Recently, it was announced that the government is vying to put forth the
name of Assam’s Charaideo Moidams/ Maidams for addition to UNESCO’s
World Heritage Sites (WHS) list.
Key Highlights:
Maidams are the burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens and nobles.
Moidams of aristocrats and chiefs can be found scattered across
Eastern Assam.
Charaideo exclusively contains Moidams of Ahom royals and was the
necropolis of almost all Ahom Royals.
Charaideo was the first capital of Ahoms, established in 1253
AD by king Sukaphaa.
Burial as the predominant funerary method of the Ahoms, originated from
the Tai people.
Charaideo will be the only cultural heritage site in the WHS list in the
North East if selected.
Features of Maidams
3 major features of Maidams-
A vault or chamber (to keep mortal remains).
A hemispherical earthen mound covering the chamber with a
brick structure (Chow-châli) for annual offering over it.
An octagonal boundary wall having an arched gateway on its west.
Size of Maidams varies from a modest mound to a hillock, depending upon
the power, status and resources of the person buried.
Special officers, known as Changrung Phukan, were appointed for
construction of all the civil works including royal Maidam.
Ahom kings used to be buried along with items needed for the
“afterlife”, as well as servants, horses, livestock and even their wives.
About Ahom Kingdom
The Ahom dynasty ruled over much of Assam and the North East from
1228 to 1826 AD.
The Ahom kingdom stretched from modern-day Bangladesh to deep inside
Burma.
In November 2022, Ahom general and folk hero Lachit Borphukan’s 400th
birth anniversary was celebrated as Lachit Diwas.
