Nyishi people

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Nyishi
Two girls of Nyishi tribe in their traditional attire, Seijosa village, Pakke kesang district, Arunachal Pradesh- RIWATCH.jpg
Two girls of Nyishi tribe
Total population
249,824 [1] (2011 census)
Regions with significant populations
Flag of India.svg India (Arunachal Pradesh)
Languages
Tani
Religion
Christian (31%), followed by Hinduism (29%), with many of the remaining still following the ancient indigenous Donyi-Polo. [2]
Related ethnic groups
Mising people, Tagin people, Galo people, Tibetan people

The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. The Nyishi language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family, however, the origin is disputed. Their population of around 300,000 makes them the most populous tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, closely followed by the tribes of the Adi according to 2001 census.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Polygyny is prevalent among the Nyishi. It signifies one's social status and economic stability and also proves handy during hard times like clan wars or social hunting and various other social activities. This practice, however is diminishing especially with the modernization and also with the spread of Christianity. They trace their descent patrilineally and are divided into several clans. [3]

Origin

As per the Nyshi mythology, there were many versions of Abo Tanyi in the form of spirits and other beings. Nyiha (Niya) is one of the sons of Abo Tanyi, which is the first perfect human being, and the Nyishi are his descendants. [4]

Etymology

In Nyishi, Nyi refers to "a human" and the word shi denotes "here, this or being", thereby Nyishi means human being or this human. [5] The Nyishis are mentioned as the Dafla people in the contemporary Ahom documents and consequently, the British documents and historians of the post-independence period also used the same term. The Nyishi are geographically concentrated around the Dafla Hill range, located in the northern part of the Papum Pare district. Previously, they were referred to as Dafla, a term replaced by "Nyishi" through the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Act of 2008. [5]

Distributions

They are spread across eight districts of Arunachal Pradesh: Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, East Kameng, West Kameng, Papum Pare, Keyi Panyor, parts of Lower Subansiri, Kamle, and Pakke Kessang district and some parts of Upper subansiri District. The Kurung Kumey and Kra Daadi districts have the largest concentration of Nyishi population. The Nyishis also live in the Sonitpur and North Lakhimpur districts of Assam.[ citation needed ]

Religion

A festival of the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Nyokum festival Nyishi.JPG
A festival of the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Nyokum, Boori-Boot, and Longte are the festivals celebrated by the Nyishi people, which commemorates their ancestors.

As per the Donyi Polo, the Nyishi believes that everything in nature has owner (spirit or uyu, wiyu). The priest (Nyubh) acts as the translator/mediator/negotiator between the human and the spirit and performs rituals and animals sacrifices to please the spirits. The spirits may be benevolent or malevolent.

Christian missionaries began operating in Arunachal Pradesh in the 1950s; however, many of their proselytising activities were limited by the government until the 1970s. [6] According to a 2011 survey, many of the Nyishi people have become Christian (31%), followed by Hinduism (29%), with many of the remaining still following the ancient indigenous Donyi-Polo. [2]

The Hornbill issue

The Nyishis, who traditionally wear cane helmets surmounted by the crest of a hornbill beak (known as pudum or padam), have considerably affected the population of this bird.

Hornbill Nest Adoption Program(HNAB) has been going on since 2011, which is a community led conservation initiative through which local tribal villagers protect nest trees of hornbills in forests around villages on the fringe of the Pakke Tiger Reserve. The hunters from Nyishi tribe are now protectors who try to save the hornbill population, due to which hornbill populations have been doing well inside the protected area. [7]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 Katiyar, Prerna (19 November 2017). "How churches in Arunachal Pradesh are facing resistance over conversion of tribals". The Economic Times. India Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ↑ India Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Published by Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India (1979). Arunachal Pradesh. pp. 15–6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "The Nyishi Tribe - Arunachal Pradesh". The Nyishi Tribe. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 "The Nyishi Tribe - Arunchal Pradesh". The Nyishi Tribe. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  6. ↑ The Institutionalization of Tribal Religion. "Recasting the Donyi-Polo Movement in Arunachal Pradesh". Asian Ethnology. 72 (2). Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture: 260. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Pradhan, Amruta Rane, Aparajita Datta, Budhiram Tai, Nest Protector, Tajek Tachang, Nest Protector, Tajek Wage, Nest Protector, Kaja Kayeng, Nest Protector, Naga Kino, Nest Protector, Taring Tachang, Nest Protector, Vijay Tachang, Nest Protector, Rikum Gyadi, Nest Protector, Sako Waru, Nest Protector, Devathi Parashuram, Nikje Tayem, Nest Protector, Prem Tok, Karishma. "Hornbill Nest Adoption Program". Nature Conservation Foundation - India. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

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