Abor

ETHNONYMS: Abuit, Adi, Tani

Orientation

Identification. The name "Abor" is applied, in a general sense, to all of the hill tribes that live in the area surrounding the Assam Valley. In a more specific sense, it refers to those peoples inhabiting the southern reaches of the Himalayan range in A-runachal Pradesh. The Abor label refers to fifteen related groups (Padam, Minyong, Pangis, Shimong, Ashing, Pasi, Karko, Bokar, Bori, Ramo, Pailibo, Milan, Tangam, Tangin, and Gallong), of which the Padam, Minyong, and Shimong are the most numerous. Abor settlements are also found in Tibet and China. The etymology of the word has been the subject of considerable debate. Two interpretations represent the range of opinion about the origin of the word. The first holds that abor is of Assamese origin and is derived from bori, meaning "subject, dependent," and the negative particle a-. Thus, "Abor" suggests one who does not submit allegiance (i.e., one who is hostile, barbarous, or savage). The alternative view connects the word with Abo, the primordial man in Abor mythology. The final -r is taken to be similar to final -rr in tribal designations such as Aorr, Simirr, and Yimchungrr, which means "man." In the 1960s, the Abor began calling themselves Adis because of the negative connotations of their former name (see Adi in the Appendix).

Location. Abor communities in India are concentrated on the banks of the Siang and Yamne rivers. Their territory, totaling some 20,000 square kilometers, has the India-Tibet border as its northern boundary, Pasighat as its southern boundary, and Gallong country and the Siyom river as its western boundary. The region's geographic coordinates are 28° and 29° N, by 95° and 96° E.

Demography. According to the 1971 census there were 4,733 Abor. A United Bible Societies survey suggests a total Adi-speaking population of 84,026 in 1982.

Linguistic Affiliation. The Abor speak Adi (also called Miri, Abor, Arbor, or Mishing), a language of the Tibeto-Burman Stock belonging to the Sino-Tibetan Phylum.

History and Cultural Relations

The Abors immigrated to their Indian homeland from the north crossing the Himalayas into the Assam Valley. Eventually they retreated into the highland regions that they Currently occupy. The cause of this migration is unknown, although natural causes and political upheaval have been suggested as possible catalysts. It is also not known whether they migrated as a solid body at a single point in history, or in smaller subgroups over a period of several hundred years. Between 1847 and 1862, the British government tried unsuccessfully to conquer all of Abor territory. Following the failure of several military endeavors, a treaty was reached that guaranteed limited British hegemony and uninhibited trade and communication on the frontier. In spite of occasional treaty violations, an uneasy peace was maintained. After the final British military action against the Abor (in response to the murder of the assistant political officer and a companion) in 1912, the hills north of Assam were divided into western, central, and eastern sections for administrative purposes. The last of these were collectively given the name of Sadiya Frontier Tract. In 1948, the Tirap Frontier Tract was divided into the Mishmi Hills District and the Abor Hills District. Finally, in 1954, the name of the Abor Hills District was changed to the Siang Frontier Division. Since this time, the Abor have undergone considerable acculturation, which has resulted in a number of changes in the nature of village life, the local economy, social structure, and political organization.

Settlements

Villages are usually built on hilltops (though in the plains, Abor tend to follow the local practice of building villages on level land). Preference is given to those locations that afford access to a river by a sloping incline on one side and the protection of a very steep decline on the other side. Houses are built on elevated platforms. They are arranged in rows extending from the top to the bottom of the hill, and are constructed so that the rear side of the house faces the hill itself. Public buildings in a typical village include the moshup (bachelors' dormitory), the rasheng (single females' dormitory), and granaries. In older villages, stone walls with wooden reinforcements are found. Major building materials are bamboo, wood, thatching grass, and cane.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The major Subsistence activities are hunting, fishing, gathering, agriculture, and barter of surplus crops for basic necessities and luxuries. Slash-and-burn (or jhum ) agriculture is the norm. Forest and undergrowth are cut, dried, and burned, after which seeds are planted. Soil fertility is maintained for a period of one to three years using this method. Agricultural land is graded according to latent fertility, and crops are assigned accordingly. Major crops include rice, five varieties of Job's tears, four types of finger millet, foxtail millet, maize, and namdung (Perilla ocimoides, the seed of which is eaten whole or ground). Green vegetables grown include mustard, country bean, pumpkins, white gourds, small onions, soybeans, flat beans, eggplants, bitter gourds, french beans, small mustard plants, potatoes, tomatoes, and enge (Colocasia antiquorum ). Fruits grown include jackfruit, oranges, papayas, bananas, and pineapples. Condiment crops are limited to chilies, ginger, and sugarcane. Cotton is the most important of the several fiber crops grown. Finally, tobacco is also raised. Gayals, dogs, pigs, goats, and chickens are the most important of the animals domesticated by the Abor. The Abor do not have a currency of their own with any item of value (i.e., having a practical or decorative use) being used as money. Metal items are valued by the Abor, and the metal cauldron (danki ) imported from Tibet is particularly treasured.

Industrial Arts. Bamboo, wood, cane, clay, stone, glass, metal, cotton, and wool are used as raw materials. Manufactured items include yarn, woven cloth, personal attire (e.g., for daily, ceremonial, and military use), ornaments (e.g., for ear, neck, waist, and wrist), household furniture, baskets, utensils for the preparation and storage of food (e.g., bamboo containers, wooden gourds, and metal pots), and implements of war (e.g., bows, arrows, swords, shields, helmets, spiked wristlets, and bamboo spikes or panjis ).

Trade. Surplus goods are bartered by the Abor in exchange for various necessities and luxury items. Market relationships exist among the Abor themselves and trade routes link them with markets in Nayi Lube (Tibet), Along, Pangin, and Pasighat (the latter three being in Siang Frontier Division). For example, raw hides and chilies are traded by the Boris in Tibet for rock salt, woolen cloth, raw wool, Tibetan swords and vessels, ear ornaments, and brass bangles. They exchange salt, iron, and some utensils for other items with neighboring groups. With the establishment of Along, Pasighat, and Pangin as administrative centers, Abor traders from throughout the region come to these towns to barter their goods. In addition to barter, currency is also used as a medium of exchange.

Division of Labor. While some tasks such as child care and cooking are shared in some cases by men and women, gender-based demarcation of responsibilities is followed in others. For example, weaving is the province of women, while the cutting and burning of trees and brush for jhum is a male task. Generally speaking, women assume primary responsibility for cooking, maintenance of domestic animals, and the seeding, weeding, and harvesting of jhum fields.

Land Tenure. Each village has its own territorial boundaries. Within these, the land belongs to the families inhabiting the village. Roy has suggested that clan ownership of land obtains in some older villages, though this is not the general norm. Lal and Gupta suggested that in Minyong villages, the dominant clan(s) is (are) the majority landholder(s). Theoretically all land belongs to the village. However, the families that constitute a village have the right to cultivate the land that they claim as their own.

Kinship, Marriage and Family

Kin Groups and Descent. Descent is patrilineal. Each of the constituent Abor groups traces its descent from a single mythical ancestor and is composed of a number of clans. These clans are divided into various subclans (groups of families that are the basic Abor social unit). Clan exogamy, strictly adhered to at one time, has become less the norm for the Abor due to population increase and dispersion. Subclans, however, have remained strictly exogamous. Larger divisions may exist between the clan and group levels (e.g., among the Minyong, who are divided into two moieties).

Marriage. Monogamous unions are the norm, though polygyny is also practiced. Divorce is frequent and easily obtainable. Premarital sexual exploration is encouraged. Freedom of choice in mate selection is the norm, but parentally arranged marriages also occur. Postmarital residence does not fall neatly into any category, but it seems to be bilocal (the newly married couple settling with the parents of either the bride or the groom) in the beginning of the union and neolocal after the birth of the first child. In some cases, the youngest son of a family may remain in the home of his father along with his wife and children.

Domestic Unit. The typical unit is made up of a husband and wife, together with their children. However, a number of variations in basic Minyong family composition have been noted. Absolute authority resides with the male head of the household. Joint families are rare because the allegiance of male and female offspring is transferred, first to the male and female dormitories, then to their own families, as the life cycle progresses. While monogamous unions are the Abor norm, polygynous arrangements are known. Consequently, households with cowives are not rare.

Inheritance. The inheritance of all property descends through the male line. Sons share equally in the real property (land) of their father's estate. The same is true of the family house, though the youngest son inherits his father's house if he has chosen not to establish his own residence after marriage. The care of the father's widow is the responsibility of the youngest son. All other property owned by the father—such as beads inherited from his father, implements used in hunting and warfare, and clothing woven for him by his wife—is divided equally among his sons. Some of his personal effects (though none of real value) are used to decorate his grave. Ornaments that a woman brings with her into a Marriage and those given to her by her husband remain hers and are inherited by her daughters and daughters-in-law.

Socialization. The chief agents of socialization are a child's parents, the moshup (men's dormitory), and the rasheng (women's dormitory). In the home, gender-specific roles and responsibilities are introduced by the parents, and children spend their days engaged in household and subsistence activities. After a child is able to crawl, it is placed under the care of its elder siblings. Once the child has reached adolescence, responsibility for socialization shifts to the moshup and rasheng, where children spend evenings after their round of daily domestic chores is over. The dormitories serve as the training ground for men and women until they are married and are able to establish their own households.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. The primary allegiance of an individual is to his or her family. The cohesion of larger groups within the society, such as subclans, clans, and moieties, can also be occasioned by disputes and conflicts that threaten one or more of the constituent members of these larger groups. Among the Abor's primary institutions must be included jhum agriculture, the nuclear family, the moshup, and the rasheng. The anticipated secondary institutions (i.e., core religious beliefs, ritual cults, and folklore corpus) also obtain among the Abor. Traditionally, social status was achieved through the accumulation of wealth. Today, education and occupation are also viewed as signs of status.

Political Organization. Each village is an autonomous unit whose affairs are administered by a council (kebang ). Council membership consists of clan representatives and individual village members. Every aspect of village life is governed by the kebang. This includes the mediation of local disputes. Groups of villages are organized into bangos, which are governed by a bango council. Disputes between bangos are mediated by a bogum bokang (a temporary interbango council made up of bango elders from the same group).

Social Control. Sources of conflict within Abor society include marital and familial disputes, divorce, theft, assault, and inheritance disputes. The resolution of conflict and the regulation of behavior within the society are the responsibility of the village kebang, the bango council, and the bogum bokang. Order is maintained through a system of customary law that deals with matrimonial and familial affairs, property rights, personal injury, and inheritance. Provision is made for the use of ordeals when the mediation of disputes by humans proves unsuccessful.

Conflict. Disputes between the Abor and neighboring peoples are no longer resolved by means of armed conflict. Internal (i.e., within the various Abor groups) and external (i.e., with neighboring peoples) warfare were effectively eliminated after the initiation of British rule. Conflict between villages is handled by the bango council and the resolution of interbango conflict is the responsibility of the bogum bokang.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Abor religion is characterized by a belief in a host of spirits (uyu ), both beneficent and malevolent. Of these, the Epom (offspring of Robo, father of evil spirits) figure prominently. They are the adversaries of human beings (who are believed to be the offspring of Robo's primordial brother, Nibo) and are said to induce accidents. The souls of those who have not been properly buried or who died unnatural deaths become urams (evil spirits who join the Epom in combat against humanity). Other notable evil spirits include the nipong (spirit of a woman who dies during pregnancy) and the aying uyu (lowland evil spirits whose assaults are directed against men and women of all ages). Among the more important benevolent spirits, Benji Bama (controller of human destiny) must be noted, and each natural force is believed to possess a spirit that must be held in check through proper personal conduct and the performance of certain rituals. In addition, the Abor believe in several eternal beings (e.g., Seti, the earth, and Melo, the sky) who were in existence before creation and are removed from the affairs of humanity. These beings belong to a higher order than the spirits, and they figure prominently in Abor creation myths.

Religious Practitioners. The Abor have two categories of religious practitioners: the epak miri (diviner) and the nyibo (medicine man). Through the use of incantations, herbs, divination, and spiritual discernment, they determine which spirits are responsible for their misfortune and appease these malevolent forces through the invocation of a familiar spirit. This spirit possesses the body of the practitioner and assists the soul of the epak miri or nyibo in locating the spirit that must be appeased and in arranging for a suitable propitiatory act of the individual who has been afflicted. The nyibo establishes contact with the world of spirits by recounting creation stories, while the epak miri utilizes dance and song. No special social significance is attached to either office, though the epak miri is allowed to wear special beads on ceremonial occasions.

Ceremonies. Ceremonial activity accompanies the major events in the human life cycle and is also associated with affairs of state, the life of the moshup and rasheng, subsistence activities, warfare, and health care. Song and dance are of great importance on these occasions. The epak miri, who is also the guardian of tribal myths, histories, genealogies, and other traditional lore, is the central figure during these ritual observances.

Arts. In addition to those artifacts manufactured by the Abors that have a utilitarian or ornamental purpose, tattooing is also practiced by many groups. Abor oral literature includes a number of myths, legends, folktales, traditional ballads (abangs ), religious ballads (ponungs ), and political narrations (abes ). The recent introduction of writing has contributed to an increase in this literature. While musical compositions are few in number, dance is a highly developed art form among the Abor.

Medicine. In traditional Abor thought, sickness is believed to have its basis in the malevolent activity of forces in the spirit world and treatment consists of the ministrations of the epak miri. It is his or her job to ascertain from the spirit world which spirit has been offended and how expiation is to be made.

Death and Afterlife. It is believed that life continues beyond the grave, in a land where each of the uyus has its individual abode. When one dies, his or her soul is taken to the domain of the uyu who was the cause of death. An individual enjoys the same status and life-style that he or she had while alive. For this reason the deceased is provided with food, drink, possessions, and other tools and provisions to ensure comfort in the afterlife.

Bibliography

Chowdhury, J. N. (1971). A Comparative Study of Adi Religion. Shillong: North-East Frontier Agency.

Duff-Sutherland-Dunbar, G. (1905). Abor and Galong. Memoirs of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 5 (extra number). Calcutta.

Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von (1954). "Religious Beliefs and Ritual Practices of the Minyong Abors of Assam, India." Anthropos 49:588-604.

Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von (1962). The Apa Tanis and Their Neighbours, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Lal, Parmanand, and Biman Kumar Das Gupta (1979). Lower Siang People. Calcutta: Government of India.

Roy, Sachin (1960). Aspects of Padam-Minyong Culture. Shillong: North-East Frontier Agency.

Simoons, Frederick J., and Elizabeth S. Simoons (1968). A Ceremonial Ox of India: The Mithan in Nature, Culture, and History. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Srivastava, L. R. N. (1962). The Gallongs. Shillong: North-East Frontier Agency.

HUGH R. PAGE, JR.