BODO or BARA, a race of tribes in Assam divided roughly into two groups, the western consisting of the Chutiya, Plains Kachari, Rabha, Garo, Mech, Koch, Dhimal and Haijong tribes, the eastern of the Dimasa or Hill Kachari, Hojai, Lalung, Tippera and Moran tribes. The Bodo race were formerly dominant in Assam, where a Chutiya kingdom was destroyed by Shan invaders (see SHAN) who set up the Ahom kingdom in its place in the 13th century. The Chutiyas practised human sacrifice, but the general features of Bodo customs may be inferred from the accounts of Kacharis, Garos (qq.v.) and Tipperas. Most of the Bodo tribes have now become superficially Hinduized, and it has been sug gested that the Tantrik beliefs, for which the Hinduism of Assam is conspicuous, are based on Bodo belief and custom which has permeated and coloured the superimposed religion. The languages belong to the Tibeto-Burmese family.