Mae-Dam Mae-Phi: Ancestor worship of Tai Ahom

Bornali Hati Boruah

(hatiboruah.bornali@gmail.com)

Mae-Dam Mae-Phi is the most important annual socio-religious festival of ancestor worship of the Tai Ahom community of Assam. In Tai language, "Mae" Means offering, "Dam" Means dead one and "Phi" Means Spirit or God. Hence, Mae-Dam Mae-Phi signifies an offer of prayer or tribute in honour of the souls of their ancestors or forefathers. The Tai Ahom celebrates this festival with great jubilation and enthusiasm on 31st January of every year.

Ancestor worship is the 'foundation of Tai Ahom's religious tradition. The Tai Ahoms believe that after death the ancestors become Phi (Spirit) in heaven and they would look after their living descendants. According to their belief, there is a hierarchy of the spirit after death i.e. Dam and Phi. After death, a man becomes a Dam and protects the living family members from all evils as a god of the home. After a period of time when the duty as Dam is over then he rises above Dam to be a Phi. He would become the god of society and cut off all relations with his family. Moreover, Tai Ahom believes in three types of Dams i.e. Sang- Phi, Dam- Phi and Chao- Phi-Dam for ancestor worship. Sang- Phi are the Gods of higher level which are believed as the natural Gods that Khao-Kham (Owner of water), Ai-Leng-Din (Owner of the earth), Lang-Ku-Ri (God of the mountain) and ancestral Gods like Jan-Sai-Hung (Saint), Leng-Don (Chief ancestor of Tai Ahom) and Mo-Lik Mo-Lai (Gods of knowledge). The family worship of dead ones is called the Dam-Phi ceremony performed in the northeastern pole of the house; the particular place in the corner of a kitchen is called Pho-Kam or Dam Post (Sao Dam) which maintains the linkage of the ancestors with their descendants. They basically propitiated Dam-Aon-Mau (1st and 2nd generation ancestors), Sau-Tung-Dam (3rd generation ancestors), Si-Rvn-Dam (4th generation ancestors), Dam-Kam or Jakorua Dam (Ancestor of minors, unmarried and children's), Dam-Kao-Sin (5th to 13th generations) and Dam-Kha-Dai-Sin (14th generations). After the 14th generation, Dams are endorsed to Chao-Phi-Dam and they are invoked at the ceremony of Um-Pha and Mae-Dam Mae-Phi. Um-Pha (Um-to offer, Pha-Gods) is the grand worship of all gods or spirits, which is performed after 12 years at Lakwa of Charaideo district of Assam. Whereas, the worship called Mae-Dam Mae-Phi is a distinctive and positive feature of Tai Ahom ancestor worship which is observed annually.

The first Ahom king of Assam Sukapha and his successors instilled unique systems and institutions in their newly founded kingdom in Assam such a way that in course of time this Tai culture became the backbone of the entire Tai Ahom state policy for long six hundred years and in the latter part. The tradition of ancestor worship started in Assam from the days of Sukapha, for the first time, he observed this ritual after he left his birthplace Keing-Chen-Maolung (the capital city of the Mong Maolung) after crossing the Nam Kiu (the Irrawaddy). After crossing the Patkai Range, he performed it again in Nam-Ruk with his prayers to his forefathers to enable and make it easy for him to conquer the new country in the Brahmaputra valley and for its good governance. After that, he had a grand celebration of Mae-Dam Mae-Phi for seeking blessings of the ancestors for good and effective governance of his country Assam with its permanent capital at Charaideo. Subsequently, king Siu-Hum-Mong also known as Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) celebrated it on a state level after his astounding victory over the Chutiyas and then after defeating the Kacharis. Till the reign of Ahom king Chandrakanta Singha, the last independent ruler of Assam, Mae-Dam Mae-Phi was observed under royal patronization. It was the royal support that raised the status of this ritual to a popular poi (festival) among the Tai Ahoms. However, all the Ahom rulers observed ancestor worship at Charaideo, asking for peace, prosperity and power from their ancestors. There is also believed that, if it is not celebrated in the traditional or customary way, the spirit of god will be disgruntled and consequently there will be a crisis in the country or states like political rivalry and infighting, increased activities of militancy, natural upheavals like floods and earthquakes resulting in loss of human lives and property. Therefore, a celebration of Mae-Dam Mae-Phi is a must in the interest of the overall well-being of the people and the society.

The celebration of Mae-Dam Mae-Phi has played a significant role as an ethnic festival of the Tai Ahoms during the period of the revitalization of Ahoms in the late eighteen century. It needs to mention that in 1983, the Mae-Dam Mae- Phi was observed in a grand way in front of the Talatal Ghar (Historical monument of the Tai Ahom)

Sivasagar with the sponsorship of Hiteswar Saikia, the then Chief Minister of Assam. This had given a new boost to the Tai Ahom community to maintain their solidarity culminating in the assertion of distinct identity. Since 1983, on 31st January of every year remains the Government declared a public holiday in Assam to celebrate Mae-Dam Mae -Phi, a worshipping ritual to the ancestor or forefather of the Tai Ahom. Nowadays, Mae-Dam Mae-Phi is organized in all the Tai Ahom-inhabited areas of Assam and even outside the state. People irrespective of their caste and creed, rank and status join the feast with much enthusiasm. Sometimes, a large number of foreign guests or scholars from the countries like China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Canada also attend the festival of Mae-Dam Mae-Phi.

Even after initiation to Hinduism, a large section of the Tai Ahom, has not yet stopped worshipping their ancestors in a customary way. More importantly, nowadays, the celebration of the Mae-Dam Mae-Phi has become the symbol of the ethnic identity of the Tai Ahom within the greater Assamese society. As the living cultural heritage of the Tai Ahom people, this is something unique in the celebration of the Mae-Dam Mae-Phi festival in the state of Assam.