Ahom Charaideo Maidams to vie for UNESCO tag

Subject : Art and Culture

Section : Medieval India

Concept :

Assam Chief Minister recently said that the Central Government has decided to send a proposal to UNESCO nominating Charaideo Maidam of Ahom Kingdom as a World Heritage Site.
Currently, there is no World heritage Site in the category of cultural heritage in the Northeast.

Moidams/Maidams

The Moidams (also Maidams) are the mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty (13th century-19th century).
The mound-burial system of the royals of the Ahom dynasty in Assam’s Charaideo district can be likened to the royal tombs of ancient China and the Pyramids of the Egyptians Pharaohs (kings of ancient Egypt).
Charaideo, more than 400 km east of Guwahati, was the first capital of the Ahom dynasty founded by Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha in 1253.
Previously, those of the deceased with their paraphernalia (apparatus/ equipment) were buried.
However, after the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation, entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Moidam at Charaideo.
The Moidams enshrine the mortal remains of Ahom royalty and are highly venerated.
With the shift of Ahom capital south and eastwards, Moidams have been seen in different parts of Northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Northern Burma, Southern China and Northeast India – together defining the region where Tai-Ahom culture prevailed.

Why is Charaideo known as ‘Pyramids of Assam’?

It contains sacred burial grounds of Ahom kings and queens and is also the place of the ancestral Gods of the Ahoms.
Some 42 tombs (Maidams) of Ahom kings and queens are present at Charaideo hillocks.
Architecture: It comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure and covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.

Ahom Dynasty:

It was founded by Chaolung Sukapha , who entered the Brahmaputra valley in 1228.
They ruled Assam for six centuries, until the British annexed Assam.
The Ahoms created a new state by taking over the older political system of the bhuiyans (landlords).
The Ahom administration was a monarchial government with democratic and aristocratic values as well.
Ahom society was divided into clans and with the expansion of the kingdom, the clans moved and took charge of the designated territory.
The Ahoms followed stringent travel policies to protect their motherland against the foreign invaders for inward travel.
In the 17th century, the Ahom rule got weakened due to multiple Burmese invasions and internal conflicts.
Ahom Kingdom was annexed by the British East India Company after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.