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About Adi People |
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The
Adi, or Bokar Lhoba people is a main collective tribe who
lives in the Himalayan hills of Arunachal Pradesh. They are
found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions within the
districts of East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang, Lower Dibang
Valley and Lohit. The older term Abor is a deprecated exonym
from Assamese meaning "uncontrolled". Some of them are also
found in Southern Tibet. The literal meaning of Adi is "hill"
or "mountain top".The language spoken by Adi People is also
called Adi. It is spoken with minor variations among all the
Adi sub-groups.
The Adis live in hill villages, each traditionally keeping to
itself, under a selected chief styled Gam or Gao Burra who
moderates the village council, which acts even as the
traditional court Kebang. The olden day councils consisted of
all the village elder and decisions were taken in a Musup/Dere
(village community house) on a majority verdict. The
sub-groups within Adis include:
1) Karko
2) Shimong
3) Millang
4) Komkar
5) Pangi
6) Minyong
7) Padam
8) Bokar-Palibo-Ramo
9) Pasi
10) Bori |
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Lifestyle of Adi People |
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The
Adi practice wet rice cultivation and have a substantial
agricultural economy. Rice serves as the staple food for the
them. Trapping and hunting, increasingly with firearms,
supplement the diet; the favorite prey is the abundant rat,
prepared in various ways, including pieces of rat and other meat
in a rice flour cake wrapped in banana leaves, served duringAran.
The Adi keep pigs, chickens, mithuns and grow vegetables. They
keep pigs in a very unusual way: The pigs are kept in a fenced
area under the house, which is on stilts and feed on human waste
as the pig pen is located right under the toilet. The pigs are
let out in the day. The meat of the toilet pig is believed a
delicacy. |
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Religion of Adi People |
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The
majority of Adi' usually follow the animist Donyi-Polo religion,
which occupies the worship of the sun, the moon, and the
ancestral god, the shaman, called Miri (can be a female). Other
deities usually worshiped by the Adi comprise Doying Bote, Gumin
Soyin, Pedong Nane and Kine Nane. Each deity is linked with
certain tasks and acts as a protector and guardian of several
topics related to nature which revolves around their daily life.
This comprises the food crops, home, rain, etc.
In modern times a lot of of the Adis have moved away from Donyi-Polo.
A growing number of Adi, especially among the youth, have
changed to Christianity. Adis in Tibet, in particular the Bokars,
have adopted Tibetan Buddhism to a certain extent, as a result
of Tibetan influence. But in recent years there was a revival in
the faith and the search for indigenousity on the part of the
people made it famous with the youth again. Followers of Donyi-Polo
faith can also be found in parts of upper Assam among the
Mishing tribe. According to the available knowledge of history
and folklore the Mishings were the Adis who migrated to Assam. |
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Culture |
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Dormitories play a vital role among the Adi tribe, and
certain rules are observed. For example, a male can visit
the dormitory of a female, although he is not allowed to
stay overnight. At times, guardians will have to be around
to guide the youngsters.There are separate dresses for men
and women which are naturally weaved by women folk of the
tribes. Helmets made from bear ,cane, and deer skin are
sometimes worn by the men, depending on the region.
While the older women wear yellow necklaces and spiral
earrings, unmarried girls wear a beyop, an ornament that
consists of five to six brass plates fixed under their
petticoats. Tattooing was popular among the older
women.The traditional measure of a family's wealth is the
possession of beads and ornament and land. |
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Festivals and dances |
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The
Adi celebrate a number of festivals, in particular their prime
festival Solung, in the first week of September for five days or
more. It is a harvest festival performed after the sowing of
seeds and transplantation, to seek for future bumper crops.
Ponung songs and dances are performed during the festival. On
the last day of Solung, throne and indigenous weaponry are
displayed along the passage of the houses - a belief that they
would protect people from evil spirits.
Adi dances vary from the slow, rural and beautifully enthralling
style Ponung to the exciting, enthusiastic thumps of Delong.
These dances have led to some forms of dancing which jointly
narrate a story, the Tapu War Dance. In the Tapu War Dance, the
dancers enthusiastically re-enact the actions of war, its
violent details and the magnificent cries of the warriors.
Yakjong is another kind of dance whereby the dancers carry
sticks with designs created by removing the barks in certain
patterns and then put into the fire for some time, which creates
the marked black designs.
Following festivals are celebrated by Adi People
1) Aran or Yakjong Festival is celebrated on March 7
2) Solung Etor Festival is celebrated on May 15
3) Solung Ponung Festival is celebrated on September 1
4) Podi Barbie Festival is celebrated on December 5 |
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