Saga Dawa Special

S. BALAKRISHNAN

Namphakey Buddhist Monastery – A Thai Tradition in Assam

 Last year’s Buddha Jayanthi was very special to me because my birthday coincided with that Triple Blessed Festival, making it Quadruple Blessed Festival. Buddha Jayanthi commemorates Bhagwan Buddha’s birth, attainment of Buddhahood and parinirvana, and hence celebrated as Triple Blessed Festival. The day was made further special by my hosts in Assam, the Borgohains, who arranged a visit to the unique Namphakey Buddhist Monastery; unique because it belongs to the Tai Phake community of Thailand.

(Namphakey Buddhist Monastery)

          The hosts had kept this visit as a secret until that evening. At the Monastery, they surprised me further by offering the ‘gamcha’, the traditional Assamese scarf. The visit was followed by a traditional dinner where local drink and dishes were served, thus making it a most memorable birthday! Well, such things do not happen every year.  Remembering it, I am both happy and sad!

Now, coming to the Namphake Monastery, it was established in 1850 when the Tai Phake people moved to Naharkatia, near Dibrugarh in eastern Assam. Ethnically Thai, the ancestors of this community in Naharkatia were from the village Maulung in the Chinese province of Yunnan. They came to power during the Chukafa’s reign. When the Nungkham kingdom of Burma (now Myanmar) invaded the village, many clans in this community fled due to torture. One such clan, the Thai Phake, crossed Patkai hills in the Nangpao area and settled there. There they approached other communities like Singhpo and Khampti to form a new community together.  As a result, a clan moved from there and settled on the river bank in Jorhat. But due to the Burmese attack here again, they fled and reached Namchik. As the monsoon rains caused problems they moved further to Margerita, Borphake and settled there.

Later, their search for fertile agriculture land led them to this place on the bank of Buri Dihing River (one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra) where this settlement is currently located.  The river is both a boon and bane to the Thai Phake community as erosion is a threat forever; it has eroded parts of the village and forced people to migrate. Sometimes, it shifts its course as well, leaving behind silt. These people from Yunnan in the Nam Phake village form the largest of the Tai-Phake villages of Assam. They are invariably Buddhists by religion and speak a dialect similar to the language in Thailand; they adhere to the traditional customs and dress code of the Tai race. About 150 Phakial family of this village are keeping alive their unique identity, customs and traditions. 

The Nam Phake monastery, located some 6 kms from Naharkatia and 37 kms from Dibrugarh, is considered as one of the oldest and most respected Buddhist monasteries of Assam. Founded in 1850, it follows Hinayana sect. As we entered, the golden pagodas of the monastery were glittering in the luminescence of the full moon. There is a small sacred water tank within the premises called Mucalinda. Two main festivals are celebrated here - the Poi-Nen-Chi  in March, to pay homage to Buddha, and the Poi-Nun-Hok on Buddha Jayanthi. The monastery is an example of Thai Buddhist temple architecture with fire-spitting dragons, golden pagodas and statues, etc. Royal members of Thailand have visited this monastery and made liberal donations. Monks were seen lighting candles to celebrate Poi-Nun-Hok (Buddha Jayanthi) in fluttering maroon and yellow robes. 

I was fortunate to have visited a Burmese Pagoda in the border town of Tamu in Myanmar during our trip to Manipur.  Last year, on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanthi, thanks to my hosts the Borgohains and the blessings of Bhagwan Buddha, I could visit a Thai Pagoda in Namphakey without entering Thailand.                              

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