The Bodo People of the Brahmaputra Valley

In the fertile plains along the Brahmaputra in Assam live the Bodo people, who call themselves Boro, counted among the earliest inhabitants of the great river valley of northeastern India. The largest of the Bodo-Kachari family of peoples, settled farmers and master weavers, they have played a central role in the history of Assam and have in modern times asserted a powerful sense of their own distinct identity.

From the graceful “butterfly dance” of the Bagurumba to the sacred sijou plant of their Bathou religion, from the golden silks woven on every household loom to the hard-won autonomy of Bodoland, the Bodo carry a distinctive and ancient culture. This article traces their origins, language, homeland, society, religion, and traditions, and the long journey of this founding people of the Brahmaputra valley.