ABORS AND GALONGS. 15 



and Rolero (when once the trans-Dihang migration was effected) influenced solely 

 by local conditions, moving their villages on to some other spur, in any direction 

 within very few miles of their old site, or sending an off-shoot, such as Degog from 

 Koiyu, on to a spur on the opposite bank of the river by which they have settled. 



The earlier rulers of Assam, or Uttar Gol, 1 to restore to the country the romance 

 „ . . . A M of by-gone centuries that knew the Brahmaputra as the 



Relations with Assam. J ° * 



Hradya, the Daoinas of Ptolemy, or the Chiamay and the 

 Dibang as the Cshudra Lohita, appear to have made no serious invasions of the 

 highlands to the north. The steep, roadless, forest-clad mountains cut by rivers on 

 which boats, if they could live at all, could be used only with great difficulty, 

 were no temptation to the lords of the rich valley below, who were, however, 

 occasionally goaded into offensive action by the persistent raiding of frontier 

 communities. It is not therefore surprising that the relations between the rulers 

 of the plains of Assam and the hill tribes as recorded by Gait* were spas- 

 modic and unfriendly. The first reference to the hill tribes that this authority 

 believes to be authentic is made by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang who , 

 in order to study Buddhism, travelled through India in the early part of the 

 seventh century. Beal's translation 3 gives Hiuen Tsiang 's remark that "the 

 '* frontiers (of Kamarupa) are contiguous to the barbarians of the south-west of 

 " China. These tribes are in fact akin to those of the Man people (i.e. the S.-W. 

 " barbarians) in their customs. After a two months' journey we reach the south- 

 -western frontier of the province of Szechuen." The Kingdom of Kamarupa was 

 not a small one; in the reign of Brahmapal (circ iooo a.d.) much wealth was 

 said to be derived from the copper mines which Gait conjectures were pos- 

 sibly in Bhotan, a country that was then, it is supposed, subject to Kamarupa. 

 It is at least worth conjecture that the copper mines already referred to in this 

 chapter* may perhaps have been a source of supply. If we pass over Muham- 

 mad Bahhtiyai's invasion of Tibet in about 1198 a.d. frontier history remains 

 silent till early in the 17th century when frontier guards were established to repress 

 Dafla raids. It is recorded that in 1615 an Ahom expedition across the Dafla border 

 was repulsed by the tribesmen. This experience was repeated in 1646 when an 

 invading force penetrated the Dikrang gorge in the scarcely favourable month of June 

 but, finding the bows and arrows of their enemies too much for them, they inconti- 

 nently retired without fulfilling their orders. The Buha Gohain and Barpatra Gohain 

 who were in command were dismissed the service and made to appear in public in female 

 attire. A more vigorous commander in January of the following year gave an example 

 of the way in which hill operations should be conducted. He induced the combined 

 Daflas and "Hill Miris" (i.e. Subansiri Daflas) to fight a pitched battle in which 

 they were heavily defeated. The force then marched through the country, destroyed 

 the villages and granaries (then full after harvest) and secured about a thousand head 

 of cattle. This effectually subdued the whole country, at least for a time. 



1 Blochmann, J A.S.B., XLI, Part I, p. 76 2 Gait, History of Assam, Calcutta, 1906. 



3 Beale, Buddhist Records of the Western World, Vol. II, p. 195. * See p. 8. 



