History

Moidam (pr. Moidams; from Tai, 'Phrang Mai': to bury, and 'Dam': spirit of the dead) are tumuli or burial mounds of the Tai-Ahom Dynasty (13th - 19th century CE). The Tai-Ahoms believed that while the body perishes upon death, the soul lives on just as humans do, in a world of pleasure, to be worshipped and commemorated by descendants and the living. Unique among the Ahom customs, is the practise of entombing their dead in Moidams and the annual rituals of commemorating the dead through Tarpan (libation of consecrated water) and Me-Dam-Me-Phi (ancestor worship), irrespective of having adapted and integrated with local culture wherever they went.

Such Moidams are found in many locations in the Upper Brahmaputra valley stretching over 400 km, but the group of Moidams in Charaideo are exemplary of the Tai-Ahom burial tradition and comprise the Nominated Property. Charaideo is also the only site, with the highest concentration and most comprehensive clustering of Moidams. Together with the wooded natural setting, funerary water bodies and all architectural components - a Garvha (underground chamber), a Tak (vault), Ga-Moidam (body of earth), a Dole (temple-like pavilion atop), a Garh (peripheral octagonal dwarf wall) and a narrow strip of open land with cobbled-stone edging for soft landscaping encircling the mound. Within the cultural region of the Tai i.e., South and Southeast Asia, besides Northeast India, where the Tai-Ahom migrated and settled over time, the Moidams of Charaideo distinguishes itself in scale, concentration and by being located in the most sacred land of the Tai-Ahom.

After the Independence of India, in 1951 CE, the Archaeological Survey of India declared protection of four large Moidams for preservation of historical remains at Charaideo. Subsequently, Charaideo was declared as national property for its historical importance in 1975 CE. In 2015, the adjacent Moidams were notified for protection after listing in 1981 by the Directorate of Archaeology, Indigenous and Tribal Faith and Culture Department, Government of Assam.

At present two functions are regularly observed at Charaideo: one is the homage paying ceremony to the kings (Tarpan), and the other is Me-Dam-Me-Phi on 31st January every year. The Buranjis records that Siu-ka-pha left Mong-Mao around 1215 CE, from his homeland with a following of eight nobles, nine thousand infantry, three hundred cavalry and two elephants along with the idol of the tutelary deity of the royal family (Chum Pha- rung-seng-mong or "Chum") (Doley, 2014; Konwar, 2014). After the arrival of the Tai-Ahom, the place was christened Che-Rai-Doi ('Che': city, 'rai': prominent/ shining and 'doi': hill, i.e., Shining City on Hills). They cleared off a place at the foot of a tree, worshipped spirits, adored the gods by offering a vessel full of silver and conducted sacrificial ritual (Gait, 1926; Barua, 1930; Konwar P. , 2014). The establishment of the capital and the shrines in and around Charaideo, the performance of rites and rituals at the Moidams led to the increase of religious and other activities. The traditional Ahom priestly clans viz. Mo' Sai, Maw Sam, Maw Plong, who performed ceremonies and rituals had been given land and men for their livelihood (Konwar S., 2014).

After Siu-ka-Pha's death in 1268 CE, he was entombed and buried in a Moidam in Charaideo in traditional Tai rituals. This type of burial mound was a totally new concept in this Northeast region. This ritual was continued by the later kings, and even though the administrative capital shifted capitals to other places, yet most of the royal dead bodies were entombed at Charaideo and it remained a sacred centre of mound-burials, the seats of coronation and where kings came to seek divine interventions for the Tai-Ahoms till the end of their rule(Chauley, 2016; Konwar S., 2014).