The Dimasa Kacharis are a tribe mostly inhabiting the northern half of the North Cachar Hills, an administrative district in the state of Assam in India, including the ravines of the Jatinga valley and the adjoining land. The Dimasa have a tendency to build their houses on hill slopes with a river or streamlet flowing nearby. A dwelling is built on a plinth of earth, in two rows facing each other with a sufficiently wide gap in between. The Kacharis are the most widely spread tribe in northeast India. ... http://www. ... North Cachar Hills is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. ... Local government areas called districts are used, or have been used, in several countries. ... Assam   (Assamese: অসম Ôxôm) is a north eastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, a part of Guwahati. ... Jatinga , a village on a ridge, is located in the North Cachar Hills district, Assam State in India. ... A dwelling is a structure in which humans or other animals live. ... Plinth of the Sign of the Kiwi, Dyers Pass, Port Hills, Christchurch (NZ) c 1917 - Collection: [Christchurch City Libraries] Look up Plinth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Religion

The Dimasas believe in the existence of a supreme being Madai, under whom there are several Madais including family deities and evil spirits. The religious practices of the Dimasas are reflected in their Daikho system. A Daikho has a presiding deity with a definite territorial jurisdiction and a distinct group of followers known as Khel. Every Dimasa Kachari family worships its ancestral deity once a year before sowing the next rice paddy. It is known as Madai Khilimba. This is done for the general welfare of the family, and Misengba is done for the good of the whole community. Candidates for regular freemasonry are required to declare a belief in a Supreme Being; a generic description allowing the candidate to adhere to whichever deity or concept he holds to be appropriate. ... Madai was a Japhethic grandson of Noah in the Biblical tradition. ... Khel is part of Pashtun tribal name signifying thier sub-tribe. ... The Kacharis are the most widely spread tribe in northeast India. ... A rice paddy in Japan A paddy field is a flooded parcel of farmland for growing rice (from the Malaysian word padi, a noun meaning growing rice). Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of East and Southeast Asia, such as China, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia...

The Dimasas cremate their dead. The dead body is washed and dressed in fresh clothes. The corpse is then placed inside the house on a mat for relatives and well-wishers of the family to pay their last respects. In the meanwhile the cremation pyre will be prepared at the cremation grounds which is usually situated by the side of a river or stream. The widow does not tie her hair until cremation. Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. ...

Society

An important institution of the village is Hangsao. It is an association of unmarried boys and girls of the village. It is organized for the purpose of working together in cultivation and lasts only for one year. Throughout the year, the members of the Hangsao work together in the Jhums cutivating by rotation an area of land at every member’s field. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A voluntary association (also sometimes called an unincorporated association, or just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... Tillage (American English), or cultivation (UK) is the agricultural preparation of the soil to receive seeds. ...

Culture

Music and dance play an important role in the day-to-day life of the Dimasa Kacharis. They sing and dance expressing their joy in the youth common houses (‘Nadrang’) or at the courtyard of the ‘Gajaibaou’s house in popular common festivals like Bushu or Hangsao – manauba. The female owner of the house, where the Bushu festival is held, is called ‘Gajaibaou’. Allegory of Music on the Opéra Garnier Music is an art form that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Harry Belafonte singing, photograph by C. van Vechten Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. ... A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community. ...

By using their traditional musical instruments like Muri, Muri-wathisa, Supin Khram, Khramdubung, they present their traditional dances named – Baidima, Jaubani, Jaupinbani, Rennginbani, Baichargi, Kunlubani, Daislelaibani, Kamauthaikim Kaubani, Nanabairibani, Baururnjla, Kailaibani, Homaudaobani, Rongjaobani, Dausipamaikabani, Daudngjang, Nowaijang, Dailaibani, Narimbani, Rogidaw bihimaiyadaw, Maijaobani, Maisubanai, Richibbani, Michai bonthai jibnai, Homojing ladaibani, Berma charao paibani, Mangusha bondaibani, Madaikalimbani etc. A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ...

Dress

The males put on the traditional dresses like richa, rikaosa, paguri rimchau and rimchaoramai to perform the folk dances. The females put on Rigu, rijamfini, rijamfinaberen, rikaucha, rikhra, jingsudu etc. and wear ornaments like Kaudima, Khadu, Kamautai, Longbar, Panlaubar. Chandraral, Rongbarcha, Enggrasa, Jongsama, Ligjao, Jingbri, Yausidam etc.

Dances

The dance forms of the Dimasa Kacharis are complex in character. They are strictly dependent on instrumental music. No songs are used. Khram (drum) follows the rhythm of the Muri (fife) and so also the dancers. Though one may find the music from Muri to be monotonous, there are variations with noticeable microtones for different dance forms. That is why young men practice dancing at Nadrang during leisure hours and the village children follow the rhythm and stepping at a distance from an early age. Instrumental An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or piece without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... This page is about musical songs. ... For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film) Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ...

References

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See also

• Dimasa language