by Daizi Hazarika, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology
My CSWS fellowship allowed me to travel to the India Office Records at the British Library in summer 2019. At the British Library, I focused on the effects of colonial policies on witch-hunting on indigenous women in Assam, India. After spending two months poring over colonial documents, I discovered a strong connection between British colonial laws and an increase in witch-hunting allegations against tribal populations in Assam. My first research finding contests the prevalent view that tribal communities in Assam practiced witch-hunting pre-dating British colonialism. I found the opposite to be true. The colonialists introduced allegations of witch-hunting against certain tribal communities in order for the British to arrest them and take over their ancestral lands for tea plantations. My second research finding asserts the deterioration of the social status of indigenous women after the arrival of the British. The colonial-era saw the insemination of Brahmanical patriarchy in Assam, socially and economically marginalizing lower castes and indigenous women. This caused the Hinduization of many indigenous groups and intensification of gender relations in Assam. Indigenous women belonging to the Rabha and Garo communities had to face violent practices like head-hunting and homicide after the arrival of the British.
The area of Assam that I am studying is composed of multiple tribal communities, among whom the Singphos, Rabhas, and Garos were considered to be the most powerful groups by the colonizers. From my archival research, I found minimal instances of witch-hunting among tribal populations before 1847. The first instance of witch-hunting ever recorded in Assam was in 1848 when the colonial government charged a Singpho chief of killing another Singpho man accused of witchcraft. Hence, a colonial proclamation was passed in 1850, restricting all forms of witchcraft allegations (including witch-hunting) among the indigenous communities. Individuals involved in identifying and torturing other individuals for witchcraft were either deemed to be deceivers, obtaining money through pretense, or were charged for murder. In other parts of colonial India, where such accusations centered on the targeting of indigenous women, in Assam, indigenous men were the ones targeted. But careful analysis of witch-hunting in colonial Assam shows that the imposition of colonial policies restricting witchcraft allegations were strategies to take over Singpho land for colonial tea plantations.
The Singpho community has been cultivating tea in Assam for a very long time. The discovery of tea in Assam in 1824 was a breakthrough for the British East India Company, as they found an alternative to expensive tea imports from China. This sparked new interests among the colonizers to take over the fertile Singpho for colonial tea plantations. In order to do this, Singpho had to be colonized. Initially, the British tried to use this tribal land through the payment of a small rent called “posa” to the Singpho communities. But,the meager amount paid infuriated many Singpho chiefs who then revolted against the colonial administration. To control this situation, the British interfered with their native beliefs of witchcraft and slavery for arresting and subjugating them. The colonizers knew that although the Singphos rarely practiced witch-hunting, their tantric religious thoughts were influenced by beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery (where witchcraft was believed to act as a defense force against invading alien powers). Hence, by accusing the Singpho chiefs of either witch-hunting or slavery, and imposing anti-witch-hunting and anti-slavery laws, the British strategized to take over the jurisdiction of the Singpho land directly.
Another major finding from my research asserts the degradation of the social status of indigenous Assamese women after the arrival of the British. In pre-colonial times, tribal women in Assam were given considerable autonomy over their lives, where they contributed equally towards family sustenance alongside men. But colonization led to the insemination of various Brahmanical and elite-class norms that led to the Sanskritization and Hinduization of multiple indigenous groups. Brahmins in India practiced a strong patriarchal system where women were given subordinate roles within society. The colonial era witnessed the migration of many Brahmin Bengali Babus to Assam for managing the colonial tea plantations, imposing Brahmanical patriarchy in this region, and eventually intensifying gender relations among indigenous communities.
The intensification of gender relations led to an increase in gendered violence against women belonging to the Garo and Rabha communities. While examining the colonial records, I found that the colonialists described Garo men as “headhunters,” whose social position was determined by the number of human skulls they owned. The imposition of external Brahminical patriarchal structures objectified women’s bodies within this community, giving rise to a practice of procuring skulls of women and children. As per records, the importance of skulls belonging to women and children emerged from them being the center of protection. Women and children were the most protected within the Garo community as they were regarded as bearers of future warriors. Surpassing this protective shield to procure such human heads elevated a man’s status within this community. Hence, we see numerous instances of Garo men attacking rival villages to acquire the skulls of women and children. One such police record discusses the murder of three women by a Garo man in 1851. But since the British colonialists did not yearn for Garo lands for their tea plantations, they did not prosecute the Garo man.
Historically, the Rabhas had followed matrilineality and matrilocality. But under British colonial rule, it was transformed into a Hindu patrilineal and patrilocal society. Since then, the social position of women in this community has deteriorated, with multiple incidents of rape and homicide practiced against them. Although in the colonial records, I found minimal instances of witch-hunting within the Rabha community, today, this community experiences the highest number of witch-hunting attacks against indigenous Assamese women.
My research at the British Library helped me understand that witch-hunting of indigenous women in Assam is a recent phenomenon and one that is a result of changes in gender relations during the colonial era. Furthermore, my initial research findings show that the laws restricting witch-hunting practices in Assam were colonial strategies to take over the land of indigenous communities. Based on my research, I conclude that the social position of indigenous Assamese women first deteriorated under British colonial rule. In contemporary times, it has further deteriorated, putting women at a high risk of witch-hunting.
—Daizi Hazarika is a doctoral candidate in anthropology.