An ideal meeting ground for diverse races, Assam gave shelter to streams of human waves carrying with them distinct cultures and trends of civilization. Austro-Asiatics, Negritos, Dravidians, Alpines, Indo-mongoloids, Tibeto-Burmese and Aryans penetrated into Assam through different routes and contributed in their own way towards the unique fusion of a new community which came to be known in later history as the Assamese. Assam, however, remained predominantly a land of the Tibeto-Burmese. The vast section of the people of Assam belong to either to this stock or owe their origin to the fusion of this stock with other racial groups. In Assam (excluding the Surma valley) and north-east Bengal, the Dravidian type has, to a great extent, been replaced by the Mongolian, while in the Surma valley and the rest of Bengal a mixture of races has taken place in which the recognizable Mongolian element diminishes towards the west and disappears altogether before Bihar is reached.

There has been racial intermixture among the population of Assam. The Mongoloid racial stock have large number of tribes. Their physical features are described as "a short head, a broad nose, a flat and comparatively hairless face, a short but muscular figure and a yellow skin." But there are numerous other races also. Traces of the Negroid are to be found among the Nagas. The Khasis who speak Austric language belong to the proto-australoids. The Kaibartas and the Banias of Assam are said to be descendants of the Dravidians. They are distinguished by "a long head, large and dark eyes, a fairly strong beard, a black or nearly black colour and a very broad nose, depressed at the base, but not so as to make the face look flat". Then there are the Aryans, with a long head, tall and well-built, having a fine, long and prominent nose and a fair complexion, who came to Assam from across Bihar and Bengal. All these peculiarities of physiognomy one will encounter in Assam.
Numerous Mongoloid races inhabit the hills and plains of Assam. One among them is the Nagas, who now have their own state, Nagaland. Another race is the Mikirs, who live in the Karbi Anglong (formerly the Mikir hills) district of Assam. The Bodos or Boros are the most noteworthy Mongoloid people in eastern India. The Bodo language which falls under the Tibeto-Burman Sub-family of the Sino-Tibetan languages has greatly influenced the Assamese language in its development. They first settled in the Brahmaputra valley and then slowly spread to various other places. The Mizos or Lushais of Mizoram, formerly a district of the state are migrants from the chin hills and speak a Kuki-Chin tongue of the Tibeto-Burman sub-family of the Sino-Tibetan languages. The Lalungs are another Mongoloid group that live in the Nowgong district.

The Chutiyas, a tribe later Hindus and speaking a Bodo tongue, are mainly confined to the extreme north-east of the state, above the Subansiri river and in the Sadiya area just below the Arunachal (NEFA) hills. The Miris or Mishings, are another colourful Mongoloid tribe who, like the Chutiyas inhabit the riverine areas of Lakhimpur, Sibsagar and Darrang districts. The Koches ,whose dynasties ruled north Bengal and west Assamese till the 17th century, are described as western Bodos of Mongoloid stock as against Eastern Bodos, the Chutiyas and the Kacharis. They have adopted Hinduism and the Assamese language. The Koches are scattered all over the Brahmaputra valley. The Morans or Mataks are another mongoloid people who ruled in the extreme east prior to the Ahoms. They are largely concentrated in the eastern most parts of Lakhimpur district, in the territory lying between Dilrugarh and Saikhowaghat, south of the Brahmaputra, near Sadiya. The Morans are to be found in part of the districts of Darrang and the Sibsagar also.

The Ahoms are the only Mongoloid race whose arrival in Assam is historically recorded. This is because they came very late, viz, in 1228 AD. and they recorded their own activities in the chronicles called 'Buranjis', meaning 'store -house of unknown things'. The Ahoms spoke Chinese-Siamese. In upper Burma and western Yunnan, they had styled themselves as Shans. The Ahoms, though scattered all over the valley, are concentrated in Sibsagar district, the seat of their administration. Assam, the present name of the state, is in all probability an Ahom contribution.
The other Shan tribes who followed the Ahoms along the same Patksi Range route are the Khamtis, Naras, Phakials, Aitaniyas,Turungs and Khamjangs, all Buddhists. The Ahoms were the only non-Buddhists. The Aryan Hindus of Assam are numerous with their sub-sects. Principal castes or classes of people of Assam, excluding the tribes are: Brahmana, Kayastha, Kalita, Koch, Keot, Ganaka or Daivajna, Kaibarta, Kumara Hari, the last two being potters. This classification is based on old records and present social conditions. They inhabit every nook and corner of the plains. They originally came to Assam from the west like other Aryan descendants of northern India, they are also tall and fair. The Kalitas are agriculturists by profession, though during Ahom rule they proved their might as soldiers also. The Brahmanas and Kayasthas are generally given to intellectual pursuits such as learning, diplomacy, statecraft and religious teaching. It is they who are largely responsible for propagating the scriptures, building up literature and developing the Assamese language.

The Mikirs

The Mikir tribes are scattered over the Golaghat subdivision of the Sibsagar district, Nowgong, Kamrup, Khasi Hills and North Cachar Hills. The complexion of the tribes is generally yellowish brown but some are quite fair. The men are comparatively tall. The Mikir dress is elegant. The men put on a long striped coat (choi) without sleeves and with fringes covering the lower part of the body up to the knees. They wear a short dhoti called Rikong, sometimes of silk. On the head they wear a pagri (pohu). In cold weather they cover themselves like the Assamese with a wrapper or bor-kapor of eri-silk which is warm. The woman wear a petticoat (pini) fastened round the waist with the ornamental belt (vankok ) exactly like the Lakhers of the Lushai Hills. The upper part of the body is covered with a wrapper (jiso) passing under the arms and drawn tight over the breasts. Both men and women draw their hair back which is tied in a knot above the nape.

The women insert a silver tube in the ear lobes. Ear rings of gold and silver are suspended from the upper part of the ears. Necklaces, rings, bracelets of gold and silver are worn in Khasi-fashion. Feathers of the horn bill adorn the head of both men and women on festive occasions. The Mikirs build their houses on the floor several feet above the ground. House are built of spilt, flattened out of bamboo, the roof being thatched with sun grass. The house is divided into separate compartments. The furniture of the house generally consist of a raised platform of spilt bamboo which serves as a bed, a block of wood corresponds to the Assamese pira or low stool, Baskets of bamboo serve the purpose of wardrobes, in which Paddy, house hold goods and clothes are kept. Joints of bamboo are used as containers for water as well as ornaments and other valuables of the family.

ASSAMESE LANGUAGE

The word 'Assamese' is an anglicised formation. It stands for the language called Asamiya which is derived from the name of the state, Asom. Asom means 'unparalleled' or 'peerless'. Assamese is an Indo-Aryan language. It developed out of the Sanskrit language about the 7th century AD. Its immediate ancestor was Magadhi Apabhramsa. (Apabhramsa - dialect; Magadhi is the dialect of prakrit (spoken form of Sanskrit) which became the language of Bihar).