Khamti Hills
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Khamti Hills
A hilly country on the frontier of Assam, lying at the eastern end of the Brahmaputra Valley and inhabited by the Kham- tis, a tribe of Shan origin, who are said to have migrated northwards to the hills near the upper waters of the' Irrawaddy and Mekong when Mogaung was conquered by the Burmese king, Alaungpaya, about the middle of the eighteenth century. A section of the tribe moved on into Assam and settled near Sadiya, and their leader succeeded in establishing his position as the feudal chief of the surrounding country. He was recognized by the British when they took over the territories of the Ahom prince ; but his son declined to abide by the decisions of the local British officer, and was deprived of his office and dignities. The Khamtis then rose, raided the settlement at Sadiya, and killed the commanding officer, Colonel White, in 1839. The rising was, however, quickly suppressed, and no trouble has since been given by the tribe.
Bor Khamti, the principal stronghold of this people, consists of the valley of the Namkiu (the western branch of the Irrawaddy) with the surrounding hills. It can be reached via the Patkai and the Hukawng valley, or by a route running south-east from Sadiya up the valley of the Diyun, over the Chaukan pass, which is 8,400 feet above the level of the sea. The distance from Sadiya to Putau, the principal Bor Khamti village, is 197 miles. After Bishi the path is very difficult in places, running through dense forests where there are no villages and no means of obtaining supplies. Oaks, rhododendrons, and beeches grow freely on the hills, and large game, such as elephants and rhinoceros, are common. Putau is situated in a valley, shut in on every side except the south by hills, which in the winter are crowned with snow. The valley is about 25 miles long by 15 broad, and is about 1,500 feet above sea- level. The villages are surrounded with a palisade about 12 feet high, made of split trees interlaced with bamboo. The houses are large, com- modious structures built on piles, and the audience chamber in the Raja's house is 50 feet in length by 40 wide. Rice is the staple crop grown in the valley, but pulse and poppy are also cultivated, the Kham- tis being much addicted to the use of opium. The people are much more civilized than most of the hill tribes on the north-east frontier, and near Putau there is a brick-built temple 95 feet high with a gilded cupola. Some of the images of Buddha in this temple are of consider- able artistic merit. The Khamtis seem to stand in some awe of the Singphos, who adjoin them on the west, and also of the Khakus, said to be of the same race as the Singphos, who occupy the hills on the east. Little is known about the geology of the tract, but pyrite, calcho-pyrite, and galena have been found.
[An account of the Khamtis will be found in Colonel Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal ?\
