Daikho Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
The Dimasas have a unique system of double descent by virtue of which they have an allegiance to both male and female clan parallely. There are forty-two female and forty male clans in all. Each of the members propitiate clan gods of each... more
The Dimasas have a unique system of double descent by virtue of which they have an allegiance to both male and female clan parallely. There are forty-two female and forty male clans in all. Each of the members propitiate clan gods of each of the respective two clans, one belongs to. There is a traditional form of worshipping the male (in one special case, female) clan ancestor gods, in twelve territories distributed throughout the Dimasa – inhabiting areas of Northeastern India. These twelve areas also referred to as sacred groves, are known as 'daikhoes', or the 'abode of the gods.' Out of the twelve daikhoes, the Riao daikho is regarded as the greatest. This paper aims to look into the different types of rituals performed in this daikho, the functions of the priests affiliated, the people's participation, and attempt to understand how the Dimasas maintain this pristine form of worship.
The Semsas are an offshoot of the Dimasa tribe, residing in a village called Semkhor, which is about 30 kms. from Maibang, Dima Hasao. The Dimasas are originally animists, although most of them regard themselves as Hindus. They have a... more
The Semsas are an offshoot of the Dimasa tribe, residing in a village called Semkhor, which is about 30 kms. from Maibang, Dima Hasao. The Dimasas are originally animists, although most of them regard themselves as Hindus. They have a double descent system of social structure ; they follow both male and female clans parallely. Both the male and female clan members propitiate their own clan ancestor gods independently. One form of the male clan ancestor worship is known as the daikho system of worship, where 'daikho' implies the place of ancestor-god or the 'sacred grove'. The Dimasas believe that there are in total twelve daikhos, of which one is located in Semkhor. However, during this study, it was found that there are five daikhos located in Semkhor alone, increasing the total number to more than twelve. Each of the daikhos have their respective priests belonging to particular male clans who regulate all the proceedings in these daikhos. This paper is an attempt to document all the rituals involved in propitiation of the ancestor gods in each of these daikhos, as well as the roles played by the priests and the people of Semkhor with respect to these daikhos. The methodology applied are the anthropological methods of observation, interview, focus group discussion, along with photographic records.