Abotani or Abu Tani is considered the progenitor of the
Tani tribes of the state of
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, such as the Apatani, Nyishi, Adi, Galos, and Tagin. The Mishing tribe of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
also belongs to the Abotani group. Abotani tribes are also found inside Tibet/China near Indo-China border. Inside China, Abotani tribes come under an ethnic tribe called the Lhoba, which is a conglomeration of the Mishmi and Abotani tribes. They follow the
Donyi-Polo
Donyi-Polo (also Donyi-Poloism) is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Tibeto-Burman peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Su ...
religion and credit Abotani with the technique of
rice cultivation
The history of rice cultivation is an interdisciplinary subject that studies archaeological and documentary evidence to explain how rice was first domesticated and cultivated by humans, the spread of cultivation to different regions of the planet, ...
.
Abo or Abu means "father" and Tani means "human".
Oral history
The following story is told by priests (miri) among the
Adi people Adi or ADI may refer to:
Names and titles
* Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa
* Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages
* Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
:
Other Tani legends reference Abotani: a woman in the Digo Ane region told him how to cultivate rice; Abotani was successful at rice cultivation thanks to his wise wife, Aio Diiliang Diibiu;
however, he divorced her to marry another woman. The new wife's pursuit of leisure brought disgrace to his wealth;
when Abotani realized this, he left the second wife and continued the cultivation on his own. Once he needed his sister's help to descend from a high tree he had climbed.
Events in Abotani's life and his quest for rice are part of Tani traditions and are celebrated in different periods of the year (following the rice cultivation season). Abutani is a symbol of the struggle of humankind for food and prosperity, and of the need for harmony between man and woman to bring wealth to the family.
See also
*
Tani (tribes)
The Tani is a group of tribes from the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China which share common Tani languages and certain common beliefs, primarily in Abotani as their primeval ancestor (Father of H ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abotani
Donyi-Polo
Year of birth missing
Mising people