Festivals of the tea tribes of Assam: A study of their socio-cultural significance

The culture of the tea tribes of Assam, especially their festivals and dances, is increasingly coming into the limelight, gaining recognition and popularity not just in Assam but also in the rest of the country. Long known for being the backbone of Assam’s famed tea industry and for their role as plantation labour, not much is known about the cultural dimensions of this community comprising diverse tribes, who were forced to migrate by the British from the distant world of the Chotanagpur highlands in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. This paper seeks to highlight the vibrant cultural practices, festivals, dances, traditions and customs that originated from their native places and evolved in the lush and verdant tea gardens of Assam. This study seeks to gain a nuanced understanding of how the culture and festivals of the tea tribes enrich the diverse and composite culture of Assam. This research paper seeks to understand as to how the cultural practices and festivals of the tea tribes are enjoyed by the plantation workers and also by the other communities of Assam and thereby act as a bridge between the tea tribes and the mainstream Assamese society. It is to be noted that through such festivals, songs and dances, we find that the process of acculturation of the tea tribes with the greater Assamese society is gaining momentum.