Assamese is part of the easternmost group of the Indo-Aryan languages. History of Assamese literature can largely be classified into three periods, including: Early Assamese period (6th to 15th century A.D.), Middle Assamese period (17th to 19th Century A.D.) and, Modern Assamese (late 19th century onwards).
Beginnings
The history of Assam can be traced to the 4th century AD, though relics from beyond this period suggests some kind of a pre-history, through cave paintings, etchings on pots etc. The Charyapadas have almost been referred to as the earliest example of Assamese literature. The Charyapadas pertain to Buddhist songs penned within the period of 8th to 12th centuries. These writings, by the way, correspond to Oriya and Bengali languages as well. The phonological and morphological characteristics of these songs bear exceedingly powerful semblance with Assamese some of which are survive to this date. Despite the rich historical details of the pre-Ahom kingdom, literary history of Assam has been traced to the mystic lyrics, known as the "caryas" - esoteric doctrines and erotic practices of the later Sahajayana form of Mahayana Buddhism, written by 23 "siddha-purusas" (8th to 12th century AD). The oldest Assamese writer is Hema Saraswati of the late 13th century. His Prahlada-Charita based on the Sanskrit Vishnu Purana depicts a finished Sanskritized Assamese. Other poets in the court of Kamatapur like Harihara Vipra (Harivara Vipra) and Kaviratna Sarasvati rendered into Assamese, verse episodes from the Mahabharata in the early 14th century. Kaviraja Madhava Kandali in the 14th century is the first great poet of Assam. His extant work consists of a version of the Ramayana and a narrative poem Devajit. Another great poet was Durgavara who retold the story of the Ramayana in songs. A large group of manuscripts known as the "Mantras" of unknown authorship is extant probably going back to the period before 1500. The "Mantras" contain magical formulae against snakebite, against ghosts and demons and against various kinds of diseases.
Perhaps the most important contribution of the Ahom rule was the writing of the buranji a kind of prose history of the Ahom kingdom, which besides giving the accurate history of Assam also strengthened the tradition of the written word in Assam. The post of "Likhakar Barua" was specially created for the writing of manuscripts recording the proceedings of the various departments under the King's rule. Most of the manuscripts are written on sanchi leaves.
Bhakti movement
The greatest period of Assamese literature was ushered in with the "Bhakti" movement started by the great Sankardev. To spread this movement a lot of literature was created, songs song, poems and chants. Shankari religion like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism is again centered on the written word, in this case that of Srimanta Sankardev. The evening prayers in the "Namghar" or "The House of Praise" celebrate God through songs and chant or reading of sacred texts. Among the 27 works composed by him the most important are the last canto of the Ramayana, some portions of the Bhagvata Purana, Kirttanaghosha, Rukmini-harana, a narrative poem depicting an episode of the life of Krishna, the Bhakti-pradipa and the Nimi-nava-siddha-samvada. He also wrote a number of dramas that show a Maithili influence. Another kind of poetry introduced by him was "Bargeet", devotional poems, extremely popular to even this day. The father of Assamese prose literature Bhattadeva wrote three major books of Vaishnavism - Katha Geeta, Katha Bhagawat and Katha Ratnawali. He also penned other great books. The 17th century, is renowned for the growth and development of the "Charit Puthi" (biographies).
Coming of the missionaries It was only with the coming of the missionaries that the first printed book entered Assamese literary circles; the first printed book being the New Testament (Dharmapustakar Antobhag) printed by William Carey in 1813 with the help of Atmaram Sharma and in 1833 the entire Bible. As in the other parts of the country, the missionaries with their interest in propagating Christianity were the initiators in the establishment of the first printing press in Assam as well. Christianity being the religion of the book and the missionaries seeking easy accessibility to the locals, almost always learnt the local languages, translating the word of God (the New Testament more so than the Old Testament) for the use of the common people. For this purpose various pamphlets, magazines and other such media was also used.
In connection with the American Baptist Mission Press, which is the first press to be established in Assam, the first name that comes to the forefront is that of the Reverend Dr. Nathan Brown.
Nathan Brown was born on 22 June 1807 in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, USA. He graduated from Williams College in 1827 holding the highest position in the class. He married Eliza Ballard on 5 May 1830. For a few years, he was Associate Principal of Bennington Seminary and editor of a weekly newspaper called The Vermont Telegraph. He attended the Newton Theological Institute in order to prepare himself for work as a missionary. He graduated in 1832. The American Baptist Missionary Union appointed him as a missionary to Myanmar in 1833. He headed for Assam at the request of Captain Francis Jenkins, the Commissioner of Assam. This request was made in order to launch the "Shan Mission" aiming to help the British administration to enlighten, refine and educate the warrior tribes of Shan, Khamtis and Singphos. Brown and his associate Oliver Cutter along with their printing press sailed to Calcutta. After a stopover in Calcutta, they set out for Sadiya by river. A long, tiresome and dangerous trip brought them to their destination on 23 March 1836.
With the establishment of the first printing press in Assam, Brown's arrival ushered in an era of literary development in the region. Due to inadequate assistance from the Mission and due to tribal aggression in Sadiya, Brown had to shift his base to Joypur near Naharkatiya in 1839 and then to Sibsagar in 1843. He found Sibsagar to be a better place to work from. In fact Upper Assam is seen the hub of printing and the early birthplace of the printed book in Assam. He remained there until 1855. Towards the end of 1844, Brown travelled on foot from Sibsagar to Guwahati, visiting villages in order to study the diverse cultural backgrounds of the people. He along with two other missionaries, Miles Bronson and Cyrus Barker, organized and founded the first Baptist church at Panbazar in Guwahati on 25 January 1845. Brown also pioneered in establishing schools in different parts of the state. He established 14 Assamese medium schools in and around Sibsagar by 1846. India Wijzer website, Facets of the North-east: Contributions of Nathan Brown to Assam, document by Aziz-ul Haque
Rev. Nathan Brown's Grammatical notes of the Assamese Language first published in 1848 originally was not intended to be regarded as a grammar of the Assamese language but "they were commenced with the intention of printing only a few sheets, for private use of the most common grammatical forms". However this book soon served as the first Assamese grammar book. He wrote books on elementary arithmetic and geography which were much superior to Bengali books used in schools at that time. In this he was assisted by his wife Eliza, who was a translator in her own right. Brown was also a pioneer in the unearthing of old manuscripts and in editing and publishing them.
Brown was involved in teaching, translating and preparing books in Assamese. He translated and published a catechism in Assamese. Brown found that the Assamese Bible published by William Carey from the Serampore Mission Press, in circulation at that time, consisted of Bengali and Sanskrit loan words, so it was idiomatically inadequate. Therefore, he undertook the project of translating the Bible into pure and simple Assamese and published the New Testament in 1848, from his press. Brown was also a pioneer in writing school books. His books on elementary arithmetic called Pratham ganana (1845), Dutio ganana (1855) and geography called Bhugulor biboran (1851) were much superior to Bengali books used in the schools at that time. He also translated and published John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress into Assamese. Brown's wife, Eliza, also translated a dozen tracts into Assamese and wrote arithmetic textbooks and story books for children. Due to ill health and certain problems in Home Mission, Brown, after 20 years of successful service, left Assam on 13 February 1855 for US.
Orunodoi era
Orunodoi was the first Assamese magazine, printed by the Baptist Missionary Press in Sibsagar; it was first published in January 1846.Assam Tribune website, Orunodoi Founder Dr Nathan Brown Remembered, article dated September 2010 The tag line for the magazine was, "The Orunodoi, monthly paper, devoted to religion, science and general intelligence". It continued to be published until 1879; the press however was sold in 1883. The editors of this magazine include Dr. Nathan Brown, A.H Denforth, William Ward, Miles Bronson and others.Telegraph India website, Assam Salutes Missionary, article dated July 21, 2017 Though propagation of Christianity remained the main aim of the paper, it contained other articles related to science, current affairs, astrology, history, and local trivia. This paper helped in entrenching the Assamese intelligentsia, bringing into the forefront three key figures of Assamese literary world, Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Hem Chandra Baruah and Nidhi Levi Pharowal. The crowning glory of Brown's career was Orunodoi which means 'the dawn'. Brown did the editorial work whereas Oliver Cutter was involved in printing and publishing the magazine. Brown was the editor of this magazine until he left for US. Under his editorship, Orunodoi published history by bringing out the texts of old chronicles in properly edited form such as Chutia Buranji, Purani Asom Buranji and Kamrupar Buranji. He also patronized various Assamese scholars and helped them publish. Among these publications Kashinath Tamuly Phukan's Asom Buranji (1842) and Anandaram Dhekial Phukan's Axomiya Lorar Mitro (1849) and A Few Remarks on the Assamese Language and on Vernacular Education (1855), Bronson's A Spelling Book and Vocabulary in English, Assamese, Singpho and Naga (1839)Nocte Digest website, Preservation of the oldest Nocte book, article dated August 1, 2021 printed at the Mission Press in Sibsagar are worth mentioning.
After Brown, the Orunodoi was in circulation with occasional breaks until 1880. Following the example of Orunodoi, several newspapers and magazines were published in Assam in the second half of the 19th century. Prominent among these were Asam Bilasini, (1871, published by Dharma Prakash Press, Auniati Satra, Majuli) Asam Darpan (1874, Tezpur), Asam Mihir (1872, Guwahati), Goalpara Hitshadini (1876, Goalpara), Chandrodaya (1876, Nagaon), Asam Dipak (1876, Guwahati) Jonaki (Calcutta, 1889) and Assam News (an Anglo-Assamese weekly, 1885, Guwahati), Assam Bandhu (1885, Nagaon), Mau (1886, Calcutta).