the community 6 Following political problems in the 18th century the Dimasa ruler moved further south in the plains of Cachar and there took place a division among them with the hills Dimasa maintaining their traditional living and political exclusiveness the plains Dimasas have made no attempt to assert themselves 7 Dimasa KachariDimasaBarman Dimasa girl while performing Baidima the traditional dance of Dimasa Total population262 413 2011 Census Regions with significant populations India Assam 142 961 2011 Dimasa Kachari in hill districts of Assam only 1 LanguagesDimasaReligionHinduismAncient Dimasa tradition maintains that sixty thousand 60 000 Moon months Lunar months ago they left their ancestral land when it suffered a severe drought After long wandering they settled at Di laobra Sangibra the confluence of the Brahmaputra and Sangi or Di tsang where they held a great assembly 8 Contents 1 The Dimasa 2 Clans 3 Distribution 4 Religion 5 Society 6 Festivals 7 Dress and ornaments 7 1 Ornaments 8 Dances 9 See also 10 Notes 11 ReferencesThe Dimasa editThe Dimasas form a sealed society every member drawing his or her patriarchal lineage from one of the forty two male clans sengphong holder of the sword and the matriarchal lineage from one of the forty two female clans jalik or julu 9 These clans are distributed among twelve territorial sacred groves called daikhos The Dimasas are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Northeastern part of India and is one of the many Kachari tribes They live mostly in Dima Hasao District an administrative autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam that includes the ravines of the Jatinga Valley and Dhansiri Valley Diphu City and Howraghat region of Karbi Anglong district East West Karbi Anglong Kampur region of Nagaon district Hojai district Cachar district Hailakandi district Karimganj district of Assam and Dimapur district of Nagaland and parts in Jiribam district of Manipur respectively It stands for Di ma sa meaning sons of big waters 10 referring to Brahmaputra river known as Dilao in Dimasa Kacharis appear to be one of the earliest indigenous ethnic groups of northeastern India They are a part of the greater Bodo Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups of Northeast India which includes Boro Tripuri Rabha Garo Tiwa Koch Moran etc peoples of northeast india They speak Dimasa language a Boro Garo language of the Tibeto Burman family Clans editDimasa men are divided into 40 patriarchal clans These are 11 12 Ardaosa Mitherpangsa Diphusa Hagjersa Thaosensa Phonglosa Sengyungsa Raijungsa Bader Baiga Daulagajao Daolagupu Hojaisa Kemprai Jidungsa Baindosa Nunisa Khersa Hasnu Haflongbar Bodosa Bathari Hapila Diruwasa Naidingsa Daodunglangtha Karigapsa Joraisa Hasamsa Nabensa Dibragede Langthasa Girisa Porbosa Maibangsa Johorisa Sorongpang Gorlosa Hakmaosa Maramsa Jrambusa Labtaisa LaobangdisaDistribution edit nbsp Distribution of Dimasa as reported in the Language Survey of India 1903 nbsp Baroduwar Dimasa Kachari Palace Khaspur in Cachar dist nbsp Architectural stones inscription of Dimasa King Naranarayan Hasnusa at MaibangReligion editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Religion among Dimasas of Assam 2011 13 Religion PercentHinduism 99 19 Buddhism 0 81 According to the 2011 Census of India more than 99 of all Dimasa living in Assam are Hindu 14 Society editThe traditional village headman who is at the top of the village administration is a Khunang He has both executive and judiciary powers He is assisted by another official called the Dillik Assistant Headman Next to him is Daulathu who occupies the third place Next to the Daulathu is the Haphaisgao who holds office for two years Other village officials include Phrai Montri Hangsbukhu and Jalairao 15 Festivals editSince 1994 as per the decision of Dimasa community of Dima Hasao the Autonomous Council of Dima Hasao had officially declared 27 January as Busu Dima festival day 16 Dress and ornaments editOrnaments edit The male Dimasa use only two types of ornaments namely Yaocher and Kharik Females use 17 Phowal necklace made of expensive Coral and Real silver metal beads also worn by males Jongsama necklace made of micro beads of any colour with coral and silver beads in between Rangbarsha necklace made of coins Chandrawal necklace made of three silver chains with flower shapes Rmailik necklace made of micro beads the colour pattern is same with the Rijamphain beren or Rmai chest wrapper Likjao necklace made of Red micro beads Likshim necklace made of black micro beads Khadu heavy silver bangle Khamaothai silver or gold earring Yaoshidam finger ring 18 Dances editThe dance forms of the Dimasa Kachari are complex in character 19 Any Dimasa dance is called Baidima Bai means dance Dima means Dimasa 20 See also editDimaraji Kachari languageNotes edit ST 14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community Assam census gov in Retrieved 29 February 2020 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 amp Census Commissioner India Archived from the original on 25 August 2015 2011census C 01 DDW00C 01 MDDS XLS Another local kingdom was that of the Dimasas in the north Cachar hills They were known to the Ahoms as Timisa clearly a corruption of Dimasa Shin 2020 61 Ramirez 2007 94 Culturally speaking present day Cachar Dimasa can hardly be distinguished from the Bengali majority and they seem to make little attempt politically to assert their identity In the hills however Dimasa remained demographically dominant whilst cohabiting with Hmar Kukis and Zemi Nagas Ramirez 2007 93 Baruah Manjeet 29 November 2020 Buranjis and Sankari Culture Language and Narrative in Pre colonial Textual Traditions Frontier Cultures Routledge India pp 41 75 doi 10 4324 9781003157281 4 ISBN 9781003157281 S2CID 229455719 retrieved 25 November 2021 Ramirez 2007 2007 Ramirez 2007 93 Surnames Dimasa 25 April 2021 Dimasa language surnames Dimasa surnames list or last name Archived from the original on 21 December 2020 Retrieved 25 April 2021 Monograph Series Census of India 1961 Dimasa Kacharis of Assam PDF New Delhi Government of India ST 14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community Assam census gov in Retrieved 7 February 2020 Table ST 14 Census of India 2001 Haflongbar Sangeeta De Aparajita 1 December 2017 Traditional Knowledge of Plant Classification among Dimasa Tribe of Dima Hasao District Assam India Nelumbo 59 1 71 doi 10 20324 nelumbo v59 2017 115986 ISSN 0976 5069 S2CID 134950348 Dimasa Cachari Tribal Architecture in Northeast India BRILL pp 53 55 1 January 2014 doi 10 1163 9789004263925 007 ISBN 9789004263925 retrieved 25 November 2021 Facebook www facebook com Retrieved 25 April 2021 JPAM Doctoral Dissertation Listing 2016 Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 36 3 713 735 23 May 2017 doi 10 1002 pam 22001 ISSN 0276 8739 Dance Baidima Baidima Dance Dimasa Traditional Dance Baidima Folk Dance of Assam Traditional Folk Dances of India Archived from the original on 25 April 2021 Retrieved 25 April 2021 Janssen Rosalind 1 February 2021 The Pleated Dress of Nywty PalArch s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt Egyptology 17 1 1 11 doi 10 48080 jae v17i1 3 ISSN 1567 214X S2CID 234010733 References editAnnexure Ib List of Notified Scheduled Tribes PDF Report Census of India 2011 Retrieved 30 June 2019 Jacquesson Francois 2008 Discovering Boro Garo PDF History of an Analytical and Descriptive Linguistic Category Bareh H Gazetteer of India Barman N K Queen of Cachar of Herambo and the History of the Kachchhari Barpujari S K ed 1997 History of the Dimasas from the earliest times to 1896 AD Haflong Autonomous Council N C Hills District Assam Bathari Uttam 2014 Memory History and polity a study of dimasa identity in colonial past and post colonial present PhD Gauhati University hdl 10603 115353 Bhattacharjee J B 1992 The Kachari Dimasa state formation in Barpujari H K ed The Comprehensive History of Assam vol 2 Guwahati Assam Publication Board pp 391 397 Bordoloi B N 1988 The Dimasa Kachari Tribal Research Institute of Assam Guwahati Danda D 1989 The Dimasa Kacharis of Assam Concept Publishing co New Delhi Gait Edward A 1906 A History of Assam Calcutta 1906 Rhodes N G and Bose S K 2006 A History of the Dimasa Kacharis As Seen through Coinage New Delhi Mira Basu Publishers Roy Babul 1998 Socio Cultural and Environmental Dimensions of Tribal Health A Study among the Dimasa Kacharis and the Zeme Nagas of N C Hills in Assam Ph D Thesis Unpublished Gauhati University Guwahati Assam India Roy Babul 2000 Medical Pluralism and Pattern of Acceptance of Medicine among the Dimasa Kacharis of Assam The Journal of Human Ecology Kamal Raj Pub Delhi Roy Babul 2002 Descent groupings belief system and social structure among the Dimasa Kacharies of Assam Man in India Vol 82 No 1 amp 2 Ramirez Ramirez 2007 Politico ritual variations on the Assamese fringes Do social systems exist in Sadan Mandy Robinne Francois eds Social Dynamics in the Highlands of Southeast Asia Reconsidering Political Systems of Highland Burma Boston Brill pp 91 107 Shin Jae Eun 2020 Descending from demons ascending to kshatriyas Genealogical claims and political process in pre modern Northeast India The Chutiyas and the Dimasas The Indian Economic and Social History Review 57 1 49 75 doi 10 1177 0019464619894134 S2CID 213213265 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dimasa people amp oldid 1174194864, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
