Tai Buddhist Communities and their Architecture (Introduction)

There live altogether six Tai communities in Assam, viz. Tai-Ahom, TaiKhamti, Tai-Phake, Tai-Khamyang, Tai-Aiton, and Tai-Turung. Of these, the later five communities are follower of Buddism of Theravad sect. These groups entered Assam after the Ahoms from “east and south-east, from the places contiguous to Assam beyond the Patkai Hills particularly from the northern Burma by the end of the eighteenth and nineteenth century”(Gohain:2015:33). The Ahoms are now Hindus who were also probably Buddhist. All the Buddhist groups show affinity in respect to their housing culture who are all stilt dweller. The Ahoms also used to build their houses on stilt, which they have given up. The built of the houses of the Tai people, constructed of local natural building materials, are strong enough that withstands the natural calamities and regular inundation in the areas.

The Tai groups show certain similarity in respect of beliefs and rituals associated with their residential architecture. Thus:

When the hole of the pit is dug, the Tai-Phakes, for that matter all Tai-Buddhists, put “Nam- Khao- Soom” (a kind of rice beer) mixed with thrashed raw turmeric into the pit, with a belief to keep away or scare away the evil earth spirits. (Gohain:2015:107)

There is also the tradition to wrap a red cloth and fasten bow and arrow atop the main post. Though the traditional residential architecture of the Tai-Buddhist communities outwardly exhibit considerable similarity, there exist uniqueness in respect to the architecture of each group.

Gohain mentioned another curious belief led custom prevalent in connection with the erection of posts:

The Naga of the earth changes its position once in three months to east, south, west and north. The first person to dig the pit for the first post must be a man born on Sunday; the pit for the middle post by a man born on Thursday and the last post at the other end by a man born on Saturday. Its significance is that Sunday has emblem of garuda, the king of birds, the archenemy of the Naga; Thursday has the emblem of a rat which gnaws the belly of the Naga; The Saturday has the emblem of Naga to be caught by its tail. Thus they make the Naga immovable, inactive and harmless. (Gohain:2015:110-111)