Assam’s ‘Moidams’ Nominated By India For UNESCO Heritage Tag

India has nominated Assam’s royal burial mounds called ‘moidams’ for the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag this year.

‘Moidams’ are the royal burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty which ruled the region for over six centuries from 1228 to 1826. Also known as the Pyramids of Assam, they have been likened to the royal tombs of ancient China and the Egyptian pyramids.

Chairadeo was the first capital of the Ahoms established by King Sukapha – the dynasty’s founder. Located at the foot of the Patkai hills in eastern Assam, Charaideo exclusively hosts the royal maidams. There are other maidams located at Jorhat and Dibrugarh too.

There are some 42 maidams belonging to various kings and queens at Chairadeo and other sites.

Ahom kings followed the burial practices of their ancestor Tai people, before adopting Hinduism, following which they chose to bury the ashes after cremation. Tai-Ahoms saw their kings as gods on earth, and so chose to bury their deceased at Chairadeo, the sacred site of their kingdom.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selecting Assam’s Dossier, and also noted that if selected, the mounds at Chairadeo would be the only site from the Northeast to get the coveted status.

The site was on the tentative list since 2014 and was finally nominated by India after a long wait of nine years.