A History of Assam c3.9

c3.9

The more recent of these *Buranji*s are written in Assamese, which was gradually adopted by the Ahoms after their conversion to Hinduism, but the earlier ones are in the old tribal language, which is similar to that of other Shān tribes, and is written in a character derived from the Pāli. The knowledge of it is now confined to a few old men of the *Deodhāi* or priestly caste. When the mass of the Ahoms accepted Hinduism, the tribal priests gradually fell into disrepute; and, although they themselves long resisted the proselytizing efforts of the Brāhmans, they have at last given way and have now all taken Gosāins. The result is that the rising generation has been taught Assamese and not Ahom, and in a few years the knowledge of the latter language will have disappeared altogether. To rescue from oblivion the records written in it I selected an educated young Assamese, Babu Golāp Chandra Barua, now a clerk in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur, and gave him a committee of five *Deodhāi*s to teach him Ahom and to assist him in translating their manuscripts. The work was by no means easy; the *Deodhāi*s themselves proved far from proficient, and it was nearly three years before all the manuscripts that could be traced were translated. Having no knowledge of the Ahom language myself I have had to rely entirely on the translations made by this Assamese gentleman, but I have every confidence in the accuracy of his work. I tested his knowledge of Ahom in various ways and found it satisfactory, and the comparison of one *Buranji* with another has shown that they agree in a way that would be impossible if there were serious errors in the translation. I am indebted to him not only for the translations, but also for assistance in the elucidation of various questions of Ahom nomenclature and customs.