Syncretism Among the Tagins of Arunachal Pradesh, with Special Reference to Donyi-Poloism

Tamar Badi¹ & H. Vokendro Singh²

Badi, T. & Singh, H. V. (2021). Syncretism Among the Tagins of Arunachal Pradesh, with Special Reference to Donyi-Poloism. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 8(1), pp. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.8.1.21.79.91

Abstract

The present paper discusses the indigenous identity based on religious faith called “Donyi-Poloism” of the tribal community of Tagins of Daporijo in the district of Upper Subansiri of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The author describes the origin of Donyi-Poloism and how it has been influenced by three other religions, namely, Hinduism, Christianity, and Rangfraism (as a religious persuasion). The traditional religious institutions of Nyeder Namlo and Youth Namlo are discussed. Based on a cross-cultural comparative analysis of different religions currently co-existing among the Tagins, various similarities and dissimilarities among them are explored.

Keywords: Donyi-Poloism, Christianity, Hinduism, Rangfraism, syncretism

¹Tamar Badi is a research scholar at the Department of Anthropology, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh. Correspondence regarding this article must be directed to: baditamar2@gmail.com

² H. Vokendro Singh is a professor at the Department of Anthropology, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh.