narratives and are yet to be properly researched. During the reigns of the Dimasa Kachari kings, they were driven to the hills and some of them entered into Jaintia hills, the erstwhile Jaintia Kingdom and lived under Jaintia suzerainty. While a section of the Karbis remained in the Jaintia kingdom, others moved towards north-east by crossing the river Barapani, a tributary of the Kopili and entered into the Rongkhang Ranges. There they established their capital at a place called Socheng. The Karbis who migrated to the Ahom Kingdom had to face the Burmese invasion. The Burmese who invaded Assam perpetrated inhumane oppression on the people. The Karbis took refuge in the deep jungles and high hills leaving their hearth and home in the sub-mountainous regions. While some of the Karbis migrated to Western Assam, some had crossed the Brahmaputra and settled in the north bank. Religion Most of the Karbis still practices Animism with their cultural and traditional influences. The practitioners of traditional Animism believe in reincarnation and honour the ancestors, most Karbis follow Hinduism with variations of Vaishnavism. At the base of Karbi religion and belief system, it is basically composed of ritual ancestor worship, worship of household deities & territorial deities and ritual for the dead ancestors or 'Karhi'. Practically, it's the 'Hemphu-Mukrang' duo that dominates the Karbi Pantheon (Teron, 2011). Thus, those Karbis who follow the traditional practices are known as the followers of 'Hemphu-Mukrang' for which they prefer themselves as 'Hemphu-Mukrang aso' meaning Son of Hemphu and Mukrang (Hanse, 2007). The Karbi deities can be divided into three groups according to their function and these are Hem-Angtar, Rongker and Thengpi-Thengso (Phangcho, 2003; Terang, 2007). In recent years, with the spread of new faiths (Aron Kimi), a number of new religious movements have come to fore, such as Lokhimon (A variation of Vaishnavism founded by Lokhon Ingti Hensek), Karbi Bhaktitom Trust (Founded by Smt. Ambika Tokbipi), Sat Sang (A reform of Hinduism founded by Thakur Anukul Chandra) and Honghari. These religious movements have influenced a section of Karbi population in the district. Culture and tradition Language The Karbis mainly speak their native language, i.e. Karbi language. Karbis are well versed in Assamese which is used as lingua-franca to communicate with other indigenous Assamese communities. Many of the plain Karbis use Assamese as their mother tongue. Several Assamese loan words have made their way into the Karbi Language