SOCIOLOGY PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Assam is the meeting ground of diverse cultures. The people of the state are an
intermixture of various racial stocks such as Mongoloid, Indo-Burmese, Indo-
Iranian and Aryan. Tribal groupings migrated to the soils of Assam from diverse
directions, as the territory was linked to a number of states and many different
countries throughout history. Today diverse tribes like Bodo, Kachari, Karbi, Miri,
Tiwa, Mishimi, Rabha, etc co-exist in Assam. The project report focuses on two
major tribes of Assam; Tiwa and Mising, describing their diverse cultural identities
such as society, language, traditional attire, festivals etc. The report brings us the
distinct tribal identities of the state unknown to many people.

OBJECTIVE
 To explore the distinct tribal identities of Assam.
 To study the Tiwa and Mising tribe of Assam.
 To understant the uniqueness, diversity and significant features of the
cultures of Tiwa and Mising tribes.
 To analyze the socio-economic condition of Tiwa and Mising people.

TIWA

The Tiwa people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting the states of
Assam and Meghalaya in northeastern India. They are also found in some areas of
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. They are recognized as a Scheduled
tribe within the State of Assam. They were known as Lalungs in the Assamese
Buranjis and in Colonial literature and in the Constitution of India, though
members of the group prefer to call themselves Tiwa (meaning "the people who
were lifted from below").
A striking feature of the Tiwa is their division into two sub-groups, Hill Tiwa and
Plains Tiwas, displaying contrasting cultural features. The Hill Tiwas live in the
westernmost areas of "The Ancient Lalung - Tiwa Hills" now known as Umswai
Valley of Amri block in West Karbi Anglong district and as well as in the
Northeastern corner of Ri-Bhoi district (Meghalaya). They speak their own Tiwa
language. They are divided into a dozen clans. Their descent system can be said to
be ambilineal. Plains Tiwas live on the flatlands of the Southern bank of the
Brahmaputra valley, mostly
in Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, Kamrup,Sibsagar, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur and Dh
emaji districts. They speak Assamese as their mother tongue. Their descent
system is patrilineal.

SOCIETY
The Tiwa community is divided into several Phoit and Dilok (divided into
exogamous clans and again the clans are sub-divided into many sub-clans). Tiwa
community also has various Khuls, they can marry with other Khul but they are
not allowed to marry people from other clans. The descent system of hill Tiwas
can be said to be ambilineal . The Hill Tiwa society is organized around seven old
villages which constitute its political as well as ritual center. The descent system
of plain Tiwas is patrilineal. Their religion shares many elements with Assamese
Hinduism but remains specific. Around 97.98% of Tiwas (including both plain and
hills) follow Hinduism blend with their traditional beliefs, and around 1.71%
follows Christianity. The Tiwa people build Nobaro (Borghar) in the village and
they assemble there and the follow religious customs and principles. They mainly
worship the god Fa Mahadew. The Tiwa clans cooperate with one another as a
community, whether constructing a house, harvesting rice, or worshiping.
The Tiwa people depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood and
income. They are considered to be socially disadvantaged and economically
underdeveloped people though some level of development is seen at present
time. They practice jhum cultivation Crops produced from jhum cultivation are
ginger, pumpkins, chilies, maize, etc. Rice cultivation is also done. Tiwas are non-
vegetarians. The staple food of Tiwa people is rice, meat, fish, pork, and eggs.
There is a lot of sesame, mustard and chilies used while cooking and are generally
cooked in bamboo shoots. They love acidic foods and most of the dishes are made
of crude alkali substances (khar).
Cultural change among the Tiwas caused by some homogenous and
heterogeneous factors itself has become a threat to the very existence of their
own culture, tradition and languages. The process of the rapid cultural change is
phenomenal in the present Tiwa society which often leads to loss of their way of
distinct cultural life and identity. The use of other languages and adopting
Christianity is visible among them. The Tiwas with their various socio-cultural
organizations are making continuous efforts to preserve their cultural.

FESTIVALS
Festivals constitute a significant part of the culture of the Tiwas. There are many
festivals of Tiwa people. The main festivals of the Tiwas are: Wanshúwa
Kham (Wanshuwa), Three Pisû (Bihu) along with Kablâ Phûja, Langkhôn Phûja,
Jonbeel Mela etc.

The Wanchuwa festival is one of the most important celebrations of the Tiwas
living in Karbi Anglong district. Generally, this festival takes place between June-
August. It is celebrated to mark their good harvest. The main function takes place
on a Wednesday at the residence of Shangdoloi, the head of the village bachelor's
dormitory where the wooden mortars are located. While dancing to the rhythm
of the khram, pangsi and thurang, members of the Shangdoloi pound the wet to a
powder. The grounded rice flour is then mixed lightly with water and is sprinkled
on people present at the ceremony. The remaining flour is distributed to
prepare wanrusa, steamed rice cake. The next morning it is brought to the
Shangdoloi’s house and offers it to the deities. By Thursday, the festival ends.

Jonbeel Mela (Tiwa: Chunbîl Melâ) is a three-day annual indigenous Tiwa

Community fair held in the weekend of Magh Bihu at a historic place known as
Dayang Belguri at Joonbeel. A huge bazaar is held. In the mela, indigenous tribal
communities of Assam and neighborhood like Hills Tiwa, Karbi, Khasi, and Jayantia
come down from the hills with products and interchange their goods with the
native indigenous Assamese people in a barter system. It is perhaps the only fair
in India where barter system is still alive. Before the mela takes place, fire worship
is performed. The mela starts with community fishing in the Joonbeel wetland.
The theme of the mela is harmony and brotherhood among the indigenous
communities and tribes. People also perform their traditional dance and music.
(Langrâ - A Tiwa Documentary Video).

LANGUAGE
Tiwa (Lalung) is a Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan) language of the Bodo-Garo group
spoken by the Tiwa people in Assam and Meghalaya. Tiwa is spoken in
northwestern Karbi Anglong district and further north in parts of Morigaon
District / Nagaon district in the plains of Assam. Tiwa dialectal variations appear
to be clustered around groups of villages. Like most languages of the hill tribes of
the Northeast India, Tiwa people do not have their own script. Therefore they use
the Latin script (Tiwa Mor) and occasionally use Assamese script.
Tiwa is under the tremendous threat of getting endangered. The urban people
and the new generation of this speech community have started discarding their
mother tongue. This language neither has its own script nor used in as a medium
of instruction in the school level. (Revitalizing Tiwa Language: The Phenomena of
Language Shift and Maintenance by Arup Kumar Nath).

TRADITIONAL DRESS
Weaving is still a community tradition among the Tiwas living in the Hills.
Traditional clothes are woven by the women of the household.
MEN
The men wear Phaguri for wrapping around their heads, Thagla as a jaket,
Thenash as a criss cross across the body and Nara for the lower body.
WOMEN
The women wear Phaskai for the upper body Nara around the waist (like a belt)
and Kashong for lower body. Tiwa women in plain areas also wear Riha and
Mekhela.
These traditional dresses are complimented with locally made ornaments.

MISING

The Mising people, sometimes called Miri people, are a Tibeto-

Burmese indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the Northeastern states
of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the second largest tribal group in North-East
India (Bhandari, 1992). They are part of Tani group of people of Northeast India.
They were earlier called Miris in historical days and the Constitution of India still
refers to them as Miris. Mising is an endonym and literally means "man of the
soil." Miri, on the other hand, is an exonym commonly applied by plain’s
Assamese people. They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of
Assam.

The Misings are river people. They were originally hill tribes of the Himalaya
region of North Eastern India. They migrated to the plain of Assam prior to the
advent of Ahoms and settled in the riverside areas of the Bahmaputra and the
Subansiri. The Misings follow the patrilineal and patriarchal system. They are
mainly concentrated in nine districts of Assam Tinisukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar,
Jorhat, Golaghat, Darrang, Sonitpur, North-Lakhimpur and Dhemaji. They are now
a part and parcel of Assamese society of India.

SOCIETY

The Mising people inhabiting the plains believe Gu:mín as one of the earliest
ancestors. The sons of Guhmín are grouped in multiple opin, or clans, the names
of which are represented by the existing surnames in the society. The
different opin include: Doley, Pegu, Bori, Gam, Charoh, Dao, Dang, Jimey, Kutum,
Kumbang, Kaman, Mili, Lagachu etc. The traditional chief of a Mising village is
called a Ga:m. He presided at the sittings of the village council, the Kebang, which
deliberated upon different matters concerning the wellbeing of the village as well
as complaints of individual members or groups in the community. The Misings are
a patrilineal and patriarchal society. Household rural poverty among the Mishing
tribe can be seen. The Misings follow their own traditions, called Donyi Polo, the
Sun and the Moon God. They are still mainly animists and adopted some aspects
of Vaishnavism. Marriages amongst the Misings take place in four ways: formal
marriages (Midang), marriage by elopement (Dugla-lanam), marriage through a
very simple ceremony, and marriage by force (Kumna-sola-lanam).

Agriculture is the lifeblood of the Misings. They grow different varieties of rice
paddy. They also grow mustard, pulses, maize, vegetables, tobacco, bamboo,
areca, etc., chiefly for their own use, with the exception of mustard, which brings
them some cash. Misings are non-vegetarians. They eat different herbs as
vegetable together with fish, pork, chicken, duck meat etc. Namsing is a very
popular dish among Mising people. Alcoholic beverage referred as ‘Apong’,
fermented from rice, is their common drink. Apong has been integral part of the
social, cultural and religious life of the Mising people.

Through assimilation of other groups of Assam, the culture and life of the Misings
has constantly changed. A large number of Mising people have given up some age
old traditional religious beliefs and converts them into various form of Hinduism.
Their language has become endangered. This leads to the loss of their distinct
culture. The Misings with their various socio-cultural organizations are making
continuous efforts in preserving the rich cultural heritage of their community.

FESTIVALS

Mising people celebrate various festivals, the two chief traditional festivals of the
Misings are the Ali-Ayé-Lígang, and the Po:rag. Another occasion called Dobur an
animistic rite is also performed occasionally by the village community.

Ali-Ayé-Lígang is a 5 days festival marking the beginning of the sowing season. Ali-
Ayé means seeds and Lígang means sowing of seeds. Ali-Ayé-Lígang starts on the
second Wednesday of February. The festival begin with the heads of families
sowing ceremonially rice seeds in a corner of their rice fields in the morning and
praying for crop abundance. In this festival young people of the community in
particular participate in "Gumraag Soman" and dance to the tune of folk songs
and melodious "oi: nitom" with the accompaniment of dhul, taal, gagana and a
gong. The gong is not used on any occasion other than the Ali-Ayé Lígang. The
troupe accepts from each household offers of rice beer (apong) and fowls. After
the singing and dancing is over, the youths hold a feast on the last day.

Po:rag is the post-harvest five days festival. Harvesting of paddy rice in autumn is
very common now amongst the Misings and so a Po:rag is usually observed
sometime in mid-October. Both young boys and girls in their traditional attire take
part in singing and dancing. Entertainment during the celebrations is open to
everyone, young and old, of the village. Significantly, it is customary on this
occasion to invite the women who hail from the village but have been married to
men of other villages. The "Murong" the community hall of the Misings is
renovated decorating the tie- beams and the posts splendidly at the beginning of
the festival. A grand feast is arranged where at least four to five pigs are
sacrificed. The festival ends with a prayer dance known as "Ponu Nunam".

LANGUAGE

Miri or Mising, also known as Plains Miri, is a Tani language (a distinct branch in
Sino-Tibetan) spoken by the Mising people. The speakers of the language inhabit
mostly the Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Majuli,
Golaghat, Tinsukia districts of Assam and also some parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Mising, Padam and Minyong speak dialects of the same language. Hill Miri is
also listed under Mising language. The Mising language does not have its own
script. Therefore it uses the Roman script.

Mising language is an endangered language and is termed as ‘definitely

endangered’. The primary literary body of Mising is known as 'Mising Agom
Kébang (Mising Language Society)'. This organization aims to preserve and
develop the Mising language.
TRADITIONAL DRESS

The traditional craft of weaving is a very important aspect of Mising culture. All
clothes the Mising wear are woven by the women of the household.

MEN
Men wear Mibu Galuk, a simple sleeveless front opening jacket, Erpob a muffler
and Ugon (Dhoti) a lower garment white in colour.
WOMEN
Women wear Gasor (sador), an upper garment with the Ege (mekhela), a lower
garment worn to cover the lower part of the body from waist to ankle level. Gero
is used to tie around the waist, top of Ege.

These traditional dresses are complimented with the traditional ornaments.

CONCLUSION

Here I have come to the end the project on the topic ‘tracing the distinct tribal
identities of Assam’. I would like to share my experience while doing the project. I
tried my best to include all the main and important points required for the topic.
Some of the information which I have taken and wrote in the project was taken
from internet sources and documentaries and I also did a survey on Mising tribe.

The project contains all important information on the culture of Tiwa and Mising
tribe. The project also teaches us some values. I hope my project will be
interesting and knowledgeable.

SURVEY QUESTIONS
The following questions were asked to a Mising tribesman as a part of the survey
conducted in ‘Mising Gaon’, Doom Dooma.

Q1. What is the economic activity of the Mising people?

Ans: According to the respondent agriculture is their chief activity and they mostly
grow rice. Mustard, pulses, maize, vegetables are occasionally grown. Fishing is
also practiced.

Q2. What is the educational status amongst the people of the tribe?
Ans: Though majority of the elders were illiterate, the younger generation appear
to have acquired at least a minimum degree of formal education mainly due to
the low growth of L.P. Schools, M.E. Schools, and High Schools and colleges in the
surrounding area of their villages as per the respondent.

Q3. Is poverty an issue?

Ans: Poverty is one of the social issues of Mising tribe. Till today, except some
crops, they produced crops for own consumption not for cash. So, their annual
income is very less. Due to poverty the Mising people are lagging behind in
education, business and other aspects as per the respondent.

Q4. What is the significance of ‘Apong’

Ans: Apong (rice beer) is more than a drink; this product has been integral part of
the social, cultural and religious life of the Mising people. It is produced by
fermenting cooked rice. It is consumed in social and day to day life. Besides,
Apong is used in all cultural and religious occasions like marriage and festivals.
Apong is considered as symbol of honor and receiving guest with a glass of Apong
is a matter of pride for the host family. Preparation of Apong is exclusively the
domain of women. As said by the respondent.

Q5. How far there is cultural loss and influence of other cultures among the tribe?

Ans: According to the respondent assimilation, modernisation led to lost of their

original tribal identity. The Mising were originally followed the Donyi polo (still
followed to some extent). Following the Vaishnavite movement in Assam, a major
section of the Mising accepted vaishnavism. A small section adopted Christianity.
Many of them now speak Assamese and the younger generation is not so fluent in
Mising language.