Sankardev in the context of Bhaona

The Assamese alphabet (Assamese: অসমীয়া বৰ্ণমালা, romanized: Ôxômiya Bôrnômala) is a writing system of the Assamese language and is a part of the Bengali-Assamese script. This script was also used in Assam and nearby regions for Sanskrit as well as other languages such as Bodo (now Devanagari), Khasi (now Roman), Mising (now Roman), Jaintia (now Roman) etc. The current form of the script has seen continuous development from the 5th-century Umachal/Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscriptions written in an eastern variety of the Gupta script, adopting significant traits from the Siddhaṃ script in the 7th century. By the 17th century three styles of Assamese alphabets could be identified (bamuniya, kaitheli and garhgaya) that converged to the standard script following typesetting required for printing. The present standard is identical to the Bengali alphabet except for two letters, ৰ (ro) and ৱ (vo); and the letter ক্ষ (khya) has evolved into an individual consonant by itself with its own phonetic quality whereas in the Bengali alphabet it is an original conjunct of two letters (ক + ষ).

The Buranjis were written during the Ahom dynasty in the Assamese language using the Assamese alphabet. In the 14th century Madhava Kandali used Assamese alphabets to compose the famous Saptakanda Ramayana, which is the Assamese translation of Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana. Later, Sankardev used it in the 15th and 16th centuries to compose his oeuvre in Assamese and Brajavali dialect, the literary language of the bhakti poems (borgeets) and dramas.

Kaviraja Madhava Kandali (circa. 14th century) was an Indian poet from the state of Assam. He is one of the renowned poets pertaining to the Pre-Shankara era. His Saptakanda Ramayana is considered the earliest translation of the Ramayana into an Indo-Aryan language, Assamese. This work was carried out by the poet as early as the 14th Century. Another significant work of his is the narrative poem Devajit, which is about superiority of Krishna over the other avatars of Vishnu. Kandali's patron was the Barāha King Mahamanikya (mid 14th century) whose kingdom was located in the Kapili valley. Kabiraja Madhava Kandali was said to be inhabitant of Lanka of Undivided Nagaon.

Brajavali (Assamese: ব্ৰজাৱলী; romanized: Brôzawôli) was a literary language used by Sankardev (1449–1568) for some of his compositions (Borgeets and Ankia Naats) in the context of his Vaishnavite religion, Ekasarana Dharma, in Assam. Though similar languages were used in the Vaishnavite contexts in Odisa and Bengal, the one used in Assam was different, as it was based on Maithili (and not Brajbhasa), to which Assamese is added and the native pronunciation overrides the original pronunciation of Maithili. In general, the vocables and idiomatic expressions of Brajavali were local (Assamese), while the inflectional forms were Maithili, easily understood by the people of Assam but carrying the flavor of Brajbhasa, the language of choice of the Bhakti poets.

Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It was initially created as part of Bhaona which are performances of Ankiya Nat, one-act plays, originally created by Sankardev, a 15th-16th century polymath from Assam. These dances are part of the living traditions today of Sattra, which are communities of live-in devotees belonging to the Ekasarana Dharma, a Hindu sect established by Sankardev.

The themes played are related to Krishna, as well as other avatars of Vishnu such as Rama, and stories from the epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana.