Mayong, also known as the Land of Black Magic, is situated in Morigaon district of Assam, on the bank of the river Brahmaputra. Situated at 40km from Guwahati and once considered the cradle of black magic in the country, Mayong is today a place of tourist attraction because of its history. During the medieval period in ancient India, Mayong is said to remain the Indian Capital of Black Magic and Witchcraft.

The name

Several stories and legends are there pertaining to the name Mayong. Here are some of them.

• Some people say the name Mayong comes from the word Maya since it is considered as the land of illusion.
• When the entire Northeastern region of India was under the common name Assam, Manipuri people from the maibong clan inhabited there. The area, being hilly place, was full of elephant and the Manipuri word for an elephant is Miyong, hence few believe that Mayong was a corruption of the word Miyong.
• Legend is that Mayong refers to “part of goddess Shakti”. Maa for mother shakti, Ongo for part, hence the older generation calls goddess Maa.

Mayong and magic

Mayong is full of supernatural stories. It is said that people came from far off and abroad to learn magic here. Except a few, the spells were not written but passed from mouth to mouth from generation to generation.

In mythology

Mayong along with Pragjyotishpura (the ancient name of Assam) find place in many mythological epics, including the Mahabharat. Chief Ghatotkacha of Kachari Kingdom took part in The Great Battle of Mahabharata with his magical powers.

Human sacrifice

According to history, Narabali or human sacrifices were carried out in connection with the worship of Shakti till the early modern period. Excavators had recently dug up swords and other sharp weapons that resembled tools used for human sacrifice in other parts of the country. “The swords are huge, similar to what were used in human sacrifice in some parts of the country. The villagers, too, told us that their forefathers used to talk about human sacrifice. We have reason to believe that human sacrifice might have taken place in the Ahom era in Mayong. At present, the ritual of animal sacrifice is prevalent in Mayong as it is in other Shakti shrines in the state. But we need to find out more evidence to arrive at a conclusion,” said Sanjay K. Manjul, the superintending archaeologist of the ASI (Guwahati circle).

Tourism and Archaeology

Mayong is evolving as a hot-spot for tourism and archaeology because of its rich wildlife, archaeology pilgrimage, eco-tourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism and river tourism. It is full of archaeology relics and artefacts some discovered and some yet to be discovered. Mayong Central Museum and Emporium in the village has preserved some of the ancient manuscript of Black Magic and Ayurveda.

See also

• Tourism in Assam

References