Koch people

Koches are a Tibeto-Burman ethno-linguistic group of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Bangladesh. Koches are a trans-border community, like the Garos and the Khasis. They live in separate countries which were carved out of their ancestral lands.[5] It is a Scheduled tribe in Meghalaya , India.[6] Koch language belong to Tibeto-Burman linguistic group.[7] Koches want to preserve language and culture and heritage.[8]

Koch
Koch
Regions with significant populations
Meghalaya[1]
Languages
Koch
Religion
Hindu religion
Related ethnic groups
Garo people, Khasi people , [Koch people]]
Part of a series on the
Culture of Assam

Etymology of Koch

According to Yogini Tantra, Koches were called as Kuvacha.[9] According to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri , Kamrud(Kamrup) was inhabited by Koch , Mech & Tharu .[10] According to Fatiyah-i-Ibriah, Cooch behar was inhabited Koch[11] Although some Koch & Mech called themselves as Koch Rajbongshi (Royal) in Cooch Behar,Jalpaiguri,Derjiling,Uttar Dinajpur,Murshidabad and Undivided Goalpara District of Assam. But there no different inRajbongshi people related to Aryan affinities.[12]

Koch

Koch name was already in use since 13th century but Koch name had barbaric flavour which induced many people to prefer the designation “Rajbongshi” means “of the royal clan” in 20th century.[13]

History

A big part of Koch history is that of Koch dynasty. Koch Hajo was a Bhuyan who had two daughter Hira and Jira.[14] Hajo was popular figure worshiped by Bodo people.[15][16] Hira and Jira married to Hariya of Mech. Jira gave birth to Chandan and Madan, and Hira gave birth to Bishu (Viswa Singha) and Sishu (Sisya Singha). Bishu was the bravest and smartest. Who was the progenitor of Narayana dynasty of Cooch Behar.[16]

References
  1. In Meghalaya, Koches are government notified scheduled tribe.(Census of India)
  2. "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019. Ahom [aho]
  3. "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
  4. "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
  5. "Interview | 'There Are Few Documents on the Diverse History of Koch Rajbanshis'". The Wire. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. In Meghalaya, Koches are government notified scheduled tribe.(Census of India)
  7. "Glottolog 4.0 - Kochic". glottolog.org. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  8. "Koch union seeks to preserve culture". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  9. The Yogini Trantra, which was composed in Assam itself in about the 16th century, refers to the Koches as kuvachas(Nath:3)
  10. (Salam , 1902:65)
  11. Cooch behar was inhabited by Makh (Mech) and Kuj (Koch) . Raja belong to First tribe(Salam , 1902:11)
  12. The Koch and The Rajbanshi both the terms refer to some groups of people but the basic difference between the two terms- the former is aborigine; while the latter is Aryan or Dravidian origin. The term Koch or Mech used in order to identify one of the plain ethnic groups from Kamrupa-Kamata kingdom (Barua 2008 189) [1]. On the other hand the term ‘Rajbanshi’ presumed to be derived from the Sanskrit or Dravidian word ‘Rajvamsi’ means Khsartiya or people belong to royal race or descendants of the king (Choudhary 2011 09) [4], whereas the term ‘Rajvamsi’ also refers to a distinct community of Dravidian affinities (Baruah 2007 203) [2]. (Halder , 2017)
  13. (Jacquesson 2008:27)
  14. "History Book of Cooch Behar". coochbehar.nic.in. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  15. Bodo(Mech) worshiped Hajo Raja (Hodgson , 1847:167)
  16. Chaudhuri, Harendra Narayan (1903). The Cooch Behar state and its land revenue settlements. Cooch Behar. pp. 225, 226.

Bibliography
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