Hati Puthi: the medieval Assamese manuscripts on elephant training and treatment

Abstract

The elephant capturing, taming and its treatment are old practices in Assam. The manuscripts written in medieval Assam describing this tradition are popularly known as Hati-Puthi. But unfortunately, most of them got lost in the womb of time for various reasons and the few that were preserved incomplete. In the present work, the investigator have collected digital copies of four such incomplete manuscripts from Jorhat, Titabor, Guwahati and Majuli districts of Assam and these have transliterated from Kaitheli script to modern Assamese script. They have been used to compile a complete Hati-Puthi in modern Assamse script and then translated into English as a complete manuscript. The similarities and differences among the manuscripts have been discussed and the final work is compared with a published work on animal care called Hastividyārnava. A comparison between the ancient units mentioned in the manuscript and the units used presently is worked out. The flora and fauna used in the treatment of various diseases of the elephant are also identified.