SPIRITS OF THE FOREST: UYU-BASED KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS AND SHIFTING ECOLOGIES IN NYISHI COSMOLOGY

Prem Taba

doi:10.29121/granthaalayah.v13.i3.2025.5984

Authors

Dr. Prem Taba Research Scholar, Department of Mass Communication, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills, Doimukh https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1223-2481

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v13.i3.2025.5984

Keywords:

Uyu, Animism, Nyishi Tribe, Arunachal Pradesh, Human-Forest Relations, Ecological Change

Abstract [English]

This paper investigates the co-evolution of human-forest relations and the agency of spirits (uyu) among the Nyishi tribe inhabiting Arunachal Pradesh, India. We argue that the Nyishi belief system, particularly the concept of uyu, offers a unique lens through which to understand forest management practices and contemporary ecological challenges. Uyu are categorized into benevolent and malevolent classes, with the Dohjung uyu playing a central role in narratives concerning human interactions with the forest. Jhum cultivation and hunting are conceptualized as a form of exchange with the uyu, and ethical considerations are embedded within the Nyishi belief system. The ongoing transformation of the region, marked by out-migration, economic shifts, and Christianization, presents both opportunities and challenges for the future of human-uyu relations and forest sustainability in the Nyishi highlands.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Arunachal Pradesh Government. (2018). Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Department of Tribal Affairs.

Bareh, H. (2001). The Land of the Rising Sun: The Idu Mishmi Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. Mittal Publications.

Barthakur, H. (2016). The Mithun (Bos frontalis) in Arunachal Pradesh: A Review of its Ethnozoological Significance. International Journal of Applied Research, 2(6), 321-326.

Borah, G., & Sarma, N. C. (2017). Status of Smokeless Fuel Adoption in Rural Households of Assam: A Review. International Journal of Current Research, 9(08), 58230-58234.

Choudhury, A. U. (2011). Indigenous Building Materials of Northeast India: A review. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 1(4), 633-638.

Douglas, M. (1992). Risk and blame: Essays in cultural theory. Routledge.

Dutta, A., & Goswami, D. (2014). Social Transformation of the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(2), 315-322.

Dutta, P. C. (2018). Indigenous Communities and Forest Management in India. Routledge.

Elisabetta, R. (2010). The Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh: Memory, power and change. Routledge.

Ellick, A. (2011). An Anthropology of Ritual in the Eastern Himalayas. Berghahn Books.

Elwin, V. (1957). A philosophy for NEFA. Governor of Assam, Shillong.

Fürer-Haimendorf, C. von. (1982). Tribes of India and Tibet. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520419964 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520419964

Ganguly, J., Sharma, R. K., & Singh, N. S. (2011). Indigenous Utilization of Medicinal Plants by the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalayas.

Gowers, W. (2008). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press.

Gunderson, L., & Holling, C. S. (2002). Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems. Island Press.

Lélé, S., Norgaard, R., & Satterfield, C. (2013). Social-Ecological Analysis of Resilience. In A. Bieling & T. R. Young (Eds.), Resilience approaches to Transformation in social-ecological systems. Cambridge University Press, 19-40.

Mills, J. P. (2003). Dealing with Deities: Religion, Society and Change in a South Indian village. Oxford University Press.

Walker, L. R., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. P. (2006). Resilience, Adaptability, and the Emergence of Long-Term Ecosystem Dynamics. Ecology, 87(7), 1706-1718.