CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION
 CHAPTER- I
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE TERM BORO: The Boros are the inhabitants of the Brahmaputra

valley. They have been scattered throughout the length and breadth of the valley

since time immemorial.

The word ‘Boro’ denotes both the language as well as the community.

They are also designated by the terms Kachari, Mech, Boro-Kochari and Bodo

etc. But the indigenous speakers call themselves Boro.

The word ‘Bodo’ was first used by famous linguist B.H.Hodgson in the

yearl846 in a discussion on Tibeto-Burman group of language. However, the

noted linguist G.A. Grierson first pointed out this fact.

He said,

“ The generic name ‘Bodo ’ was first applied by Hodgson to this group of

languages. The exact sound is better represented by spelling it Bada or Boro.

Bodo or Bara is the name by which the Mech or Mes and the Kacharis call

themselves.”l Famous Historian Sir Edward Gait discussed about Bodo-

Kacharis on his valuable publication. He opined,

“ The Kacharis may perhaps be described as the aborigines or earliest known

inhabitants o f the Bramhaputra valley. They are identical with the people
called Mech in Goalpara and North- Bengal. These are the names given to
them by outsider. In the Brahmaputra valley the Kacharis call themselves

'Grierson, G.A: L.I.S, Vol-III, Part- II, p-1

Bodo or Bodofisa (son o f Bodo). In the North-Cachar Hills they call
themselves Dimasa, a corruption o f Dimafisa or son o f the great river. They
were known to the Ahoms as Timisa, clearly a corruption o f Dimasa, so that
this name must have been in use when they were still in Dhansiri valley. ” 2
The Mongolian people inhabited in the North-East of Himalayas and

Westwards of China were known as Bod. The word Bod is supposed to mean a

homeland. It is also said that there were many parts of the country known as

HorBod, Kur Bod, and Bsti Bod etc. The inhabitants o f the Bod country are

known as Bodo-Ficha or Bodocha or Bodosa. The term Bodo means land and

Ficha or Cha means children. Thus, Bodosa means the children of Bod

country. According to R.M. Nath,

“ when Buddhism spread into Bod countries, specially the Southern p a r t,

inhabited by the Buddhist Lamas, was known as Bsti(Lamas)Bod and later on

it transformed into Bsti- Bod > Tibod > Tibet.**3

Hence, the word ‘Bodo’or ‘Boro’ denotes its original national name

'Bod*. Thus the Bod brings a strong conection with term Bodo and Boro, the

meaning o f which appears to be Tibet. Infect, in Tibet there is a place named

‘{Bo-don (g) dj*. Hence, it seems very likely that the word Bodo thus originated

from the word *{Bo-don (g) d}*. In this context, Dr.S.K.Chetterjee’s view is

quotable. He said,

2 Gait, Sir Edward: A History o f Assam, Ch- X, p-236

3. Nath, R.M: The Background o f Assamese Culture, pp.15-16

2
 “ The Tibetan people, whose national name was Bod (as it was pronounced in
the 7th century A.D: this is now become Po or Pho) has been Indianised as
Bhota, were a numerous and well-organized tribe, and a fairly powerful
one.”4
1.2 AREA OF CONCENTRATION: From times immemorial the
immigrants of Northeast India who came from the region around Mongolia
were Bodos and they spread over the areas of present Assam, Nagaland,
' Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, West Bengal, and even in neighboring countries
like Bangladesh and Nepal. The Boros are the largest tribal communities of
North - East India. Thomas Pullulppillil and Jacob Alucal observed,
“Bodos, the eighth largest tribe in India, have a valiant past and are working
towards a future that is more prosperous. Their language, culture and world
view are a valuable contribution to the pluralistic culture that make up the
great Indian culture. ” 5
Further, according to 1991 Government census report, the population of

Boro speakers were estimated at 11, 84,569.

The Boros of the Brahmaputra valley as well as of the other parts of the

countiy have put forward many valuable contributions towards the growth and

formation of the Northeastern civilization in broader sense. Their contribution

has not only been just to their own language but also to their unique culture.

1.3 ORIGIN: The origin of the Mongoloid people could be traced to the

Steppes of Middle Asia6. It is from this region that the original stream of this

4. Chetterjee, S.K: Kirata-Jana-Kriti, pp.21-41

5 Pulluppillil, Thomas & Alucal, Jacob (Ed.): The Bodos children o f Bhullumbuttur, p-8
.y i .

* ^
Mwsahary, Premananda :-.Burlung Buthur Hayenao Boroni Swdwmsn, p-8

3
race came to India. The complexion of the Mongoloid people is yellowish and

they have puffy-narrow eyes. They have long heads, black straight hair and less

facial hair. They have large and flat face. With such physical appearance the
I
Bodos resided in ancient times in the Valley of Hwang-Ho and Yangtze-Kiang

rivers in the Western China. Scholars are of the opinion that the Sino-Tibetan

language Spoken by the Mongoloid people originated from this area. Famous

Historian and Linguist Dr. S.K.Chetterjee pointed out,

“ The area o f characterization fo r the primitive Sino-Tibetan speech appears

to have been North Western China between the head waters o f the Huang-Ho

and Yang-Tsze Kiang rivers ....... Mongoloids tribes from Western China

speaking forms o f the Sino- Tibetan speech appear to have pushing South

and Westfrom their original home land from prehistoric times .........7

1.4 MIGRATION TO INDIA: A branch of the Tibeto-Burmese group

entered Assam through the Northeast. However, this was not the only passage

to enter Assam. They also came through the North. From Huein-Tsang, the 17lh

century Chinese traveler, it is leamt that Chinese merchants carried on their

trade with the ancient Kamrup through land and water routes. Land and water

were the main trade routes between China and Assam. It is through these routes

that the members of the Tibeto-Burmese language family entered Assam. The

7 Chetteijee, S.K: Kirata- Janakriti, p-13

4
water route was probably the most ancient and convenient one. The Tibeto-

Burmese speakers who lived in the valleys of Hwang Ho and Yang-Tsze-Kiang

1
Rivers entered India or Assam-Burma through the same rivers. There is a

controversy among scholars about the advent of the Bodos. Scholars have

accepted the fact that there was communication between Tibet and China via

the Branhmaputra valley and North-Bengal. The ancient roads were through the

present Arunachal Pradesh. The River Manas, Kariapara Duar, Garo-valley are

worth mentioning in this regard. Brahmaputra, Sindhuin, Irawaddy, Makong,

Manam, Suwansiri, Darla, Tista, Sonkosh etc. were the river ways and

Brahmakunda, Tawang and IJdalguri were the mountain roads used between the

people of Tibet, China, Burma and Kamrupa or Assam for trade and

communication purposes. Most of the scholars have accepted the fact that the

Bodos entered North- India or Assam through the North-East route8 were

originally Bodo, and they spread over the areas o f present Assam, Nagaland,

Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, West-Bengal and even in

neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. The Boro is a Mongoloid

race of Tibeto-Burman stock inhabiting an extensive area of the Brahmaputra-

Valley of Assam with their main concentration in the Northern-Bank area of the

Brahmaputra right up to the foothills along the Northern boundary of Assam

adjoining Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.

8Barua, Dr,B,K: A Cultural history of Assam, pp.l 11-112

5
i
1.5 THE ORIGIN OF THE BORO LANGUAGE: As already

pointed out, the Bodo race lived in the valley of the rivers Yangtze-Kiang and

Hwang Ho of the Great China. The Tibeto-Chinese Language spoken by this

race was bom in this area. The people who spoke that language visited many

river paths from that valley in search of new places and at a time they reached

the valley area of the river Brahmaputra, then only the Tibeto-Chinese

Language was transformed into Tibeto-Burman Language. This Tibeto-

Burmese people, from the proper Brahmaputra valley, parted into three. One

part marched towards the North of the Brahmaputra and reached Tibet, another

part reached the lowland area of Brahmaputra valley and entered Assam, and

the third group entered Burma through the river path of Chinese-Dwing and

Irabadi. The Bodos and its branches and sub-branches belong to the second part

of Tibeto-Burmese people. They came down and permanently settled in Assam

and Tripura through the river Brahmaputra. It is guessed that before reaching

Assam and Tripura they lived in Manipur for a short-duration. On the

contrary, the present Tripura was a part of the greater Assam in the past.

The Bodos and its different branches of Tibeto-Burman language were

scattered in greater Assam. However, the ,different branches of the Bodo group

of Language, namely, Boro, Garo, Dimasa, Kok-Borak, Koch, Mes, Hazong,

Rabha, Chutia, and Moran co-existed in the greater Assam since long.

According to H.A.Gleason (Jr), |

I

6
“If 66 percent o f the basic morpheme stock seems to be cognate in two

languages, we may assume that they have been separated fo r 1000years. If 44

percent is cognate, 2000years is the most probable period o f separation.w>

From the close linguistic similarity of Boro with Tiwa, Kakborak,

Dimasa, etc. it is assumed that their separation is relatively new than with the

other branches like Rabha, Tintekiya-Koch, Ruga and Atong (Garo), Koch,

Abeng (Garo), Achik (Garo), Awe (Garo) and Deuri or Deuri-Chutia.

1.6 CLASSIFICATION OF BORO LANGUAGE: The Borolanguage

belongs to the branch of Barish section under Baric division of the Sino-Tibetan

family, as the classification given by Robert Shafer. As described in the

‘Linguistic Survey of India’ the Boro or the Boro-Kachari as member of Bodo

sub-section under the Assam-Burma group of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the

Sino-Tibeto-Chinese speech family. According to P.K. Benedict, the Boro

language belongs to ‘Boro-Garo’ group.910 The BG group of languages is one of

principal division of the Tibeto-Burman language family. The BG group is the

southern most member of the Tibeto-Burman stock. The BG group of languages

could be sub-divided into four major groups:-

(A). 1. Rabha
2. Tintekiya Koch
3. Ruga and Atong (Garo)
4. Koch

9 Gleason H.A (Jr): Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics, p-450

10 Benedict, P.K: Sino-Tibetan: A conspectus, p-6

7
 (B) . 1. Abeng (Garo)
2. Achik (Garo)
3. Awe (Garo)
(C) . 1. Boro
2. Tiwa
3. Kakborak
4. Dimasa
5. Moran (now extinct)
(D) . 1. Deuri orDeuri-Chutia11

1.7 STUDY ON BORO LANGUAGE AND CULTURE BY

SOME SCHOLARS: The Boros are the largest ethnic group in the

Brahmaputra valley. As a matter of fact, proper scientific analysis of the

language of largest ethnic group is yet to be done in spite of the research works

conducted by some renowned scholars. B.H.Hodgson attempted to write about

the Boros and their language in 1846. His grammar was based on the Mech

(Boro) dialect spoken in the Daijeeling district. He furnished numerous Boro

vocabularies along with Boro grammar. ‘An outline Grammar of Kachari

Language’ (1884) as spoken in the District of Darrang and ‘The Kachans’

written by Rev. S.Endle (1911) are two very important books on the Kacharis

and their language. In the year 1889, Rev. L.O.Skrefshrud published ‘A Short

Grammar of the Mech or Boro Language’. The valuable writing of

11 Moral, Dr. Dipankar: Languages o f North- East India, p- 6

8
Rev.L.O.Skrefshrud’s grammar was based on Goalpara dialect. Then in the year

1895, J.D.Anderson published ‘A Collection of Kachari Folk-tales and

Rhymes’ in Boro along with English version. In the year 1859, Rev.

H. Holvorshrud published a grammar entitled ‘Boro Grammar’. In the year 1887

J.Avery published ‘On the Relationship of the Kachari and Garo Language of

Assam’. ‘Sino-Tibetan: A Conspectus’ was published in the year 1972 by

P.K.Benedict. It was a study on the linguistic aspects of Sino-Tibetan

languages. In 1959, R. Burling published ‘Proto Bodo’. In 1964,

Dr.S.K.Chetterjee published ‘Kirata-Jana-Kriti’ which is an analysis of the

culture of the Mongoloid peoples and references to the Bodos. It is worth

mentioning here that Dr.P.C. Bhattacharya has contributed a valuable

publication towards the Boro language. This is ‘A Descriptive Analysis of the

Boro Language (1977). Similarly, two other important books on Boro language

namely, ‘Bodo Vocabulary’ (1968) and‘Boro Primer’ (1987) were written by

D.N.S. Bhatt and Achit Chakravarty respectively. However, there still remains a

lot to be done on the different linguistic aspects of the language and this has

necessarily widened the scope of the study particularly in the linguistic aspect

of its dialects.

I. 8 DIALECTS OF BORO LANGUAGE:

The term ‘Dialect’ was derived in English from Greek during

Renaissance. However, the main difference of a language and its dialects are of
Size and Prestige.

9
 “A dialect is considered as standard language whenever it has a
prestige variety. ” 12
The study of the dialects is an important area in the field of linguistic study. The
dialects help us to reach the origin and history o f the standard and sub- standard
types of speech of a language. The study of dialects is also an important one to
have knowledge of the variety and scope of a language. However, linguists give
more importance to the study of local dialects among all to understand different
aspect of a language properly.
Language variations mainly depend upon the geographical and social
location. In fact linguists are reluctant to differentiate the dialectical variety
from that of the geographical and social variation. According to linguists again
there is little difference o f dialects resulted from geographical difference from
that of the social difference. In this connection Pit Corder, a famous linguist
points out
“Language can he said to show variability according to geographical
and social space. Variability in a geographic dimension is called, following
tradition, dialectical. Variability in a social dimension is also often called
dialectical; but I shallfollow more recent terminology and call it ‘sociolectaT
when I wish to make a distinction between geographical and social dialects
(fishman, 1971). The actual points along the continuum o f variation at which
the boundaries between one dialect or Sociolect and another are established is
essentially a r b itr a r y 13
On the other hand, the cause of the language shifting into dialects depends on
social relationship of a community. It hardly depends on the purely physical

12 Moral, Dr.D: Upabhasha biggyan, p-7

13 Corder, S.Pit: Introducing Applied Linguistics, pp-54-55

10
reasons. Infact, the need of communication is the mother of the same. The day-
to-day intercourse on a community life always keeps the languistic unity.
1.8.1 PREVIOUS DIVISION BY SCHOLARS: Dr. P.C.Bhattacharjya
in his Ph. D Thesis has divided the Boro dialects into four groups14 :
(I) . North-West dialect area covers the Northern region of Goalpara and
Kamrup Districts .
(II) South-Westdialects area covering South- Goalpara, Garohills and a
few places of South-Kamrup.
(III) North-Central Assam dialect Area comprising the district of Darrang,
Lakhimpur and a few places ofNEFA.
(IV) Southern-Assam dialect area comprising the spoken area of Nowgong,
North-Cachar and Mikir-Hills, Cachar and adjacent area.
Prof. Madhuram Boro in his book “The Boro Structure” has pointed out

that the dialect Areas formerly divided by Dr.P.C.Bhattacharya may be re­

structured according to the change brought out due to further divisions of the

prevailing districts. The divisions suggested by him are as follows:

(I) Kokrajhar, Dhubri, and Bongaigaon districts (formerly North

Goalpara),
Nalbari and Barpeta districts (formerly North Kamrup) known North-Eastern
Dialect areas
(II) Goalpara (formerly South Goalpara) and South-Kamrup extended
upto Garohills of Meghalaya state known as South-western dialects area
(III) Darrang and Lakhimpur Districts extended upto Arunachal Pradesh

known as North Central Assam dialects and

14 Bhattacharjya, Dr.P.C: A Descriptive Analysis o f Boro language, pp-11-12

j
15 Extracted from the introductory chapter o f Madhuram Boro’s The Boro Structure

11
 (IV) Nowgaong, North Cacher and Karbi Anglong District known as

Southern Assam dialects areas.

Another scholar Dr. Kameswar Brahma said,

"The Boro language o f Assam has at least four clear-cut dialect areas

with a sufficient number o f dialectical variations; these may be called north­

eastern, south-western, north-central and southern dialect areas with

phonological, morphological andglossarial differences, ” 16

But P.C. Basumatary (in his M. Phil Dissertation) divided the Boro dialects

into only two groups. 17 These are:

(I) Eastern Boro dialects and

(II) Western Boro dialects.

However, a close study of the above-mentioned divisions by different

scholars as well as a detailed fieldwork in this direction leads to the possibility

of only three main groups o f the Boro dialects spoken in the Brahmaputra

Valley. These are:

(I) The Western Boro Dialect (sujnabari)

(II) The Southern Boro Dialect (Du|ikhurjkhulari)

(III) The Eastern Boro Dialect (Sanzari)

16 Brahma, DrKameswar: An Introduction to the Traditional practices o f Assam, p-3

17 Basumataiy, P.C. The Boro oral narratives: A critical study (With the special reference to the Northern part
o f the Brahmaputra Valley o f Assam), p-9

12
1.8.2 INTRODUCTION OF BORO DIALECTS:
1.8.2.1 THE WESTERN BORO DIALECT:
T h e W e s te rn B o r o D ia le c t c o m p ris e s th e d is tric ts o f K o k ra jh a r, D h u b ri.

B o n g a ig a o n a n d C h ira n g . T h e d ia le c t s p o k e n in th is re g io n is c o n s id e r e d a s th e

S w n a b a ri d ia le c t a n d it is m o re o r le s s u s e d a s a S ta n d a rd n o rm . T h e m e a n in g

o f th e w o rd ‘s u / n a b ’ is w e s t a n d it is s u ffix e d b y ‘a r i,' th e c la n . H e n c e th e w o rd

s u in a b a r i d e n o te s th e p e o p le o f th e w e s te rn z o n e . T h e W B D h a s g a in e d th e

s ta tu s o f s ta n d a rd d ia le c t a n d d e v e lo p e d a w ritte n fo rm a s w e ll a n d v a rio u s

a c tiv itie s a re d o n e th r o u g h th e d ia le c t o f W B D .

1.8.2.2 THE EASTERN BORO DIALECT:

T h e E a s te rn B o r o d ia le c t c o m p ris e s th e d is tric ts o f B a rp e ta , B a g s a ,

K a m ru p , D a rra n g , O d a lg u r i, N o w g o n g , M o rig a o n , L a k h im p u r, a n d G o la g h a t

a n d S ib s a g a r d is tric t. T h e d ia le c t s p o k e n in th is re g io n is c o n s id e r e d a s S a n z a ri

d ia le c t. T h e m e a n in g o f ‘s a n z a ’ is ‘e a s t’ a n d it is s u f fix e d b y ‘a r i H e n c e th e

p e o p le liv in g in th is r e g io n a re k n o w n a s S a n z a r i, th e ‘e a s te r n p e o p le .' T h e

p e o p le w h o s p e a k th e E B D a re h a v in g d iffe re n c e w ith th e s p e a k e r s o f W B D

p h o n o lo g ic a lly , m o r p h o lo g ic a lly a n d le x ic a lly .

1.8.2.3 THE SOUTHERN BORO DIALECT:

T h e S o u th e r n B o ro D ia le c t c o m p ris e s o f th e d is tr ic t o f G o a lp a ra a n d

s o m e p a rts o f S o u th e r n K a m ru p d is tric t a n d th e a d ja c e n t a re a s o f G a ro H ills . a

d is tric t o f M e g h a la y a . T h e p e o p le , w h o liv e in th e s o u th e rn p a rt o f B ra h m a p u tra

1 3
valley, call themselves as iDu/ikhu/Jkhu l a r i The meaning o f ‘Du/iffutj’ is the

river ‘Brahmaputra’ and ‘khiqla or hPula’ means ‘the south’. The word
Dii|ikhupkhula derives from the words ‘ dujUfui] + khujla ~ ifuta and suffixed
by ‘<m'\ Hence the complete meaning of ‘Dci/ik1'utjkhularV is the Boro people
of Southern part o f Brahmaputra valley. P. K. Benedict, 1972, remarked the
Boros after the migration came and settled finally in the Southern flanks of the
Brahmaputra valley after spreading fan wise throughout the valley. The dialect
used by them is considered Dwikhungkhulari. Their dialect has got difference
with the dialects of WBD and EBD.
i

The Western Boro Dialect comprises the districts of Kokrajhar, Dhubri,

and Bongaigaon and Chirang. The Southern Boro Dialect consists of the district

of Goalpara and some parts of Southern Kamrup district and the adjacent areas

of GaroHills, a district of Meghalaya. The Eastern Boro dialect comprises the

districts of Barpeta, Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Lakhimpur and Sibsagar.

There is no doubt about the fact that already the Boro dialects of the

Western part of Assam comprising the districts of Kokrajhar, Dhubri, and

Bongaigaon has gained the status of standard dialect and developed a written

form as well.

1.9 MESA DIALECT:

Apart from this three dialects of Boro Language of Brahmaputra Valley,

the dialect used by the Boro people of Nepal and West Bengal whose dialect is

called as Mesa Dialect has got distinct similarities with the dialect of Boro

people of BrahmaputraValley despite living in different geographical conditions

14
maintaining different traditions in different cultural barriers. The people living

on the bank of river Mechi is considered as Messe. G.A.Grierson opined,

“The Bodos o f Jolpaiguri and Terain call themselves Mech because they

settled on the Banks o f river Mechi. ” 18

The people, who are known as Mesa, though minor in numbers and living
in different geographical conditions, are still maintaining their original dialect
of Boro language. The people living in those regions are seen fading in numbers
may be because of their assimilation with the local indigenous people or
perhaps living in different geographical conditions. Most o f the Mesas of Nepal
believes of Hinduism and they generally have extreme faith in Shiva. Though
the Boros of the West Bengal are mostly follower of Hinduism, it is seen that a
great number of them are also followers of Christianity.
1.10 REGISTER: Register is nothing but language variety influenced by
different social factors. Register is usually characterized solely by vocabulary
differences: either by the use of particular words, or by the use of words in a
particular sense. Such variety occurs according to different roles, professions
and situations. Thus, the registers of law, medicine and engineering might not
be totally similar. Similarly, the formal occasions might demand a little
different kind of language than the informal. Even, different roles of persons
like, a woman, a husband, an apprentice, a political activist, a senior citizen etc,
also differentiate the use of language to some extent. Such socio linguistic
variations give birth to registers. 19

18 Grierson, G.A: LIS, vol-III, part-ii, p-2

19 Trudgill, Peter, S ociolin gu istics, pp-84-85

15
 In Boro, different registers are available. Registers in Boro take place

mainly according to the roles of speakers and situations. Thus, the mode of

speaking of Boro women customarily differs from the Boro male. For example
t r

Boro women normaly use the suffix ‘-hai’ as in ‘naqahai’ (Engish: not

required), ‘giqijahai’ (English: not there) while Boro male Normaly uses the

suffix Tup’ as in ‘naqa liqi’ (not required), ‘giqijaliqi’ (not there) And it

changes the social contexts, finally has given birth to different registers. Thus,

the Boros living in a bi-lingual situation has given birth to a varity of new

registers. The Boros living within the Asamese speaking people use the term
L l u

and sentences like ‘ ap uni zabi’ (you will go), ‘ap uni k abi’ (you will eat) etc.

Code mixing and code switching are the main characteristics of this variety.

The use o f Boro languages by the Boro-Christians caused a new register, as

their use of the languages is after dissimilar than the others. Thus, the Boro-

Christians use the structure like — ‘ma ra’ (how is everything), ‘gtqijadara’ (no,

nothing) but in WBD used ‘ma bra’, gujijaluii etc.

The register used in written language particularly in newspapers, and

literary works are known as formal. Formal register is also used in meeting,

class room etc. Informal register is often used in friendly chats, household

activities etc. The Following are the some examples of Formal and informal

register in Boro Language:

16
Formal register: Newspaper: Thiikhra radab (News Capsule)

‘dinuji Boro thunlai aphadni mur|khlor| san. 1974 ip m aithaiao hapkhiqni

siqmaosamajao m upkhlop zanaj aruj Boro raothunlaini thakhaj gaoni ziu

baulapnaj mupkhlopphoimi mupiqi Boro thunlai aphada bujsujre 28 September

khalarkhii)U mupkhlop san hisabuii phalibujgasm uf20. (Today, the 28th September

is a remarkable day for Bodos. The day has long been observed as the m artyr’s

day by the Bodo Sahitya Sabha in memory o f those who had sacrificed their

lives for the script m ovem ent in 1974)

Informal register:

Father or mother or aged person to a child:

‘ nup| duda huindujde babu’ (keep lying dear!)

r u
‘nu|T| hap p a hiqnbajna ? ’ (Have you had a bath?)
L L

‘ak ajk uiu gulugulu hit|n’(wash your hand)

‘mama zaduj nuipaba m eoa zap uiiguin’ ( have the rice or cat will eat-up)

1.11 DEVELOPMENT OF BORO LANGUAGE: The development

o f Boro language had been taking place in patches since long. Particularly the

works in English about the Bodos as well as the Boro language initially helped

greatly in this direction. But it gained momentum from the publication o f

“Bibar” by ‘Assam Boro Satra Sanmilani’. It has contributed a lot towards the

development o f Boro language and literature. Further the “Habraghat Boro

20 It!khor[, Sanseari Bodoland (News Paper) 1st yr, 1st issue, vol-I N o.2, 28* September, 2004

17
sanmilani” (1915) of South Goalpara has also been remarkable in developing

Boro language and Literature.

The period from 1920 to 1940 is considered as the ‘Bibar Muga’ (Bibar

age or era). The luminaries of the literary world of this period were Satish

Basumatary, Rupnath Brahma, Padmashri Madaram Brahma, Dwarendra

Basumatary, Kshitish Brahma, Jaladhar Brahma; Bishnucharan Basumatary etc.

Their contribution in enriching Bodo literature was indeed remarkable. They

wrote some wonderful poems, dramas and prose. Their works can be considered

as milestones in the establishment of the Boro literature and language.

After Bibar the Magazine namely Olongbar (1938) was published by

Pramod Chandra Brahma. The period from 1941 to 1945 is considered as the

“Olongbar Muga” (Olongbar era). The prominent literary figures of this era

were Promod Ch. Brahma, Ishwan Mushahary, Kalikumar Lahari, Jagat

Basumatary, Brajen Iswary, Maniram Sampramari and Jaybhadra Hagjer etc.

Their role was pioneering particularly in bringing out some new trends in Boro

poetry. Besides, each of the above mentioned individuals had some important

contribution towards the establishment and development of Boro language and

literature. Thus, Promod Chandra Brahma initiated the compilation of Bodo-

English-Hindi Dictionary. Their contributions are unforgettable also due to the

fact that they worked before the establishment of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha.

Infact, Joybhadra Hagjer himself undertook an important role towards

18
establishing Bodo Sahitya Sabha and became the second president of the same

in 1953.

The Boro language flourished during these two ages. On 16 November

1952 “Bodo Sahitya Sabha” was formed in Basugaon. This organization, since

its inception, had been tirelessly pressurizing the State-Government to introduce

Boro language as a medium of instruction. Accordingly, on 18th May 1963 Boro

language was introduced as a medium of instruction initially in the District of

undivided Goalpara by the then Chief-Minister of Assam Sjt. Bimala Prasad

Chaliha. Immediately after that a strong urgency was felt by the Boro people to

publish books in Boro language. Then from 12 September 1974, Roman Script

movement started. It demanded the establishment of Roman script for Boro.

The movement continued till 13th February 1975. But the demand was not

accepted. Instead Boros were given Devnagri script in 1975. Thereafter, the

Boro people started their literary works in Devnagri Script. This hastened the

process of fresh thinking in the matter of development of Boro language and

literature. Boro language introduced as an M.I.L Subject. It was recognized as a

Subject language in Pre-Degree Classes as well. Again, on 28th December 1985

Boro language was accepted as an Associated Official Language. In the year

1996 Assam Government opened a University Campus in Kokrajhar College

temporarily.

In 1986, a movement of Boros was started under the banner of All Bodo
Students’ Union. The movement was launched demanding equality in economy,

19
social justice, politics, civil and land rights, language and culture etc. After a
prolonged struggle, the movement resulted in the establishment of B.A.C
accord between the Central Government, the State Government and the Bodo
agitators on 20th February, 1993.Howevere due to some major shortcomings in
fulfilling the needs and desires of the Boro people in greater sense, the accord
failed. As a result ABSU rejected the same and initiated a new movement with
a greater perspective. However, this time the movement turned into a violent
one unlike the previous non-violent movement. This movement gave birth to
some hardliner groups like B.L.T. Ultimately the movement succeeded. The
Central Government, The State Government and The BLT sign the BTC
Accord on 10th February 2003. The accord granted the provision of placing
Bodo Language in the 8th Scheduled of the Indian Constitution. It was indeed a
remarkable step towards the establishment and development o f the Bodo
language. Thus, the Boro literature and language have been advancing
gradually.
1.12 LITERARY HERITAGE OF THE BOROS:
The history of Boro literature can be broadly divided into two major periods.
These are:
1) Period of old literature (1884-1951)
2) Period of Modem literature (1952- till date)
1.12.1 OLD LITERARY PERIOD: The Old Literary period started from

the year 1884 with the publication of Rev.Sidney Endle’s Boro grammar. The

period of old literature can be traced to three major parts:

a) Missionary contributions

b) Bibar’s contributions

c) Olorjbar’s contributions

20
The missionary contributed a lot from the 80s of the 19th century. They

composed Gramars on Boro language, collected some folk literature, and

translated Bible into Boro language. At that period they used Roman Script for

their writing. Most of the books of that period were composed in English with a

few sample Text in Boro Language and Boro rendering. In that period only two

indigenus persons Gangacharan Kochary and Narapati Ch. Kochary jointly

compiled a book Boroni p hisa o ajen (1915) in Bangla script. There were two

parts in this book. In the first part Boroni p hisa there was a humble request

towards the Boros to be conscious about their own race, religion and culture.

This part was written in Bangla language. In the second part Ajen i,e. law, some

customary laws of the southern part of undivided Goalpara district of that

period was compiled and published under the aegis of Habraghat Boro

Sanmilani. This part was composed in Boro language in Bangla scripts.

The period from 1920 to 1940 is considered as Bibar’s contributions in history

of Boro literature. The script used by the Boro writers of that period was Bangla

script. After 1940 the period of Boro literature is considered Olotjbar’s

contributions. Some remarkable works were done towards the development of

Boro literature in these two periods.

1.12.2 PERIOD OF MODERN LITERATURE: The period of modem

literature started from 1952 with the formation of Boro Sahitya Sabha in the
iL

year1952 (16 November). A new literary trend started growing in Boro

21
literature. All types of literary works were done i,e. thought provoking creations

of modem poetry, proses, dramas, novels, biography, children literature,

translations, news papers and magazine in this period.

1.12.2.1 POETRY: Bafu/u nam bujik!laguni gidu (bathiqu songs and songs

of the Bujisagu festival, 1915) by Prasanna Boro Khakhlary is the first poetry

book in Boro. This book consists of two parts: a) Bathuju song and b) Biqisagu

song. In 1924, the first Boro magazine Bibar (flower) edited by Satish Ch.

Basumatary was published and a good number of poems were written in the

magazine on different themes like religion, languages, literature, ethics,

morality, social upliftment etc. The noted poets were Satish Ch. Basumatary,

Jaladhar Brahma, Parsuram Brahma, Rupnath Brahma, Judhisthir Hazugsumary

and many others. Most of the poems were written in rhyming couplets. Khan^ai

me/*ai (poems and songs) a poetry book written by Rupnath Brahma and

Madaram Brahma was published in 1923 containing the topics mainly on

national spirits as regards religion customs, languages, culture and so on.

Boroni gudi sibsa arui aroz (1926, first devotion and prayer of the Boros) was

written by Padmashri Madaram Brahma. Ishan Ch. Muchahary and Pramod Ch.

Brahma initiated romantic poems in the field of Boro literature. Most of their

poems were published in magazine the ha/lorklli hala (constellation) edited by

Pramod Ch. Brahma in 1930. Sonani mala (chain of gold) and p hami (lotus) are

self-composition of Ishan Muchahary. Most of the poems written by Pramod

22
Ch. Brahma were published in sonakbi bizab (golden book). Kali Kumar

Lahari, who was contemporary to Pramod Ch. Brahma and ishan Ch.

Muchahary, also wrote a good number of poems containing classicism,

romanticism and satirical ideals. Poems written by Lahari were published in the

magazine ha^or/fi hala (constellation, 1930). He wrote a poetry book ii'oni1ai

bizab (poetry book) and was published in 1951. Nileswar Brahma published a

poetry book balab ganu/i (two episodes, 1952) that is a collection of songs sung

by the poet himself. The origin of the trend of modern poems can be traced

back to 1945 in the writings of Prasenjeet Brahma. He composed poems and

published in his book atjthufla. This trend was clearly visible from

1952onwards after the formation of BSS. Serza siphutj and radab written by

Samar Brahma Choudhuri (1958) was of modem trend. There were followed

by dimapur(\968), zagniban(1970) by BaneswarBasumatary, mablaba (1971)

by Manaranjan Lahary, mufduji{\91\) by Dharanidhar Wary, ot r a n gotjse

natjgu/u(1975), sanmuftf*atjari bibar zananu/i(1995)by Brajendra kumar

Brahma, p hu/iphin(1976) by Ramdas Boro, gu/su/ni barhutjkha( 1976), subuijni

raha{1984) by Nandeswear Boro, simaijni i f ujina{\91%) a composition of

sonnet poem by saehindra Basumatary, Du/immani p hisa dimasa(\97S) a

compilation of modem poetry by Jagadish chandra Brahma and ziuni k!‘anthaj

methaj{ 1975), thu/izupj lirnai dupjse ifoni'ai (2002), ziuni mu/gthatj bisombi

arut aroj (2003) by Dr. Mangalsing Hazoary. The poetry book ziuni mujkhi'ati

23
bisombi arty aroz has been eligible for the first Sahitya Academi Award- 2005

in Boro language. The new generation poets try to reflect the problems faced by

the, needs of human being, and moral degradation among the generations etc. in

their creations. They fulfilled all the criteria of Modem poems like the use of

imagery, symbols and new thingking, etc. Among those the following are

remarkable: nuftjni ziu atjni bibutji'i (1982) and p hasini du/uletjao okf,aphu/r

(1995) by Anju (Anjali Narzary), daohani khonthai (1985) and mtjnthai (2001)

by Ramakanta Basumatary, bu/rdaoli siphutj (1986) by Saraj Biijisiqmuthiary,

ziuni alotjbar (1988) by Surath Narzary, P^utjbilini simatj (dawn’s dream,

1994) a collection of modem poems composed by Khanindra Swargiary,

Borogami (1995) by Jagat Basumatary, Aini aroz (1996) by Bineswar Brahma,

Mainaoni k!*tyuraij (1996) by Birupakhsa Giri Basumatary, Sanmu/^’atjari

simat) (dreams of light, 1998) a collection of modem poems composed by Dr.

Anil Boro, anzali (1998) by Binanda Swargiary , udatjsrini methai (2000) by

Tikedra malla Basumatary, Natjgufini anfu/r anthiyr (course of the plough,

2000): a collection of modem poems by Nirjguima Swargiary which contains

pain of the depressed cultivators of society and aijni onzalia miqsa p hakhri(my

tiger darling, 2001) a collection of modem poems composed by Bijay Baglary.

These poems are composed in free and rhythmic prose. Symbols and images are

also used in his poem.

24
1.12.2.2 DRAMA: The tradition of drama in Boro literature started from the

20’s of the last century following the tradition of zatragan existed already in the

open theatre. The one act play Nalabuha written by Satich Chandra

Basumatary is assumed to bring the tradition of open theatre among the Boros

and it was first performed in the meeting of the Boro chatra sanmillan in 1919.

As per the information available, Hamphe of Manindra Wary is considered as

the first drama of Boro literature. There were also translated dramas from

Bangla language. These newly created and translated dramas were of historical,

allegorical and legendary character. The dramas written during that period were

gad1'mar pallet by Umesh Chandra Muchahary, dorson zujhiqlao, rani laimuthi

(1928), naiphinzajufl, bikhani or and the nabuha by Satish Chandra

Basumatary.Dwarendra Basumatary is considered as the greatest contributor to

dramas. His dramas are: Raza nilambar, sukharu dukf'aru, bimabaful, zuli

bizuli, chitrangoda, rarjzdaluzu/huflao, anason kalason, nihari, danekraza and

sonani maibap. These were either original or translated. Raza nilambar and

sukharu dukharu are translated from Bangla. One of the most notable names in

the history of Boro drama is Bhaben Phii|rmr|giri alias Bhaben Swargiary. He

translated seven dramas. These are: hamphe palla, bima bathul, mewarkuari,

niyati, vasaspati misra, pap mukii, and raspuja. Noted Poet Padmashri

Madaram Brahma also composed three dramas. These are: raimali (1920),

Dimaphur niygu/r bajnaj and sodatj bu/iragi. Nabin Wary’s etantri raza,

25
Amarendra Brahma’s mu/inakhobari and gatjmailu ru/isumaiphalla, anari, and

mainao p halla by Sundarsing Wary, dumsu gudiao bisar hu/natjnaj by

Lalmohon Brahma and lekhagu/ru/tf hu/ua aru/ lek!*a ruflju/i hinzao (one act

play, 1940) by Ananda Ram Muchahary are also worth mentioning in this

regard. It is, however, notable that only a few numbers of these dramas were

published in book form; the remaining were either destroyed or burned to

flames. During the time of modem literature (which started from 1952) the flow

of dramas was not less than the dramas of the old period and some of these

dramas were of full length and some were one act plays.

From 1960 onwards there appeared a remarkable change in the genre of drama.

Instead of open air performance the initiative of performing on stage as well as

in the theatre halls was taken. To fulfil the needs and aspirations of the people

the dramatists had to compose more and more dramas. Thus in 1959

Manaranjan Lahary composed hatjmahatjsa social drama having three acts. His

creations are: anari (1963) and maoriasru/n (1970). Aniram Basumatary also

brought a revolution in drama. His dramas are: banzu/hujlao (1958),

razagobinda, gambarisikhla and barhuu/kha. The themes of his dramas were

historical, legendary and social. Anandda Muchahary (known as Or|khadaria)

also contributed a lot. His dramas are: Boroninidan, m am tum , raha daoha

hirimdufl, and somazb? etra. Kamal Kumar Brahma is considered as one of the

greatest dramatists of the Boros. His dramas are: gu/ru/nthi, (1954-55), giydan

26
p hufisali (1957), raza Iragdao (1962), gu/ru/nfini unao (1964), mimatjni

siomatj (1964), mandarin miqduji (1964), harbadi kfu/msi ("1968) and ziuni

simatj (1986), The first Sahitya Academy Awardee in Boro Dr. Mangalsing

Hazowary is also a noted dramatrist. His dramas are: Su/mdujn (1994), a

historical drama, zaolia dewan (1991) and zujhufiao Du/imalu (1991) both

legendary dramas. Surath Narzary wrote a mythological drama namely

Sandu/baodia (1988). Katindra Swargiary’s hadanao bu/isagu (2003), Anil

Brahmah’s sintavati (2003), and Madhuram Boro’s muganifandufi (2003) are

also worth mentioning in the history of Boro drama. The one act plays were

also not less in number in this period. Nalabuha by Satish Chandra Basumatary

and lekhaguft-uftf hu/ua ariq lekhrupjuji hinzao by Ananda Muchahary are two

one act plays worth mentioning during the period of the old literature. The

tradition of writing one act plays in modem Boro literature started from the 60’s

of the last century. Kamal kumar Brahma composed the first one act play

aoaphaoa in 1963. Barnaj bibar is another one act play composed by him.

Manaranjan Lahary has seven one act plays to his credit. These plays are:

mahargirini simatj (1964), barhutjkhani unao, ratjkhini detjk* u/, hinzao

nqjnuf i'apnajao (1970), barse bibar sirinaj (1976), oronni bibar (1977), and

gaobagao lama. Janak Jhankar Narzary also composed eight one act plays.

These are: phakhonni lamajao (1965), habani mala (1965), undaha,

27
mu/nabilini hatjma, gujdan lama, baunaj bibar, and orotja litjhorphinbaj and

budujr driver.

Dr. Mangolsing Hazowary has six one act plays to his credit. His siman,

a collection of five one-act plays was published in 1982. The five plays

included in this collection were: siman, bizamadu/ini zintja, zerup sujima ufrufi

jt'okhon, mutuase p hujierni saogari and abu/u Donda Hazewni aphad. His other

play is roman hat]kf‘uj binuf i lat]anajao (1984). The other contributors to this

gener and there plays are zujmu/i doli'orse (1965) and mujnabilini detj^uj by

Nilkamal Brahma, dajasujrni (1968) by Biren Thaledder, Mono (1968) and

zoban by Arup gujra Basumatary, p hanzamuthi (1971) by Bimal Brahma

Goyary ghatakdar (1972) Lahendra Basumatary, haoriakhaphal (1973) by Rati

kanta Basumatary and barhur|kha (1973) by Aniram Basumatary. Mahesh

Kumar Basumatary contributed four one act plays to Boro literature. These are:

divana, iforf'a sik*ao gupiufi san and gujdan lama, t'a lim is a one-act play

composed by Harubhusan Brahma. Sameswar Brahma’s z,ugniphak!1onao,

gujrujniH sanaj (1997) Jay Ch. Muchahary’s dinujini zug (1978) and bihari

(1979), Mahendra Nath Boro’s sonasri (1980) Sagram Choudhury’s hatjkhuni

lamajao (1981) and bublini litfhornaj (1981), Shiva Prasad Khaklari’s Dhruba

(1982), dauntujdla (1982) by Bandhuram Basumatary, P*ujhnal (1983) by

Benu Boro, gargatjni gu/huj (1983) by Uttam Ch. Kherketari and dabrf'ani

28
emphu/u by Ajit Kumar Basumatary are some remarkable works in these regard.

In recent times more and more enthusiastic writers have taken up the

composition of more and more one-act plays. However, most of the plays are

only in manuscript form. These plays whether composed during the age of old

literature or of the new literature have the same motive and the purpose.

These are mainly

a) to entertain the general public

b) to bring social reform and

c) to picturise different problenls faced by the society.

1.12.2.3 SHORT STORY: The history of the Boro short-story started in

the third decade o f the 19th century. A short story namely Abari written by

Ishan Chandra muchahary was published in the first issue o f hathorkhihala

(1930) a magazine edited by Promod Chandra Brahma.One more short story

rotjdasiphagli composed by Promod Chandra Brahma was published in bibar a

magazine edited by Satish Chandra Basumatary. Ishan Muchahary’s abari is

considered as the first story of the Boro language. After olotjbar, the magazines

rokhaphu/r, atari, and musri arty sansri were published. Persons like Jiten

Brahma, Satish Chandra Basumatary, Prasenjeet Brahma and others published

their short stories in these magazines. With the formation of Bodo Sahitya

Sabha in 1952 there came in a revolution in the history of Boro short story.

From 1952 to 1969 there were various Boro short stories in different magazines

29
but not in book form. P^ufimal mizitj (1970) is the first Boro short-story book

written by Chitraranjan Muchahary. This is followed by another short story

book namely i'alim (1974). The important short-story books so far are:

hagra guduni miqi (1972) by Nilkamal Brahma, minisri{\914) by Sukumar

Basumatary, solo bidatj{l91%) by Manaranjan Lahari, p htju/^a(l97B) a

collection o f Boro short-stories edited by Nilkamal Brahma, gandu sitjni

laizam{\919) by Dharanidhar Wary, dukhuni deifk? u/(1980) jointly written by

Satish Basumatary and Narendralal Boro, azu/la(1980) by an organization

Halowadal Azujla Aphat, srimati Durlai(1981) by Haribhushan Brahma,

miniglab{ 1981) by Rahini kumar Brahma, soloniphut]kha (1984), and

SUitjkhar (1985) by Nilkamal Brahma, i'mjnajni dawha (1985) by Nandeswar

Daimary, soloni solo (1985) by Manaranjan Lahary, annaj{1985) by Banes war

Basumatary, hotjlaphondit{\995), raza lama{1986) and zaurikhmjnajnigibi

ajda{2000) by Katindra Swargiary, gorge p hufisa{\996) by Madhuram Boro

and Mufdufini bana{1996), gunzer(\99%), horgerniphon(209\) and khu/useni

detjl^u^2001), by Binanda Swargiary.

1.12.2.4 NOVEL: The history of Boro novel started comparatively belatedly

in the 60s of the last century. The first novel is zuzaini or (the fire of husk,

1962) by Chittaranjan Muchahary, the first novelist and the highest contributor

of novels to Boro literature so far. In zuzaini or the hero cheats a poor girl by

30
marrying another girl of a rich fmily, which has been very intolerable to the girl

of the poor family. Thus she becomes mad at last and the story ends in a

tragedy. Besides this novel Muehahary has contribution more than 20 novels to

Boro literature. These are: Bikhaja gawuf khugaja geoa (mind says but mouth

does not open, 1972), Girls’hostel (part-I, 1981 and part-II, 1982), p hulmati

(name of a girl), at] nenanu/i i'agujn (Iwill wait for you), bilii/guf (friend),

ziuni lamajao (in the way of life), oni'aini mu/dufi (the tear of stone), Callgirl,

at] nilima mupt (I was Nilima), Sarmisfa, Suzata, mu/duji (the tear), Bonosri,

gulab bibarni su (the thorn of rose), habani aslant (the marriage ring), nu/t]

atjni at] nupjni (you are mine lam yours), undaha (repentance),khaphalni

riphinaj(the writing of fore head,2004) mu/k!1/'atfziuni andujao (back ground of

real life,2005) and others. All of his novels are mainly based on love affairs

with tragic endings. Bisni lufiftt] a detective novel (the ocean o f poison, 1981)
t.

and Isadi (hints) were written by Zarap agla. A remarkable novelist is

Manaranjan Lahari who contributed k!1arlut] (the unsteadness, 1976),

hajnamuli (the medicine of love, 1985) and rebeka (1999). His novels are

traditional and based on romantic love. The other creations and the contributors

are khaphalni bu/su/n (the voice of luck, 1972), by Ramchandra Basumatary,

p hu]imal (failure) by Rajendra Nath Brahma, hatjma (sorrow, 1976) by

kamakhya BrahmaNarzari, bu/isu/ni detjtf'ui (the voice of age, 1977) by Nabin

31
Owary, zuiumuinni borosa (the dreams of youth age 1978), by Bireswar

Basumatary, Devojit, Malina arty at] (Devajit, Malina and Me, 1978) by Nabin

Malla Boro, Dufil'un (whirlpool, 1980) by Budhadev Basumatary, anomi ziu

ditja (the life boat of Anor, 1981)by Hapma, k!taphal(the luck, 1983) by Rudhir

kumar Brahma, Malati{name of a girl) and hinzaogu/dan(the bride, 1994) by

Samjeet kumar Brahma, p haguni(the name of a girl,1984)by Kanteswar

Brahma, p hakhon p h^ « ’a/i(whirepool-curtain, 1985) by Habila Basumatary,

batfgritj(the earthquake, 1985)by Bishnujyoti Kochary, Indumatini

miydu/i(tears o f Indumati,1987) by phur|roze, gu/rbuflti radaj(the negotiation of

heart, 1996) by the first women novelist Meena Kherkhatary, Sase laokt'arni

mizit]{the dream of a cowherd, 1997) by Maniram Mochary,expresident of

BoroSahitya Sabha, with a very simple and straight forward plot, ziu

gagolatjnaj sa«(the passing days of life, 1995) was written by Dhireswar

BoroNarzee, basically a lyricist. Other novels and novelists contributing to the

genre of novel of Boro literature are: borad(the luek)by Maneswar Narzari,

ziuni diqithun(thc wave of life,2001)by Hemanta Muchahary, biforai{the

bud, 1998) by Durjoy kumar Brahma, bigraj aru] dufisraj,{1992) by Thiren

Boro, orget](the volcano) by Bishtiram Wary, bat]lat]si and p hagla gouratj(the

mad Gourang river) by Ramnath Brahma, horu/i maruao (by that side of life)

and gufsu/m p huflsali (the black curtain,2002) by Aran Raza, kalyani nup\

32
«//n/(Kalyanio you are mine) and forester by Ratneswar Brahma, gu/Z'ar

/'w/w//s/,(1997)by Nagesh Narza Boro, bipluj na gfy7//f(whether force or virtue)

by Paniram Daimary, khu/inakhuber by Gopinath Muchahary, zariminni

p hu/isali{the curtain of history) by ziqqsar, zu/ij/'i olot]bar(the light pole star)

by Banzar Daimary, manzulani siddaonay The gushing out blood of

Manjula) by Diqimalu Boro Narzary, zujuphagio

(the drunkard,2002) by Amarjyoti Lahari, balonda{2002) by Manaj kumar Boro

and gotjse okhrarjni sitjao (under one sky)by Reeta Boro, SLqrmilatjnaj

Bibar(the dried flower,2003) by Diganta Lawari, at/ni sajkhoi]ao harse bibar(a

flower in my shadow,2005) by Miqnabili Brahma and others. Mujihur (the

hunting, 1980) by Dharanidhar Owary is the first regional social novel and is

considered as the novel of the highest quality in Boro language so far. It depicts

the socio-economic, cultural, and paedagogic aspect of the Boros. The novel

reflects the traditional beliefs of Boro society, food habits of people near the

protected forest area, their problems, dis-satisfaction on tribal belts and blocks

and various governments’ policies were highlighted through the novel.

Nandeswar Daimary has also a novel to his credit by name Manjubala devi

(1980). The love between a higher caste Brahmin girl and a Boro Christian

youth is depicted in this novel. The boy and the girl have deep love for each

other; but the mother and other family members of the girl stood as a barrier to

their union. Meanwhile, the girl was pregnant. So after having married her boy

33
took her to his home. In the very first night the girl enquired about the identity

of the boy’s father from their maid servant and came to know that incidentally,

he is none other than her own elder brother. She couldn’t tolerate it and

commits suicide by briefing on the case of her unnatural death through a letter.

An up and coming novelist Katindra Swargiary has contributed three novels to

Boro literature. These are: zariyuli (the name of a woman, 1999),

khiymsiniphrai su/ratjthitj (from dark to light, 2002), and sanmuikhatjari

lamazuftj (toward’s sun, 2002). His novels reflected the problems faced by the

people during the movement for a separate state o f Bodoland and it’s after-

math. The misunderstanding and the ethnic clash among the peoples living

within the proposed Bodoland area are the main plot of his novels.

1.12.2.5 CHILDREN LITERATURE: The themes o f Boro children

literature are folk songs, tales, adventure, legendary heroes, moral lessons and

the great personalities from different fields. These are either collection from

different sources or translation from other languages.

1.12.2.5.1 GREAT PERSONALITIES: The mentionable work in this

category o f children literature in Boro language are go/' ophu/rni

Radhakrishnan (Radhakrishnan for the children), MotherTeresa, Jyotiprasad

Agarwalani ziu P^iguratj (biography of Jyotiprasad Agarwala), gidir subutjni

sutjdoziu f^u/uratj (a brief life sketch of great personalities), Sankardevni ziu

34
khufuratj (Biography of sankardeva), Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma,

khon/ 1aigiri Sitanath Brahma Choudhuri, Padmashri Modaram Brahma and

kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha by Rupnarayan Basumatary; gedema Boro

zu/hu/law Bishnu Prasad Rabha(Great Boro hero Bishnu Prasad Rabha, 1995)

and Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar{ 1998) by Madhuram Boro; Go/'ophtyrni

Rupnath Ura/i/wa(Children’s Rupnath Brahma) by Mohini Mohon Brahma,

Bihuram Boro{ 1998) by Nabin Malla Boro; gothophujrni

Jawaharlal(children’s Jawaharlal) and go/ 1ophu/rni Mahatma

Gandhi{children’s Mahatma Gandhi)by Dinesh Narzary; go/'op' tyrni

LalBahadur{c\n\dxQn's Lai Bahadur) by Sikiram Brahma and go/'ophlyrni

Indira Gand 1/(children’s Indira Gandhi ) by Nagedra Brahma.

1.11.4.5.2 ADVENTURE: Abridged version of Daniel Defoe’s Rabinson

Crusoe by Phukan Chandra Basumatary namly Robinson Crusoe (2002) is

mentionable.

1.12.2.5.3 LEGENDARY HEROS: zawlia dewan by Rupnarayan

Muchahary, basiram zu/hu/law (Basiram, the hero, 1916) by Renu Boro, zaolia

dewan (2002) by Madhuram Boro, sandiy bawdia (1996) by Nilkamal Brahma

are mentionable.

1.12.2.5.4 NURSARY RHYMES: bi/*oraikhtyuratj (Little bud, 1995) by

Suniti Basumatary.

35
1.12.2.5.5 TALES: guflnu^aw solo (wonderful tales, 1998), and gubun

hadodni so/o(tales of foreign land,1998) by Madhuram Boro, milu/uduj

mahabharat (melodious Mahabharata, 1992) esopni so/o(Easop’s fable, 1998)

and by Priyodini Brahm a; kornoni solo{tales of Kama), ramajanni solo{talesof

Ramayana), mahabharatni solo,(tales of Mahabharata), pansotantrani

solo(t8L\es of panchatantra), abu/i abufuni solo(tales of grandparents), esopni

■so/o(tales of Easop), goi'oni so/o(tales of children) and gaham go/'o(good

children) by Rupnarayan Muchahary, Daini burini s<?/»(tales of old

Witch,2002)by Deubar Ramchiary; gubufl gaham a/^u^aj(good

characteristic,2001), sase simatj nunaj gofo(a. dreaming boy) by Renu Boro

are mentionable. In the above-mentioned works there are wonderful tales as

well as moral lessons. Most of them are translated from other languages.

1.12.2.5.6 CHILDREN NOVEL: Bapukan (1986), translated by Renu

Boro from Lakhinath Phukan’s Assamese writing Bapukan, etowa mundaja

dawhajaw derhabaj (Etoa Munda won the battle, 2001) from Mahasweta

Devi’s English Etoa Munda won the Battle and zupjni buhum (our world,

2003) from Sashi Sarma’s original Assamese Amar Prithivi translated by

Swamaprabha Chainary are some important novels. Besides, National Book

Tmst, India has published some books in Boro translated from English, du/fjse

Khujiphufdni solo (a tale of trouble 2002) and kf'ebse gotjse gamijaw (once in a

36
villege 2002) translated by Swaraaprabha Chainary and Begom gulabi enzor

aruj bini belun (begum gulabo mousie and her baluns 2002), birzu arm bini

birgra goraj (Birju and the flying Horse 2002) and biphatja ma (what is tree

2002) translated by Ratneswar Basumatary are some others works.

1.12.2.6 TRAVELOGUE: The introductory work on travelogue was done

by Mohini Mohon Brahma’s amerikaw dawbajnaj (Travel in America, 1981)

and sin hadu/raw dandise (Few moments in Chinal994) based on his

experience of journey to America and China. After Brahma, Nabin Malla Boro

wrote two travelogues: somnath dwarakani mu/zu/mse bisombi (a few

Memories of Somnath and Dwaraka, 1996) and sithrakhutniphraj mouni1 abu

(From Chitrakut to Mount Abu 1998). Mr Urkhaw Giqra Brahma also

contributed one travelogue to Boro literature namely helbhesijani zenebhajaw

zise son (11 Days in Geneva)

1.12.2.7 BIOGRAPHY: The pioneer work on biography was done by

Kalicharan Basumatary on the life of his Guru Kalicharan Brahma viz Samai

gumdevni bufsiyn (Preaching of Gurudev). Other biographies followed by his

were Boroni Manek (Pearls of Boro, 1970) by Mahendra Narzary, zujhuflaw

Bishnu Prashad Rabha (Hero Bishnuprasad Rabha, 1973) by Girindra

Daimary, Harini ziu : Rabichandra Kachary{ Life of the Race: Rabichandra

Kachary,1997) by Dhuparam Basumatary , Dwarendranath Basumatarini ziu

37
tf'ufuratf (Biography on Dwarendra Basumatary, 1973) by Lalmohon Brahma

& Motilal Brahma, meqruflfu/i m aw fi zu/hu/law Satish Chandra

Basumatary{Untired Hero Satish Chandra Basumatary,1977) by Dimbeswar

Narzary, Srimot Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma(l992, a biography based on the

life of Kalicharan Brahma) written by Dr. Kameswar Brahma, Raj salt eh

honorary Megistrie Mauzadar JagatMuchahary (1996) by Baneswar

Basumatary ( Jr.) , T^unlaini mawthi Bihuram 2?0ro(Literateur Bihuram Boro,

1998) by Nabin malla Boro and mutj khlotf Baliram Boro (martyr Baliram

Boro) by Jiten Boro. Besides these, the life and activities o f the great

personalities of India and abroad like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhimrao Ambedkar,

and Jawaharlal Nehru, Lalbahadur Sastri, Indira Gandhi, Maxim Gorkey, Albert

Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and others were also written and translated from

other languages into Boro.

1.12.2.8 NEWSPAPERS: The first newspaper published in Boro was

Halali (The land of the Light, 1971) from Kokrajhar. This was a weekly

newspaper jointly edited by Nilkamal Brahma and Surath Narzary. The later

weekly news papers were Bonzar (fire, inflamed in the Bundle of wood, 1972)

published from Odalguri under the editorship of Bihuram Boro, Orgetf

(volcano, 1974) published from Barama edited by Sukumar Basumatary, san

(the sun) published from Odalguri edited by Sailendra Nath Brahma and radab

(The news) published from Kokrajhar and bibutfsar (Lecture) published from

38
Odalguri in 1978, edited by Samar Brahma Choudhuri and Binay kumar

Brahma respectively. A bi-lingual (Boro-Assamese) weekly newspaper namly

gufdan khu/uratj (The new news) was published in 1985 from Guwahati under

the joint editorship of Phukan Chandra Boro and Ratneswar Basumatary.

Another bi-lingual (Boro Assamese) weekly newspaper was p hanzamuili

(Almanac) published from Gossaigaon in 1986 edited by Rupnath Muchahary.

Others weekly news papers are: T*utjgri (The Sword) published in 1988 edited

by Duqay Narzary, raphufdai (Representative of God) published from Guwahati

edited by Gajen Hazowary, horli1ab (Suddenly) published from Odalguri edited

by Khaila Kirat alias Biren Boro, Bodosa (children of Bodo) published from

Kokrajhar edited by Rabisankar Bargoyari, Sujdu/msri (civilization) published

from Odalguri by Daleswar Boro, ex-president of Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Zanali

(snow, 1992) published from kokrajhar by Jayanta kumar Mohilary, zujnphrud

(Match) from Odalguri, (Footstep) from Goreswar,Kamrup, and Bufii'a

(Oar, 1992)from Bijni by Pradip kr Daimary, Baneswar Swargiary and Rajen

Basumatary respectively, JP*tm/AAfl(source) from khoirabari, edited by Rishi

Boro, A,!u/uratfbilai(mws paper) from Dotoma, Boroland Radab(Boroland

news) from Kokrajhar edited by Suimbla Basumatary in 1993, At*ili'al from

Tongla, Darrang, Gufdan Bonzar (New Fire, Inflame on the bundle of the

wood) from Udalguri, Bodoland A*u/uratj (Bodoland Message) from Kokrajhar

in 1994edited by Ranjeet Boro, Rupnath Muchahary and Adrasing Basumatary

39
respectively, B ibui\h (Opinion, 1995) edited first by Naren Basumatary and

then by Ratneswar Basumatary published from Guwahati. 7*ulutjga

(Inspiration) and Dahal (Shield) published from Guwahati edited by Katindra

Swargiary and Ranendra Bramha respectively in 1996. All the above-mentioned

weekly neswspapers are out of print at present except the weekly Bodosa. The

present editor is Chino Basumatary .Presently one more weekly newspaper

namely Agdari (Forerunner, 2004) edited by Doleswar Boro has been brought

out from Odalguri. A daily newspaper hjkhotj (news, 2004) edited first by

Kamalsing Narzary and then by Rajen Basumatary has also been published

from Bijni. A bi-weekly newspaper edited by Rajen Basumatary was published

for a short period in the year 1997 from Bijni. Recently a daily newspaper

Bodosa (chidren of Bodo, 2006) has been published from Kokrajhar, which is

edited by Chino Basumatary.

1.12.2.9 TRANSLATION: The tradition of translation of Boro literature

started in the genre of the drama. The translations of the initial period were

basically from Bangla to Boro. The dramas translated from Bangla are:

Najphinzajufi by Satish Chandra Basumatary, raja nilambar and sukharu-

dukharu by Darendra Basumatary, mewar kumari and razpuza by Maniram

Islary and dufimali, ok?rai\ gujdan, p hujzu/bnaj mujdai hari, hinzaoni gu/huj,

phaphni bahagiq, hazu/ari hinzao hatftnasi and obotjni p hao by Bhaben

Swargiary. The literary organizations of Boros also took the initiative of the

40
publication of different translated works from various languages. Besides, some

enthusiastic personalities came forward to publish translated work from

different other languages. The following are the notable works in this direction:

1) Zaikhlot], from the original English the rainbow and translated by Naleb, 1st

publication June 1985 by Mahesh Islary.

2) Zatfkhrithaini lufgujMao setung and vietnamni zeora (1995) translated by

U.G. Brahma.

3) Omorni methai, from Adoward Fitzareld’s Rubaiyat o f Omar Khayyam and

translated by Kamal Kumar Brahma and published by N.L. Publication, 2000.

4) Bizab phorajnajni gujzujnnaj, from the original Assamese Kitap porar

ananda of Homen Borgohain, translated by Govinda Narzary and published by

the Bodo Publication Board, BSS, and Feb.2001.

S.Sase Huriani obotira siflar zanaj, from Dario’fo’s original English

Accidental death of an anarchist and published by the Bodo publication Board,

BSS, 26th Feb 2001.

6) Nujithi mulug daolui, from Dhrabajyoti Bora’s original Assamese Ditiya

vishwa yuddha, translated by Harinarayan Khakiary and published by Bodo

Publication Board, BSS, and Feb.2001.

7) Buhumni gibi somtji sumjdo zarimin, translated by Harinarayan Khakiary

and Published by Bodo Publication Board, BSS, 2002 from Jawaharlal Nehru’s

Letters from a father to his daughter.

41
8) Ziuni belasijao, from the original Assamese Ostorag of Homen Borgohain,

translated by Uthrisar khungur Basumatary and published by Bode Publication

Board, BSS, 2002.

9) Boro-Kacharini somaz arm harimu, taken from the original Assamese

Boro-Kacharir samaj aru sanskriti, of Bhaben Narzee, translated by Govinda

Basumatary and Gohin Basumatary, published by Bodo Publication Board,BSS.

10) P^orasi zatjkf'rii'ai, from the original Assamese P'orasi biplob of

Dr.Dhrubajyoti Bora, published by Bodo Publication Board, BSS, 2002,

translated by Uthrisar Khungur Basumatary.

11) Sase bufl-ai arm lu/i^m, from Amest Hemingway’s original English ‘The

old man and the sea’, translated by Dr. Anil Boro and published by the Bodo

Publication Board, BSS, 2002.

12) Omorni gmzmnphuri translated by Kanakeswar Narzary.

13) Smlo Smlai, a collection of short stories translated from Assamese into

Boro and edited by Madhuram Boro.

14) gmdan Boro funlai, from Anil Boro’s original Assamese Adhunik Boro

sahitya, translated by Uthrisar Khungur Basumatary, publishrd by Ansumuii

Library, Kokrajhar, 2003.

1.12.2.10 FILM: The first full-length feature film Alayaran (the dawn) in

Boro language was released in 1984. It was directed by zuipdaw Bodosa alias

Pradeep Brahma and was produced from Kokrajhar.The film in Boro after

42
Alajaran are: ziuni simatj (Dreams of life, 1987) based upon the story written

by Kamal Kr. Brahma, K* u/ntsi lama (Dark path, 1991) a full length feature

film based upon the story of Kamakhya Brahma Narzary, Hagramajao

zinahari{ rape of the virgin forest, 1995) produced by Zurndaw Bodosa which

won the national award and Guidan lama produed by film Division Government

of India, and directed by ZujTjdaw Bodosa in 2001. Besides these Sotjgali (the

spy) based upon the story of Nilkamal Brahma produed by Gu|urar| Film

Production, kokrajhar, directed by Khanindra Bodosa was released in 2002.

1.12.2.11 VIDEO FILM: The first video film in Boro

zariminnipf otjlf oriCzves of History) was released 1985 under the auspices of

Kokrajhar district ABSU. Garla Batha Basumatary directed it. Video films

produced by Mala Daimary under the Banner of Daimary video Film

production are Gu/rbu/ni miz.it] (desire of heart, 1993), It*1ithirni or (fire of

revenge), habila(deslre), /*a#/wa(repentance), nu/ijni fakl'aj ar\ni ziynujm (my

birth for you), onnaj mUfzatj mtl/nnaj(lovQ and affection, 1999), hasthajnaj

gUfs^/(desiring mind,2000) thutjgenaj dara (block gateway,2001) and ben u[tlo

sot]sar(this is the World, 2002). Besides these, some other video films are:

onnajni radaj (commitment of love, 1991) by Pameswar Boro under the banner

of Barlampha Film production Society, habilasa mufltse mizit](Desire is a

dream, 1997) by Gautom Boro and su/ratjni lama (ways of light, 2000) by

43
Kamal Bhushan Boro under the banner of Alari Si^raT] Film Production and

Udkhari (in 2001) released from Dotoma, Kokrajhar.

1.13 BORO CULTURE: The Boros have a rich culture and tradition. They

have their own faith and religion, festivals, dances and traditional dresses etc.

1.13.1 FAITH AND RELIGION: The Boro people believe ‘B a t'W as

the Chief deity o f the Boros. Bathou has several names. One of them is ‘khu|ria’

or ‘k uiriabiqrai’, which means the source of all creation, while it signifies the

five mysteries of the universe - Earth, Air, Water, Ether and Fire. The belief of

the Boros in these five elements is expressed in the following dictums:

‘Sijuju a gororiba’ (the Euphorbia splendents has five ridges)

‘Thaigimi bikhorja khor|ba’ (Chalita fruits has five flakes)
‘SipVrjni gudupa guduTjba’ (the flute has five holes)
‘Bathii|uni banduja banduiba’ (the alter of bathou has five ties)
‘Boro buirami raoabtq p opba’ (the word uttered by ‘Boro buirai’ is also five)
t . u

The Bat ou is also believed by the Boros as the ‘raqras i’ (creator),

EE E
‘Mo)it a azi’ (Preserver or protector), and ‘Barigopt am’ (Destroyers)
1.13.2 RELIGIOUS GROUP: The cBathou’ is the oldest religion of the

Boros. There are chiefly four major religions that are prevailing in the present

day Boro society. These are:

(a) The Bathufu Religion (b) the Brahma (c) the Christian and (d) the

Vaishnavite Sarania

44
1.13.3 RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL: The Kherai is the main religious

festival of the Boros. During B^erai and Garja all the Boro gods and goddesses

are worshipped along with B a/lou according to their position. The worship of

Kherai and its music and dance are very much social in nature. Kherai music and

dance are no longer confined to worship alone but have extended their sphere to

different social function and have tremendous influence on the Boro

community. It has given birth to rich music, dance, art and philosophy and has

bestowed civilization on them. B^erai dances are performed to please the holy

Bai'ou bu/rai and other gods and goddesses. Two holy persons, a du/uri and a

du/udini, remain as the holy custodians of puja under the guidance of the oja (a

medicine man) and they perform all the religious rites.

Du/udini performs all the item of Kheraipuja while she is helped by the

du/uri (the oja) and a gifaL

The Boro people belong to the Bai1u/u religion perform this puja on

some specific occasions.

1.13.3.1 KHERAI PUJA: There are four kinds o f Kherai puja

(I) darsan Kherai

L

(II) umrao K erai

(III) phalo Kherai

(IV) noaoni Kherai (Domestic Kherai)

45
1.13.3.2 THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS USED: During ‘Kherai

puja’ some musical instruments are used i.e.

(I) kham (dram) - a pair

(II) zotha (cymbal)
(III) siphurj (A long flute of bamboo) -- a pair
(IV) thur|ri (sword)-a pair
(V) dhal or dahal (shield) - one or a pair
1.13.3.3 DANCE FORM OF KHERAI PUJA: There are some dance

forms of Kherai puja. These are -

(I) Bathou gidirjnay

(II) sothrali

(III) Khaphri sibnai

(IV) K u|izujma p onai

(V) Gandujula buinnai

(VI) Sagujlao bonai

(VII) Muphur gelenai

(VIII) Nao bujnai

(IX) Khamao barkhu|nai

(X) Dao thujiluinnai

(XI) Mti|sakhaori miqsanai

(XII) Maozi merjbrar| gelenai etc

46
1.13.3.4 GARJA PUJA: The Garja puja is also another religious festival

of the Boros. The word Garja bears the meaning of ‘expulsion’. Garja or

garjanai or garnai means expulsion or discharging anything in Boro. The

system of Garja puja where the evil gods are expelled is called bhasainai or

bhasani (floating away in the river or a stream). Generally, harmful god and

goddesses who are believed to create diseases are expelled from a certain

village or area by performing the Garja puja. The Boros perform the Garja

puja to purify themselves as well as the village after any seasonal festival etc.

Such beliefs of the Boros help in maintaining sacredness and purity among

them.

1.13.3.5 SEASONAL FESTIVAL: The main social festival of the Boros

is Bu/isagu. The word Bu/isagu according to some Boro scholars is the

combination of two words i.e Bu/isu/ means age or year and agu means pre or

beginning. Hence, Bu/isagu means beginning of the year or age. The Boros of

the district of Kamrupa and Darrang call the Bu/isagu as Bihu like their

neighboring Assamese people. According to Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the word

Bihu is derived from Boro words bi means to beg something like alms and hu

or hu/ means to give what is begged. Thus, the Bihu means paying respect to

the Gurus or elderly persons by the younger ones and receiving of love and

affection from them in return. During the ‘Bwisagu’ festival the young boys and

girls beg alms from door to door singing and dancing in tune of some traditional

47
musical instruments. The young boys and girls arrange feasts with the goods

they get as alms at the end of Bufisagu festival.

Moreover, Magutdomasi festival is also observed in the junction of two

months Push-Magh months. This is also a popular agriculture based festival

prevailing among the Boros. The characteristics of this harvest festival are to

enjoy different types of food, like p'ii'as or cakes to entertain the friends and

relatives with food and drinks and enjoy songs and dances.

Another harvest festival of the Boros is Kharti-gasa saonai. This festival

is observed on the last day of the month of Ahin. This festival is observed by

the Boro very simply, by burning at the alter of Bathu/u, goli at the cowshed

and Bakhri at the granary in the evening of the last day of Ahin (Assamese

month). Usually the unmarried girls of the Boro families go to the paddy field

with long bamboo stick seoari polished with mustard oil and they are to touch

the paddy plants with this stick. By doing this the Boros believe that the paddy

plants would bear large scale o f paddy.

1.13.3.6 DANCE: The Boros have several types of dance form. fi^erai dance

is the religious dance performed during the B^eraipuja. The Bagurumba dance

is a folk dance of the Boros. Only the girls participate in this dance. There are

also some dance forms related with wedding ceremony of the Boros.

1.13.3.7 DRESS: The Boros have their own traditional dress. It is not an

exaggeration that the Boro women are expert in weaving. The Boro women

48
wear the colorfully designed traditional dress called dolfona and p hasra. The

Boro women ties dokhona round the chest just below the armpit that hangs to

the toe. The plain ‘dokhona’ is called Salamai'a and if it is ornamented then it

is called dokhona i 1ansi. Doli1onai1ausi is essential during the marriage

ceremony. The bride and bufirai'i are to wear do/^onathausi compulsorily

during marriage ceremony. There are many popular designs of dok ona. Among

them the most common are p harwu megon (design of pigeon eye), daothu godo

(design of dove neck), pahar agor (design of hills scenery), mufider agan

(design of elephant foot print) etc. The orange, yellow and the sky coulors are

the most favorite coulor of the Boro women. The Boro women of Kamrup,

Darrang and Nagaon districts use ip hufl,latj’o f mek^ela’. The Boro men wear

‘gamsa" which hangs down to the knees from the loin and wrap their head with

‘Aronai' During winter season they use to wrap the body with a wrapper of

cotton or endi spun which is called zu/mgra. They also use a kind of coat of

cotton or endi. The Boro women use very few common ornaments made of

silver and gold. Ingthi, p hulk!'uri, id1era or iferu, Jap\ilring (ear-ring), taliglura

or dul, boula (for upper ear), p u ili etc are used for ear. For nose they use

Nalak, Naka-phul and Bulaki etc. For the neck they use Lu/, Mala, Sandrahar,

Bisahar, T*anka-siri, Jibou-zin-siri etc. For the hand they use Mui'a, Asan-

kl'era, Magar, Asan-suri etc and for the finger they use Aslant.

49
1.13.3.8 FOOD HABITS OF THE BOROS: Rice is the major diet of
the Boro people but this is supplemented by a plentiful supply of vegetables.
The Boro have their various indigenous food habits. Boro people are fond of
non-vegetarian food item. They also like to have dried fish and meat. In Boro
social custom, beef is strictly prohibited as food item. The iNaphani! is a
delicious item of Boro food habit. It is made of pounded dried fish. There is a
special process of preparation. Firstly a sufficient quantity of dried fish is
pounded with some quantity of stems of arum and stored it in a bamboo tube
and the mouth of the bamboo tube covers tightly with the leaves of plantain and
plastered with mud. It can be preserved for one year onwards. There are some
L l.

traditional delicious food item like- Na-bat wn, onla-k arwi, dauzwng-sobay
L L L L

wngk rwi, samuzwng sobay wngk rwi, wNk rwi gwbab, mwit azwng na
wngk rwi etc. The Boros are accustomed of collecting wild vegetables from the
forest, besides their production at home. The different bitter and sour taste
vegetables like ‘dujusrem’ (a small creeper of sour taste), lapha sail^o (a plant
of sour taste), ztt/glauri (a scented plant), sihru (a kind o f thorny plant), mai'i
galdab (a kind of plant), lonthi (a kind of plant), khungkha (a plant o f bitter
taste), gangamala (a small plant), oni'aihazab (a scented small plant) are used
very promptly as vegetables. The Boros use rice-beer that is called zufu or
zumay for social functions and to welcome their guests. This has become their
traditional custom. The zu/u or zumaj (rice -beer) prepared from steeping rice
in water for two or three days and the zumaj-gupan (distilled liquor) prepared
from ‘zumaj1 by distillation. It is perfectly coulorless and has a strong pungent
taste, redolent of smoke and something is common with very strong whisky.
The rice beer has great importance in the Boro society besides its use in the
social functions. It is also offered to the Bathwu bwrai, the chief God and other
gods and goddesses during puja, festival and ceremonies. The Boro people are
very fond of meat and fish. Meat is an essential item for the guest in the Boro

50
society. They dry fish and meat of pork, deer etc and preserve for a long time.
Dried meat and fish are called bedor gu/ran and na-gtyrant respectively.
1.13.3.9 MARRIAGE SYSTEM OF THE BOROS: Marriage is one
of the important social ceremonies of the Boros. In Boro it is known as ‘Haba
The term ‘Haba’ is a combination of two words i.e. ‘ha’ means soil or earth
and ‘ba’ means bearing something on the back. It means, by marriage both the
bride and groom should have to bear heavy social responsibilities in their
conjugal life. The Boros are very particular to the ceremonies, customs and
laws related to marriage. Traditionally they have different marriage systems.
These are:
1. SujT]nanu}i lainai haba

2. Gujrjia lak inay haba

3. Kharsonnai haba

4. Bujnanit|i lainai haba

5. Dujnkharlar|ai haba

6. Dorjkha habnai haba

1.13.3.9.1 Sll|1|NANLL|I LABU|NAJ HABA: The ‘siqngnaniiii

labujnaj haba’ or arranged marriage is the most common socially accepted

marriage o f the Boros. According to this custom, the guardian of the

bridegroom selects the bride and the marriage is arranged after negotiation.

Some customs are performed during the marriage ceremony by both of the

families. The groom essentially gives bride price to the bride’s family. It was an

51
expensive one in ancient days. Some times a bridegroom or his parent is unable

to pay the bride price according to the demand by bride’s parent. In this case,

usually the young boy has to give personal service in the house of the bride’s

parent. The period of the service is a matter of agreement between the parents

of the bride and bridegroom. After the end of the agreement of service period,

the young boy is free to depart or return to his house. Now a day, the bride price

is no longer compulsory.

1.13.3.9.2 GltjRZIA LAKHINAI HABA: This type of marriage is seen

rare; however, it does take place. This type of marriage system is celebrated in a

family those who have only daughters. To inherit the family’s property an

intended guardian may ask a young boy to get married to his daughter. But as a

social custom the boy has to stay in the bride’s family and he must proof his

skill in domestic and agricultural activities. The marriage is arranged if the

youth can satisfy members of the family of the bride with his character and

activities. When the bridegroom leaves his family and relatives he must socially

declare that he does not belong to them any more. Thus the family of the bride

also gives him social right with a document to inherit the family property. By

social recognition he becomes a member of the bride’s family.

1.13.3.9.3 KHARSONNAI HABA: This type o f marriage takes place

when a girl loves a youth and if the parents do not agree with the bride’s

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exuberance and delay the arrangement of the marriage. In spite of her family’s

hindrance, the girl goes willingly to the home of her beloved. The consent of

the parents is not taken into consideration for such a marriage. Society frowns

upon such marriage but they tolerat.

1.13.3.9.4 BU|NANUjI LABU|NAI HABA: It is a peculiar type of

marriage that prevailed in the ancient days. A bride is forcefully taken away to

the house of the bridegroom and after that the marriage is solemnized. In this

system, no consent is necessary of the bride’s parent. This type of marriage

system is called ‘buinanuji labtqnai haba’. In ancient days, this type of marriage

was occurred in the society but at present, it is not socially accepted and

recognized.

1.13.3.9.5 DU|NKHARLAT|NAI HABA: The ‘duinkharlarinai haba’ or

elopement marriage is not socially accepted marriage of the Boros. Mutual

understanding of the bride and bridegroom is enough for this marriage.

1.13.3.9.6 DOTJKHA HABNAI HABA: This type of marriage is very

rare in Boro society. This is a socially recognized marriage system. In Boro

society, a man can marry a widow. They are recognized as husband and wife

according to the social custom. This marriage is called ‘Dopk a habnai haba’. In

Boro society, a widow can re-marry any person who is not related to her. Of

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course, she loses the authority of the property of her diceased husband. Some

time, the widow is allowed to take the female child of her diceased husband

along with her newly married husband. Some other restrictions are followed

strictly in this type re-marriage. A widow may be allowed re-marry her diceased

husband’s younger brother but she is not allowed to re-marry the elder brother

of the diceased husband. Similarly the widower may be allowed to re-marry his

diceased wife’s younger sister but not the elder.

1.14 AREA OF THE STUDY: In this work, an attempt has been made to

analyze the dialect groups of the Boro language. All these areas will be

analyzed from the linguistic point of view. Chiefly variations of all the dialect

groups will be taken into consideration. The phonological, morphological and

lexical features are very interesting and striking ones. The dialect of the western

region is accepted and socially recognized as standard language of the Boros. In

comparison to this dialect, the dialects of the eastern and the southern regions of

the Brahmaputra valley are peculiar and show certain particular characteristics

in case of phonology, morphology, lexis and syntactic levels. The Western

dialect comprises the districts of Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Chirang.

The Eastern dialect comprises the districts of Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Bagsa,

Darrang, Odalguri, Sanitpur, Nowgaon, Jorhat and Golaghat. The Southern

Boro dialect comprises the district of Goalpara (partially from Krishnai- Agia to

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Dudhnoi sub-division) and particularly partial part of Kamrup district (from

Boko-Chaygaon to Rani Area).

1.15 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY: The proposed study carries

highly pedagogic values besides the sociological points of view. These types of

study will help us to know sufficiently about the structures of a language.

Further, these will also help us in gathering the historical information of a

language. On the other hand, the study will also highlight the system of

acculturation and diffusion of the linguistic perametres and literary heritage of

the concerned community.

1.16 METHODOLOGY: In this analysis dialectical variations occurring in

phonological, lexical and grammatical levels will be taken into account. The

study mainly depends upon an empirical fieldwork. The primary data are

collected from the native speakers during the field study. Besides, different

books, journals and other important information are collected as secondary

sources. Necessary data are collected from male and female informants of

different ages. Equipments like tape-recording system is applied for

documentation of linguistic data and assessing the proper pronunciation of

linguistic material wherever necessary. Fieldwork is done in all areas mentioned

above.

55 h