The Moran Tribe of Tinsukia District of Assam: A Study of Their Ethno – History

Abstract

The Moran community is one of the aboriginal tribes of Assam. In the 13^th century they lived in the south eastern corner of the Brahmaputra valley. The Morans have a long history in the north –eastern part of India. They had their own independent kingdom before the advent of the Ahoms. The origin of the word Moran is still remaining obscure. According to the British reports the Morans are a distinct tribe inhabiting the jungle, which is, a division of upper Assam.  It is possible that it is a tribal word that means a group of people like, Mising, Mulung, Mung tai, etc. In the early 17^th  century, Aniruddhadeva converted them to vaishnavism and thus brought about a regeneration of their society and culture. Despite long process of assimilation with other communities and transformation of their culture, they have been retaining many aspects of their old culture-ethnic art, music, dance, language and above all, social and economic systems. They have given their culture a tribal character.