Amidst the long stretches of greenery and beautiful vegetation, in the heart of the Assam there lives a community of peace loving and kind people, the Karbis. The Karbi tribe is the largest and the oldest tribe of Assam. The community is said to have migrated from Mongolia and are known as 'Columbus of Assam' as they were the first ones to land in the Assam region. The Karbis are settled in various districts of Assam along with Karbi Anglong which was established by the Assamese government in 1951 due to the large number of Karbis living in the area. The Karbi language belongs to the Sino Tibetan Burman language family. Originally, the Karbis were known as 'Arleng’, which was then changed by the Britishers to 'Mikir' which finally got changed to Karbi. The community is divided into five major clans and further into sub clans.
Karbis live a very simple lifestyle close to nature. They live in bamboo houses which are situated a little above the ground level to protect them from wild animals and rains. Jhum cultivation (Shifting cultivation) is practiced by the people of Karbi tribe. In the month of February the cultivation starts and every family starts finding a Jhum field which is made by cutting down trees in a fertile area. The major crop is rice along with sesame, ginger and chilli. Although agriculture is the main occupation, people also depend upon other chores for their livelihood. Women engage in weaving and spinning of yarn whereas men make handicrafts, woodcrafts and bamboo crafts. People also sell the forest products like wild vegetables and wild medicines in the market for daily income. The Karbis believe in healthy diet and therefore eat boiled vegetables like wild potatoes and sweet potatoes, meat, pork etc. with very less spices in it. Alcohol is consumed mostly during special occasions and festivals. The Karbis follow a patriarchal family system.
The Karbi community has a rich culture and traditions. Most of their festivals have nature as their primary theme. After the harvesting season they celebrate a festival named Hacha Kekan, which is the major festival of the tribe. This festival is celebrated to thank nature for the harvest. The Karbis believe that if this festival is not celebrated the rice which is produced remains of no value. Young people also dance together to celebrate this festival. Other festivals include New rice eating festival and Rongker, which is celebrated to protect the tribe from the evil. During the cultivation period people come together and perform a special dance form called Ritnongchingi which means working together. This is a symbol of unity and strength. The outfits of the Karbis vary according to their marriage status. Bachelors and married people have different outfits. The Karbis do not practise idol worship but believe that nature is the only force protecting them. There appeal to certain deities like Hemphu, Mukrand, and Mrasingja who they believe have set their cultural and traditional values.
In the recent years the Karbis have undergone a lot of changes due to modernization. The Karbi people want only one thing that their community, culture and traditions should be preserved and bought in front of the world. According to UNESCO Karbi is one of the endangered languages among many languages worldwide. With such a rich and heritage these people are leaving no stone unturned to make people know about their forgotten tribe and its splendid culture with a hope to preserve their community in years to come.
