Kecaikhati information

Kecaikhati ("eater of raw flesh") is a prominent goddesses from Northeast India.^[1] Her shrine is considered to be the Tamreswari Temple, near Paya in Arunachal Pradesh;^[2] and she is referred to as Dikkaravasini in the 9th century Kalika Purana whose temple formed the eastern limit of Kamarupa.^[3] But unlike Kamakhya and Kamakhya Temple, which acquired Brahmin priests and became associated with the legendary Narakasura and the historical Kamarupa kings,^[4] Kecaikhati continued to remain outside the ambit of Brahminical influence and remained under the control of Deori priests during the time of the Chutia kingdom^[5] and after up to the present time.^[6]

Known as a particularly bloodthirsty goddess, Kecaikhati continued to receive human sacrifices during an annual festival and at calamitous times^[7] well after the Ahoms took over the Chutia kingdom in 1523^[8] till the Ahom king Suhitpangphaa (1780–1795) or Gaurinath Singha banned the practice.^[9] Kecaikhati was the tutelary goddess of both the Chutia kingdom^[10] as well as the Dimasa kingdom.^[11] and the Ahom kingdom accorded the Deori priests special respect.^[12]

^ "One of the most famous goddesses worshiped in the north-east and one of the first to receive attention from British colonial officer-scholars in the 1800s, is the Goddess Kecaikhati, eater of raw flesh..." (Shin 2023:61)
^ "The shrine of Kecaikhatl has always been referred to as the Tamresvari Temple in later times because it was covered with a roof of beaten sheets of copper. The temple formerly stood at lat. 27° 56', long; 96° 21' near Paya in Arunachal Pradesh, about 8 km away from Tebangkhunti on the Sadiya-Teju route." (Shin 2023:61)
^ "According to the eleventh-century Jvi,fikapura1J4 (51.76-7), Kamarupa is triangular in shape and also one hundred yojanas in length from the Karatoya to the Dikkara and thirty yojanas in breadth from the north to the south. It is black in colour and interspersed with innumerable hills and hundreds of rivers. Here, the dwelling place of Dikkaravasini is deemed as the eastern limit of Kamarupa." (Shin 2023:62)
^ "(T)he Goddess Kamakhya is well-known for her close association with Narakasura or demon Naraka. As a son of the Earth and Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation, he had been the central figure in the fabricated genealogy of Kamarupa and the constant source of political authority of three ruling families, the Varmans, Mlecchas, and Palas, from the seventh to the twelfth century." (Shin 2023:69)
^ "These references lead one to assume that the sacrificial ritual for Dikkaravasini in the form of Tikhnakanta was presided over by non-Brahmanical priests such as the Deoris among the Chutiyas in later times." (Shin 2023:65)
^ "In my observation in 2012, it was found that the Tamresvarl Temple located in Sadiya town at present is a recent construction of not more than fifty years old. The local people still consider the Goddess KecaikhatI as a daughter of the Old Ones called Bura-buri in Assamese or Girasi-gira in Deori language. They offer buffalo sacrifice to her at this new Tamresvai Temple every three years, and a Deori who comes from a specific family performs the sacrificial ritual." (Shin 2023:78)
^ "The Deoris offered human sacrifices to the goddess on certain special occasions including their annual performance, and also to avert special calamities such as cholera, small pox, and drought." (Shin 2023:72)
^ "In the case of Tamresvari Temple, the goddess was served by the Deoris, the representatives of the priestly class among the Chutiyas. They were permitted to continue their religious service to her including human sacrifice even after their subjugation by the Ahoms in 1523." (Shin 2023:70)
^ (Shin 2023:74–75)
^ "Among them a great deal of importance is given to the Chutiyas in connection with worship of the Goddess Kecaikhati, mentioned as Digaravasini (i.e. Dikkaravasini) in their inscriptions and later known as Tamresvari." (Shin 2023:66)
^ "There is at Sadiya a shrine of Kechai Khaiti the tutelary deity of the Kacharis, which the Dimasa rulers continued to worship even after the establishment of their rule in Cachar." (Bhattacharjee 1992:393)
^ "The four chief Deoris thus had to make an annual visit to the Ahem court in order to demand and obtain the sanction of the king for their annual sacrifice of human beings. They were treated with much respect by the Ahom kings on that occasion. It is said that when any Hindu Gosain (the leaders of neo-Vaishnava order) appeared before the Ahom king, the latter remained seated, while the Gosain put the garland on his neck and gave blessing; but when the four chief Deoris made an annual visit to the court, the king rose and stood before them to receive their salutation." (Shin 2023:72)

[1] "One of the most famous goddesses worshiped in the north-east and one of the first to receive attention from British colonial officer-scholars in the 1800s, is the Goddess Kecaikhati, eater of raw flesh..." (Shin 2023:61)

[2] "The shrine of Kecaikhatl has always been referred to as the Tamresvari Temple in later times because it was covered with a roof of beaten sheets of copper. The temple formerly stood at lat. 27° 56', long; 96° 21' near Paya in Arunachal Pradesh, about 8 km away from Tebangkhunti on the Sadiya-Teju route." (Shin 2023:61)

[3] "According to the eleventh-century Jvi,fikapura1J4 (51.76-7), Kamarupa is triangular in shape and also one hundred yojanas in length from the Karatoya to the Dikkara and thirty yojanas in breadth from the north to the south. It is black in colour and interspersed with innumerable hills and hundreds of rivers. Here, the dwelling place of Dikkaravasini is deemed as the eastern limit of Kamarupa." (Shin 2023:62)

[4] "(T)he Goddess Kamakhya is well-known for her close association with Narakasura or demon Naraka. As a son of the Earth and Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation, he had been the central figure in the fabricated genealogy of Kamarupa and the constant source of political authority of three ruling families, the Varmans, Mlecchas, and Palas, from the seventh to the twelfth century." (Shin 2023:69)

[5] "These references lead one to assume that the sacrificial ritual for Dikkaravasini in the form of Tikhnakanta was presided over by non-Brahmanical priests such as the Deoris among the Chutiyas in later times." (Shin 2023:65)

[6] "In my observation in 2012, it was found that the Tamresvarl Temple located in Sadiya town at present is a recent construction of not more than fifty years old. The local people still consider the Goddess KecaikhatI as a daughter of the Old Ones called Bura-buri in Assamese or Girasi-gira in Deori language. They offer buffalo sacrifice to her at this new Tamresvai Temple every three years, and a Deori who comes from a specific family performs the sacrificial ritual." (Shin 2023:78)

[7] "The Deoris offered human sacrifices to the goddess on certain special occasions including their annual performance, and also to avert special calamities such as cholera, small pox, and drought." (Shin 2023:72)

[8] "In the case of Tamresvari Temple, the goddess was served by the Deoris, the representatives of the priestly class among the Chutiyas. They were permitted to continue their religious service to her including human sacrifice even after their subjugation by the Ahoms in 1523." (Shin 2023:70)

[9] (Shin 2023:74–75)

[10] "Among them a great deal of importance is given to the Chutiyas in connection with worship of the Goddess Kecaikhati, mentioned as Digaravasini (i.e. Dikkaravasini) in their inscriptions and later known as Tamresvari." (Shin 2023:66)

[11] "There is at Sadiya a shrine of Kechai Khaiti the tutelary deity of the Kacharis, which the Dimasa rulers continued to worship even after the establishment of their rule in Cachar." (Bhattacharjee 1992:393)

[12] "The four chief Deoris thus had to make an annual visit to the Ahem court in order to demand and obtain the sanction of the king for their annual sacrifice of human beings. They were treated with much respect by the Ahom kings on that occasion. It is said that when any Hindu Gosain (the leaders of neo-Vaishnava order) appeared before the Ahom king, the latter remained seated, while the Gosain put the garland on his neck and gave blessing; but when the four chief Deoris made an annual visit to the court, the king rose and stood before them to receive their salutation." (Shin 2023:72)

Kecaikhati information

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Kecaikhati

Tamreswari Temple

Dimasa Kingdom