Moran is an extinct Boro-Garo language which was spoken in Assam in Northeast India and related to Dimasa language. The census returned 78 speakers in 1901, 24 in 1911 and none in 1931, and the only source of this language exists in a 1904 article by P R Gurdon. The speakers of this language have shifted to the Assamese language. The name "Moran" reportedly means 'forest dweller'.
History
It can be stated that the original language of the Morans was a Kachari language as stated by the researcher W.B.Brown. During the medieval period, the Morans as well as Chutias after coming in contact and partially assimilating with the invading Shans, had to resort to speaking the lingua franca, which was a mixture of their native tongue and Prakrit. This process of transition gave rise to the Moran language, which over time was again replaced by a modern form of Assamese which had a greater influence of Prakrit. The Morans now are found mostly in the Tinsukia district. They were greatly migratory due to jhumming or shifting cultivation even during the colonial era. This indicates that they gradually migrated north from their original habitat near Charaideo where the first Tai immigrants met them, probably due to spread of wet-rice cultivation in their original habitat.When the British arrived in the 19th century, the area between Dibrugarh and Sadiya was mostly virgin forests, which was the habitat for the Morans. In the early part of Ahom rule, they were employed in menial capacities as hewers of wood and drawers of water. During the later part of Ahom rule, they were found in areas like Kakotal, Mariani, Holongapar, Jhansi,etc where they chiefly worked as Kapahiya, which shows that they scattered around the south bank of the Brahmaputra with the expansion of the Ahom kingdom. The Moran as well as the Chutia and other Kacharis word for water is "Di", which apparently forms the first syllable of all major rivers of Upper Assam including Dibang, Disang, Dikhou, Dikrong, Dikarai, Dihing, Digaru, Difolu, Dimow, Disoi, etc. which shows that this group of people were the dominant tribe in the entire region with their seat in Sadiya, the earliest known power and civilisation of Chutias.They were probably the eastern Kachari branch which got isolated during the ahom rule
