The headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is at
Dibrugarh.
Etymology
The name Sonowal comes from the word 'Son' (
Assamese: Xon) which means gold in Assamese.[web 1]The traditional occupation of the Sonowal kacharis was
gold panning, that is extracting gold from the riverbeds.[web 1][3] The Kacharis those were appointed as gold-washers by the
Ahom kings were organised into
Sonowal Khel. These Kacharis came to be known as Sonowal Kacharis.[4]
Notable people
Pradan Baruah, Indian politician, former member of Assam Legislative.
^Sonowal, Ripunjoy. (2014). Some Folklore Medicines of the Sonowal Kachari tribe of Upper Assam, North East India. Scholars Academic Journal of Biosciences. 2. 541-543.
^"Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
^"The Kacharis were, therefore, proficient in extracting gold by washing sands of the rivers. When they became subjects of the Ahom kingdom, they were, therefore, appointed as gold-washers and organized into a Sonowal Khel. These Kacharis came to be known as Sonowol Kacharis."(
Dutta 1985, p. 33)
Printed sources
Dutta, Sristidhar (1985), The Mataks and their Kingdom, Allahabad: Chugh Publications
Baruah, Amlan; Choudhury, S. B. Roy (1999).
Assam State Gazetteer. Government of Assam.