Dispur, India

Another heritage jewel from India has now been added to the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Assam's 700-year-old Moidams, which are the mound-burial system belonging to the Ahom dynasty and is located in the eastern part of the Indian state, was added to the prestigious list on Friday (July 26).

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This is also the first heritage site from India's northeast province which has made it to the list. The officials had sent the Moidams' nomination dossier more than a decade ago. 

India's Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, reacting to the announcement, said that the “day would be etched in golden letters”. 

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“This was made possible through the efforts of the Assam government and the leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are proud and grateful for the 43rd Indian addition to the World Heritage List. We thank UNESCO, World Heritage Committee for understanding the outstanding universal value of ‘Moidams’," said the minister.

Also Read: Assam's 'Moidams' as India's entry for UNESCO tag: A look into Ahom kingdom, its history and significance

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said: “The Moidams make it to the UNESCO World Heritage list under the category Cultural Property – a great win for Assam… It is the first time a site from the North East has made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the Cultural Category and after Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, it is Assam’s third World Heritage Site.”

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What are the Ahom dynasty's Moidams?

The Moidams is the burial site of Assam's Ahom dynasty and is set in the foothills of the state's Patkai Ranges in Assam.

The heritage site houses the royal necropolis of the Tai-Ahom. There are 90 moidams, which are hollow vaults made using stone, earth or brick, and each of these has a different size. 

According to the UNESCO's statement, these moidams were created by the Tai-Ahom over a span of 600 years to accentuate the area's natural topography and form a sacred geography.

Every moidam is a mound of earth created above the grave of Ahom royalty and aristocracy. 

In Assam, although Charaideo is filled with ones of Ahom royals, other moidams of aristocrats and chiefs are present in the state's eastern part, between Jorhat and Dibrugarh.

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The funerary method of the Ahom dynasty came from the Tai people which was burial and not cremation, unlike Hindu people.

Every moidam's height indicates the stature and power of the dead who were buried inside. However, all the moidams remained unidentified except those of Gadhadhar Singha and Rudra Singha.

In the chambers beneath the moidam, the dead king was buried with the items which were believed he would need in the “afterlife”, which included livestock, horses, servants and wives. 

The World Heritage Committee has till now added 1,199 sites from 168 countries to the list, among which 43 are in India.

(With inputs from agencies)