Charaideo Moidams, The Burial Site Of Ahom Royals Find Spot In List Of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (image@gssjodhpur)
Charaideo Moidams, a burial site is Assam is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 700-year-old mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty — is the first cultural site from the Northeast to make it to the UNESCO World Heritage list. The nomination dossier for the place was sent more than a decade ago. It is also known as the “Pyramids of Assam”.
Moidams is set in the foothills of the Patkai Ranges in Assam. It contains royal necropolis of the Tai-Ahom. Moidams are referred to the hallow vaults, which are built of brick, stone. It is a tumulus – a mound of earth raised over a grave – of Ahom royalty and aristrocacy. Over 90 such moidams, built of different sizes are found within the site.
According to UNESCO, for over 600 years, the Tai-Ahom created these moidams accentuating the natural topography of hills, forests and water, thus forming a sacred geography.
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In Moidams in Charaideo contains one of Ahom royals, other moidams of aristocrats and chiefs can be found scattered across the eastern part of the state, between Jorhat and Dibrugarh.
Ahom community people, whose origin can be traced back to Tailand, bury the bodies. The kings and queens of Ahom dynasty were buried in the Moidams.
The height of a moidam is typically indicative of the power and stature of the person buried inside. The process of building a moidam typically includes several steps, such as placing the deceased in a specific posture, adding offerings, and covering the structure with earth.
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Inside the chambers of the moidam, the dead king would be buried along with items he needed for the “afterlife”, as well as servants, horses, livestock and even their wives. It is said that there are underground vaults or chambers for different purposes, one for keeping the body of the departed king with all the necessary things for afterlife, and others for the servants, care-takers, horses, and elephants. In earlier times at least 10 living persons were buried alive with the departed king to take care of him in afterlife, however this custom was abolished by Rudra Singha, the 30th Ahom King.
It is the similarity of the Ahom burial rites with that of the ancient Egyptians that give Charaideo moidams the moniker of “Pyramids of Assam.”
