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Koch–Rajbongshi community (also known as ''Kochrajbongshi'' and ''Koch'') is an indigenous community found in parts of present-day Nepal; the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, and Meghalaya; and Kishanganj in the state of Bihar. Though the two terms "Koch" and "Rajbongshi" are used interchangeably today, ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' says, "Though the Kochs freely call them Rajbansis, it is believed (see Bengal Census Report, 1901, part I, pp. 382-83) that the two communities originally sprang from entirely different sources, the Kochs being of Mongoloid origin, while the Rajbansis are a Dravidian tribe who probably owned the name long before the Koch kings rose to power." The source also states: "The Koch tribe, though now in parts much intermixed with Dravidian stock, was probably at that time purely Mongolian and spoke a language closely allied to those of the Kacharis, Tipperas, Lalungs, Sutiyas, and Garos." Elsewhere it mentions, "The following castes are also numerically strong (as of 1901) : Kochs (222,000), Rajbansis (120,000), Kalitas (203,000), Nadiyals (195,000), Ahoms (178,000), Jugis (161,000), Kewats (149,000), and Sutiyas (86,000)." However, at present it is nearly impossible to differentiate these two communities of separate historical origins from each other. Today they are widely distributed over most of the plain districts of Assam. However, a heavy concentration is observed in the districts of Kamrup and Goalpara. It is commonly believed that the Koch (Rajbansi) population forms a major detribalized group. According to Gait (1905) “In Assam proper, it (the word Koch) has become the name of a Hindu caste, into which are received the converts to Hinduism from the ranks of the Kachari, Lalung, Mikir and other tribes”. However, it is not known from which time the process of conversion started. It is viewed that major part of conversion took place following the preaching of Vaishnavite cult by Srimanta Sankardeva, a socio-cultural reformer and a religious preacher of Assam during the 15th century A.D. According to a study based on blood sample collection from Koch people from Goalpara (Borigaon area) district of Assam in 1978-1979, Koch of Goalpara disagree with the tribal populations (like the Garo, Kachari and Rabha who form the parental stock) in most of the characters. It has been observed that the Rajbansi (Koch) living in the tribal area were maintaining a high frequency of HbE gene while Rajbansis living in the area of Hindu castes showed "dilution" of the HbE frequency and thereby showed similarity with the Assamese caste groups in this regard. Along all the Bodo speaking tribes, namely the Garo, Rabha, Kachari and Lalung, HbE gene occurs in very high percentage. “Therefore, one may perhaps infer that the Rajbansis of the tribal areas are descendants of the recent converts and as such are still preserving HbE gene in a high frequency,” the study says. ==Habitation== The homelands of Koch–Rajbongshi people comprises their ancient Kingdom, Kamatapur, Kochrajbongshi Kingdom, Kamarupa Kingdom they inhabit in entire Assam, Total Parts of the present West Bengal, Nepal and Bangladesh. They are the majority in Assam and while comparing the North Bengal, Koch Rajbongshi community have majority of the population. Koch Rajbongshi people stay very close to nature. It is a Tradition for Koch Rajbonshi Men to go Hunting in a group in the wild. They bring the "Prey" from the wild and share the meat in a Banana Leaf as per the requirement of each family. A traditional Koch Rajbonshi dwelling has a Mango Tree, a Jack fruit tree and a Small Kitchen Garden, with a small pond where they keep fish. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Koch Rajbongshi people」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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