The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in
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
north-eastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
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 ...
. In
Nyishi
The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom documents and consequently the British documents as well as the historians of the post-independence period used the same term for the Nyishis.This terminology is, however,not used nowadays. They are spread across eight districts 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 ...
:
Kra Daadi,
Kurung Kumey,
East Kameng
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 ...
,
West Kameng,
Papum Pare, parts of
Lower Subansiri,
Kamle, and
Pakke Kessang district. The Kurung Kumey and Kra Daadi districts have the largest concentration of Nyishi population. The Nyishis also live in the
Sonitpur
Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur.
Etymology
The name of the is derived from a mythological story fo ...
and
North Lakhimpur
North Lakhimpur ( ) is a city and a municipal board in Lakhimpur district in the Indian state of Assam, about northeast of Guwahati. It is the district headquarters of Lakhimpur district.
North Lakhimpur is also the name of the subdivision of L ...
districts 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 ...
.
Their population of around 300,000 makes them the most populous tribe 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 ...
, closely followed by the tribes of the
Adi according to 2001 census. The
Nyishi language
Nyishi (also known as Nishi, Nisi, Nishang, Nissi, Nyising, Leil, Aya, Akang, Bangni-Bangru, Solung) is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tani branch spoken in Papum Pare, Lower Subansiri, Kurung Kumey, Kra Daadi, East Kameng, Pakke Kesang, ...
belongs to the
Sino-Tibetan
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
family, however, the origin is disputed.
Polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...
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
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
and are divided into several clans.
Economy
The Nyishi are agriculturalists who practice
''jhum'', known as ''rët rung-o'' in
Nyishi
The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
, which is a form of shifting cultivation. The principal crops raised include paddy (rice), ''toppu'' (
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
), ''mekung'' (
cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. ), ''tak-yi'' (
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
), ''aeng'' (
yams) and ''temi'' (
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
), thumpe ''(pumkin)'' 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 great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...
. 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
Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to:
* Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept
* Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword
* Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people
People and language
* Yao people, a minority ethnic ...
(''uryu'') in Nyishi) (
short sword
The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double e ...
) and a knife (') in a
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
sheath that are mostly covered with animal furs. Their armament consists of a spear with an iron head, a large
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
(''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 ( / ) 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
![Nyokum festival Nyishi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Nyokum_festival_Nyishi.JPG)
''Nyokum'' is the festival celebrated by the Nyishi people, which commemorates their ancestors.
Christian missionaries began operating in Arunachal Pradesh in the 1950s; however, many of their proselytising activities were limited by the government until the 1970s. 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
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 ...
ism.
The hornbill issue
The Nyishis, who traditionally wear cane helmets surmounted by the crest of a
hornbill
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...
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
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is an Indian nature conservation organisation.
WTI was formed in November 1969 in New Delhi, India, as a response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in Indi ...
, 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
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
, 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.
References
External links
Glimpses Of Arunachal PradeshEthnologue profileold profile
{{authority control
Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh
Tribes of Assam
Donyi-Polo communities
Social groups of Assam
Ethnic groups in Northeast India