THE PEOPLE OF ASSAM by Rev. P. H. Moore

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 11, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 44.

THE PEOPLE OF ASSAM.

By Rev. P. H. Moore

ASSAM is one of the twelve principal civil divisions into which British India is divided for convenience of administration. Among these it ranks tenth in extent of territory, and eleventh in number of population. About three-fifths of the people are Hindus, one-third Mohammedans, one-tenth hill-tribe people, and the others are Buddhists, Brahmans, Sikhs, and Christians. They have very peculiar ideas with reference to God and their obligations to him.

Come, walk down the street with me; the first man we meet is a Hindu. Will you tell me now what his religious tenets are? You know in a general way what Hinduism is, but I venture the assertion that there is just about one chance in three hundred and thirty-three million that you will be right in getting the exact shade of this man’s thought; for Hinduism is a broad term, ranging from absolute monotheism on one extreme to polytheism, multiplied to the three hundred and thirty-three millionth degree on the other. But you say this man shows by that daub of paint on his forehead just what his position in Hinduism is. Yes, quite true—that is, almost true—that is, it would be true if he squared his creed according to the books. But such is not the case. Keep in mind the history of this people. Remember that, though they are called Hindus, you will go very wide of the mark if you expect to find their beliefs agreeing with those of Hindus in other parts of India, as described in books on Hinduism. The denominations of Christians are numerous, but the differences of Hindus are legion. So that the three-fifth part of the population that are called Hindus present peculiarities that nothing short of local acquaintance will enable one to understand.

As a class they are idolaters, though we shall probably see no idols in our walk; these are generally kept in temples and houses of worship. We have reason to be thankful that their excessive sanctity requires that most of the time they be veiled from the

vulgar gaze, so that their hideous forms are not more frequently thrust upon us. We may see here and there shrines by the roadside—small, low pyramids of masonry with a hollow in one side, from which a dirty little lamp sends forth a feeble, flickering light. But the devotees here are probably not native Assamese. They are immigrants of the merchant class—worshipers of Ganesh. They are priest-ridden; they call their priests God, and are much more afraid to disregard their word than to disobey the law of God. A man will tell you that lying is sin, that it is evil in itself, and God’s punishment, that it is hell, but he goes on lying without compunction. He next admits to you that eating chicken is no sin in itself, still he will starve rather than eat it, simply because the priest forbids it. Does he not fear man rather than God? He yields assent to authority rather than reason, but it is human authority rather than divine. To disobey the priest is to become outcast, which means more to the average Hindu than all the torments of hell.

Hindu castes are numerous—some high, some low. To whichever of these he belongs, his chief concern is so to observe its rules as to keep within its pale. Outward observance is all that is required for this. Hence it comes to pass that Hinduism, whose central thought is supposed to be undistracted meditation on the Deity, has degenerated into a round of lifeless formalities which now bind the people like fetters of brass. Until the government introduced secular education, the priestly class had a monopoly of learning. Since the days of Manu (700 B.C.) it has been regarded as a grave offense for one of low caste to so much as hear the words of their sacred scriptures. Thus the twin sisters, ignorance and superstition, have held almost undisputed sway.

That next man we meet is a Mussulman. The Mussulmans of Assam belong to the same ethnical stock as the Hindus, being in large part descendants of the converts to Islam made at the time of the various Mogul invasions of Assam. Hence, the greater part of Mohammedans are found in the districts bordering on Bengal, where those invaders were most successful. Many of them hold the doctrines of Islam very loosely, or are very ignorant of what they are. Still they present a solid front against polytheism and idolatry; but the vices so characteristic of the followers of the prophet find a fertile soil and attain luxuriant growth in the Mussulmans of Assam. Although no hour of the day has passed without lying and deceit—if with no more outrageous sin—do they not pray to the prophet four times a day, and will he not on this account plead effectually for them with the one God whose prophet he is? Works of merit to counterbalance their demerit, before God are the great desiderata with both Mussulmans and Hindus. "Blessed are the pure in heart" is not among their beatitudes.

Passing on we find a man whose sturdy limbs give proof of mountain climbing. His prominent cheek bones and slightly Mongolian cast of features at once mark him as different from the Assamese. I tell you he is a hill man. But can you tell me what demon he worships? That buffalo, pig, or goat that he killed yesterday with so many incantations, calling loud and long on the name of his god—whose wrath was he attempting to propitiate by the act? What benefit did he expect from killing that fowl according to a time-honored formula, leaving its blood and feathers under that green tree for the demon’s acceptance, and taking home its flesh to feast himself and family and perhaps his neighbor also? Is it the demon of earth, or air, or wood, or mountain, whom he fears will cause the failure of all his crops, and make his flocks and herds sterile, and his wife barren, if he does not thus offer sacrifices? Why are there no benevolent as well as malevolent spirits among his household penates?

More than forty languages and dialects are spoken in Assam. Half of these are languages of hill-tribe people. All these hill people are demon worshipers, but each tribe has its own demons and its own ceremonies, preserved in pristine purity or largely modified by their environment. Remember, too, that the ranks of the Hindus are largely swelled by numbers of these hill-tribe peoples, who, having given up keeping swine and drinking strong home-made rice liquor, to which they are greatly addicted, and paid a small annual fee to the priest, are admitted to the lower castes in the Brahmanical system.

The hill people generally are anxious for the present life, saying, What shall we eat? and what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed (though very little clothing suffices?) and the life to come claims very little of their thought. That Kachari, for instance, is a genuine Sadducee, and denies that there is either resurrection, or angel, or spirit. His motto is, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die; as the beast dieth, so dies the man."

That Mikir, on the other hand, looks forward to a great and beautiful city into which he may hope to gain admittance after an indefinite number of transmigrations of soul. When his brother dies, he first mourns his loss with loud lamentations, then places by the corpse food and liquor for the journey of the departed spirit, and, having allowed one or more days for the spirit to rest before starting on its long journey, he gathers his friends and neighbors and bids it depart joyfully on its journey, bidding it adieu with much mirth and singing, dancing and feasting, lasting all night in case of a child, and for several successive nights in case of a leading man.

There is a respectable looking man of the better class of the people. He has broken away from the thralldom of caste, and now imprecates curses upon it. He has dared to think that his forefathers were wrong in matters of faith. He is a Brahman, a Unitarian among Hindus, the Indian Theosophist. He has risen superior to the rubbish of Hinduism. He wants no mediator between God and man. The human soul has a natural right to enter directly into the presence of the Father of us all. Human sin is too trivial an affair to have annulled this right. Hence no atonement is required, and he goes directly to God in worship. He dwells much on the infinite love of God, and does not trouble himself as to how he can be just and yet justify one who has broken his law. Hence, leaving out of sight the holiness of God, he also misses the most marvelous manifestation of his love in the divine Saviour.

Here now we meet a native Christian. The chances are that he is from the hill-tribe people, or, if formerly a Hindu, that he is from the lower rather than the higher classes. Here at least, you think, is a man who believes and thinks as you do. But do not be too sure of this. Did not idolatrous superstitions cling to converts from heathenism in the days of the apostles? Do not be surprised if you find some of his former superstitions mingled with the truth which he has received in Jesus. The ideas and associations of his childhood may not yet have been fully outgrown, though he is a true believer in the Christ of God.

Such are some of the religious characteristics met with in mission work in Assam.—Jubilee Conference.