Project on Adi Tribe

Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

History Project

Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes

ADI TRIBE

By
BA. Aadavamoorthy – 7C
Global Indian International School

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Contents: Topic Page No
SNo 3
4
1 Introduction 5
6
2 The Adis 7
8
3 Family Structure and Social Hierarchy 9
10
4 Occupation 11
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5 Religion

6 Culture

7 Cuisine and other culture

8 Way of Living Today

9 Conclusion

10 References

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Introduction:

Tribes are undeveloped social groups of people living in small villages sharing a
common ancestry, language and culture. The tribes are not associated with the outer
world. They have many rich cultures and traditions.
The entire Arunachal Pradesh is rich in tribes or folk-heritage. There are manifold
distinctions in the oral literature found in tribal community especially in Arunachal
Pradesh. Many of these forms of tribes have a number of sub-forms.
Here we are going to have a glance at the Adi tribe who were the most populous
group in Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

The Adis:

Adi signifies “man of the hill” or “hill man” as they live in villages located on hills.
Adi tribe is mainly concentrated in the untouched valleys of the Brahmaputra
waterways. They are very simple, energetic, jolly and freedom-loving candid people
located in Arunachal Pradesh. The Adi tribe are believed to come from southern
China in the 16th century.
Adi subtribes:
The Adis have two principle divisions. They are “Bogum” and “Bomi”. Each
division have different sub-tribes like Padam, Minyong, Shimong, Pangis, Pasi,
Asing, Bori, Bokar, Karko, Ramo, Milan, Tagin, Gallong, Tangam and Pailibo. This is
truly wonderful as the different gatherings of Adis follow various identities within the
circle of the same tribe.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Family Structure and Social Hierarchy:

The Adi tribe is divided into several communities and have nicely organized village
council, known as ‘Kebang’. They have leaders called Gam or Gam Burra. They
follow good social relationship and friendship.
Family is the basic unit in the community. The father is considered the head of
the family. In a family of their community, after marriage, the eldest sibling separates
and starts new family while the youngest stay back and look after their parents.
Monogamy is the common form of marriage, though polygamy is restricted.
A marriage arranged by parents and elders is considered appropriate.
Adi society has two types of dormitories - for the boys it is called ‘Moshup’ and for
girls it is called ‘Rasheng’. The male persons can visit the dormitory of a female,
although he is not allowed to stay overnight. Guardians has to be around to guide
the youngsters. In the Adi tribe, dead people are buried.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Occupation of Adi Tribe:

Food production is achieved by cultivation, hunting and fishing.
They practice Jhum cultivation. The word ‘Jhum’ means shifting or slash and burn
cultivation. In this system, a patch of forest land is cleared by cutting and setting fire
to the trees, shrubs, bushes. The land is ploughed immediately after the first shower.
It is believed that doing so improves the soil quality. Once a patch of land is
cultivated, they move to another piece of land in the next year, and the cycle
continues.

Paddy, maize, millet is sown in the same field.
Art works are popular amongst Adi tribal communities. Handicrafts of the Adi tribes
are best seen in their cane and bamboo works like baskets, trays, haversacks, mats
and hats and headgears with artistic designs that are produced for domestic use.

Women belonging to the Adi tribal group are expert weavers. They can also build
bridges though they don’t have any tutoring to do so.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Religion:

The majority of Adi traditionally follow the tribal Donyi-Polo religion in which they
worship goddesses like Kine Nane, Doying Bote, Gumin Soyin and Pedong Nane.
Religious observances are led by a shaman (A practice in which the practitioner who
is believed to interact with the spirit world). The Adi people in Tibet are following
Tibetan Buddhism. They are not confined to any particular creed.

This Donyi-Polo is one of the religions followed by the majority of the population in
Arunachal Pradesh.

Religion in Arunachal

Pradesh

Religion Percent

Christianity 30.3%

Hinduism 29.0%

Donyi-Polo 26.2%

Buddhism 11.8%

Islam 1.9%

The flag of the Donyi-Polo Sikhism 0.2%
religion.
Jainism 0.05%

Religion in Arunachal Pradesh

Jainism 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00%
Sikhism

Islam
Buddhism
Donyi-Polo
Hinduism
Christianity

0.00%

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Culture:

The Adis have many legends, stories and ballads about animal-human
transformations. The Adis think that Sedi-Melo made the world where we live. Adi
tales depict monkey and human relationship as a repentance, devotion, commitment,
guidance, messenger and friendship. According to the Adi culture, Mithuns (an
Indian bison or wild ox) played a vital role as a symbolism and in connection to man
and society. They have many dance forms and their traditional dance is Popir.

Dress:
There are separate dresses for women and men which are woven by women of the
tribes, helmets made from cane, bear, and deerskin are sometimes worn by the
men, depending on the region. 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).

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Cuisine and other culture

Their staple food is Rice. But they also eat other food like meat and vegetable. They
have many festivals like Donggin, Etor, Solung, etc. In a dance called Tapu (War
Dance), the dancers vigorously re-enact the actions of war, its gory details and the
triumphant cries of the warriors.

They cook the traditional ‘Ma Dong’ – literally translating to ‘food in bamboo’ – a
special treat for the evening. Traditionally, Adi tribesmen would pack rice, and basic

condiments like salt and dried bamboo-shoot powder when they went out on hunting

expeditions or set up machan (a raised platform) to tend to their seasonal farms,
away from the village. The forest and river provided meat or fish and all one needed
was to find the abundant bamboo to cook their meals in.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Their way of living Today:

The Adi people’s homes are built with
stilts and have thatched roofs.

Today the people in Adi tribe have
access to water through hand pumps,
electricity and modern equipment’s.

But in only a few houses, there are solar
panels to power up mobile phones and
very rarely, TVs. Now a days few of them
there are educated and are aware of
technology and modern world.

They have very good drainage systems that can hold a lot of rainwater during
monsoons and rainstorms and do not overflow.
During the modern times, they have also started following Christianity.

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Study of North Eastern Indian Tribes - ADI Tribe

Conclusion:

Many of the Adi villages are now electrified giving access to lighting and modern
technology. Some of the houses today have access to TV and mobile. These are in
a way destroying their culture.
The hydroelectric power plant and logging done for farming are destroying the eco
space of the region.
But Adi tribe still practice ancient habits which makes their social and cultural
civilization to be still alive. Where as many tribes around the world have lost their
originality due to modernization.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_people
http://www.indovacations.net/english/Adi-People.htm
https://www.indianetzone.com/8/aditribearunachalpradesh.htm
https://www.pilotguides.com/articles/the-adi-tribe-of-arunachal-pradesh/
https://thevelvetrocket.com/2010/12/25/durpai-an-adi-village-in-arunachal-pradesh/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/adi/index.shtml
Study of oral discourse through Adi folk Tales of Arunachal (book)

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