The Karbis or the Mikirs, are said to be one
of the few most ancient races of Assam. The great
artist-scholar Bishnu Prasad Rabha used to refer to them as the Columbus
Customs, Traditions & Religious Beliefs
'Hemphu' was their primal man. According to Karbi tradition Sat Recho was their first king who promised his resurrection at a certain stage of civilization to rule the earth again. Some clans of the Karbis believe their origins to be totemistic. The highest of the Karbi gods is "Barithe", the god of the heaven. The most important social function of the Karbis is the Chamangkan.
The Karbi People
Karbis are mainly habitant of Sibsagar district and some part of Nowgong. Majority of Karbis use to do Jhum cultivation till the fifties but now almost all of them have taken to wet cultivation.
The Village And Household
The concept of a plains Karbi house is almost similar to that of the Rabha house. As for their village, the Karbis always prefer a site at the foot of a hill to other plain lands. The village consists of a number of families and the village named after its headman.