Maidam

About

Frang-Mai-Dam or Moidam for short (Ahom:𑜉𑜩𑜓𑜝𑜪; meaning: Burial of the dead) is a traditional tumulus of the Ahom religion. The royal maidams of Charaideo are listed as UNESCO world heritage site. Today, the people of the four clans namely Mo-Hung, Mo-Cham, Chaodang and Mo-Plong follow the tomb tradition of Ahom religion.

Structurally, a maidam consists of vaults with one or more chambers. The vaults have a domical superstructure that is covered by a hemispherical earthen mound that rises high above the ground with an open pavilion at the peak called chow chali. An octagonal dwarf wall encloses the entire maidam.

Burial is the predominant funeral rite of the Tai people, to which the Ahom people originally belonged. This is opposed to the Hindu system of cremation. After the Ahom kings adopted Hinduism, they chose to bury the ashes in mounds after cremation.

The Ahom community in Assam consider the excavation as an affront to their tradition, because the maidams are associated with the Ahom ancestor worship and the festival of Me-Dam-Me-Phi.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.