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Lower Assam or Western Assam is a region of Bharat (India) situated in the great plains of the Brahmaputra valley. It was home to the kingdom of Kamarupa (3-12 AD). Its largest city is Guwahati.
History
Ancient Lower Assam, known as Kamarupa was ruled by powerful dynasties: the Varmanas (c. 350–650 AD), the Salstambhas, c. 655–900 AD) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c. 900–1100 AD). In the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c. 600–650 AD), the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the region and recorded his travels. Later, after weakening and disintegration (after the Kamarupa-Palas), the Kamarupa tradition was somewhat extended until c. 1255 AD by the Lunar I (c. 1120–1185 AD) and Lunar II (c. 1155–1255 AD) dynasties.
Demography
The ethnic composition of Lower Assam consists of Indo-Aryans along with tribes like Bodos in the northern part of Lower Assam while Rabhas in the south and Koches in the southwest.
Festivals
Primarily festivals like Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja, Kali Puja along with dozens of other Pujas are celebrated. Harvesting festivals are also widely celebrated all around Lower Assam.
Religion
Hinduism is primary religion of Lower Assam which is further divided into Vaishnavism and Shaktism.
Culture
Villages still contained the traditional Vedic culture while in case of towns and cities it relaxed a bit. Vedic culture largely flourished in the reign of Pushyavarman (350-374),the founder of great Varman Dynasty of Kamarupa Kingdom and which reached its zenith in the reign of Bhaskarvarman (600-650).
Language
Kamrupi is spoken in once undivided Kamrup district areas while Goalparya is spoken in once undivided Goalpara district areas and Bodo, Rabha, Koch languages are spoken in respective tribal belts. Genealogically, Kamrupi belongs to the group of Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, here marked in yellow.
See also
Notes and references
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/310471/Kamarupa
Kamarupa by Verne David Wilt
Kamarupa by Raghupatisahaya Gorakhpuri
The Social History of Kamarupa by Nagendranath Vasu
Kāmarūpa-Kaliṅga-Mithilā:a politico-cultural alignment in Eastern India : history, art, traditions by Chandra Dhar Tripathi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study