 A Bodo girl in the traditional Bodo dokhna The Bodos, also called the Boros, are an ethnic community that is concentrated mostly in the north-western parts of Assam in India. They are said to belong to a larger classification of ethnicity called the Bodo-Kachari. The nerve center of the Bodos is the city of Kokrajhar. Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ...
Kokrajhar is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. ...
The Bodo-Kachari
 Bodo women rearing silkworms Kachari is a generic term applied applied to a number of groups speaking a more or less common dialect or claiming a common mythical ancestry. They are regarded as aborigines or the earliest known settlers of the Bharmaputra Valley- which includes the whole of Assam, North Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. They are thought to have originated from Tibet, although remnants of their original stock have not been identified as yet. Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西è—, pinyin: XÄ«zà ng or è—区 Zà ngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ...
Based on an 1881 census, there were 18 groups within the Kachari definition, which included the Bodo, Dimasa, Lalumg, madani, Mech, Rabha, Saraniya, Garo, Rajbangshi (Koch), Chutiya, Moran, Hajong, Tippera, Mahalia, Dhimal, Solaimiya and Phulgaria. Garo was a monthly manga anthology magazine in Japan, founded in 1964 by Katsuichi Nagai. ...
Some of the groups, such as Chutiya, Moran, Saraniya and Koch do not consider themselves as Kachari as they have been Hinduised. Other groups, such as the Garo, Rabha, Lalung and Hajong, having been isolated from the parental stock, have established separate identies. With the exception of the Garo, which is still matrilineal society, these groups once followed the rule of matriliny.
The Mech in Western Assam, the Bodo in central Assam, the Dimasa and Hojai to the north of Chachar Hills, and the Sonowal and Thengal in the eastern part of the Bharmaputra now represent the Kachari.
The Bodo People  A Bodo woman returning from a fishing trip with a jekhai (a triangular fishing basket made of bamboo) over her shoulder The Bodos are the largest tribe of the Bharmaputra valley. They divided into a number of clans such as the Basumatari, Sargwari, Musahari, Sibigri, Narjari, Doimari, Gayari and Brahmari. Though the numbers are in dispute, the census report from 1971 state the Bodos as being the 8th largest tribal group in India, with Bodo being spoken by about .8 million people.
The Bodo language is part of the Tibeto-Burmese family of languages. The tribe recently adopted the Devanagari script formally, although the Roman script has also been extensively used- particularly due to the influence of Christian missionaries in that region. According to some scholars, the Bodo language had a script of its own called Deodhai. Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) DevanÄgarÄ« (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ...
The Bodos are thought to have introduced rice cultivation and silkworm rearing to the region. The traditional favourite drink of the Bodos is Zu Mai- Zu meaning beer, and Mai meaning rice. Rice is a staple of the Bodos and is often accompanied by a non vegetarian dish such as fish or pork. Bodos are traditionally non-vegetarians.
Weaving is another integral part of Bodo culture. Many families rear their own silkworms, the cocoons of which are then spun into silk. Bodo girls are taught to weave from a young age, and no Bodo courtyard is complete without a loom. Most women weave their own Dokhnas (the traditional outfit of the Bodo women) and shawls. The Bodos are also expert craftsmen in bamboo products.
Religion  Bodo girls performing the Kherai dance  Drummers at the Kherai puja The Bodos practice a number of religions, with Bathou being the primary faith, along with Hinduism and Christianity.
Bathouism is not strictly animism, though it has been thought as such by outsiders. It is based on the belief of an infinite and eternal god called Obonglaoree. Legend has it that the infinite god became tired of his formless existence and shaped himself as a human being called Jiw Borai, or Old Soul.
Efforts have been made to identify Jiw Borai with the Hindu god Siva. Several elements of Hinduism have been incorporated in the Bathou religion over time.
In the Bodo Language Ba means five and thou means deep. Five is a significant number in the Bathou religion.
There is no fixed place of worship for the Bodos. The altar is placed in any convenient location around the household, usually in the courtyard. For the Kherai Puja- the most important festival of the Bodos, the altar is placed in the paddy field. Other important festivals of the Bodos include Garja, Hapsa Hatarnai, Ongkam Goloi Janai, Boisagu and Domachi.
Despite the advance of Hinduism amongst the Bodos, Hindu practices such as caste and dowry are not practiced by the majority of Bodo Hindus.
The Bodos Now After prolonged struggle to promote and develop Bodo culture and identity, the Bodos have today been granted the Bodoland Territorial Council, and autonomous administrative body that will have within its jursidiction the present district of Kokrajhar and adjoining areas. The movement for autonomy was headed by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and an armed militant group called Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT). Following the establishment of the BTC, the BLT have come overground.
In addition the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) demands secession from India, to form an independent state of Bodoland and is still active in certain regions against the Indian government. Flag of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland The Bodo Security Force (BSF) was created in 1988, under the leadership of Ranjan Daimary. ...
National colours of Bodoland Bodoland is the name adopted by the Bodo nationalists for an independent state they wish to create. ...
References - The Bodos: Children of the Bhullumbutter, edited by Thomas Pulloppillil and Jacob Aluckal, first published 1997
- Bodo-English Dictionary, by Moniram Mochari, 1981
External links bodoland.org
National Democratic Front of Bodoland
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