Tai Khamyangs, Assam. (တဲးၵံးယၢင်းတီႈမိူင်းဢꩬၢမ်//ชาวไทคำยาง, อัส

The history of the Tai-Khamyangs after crossing the Patkai hills begin with the division of the tribe into two sections; namely, the Maan Nam or Pani Nora (Low Land Nora) and Maan Loi or Dum Nora (Upper land Nora). In 1780 a.d they reached the Tai khamti settlements of 'Nam-Soom' or Tengapani, where they lived for four years. During the weak rule of the Ahom King, Gaurinath Singha (1780-95) the Khamtis tried to overpower the local authority of Sadiya tract. As the Tai-Khamyangs had a close relationship with the Khamtis, they joined with the Khamtis in the revolt against the Ahoms and it was conquered in 1794. Thereafter, the Tai-Khamyangs began to live in the Sadiya region with the Khamtis under the chieftain of khamti chief Chowpha Mu Ngan Lung. But a conflict took place during the reign of Kamleshwar Singha, when the Khamtis under the leadership of Chowpha Mu Ngan Lung came down with hostile intentions at Nibok on the north bank of Brahmaputra river. The Ahom army defeated and captured the Khamtis along with a large number of Tai-Khamyangs. Sometimes after the king and the Buragohain (minister) of the Ahoms considered the case of the captives. It was decided that "they should not be beheaded but they should be established". Orders were passed to erect temples for the residence of Tai-Khamyang Buddhist monks near the Simaluguri Parghat of the Disai river.

The Tai Man-Nam (khamyang) :

As we have mentioned that the Tai-Khamyangs had two sections namely the Maan Nam or Pani Nora (Low Land Nora) and Maan Loi or Dum Nora (Upper land Nora). The section of Man-nam subgroup in 1798 a.d under the leadership of Chownoi Kangkham Thaomueang reached Jorhat and requested the old king Gaurinath Singha for the purpose of settlement. The old king established them on the bank of Dhali river near Titabar town. As the Tai-Khamyang chief Chownoi Kangkham Thaomueang belongs to the Thao-mueang or Gohain clan (which is actually a status or rank, introduced by the Ahoms) so the king awarded him the 'Bosa-Rajkhowa'. As many as 120 families of this people stayed at Titabar ghat for about thirty five years. During those days, the third burmese invasion took place in 1822-23. The burmese army under the leadership of Mingi Maha Bandoola, who was sent by the ruler Bagyidaw in Burma (now Myanmar), defeated the forces of the Ahom king, Chandrakanta Singha in April 1822 and occupied the last capital Jorhat of the Ahom Kingdom. During those days Bandoola visited the Man-nam village on the bank of Dhali river. He donated there to the local people a statue of Lord Buddha (Su Taung Pei Payagyi), the golden scripture (Kama Vasa), a burmese lacquered box, a religious umbrella and a pair of red robes (Civara). All these objects have been preserved by the Man-nam people (khamyang) since then with utmost care.

Then Robert Bruce, the British adventurer found the place fertile and suitable for tea plantation and tried to drive away the people from the place. When the people resented the proposal at first, he announced imposition of revenue on the land belonging to the Man-nam people there. Fearing heavy taxation by the British rulers, the common people in 1829 fled to Era gaon (near present Balijan village of Titabar town) and settled there. But a great plague broke out in the village and claimed a number of lives. In 1865 people deserted the Era gaon after the plague and reestablished a village called Pani-Nara Gaon (Man Tai Man Nam) and resided there for about twenty years. Thereafter, some Man-nam people in 1885 fled to various places in Golaghat and Sibsagar districts of Assam. The remaining people founded a new village called Khamjang Nara Gaon (the present Na-Shyam village) and during 1885-90 it fragmented into three villages 'Na-Shyam gaon, Balijan gaon and Betbari gaon'. The Na-Shyam village was established in 1886 and it is now so called the ancestral village of the Tai-Khamyang community.

-C.K Tunkhang.

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