the likeness of the Islam and Sankarite religions have been in Assam that a number of Islamic institutions were structured typically in the line of the sattras. E.A.Gait observes in the Census Report of Assam, 1891, that the “Mussalmans have borrowed the ecclesiastical machinery of the Hindus. They have their Gosains or spiritual preceptors to some one of whom every Mussalman is bound to attach himself…These Mussalman Gosains have their own sattras or establishments and resident disciples. Devotees belonging to various tribes of Assam to the tune of lakhs still take initiation in some or the other sattra and embrace the formal disciple hood of the pontifical order of that particular sattra. The Muslim followers of Sankardeva and his successors like Chandsai, Yavana Jayhari and Dheli tailor, and the tribal disciples like Norottam of the Nocte, Paramananda of the Mishings and Gobinda of the Garos are some examples of the popular folklore of Assam. Some of these devotees also donned pontifical positions.
At the helm is the Sattradhikar. A number of disciples were tasked to propagate the faith and the tenets by Madhavdeva and Damodardeva and proselytize willing people. They set up sattras in different parts and were termed as Gosain, Sattriya, Adhikar or Sattradhikar. The Sattradhikar is the spiritual and administrative head, exercising a guardianship over thousands of men and women who become the disciples of that particular sattra. However, he does not own the sattra but acts as the principal ‘guide’ of the organization belonging to the community of disciples. Earlier, the Sattradhikar was chosen on the basis of a consensus or merit but later succession became hereditary in most of the sattras. In the sattras of the celibate order, even now, the Sattradhikar is nominated from another sattra by consensus. The Sattradhikar of Purana Kamalabari has requested this author to locate a well-groomed boy to be nominated and trained for the post of Deka-Sattradhikar— the designate in waiting. Both Barpeta and Bardowa sattras witness a system of democratic election to choose the Sattradhikar.
Naamghar and the hatis The prayer hall called naamghar inside the sattra premise plays a pivotal role in the sattra way of life. A large hall, rectangular in shape, is used as the congregational prayer hall of the devotees of the sattra. Over the years, this institution has become a centre for community deliberations in respect of temporal issues also. On the eastern part of the main prayer hall lies the sanctum-sanctorum called monikut. The holy throne called Simhasana is kept here to represent the abode of divinity. These naamghars along with the monikut form an important component of mainland Assam’s social life. While most of these naamghars maintain their allegiance towards one or the other sattra, they may be independent of sattra or may be adhering to other non-sattra ecclesiastical order like the Sankar Sangha. It is generally the sattras of the celibate order which are distinctive in their sustenance of the old system of four dormitories, all around the naamghar. Called the hatis, the set of houses are constructed around all four directions of the naamghar to be used as the places of stay of the monks and disciples of a particular sattra. For the married persons, separate houses inside the premise are provided. There is also the concept of bahir-hati for those household families of devotees staying outside the sattra. The Sattradhikar The sattra is run as per a well organized system of administrative and operational structure.
There is an elaborate mechanism of running a sattra and various events through a number of designated officials. Samhatis: Over the years, especially after the passing away of the great preceptor, the Vaishnavite community acquired four different identities. A dispute over succession reportedly occurred between the two worthy disciples, Madhavadeva and Damodardeva, though as per the Carit-puthis, Sankardeva chose Madhava to take the mantle of carrying forward the faith. A new stream thus came about under the leadership of those disciples of Sankardeva, who were of closer proximity to Damodardeva. Brahma Samhati: Thus the stream created by the Brahmin Gurus having allegiance to Damodardeva and with emphasis on Brahminical rituals came to be known as the Brahma Samhati. In the sattras of Brahma samhatis, the Sattradhikar is mostly of Brahmin caste. This samhati does not deny the emphasis on rituals of the greater Hindu faith; it holds that even a ‘Vaishnava’ can follow the precepts of the Vedic rituals. Deva, meaning God, is given the utmost focus in this and this sect advocates worshipping of the idol of Vishnu. There are more than a hundred Brahma samhati sattras in the Brahmaputra Valley, of which