Big win for Assam: Charaideo Moidams Get UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage Site Tag

This inclusion brings global recognition to Assam's rich cultural heritage and highlights the historical significance of the Ahom dynasty's burial system

In a significant cultural milestone for Assam, the 700-year-old mound burial system of the Ahom dynasty, the moidams in Assam’s Charaideo has been included in UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage Site. The announcement was made by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee during its ongoing 46th session in New Delhi.

The Charaideo moidams, located in upper Assam, have been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites under the cultural category.

With this, the 90 pyramid-like royal burials at Charaideo have become the first cultural site from the northeastern region to be featured on the prestigious list.

This inclusion brings global recognition to Assam’s rich cultural heritage and highlights the historical significance of the Ahom dynasty’s burial system.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to X and wrote, “THIS IS HUGE. The Moidams make it to the #UNESCO World Heritage list under the category Cultural Property – a great win for Assam Thank You Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji , Members of the @UNESCO World Heritage Committee and to the people of Assam.”

https://x.com/himantabiswa/status/1816710828130730368

In a subsequent tweet, CM Sarma said that the Moidams of Charaideo embody the deep spiritual belief, rich civilisational heritage and architectural prowess of Assam’s Tai-Ahom community. Apart from the fact this announcement has been made from the soil of Bharat, it’s entry also stands out for 2 more reasons.

“It is the first time a site from the North East has made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the Cultural Category And after Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, it is Assam’s 3rd #WorldHeritageSite. I urge all of you to come and experience #AwesomeAssam,” CM Sarma dded.

Assam already have two world heritage sites in the natural category: Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park.

What is the Charaideo Moidam?

The Moidam of Choraideo, located at the foothills of the Patkai range, demonstrate the Tai-Ahom culture’s reverence for their kings and their funerary practices. Charaideo is situated 28 km east of Sivasagar.
The first king of the Ahoms Chau-lung Siu-ka-pha was buried at Charaideo after his death observing all the Tai-Ahom religious rites and rituals. Since then, it turned into a norm to bury the Tai-Ahom Kings, Queens and Princes and Princesses at Charaideo. During their six hundred years of rule, this place became a venerated and sacred place.

The exterior of the Maidam is hemispherical in shape and their sizes vary from a modest mound to a hillock of twenty meters or so in height, depending upon the power, status and recourses of the person buried.

A Maidam consist of three major features, a vault of Chamber, a hemispherical earthen mound covering the chamber with a brick structure (Chaw-chali) for annual offering over it and an octagonal boundary wall around the base of the mound having an arched gateway on its west. However, the smaller Maidam did not have all the above features.

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