Adi–Ahom Relations in Pre-Colonial Assam: A Historical and Historiographical Study

Abstract

The historical relationship between the Adi tribes of the eastern Himalayan region and the Ahom kingdom of the Brahmaputra valley represents a long and complex frontier interaction shaped by geography, political organization, economic exchange, and military encounters. Far from being a simple narrative of conflict between a centralized state and stateless hill communities, Adi–Ahom relations evolved through cycles of warfare, negotiation, trade, and accommodation. This paper examines these relations from the thirteenth century until the advent of British colonial rule, drawing upon Ahom chronicles, colonial records, anthropological studies, and Adi oral traditions. It argues that the frontier between the Adis and the Ahoms functioned as a dynamic borderland where sovereignty was contested, negotiated, and mutually shaped rather than clearly defined. By foregrounding indigenous agency and questioning state-centric historiography, the paper seeks to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of Northeast Indian history.