Rajbanshi people

The Rajbanshi, Rajbongshi[3] or Koch-Rajbongshi is an Indo-Aryan speaking[4] ethnic group inhabiting parts of Lower Assam, Meghalaya, northern West Bengal, Bihar and on the eastern parts of Nepal, Bhutan and northern Bangladesh.[5][6] The Rajbanshi people are related to the ethnic Koch people but are distinguished from them as well as from the Hindu caste called Koch in Assam that receives converts from different tribes.[7] Rajbanshi (of royal lineage) alludes to its connection with the Koch dynasty.[6]

Not to be confused with Koch people.

Rajbanshi
Regions with significant populations
 India

 Bangladesh

   Nepal
West Bengal3,386,617 [1]
Nepal115,252(2011) [2]
Languages
Assamese, Kamtapuri
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Koch, Rabhas, Garos, Boros, Mech

Etymology

The Rajbanshi (literal meaning: of royal lineage) community gave itself this name after 1891 following a movement to distance itself from an ethnic identity and acquire the higher social status of Kshatriya Hindu varna instead.[8][9] The kshatriya identity was established by linking the community to the Koch dynasty.[6] The ethnic identity of these people was Koch, a name that appears as early as the 13th century. The name Rajbanshi was not prevalent prior to the 19th century.[10][11]

History

Origins

In Takabat-i-Nasiri, which contain records of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji expedition into Kamrud (Kamrup) in the early part of the 13th century, mention the people as Kunch (Koch), Mej/Meg (Mech), Tiharu (Taru).[12]

Late 19th century and early 20th century

In 1891, a section of these Koches who were at tribal or semi-tribal stage in present North Bengal and Western Assam tried to dissociate themselves from their original ethnic stock by describing themselves as Rajbanshi or Vratya Kshatriya.[13] Among the measures emphasized by the leaders for the Kshatriyisation of Koches was the wearing of scared thread (Lagundeoni), reduction in the days of mourning for the death of parents from thirty days to twelve days and also the change of surnames to Roy and Barman.[14] The process gained movementum in 1910 under the leadership of Panchanan Barman, the Koches got the legal Kshatriya status of Rajbanshi after getting recognition from different Brahmin pandits of the region[14] and lost their tribal identity thus making them separate from their Koches origins.[14] The district magistrate gave permission to use surnames like Roy, Barman, Sinha and the Kshatriya status was recognized in the final report of 1911 census.[14] The movement manifested itself in sankritising tendencies with an assertion of Aryan origin and striving for higher social status by imitating higher caste customs and rituals.[15]

Historian Arup Jyoti Das claims that this new-found status resulted in the Koch upper class abandoning tribal traits: such as matrilineality and their Tibeto-Burman language, and calling themselves Rajbongshi.[16]

Today the Koch-Rajbongshis are found throughout North Bengal, particularly in the Dooars, as well as parts of Lower Assam, northern Bangladesh, the Terai of eastern Nepal and Bihar, and Bhutan.[17]

Occupation

The Rajbongshis were traditionally agriculturalists, but due to their numerical dominance in North Bengal there were significant occupational differences among them. Most were agricultural labourers (halua) or sharecroppers (adhiar). These often worked for landed cultivators, called dar-chukanidars. Above them were the chukandiars and jotedars, and at the top were the zamindars. Some Rajbongshis were zamindars or jotedars.[18]

Lifestyle and culture

According to a 2019 research, the Koch Rajbongshi community has an oral tradition of agriculture, dance, music, medical practices, song, the building of house, culture, and language. Ideally the tribe transfer the know-how from one generation to another.[19]

The Koch Rajbongshi community had traditionally been a largely agricultural community, cultivating mainly rice, pulses, and maize. Rice is the staple food for the majority of the population. Even in the 21st century, a large portion of this community still adheres to a rural lifestyle, though urbanization is on a constant rise. The food consumed and the diet pattern is similar to all the Koches of Assam, West Bengal, Nepal, Bangladesh, Meghalaya. Rice and Pulses are consumed on a regular basis along with vegetables and bhajis (fries- mainly potatoes). Typical is the Dhékir sāg and naphā sāg, two types of leafy vegetable preparation, mostly boiled with very little added oil, out of newly born shoots of fern leaves. In lower Assam, a vegetable preparation of bamboo shoots is also consumed. Consumption of stale rice or pantha bhāt is common within Koch Rajbongshi. Cooking is mainly done using mustard oil, though sunflower oil is sometimes used. As far as non-vegetarian foods are concerned, the Koch Rajbongshi population consumes a large amount of meat and eggs unlike other neighborhood populations from the Bengal region, who consume a large amount of fish. Goat meat and sheep (if available) is generally consumed, and consumption of fowl meat is discouraged as a result of Sanskritization, though these taboos have eroded over time. There were rituals involving sacrificing pigs in Ghordew puja, and ducks in Laxmi puja. Eggs of ducks and poultry are consumed. Ducks and Fish are also consumed but not in very large numbers. The rivers of northern Bengal does not sustain large varieties of fishes because of its non-perennial nature. However, in lower Assam areas, large rivers like the Brahmaputra sustain large varieties of fish which becomes an important part of the dietary habit of the Koch Rajbanshi living there.

Home design of a typical Koch Rajbanshi home is essential for the rectangular pattern, with an open space (egina/aingna) in the middle. This is done mostly for protection against both wild animals and strong winds. A Thakurghor of Manasha or Kali Thakur at the entrance is must in every Koch-Rajbongshi house. The north side holds the betel nut and fruit gardens, the west contains Bamboo gardens while the east and the south is generally left open to allow sunshine and air to penetrate into the household. Though such a pattern is more prominent among the landed gentry.

Traditional attires of Koch-Rajbongshis are mainly Patani, Agran, Angsha, Chadar, Lifan, Phota, and various other traditional costumes being weaved at their traditional handloom in their home. The traditional clothing for men is Angsha and Jama , while for women is Bukuni-Patani, Phota, Agran, Angsa, Lifan; Chadar a piece of cloth tied around the chest that extends up to the knee. Lifan or Phota are worn like a wrapper. The Koch Rajbongshi Tribe has still preserved their age-old ethnic attires and is being used on a regular basis as their common costumes, The Koch Rajbongshis prefer to wear their traditional attires in-spite of the fact that the modern costumes are widely available.[20][21]

Music forms are integral part of Koch-Rajbongshi culture. The main musical forms of Koch-Rajbongshi culture are Bhawaiyya, Chatka, Chorchunni, Palatia, Lahankari, Tukkhya, Bishohora Pala among many others. Various instruments are used for such performances, string instruments like Dotora, Sarindra and Bena, double-membrane instruments like Tasi, Dhak, Khol, Desi Dhol and Mridanga, gongs and bells like Kansi, Khartal and wind instruments like Sanai, Mukha bansi and Kupa bansi.[22]

Notable people

See also

Notes
  1. "West Bengal - Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes -Census of India 2001" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. "www.indigenousvoice.com indigenous peoples rajbansi".
  3. "In West Bengal and Bihar, they are known as "Rajbongshi and "Rajbanshi"," in Assam as "Koch," "Rajbongshi," and "Koch-Rajbongshi," and in Meghalaya mainly as "Koch." Though the community is known by diverse names in different states, their origin is the same, that is, "Koch." (Roy 2018)
  4. Debnath, Monojit; Palanichamy, Malliya G.; Mitra, Bikash; Jin, Jie-Qiong; Chaudhuri, Tapas K.; Zhang, Ya-Ping (2011). "Y-chromosome haplogroup diversity in the sub-Himalayan Terai and Duars populations of East India". Journal of Human Genetics. 56 (11): 765–771. doi:10.1038/jhg.2011.98. ISSN 1435-232X.
  5. "The Portal of North Bengal Development Department". wbnorthbengaldev.gov.in. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  6. "(W)hile the asserted identity of the Koch/Rabha complex seemingly shifted a great deal during the colonial period—which is therefore very confusing for observers-some converts formed an assertive ethnic group, the Koch Rajbongshi (“of royal lineage”), that claimed to be linked to the Koch dynasty.(Ramirez 2014, p. 17)
  7. "The Koch of western Meghalaya also claim relationship with those empire-building Koch. On the other hand, Koch is known as a Hindu caste found all over the Brahmaputra Valley (Majumdar 1984: 147), and receives converts to Hinduism from different tribes (Gait 1933: 43)." (Kondakov 2013:4)
  8. "From 1891 a section of the Koches were trying to dissociate themselves from their original ethnic stock by describing themselves as Rajbansis or Vratya Kshatriya (Bhanga Kshatriya) their movement ended with getting Kshatriya status, being known as Rajbansis and also enlisting themselves in the list of Scheduled Caste(Das 2004:559)
  9. "In fact, the Koches in order to assert their royal lineage used to call themselves Rajbanshis. The term, Rajbanshi was also used as an effective nomenclature to subvert the processes of hierarchical subordination of the community largely by the caste Hindus during the colonial era." (Roy 2014)
  10. Nath 1989, p. 7.
  11. "Even in the Darrang Raj Vamsavali, which is the genealogical work of the Koch royal family, and which was written in the last quarter of the 18th century, donot refer to this term (Rajbanshi). Instead all these sources called them as Koches and/or Meches."(Nath 1989, p. 5)
  12. (Jacquesson 2008, p. 17)
  13. Das 2004, p. 559.
  14. Das 2004, p. 560.
  15. Das 2004, p. 561.
  16. "Interview | 'There Are Few Documents on the Diverse History of Koch Rajbanshis'". The Wire. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  17. "Today, the Koch Rajbanshi people are located in North Bengal, Assam (with a major concentration in west Assam), Garo hills of Meghalaya, Purnia, Kishanganj, and Katihar districts of Bihar, Jhapa and Biratnagar districts of Nepal, Rangpur, East Dinajpur districts and some parts of northwest Mymensingh, northern Rajshahi and Bogra districts of Bangladesh and lower parts of Bhutan (Nalini Ranjan Ray 2009)." (Roy 2014)
  18. Barman, Rup Kumar. "A new Look on the transition of Caste identity into Cultural identity of the Rajbanshis of Northern Bengal and Lower Assam" (PDF). The Mirror: 56–70.
  19. Singha, Surjit; Singha, Ranjit (2019). Sustainable Entrepreneurship in North East India (1 ed.). Bulgaria: Tsenov Academic Publishing House. pp. 161–187. ISBN 9789542317524. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  20. Chaudhuri, Harendra Narayan (1903). The Cooch Behar State and its Land Revenue Settlements. Princely Cooch Behar State: The Cooch Behar State Press. p. 135.
  21. "People and Culture | Bongaigaon District | Government Of Assam, India". bongaigaon.gov.in. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  22. Sanyal, Charu Chandra (1965). The Rajbansis of North Bengal. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society.

References
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