Me-DamMe-Phi Celebration

An annual festival Me-Dam-Me-Phi is celebrated on the 30^th and 31^st of January by the Ahom people, an ethnic group from the Indian State of Assam, to honour their ancestors. This festival is celebrated privately by families known as Dam-Phi in homes, publicly it is called Me-Dam-Me-Phi and celebrated at Charaideo, former capital of the Ahom kingdom through prayers, dances and festivities of various kind, in order to develop social contacts and community feelings among the Ahoms. The meaning of Me-Dam-Me-Phi means offering ancestors offering God.

During this festival, three Gods namely Grihadam, Dam Changphi and Me Dam Me Phi are worshipped. Worship is done by Ahom priests Deodhai and Bailung by chanting Tai mantras. The festival has its roots in the ancestral worship of Confucianism in ancient China which later developed into the Dam-Phi meaning ancestor worship tradition of the Ahom people. Ancestor worship culture began with the Chinese philosopher Confucius and is still practiced among the Chinese. The rituals of observing this festival is written in the book Khyek-lai or Lit Lai Me-Dam-Me in Tai-Ahom language.

The Ahoms believe that a man after his death remains as Dam (ancestor) only for a few days and soon he becomes Phi (God). They also believe that the soul of a man which is immortal unites with supreme soul, possesses the qualities of a spiritual being and always bless the family. In order to worship the dead, every Ahom family establish a pillar on the opposite side of the kitchen (Barghar) which is called Damkhuta where they worship the dead with various offerings like homemade wine, egg with handoh (kind of rice powder) with various items of vegetarian dishes.

The Tai Ahom people came into prominence first in the Guangxi region in China and then moved to mainland Southeast Asia in the middle of 11^th century after a long and fierce battle with the Northern Han Chinese. The Tai Ahom are traced to Mong Mao of South China or the Hukawng valley in Myanmar. Sukaphaa, a Tai prince of Mong Mao and his followers reached Assam in 1228 with the intention of settling. They arrived with an advanced technology of wet-rice cultivation present then and a tradition of writing, record keeping and state formation. They settled in the region south of Brahmaputra River and to the east of Dikhow River. The Ahoms today are found concentrated in this region.

Sukaphaa the leader of the Tai group and his 9,000 followers established the Ahom kingdom (1228-1826) and controlled much of the Bramhaputra valley (present day Assam) until 1826. Sukaphaa established his capital at Charaideo in 1253 near present day Sivasagar. To consolidate power in a new territory where Ahom people were minority, they started intermarriage with the local tribes and ethnic groups, political alliance and cultural exchange incorporating them into the Ahom population. The Ahom society came under the direct Hindu influence during the reign of King Sudangpha and by the end of the 17^th century, most of the Ahom community had adopted Hinduism as their primary religion.

According to 1931 survey, all Ahoms listed Hinduism as their religion, however, since the 1960s and 1970s due to an Ahom revivalism movement, as well as efforts from scholars, many old practices of the Ahom religion is being resurrected and practiced.