Sukaphaa
Sukaphaa | |||||
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Mong Mao kingdom
(present day Yunan province of China) | |||||
Died | 1268 (aged 78-79) Charaideo, Ahom kingdom (present day India) | ||||
Burial | |||||
Spouse |
| ||||
Issue | Suteuphaa | ||||
| |||||
House | Su/Tsu (Tiger) clan | ||||
Dynasty | Ahom dynasty | ||||
Father | Chao Chang-Nyeu | ||||
Mother | Blak Kham Sen | ||||
Religion | Ahom religion |
Ahom dynasty |
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Sukaphaa (r. 1228–1268), also Siu-Ka-Pha, 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.
Ancestry
Legend
According to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa was a descendant of the god Khunlung, who had come down from the heavens and had ruled Mong-Ri-Mong-Ram. Sukaphaa brings a divine diamond chum-Phra-rung-sheng-mung in a box, a divine tusked elephant, a divine chicken Kaichengmung, a divine embroidered cloth, a divine pair of drums, a divine sword Hengdan.
Prince of 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
Departure from Mong Mao
After his 19 years as crown prince came to an end, Sukaphaa decided to leave Mong Mao.
According to tradition, his grandmother advised him thus - "no two tigers live in the same jungle, no two kings sit on the same throne." Accordingly, Sukaphaa is said to have left Chieng-Sen the capital of Mong Mao in the year 1215 CE.
Journey into Assam
Sukaphaa left Mong Mao in 1215.
Sukapha in Assam
Sukapha came into Assam not as a raiding conqueror but as a head of an agriculture folk in search of land. It appear he didn't encroach upon the land of peasants, rather he opened up new areas for settlement, procuring with shrewd diplomacy what he direly needed for the purpose- the service of the local inhabitants: Come and have mutual introduction with us.You are the host, the natives of this land: we are guests coming from an up-country. You should introduce to us the local people. His appeal had the desired effectand the tribes were subsequently won over. Sukapha moved and lived amongst the tribesman, learnt their languages, honoured their religious rites, married their daughters and led a simple life of a commoner, himself cultivating in the land. He accepted them to his social fold, placed them on equal footing with his own men and treated them as his friends.[12]
Establishing the Ahom kingdom
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 colonised land. Then he went up the Burhidihing river and established a province at Lakhen Telsa.
With the help of local recruits, he established three large farms for sali rice cultivation, called Barakhowakhat, Engerakhat and Gachikalakhat.[15]
In 1268 Sukaphaa died. At the time of his death, his kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra River in the west, the Disang River in the north, the Dikhow River (26°58′15″N 94°38′12″E / 26.970732°N 94.636745°E) in the south and the Naga Hills in the east.[14]
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 Moran 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.
Memorial
- On 2 December, Assam celebrates the Sukaphaa Divas, or Asom Divas (Assam Day). An award is given by State Govt. that day to a prominent personality.
- Sukapha Samannay Kshetra (26°42′58″N 94°04′42″E / 26.7161399°N 94.0782113°E) : Inaugurated on 2 December 2015, at Mohbondha, Jorhat.[18]
- A 100-feet long statue of Chaolung Siu Ka Pha was unveiled in Nazira, Assam on 26 February 2021 by Assam Health, Finance and Education Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma. It stirred controversy because of its "weird looking" face. [19]
- Sukaphaa Bhawan at Khanapara, Guwahati (26°07′32″N 91°48′13″E / 26.1254446°N 91.8036044°E)
- Sukaphaa Bhawan at Borbaruah, Dibrugarh. (27°20′49″N 94°51′57″E / 27.346944°N 94.865833°E)
- A cruise in the name of RV Sukafa plying on Brahmaputra.
See also
- Ahom Dynasty
- Ahom kingdom
- Kingdom of Pong
Notes
- ^ Yasmin Saikia (2004), Fragmented memories : struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. 2004. pp. 242–3.
- ^ Baruah (1986, p. 661)
- ^ "...the advance of the Tais under Sukapha (Siu-Ka-Pha) was a historical fact and is well documented by records and traditions." (Phukan 1992:51)
- ^ "The choice fell on him not only for his qualities as a military leader, but also for his privileged birth in the Chao-pha (noble-celestial) or royal clan from which alone a Tai segmentary society could customarily choose its chief. More precisely, he belonged to the Tiger (Su/Tsu) clan of the Mao-Shan sub-tribe." (Guha 1983:13)
- ^ "...it is not until Sukapha became king in 1228 AD..." (Gait 1906:iv)
- ^ (Phukan 1992:67) According to the Buranji by Kashinath Tamuli Phukan, Chao Tai Pung ruled Mong Mao, and had two sons, Pao Meo Pung (who finally ruled Mong Mao) and Phu Chang Khang (who finally ruled Mong Mit). Sukaphaa was born to Phu Chang Khang. This version is discounted by Phukan (1992).
- ^ (Gogoi 1968)
- ^ (Gogoi 1968:251)
- ^ Most Buranjis attest to this version. Some Tai chronicles from outside Assam record the journey of Sukaphaa from Mong Mit (and not Mong Mao) in 1227 where he was the ruler (Gogoi 1968:253). According to this version, Sukaphaa's father had earlier divided his Mong among his three sons, and Sukaphaa became the ruler of Mong Mit about 1209. The immediate cause of departure was the aggression of Su-Khan-Pha of Mong Mao.
- ^ Mong-Hkang, Mong-Hkru-Dai, Mong-Hka Mong-Pun, Mong-Phu and Mong-Li (Gogoi 1968:256–257).
- ^ (Phukan 1992:51)
- ^ Comprehensive history of Assam, SL Baruah. p. 222.
- ^ (Phukan 1992:52)
- ^ a b (Phukan 1992:53)
- ^ (Gogoi 2002, p. 27)
- ^ (Gogoi 1968:264)
- ^ (Guha 1983:12). "...the Ahoms assimilated some of the Nagas, Moran and Barahi neighbors and later also large sections of the Chutiya and the Kachari tribes. This Ahomisation process went on until the expanded Ahom society itself began to be Hinduised from the mid-16th century onwards." The Ahomization of neighbors, thus, began with Sukaphaa himself.
- ^ "Gogoi inaugurates Sukapha Samannay Kshetra in Jorhat". Assam Tribune.
- ^ Desk, Digital (25 February 2021). "100-foot Chaolung Siu Ka Pha statue at Nazira » News Live TV » Assam". News Live TV. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
References
- ISBN 9780822333739
- Gogoi, Jahnabi (2002), Agrarian System Of Medieval Assam, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company
- Gogoi, Padmeshwar (1968), The Tai and the Tai Kingdoms, Guwahati: Gauhati University
- 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, JSTOR 3516963
- Phukan, J. N. (1992), "The Tai-Ahom Power in Assam", in Barpujari, H. K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 49–60
- Baruah, S L (1986), A Comprehensive History of Assam (book), New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers
- Gait, Edward A (1906), A History of Assam, Calcutta, ISBN 9780404168193)
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External links
- Siu-Ka-Pha – a great visionary An article by Babul Tamuli published in The Assam Tribune on the occasion of Siu-Ka-Pha Divas.
- Siukapha–an epitome of harmony An article by Dr Sikhamoni Konwar published in The Assam Tribune on the occasion of Siu-Ka-Pha/Assam Divas on 2 December 2008.