© T-ANTH 2020 Anthropologist, 40(1-3): 16-33 (2020) PRINT: ISSN 0972-0073 ONLINE: ISSN 2456-6802 DOI: 10.31901/24566802.2020/40.1-3.2054 Tradition and Contemporary Changes in the Religious Belief of the Karbi People in Karbi Anglong, Assam Somenath Bhattacharjee Department of Anthropology, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Diphu, Karbi Anglong 782 462, Assam, India Mobile: 09401767410, 09475393104 E-mail: <
[email protected]>, <
[email protected]> KEYWORDS Nature. Culture. Religion. Animism. Tradition. Transition ABSTRACT Assam is a rich zone of tribal cultural diversity. The Karbis are the early settlers and numerically dominant tribal group of Karbi Anglong district in Assam. Their livelihood is nourished in the lap of nature. Traditionally, they are animist and such beliefs, and practices are intimately related to their rite-de-passage, traditional economic organisation of jhum cultivation. During the last twenty years, along with Christianity, a number of significant changes have been noticed in their religious belief and practices. Configuration of temples and concept of idol worship has been noticed among them. Different new concepts of pollution and purity are noticeable in their dietary and allied livelihood practices. This paper is an attempt to know about the tradition and contemporary changes related to the religious belief and practices of the Karbis. The paper has tried to focus on the probable factors related to such changes based on primary data collected through fieldwork. INTRODUCTION one is formal, written, literate and reflected upon by few while the other is informal, oral, illiterate Religion, as a concept is a cultural and universal and unreflected by many.