Hinduism in the Ahom Kingdom: A Historical Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2026.v11.n07.006Keywords:
Ahom Kingdom, Hinduism, Ahoms, Vaishnavism, Saivism, SaktismAbstract
The Ahom Kingdom, founded in the early thirteenth century by the Tai-Ahoms under Sukaphaa, witnessed a gradual yet significant process of religious and cultural transformation. Originally followers of the Tai indigenous religion based on ancestor worship and animistic beliefs, the Ahoms gradually assimilated with the socio-cultural traditions of the Brahmaputra Valley. The process of Hinduisation was neither sudden nor imposed; rather, it evolved through sustained interaction with local communities, political alliances, intermarriages, the patronage of Brahmins, and the growing influence of Neo-Vaishnavism. The process of Hinduisation accelerated from the sixteenth century onwards. Successive Ahom rulers adopted Hindu rituals, titles, and customs while retaining several elements of their traditional faith. By the seventeenth century, Hinduism had become the dominant religious and political ideology of the Ahom state, contributing to the formation of a composite Assamese identity. This paper examines the historical process of Hinduisation among Ahoms and its influence in the Ahom Kingdom.
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