Assam became the settling ground for many civilizations who came here through different routes as it was connected by land to many states and country. Negritos, Dravidians, Alpines, Tibeto Burmese and Aryans were the major races that made a settlement in Assam. They made Assam there home and came to be known as Asamese. The largest population in Assam is of the Tibeto Burmese origin like the Bodo tribe and Mishing tribe. Major tribes of Assam earn their livelihood through agriculture and by selling their handicrafts. Different types of tribes are famous for variety of handicrafts. Some are famous for handloom and some have mastered in metal of pottery works. Their languages too differ according to their place of origin.
Bodo Tribe
Bodo People were one of the earliest tribes to move to Assam. Today they constitute a large part of Assam population accounting to around 5.3%. They are not restricted to any specific area and are found in almost all parts of Assam. The speak Bodo language that is derived Tibeto Burmese family of language. Most of them are engaged in rice cultivation, tea plantation and poultry farming. Bodo Women engage themselves in weaving which has become a known culture of Bodo Tribe. Bodos were earlier known to worship their forefathers, however in recent times they have started practicing Hinduism and Bathouism.
Karbi People
Karbi tribe generally reside in hilly areas of Assam and form the major portion of population of Karbi Anglong district. They also inhabit places in North Cachar Hills, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts of Assam. They are mentioned as Mikir in the constitution of India.
Mishing Tribe
The Mishing Tribe belonging to Tibeto Burmese group have agriculture as their occupation. They inhabit districts of Tinsukia, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, Jorhat and Golaghat. Mishing people found the most fertile land on the banks of River Brahmaputra and settled on sides of the river. Though their production was great, frequent floods prevented them from climbing the economic ladder. The main festival of Mishing tribe is Ali-Lye-Ligangin the month of February which is the harvest festival. They speak language known as Mishing language.
Phake Tribe
Residing in Dirugarh and Tinsukia district of Assam, along Dihing river. They are said to have come here from Thailand in the late 18th century. They speak Assamese language as well as Phake language. These group is also known as Phakial and are a follower of Theravada Buddhism.
Tai Aiton people
Ti Aitons are one among the six Indigenous Tai communities of Assam. They are Buddhist by religion. The Assamese people commonly term them asShyams or the people from Siam i.e. Thailand. The names of their villages are directly translatable into modern Thai, as both sounds and meaning correspond.
Rabha tribe
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 Jalpaiguri district. In Assam, the Rabhas live mostly in Goalpara and Kamrup districts.The Rabhas belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group of people and have similarities with other members of Bodo group such as Garos, Kachari, Mech, Koch,Hajong and others. Most of the Rabhas of Dooars refer to themselves as Rabha, but some of them often declare themselves as Kocha.
Nishi people
The Nyishi or Nishi people, principaly found in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They are also called “Nyashang”, meaning ‘people of the land or the human being’, by people belonging to Kurung Kumey district. They inhabit the Papum Pare, East KamengLower Subansiri, Kurung Kumey, parts of Upper Subansiri districts of Arunachal Pradesh, as well as the Sonitpur District and North Lakhimpur district of Assam.
Khamti people
The Khamti, or Tai Khamti, Thai: as they are also known, are a sub-group of the Shan people found in theSagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Smaller numbers can be found in parts of Assam as well as the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. As of 1990 their total population was estimated to be around 70,000, but in 2000 it was recalculated that it actually stood at 13,100, of which 4,235 live in Burma. The tribe’s name is also spelled as Hkamti by the andKhampti by the Assamese.The Khamti who inhabit the region around the Tengapani basin were descendants of migrants who came during the 18th century from the Bor-Khampti region, the mountainous valley of the Irrawaddy. The Khamti possess East Asian features.
Kachari people
Kachari is a generic term applied to a number of ethnic groups predominantly in Assam speaking Tibeto-Burman languages or claiming a common ancestry. They were first classified by S. Endle as the Kacharis. Here, Bodo is derived from Bod which means a unit of substances or bod or bud means unity in Dimasa dialect. Tibet is Dimasa origin, its real mean is Di-bodo>Ti-bud>Tibet, it later became Tibet in foreigners dialect and Kachari is derived from Kachar meaning an areas near the river and sea. They are considered to have reached the Brahmaputra valley via Tibet or southern China and settled in the foothills of the eastern Himalayan range which includes the whole of Assam, Tripura, North Bengal and parts of Bangladesh.
Sonowal Kacharis
The ‘Sonowal Kacharis are a division of the Kachari family of north east India specially in Assam Tibeto-Burman speakers and are predominantly inhabitants of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinisukia and Dibrugarh district of Assam. They are scattered in the districts of Sibsagar,Jorhat,Golaghat and in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in east India, also.During the reign of the Ahom King,some Kacharis engaged in gold panning of river sand,hence the name Sonowal or gold washer. The Sonowal Kacharis are a branch of great Kacharis of Assam.
Tea-tribes
The Tea-tribes are found mainly in the districts of Darrang, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj Tinsukia and almost all the districts of Assam in India.Santhali speakers are also found in parts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts. The so-called Tea-tribes were brought in by the colonial planters (British) as indentured labourers from the Chhota Nagpur Plateau region.
Khamti people
The Khamti, or Tai Khamti, Thai: as they are also known, are a sub-group of the Shan people found in theSagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Smaller numbers can be found in parts of Assam as well as the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.