Lower Assam or Western Assam is a region of Bharat (India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

) situated in the great plains of the Brahmaputra valley. It was home to the mighty kingdom of Kamarupa (3-12 AD). Guwahati

Guwahati

Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...

, the largest city of North-East India

North-East India

Northeast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...

 is located here while Dispur, the capital of Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 is in Guwahati.

History

Ancient Lower Assam, known as Kamarupa was ruled by powerful dynasties: the Varmanas (c. 350–650 AD), the Salstambhas, (c. 655–900 AD) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c. 900–1100 AD). In the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c. 600–650 AD), the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the region and recorded his travels. Later, after weakening and disintegration (after the Kamarupa-Palas), the Kamarupa tradition was somewhat extended until c. 1255 AD by the Lunar I (c. 1120–1185 AD) and Lunar II (c. 1155–1255 AD) dynasties.

Demography

The ethnic composition of Lower Assam consists of Indo-Aryans

Indo-Aryans

Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...

 along with tribes like Bodo

Bodo

- Locations :* Bodø, A city in Norway*Bodo, Alberta, a hamlet in Central Alberta, Canada, close to the Saskatchewan border.*Bodo , a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire*BoDo, a district of Boise, ID; the name of which stems from Boise Downtown....

s in the northern part of Lower Assam while Rabha

Rabha

Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in...

s in the south and Koch

Koch

Koch may refer to:* Koch , a type of Arctic boat* Koch people , an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east India* Koch , people with this surname* Koch, Łódź Voivodeship, a village in central Poland...

es in the southwest.

Festivals

Primarily festivals like Eid

Eid ul-Fitr

Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...

, Bihu

Bihu

Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...

, Durga Puja

Durga Puja

Durga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...

, Kali Puja

Kali Puja

Kali Puja or Shyama Puja is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu month Ashwin in Bengal. It coincides with the pan-Indian Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali...

 along with dozens of other Pujas are celebrated. Harvesting festivals are also widely celebrated all around Lower Assam.

Religion

Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 and Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 are main religion of Lower Assam. Hinduism is further divided into Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....

 and Shaktism

Shaktism

Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead...

.

Culture

Villages still contained the traditional Vedic culture while in case of towns and cities it relaxed a bit. Vedic culture largely flourished in the reign of Pushya Varman

Pushya Varman

Pushyavarman the first historical ruler of Assam established Varman dynasty in 350 AD. He encouraged Vedic culture to flourish in his country. Brahminical influence was widespread during his reign. He maintained cultural,political and Diplomatic relationship with other kingdoms under Gupta Empire...

 (350-374), the founder of great Varman dynasty

Varman dynasty

The Varman dynasty ruled Kamarupa from 350 to 650. Pushyavarman the first historical ruler of Assam established this dynasty in c350 AD...

 of Kamarupa Kingdom and which reached its zenith in the reign of Bhaskarvarman (600-650).

Language

Kamrupi

Kamrupi

Kamarupi or present Kamrupi is the language that was spoken in the Kamarupa kingdom in the first millennium, which, some linguists claim, gave rise to or influenced various eastern Indo-European languages like Assamese and Bengali.During British India at some point Kamrup was divided into two big...

 is spoken in once undivided Kamrup

Kamrup

Kamrup district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India, named after Kamarupa, a name by which Assam was previously known in ancient times. The district, however, is now a small western part of Assam, with a distinctive native Kamrupi culture and dialect . The distinctive...

 district areas while Goalparya is spoken in once undivided Goalpara

Goalpara

Goalpara is the district headquarter of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated west of Guwahati.-Etymology:The name of Goalpara is said to have originally derived from `Gwaltippika` meaning `Guwali village` or the village of the milk men. In the local dialect "para" means...

 district areas and Bodo

Bodo

- Locations :* Bodø, A city in Norway*Bodo, Alberta, a hamlet in Central Alberta, Canada, close to the Saskatchewan border.*Bodo , a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire*BoDo, a district of Boise, ID; the name of which stems from Boise Downtown....

, Rabha

Rabha

Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in...

, Koch

Koch

Koch may refer to:* Koch , a type of Arctic boat* Koch people , an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east India* Koch , people with this surname* Koch, Łódź Voivodeship, a village in central Poland...

 languages are spoken in respective tribal belts. Genealogically, Kamrupi

Kamrupi

Kamarupi or present Kamrupi is the language that was spoken in the Kamarupa kingdom in the first millennium, which, some linguists claim, gave rise to or influenced various eastern Indo-European languages like Assamese and Bengali.During British India at some point Kamrup was divided into two big...

belongs to the group of Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, here marked in yellow.