Religion and Folklore: An Unmapped Link in Sasoni Merbil Region of North East India

Religion is an integral but very complicated part of human society. In different periods of human civilization religion played a great role as a unification force of human society. But the analysis of religion is not such simplistic in nature. It is also associated with multifaceted dynamisms, from where diverse social structures have originated. Different mythologies and folklores, those are related to some particular religion have indirectly provided validity to different forms of believe system that the particular religion has claimed. In Sasoni Merbil region of Upper Assam, folklore of a Jal Kowar is very famous and till today its impact can be seen in different rituals performed in the region. This research mainly focuses on the analysis of this folklore from a critical angle. As Sasoni region was once a famous learning centre of Neo Vaishnavite religious doctrine, a hidden but amazing link in between this religious doctrine and the famous folklore can be seen. The research is totally based on participatory rural appraisal. Different historical texts collected from the field are used for the study. The analysis has shown versatile links of different social systems of the region with the religion. It also shows that the folklore has worked as an important medium in establishment of religious belief system among the communities and indirectly this has resulted into a social hierarchy.