The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) was the 18th century uprising in
Ahom kingdom of present-day
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
that began as power struggle between the
Moamorias (''Mataks''), the adherents of the Moamara
Sattra
Satras are institutional centers associated with the Ekasarana tradition of Vaishnavism, largely found in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions. Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and ...
, and the
Ahom kings. This uprising spread widely to other sections of Ahom kingdom including disgruntled elements of the Ahom aristocracy leading to two periods in which the Ahom king lost control of the capital. Retaking the capital was accompanied by a massacre of subjects, leading to a steep depopulation of large tracts. The Ahom king failed to retake the entire kingdom; a portion in the north-east, Bengmara (modern-day
Tinsukia district
Tinsukia district () is one of the 34 administrative districts in the state of Assam, India. The district headquarters is located at Tinsukia city. The district occupies an area of 3790 km2.
Towns
*Digboi
*Doom Dooma, Doomdooma
*Jagun
*Kako ...
), became known as ''
Matak Rajya
Matak rajya or Matak kingdom was a 19th-century autonomous region within the Ahom kingdom in Assam. It was governed by the ''Barsenapati'' ("Great General").
History
This autonomous region was established by an agreement in 1805 between the Purnan ...
'' ruled by a newly created office called ''Borsenapati'', became a tribute-paying but virtually independent territory.
The
Ahom kingdom emerged from the rebellion much weakened. About one half of the population of the kingdom perished and the economy was totally destroyed. The weakened Ahom kingdom fell to a
Burmese invasion which ultimately led to
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
by the British.
Background
This rebellion was primarily among the
Moamoria
The Moamoria (also Matak) were the adherents of the egalitarian, proselytizing Mayamara Satra of 18th-century Assam, who initiated the Moamoria rebellion against the Ahom kingdom in the 18th century. The rebellion weakened the Ahom kingdom to su ...
''Paiks'' against the
Ahom kingdom. The Moamorias were the followers of the Moamaria sattra that was predominantly
Morans (the mainstay of the Ahom militia), but there were also the
Sonowal Kacharis
The Sonowal Kachari ( as, Xonowāl Kosāree) are one of the indigenous peoples of the state of Assam in Northeast India. They are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and are closely associated with the other ethnic groups of Assam which are commonly refe ...
(gold-washers),
Chutia
The Chutia people (Pron: or ''Sutia'') are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was ...
s (expert archers and matchlockmen), professional castes such as Hiras (potters),
Tantis (weavers),
Kaibartas (fishermen),
Bania (artisans) and
Ahom Ahom may refer to:
*Ahom people, an ethnic community in Assam
* Ahom language, a language associated with the Ahom people
*Ahom religion, an ethnic folk religion of Tai-Ahom people
*Ahom alphabet, a script used to write the Ahom language
* Ahom kin ...
nobles and officers. The rising popularity of Moamoria sattra had siphoned off the power of orthodox Hindu groups and
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...
sect which supported the Ahom kings. The sattras provided refuge for those seeking to escape the
Paik system
The ''Paik'' system was a type of corvee labour system on which the economy of the Ahom kingdom of medieval Assam depended. In this system, adult and able males, called ''paiks'' were obligated to render service to the state and form its militia ...
under which, any able-bodied person who was not a Brahmin or a noble could be used for labour, services or conscripted into the army. The
Ahom kingdom was entering a crisis, as the
Paik system
The ''Paik'' system was a type of corvee labour system on which the economy of the Ahom kingdom of medieval Assam depended. In this system, adult and able males, called ''paiks'' were obligated to render service to the state and form its militia ...
on which the state was based was unable to adapt to the changing economy and the emerging social classes. The rise of the sattras was one of the reason for the leakage of manpower from the Paik system, and as a result the Ahom kingdom and the sattras came into increasing conflict. Moamara sattra belonged to the non-conformist
Kala-samhati sect that competed against the royalist sattras belonging to other sects. The Ahom kingdom watched the growth of this sattra with discomfort and heaped insult and repression on the followers of this sattra. The Moamoria Rebellion started during the reign of
Swargadeo Lakshmi Singha
Sunyeophaa also Lakshmi Singha (1769–1780), previously known as Kalsiliya Gohain, was an Ahom king. After Rajeswar Singha's death, he married Queen Kuranganayani and became the king of the Ahom kingdom. Shortly after he was installed he bec ...
and ended during the reign of Swargadeo
Kamaleswar Singha
Suklingphaa (ruled 1795–1811), or Kamaleswar Singha, was a king of the Ahom kingdom. He came to power when he was a toddler, and died in his teens during a small pox epidemic. The ''de facto'' ruler during his reign was Purnanada Burhagoha ...
. It continued up to 36 years, from 1769 to 1805.
In the course of time, the Moamoria guru compromised with the Ahom rulers and the rebels drew inspiration from magico-religious cult of night worshipers, a mixture of tribal fertility rites and
Tantrism
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...
.
Sattra-Ahom conflict
Srimanta Sankardeva established the
Mahapuruxiya Dharma in the 16th century, a proselytizing religion that opened itself to all including the Muslims and tribesmen. The religion provided opportunities for social and economic improvements to common tribesmen, and the sattras provided a safe haven from mandatory labor under the
Paik system
The ''Paik'' system was a type of corvee labour system on which the economy of the Ahom kingdom of medieval Assam depended. In this system, adult and able males, called ''paiks'' were obligated to render service to the state and form its militia ...
.
The Ahom rulers saw a threat and Sankardeva himself had to escape to the
Koch kingdom
The Kamata Kingdom (pron: ˈkʌmətɑ) emerged in western Kamarupa probably when Sandhya, a ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE. Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, ...
during the reign of
Suklenmung to avoid persecution. A later king,
Prataap Singha
Susenghphaa or Pratap Singha (), was the 17th and one of the most prominent kings of the Ahom kingdom. As he was advanced in years when he became king, he is also called the ''burha Raja'' (Old king). His reign saw an expansion of the Ahom ...
, demolished the Kalabari and Kuruabahi sattras and his successors followed a similar policy of oppression. Jayadhwaj Singha reversed this policy and his successors up to Sulikphaa Lora Roja tried to come to terms with the sattras. This policy was again reversed during the reign of
Gadadhar Singha
Supaatpha also, Gadadhar Singha (reign 1681–1696) established the rule of the Tungkhungia clan of the Ahom kings that ruled the Ahom kingdom till its climactic end. He was the son of Gobar Roja, a descendant of Suhungmung, and who had becom ...
, who began persecuting the sattras. His son,
Rudra Singha
Sukhrungphaa (reigned 1696–1714), or Swargadeo Rudra Singha, was a Tungkhungia ahom king and 30th king of the Ahom kingdom under whom the kingdom reached its zenith of power and glory, he is considered as the most illustrious of the Ah ...
tried to isolate the more liberal—and thus most threatening to the Ahom state—of the non-Brahmin sattras by encouraging the Brahmin sattras. When he realized this policy was not bearing fruit, he initiated a policy to accord state support to saktism, the historical and theological ''bete noire'' of the Mahapuruxiya dharma, to contain further sattra influence. This led to more persecutions, the most notable under Bor Roja Phuleshwari Kunwonri during the reign of
Siva Singha
Sutanphaa also Siva Singha was a king of Assam who reigned from 1714 to 1744 A.D. He was the eldest son of Rudra Singha. Siva Singha was with his dying father at Guwahati, who then proceeded to the capital Rangpur where he ascended to the th ...
. This unresolved conflict finally exploded into the Moamoria rebellion in the 18th century that so weakened the Ahom kingdom that it collapsed in the 19th century.
First phase
On September 15, 1769, Ragh Neog, a leading disciple of the sattra, was flogged by Ahom officials for not supplying the required number of elephants. By November, the Mataks led by Ragh Neog, Naharkhora Saikia and his two wives Radha and Rukmini, promised the throne to three Ahom princes (Mohanmala, a brother, and two others, nephews of Lakshmi Singha the king) and with their help liberated the territory north of the
Burhidihing river. On November 21, 1769 the rebels occupied the Ahom capital and placed Ramananda, son of Naharkhora, on the throne. The Ahom king,
Lakshmi Singha
Sunyeophaa also Lakshmi Singha (1769–1780), previously known as Kalsiliya Gohain, was an Ahom king. After Rajeswar Singha's death, he married Queen Kuranganayani and became the king of the Ahom kingdom. Shortly after he was installed he bec ...
, was captured and kept a prisoner. All high officers were executed and three common Mataks became the three great Gohains. Ragh Neog became the
Borbarua
Borboruah ( Ahom language: ''Phu-Ke-Lung'') was one of the five (councillors) in the Ahom kingdom, a position created by the Ahom king Prataap Singha in 1621. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the A ...
, a ''kanri paik'' became the
Borphukan
Borphukan ( Ahom language: ''Phu-Kan-Lung'') was one of the five (councillors) in the Ahom kingdom, a position that was created by the Ahom king Prataap Singha. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the ...
and two common Ahoms became the Gohains at
Sadiya
Sadiya is a town in Tinsukia district, Assam. It was the capital of the Chutia Kingdom and after the downfall of the kingdom it became the seat of the ''Sadiya-khowa-Gohain'' of the Ahom kingdom. Extensive remains of buildings and fortificati ...
and Marangi.
The rebels, inexperienced in statecraft, failed to usher in a new order. Instead, they began imitating the unpopular practices of their erstwhile leaders. Ragh Neog seized the wives and daughters of many nobles and kept them in his harem. As some of the rebel officers took on the airs of the old nobility, many rebels were dissatisfied and, led by Govinda Gaoburha, left the capital and reached Sagunmuri. Taking advantage of this, some of the old nobility killed Ragh on April 14, 1770 with the help of
Kuranganayani
Kuranganayani was a Manipuri princess and daughter of Jai Singh, she was married to Rajeswar Singha.
She killed Moamoria
The Moamoria (also Matak) were the adherents of the egalitarian, proselytizing Mayamara Satra of 18th-century Assam, who ...
, an Ahom queen from
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
, and retook the capital. In the purge that followed, Ramananda the rebel king, Naharkhora, Radha, Rukmini, Astabhujdev, the Moamara sattradhikar and his son Saptabhuj were all executed.
After the capital was recaptured the remaining rebel forces in Sagunmuri under Govinda Gaoburha attempted to overthrow the king again. This movement too had the signs of a popular uprising. The main weapons used by the rebels were bamboo staves and clubs, and their slogan was ''praja-oi joroiroa, chekani-oi sopai dhora'' ("Ye oppressed subjects, hold your stave close"), and this uprising was called ''chekani kubua ron'' ("The war of the staves"). In one of the engagements, the Borpatrogohain and the Dhekial Phukan were killed, and the Borgohain made a hair breath escape. The rebels advanced toward Rangpur and they were met at Thowra by the forces of the Burhagohain, the new Borpatrogohain, the Borgohain and a detachment cavalry from the Manipur king. In this battle the rebels were defeated; Govinda Gaoburha was captured and executed,
Some rebels then retreated deep into jungles and continued guerilla warfare under leaders like Lephera, Parmananda and others. An initial royalist force under the Na-Phukan and the Deka-Phukan was defeated, but a later force under the Borpatrogohain was able to eliminate Lephera and Parmananda. Subsequently, the Burhagohain began systematically destroying the villages and killing the remaining leaders; in a siege many rebels and their families died of starvation. The remaining people were then separated and settled at different places. One of the last holdouts, Nomal, was finally captured and executed.
This ended the first phase of the Moamoria rebellion.
Second phase
In April 1783, an armed group of rebels attacked
Rangpur and
Garhgaon
Gargaon (Pron:/gɑ:ˈgɑ̃ʊ/) is a town in Assam, India and was the capital of the Ahom kingdom for many years. It was built by the Ahom king Suklenmung (Gargoyaan Rojaa) in 1540. It is said that the capital was built at the suggestion of ...
. The rebels were repulsed and a general massacre of Morans followed that continued for a month and a half.
![Post Medieval Coin, Rupee from Assam (FindID 469667)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Post_Medieval_Coin%2C_Rupee_from_Assam_%28FindID_469667%29.jpg)
In 1786 Harihar Tanti raised an army of Moamarias and Dafla-Bahatiyas. A contingent of the rebels freed Pitambar, a grandson of the late Moamara sattradhikar, who was in the custody of Auniati sattra. The rebels encircled Rangpur and on January 19, 1788 the king
Gaurinath Singha
Suhitpangphaa reign (1780–1795), also Gaurinath Singha, was an Ahom king of the Ahom kingdom. He lost his capital Rangpur to the Moamoria rebellion and camped in the Nagaon and Guwahati region till Captain Welsh removed the rebels. Therea ...
and the inhabitants of the capital fled. The captured region was locally administered with Harihar Tanti in the north bank of the
Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
, Howha ruling
Majuli
Mājuli or Majuli () is a river island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam and in 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India. It had an area of at the beginning of the 20th century, but having lost significantly to erosion it c ...
,
Sarbananada Singha ruling the Moran tracts from Bengmara (present-day
Tinsukia
Tinsukia (Pron: ˌtɪnˈsʊkiə) is an industrial town. It is situated north-east of Guwahati and away from the border with Arunachal Pradesh.
It is the administrative headquarters of Tinsukia District of Assam, India.
History
During th ...
). Bharat was made the king. Coins were struck regularly in Bharat's and Sarbananda's names. Purnananda Burhagohain tried to regroup but soon gave up, and established himself in
Jorhat
Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India.
Etymology
Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...
, the vanguard of the royalist forces. Other Ahom nobles camped in
Darrang
Darrang () is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Mangaldoi. The district occupies an area of 1585 km2.
History
No definitive records about Darrang are available for the pre ...
and the king in
Nagaon
Nagaon (previously Nowgong; Assamese নগাঁও), is a town and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated east of Guwahati.
History
This division was organised on the both banks of Kalang river by ...
where he had to face dissensions and as a result had to move from Nagaon to
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
on June 11, 1792.
The counterattacks began around 1792, when Bharat repulsed an attack from the Manipuri king. In 1792, Thomas Welsh of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
came to the aid with 550 well trained and well armed troops. He occupied Guwahati on November 24, 1792 without any resistance and on March 18, 1794, restored Rangpur to Gaurinath Singha. After they received the prize money, Thomas Welsh returned to Bengal on May 25, 1794. Gaurinath Singha died in Jorhat in 1794 and was succeeded by
Kamaleswar Singha
Suklingphaa (ruled 1795–1811), or Kamaleswar Singha, was a king of the Ahom kingdom. He came to power when he was a toddler, and died in his teens during a small pox epidemic. The ''de facto'' ruler during his reign was Purnanada Burhagoha ...
. The rebels continued to suffer reverses.
Third phase
In the third phase of the rebellion, the Moamoriyas attacked the Ahom Kingdom once again.
End
This experience and the military display by Thomas Welsh and his troops encouraged the Ahoms to create a standing army of mostly paid Hindustani sepoys to replace the ''paik'' based militia. Phopai, a rebel was killed in 1796 and Bharat, the rebel king in 1799. Sadiya fell to the royalists in 1800. Despite many attempts in 1802 and 1806, Sarbananda held out from Bengmara. He was finally given the title of Barsenapati, and the Matak territory conceded to him.
The Moamaria rebellion thus ended with the creation of a near-independent Motak tract ruled by a Barsenapati and the near-end of the
Paik system
The ''Paik'' system was a type of corvee labour system on which the economy of the Ahom kingdom of medieval Assam depended. In this system, adult and able males, called ''paiks'' were obligated to render service to the state and form its militia ...
.
Notes
References
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{{Refend
Ahom kingdom
1770s in India
1780s in India
1790s in India
1800s in India
Rebellions in India
Conflicts in 1769
1770s conflicts
1780s conflicts
1790s conflicts
1800s conflicts