Bodo Website THE BODO COMMUNITY HISTORY GEOGRAPHY POPULATION CULTURE LANGUAGE Linguistic affiliation Dialects Script Phonology Vowels Consonants Tones Morphology Nominal Verbal Syntax Glossary Bibliography 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.
Transcript
Bodo Website THE BODO COMMUNITY HISTORY GEOGRAPHY POPULATION CULTURE LANGUAGE
Linguistic affiliation Dialects Script Phonology
Vowels Consonants Tones
Morphology Nominal Verbal
Syntax Glossary Bibliography
THE BODO COMMUNITY: The Bodos (pronounced as bɔɾɔz) 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.
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 Bod as a Tibetan word is ‘the first dwelling place or homeland’. 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.
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
Fishing with Jekhai and Khobai by theBodo Girls Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K., “Aspects of social Customs of the Bodos”.
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 & Muga silk 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.
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
Prayer—in front of the Bathou Courtesy: Dr. Brahma K., “Aspects of Social Customs of the Bodos”.
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.
1. The north-west dialect area which covers the northern regions of Goalpara and Kamrup districts.
2. The south-west dialect area which covers South Goalpara, Garo Hills and a few places of South Kamrup.
3. The North Central Assam dialect area comprising of the districts of Darrang, Lakhimpur and a few places of NEFA.
4. 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’.
Sino-Tibeto or Tibeto-Chinese Speech Family
Sino-Tibetan Proper
Tibeto-Burman
Assam-Burmese North-Assam Himalayan Tibetan
Aka, Abor(Adi), Miri, Dafla, Mishmi, etc.
Bodo-Naga Burmese-Kuki-Chin Kachin-Lolo
old Burmese
Lolo, Kachin or Singpho
Bodo Kuki-Chin
Mikir
Naga
Bodo(Kachari), Dimasa, Garo, Rabha, Lalung,
Tipra, etc.
PHONOLOGY: Vowels: In Bodo, there are fifteen distinctive vowels, made up of six pure vowels or monophthongs and nine vowel glides or diphthongs. i) Pure Vowels:
FRONT CENTRAL BACK CLOSE i u ɯ
MID e ɔ
OPEN a 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:
MM oonnoopphhtthhoonngg II nnii tt iiaall llyy MM eeddiiaall llyy FFiinnaall llyy
/ɯ/ /ɯŋkʰám/ ‘rice’ /sɯm/ ‘blacken’ /ɡɯsɯ/ ‘mind’ Table 1.2: Occurrences of Pure Vowels in Bodo ii ii )) DDiipphhtthhoonnggss oorr VVoowweell GGll iiddeess:: There are nine diphthongs in Bodo as follows:
/z/ /ziù/ ‘life’ /bìzɯú/ ‘top of tree’ /àɾɔz/ ‘prayer’
/h/ /háŋ/ ‘breath’ /ɡàhàm/ ‘good’ ------
/ɾ/ /ɾaì/ ‘scold’ /bɯɾaì/ ‘old’ /ɡuɑɾ/ ‘breadth’
/l/ / lɔŋthɔŋ/ ‘naked’ /ɔnlá/ ‘curry of rice powder’ /nàŋɡɯl/‘plough’
/w/ ------ /ɡɯtʰaɾ/ ‘holy’ ------
/j/ ------ /mɯìjà/ ‘yesterday’ ------
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: Low tone High tone
zà ‘be’ or ‘happen’ zá ‘eat’
sèŋ ‘respond’ séŋ ‘become smaller in number’
hɯ ‘give’ hɯ ‘hasten’
saù ‘curse’ saú ‘roast’
ɡaù ‘shoot’ ɡaú ‘break into two’
zɯù ‘rice beer’ zɯú ‘hundred’
baì ‘buy’ baí ‘break (vi)’
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: i) 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. ii) Pronoun a) Personal 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: ////----mmmmɯɯɯɯn/n/n/n/: 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)’ ////----ppppʰhhhɯɾɯɾɯɾɯɾ////: 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’ ////----ssssɯɾɯɾɯɾɯɾ////: 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:
i) 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’
ii) Sometimes masculine and feminine genders are distinguished by /-a/ and /-i/ suffixes. For example, Masculine Feminine
iii) Another way to distinguish masculine and feminine genders is by adding certain words or suffixes indicating sex to nouns. For example, Masculine Feminine
iv) In addition to all these, Bodo has certain nouns which are uniquely masculine and feminine. For example, a) 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’
b) 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: 1. 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.’ 2. Accusative case: /-khɯu/
baudija -ja lɯɡɯ -pʰɯɾ -kʰɯu nu -dɯŋ -mɯn Baodiya -NOM friend -PL -ACC see -ASP -PST ‘Baodiya saw (his) friends.’ 3. Instrumental case: /-zɯŋ/ nɯŋ aitʰiŋ -zɯŋ pʰɯi -nɯ ha -ɡɯn 2SG foot -INS come -NF can -FUT ‘You can come on foot.’ 4. 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.’ 5. Ablative case: /nipʰrai/ ai -a nɔ -nipʰrai pʰɯi -gɯu My mother -NOM house -ABL come -FUT (near) ‘My mother is coming from home.’
6. Genitive case: /-ni/ bi -ni lɯgɯ -a tʰaŋ -bai -mɯn 3SG.HUM.PROX -GEN friend -NOM go -PRF -PST ‘His/Her friend had gone.’ 7. 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. 1. Simple Verbs. Example follows- lɯŋ ‘drink’
ɡɯzɯn ‘be happy’. 2. Complex Verbs. Example follows-
sɯ -ɡab CAUS -cry ‘cause to cry’ tʰaŋ -pʰa go -with ‘go along with’ 3. 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: i) 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/. 1. Present Indefinite. Example follows- bi -jɯ pʰɔɾaisali -jau tʰaŋ -ɯ he/she -NOM school -LOC go -PRS ‘He/She goes to school.’ 2. Present Perfect. Example follows- bi -jɯ pʰɔɾaisali -jau tʰaŋ -bai he/she -NOM school -LOC go -PRF ‘He/She has gone to school.’ 3. 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.’ ii) 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/.
1. Past Indefinite. Example follows-
aŋ ɯŋkʰam za -dɯŋmɯn I rice eat -PST ‘I ate rice.’
2. Past Perfect. Example follows-
aŋ ɯŋkʰam za -bai -mɯn I rice eat -PRF -PST ‘I had eaten rice.’
3. Past Progressive. Example follows-
aŋ ɯŋkʰam za -ɡasinɯ/-bai dɔŋ -mɯn I rice eat -PROG be -PST ‘I was eating rice.’ iii) 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. 1. 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.’ 2. 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: a) the subject goes to the object position and the object goes to the subject position. b) the passive marker {-za} is suffixed immediately to the main verb root. c) 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.’
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: a) 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.’ b) 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?’ c) 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.’ d) 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.
