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THE BODO COMMUNITY

The Bodos (pronounced as bɔ́ɾɔ̀z) are one of the ethnic and linguistic communities and early settlers of Assam in North-East India. The word ‘Bodo’ denotes both the language as well as the community. The Bodos belong to a larger group of ethnicity called the Bodo-Kachari. Racially they belong to Mongloid stock of the Indo-Mongloids or Indo-Tibetans. Mythologically, according to Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, a well-known historian, they are “the offspring of son of the Vishnu and Mother-Earth” who were termed as ‘Kiratas’ during the Epic period. They are recognized as a plains tribe in the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Bodo girls dancing "Sikhri-Sikhla" (Butterfly Dance)

Photo: Maneswar Daimary and Sangrang Brahma

 

HISTORY

Just after the arrival of the Austroloid group of people, another group of people, the Mongolians came to old Assam. They migrated from Hoang-Ho and Yangtze River banks across the north east corner of old Assam and scattered and dwelt in different river banks of the state. “The upper course of the Yangtze and the Hoang-Ho in North West China were the original home of the Tibeto-Burman races.” (Grierson’s The Linguistic Survey of India).According to Bhaben Narzy, before 2000 BC, the Mongolian people were found wandering in Siberia and Mongolia. With the change in time they scattered towards three different angles. One of them proceeded towards south and took to reside in the bank of Hoang-Ho River and Tibet Malbhumi in the south west of China. They established a high civilization there. According to Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, they came to Assam in 2000 BC. “The area of characterization for the primitive Sino-Tibetan speech appears to have been North-Western China between the head waters of the Huang-Ho and the Yangtze Kiang Rivers.” (Suniti Kumar Chatterjee). According to Rajmohan Nath, different groups of people came across Himalayas from the north when the early dwellers of Assam, the Austric people became weak in power. They were the primitive people of the area north to the Himalayas and west China. That area was known as Bod. The meaning of Bodasa Tibetan word is ‘the first dwelling place or homeland’.

Sijwu tree is a deity to be worshiped by the Bodo people

Photo: Aleendra Brahma

According to Rev. Sidney Endle, the origin of the Kachari (Bodo) race is still very largely a matter of conjecture and inference, in the absence of anything entitled to be regarded as authentic history. In features and general appearance they approximate very closely to the Mongolian type, and this would seem to point to Tibet and China as the original home of the race.

Though the Mongolian people, the Bodos, came to northeast India in 2000 BC or so, they were not conscious of their language and literature for a long period of centuries. Their language was found to be in only a few books in the late 19th century and early 20th century. e.g.- An Outline of Kachari Grammar(1884)by Rev. Sidney Endle, A Short Grammar of the Mech or Boro Language (1889) by L.O. Skrewsfor, A Collection of Kachari Folk Tales and Rhymes (1895) by J.D. Anderson, Grammar and Dictionary of Kachari Language (1904) by A. Christensen and The Kacharis (1911) by Rev. Sidney Endle. The lack of an authentic written history of the Bodo language can be supposed to be the main fault of the Bodo people of that time who were only concerned with ruling and were not at all bothered of preserving the language in written form. This is evident by the fact that most of the historical figures of Bodo were eminent rulers like Raja Iragdao, Sikhwna Jwhwlau, Swmdwn Jwhwlau, Gambari Sikhla, Birgwsri Sikhla, etc. Otherwise, the language could be a link language of the northeast India. Later on, different dialects of the language changed to different sub languages and the community was divided into sub communities with different names like Bodo, Garo, Rabha, Tiwa, Sonowal, Karbi, Dimasa, Kokborok, Mishing, Ahom, Chutiya, etc.

 

GEOGRAPHY

The Bodo speech community is now well-spread throughout the north-east India including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, northern part of West Bengal, Bihar and adjoining areas of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Speakers are primarily found in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam, and its few adjacent areas of Jalpaiguri, in West Bengal, with minimum concentration in the northern part of the Brahmaputra Valley.

POPULATION

The number of Bodo speakers in Assam in the 2001 census was 1,296,162 against a total number of 1,350,478 Bodo speakers in the entire country.

CULTURE

Bodos have a rich, multi-faceted and distinct culture of their own. The agricultural practices, food habit and belief systems of the Bodos reflect a conglomeration of features from both the Aryan and Mongoloid culture.

Social and domestic life

A marked feature of Bodo social and domestic life is the mutual help and co-operation among its members. This is evident in various activities related to their social life as well as agricultural practices. In constructing embankments and irrigation canals, the people of the village work together. Moreover, in case of harvesting the cold weather rice-crop in December and January each year, the spirit of mutual help and cooperation remains the same.
One of the greatest industries of the Bodos is agriculture. In fact, the livelihood pattern of the Bodos is mostly characterized by preponderance of agricultural occupation. They cultivate different crops such as rice, vegetables, pulses, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco (in limited quantities), etc. Among these, rice may be classified as the principal agricultural product and the two major seasonal varieties are the hot weather ‘Asu’ and the cold season ‘Sali’ paddy.
The Bodos are highly acclaimed for their indigenous devices for preserving seeds. Preserved seeds of paddy, pulses, vegetables (e.g., Lai, Lapha, Mula, etc.), etc. are called ‘Zwlwi’. The best ripen paddy is first reapen and kept in a place, especially meant for keeping the paddy and pulses called ‘Kholtha’. After threshing them, the grains are dried under the sun for about two days and are kept in jute sacks or a kind of bag made of straw and bamboo. They are also very skillful in the construction of irrigation canals and earthwork embankments for diverting water from river beds into their rice-fields.

Fishing with Jekhai and Kholoi by the Bodo Girls
Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K., “Aspects of social Customs of the Bodos”

 

As regards their food, the greatest delicacies of the Bodos are pork and the traditional dish ‘Onla’. Rice beer ‘Zwu’ and dried fish ‘Na Gwran’ are among other delicacies that are greatly prized by the peasants. In fact, the dish made with dried fish called ‘Napham’ is so popular that sometimes the Bodos address themselves by this term.
Fishing is an integral part of the Bodo community and the implements commonly used are mainly two, i.e., Jekhai and Pholo. A fish-catching expedition is often carried out by a number of women, in the Bodo community women outnumber men in this respect.

The traditional Bodo handicrafts and handlooms reflect the superb craftsmanship of the people. The Bodo people are well versed in the use of bamboo and cane for handicrafts. Beautifully crafted cane furniture and furnishings have made their way from traditional Bodo homes to the luxurious urban homes. The Bodo ‘Dokhna’, ‘Phali’, ‘Aronai’ and ‘Indi’ clothes are superb example of artistic finish in handlooms. From time immemorial, the Bodo women have spun cotton, Indi & Mugasilk for sell, use of herself and her family members.

A Bodo girl at the loom
Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K., “Aspects of social Customs of the Bodos”.

A Bodo girl in the traditional attire Dokhna
Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K., “Aspects of social Customs of the Bodos”.

Religion and Festival

The predominant deities of the Bodos are the household gods and village gods. The former are worshipped inside the house and the latter by the whole village collectively. Among the household deities are Bathou Bwrai or Bathou, Mainao or Bulli Buri, Asu Mainao, Sali Mainao, Song Raja, Song Bwrai, Bura Bagh Raja, etc. Among the village deities may be mentioned Gau Raja, Mero Raja, Bura Mahadeo, Bura Gosain, Jal Kuber, Thal Kuber, Ih Kuber, Bih Kuber, Kuber Bwrai (masculine), Kuber Burwi (feminine), Sila Rai, etc.

Prayer: Infront of the Bathou Tree
Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K, "Aspects of Social Customs of the Bodos"

 

The Bodos have a rich tradition of festivals. The festivals or ceremonies can be classified into seasonal and religious. Among the seasonal festivals, Bwisagw and Domasi are the main and among the religious ones Bathou, Kherai, Garja and Marai to name a few. By far the most important occasion of merry-making in the social life of the Bodos is the celebration of Bwisagw in the month of Baisakh (mid April). This is similar to the Rongali Bihu festival of the neighboring Assamese community. The supreme deity Bathou is worshipped on this occasion. They also perform the

traditional dance Bwisagw on this occasion. The traditional musical instruments that are used in this dance festival are Kham, Jotha, Khawang, Serja and Siphung. The Bodos also celebrate two other Bihus known as Domasi (Bhogali Bihu) and Khathi-gasa (Kongali Bihu). (mention the dance forms that are part of the ritual and which are not).
Garja, Kherai and Marai are associated with Bathou. The religious philosophy of the Bodo tribe centres round the super power of Bathou Bwrai who is analogous to Sibrai or Shiva of the Hindu Trinity. The Sizwu plant (Euphorbia Splendens) is regarded as representing the Bathou--- the supreme deity of adoration. Kherai--- a religious annual community festival of the tribe is a festival in the true sense of term where Bathou-Bwrai is worshipped along with eighteen gods and goddesses in various contexts. The propitiatory rituals begin with different dance recitals along with singing of ballads in tune with traditional musical instruments which are essential and inevitable part of the Kherai Phuja. Kherai dance is strictly restricted to the womenfolk. Doudini--- the female Shaman or woman oracle is the focal figure who initiates, guides and controls the dances. A Doudini is possessed of Gods caused by the incantation of one Deuri – the priest of the Bathow worship. At the incantation of the Deuri, the Doudidini become possessed of the God and begins to jerk and tremble her body and sounds three warning being the mother Kamkhya: Beware! Beware! Beware!

Kherai Dance of the Bodos
Courtesy: Goswami, P., “Festivals of Assam”.

The Bodos have a rich storehouse of songs and dances like Bagurumba, Bar-Dwi-Sikhla, Swdwmsri Mwsanai, Haba janai, etc.

Bagurumba Dance of the Bodos
Courtesy: Goswami, P., “Festivals of Assam”.

LANGUAGE

Linguistic Affiliation

Bodo belongs to the Bodo sub-section of Bodo-Naga section under the Assam-Burmese group of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Tibeto-Chinese family.

[Chatterji, S.K. (1951) Kirāta-jana-kṛti The Indo-Mongoloids:
Their Contribution to the History and Culture of India. Calcutta]

Dialects

There are at least four dialects of Bodo according to Bhattacharya, P.C., A Desciptive Analysis of the Bodo Language.
The north-west dialect area which covers the northern regions of Goalpara and Kamrup districts.
The south-west dialect area which covers South Goalpara, Garo Hills and a few places of South Kamrup.
The North Central Assam dialect area comprising of the districts of Darrang, Lakhimpur and a few places of NEFA.
The Southern Assam dialect area spoken in Nowgong, North Cachar and Mikir Hills, Cachar and adjacent areas.

Script

Before 1953, the Bodo language had no standard form of writing. Although, Roman script and Assamese script were used in the past, recently, Bodos adopted the Devanagiri script. According to some scholars, the Bodo language had a script of its own called ‘Deodhai’.

PHONOLOGY

Vowels

In Bodo, there are fifteen distinctive vowels, made up of six pure vowels or monophthongs and nine vowel glides or diphthongs.

Pure Vowels:

Table 1.1: Pure Vowels in Bodo

 

The vowel sounds in Boro language occur in all the three positions, namely initially, medially and word finally. Examples are shown below:

Table 1.2: Occurrences of Pure Vowels in Bodo

 

Diphthongs or Vowel Glides

There are nine diphthongs in Bodo as follows:

Table 1.3: Occurrences of Diphthongs in Bodo

Consonants

There are sixteen consonant sounds including two semi-vowels in the Boro language:

Table 1.4: Consonants in Bodo

The occurrences of these consonants are shown below:

Table 1.5: Occurrences of Consonants in Bodo

Tones

Bodo is one among the tonal languages of the world. There are two clearly distinguishable kinds of tone in Bodo; these are Low and High. Some examples are given below:

As a common system the low tone is marked by an acute accent and the falling tone by a grave accent over the vowels of the syllable where the particular tones occur.

 

Morphology

Nominal

Noun

Nouns in Bodo are mostly monosyllabic such as /ai/ ‘mother’, /dau/ ‘bird’, /dɯi/ ‘water’, etc. as well as di-syllabic such as /mansi/ ‘person’, /bipʰa/ ‘father’, /sɯima/ ‘dog’, /phuŋkʰa/‘source’, /muluɡma/ ‘universe’, etc. However, derived nouns such as /saŋɡɾaŋtʰi/ ‘conciousness’, /pʰinzatʰai/ ‘reaction’, /ɔnnai/ ‘love’, /bisaikʰɔtʰi/ ‘election’, etc. are also frequently used.

Pronoun

Personal pronoun

Demonstrative pronoun

Interrogative pronoun

Reflexive pronoun

Indefinite pronoun

 

Nominal Inflections:
Number:
Bodo has two numbers, namely, singular and plural. Singular is not marked morphologically. But plural is exressed by various suffixes such as /-mɯn/, /-pʰɯɾ/ and /-sɯɾ.The distribution of usage of each of the plural markers are showm below:

/-mɯn/: It is suffixed to kinship and proper nouns and third person honorific personal pronouns. For example,

ada	-mɯn
brother	-PL

‘Brothers’

ram	-mɯn
Ram	-PL

‘Rams’

bitʰaŋ	-mɯn
3.HON	-PL

‘They(honorific)’

/-pʰɯɾ/: It is suffixed to nouns and third person non-human pronouns. For example,

bizab	-pʰɯr
book	-PL

‘Books’

be	-pʰɯr
3.PROX.INHUM	-PL

‘They’

/-sɯɾ/: It is suffixed to second and third person non-honorific personal pronoun. For example,

nɯŋ	-sɯr
2	-PL

‘You’

bi	-sɯr
3.PROX.HUM	-PL

‘They’

In certain cases, words like /hanza/ , /pʰalɯ/ when added to nouns give plural meanings. /hanza/ is used for humans and /pʰalɯ/ for non-humans. For example,

subuŋ	hanza
people	group

‘A group of people’

dau	pʰalɯ
bird	group

‘A flock of birds’

Gender:
In Bodo, there is no gender division of inanimate objects as found in Hindi. Gender is realised only in the noun class of animate beings in Bodo and it is marked in different ways as follows:

In certain cases gender formation is realized by using different sets of words. For example,

Masculine	Feminine
ada ‘brother’	bazɯi ‘sister-in-law’
apʰa ‘father’	ai ‘mother’
bisai/pʰisai ‘husband’	bisi ‘wife’

Sometimes masculine and feminine genders are distinguished by /-a/ and /-i/ suffixes. For example,

	Masculine	Feminine
1	pʰaɡla ‘mad man’	pʰaɡli ‘mad woman’
2	beŋɡa ‘deaf man’	beŋɡi ‘deaf woman’

Another way to distinguish masculine and feminine genders is by adding certain words or suffixes indicating sex to nouns. For example,

	Masculine	Feminine
1	sɯima baŋɡɾa ‘dog’	sɯima baŋɡɾi ‘bitch’
2	ɔma bunda ‘pig’	ɔma bundi ‘sow’
3	mauzi bunda ‘he-cat’	mauzi bundi ‘she-cat’
4	bɯrma pʰantʰa ‘he-goat’	bɯrma pʰantʰi ‘she-goat’
5	dau-zɯla ‘male bird’	dau-zɯ ‘female bird’

In addition to all these, Bodo has certain nouns which are uniquely masculine and feminine. For example,

Unique Masculine: The following nouns are always masculine and do not have corresponding feminine nouns.

badaɾi ‘wood-cutter’
barɔlampʰa ‘a traditional folk dancer who participates in the marriage ceremony’
dɯuri ‘priest’
laukʰaɾ ‘cowboy’

Unique Feminine: The following nouns are always feminine and do not have corresponding masculine nouns.

dɯudini ‘a woman folk dancer who participates in Kherai puja’
bɔkʰali ‘a baby’s nurse’
aduŋɡaɾi ‘an aged unmarried lady’
sundauɾi ‘a naughty girl’
randi ‘widow’

Case:
Nominative case: The nominative case marker in Bodo is /-a/ which has its allomorphs- /-ja/, /-ɯ/ and /jɯ/. /-a/ is used with consonant ending nouns, /-ja/ with vowel ending nouns, /-ɯ/ with consonant ending pronouns and /jɯ/ with vowel ending pronouns. For example:

sɔkʰa	-ja	ukʰum	-au	tʰa	-jɯ
sparrow	-NOM	roof	LOC	live	NEUT

‘Sparrow lives on the roof.’

ɾabɔn	-a	lɔŋkʰa	-ni	ɾaza	-mɯn
Rabana	-NOM	Lanka	-GEN	king	-PST

‘Rabana was the king of Lanka.’

bi	-jɯ	sa	-se	mɯzaŋ	ɡɔtʰɔ
3SG.HUM.PROX	-NOM	CLS	-one	good	child

‘He/She is a good child.’

be	-kʰɯu	-nɯ	aŋ	-(ɯ)	naɡiɾ	-ɡasinɯ	dɔŋ
3SG.INHUM.DIST	-ACC	-PTCL	1SG	-(NOM)	look for	-PROG	be

‘I am looking for that.’

 

Accusative case: /-khɯu/

baudija	-ja	lɯɡɯ	-pʰɯɾ	-kʰɯu	nu	-dɯŋ	-mɯn
Baodiya	-NOM	friend	-PL	-ACC	see	-ASP	-PST

‘Baodiya saw (his) friends.’

Instrumental case: /-zɯŋ/

nɯŋ	aitʰiŋ	-zɯŋ	pʰɯi	-nɯ	ha	-ɡɯn
2SG	foot	-INS	come	-NF	can	-FUT

‘You can come on foot.’

Dative case: /-nɯ/

biɾsɯn	-a	asa	-nɯ	gaŋ	-se	laizam	hɔɾ	-dɯŋ
Birswn	-NOM	Asa	-DAT	CLS	-one	letter	send	-ASP

‘Birswn is sending/has sent a letter to Asa.’

Ablative case: /nipʰrai/

ai	-a	nɔ	-nipʰrai	pʰɯi	-gɯu
My mother	-NOM	house	-ABL	come	-FUT (near)

‘My mother is coming from home.’

Genitive case: /-ni/

bi	-ni	lɯgɯ	-a	tʰaŋ	-bai	-mɯn
3SG.HUM.PROX	-GEN	friend	-NOM	go	-PRF	-PST

‘His/Her friend had gone.’

Locative case: /-au/ and /-jau/

apʰa	-ja	bɯisaɡɯ	-au	pʰɯi	-phin	-ɡɯn
My father	-NOM	Bwisagw	-LOC	come	-back	-FUT

‘My father will come back in Bwisagu (Mid-April).’

embu	-a	bɯri	-jau	tʰa	-jɯ
frog	-NOM	land	-LOC	live	-NEUT

‘Frogs live in land.’

 

VERB
Based on the morphological distinction the verbs in Bodo can be classified in three different groups.

Simple Verbs. Example follows-

lɯŋ ‘drink’
ɡɯzɯn ‘be happy’.

Complex Verbs. Example follows-

sɯ	-ɡab
CAUS	-cry

‘cause to cry’

tʰaŋ	-pʰa
go	-with

‘go along with’

Compound Verbs. Example follows-

za	-pʰɯi
eat	-come

‘come and eat’

dɯn	-kʰaɾ	-laŋ
put	-run	-take away

‘elope’

Verbal Inflections:
Tense and Aspect:
Bodo verbs comprises of three tenses and some aspect as follows:

Present Tense:
The present tense is realized in three aspects, namely, present indefinite, present perfect and present progressive which are marked by adding different suffixes. present indefinite is marked as /-ɯ/ and /-jɯ/, present perfect as /-bai/ and present progressive as /-dɯŋ/ and /-ɡasinɯ/ or /-bai/ if followed by the auxiliary /dɔŋ/.

Present Indefinite. Example follows-

bi	-jɯ	pʰɔɾaisali	-jau	tʰaŋ	-ɯ
he/she	-NOM	school	-LOC	go	-PRS

‘He/She goes to school.’

Present Perfect. Example follows-

bi	-jɯ	pʰɔɾaisali	-jau	tʰaŋ	-bai
he/she	-NOM	school	-LOC	go	-PRF

‘He/She has gone to school.’

Present Progressive. Example follows-

bi	-jɯ	pʰɔɾaisali	-jau	tʰaŋ	-ɡasinɯ	dɔŋ
he/she	-NOM	school	-LOC	go	-PROG	be

‘He/She is going to school.’

Past Tense:
In Bodo, the past tense is also realized in three aspects, namely, past indefinite, past perfect and past progressive. Past indefinite is marked as /-dɯŋ-mɯn/, /-ɯ-mɯn/ or /-jɯ-mɯn/, past perfect as /-bai-mɯn/ and past progressive as /-gasinɯ/ or /-bai/ followed by the auxiliary /-dɔŋ/+/-mɯn/.

Past Indefinite. Example follows-

aŋ	ɯŋkʰam	za	-dɯŋmɯn
I	rice	eat	-PST

‘I ate rice.’

Past Perfect. Example follows-

aŋ	ɯŋkʰam	za	-bai	-mɯn
I	rice	eat	-PRF	-PST

‘I had eaten rice.’

Past Progressive. Example follows-

aŋ	ɯŋkʰam	za	-ɡasinɯ/-bai	dɔŋ	-mɯn
I	rice	eat	-PROG	be	-PST

‘I was eating rice.’

Future Tense: The future tense, in Bodo, is realized in two different aspects, namely, future indefinite and future progressive. However, the common future tense marker is /-ɡɯn/. In future indefinite it is suffixed to the verb whereas in future progressive to the auxiliary verb /-tʰa/, specially used in future tense. There are also two different future tense markers, viz. /-nɯsɯi/ and /-ɡɯu/ which mean ‘immediate future’ and can substitute the common form.

Future Indefinite. Examples follow-

bitʰaŋ	-a	pʰɯi	-ɡɯn
he/she.HON	-NOM	come	-FUT

‘He/She(hon) will come.’

bitʰaŋ	-a	pʰɯi	-nɯsɯi
he/she.HON	-NOM	come	-IFUT1

‘He/She(hon) will come in a momemt.’

bitʰaŋ	-a	pʰɯi	-ɡɯu
he/she.HON	-NOM	come	-IFUT2

‘He/She(hon) is coming.’

Future Progressive. Example follows-

bitʰaŋ	-a	pʰɯi	-ɡasinɯ	tʰa	-gɯn
he/she.HON	-NOM	come	-PROG	AUX	-FUT

‘He/She(hon) will be coming.’

 

CLASSIFIERS:
The use of classifiers in Bodo is another striking feature which is related to the nouns syntactically and semantically but not morphologically. It is always prefixed to the numeral which modifies a noun in a noun phrase. For example:

sa	-se	mansi
CLS	-one	person

‘One person’

The extensive use of classifiers can be seen from the examples below:

Sl. No.	Classifier	Usage
1	mɯn-	for all but exclusively used by children and second language learners.
2	ma-	for all types of inhuman living beings.
3	tʰai-	for fruits, currency, stone, etc.
4	ɡɔŋ-	for horns, wooden objects, utensils, houses, weapons, etc.
5	pʰaŋ-	for tree, saplings, etc.
6	dɯi-	for eggs.
7	tʰɔ-	for posts, bamboo, etc.
8	suba-	for bamboo groves.
9	tʰuba-	for bamboo groves, shrubs, etc.
10	ɡaŋ-	for leaf-like objects.
11	dɯŋ-	for hair, rope, song, road, etc.
12	daŋ-	for garlands, etc.
13	mutʰa-	for betel leaf, paddy, etc.
14	atʰi-	for bundle of firewood.
15	dɔɾ-	for piece of meat or fish, nuts, etc.
16	baɾ-	for flowers.
17	sa-	for human beings.

 

SYNTAX:

Word Order:
The basic word order of the Bodo language is SOV (Subject-Object-Verb). But, as it has rich case system all other kinds of word order i.e. SVO, OSV, OVS, VOS and VSO can realize the same meaning which an SOV structure can. Out of them OSV is more frequently found in the native speakers’ speech.

Sentence types:
Based on the structure the sentences in Bodo are classified into three different kinds, namely, simple, complex and compound. Examples are given below:

Simple:

ɡɔtʰɔ	ɡɯɾlɯi	-a	undu	-laŋ	-bai
child	small	-NOM	sleep	-take away	-PRF

‘The baby has fallen asleep.’

Complex:

ɡele	-gasinɯ	tʰa	-nai	ɡɔtʰɔ	ɡɯɾlɯi	-a	undu	-laŋ	-bai
play	-PROG	AUX	-ADJL	child	small	-NOM	sleep	-take away	-PRF

‘The baby who was playing has fallen asleep.’

Compound:

ɡɔtʰɔ	ɡɯɾlɯi	-a	ɡele	-dɯŋmɯn	aɾɯ	undu	-dɯŋmɯn
child	small	-NOM	play	-PST	and	sleep	-PST

‘The baby played and slept.’

 

Voice:
In Bodo, passive sentence is formed in the following ways:

the subject goes to the object position and the object goes to the subject position.

the passive marker {-za} is suffixed immediately to the main verb root.

the agent which moves to the object position is suffixed with the instrumental case {-zɯŋ}.

Active:

aŋ	ɯŋkʰam	za	-jɯ
1SG	rice	eat	-PRES

‘I eat rice.’

Passive:

ɯŋkʰam	-a	aŋ	-zɯŋ	za	-za	-jɯ
Rice	-NOM	1SG	-INS	eat	-PASS	-PRES

‘Rice is eaten by me.’

Moreover, in case of ditransitive sentence, the indirect object is suffixed with the dative case {-nɯ}

Active:

bɯiɾatʰi	-ja	ɾaizɯ ɾaza	-pʰɯɾ	-nɯ	ɡɔi	ɾan	-nanɯi	hɯ	-dɯŋ
Bwirathi	-NOM	people	-PL	-DAT	betel-nut	distribute	-NF	give	-ASP

‘The Bwirathi is distributing betel-nut to the people.’

Passive 1:

ɾaizɯ ɾaza	-pʰɯɾ	-a	bɯiɾatʰi	-zɯŋ	ɡɔi	ɾan	-nanɯi	hɯ	-za	-dɯŋ
people	-PL	-NOM	Bwirathi	-INS	betel-nut	distribute	-NF	give	-PASS	-ASP

‘The people are distributed betel-nut by the Bwirathi.’

Passive 2:

ɡɔi	-a	ɾaizɯ ɾaza	-pʰɯɾ	-nɯ	bɯiɾatʰi	-zɯŋ	ɾan	-nanɯi	hɯ	-za	-dɯŋ
Betel-nut	-NOM	people	-PL	-DAT	Bwirathi	-INS	distribute	-NF	give	-PASS	-ASP

‘Betel-nut is distributed to the people by the Bwirathi.’

 

Negation:
Negation, in Bodo, is marked by using both prefixes and suffixes. Suffixation is used for declarative and interrogative sentences and prefixation for imperative and optative sentences. Some examples are given below:

Declarative (statement):
Positive:

alaɾi	-ja	ɯŋkʰam	sɔŋ	-ɯ
Alari	-NOM	rice	cook	-PRES

‘Alari cooks rice.’

Negative:

alaɾi	-ja	ɯŋkʰam	sɔŋ	-a
Alari	-NOM	rice	cook	-NEG

‘Alari does not cook rice.’

Interrogative:

Positive:

nɯŋ	mɯsa	-nɯ	ɾɯŋ	-ɡɯu	-da
2SG	dance	-NF	know	-ASP	-QP

‘Do you know how to dance?’

Negative:

nɯŋ	mɯsa	-nɯ	ɾɯŋ	-a	-da
2SG	dance	-NF	know	-NEG	-QP

‘Donot you know how to dance?’

Imperative:

Positive:

zeblabɯ	tʰaɾ	batʰɾa	buŋ
Always	true	saying	say

‘Always speak the truth.’

Negative:

mablababɯ	tʰaɾ	batʰɾa	da-	buŋ
Always.NEG	true	saying	NEG-	say

‘Never speak the truth.’

Optative:

Positive:

subuŋ	haɾi	-ja	ɔɾaibɯ	zɯi	za	-tʰɯŋ
Person	community	-NOM	always	victory	be	-WISH

‘May the human race be victorious!’

Negative:

subuŋ	haɾi	-ja	mablababɯ	zɯi	da-	za	-tʰɯŋ
Person	community	-NOM	never	victory	NEG-	be	-WISH

‘May the human race not be victorious!’

 

Glossary & Abbreviations:

Aronai	The piece of cloth which represents the Bodo community.
Dakhna	The traditional dress of the Bodo women.
Indi	A type of cloth made of the cocoons of silkworms (errandi).
Jotha	Small cymbals.
Kham	A kind of large drum.
Kholtha	A place for keeping paddy and pulses.
Muga	A type of cloth made of the cocoons of silkworms (muga).
Napham	A traditional dish made from dried fish.
Onla	A traditional dish made from rice powder.
Phali	The additional dress material worn with the Dakhna.
Serza	A kind of stringed instrument.
Siphung	Flute.
Zwlwi	Preserved seeds of paddy, pulses and some vegetables.
1	First Person
2	Second Person
3	Third Person
ABL	Ablative Case
ACC	Accusative Case
ADJL	Adjectivalizer
ASP	Aspect
AUX	Auxiliary Verb
CLS	Classifier
CAUS	Causative
DIST	Distal
FUT	Future Tense
GEN	Genitive Case
HON	Honorific
HUM	Human
IFUT1	Immediate Future Type 1
IFUT2	Immediate Future Type 2
INS	Instrumental Case
LOC	Locative Case
NOM	Nominative Case
PL	Plural
PRF	Perfective Aspect
PROG	Progressive Aspect
PROX	Proximal
PRS	Present Tense
PST	Past Tense
PTCL	Particle
SG	Singular

 

Bibliography:
Bhattacharya, P.C., (1997) A Descriptive Analysis of the Boro Language. Department of Publication, G.U.: The Register, G.U.
Bordoloi, B.N. et al., (1987) Tribes of Assam Part-I. Tribal Research Institute, Guwahati-28, Assam.
Brahma, Aleendra, (2009) The Verb and Noun Morphology in Bodo, An M.Phil. thesis submitted in the Deptt. of Linguistics, The Global Open University, Nagaland.
Brahma, Aleendra, (2007) The Verb Phrase in Bodo, An M.A. dissertation submitted in the Deptt. of Linguistics, Gauhati University.
Brahma, Aleendra, (2007) Tones in Bodo, A seminar paper.

Endle, Rev. Sidney, (1911) The Kacharis. Bina Library, Panbazar, Guwahati-01

Kaur, Sugandha, (2007) Vowels in Bodo, A seminar paper.