Habung


Habung was an ancient province, today forming parts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. Habung was a province where Brahmins brought from other parts were settled by Ratna Pala of the Pala dynasty of Kamarupa in the 10th century.

Etymology

According to some authors like Sydney Endle and PRT Gurdon, the word Habung is of Bodo-Kachari origin and is a combination of two words Ha which means "land" as in Ha-lali, Hasao, Hasong and Subung which means "people", forming the word Habung. It could also be derived from the Bodo-Kachari word Habrun meaning Bog/Swamp considering the word Havranga to be an older form or from Ha-bung meaning land fill There was another settlement near Habung which was known as Khubung.

History

Early history

The earliest reference to Habung comes in the 10th century copper plate grant of Ratnapala of the Pala dynasty, when it was a principality of the Kamarupa Kingdom settled by Brahmins. After the downfall of the Kamarupa Kingdom it became a part of the Chutiya kingdom.

Chutia dynasty period

The copper plate of Chutia king Dharmanarayan dated 1428 A.D. mentions Sri Vrihat-patra as Habung-aadhipati. The plate records land grants of 400 puti given to a Brahmin named Purandar Vipra. This shows that Vrihat-patra was a Chutia chief under whose presence a plot of land was donated to the Brahmin in Habung proving Habung to be a Chutia principality. Besides this, several other copper plates dating from 1392 A.D. have been found in the region, the last recording a grant made by Dhirnarayan in 1522 A.D. The Chutia chief of Habung Vrihatpatra is also mentioned as one of the generals who led the Chutia army in the Dibrugarh war against the Ahoms in the year 1523 A.D. After the defeat of Chutias, the region was finally annexed by the Ahom king Suhungmung.
The land grant reads,
A list of other inscriptions found in the region are:
NameKindRulerDateFind spot
1Barmurtia Beel InscriptionCopper plateSatyanarayan1392 CEGhilamora
2Ghilamora InscriptionCopper plateLakshminaryan1401 CEGhilamora
3Dhenukhana InscriptionCopper plateSatyanarayan1392 CEDhenukhana
4Naharani InscriptionCopper platePratap Narayan/Nandeswar1375 CEDhemaji
5Dhakuakhana InscriptionCopper plateDhir Narayan1522 CEDhakuakhana

Ahom dynasty period

In 1240 A.D, Sukapha came to Habung and spent around four years. But, due to floods, he along with all his followers, shifted to the south bank of the Brahmaputra. In the year 1253, he finally settled at Charaideo and established the foundation of the Ahom kingdom. Sukapha didnot leave any of his representatives to rule the Habung region, like he had previously done for Namrup and Tipam. Thus, this region didnot form a part of Ahom kingdom until Suhungmung annexed it in the early 16th century. Some time later, the Chutia king Ratnadhwajpal annexed the state of another Chutia king Bhadrasen and carved out a capital in Ratnapur, Majuli. It is mentioned that Bhadrasen had Brahmins living in his territories. This indicates that Habung previously formed a part of Swetagiri and came under Ratnadhwajpal's rule after the defeat of Bhadrasen. King Suhungmung annexed the Habung region from Chutias in the year 1523 A.D. In the year 1526 A.D., he created the position Bhatialia Gohain with headquarters at Habung and placed Klangseng in-charge. Later in the year 1527 A.D., a new ministerial position named Borpatrogohain was created and Klangseng was made the first Borpatrogohain. During the rule of Suklenmung, a Brahmin chief and a Chutia Borpatra rebelled against the Ahom king. The Borpatra was killed and the Brahmin fled to Behar in the west.
There is a fortification known as Tai Bheti by locals which indicates the settlement of migrated Tai people. Inside the fortification, there is a historical Maidam and a pond. Ahom manuscripts have also been found in households near the fortification. The most complicated among these scriptures is known as Ban-Chyeng. It includes names of Ahom families who migrated to the region.