16 "■ GEORGE D-S-DUNBAR ON 



In 1650 a body of Dafia archers did good service on a punitive expedition 

 against the Lakma Nagas when the force was surprised by an attack of spearmen. 

 In 1662 it is noted by the author of the Fathiyah i-'Ibriyah, who accompanied 

 Mir Jumlah throughout his expedition to Assam, that the hills were inhabited 

 by Miris, Mishmis, Daflas and other tribes. They paid no tribute but most of 

 them regarded the Ahom king with awe and generally submitted to his orders, 

 except the Daflas who were inveterate raiders. Occasional small but success- 

 ful expeditions against the Miris and Mishmis are to be found in the pages of 

 Assamese 17th century history. The most striking feature in the whole history of 

 Assam prior to the British occupation was the foreign policy of Rudra Sing (d. 1714). 

 He is said to have received the submission of all the hill tribes and to have established 

 an extensive trade with Tibet. Unbroken peace, save for one successful Dafia expedi- 

 tion, seems to have marked the reign of his son. A camp site made during the pro- 

 gress of one of these later expeditions was pointed out to me on Moi-a hill, on the road 

 to Beni (which was then in existence and apparently the objective of that particular 

 column). The Subansiri Daflas told me with great satisfaction that although many of 

 their people died in the jungle on that occasion, their Ahom enemies never saw them. 

 It is interesting to note that in 17.58 the Daflas, as punishment for several raids, were 

 blockaded, forts were erected and the tribesmen forbidden to enter the plains. 



The years 1788-89 saw the first stages in the fall of the Ahom Kingdom and the 

 beginnings of British ascendency. During these troublous times the Daflas appear to 

 have taken sides and played quite a prominent part in the fighting that took place. 

 Lieutenant Macgregor, the first European officer to come into contact with them, 

 described the Daflas as " men of excellent understanding and pleasant manners" — 

 characteristics that time seems sadly to have withered. It is here, at the very end of 

 the 18th century, that the Abors make their first appearance in history. The Khamtis, 

 who had established themselves in Sadiya when the Ahom control of its more distant 

 frontiers had perceptibly weakened, kidnapped some Miris who appear to have been 

 admittedly vassals of the Abors in the hills above. These Abors, it is surmised 

 from what is known of the migrations of the clans, were very possibly Padam from 

 Damroh or its colonies. In the hostilities that took place the hillmen succeeded in 

 defeating the Khamtis. In 1798 the expedition sent by the Ahom government to 

 re-establish their rule in the east beat the Singphos and succeeded, two years later, in 

 inflicting a decisive defeat on the Khamtis. In this battle the Khamtis are said to 

 have been assisted by the Abors. With this reverse Abor relations with the expiring 

 Ahom Kingdom came to a close. It has been gathered that the term ''■ Dafia," as 

 recorded by Gait in the pages from which this historical resume is an extract, is 

 somewhat loosely applied and that the turbulent hillmen, whose raids make up the 

 sum of early frontier history, may quite possibly have included the Abors. This con- 

 clusion is strengthened by one of the reports stating that the Daflas and neighbouring 

 clans were the allies of the Ahom Government during the Naga expedition of 1650. 

 The history of the relations of the British Government with the hill tribes may be 

 found in Gait's History of Assam and in Mackenzie's North-East Frontier. 



