IX. The Origin of the Āhoms

Extract

Mr. Gait, on pp. 71 and 72 of his History of Assam, has given the mythical origin of the Āhoms, the branch of the Shán or Tai race which invaded Assam in the thirteenth century and which held sovereignty there for centuries till A.D. 1826, when Assam became a portion of British India. Mr. Gait's authority was probably the old Āhom Buranji, or history, which with other Buranjis was translated under the orders of the Assam Administration by Srijut Golap Chandra Barua. Mr. Gait describes how Lengdan. the king of heaven, directed his son Thenkham to descend to earth and establish a kingdom there. Thenkham was unwilling to leave heaven, and so it was arranged that his two sons Khunlung and Khunlai should go instead. Lengdan presented them with an idol called Somdeo, a magic sword (or Hengdán), two drums to be used for invoking divine aid, and four cocks for telling the omens.