The Me-Dam-Me-Phi festival is a form of ancestor worship that is observed throughout Assam on January 31st of each year. Because of the Me-Dam-Me-Phi significance of the day, the government declared it a state holiday. Since the 12th century, this has been the primary festival celebrated by the Ahoms. The Me-Dam-Me-Phi festival is essentially ancestor worship among the Ahoms.
‘Me’ means offerings, ‘Dam’ means ancestors, and ‘Phi’ means god in the literal sense. As a result, it refers to the offering of oblations to the dead and sacrifices to God. This is an old belief that looks for divinity in the dead. All Tai (Thai) speaking people have a tradition of worshipping their ancestors as gods in their own unique way.
টাই-আহোমসকলৰ পৱিত্ৰ মে-ডাম-মে-ফীৰ দিনটোত পূৰ্বপুৰুষক গভীৰ শ্ৰদ্ধাৰে স্মৰণ কৰিলোঁ৷ এই বিশেষ উৎসৱে সকলোকে শান্তি-সম্প্ৰীতিৰে উজ্জীৱিত কৰি ৰাখক, সেয়াই আন্তৰিকতাৰে কামনা কৰিলোঁ৷ pic.twitter.com/dwPJITGr7Z
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 31, 2023
Me-Dam-Me-Phi History: (মে ডাম মে ফি ৰ ইতিহাস)
Historically, the Ahom Kings held prayers on this day to honour victory after the war and to prevent any danger from occurring. King Siu-huim-mong, King Gadhadhar Singha, King Pramatta Singha, and King Rajeswar Singha, for example, have all worshipped all the Ahom Gods at Charaideo. Grihadam, Dam Changphi, and Me Dam Me Phi, the god of heaven, are worshipped and gifts are given during the Me-dam-me-phi festival.
For over 400 years, a public ceremony has been held in Charaideo, Assam to commemorate the Me-Dam-Me-Phi significance. From the 13th century, Charaideo was the first permanent capital of the Ahom kingdom and the burial place for the Ahom dynasty’s kings. Ahom believes that ancestors become gods when an individual’s immortal soul merges with the soul of the Supreme Being.
Every year on January 31, the Me-Dam-Me-Phi festival is celebrated communally throughout Assam, particularly in the Ahom-dominated regions of Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, and Sivasagar. The previous year, the Guwahati Central Me-Dam-Me-Phi Ujjapon Committee hosted the ancestor worship festival Gauhati, India in Notboma, and several notable dignitaries attended.
The rituals and customs are carried out intimately by members of the family, usually in the kitchen. Damkhuta, a pillar, is built and worshipped with items such as homemade wine, mah-prasad (beans and chickpeas), and rice with meat and fish.
