Sino-Tibetan Elements in Placenames of Assam: An Onomastic Study

Abstract

Naming objects is a common but essential practice. To have a name is the primary requirement for identification of any item, person or an object. Naming a place is also equally important. People name the places after some traditions and customs they perform; events with socio-political, religious and historical importance; folk beliefs; plants and animals found in the locality and so forth. The academic branch under which researchers of Humanities and Social Sciences tend to find out the causes behind naming a place is known as Onomastics. Students of Culture and Linguistics try to find out cultural and linguistic elements found in the placenames. The present paper is an attempt to locate some Sino- Tibetan elements in the placenames of Assam referring four Sino-Tibetan languages, viz. Rabha, Tiwa, Karbi and Bodo.