Myths Associated with Food History and Its Origin Among the Nyishis of East Kameng In Arunachal Pradesh

Maram Bagang¹

Bagang, M. (2023). Myths Associated with Food History and Its Origin Among the Nyishis of East Kameng In Arunachal Pradesh. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 10(1), pp. 77-93. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.10.1.23.77.93

Abstract

Among the Nyishis, one of the major tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh, myths are rich in poetic and rhapsodic ideas, an expression that can hardly be defined but recognized as an established tradition for representing an account of past events of the tribesmen. Among them, there are a number of myths related to their culture, food history, and origin. The present paper gives an insight into the myths associated with food consumption, its history, and origin among the Nyishis of East Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, which is mainly related to a mythological character of Aabhu Thanyi, the ancestor of not only the Nyishis but the entire Thanyi tribe.

Keywords: Nyishi, myths, Aabhu Thanyi, Ayo Denger, cultivation, food history, East Khemang, Arunachal Pradesh

¹Maram Bagang is a research scholar at the Department of History, Rajiv Gandhi University, India. Correspondence regarding this article must be directed to: bagangmaram@gmail.com