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Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-easternIndia. 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.
Polygyny is prevalent among the Nyishi. It signifies one's social status and economical stability and also proves handy during hard times like clan wars or social huntings 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.[2]
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.[3]
The human being genealogy/ancestry is recalled as:
Tanyi - Nyiha - Hari & Haring.
Hari - Riku - Kunghi - Hingbing - Bingdung and Bingley.
Haring - Ringdo - Dopum, Dodum and, Dolu.
To learn more about the Genealogy of the Nyishi Tribe,
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.[4] 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.[4]
The Nyishi are agriculturalists who practice jhum, known as rët rung-o in Nyishi, which is a form of shifting cultivation. The principal crops raised include paddy (rice), toppu (maize), mekung (cucumber), tak-yi (ginger), aeng (yams) and temi (millet), thumpe (pumpkin), perring (bean) and some leafy vegetables as their self-subsistence products. Rice is the staple food of the people, supplemented by fish, meat of various animals, edible tubers. Before a Western market economic system arrived, they used a barter system. They greatly valued the generalized reciprocity and also balance reciprocity in their economic system. A locally-made drink known as upo (the two types of upo: pone, made of rice, and polin which is made of millet) is served at every social gatherings and important events. The Nyishis are typically fond of it. Traditional ways of preparing them include fermentation, steaming, roasting and smoking. Recently they have been forced to move towards a market based exchange economy.
Attire
Traditionally, Nyishi plaited their hair and tie it neatly at the forehead with locally-made thread. A brass skewer passes horizontally through the tied hair. Cane rings were worn around the waist, arms and legs. Men wore a cane helmet surmounted with the beak of the great Indian hornbill. The usage of actual hornbill beaks is discouraged these days due to tough wildlife protection laws since the great Indian hornbill is a protected species and generally due to growing awareness among the people as well. Nowadays It is being supplemented by beaks made of cane or other materials and the entire headgear/cane helmet itself is readily available in the market for purchase. Additional decorations varied depending upon the status of the person and were symbols of manly valor.
The clothing of the men consists of two types of sleeveless shirts (letum) and with black and white stripe (pomo) made from thick cotton cloth, striped gaily with blue and red together with a mantle of cotton or wool fastened around the throat and shoulders. Strings made of beads in varying sizes and colours are also worn, mainly for decoration purposes and to show the wearer's status. They also carry a machete or dao (uryu) in Nyishi) (short sword) and a knife (chighi) in a bamboo sheath that are mostly covered with animal furs. Their ornaments consist of a spear with an iron head, a large sword (uryu), and a bow and arrows which are tipped with poison (um-yu). During war both the chest and back are covered with shields made from sabbe buffalo hide, and over it they wear a black cloak made of indigenous fibre.
The Nyishi women generally wear a sleeveless mantle of striped or plain cloth, its upper part tucked tightly over the breast and enveloping the body from the armpits to the centre of the calves addition with different colour tops worn underneath among which red (jwle / jwlang) is generally used . A ribbon is tied at the waist. A girdle consisting of metal disks, beads, and cane garters is worn at the waist. Their hair is parted in the middle, plaited and tied into a chignon just above the nape. Their ornaments include multicolored bead necklaces, brass chains, metal bells, huge brass or silver earrings and heavy bracelets of various metals.
Religion
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.[5] 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.[6]
According to Nyishi history, the concept of institutionalized religion was absent, as there were no alternative forms of worship or deities beyond the spirits of nature that could be classified as a distinct religion. After coming in contact with British India, the idea of religion was known. The spread of Christianity and Hinduism led to the need for preservation of indigenous ways of worshipping nature and thus the notion of Donyi Polo was born.
The establishment of Donyi Polo Yelam Kebang on 31st December 1986 is considered as an important day and thus 31st December is celebrated as Donyi-Polo Day.[4]
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.
Several organizations, such as the Arunachal Wildlife and Nature Foundation and the Wildlife Trust of India, have been trying to stop the Nyishi hunting these birds in order to protect them from extinction. Nature reserves, such as the Pakke Sanctuary, are being set up to protect the birds, while artificial materials, such as fiberglass, have been introduced as an alternative to the hornbill beak in Nyishi dress.
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]
Related Research Articles
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The Adi people are one of the most populous groups of indigenous peoples in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. A few thousand are also found in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are called the Lhoba together with some of the Nyishi people, Na people, Mishmi people and Tagin people.
Donyi Polo is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Sino-Tibetan peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Sun-Moon", and was chosen for the religion in the process of its revitalisation and institutionalisation started in the 1970s in response to inroads made by Christianity and the possibility of absorption into Hinduism.
East Kameng district is one of districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern, India. It shares an international border with China in the north and district borders with West Kameng district to the west, Pakke-Kessang district to the south, Kurung Kumey district to the east, Papum Pare district to the southeast. Pakke-Kessang district was bifurcated from East Kameng district on 1 December 2018.
Lower Subansiri district (Pron:/su:bənˈsɪɹi/) is one of the 25 administrative districts of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.
Seppa is the headquarter of the East Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Sepla means 'marshy' land in the local dialect. It lies on the bank of Kameng River with a helipad located in the heart of the town. It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Itanagar and 213 kilometres (132 mi) from Tezpur (Assam) connected by motorable road. The village of Seppa has two out of the sixty Vidhan Sabha Constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh. They are Seppa East and Seppa West.
Kurung Kumey district is one of the 26 districts of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with its district headquarters in Koloriang.
The Tagins are one of the major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, India, a member of the larger designation of Tani Tribes. The Tagins refers to a tribe of Northeast India Region. The Tagins are members of the larger designation of Abotani. Most Tagin are adherents of Donyi-Polo, with a Christian minority.
Sessa Orchid Sanctuary is a 100 km2 protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills in Bhalukpong Forest Division of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary to the southwest. It is a part of the Kameng Protected Area Complex (KPAC), which is an Elephant Reserve. See map. The department of Environment & Forests has developed trekking routes for visitors to enjoy the natural habitats of orchids. There are deep gorges and valleys, high peaks and rugged terrain that are rewarding for nature lovers and adventure tourists. A nursery includes representative specimens of various orchid species of the sanctuary and a demonstration farm of Cymbidium hybrids for cut-flower production. Most of Sessa has traditionally been claimed by the Bugun tribe as part of their territory.
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Bangru, also known as Ləvai (Ləwjɛ) and occasionally as Northern Miji is a language spoken in Sarli Circle, northern Kurung Kumey District by 1,500 people. Long unclassified due to poor documentation, it turns out to be related to the Miji languages.
Palin is a hill station and the headquarter of Kra Daadi district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is inhabited by Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and has a population of 5816 according to the 2001 census. The incumbent MLA from Palin constituency is Balo Raja.
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Kra Daadi is a district in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. It was carved out of Kurung Kumey district on 7 February 2015.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Arunachal Pradesh:
Nyapin, known as Nyoping to natives, is a subdivision of Kurung Kumey district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Pakke-Kessang is a district located in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast of India. The district used to be a part of the neighboring district, East Kameng, and was created out of its five southernmost administrative units: Pijerang, Passa Valley, Pakke-Kessang, Dissing Passo and Seijosa. The district headquarters of Pakke-Kessang is located at Lemmi.
↑ 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)
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India (Arunachal Pradesh)
