Chaolung Sukaphaa (reign 1228-1268), also Siu-Ka-Pha, the first Ahom king in medieval Assam, was the founder of the Ahom kingdom. The kingdom he established in 1228 existed for nearly six hundred years and in the process unified the various tribal and non-tribal peoples of the region that left a deep impact on the region. In reverence to his position in Assam's history the honorific Chaolung is generally associated with his name (Chao: lord; Lung: great). Since 1996 December 2 has been celebrated in Assam as the Sukaphaa Divas, or Asom Divas (Assam Day) to commemorate the advent of the first king of the Ahom kingdom in Assam after his journey over the Patkai Hills.

The Glorious Years

In early 13th century, Sukaphaa, a Shan (Mong Mao) prince began his journey with about 9000 (Edward Gait) followers, mostly men. He crossed the Patkai hills, fought and defeated the Nagas and reached the Brahmaputra valley in 1228. He moved from place to place, searching for a seat. He decided not to attack the Morans and Borahis but befriend them instead. His followers, much depleted from the original 9000, married into the Borahi and the Moran ethnic groups. The Borahis, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group, were subsumed into the Ahom fold, though the Moran maintained their independent ethnicity. Sukaphaa finally established his capital at Charaideo near present-day Sivasagar in 1253 and began the task of state formation.

Life Sketch of Sukhapha

The Kingdom

The kings were called Chao-Pha in the Ahom language and Swargadeo in the Assamese language. Succession was by agnatic primogeniture. Nevertheless, following Rudra Singha's deathbed injunction four of his five sons became the king one after the other.

The Ahom kings were given divine origin. According to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa was a descendant of Khunlung, who had come down from the heavens and ruled Mong-Ri-Mong-Ram. During the reign of Suhungmung (1497-1539) which saw the composition of the first Assamese Buranji and increased Hindu influence, the Ahom kings were traced to the union of Indra (identified with Khunlung) and Syama (a low-caste woman), and were declared Indravamsa kshatriyas, a lineage created for the Ahoms. Suhungmung adopted the title Swarganarayan, and the later kings were called Swargadeos (Lord of the heavens).

The position of Swargadeo was reserved for the descendants of Sukaphaa and they were not eligible for ministerial positions, a division of power that was followed till the end of the dynasty and the kingdom. When the nobles asked Atan Burhagohain to became the king, the Tai priests rejected the idea and he desisted from ascending the throne.

The king could be appointed only with the concurrence of the patra matris (council of ministers viz., Burhagohain, Borgohain, Borpatrogohain, Borbarua and Borphukan). The ministers could remove unacceptable kings, and resorted to executing several erstwhile king.

During three periods in the 14th century (1364-1369; 1376-1380; 1389-1397), the kingdom had no kings when acceptable candidates were not found.

In the 17th century power struggle, the increasing number of claimants to the throne resulted in kings being deposed in quick successions, and executed after the new king was instated.

To avoid this bloody end and safeguard his rule, Sulikphaa 'Lora Roja' (1679-1681) introduced a new rule that claimants to the throne had to be physically unblemished, which meant that threats to the throne could be removed by merely slitting the ear of an ambitious prince. Exploting this rule Rudra Singha (1696-1714), suspecting his brother Lechai's intention, mutilated and banished him. On his deathbed Rudra Singha, however, instructed that all his sons were to become kings. One of his sons, Mohanmala, was superseded, who went on to lead a rebel group during the Moamoria rebellion. T

The later kings and officers exploited the unblemished rule, leading to weak kings being instated. Kamaleswar Singha, son of Kadam Dighala (1795-1811) and Purandar Singha, son of Brajanath and one of the last kings of this dynasty (1818-1819) came into office because their fathers were mutilated.

Coronation

The Swargadeo's coronation was called singari-ghar-utha, a ceremony that was performed first by Sudangphaa Bamuni Konwar (1397-1407). This was the occasion when the first coins in the new king's name were minted. Kamaleshwar Singha (1795-1811) and Chandrakanta Singha's (1811-1818) coronations were not performed on the instructions of Purnananda Burhagohain. Kings who died in office were buried in vaults called Moidam, at Charaideo. Some of the earlier Moidams were looted by Mir Jumla in the 17th century, and are lost. Some later kings, especially with Siba Singha (1714-1744), who were cremated had their ashes buried.

Royal offices

Sukhramphaa (1332-1364) established the position of Charing Raja which came to be reserved for the heir apparent. The first Charing Raja was Sukhramphaa's half-brother, Chao Pulai, the son of the Kamata princess Rajani, but who did not ultimately become the Swargadeo. Suhungmung Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) settled the descendants of past kings in different regions that gave rise to seven royal houses - Saringiya, Tipamiya, Dihingiya, Samuguriya, Tungkhungiya, Parvatiya and Namrupiya - and periods of Ahom rule came to be known after these families. The rule of the last such house, Tungkhungiya, was established by Gadadhar Singha (1681-1696) and his descendants ruled the kingdom till the end of the Ahom kingdom.

Queens

Ahom queens (Kunworis) played important roles in the matter of state. They were officially designated in a gradation of positions, called the Bor Kuwori (Chief Queen), Parvatia Kuwori, Raidangia Kuwori, Tamuli Kuwori etc. who were generally daughters of Ahom noblemen and high officials. Lesser wives of the Swargadeo were called chamua kunworis. Some of the queens were given separate estates that were looked after by state officials (Phukans or Baruas) (Gogoi). During the reign of Siba Singha (1714-1744), the king gave his royal umbrella and royal insignia to his queens - Phuleshwari Kunwori, Ambika Kunwori and Anadari Kunwori in succession - to rule the kingdom. They were called Bor-Rojaa.

Court influences

Sukaphaa's ruling deity was Chomdeo a non-Hindu, non-Buddhist god, and he was accompanied by classes of priests called Deodhai, Bailung etc. But the Ahom kings let themselves be influenced by the religion and customs of those they ruled over. The first Hindu influence was cast during the reign of Sudaangphaa 'Bamuni Konwar' (1397-1407), who had grown up in a Brahmin household. Suhungmung 'Dihingia Rojaa' was the first Ahom king to expand the kingdom and the polity, allow Assamese influence in his court and accept a non-Ahom title - Swarganarayan. Assamese coexisted with Tai till the reign of Pratap Singha (1552-1603), during whose rule Assamese became dominant. Sutamla (1648-1663) was the first Ahom king to be initiated into the Mahapuruxiya Dharma. Later Tunkgkhungia kings were suspicious of the Sattras and tried to decrease their influence by supporting a section while suppressing another, and by supporting sakta worship.

Expansion

The Ahom kingdom then consolidated its powers for the next 300 years or so. The first major expansion was at the cost of the Chutiya kingdom, which was annexed in 1522 under Suhungmung. The expansion was not just a success of Ahom military prowess, but also a result of changes in the Ahom social and political outlook. For example, Suhungmung was the first Ahom king to adopt a Hindu name: Swarga Narayan. The Chutiya region was placed under the Sadiyakhowa Gohain a new position that was created. In 1536 the Kacharis were uprooted from their capital at Dimapur. Thus by the middle of the 16th century, the Ahoms were in control over eastern Assam. In 17th century, after the Battle of Itakhuli in 1682 that marked the end of the Ahom-Mughal conflicts, much of the control of Koch Hajo fell into the hands of the Ahoms.

End of Ahom rule

Their power declined in latter half of the 18th century. The capital city was taken for a short period during the Moamoria rebellion. In the first part of the 19th century, the Burmese army invaded their kingdom who set up a puppet Ahom king. The Burmese were defeated by the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War resulting in the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826, which paved the way for the British to convert the Ahom kingdom into a principality and which marked the end of the Ahom rule.

The Ahom people

The Tai Ahoms who came into Assam followed their traditional religion and spoke the Tai language. They were a very small group numerically and after the first generation, the group was a mixture of the Tai and the local population. Over time the Ahom state adopted the Assamese language and kings and other high officials converted to Hinduism. Except for some special offices (the king and the raj mantris), other positions are open to members of all tribes and religion. They kept good records, and are known for their chronicles, called Buranjis.

One of its greatest achievements was the stemming of Mughal expansionism. In the celebrated battle of Saraighat, the Ahom general Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughal forces on the outskirts of present day Guwahati in 1671.
Ahom people today

Beginnings in Mong Mao

The details of Sukaphaa's life and origins before his entry into Assam, available from different chronicles, both Ahom and non-Ahom, are full of contradictions. According to Phukan (1992) who has tried to hold up a consistent account, Sukaphaa was born to Chao Chang-Nyeu (alias Phu-Chang-Khang) and Nang-Mong Blak-Kham-Sen in the Tai state of Mong Mao, close to present-day Ruili in Yunan, China. Chao Chang Nyeu was a prince from Mong-Ri Mong-Ram, who had traveled to Mong Mao possibly on an expedition. Mong Mao was then ruled by Chao Tai Pung. Chao Chang Nyeu was befriended by Pao Meo Pung, the son of the ruler, who gave his sister Blak Kham Sen in marriage. Sukaphaa was born of this union not later than 1189 and was brought up by his maternal grandparents. Pao Meo Pung, who eventually ruled Mong Mao, had no male heir and Sukaphaa, his nephew, was nominated to succeed him. However, a son born late to Pao Meo Pung's queen ended Sukaphaa's claim to the throne of Mong Mao.

Journey into Assam

Siu-ka-pha did not go back to his father’s kingdom rather decided to march towards west to rule a western state called Mong Pa-kam now identified with the eastern part of Kamarupa. Siu-Ka-Pha left King-Sen Mao-Lung, the capital of Mong Mao kingdom in 1215 A.D. He was accompanied by his three queens, two sons, several nobles and their families, other officials and families, and soldiers totaling more than nine thousand persons. He also took with him two elephants and three hundred Yunnanese pack mules.

Sukaphaa followed an older known route from Yunan to Assam stopping at various places and reached the Patkai hills in thirteen years. The party followed an route that passed through Myit-kyiena, Mogaung, Hukwang in the Upper Irrawady basin to reach the Patkai hill range in 1227.

When he reached Patkai, he subdued the Nagas very ruthlessly to create a passage back, crossed the Patkai and reached Namruk (Namrup) onDecember 2, 1228. In the Patkai region he founded a Mong (province) called Kham-jang where he placed a governor called Thao-mong Kham-jang in the same year, which is considered as the historical date of the beginning of the Ahom Kingdom and Khamjang the eastern most province of the kingdom and remained so for the next 600 hundred years. Kham-jang is now within the Sagaing Division of Myanmar.

Search for a Capital

Over the next few years, he moved from place to place searching for the right capital, leaving behind his representative at each stage to rule the colonized land.

At first he went to Dangkaorang, then Khamhangpung, and then to Namrup. Then he went up the Burhidihing river and established a province at Lakhen Telsa. Then he came back down the Burhidihing river called Nam Jin by the Tai by raft and established his rule at Tipam. In 1236 he moved to Mungklang (Abhoipur), and in 1240 down the Brahmaputra to Habung (Dhemaji). At Habung he stayed three years and engaged in cultivation.

In 1244 he went further down to Ligirigaon (Song-Tak), a few miles from present-day Nazira. Thereafter, he moved downstream the Brahmaputra (called Nam Ti-lao by the Tai) and came to the mouth of the Dikhow called Nam-Sao by the Ahom. From there he traveled upstream that river and came to the mouth of the Disang (called Nam Khun) where he weighted the water of that river and found it heavier than that of the Dikhow. He, therefore, went upstream the Dikhow and came to Simaluguri (Tun Nyeu), a place downstream from the present-day Simaluguri, in 1246 where stayed for several years.

He finally moved to Charaideo where he found the soil most suitable for habitation and wet-rice cultivation. After surveying the area he founded his capital at Charaideo near present-day Sibsagar town in about 1253 A.D. Charaideo is called Che-rai-doi or Che-tam-doi, or Che Kham-run. From Charaideo Siu-ka-pha sent messengers with presents to the Mao King informing his safe arrival in Mong Pa-kam. He remained there till his death in 1268 A.D.

Charaideo thus became the capital of the new Ahom kingdom and remained so for the next 145 years. The capital of the Ahom kingdom changed many times after this, but Charaideo remained the symbolic center of Ahom rule.

At first Siu-ka-pha’s kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra, the Buri-Dihing, the Dikhow and the Hills on the south now called Naga Hills. Later it was expanded to cover the whole of the Brahmaputra valley.

Political boundaries of extant states/territories in East Assam:

Process of Ahomization

Even though Sukaphaa treated the people of the Patkai hills very severely on his way to the Brahmaputra valley, his approach to the population in Assam was conciliatory and non-confrontational. He married the daughters of Badaucha, the Matak Chief and Thakumatha, the Barahi chief and established cordial relations with them. As he began establishing his domain, he avoided regions that were heavily populated. He encouraged his soldiers as well as members of the Ahom elite to marry locally.

A process of Ahomization (whereby locals who adopted Ahom methods of wet rice cultivation and statecraft were accepted into the Ahom fold) bolstered the process of integration. The Barahi and the Moran, speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages, called Sukaphaa's people "Ha-Cham", that later on developed into "Assam" (see Etymology of Assam), the name of the kingdom; and "Ahom", the name of the people.

In 1268 Sukaphaa died. At the time of his death, his kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra river in the west, the Burhidihing river in the north, the Dikhow river in the south and the Naga hills in the east.

References

1. Gait, Edward A. (1906), A History of Assam, Calcutta
2. Gogoi, Padmeshwar (1968), The Tai and the Tai Kingdoms, Guwahati: Gauhati University
3. Guha, Amalendu (December 1983), "The Ahom Political System: An Enquiry into the State Formation Process in Medieval Assam (1228-1714)", Social Scientist 11 (12): 3-34
4. Phukan, J. N. (1992), "The Tai-Ahom Power in Assam", in Barpujari, H. K., The Comprehensive History of Assam, 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 49-60
5. Fragment Histories:Struggling to be Tai-Ahom. Duke University Press,2004
6. Gogoi, N. K. (2006). Continuity and change among the Ahom. Concept Pub. Co. ISBN 8180692817
7. Phukon, G. (1998). State of Tai culture among the Ahoms