Buli (

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of north-eastern

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

whose existence is attested during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. The population of Buli, the Bulayas, were organised into a (an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

), presently referred to as the Buli Republic.

Location

The territory of the Bulayas was located near

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

, and their neighbours were the

Brāhmaṇa The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within eac ...

tribe of Veṭhadīpa- Droṇagrāma. The capital city of the Bulayas was the city of

Allakappa Allakappa was, in Buddhist tradition, one of the eight republics to whom were given the relics of the Buddha upon his death, or Parinirvana.Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p.140-174 Initially, the relics had been kept exclusi ...

Name

The exact origin of the name of the Buli tribe is unknown, although it might have been derived from the Sanskrit root ( sa, बुल्), meaning to "cause to sink" or "to submerge." The name of the Bulaya capital of Allakappa might have been a compound of the terms , meaning "moist" or "wet," and ( in Sanskrit), meaning "anything made with a definite object in view" or "that which is fit and suitable." The name would thus have meant "suitably damp" or "almost damp."

History

The Bulayas became

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

during the life of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, and after he passed away and was cremated in the city of

Kusinārā Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''. Etymo ...

, the Bulayas sent a messenger to the Mallakas of Kusinārā to demand a share of his relics.

Political and social organisation

Republican institutions

The Bulayas were a tribe organised into a (an

The Assembly

Like the other , the ruling body of the Buli republic was an Assembly of the elders who held the title of s (meaning "chiefs").

The Council

The Assembly met rarely, and the administration of the republic was instead in the hands of the Council, which was a smaller body of the Assembly, whose members were elected from the assembly. The Council met more often than the Assembly.

The Consul

The Bulaya Assembly elected for life a consul who held the title of ("chief of Alakappa"). The consul administered the republic with the assistance of the Assembly and Council.

References

Sources

* {{refend Ancient peoples of India Ancient peoples of Nepal Gaṇa saṅghas