Buranji

Buranjis are a class of historical chronicles, written initially in the Ahom[1] and afterwards in Assamese language.[2][3] The first such Buranji was written on the instructions of the first Ahom king Sukaphaa who established the Ahom kingdom in 1228. There were two kinds of Buranjis: one maintained by the state (official) and the other maintained by families.[4] Many such manuscripts were written by scribes under the office of the Likhakar Barua, which were based on state papers, diplomatic correspondences, judicial proceedings, etc. Others were written by nobles or by people under their supervision, sometimes anonymously. These documents reveal chronology of events, language, culture, society and the inner workings of the state machinery of the kingdom. They were written in "simple, lucid and unambiguous but expressive language with utmost brevity and least exaggeration." The tradition of writing Buranjis survived more than six hundred years well into the British period, till a few decades after the demise of the Ahom kingdom.[5]

Literally, Buranji means "a store that teaches the ignorant" (in the Ahom language: bu ignorant person; ran teach; ji store). The Buranjis not only describe the Ahom kingdom, but also the neighbours (Chutiya, Kachari and Tripura Buranjis) and those with whom the Ahom kingdom had diplomatic and military contacts (Padshah Buranji). They were written on the barks of the Sanchi tree or aloe wood. Though many such Buranjis have been collected, compiled and published, an unknown number of Buranjis are still in private hands.

During the reign of Rajeswar Singha, Kirti Chandra Borbarua had many Buranjis destroyed because he suspected they contained information on his lowly birth.[6]

Language

Western Assamese was the dominant literary language and the "sole medium of all ancient Asamiya literature including the Burañjīs written in the Ahom courts". The Eastern Assamese dialect became the standard literary language of the region in around the early-19th century.[7] Gargaya, a style of Assamese writing that developed between the 17th and 19th centuries, was notably used in eastern Assam for writing Buranjis.[8]

List of well-known Buranjis

No. Name Author
1 Assam Buranji Harakanta Baruah
2 Assam Buranji Kasinath Tamuli Phukan
3 Asamar Padya Buranji (Buranji of Assam in verse)
4 Ahom Buranji Golap Chandra Barua
5 Changrung Phukanar Buranji
6 Deodhai Asam Buranji
7 Chutiya Buranji
8 Padshah Buranji
9 Purani Assam Buranji Hemchandra Goswami
10 Satasari Assam Buranji
11 Tungkhungia Buranji Surya Kumar Bhuyan
12 Tripura Buranji Ratna Kandali and Arjun Das, 1724

Notes

  1. ↑ (Barua 1953:132)
  2. ↑ Goswami, Golockchandra (1982), Structure of Assamese, Page 11, Western Assamese dialect, the sole medium of all ancient Assamese literature including the buranjis written in the Ahom court
  3. ↑ Goswami 2007, p. 436.
  4. ↑ Hartmann 2011, p. 228.
  5. ↑ (Saikia 2008:479)
  6. ↑ Sarkar, J. N. (1992) The Buranjis: Ahom and Assamese in The Comprehensive History of Assam Vol II (ed H K Barpujari), Publication Board, Assam
  7. ↑ Goswami & Tamuli 2007, p. 436.
  8. ↑ Saikia 2004, p. 6.

References

  • Barua, B K (1953). "Early Assamese Prose". In Kakati, Banikanta. Aspects of Early Assamese Literature. Guwahati: Gauhati University, Assam. pp. 124–147. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  • Goswami, G. C.; Tamuli, Jyotiprakash (2007), "Asamiya", in Cordona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge, pp. 429–484
  • Saikia, Yasmin (2004). Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India. Duke University Press. ISBN 082238616X.
  • Hartmann, John F. (7 April 2011). "Phongsawadan Tai-Ahom: Ahom Buranji [Tai-Ahom Chronicles], 2 Vols. Transcribed and translated by Renu Wichasin. Bangkok: Amarin Printing and Publishing Ltd. Pp. xxiv, 993 [Continuous Pagination]. Map, Photos, Tables, Glossary. [In Thai]". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 28 (01): 227–229. doi:10.1017/S002246340001554X.
  • Saikia, Arupjyoti (2008). "History, buranjis and nation: Suryya Kumar Bhuyan's histories in twentieth-century Assam". The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 45 (4): 473–507. doi:10.1177/001946460804500401.
  • Sarkar, J. N. (1992) The Buranjis: Ahom and Assamese in The Comprehensive History of Assam Vol II (ed H K Barpujari), Publication Board, Assam


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