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'{{about|the wife of Ahom prince Gadapani|other uses|Joymoti (disambiguation){{!}}Joymoti}} {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Joymoti Konwari | image = | image size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = Mid 17th-century,<!-- {{Birth date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | birth_place = Madurigaon, [[Sivasagar|Sivasagar]], Assam | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = Jerenga Pathar, Sivasagar | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = | spouse = [[Supatphaa|Gadadhar Singha]] | children = Lai <br />Lechai | parents = Laithepena Borgohain and Chandradaru }} '''Joymoti Konwari''', was the wife of [[Ahom Dynasty|Tai-Ahom]] Prince Gadapani (later [[Gadadhar Singha|Supatphaa]]). She was known among the people of [[Upper Assam]] for her endurance of torture until the end and dying at the hands of royalists under [[Sulikphaa]] ''Loraa Roja'' without disclosing her exiled husband Prince Gadapani's whereabouts in the [[Naga Hills]], thereby enabling her husband to rise in revolt and assume kingship.<ref>{{harvcol|Sharma|2011|p=225-226}}</ref> ==Biography== Joymoti was born in the middle of the 17th-century in Maduri to Laithepena [[Borgohain]] and Chandradaru. She was married to Langi Gadapani Konwar,<ref>{{harvcol|Gogoi|Bora|2011|p=1512}}</ref> later an Ahom king, [[Supatphaa]], who established the [[Tungkhungia Ahom kings|Tungkhungia]] line of kings. A few [[Buranji|buranji]]s mention her but not as Joymati but only as a nameless Gadapani’s wife.<ref>"The mythology of origin that these publicists constructed for the Jaymati tale offers a telling example of the blurred line in national hagiographies between history, myth, and fiction. The story’s modern retellers asserted that Ahom historical chronicles had preserved the legend of this exemplar of Assamese wifely virtue. In reality, extant chronicles did not even mention Jaymati. Two old manuscripts cited her, but only as a nameless Prince Gadapani’s woman. Among Assamese publicists there was a telling silence about the sources of the Jaymati story. Those were the ballads and folklore transmitted orally by Upper Assam’s women."{{harvcol|Sharma|2011|p=226}}</ref> Most of what is known about her life is obtained from the ballads and folklore popular among the people of [[Upper Assam]] and not on actual evidence.<ref>"The mythology of origin that these publicists constructed for the Jaymati tale offers a telling example of the blurred line in national hagiographies between history, myth, and fiction. The story’s modern retellers asserted that Ahom historical chronicles had preserved the legend of this exemplar of Assamese wifely virtue. In reality, extant chronicles did not even mention Jaymati. Two old manuscripts cited her, but only as a nameless Prince Gadapani’s woman. Among Assamese publicists there was a telling silence about the sources of the Jaymati story. Those were the ballads and folklore transmitted orally by Upper Assam’s women."{{harvcol|Sharma|2011|p=226}}</ref> Some twentieth century manuscripts even identifies her as a [[Naga people|Naga]] girl who fell in love with the exiled Ahom prince.<ref>{{harvcol|Sharma|2004|pp=17-18}}</ref> ==Legacy== Since the early 20th-century literary figures such as [[Padmanath Gohain Baruah]] and [[Lakshminath Bezbaruah]] transformed the "ordinary story" of Joymati into a "fictional tale" of a female hero's moral victory against the male military might and as a representation of the [[Ahom kingdom|Ahom]] glory. The story of Joymati attained a new fame when it was filmed in 1935 by [[Jyotiprasad Agarwala]].<ref>"There were also various retellings in the Bengali and Sanskrit languages. The story reached a pinnacle of fame when it was filmed in 1935 by Jyotiprasad Agarwala (1903–51), a well known tea planter and cultural entrepreneur. Assamese publicists emphasized the importance of Jaymati as a local icon. Her heroic narrative seemed to offer an authentic history of the Assamese nation"{{harvcol|Sharma|2011|pp=225-226}}</ref> By 1918, Joymoti came to be seen as a virtuous Hindu women with Kumudeswar Barthakur first bestowing the title of [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati]] upon Jaymati and publishing ''Jaymati Kahini'' (1918) in which she was represented as the embodiment of Hindu female chastity, devoted to her husband and dharma. This depiction of her by Barthakur was an effort to "Indianise" her character away from her [[Tai people|Tai]] roots.<ref>"Simultaneously, another, more conservative rendition of the Jaymati tale began to appear. This was a representation of Jaymati as a sati (a virtuous and religious Hindu wife). An orthodox Brahmin publicist, Kumudeswar Barthakur, first bestowed the title of sati upon Jaymati in his brief tract Jaymati Kahini (1918). The mythological Sati represented the embodiment of Hindu female chastity, the pure symbol of a life of self-abnegation, and devotion to husband and dharma. This Hinduized attribution shifted the Jaymati story closer to Indic values."{{harvcol|Sharma|2011|pp=227}}</ref> ==Memorials and monuments== ===Joysagar Tank=== Joymoti and Gadadhar Singha's eldest son [[Rudra Singha]] ([[Sukhrungphaa]], 1696–1714) succeeded his father. In honour of the memory of his mother Joymoti, [[Rudra Singha]] built the [[Joysagar Tank]] in 1697 at [[Rangpur (Ahom capital)|Sibsagar]]. It is believed to be the biggest man-made lake in India,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlinesivasagar.com/page_tourism_places_joydol.htm |title=Joydol Joysagar Tank |publisher=OnlineSivasagar.com |accessdate=7 April 2013}}</ref> comprising an area covering {{convert|318|acre|km2}} of land, including its four banks,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.assamchronicle.com/node/7 |title=Sukhaangpha (1923) to Rudra Singha (1714) |publisher=The Assam Chronicle |date=28 February 2011 |accessdate=7 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628112128/http://www.assamchronicle.com/node/7 |archive-date=28 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> out of which {{convert|155|acre|km2}} is filled with fresh water. A 2&nbsp;km-long earthen water pipeline once ran from the tank to the Rangpur Palace (Kareng Ghar), supplying water to the royal palace. ===Fakuwa Dol=== Rudra Singha also built the Fakuwa Dol in 1703–04, a pyramid-shaped temple constructed before the Rangnath (Shiva) Temple on the banks of the Joysagar Tank. It is said that Rudra Singha, once again to perpetuate the memory of his mother Soti Joymoti, constructed the temple and placed a golden idol of her within it. The circumference of the Dol was about {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and its height from base to top was {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}}. There were eight brick pillars around the temple. === Joymoti Day === Sati Joymoti Divas, commemoration day of Joymoti, is held annually in Assam on 27 March.<ref name="assaminfo">{{cite web |url=http://www.assaminfo.com/famous-people/51/sati-jaymati.htm |title=Jaymati |publisher=Assaminfo.com |accessdate=7 January 2019}}</ref> ===Sati Joymoti Award=== The State Government of Assam has instituted an annual award in the name of Joymoti, presented to women in recognition of excellence in their chosen fields of work.<ref name="north">{{cite web | url=http://www.northeasttoday.in/our-states/assam/assam-govt-to-introduce-award-after-ahom-princess-joymoti/ | title=Assam Govt. to Introduce Award after Ahom Princess Joymoti | publisher=Northeast today | date=1 February 2012 | accessdate=19 April 2012 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ==Film and theatre== {{Main article|Joymoti (1935 film)|Joymoti (2006 film)}} [[File:Joymoti film screenshot.jpg|thumb|right|Screenshot from ''Joymoti'' (actress [[Aideu Handique]] as Joymoti)]] ''Joymoti'' (1935 film) was the first [[Cinema of Assam|Assamese language film]], directed and produced by [[Jyoti Prasad Agarwala]]. In 2006, [[Manju Borah]] released another film by the same name. The 19th-century Assamese writer [[Lakshminath Bezbaruah]] depicted her life in the drama ''Joymoti Kuwori''. ==See also== * [[Ahom Dynasty]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite conference| last1 = Gogoi| first1=Debo Prasad| last2=Bora | first2=Prasanta |title = Role of Ahom Women with Special Reference to Mulagabharu, Jaymati Konwari and Bar Raja Phuleswari Konwari| journal= Proceedings of the Indian History Congress| volume=72(II) | year=2011| pages= 1511–1512| jstor=44145777}} *{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=Jayeeta|url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/b11ba477-73c0-4a92-b158-043a50ef88e5/648153.pdf|title=Empire's Garden: Assam and the Making of India|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2011|language=en}} *{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Jayeeta |title=The Politics of Cultural Mobilization in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780195668018 |editor-last=Zavos |editor-first=John |location=Delhi |language=en |chapter=Heroes for our Times: Assam’s Lachit, India’s Missile Man |editor-last2=Wyatt |editor-first2=Andrew |editor-last3=Hewitt |editor-first3=Vernon}} {{refend}} ==External links== * [https://archive.today/20130628171257/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar3109/edit3 Joymoti Konwari: an epitome of ideal womanhood] – Dr Kathita Hatibaruah {{DEFAULTSORT:Joymoti, Soti}} [[Category:Indian female royalty]] [[Category:People of the Ahom kingdom]] [[Category:People from Sivasagar]] [[Category:Indian torture victims]] [[Category:17th-century Indian monarchs]] [[Category:17th-century Indian women]] [[Category:17th-century Indian people]] [[Category:1680 deaths]] [[Category:Year of birth unknown]] [[Category:Ahom kingdom]]'