 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Moran people" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Moran Bihu Dance | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Approximately 100,000 in Assam and 30,000 in Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Predominately in UpperAssam,Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Languages | |
| Assamese,Moran | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism[1] (Ekasarana Dharma) since 18th century, Formerly tribal animistic religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dimasas,Deoris,Sonowal Kacharis |
TheMoran are an ethnic group found in the northeast Indian states ofAssam andArunachal Pradesh. They are ofTibeto-Burman origin and belong to theKachari family. They speakAssamese language, though they used to speakMoran language which was alive until the early 20th century and was closely related to theDimasa language.[2] They once shared the same allied customs with other Kachari groups, but after their conversion to Vaishnavism, the customs began to diminish, but still, those customs can be seen intermixed with Vaishnavism.
The Morans were initiated under the fold ofEkasarana Dharma in the tenure of Mayamara abbotChaturbhujdeva.[3]
They are mainly concentrated in the districts ofUpper Assam (Tinsukia,Dibrugarh,Jorhat,Sivasagar,Dhemaji andLakhimpur) and adjoining districts of Arunachal Pradesh (Lohit,Namsai,Changlang district).
The Moran community is one of the aboriginal tribes of Assam. In the 13th century, they lived in the south eastern corner of the Brahmaputra valley occupying territories between the Disang andDihing rivers.[4] The Morans have a long history in the north–eastern part of India. They had their own independent chiefdom before the advent of the Ahoms. The origin of the wordMoran is still remains obscure. According to the British reports the Morans are a distinct tribe inhabiting the jungle, which is, a division of upper Assam.[citation needed]
They had an chiefdom led by chief Bodousa before the advent of the Ahom kingSukaphaa. Having arrived in this affluent kingdom, Sukaphaa proposed to marry princess Gondheswari- the daughter of Moran chief Bodousa. The chief Bodousa accepted his proposal and thus the Moran's became a part of the newly created Ahom polity.[5] Due to their close relation with the Ahoms, the Morans seem to have adopted many of the Ahom rites and rituals.[citation needed]
They were also known by the nameHabungiya orHasa where Ha means soil or Earth in Moran language and Sa means son and Habungiya or Hasa meansSon of the soil.[6]