News Excerpt:
The Tai Ahom community observed the sacred festival of Me-Dam-Me-Phi across Assam.
About the Festival:
- Me-Dam-Me-Phi holds immense cultural significance for the Ahom community in Assam.
- It is celebrated with fervour and communal unity every year on 31 January.
- This festival is deeply embedded in the tradition of ancestor worship, a cultural thread binding the Tai Ahom community.
- The term ‘Me-Dam-Me-Phi’ encompasses three key elements: ‘Me’ represents offerings, ‘Dam’ signifies ancestors, and ‘Phi’ denotes gods.
- During this festival, the Ahom families offer oblations to their ancestors and gods, paying homage to the departed and seeking their blessings.
- They erect a sacred pillar called ‘Damkhuta’, opposite the kitchen, which serves as a worship place.
- Offerings such as homemade wine, rice with meat and fish, and vegetarian dishes are presented.
- A ritualistic component also involves the sacrificial offering of buffaloes, ducks, pigs, and fowl.
- Rituals are conducted by Ahom priests, known as Deodhai and Bailung, who chant mantras in the Ahom language and follow codes from sacred manuscripts like Phralung and Banfi.
- The festival also involves the veneration of specific gods, including Chaufi and Dam Chaufi, considered gods of heaven. Other deities associated with natural powers and earthly realms are honoured at various times of the year.
- Cultural extravaganza:
- It promotes unity, brotherhood, and mutual understanding among the Ahom people.
- It allows the new generation to connect with their ancestral roots and celebrate the legacy left behind by their forebears.
- Dating back to ancient times, Ahom kings observed Me-Dam-Me-Phi to commemorate victories, seek protection from imminent dangers, or desire longevity for themselves and their subjects.
About Ahoms or Tai-Ahoms:
- They are an ethnic group from the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Members of this group are mixed descendants of the Tai people who arrived in Brahmaputra’s Assam Valley in 1228, and local indigenous peoples have joined them throughout history.
- Today’s Ahoms speak Assamese after the traditional Ahom language was completely abandoned.
- The Ahom language, a member of the Tai branch of the Kra-Dai language, is now dead, and its tonal system has completely disappeared.
