Socio-Cultural Changes of the Bodos in the 20th Century with Reference to Brahma Religious Movement

Abstract

The arrival of Brahma dharma in Assam led to the emergence of Brahma Religious Movement among the Bodo tribes in the beginning of the 20^th century. Thiswas a movement for socio-religious reformationthroughthe propagation of Brahma dharma led by Kalicharan Brahma. Braham dharma, a Hindu denomination was very new religion to the Bodo people but later on, became one of the most important religions of a section of the Bodopeople for the upliftment of their socio-cultural, economic and political.In actuality, the movement's pioneer, Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma realized the need to reform the Bodo people's socio-cultural and religious practices. Traditionally, the Bodos have followedthe religion so-called Bathou dharma where Bathou Bwrai, Almighty God was worshipped with the numerousfestivals. In connection with this, they used an excessive amount of winealong with sacrifices of birds and beasts during the festivals,which were inappropriate for a portion of the Bodo population at that time.Then again, when the upper caste Hindus living close to the Bodo villages witnessed their unclean domestic practices, such as rearing pigs, ducks, and fowls, etc., they would occasionally openly loathe the Bodo tribes.Besides, the Bodo people at that time were alsotreated as unclean and Mleccha, everywhere. Thus, in order to elevate the Bodo people, Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma preached Brahma dharma among them. Since the Brahma dharma originated in Vedic philosophy, it brought sanskritization to Bodo customs, ceremonies, and culture. Therefore, the present paper intends to highlight some changes that had occurred in the socio-cultural life of the Bodo people in the 20^th century due to the Brahma religious movement.