Charaideo Maidams: Final Resting Place of Ahom Swargadeos
snippets writeups
Charaideo Maidams: Final Resting Place of Ahom Swargadeos
The Ahom kings, or Swargadeos (meaning “Lord of the Heaven” in Tai-Ahom), patronised remarkable architectural activities during their six-hundred-year-long reign (1228 CE-1826 CE). Charaideo (meaning “The Shining City on the Hills” in Tai-Ahom), the first capital of the Ahom Kingdom, is home to an incredible set of structures known as the Maidams. These Maidams are the burial mounds of the Ahom Swargadeos and members of the royal family.
The word Maidam is derived from the Tai-Ahom word Phrangmai-dam. Phrangmai means “to put into the grave,” and dam refers to “the spirit of the deceased person.” Chaolung Siu-ka-Pha, the founder of the Ahom kingdom who built his capital at Charaideo (situated 28 kilometres east of the town of Sivasagar) in 1253 CE, was buried here as per Tai-Ahom funerary rituals. Since then, Charaideo has become a sacred site where the final rites for deceased members of the Ahom royal family were performed. Till the reign of Swargadeo Gadadhar Singha (1681 CE-1696 CE), the Ahoms followed the practice of burying their dead. However, with the growing influence of Hinduism on the Ahom religion, culture and polity, there was a shift from the burial of the dead to the burial of the ashes of the dead (after cremation) in the Maidams.
A Maidam at Charaideo
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
A View of the Charaideo Maidam Site
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
On the exterior, the Maidams are hemispherical, with sizes ranging from small mounds to hillocks approximately 20 meters high. The size of a Maidam was said to be determined by the power and status of the person buried. A Maidam consists of three major features: a vault or chamber, a hemispherical earthen mound covering the chamber, and an octagonal boundary wall around the base of the mound, along with an arched gateway on its west. The vaults were initially made of solid wooden poles and beams. During the reign of Swargadeo Rudra Singha (1696 CE-1712 CE), wooden vaults were replaced with stone and brick vaults.
The Ahom Swargadeos (Kings) appointed a special officer, Changrung Phukan, to oversee the construction and maintenance of all civil works, including the royal Maidams. Again, special officers titled Maidam Phukans and guard groups called Maidamiya were also appointed to protect and maintain the Maidams. The chronicles of the Changrung Phukan mention that the bricks and stones of the Maidams were assembled using a unique mortar mix, or cementing agent, called karal. This cementing agent was prepared from locally available materials, including lime, snail shells, pulses, resin, hemp, molasses, matimah (black gram), and fish.
A View of the Charaideo Maidam Site
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
In the Ahom kingdom, the news of the death of an Ahom Swargadeo was kept confidential till the enthronement of his successor. Once the news was made public, an order was passed to start the burial process. As soon as the order was passed, Paiks (every able-bodied male in the Ahom Kingdom aged 15-50 who was not a noble, priest, high caste, or slave) were expected to reach Charaideo. An area of land measuring between 2880 and 4320 square feet was selected for the Maidam. The Paiks were engaged in digging the trench, transporting various types of stone from distant locations, filling the vault with soil, making bricks, and preparing mortar. It is said that only people from the Gharphaliya and Lukhurakhankhels (khel refers to a group of people who were assigned to do specific jobs) were allowed to bury the bodies of the Ahom kings and queens. There used to be a considerable gap between the death of a Swargadeo and the entombment of his body in the Maidam. During this period, the body was said to be preserved in mercury or honey. There used to be a specific road to carry the dead bodies, known as Sa-nia-Ali (Sa: dead body, nia: to carry, Ali: path or road), and a specific tank called Sa-Dhowa-Pukhuri (Sa: dead body, Dhowa: bath, Pukhuri: tank) for a ritualistic bath of the deceased. Rung-Dang, a coffin made of a specific type of timber, was carried to the burial ground in a Kekora Dola (a kind of palanquin) by people from the Gharphaliya and Lukhurakhan khels. However, only the Lukhurakhans were permitted to enter the large vault beneath the hemispherical earthen mound known as Kareng-rung-dang. The coffin (Rung-Dang) was placed here in an east-west direction, along with a large quantity of resources, including gold and silver utensils, carpets, clothing, and other edible items. After placing the coffin, the vault door was sealed with boulders in clay mortar.
A View of the Bricks prepared during the Reign of the Ahom Kingdom.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
The Charaideo Maidams, often called the pyramids of Assam, comprise approximately 90 burial mounds. These timeless structures continue to stand as a testament to the glorious history of the Ahom Kingdom.