Moamoria

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The Moamoria (also Matak) were the adherents of the egalitarian, proselytizing Mayamara Satra of 18th-century Assam, who initiated the Moamoria rebellion against the Ahom kingdom in the 18th century.[1] The rebellion weakened the Ahom kingdom to such an extent that the kingdom became vulnerable to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam and the subsequent colonization by the British. The Moamorias were also called Mataks. Over time, the main groups that had supported the Ahom kingdom came to owe allegiance to the Moamara sattra: Morans (the mainstay of the Ahom militia), the Sonowal Kacharis (gold-washers), Chutias (expert archers and matchlockmen), professional castes such as Hiras (potters), Tantis (weavers), Kaibartas, and Ahom nobles and officers.[2] The largest group among the Mataks were the Morans,[3] followed by the Chutias.[4]

The Matak identity solidified during the rebellion, and the Moamorias referred to themselves as Mataks over their original ethnic identities.[5] In a treaty with the Ahom kingdom in 1805, the Moamorias were able to set up an autonomous region, the Matak Rajya, under the office of Borsenapati, with his seat at Bengmara (modern-day Tinsukia). The Matak community continued to hold strong till the beginning of the 20th century, and the Matak-Moran Sanmilan was formed in 1937; but the Morans formed their own organization, the Moran Sabha, in 1965 with the hope that the Moran people might benefit from the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.[6]

  1. ^ (Baruah 1993:46)
  2. ^ (Baruah 1993:53)
  3. ^ "The Marans were the most conspicuous of the Moamara disciples. They were a tribe of Bodo origin." (Baruah 1993:50)
  4. ^ "Next to the Morans, the most dominant members of the Matak community, were the Chutiyas."(Dutta 1985:27)
  5. ^ "(I)nitially different members of the Matak community used their respective original identities as a suffix to the term Matak: Matak-Moran, Matak-Chutia, Matak-Kachari, Matak-Ahom. This was abandoned during the time of the Matak Rebellion when all members preferred to identify themselves in a single identity that of the Matak community." (Dutta 1985:12)
  6. ^ (Dutta 1985:12–13)