(Saikia 2004:140–141) By emphasizing the fluidity of this identity, the swargadeos controlled and directed the continuous movement within and beyond this group which, in turn, never allowed for developing any sense of loyalty to or cohesiveness of the group. Ahom was not an identity to die for in precolonial Assam; in fact, nobody could ever claim ownership of this label because it was left to the discretion of the swargodeo to award or demote a person to and from this status Saikia, Yasmin (2004). Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. Duke University Press. ISBN082238616X.
"Ahoms also gave Assam and its language their name (Ahom and the modern ɒχɒm 'Assam' come from an attested earlier form asam, acam, probably from a Burmese corruption of the word Shan/Shyam, cf. Siam: Kakati 1962; 1–4)." (Masica 1993, p. 50) Masica, Colin P. (1993), Indo-Aryan Languages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN9780521299442
(Gohain 1974:68) Gohain, Hiren (1974). "Origins of the Assamese Middle Class: Reply to Comment". Social Scientist. 2 (67–71): 67–71. doi:10.2307/3516480. JSTOR3516480.
"The political heritage of ancient Kamarupa had not left Upper Assam totally untouched. After its eclipse, though the south-eastern part of Upper Assam had lapsed into retarded conditions, the fragmented political structures incorporating that tradition still loomed large in the form of petty chiefdoms (bhuyan-raj) in the vicinity. It was under such circumstances that the Ahoms started building a state system of their own in the easternmost extremity of the Brahmaputra Valley." (Guha 1983:10) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Pre-Ahom Upper Assam was an undulating alluvial plain, fu]l of jungles and marshes under the given conditions of a heavy rainfall. Land reclamation was therefore the first task. ... They uprooted the forests and reduced the undulating surface to a dead level so that the plain water, or water led from the bunded hill streams, could remain standing on it, when required. Over the centuries, they built and maintained a network of embankments for overall water control." (Guha 1983:25) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"For years the community went on moving from place to place as a self-governed body of armed peasants in search of a suitable site. In course of their journey they left behind some small colonies at strategic places like Khamjang and Tipam. But after their temporary experimental stays at several sites, the main body finally settled by 1253 in the fertile Dikhou valley, now forming the Sibsagar district." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The Ahoms thus believed that they were divinely ordained, firstly, to extend their permanent wet rice culture to areas dominated by large-scale fallowing and shifting cultivation and, secondly, to absorb stateless shifting cultivators into a common polity with themselves. These two aspects of the Ahom thrust in Upper Assam determined, bye and large, the course of the medieval state-formation process there." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Non-Ahom tribes practising shifting cultivation were contemptuously described by the Ahoms as Kha people (meaning 'slave" or 'culttlrally inferior foreigner'). These non-Ahoms were, however, always free to adopt the latter's Tai culture, the very essence of which, in the words of the German anthropologist Von Eickstedt, was "association with wet rice cultivation". Besides, there is evidence in the chronicles that many Kha families were ceremonially adopted into various Ahom clans." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"his setting up of a Habung Brahmins' colony near his capital and his giving posts of importance to his Brahmin benefactor's sons on the frontier - all these were significant. He was also instrumental in introducing several Hindu rites at royal ceremonies like the coronation. With this Brahmin intrusion, the political authority remained no longer exactly identical with the armed Ahom populace in its totality or the tribal council representing it. There was a cleavage. This brought the highly developed social organisation to the threshold of statehood. We still hesitate to call it a state per se. For it took a long time for the polity to totally subordinate the primordial clan loyalties to the overall public authority and thus qualify itself for full-fledged statehood. Yet, by the end of the 14th century it was no longer a pristine polity, but something more than that - a state-like organisation." (Guha 1983:19) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Suhumgmung Dihingiya Raja made also a big departure from tradition by raising the number of his chief counsellors from two to three and giving the third and new counsellor the same Gohain status. This he did even in the face of stiff opposition from the other two. It appears that the novel designation of Barpatragohain was borrowed from the civil list of Habung where the local ruler, a dependent of the Chutiya king, had the title of Vrhat-Patra." (Guha 1983:20) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Again during the period from 1603 to 1648, the militia system was thoroughly reformed with a view to confronting the Mughal invasion. The state became more centralised in that process. Two new offices-- those of the Barphukan and the Barbarua were created, thus raising the number of Patra-Mantris to five. (The Barphukan was in charge the territories wrested from the Koches and the Mughals, posted as the viceroy in that region. The Barbarua functioned at the capital as the chief secretary to the royal government)." (Guha 1983:9) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The reforms of 1609 gave a final touch to the organisation of the militia system. For the rota, the amorphous household remained no more the basic unit of paik supply, but was now replaced by an artificial unit, the got. It consisted of three to four militiamen, living close to one another. Twenty such gots were placed under a headman-the Bora. ... We may only add here that the militia became highly centralised. Even the lowest units (gots) could now be often transferred from their original khel to another. Slate paiks who could be permanently alienated to favoured persons, were now alienated in large numbers even to temples and monasteries by way of royal grants." (Guha 1983:23) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Tributes seem to have flowed to their original state in Upper Burma from Mungdungshunkham and probably the covert colonialism ended in 1401 when the boundary between Mungdungshunkham and the Nara kingdom was finally fixed at the Patkai hills. There is reason to believe that the name Mungdunshunkham is closely associated with this covert colonialism of the time and it automatically disappeared when Mungdunshunkham became Asom after their new name Ahom.(Buragohain 1988:54–55) Buragohain, Romesh (1988). Ahom State Formation in Assam: An Inquiry into the Factors of Polity Formation in Medieval North East India (PhD). North-Eastern Hill University. hdl:10603/61119.
(Buragohain 1988:4) Buragohain, Romesh (1988). Ahom State Formation in Assam: An Inquiry into the Factors of Polity Formation in Medieval North East India (PhD). North-Eastern Hill University. hdl:10603/61119.
"The political heritage of ancient Kamarupa had not left Upper Assam totally untouched. After its eclipse, though the south-eastern part of Upper Assam had lapsed into retarded conditions, the fragmented political structures incorporating that tradition still loomed large in the form of petty chiefdoms (bhuyan-raj) in the vicinity. It was under such circumstances that the Ahoms started building a state system of their own in the easternmost extremity of the Brahmaputra Valley." (Guha 1983:10) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Pre-Ahom Upper Assam was an undulating alluvial plain, fu]l of jungles and marshes under the given conditions of a heavy rainfall. Land reclamation was therefore the first task. ... They uprooted the forests and reduced the undulating surface to a dead level so that the plain water, or water led from the bunded hill streams, could remain standing on it, when required. Over the centuries, they built and maintained a network of embankments for overall water control." (Guha 1983:25) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"For years the community went on moving from place to place as a self-governed body of armed peasants in search of a suitable site. In course of their journey they left behind some small colonies at strategic places like Khamjang and Tipam. But after their temporary experimental stays at several sites, the main body finally settled by 1253 in the fertile Dikhou valley, now forming the Sibsagar district." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The Ahoms thus believed that they were divinely ordained, firstly, to extend their permanent wet rice culture to areas dominated by large-scale fallowing and shifting cultivation and, secondly, to absorb stateless shifting cultivators into a common polity with themselves. These two aspects of the Ahom thrust in Upper Assam determined, bye and large, the course of the medieval state-formation process there." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Non-Ahom tribes practising shifting cultivation were contemptuously described by the Ahoms as Kha people (meaning 'slave" or 'culttlrally inferior foreigner'). These non-Ahoms were, however, always free to adopt the latter's Tai culture, the very essence of which, in the words of the German anthropologist Von Eickstedt, was "association with wet rice cultivation". Besides, there is evidence in the chronicles that many Kha families were ceremonially adopted into various Ahom clans." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"his setting up of a Habung Brahmins' colony near his capital and his giving posts of importance to his Brahmin benefactor's sons on the frontier - all these were significant. He was also instrumental in introducing several Hindu rites at royal ceremonies like the coronation. With this Brahmin intrusion, the political authority remained no longer exactly identical with the armed Ahom populace in its totality or the tribal council representing it. There was a cleavage. This brought the highly developed social organisation to the threshold of statehood. We still hesitate to call it a state per se. For it took a long time for the polity to totally subordinate the primordial clan loyalties to the overall public authority and thus qualify itself for full-fledged statehood. Yet, by the end of the 14th century it was no longer a pristine polity, but something more than that - a state-like organisation." (Guha 1983:19) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Suhumgmung Dihingiya Raja made also a big departure from tradition by raising the number of his chief counsellors from two to three and giving the third and new counsellor the same Gohain status. This he did even in the face of stiff opposition from the other two. It appears that the novel designation of Barpatragohain was borrowed from the civil list of Habung where the local ruler, a dependent of the Chutiya king, had the title of Vrhat-Patra." (Guha 1983:20) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Again during the period from 1603 to 1648, the militia system was thoroughly reformed with a view to confronting the Mughal invasion. The state became more centralised in that process. Two new offices-- those of the Barphukan and the Barbarua were created, thus raising the number of Patra-Mantris to five. (The Barphukan was in charge the territories wrested from the Koches and the Mughals, posted as the viceroy in that region. The Barbarua functioned at the capital as the chief secretary to the royal government)." (Guha 1983:9) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The reforms of 1609 gave a final touch to the organisation of the militia system. For the rota, the amorphous household remained no more the basic unit of paik supply, but was now replaced by an artificial unit, the got. It consisted of three to four militiamen, living close to one another. Twenty such gots were placed under a headman-the Bora. ... We may only add here that the militia became highly centralised. Even the lowest units (gots) could now be often transferred from their original khel to another. Slate paiks who could be permanently alienated to favoured persons, were now alienated in large numbers even to temples and monasteries by way of royal grants." (Guha 1983:23) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
(Gohain 1974:68) Gohain, Hiren (1974). "Origins of the Assamese Middle Class: Reply to Comment". Social Scientist. 2 (67–71): 67–71. doi:10.2307/3516480. JSTOR3516480.
"In his letter, the Mong Kwang ruler requested Kamaleswarsingha (1795-1811) for help against the king of Burma who had invaded his territory. Referring to the close tie existing between the two kingdoms, the Mong Kwang ruler hoped for positive response from the Ahom king to repel the Burmese invaders"(Phukan 1991:892) Phukan, J. N. (1991). "Relations of the Ahom kings of Assam with those of Mong Mao (in Yunnan, China) and of Mong Kwang (Mogaung in Myanmar)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 52: 888–893. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44142722.
"The political heritage of ancient Kamarupa had not left Upper Assam totally untouched. After its eclipse, though the south-eastern part of Upper Assam had lapsed into retarded conditions, the fragmented political structures incorporating that tradition still loomed large in the form of petty chiefdoms (bhuyan-raj) in the vicinity. It was under such circumstances that the Ahoms started building a state system of their own in the easternmost extremity of the Brahmaputra Valley." (Guha 1983:10) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Pre-Ahom Upper Assam was an undulating alluvial plain, fu]l of jungles and marshes under the given conditions of a heavy rainfall. Land reclamation was therefore the first task. ... They uprooted the forests and reduced the undulating surface to a dead level so that the plain water, or water led from the bunded hill streams, could remain standing on it, when required. Over the centuries, they built and maintained a network of embankments for overall water control." (Guha 1983:25) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"For years the community went on moving from place to place as a self-governed body of armed peasants in search of a suitable site. In course of their journey they left behind some small colonies at strategic places like Khamjang and Tipam. But after their temporary experimental stays at several sites, the main body finally settled by 1253 in the fertile Dikhou valley, now forming the Sibsagar district." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The Ahoms thus believed that they were divinely ordained, firstly, to extend their permanent wet rice culture to areas dominated by large-scale fallowing and shifting cultivation and, secondly, to absorb stateless shifting cultivators into a common polity with themselves. These two aspects of the Ahom thrust in Upper Assam determined, bye and large, the course of the medieval state-formation process there." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Non-Ahom tribes practising shifting cultivation were contemptuously described by the Ahoms as Kha people (meaning 'slave" or 'culttlrally inferior foreigner'). These non-Ahoms were, however, always free to adopt the latter's Tai culture, the very essence of which, in the words of the German anthropologist Von Eickstedt, was "association with wet rice cultivation". Besides, there is evidence in the chronicles that many Kha families were ceremonially adopted into various Ahom clans." (Guha 1983:12) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"his setting up of a Habung Brahmins' colony near his capital and his giving posts of importance to his Brahmin benefactor's sons on the frontier - all these were significant. He was also instrumental in introducing several Hindu rites at royal ceremonies like the coronation. With this Brahmin intrusion, the political authority remained no longer exactly identical with the armed Ahom populace in its totality or the tribal council representing it. There was a cleavage. This brought the highly developed social organisation to the threshold of statehood. We still hesitate to call it a state per se. For it took a long time for the polity to totally subordinate the primordial clan loyalties to the overall public authority and thus qualify itself for full-fledged statehood. Yet, by the end of the 14th century it was no longer a pristine polity, but something more than that - a state-like organisation." (Guha 1983:19) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Suhumgmung Dihingiya Raja made also a big departure from tradition by raising the number of his chief counsellors from two to three and giving the third and new counsellor the same Gohain status. This he did even in the face of stiff opposition from the other two. It appears that the novel designation of Barpatragohain was borrowed from the civil list of Habung where the local ruler, a dependent of the Chutiya king, had the title of Vrhat-Patra." (Guha 1983:20) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"Again during the period from 1603 to 1648, the militia system was thoroughly reformed with a view to confronting the Mughal invasion. The state became more centralised in that process. Two new offices-- those of the Barphukan and the Barbarua were created, thus raising the number of Patra-Mantris to five. (The Barphukan was in charge the territories wrested from the Koches and the Mughals, posted as the viceroy in that region. The Barbarua functioned at the capital as the chief secretary to the royal government)." (Guha 1983:9) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"The reforms of 1609 gave a final touch to the organisation of the militia system. For the rota, the amorphous household remained no more the basic unit of paik supply, but was now replaced by an artificial unit, the got. It consisted of three to four militiamen, living close to one another. Twenty such gots were placed under a headman-the Bora. ... We may only add here that the militia became highly centralised. Even the lowest units (gots) could now be often transferred from their original khel to another. Slate paiks who could be permanently alienated to favoured persons, were now alienated in large numbers even to temples and monasteries by way of royal grants." (Guha 1983:23) 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, doi:10.2307/3516963, JSTOR3516963
"(Rudra Singha) accepted a Muslim named Shah Newaj as a priest in the court, who used to pray for the prosperity of the kingdom in Islamic form. This custom introduced by him was followed by his successors." (Baruah 1978, p. 577) Baruah, S. L. (1978). "The Muslim Population in Pre-British Assam: Their Social Status and Role in Cultural History". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 570–580. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44139398.
(Sen 1979:553) Sen, Debasis (1979). A Few Aspects of the Ahom Military System. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 40. pp. 552–556. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44141994.
Acharyya, Nagendra Nath (1 June 1957). The History of Mediaeval Assam, 1228–1603(PDF) (PhD). The School of Oriental and African Studies London. p. 115. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
"In his letter, the Mong Kwang ruler requested Kamaleswarsingha (1795-1811) for help against the king of Burma who had invaded his territory. Referring to the close tie existing between the two kingdoms, the Mong Kwang ruler hoped for positive response from the Ahom king to repel the Burmese invaders"(Phukan 1991:892) Phukan, J. N. (1991). "Relations of the Ahom kings of Assam with those of Mong Mao (in Yunnan, China) and of Mong Kwang (Mogaung in Myanmar)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 52: 888–893. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44142722.
"(Rudra Singha) accepted a Muslim named Shah Newaj as a priest in the court, who used to pray for the prosperity of the kingdom in Islamic form. This custom introduced by him was followed by his successors." (Baruah 1978, p. 577) Baruah, S. L. (1978). "The Muslim Population in Pre-British Assam: Their Social Status and Role in Cultural History". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 570–580. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44139398.
(Sen 1979:553) Sen, Debasis (1979). A Few Aspects of the Ahom Military System. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 40. pp. 552–556. ISSN2249-1937. JSTOR44141994.
