Tribal Festivals in the North-East India – Arunachal & Assam

Upon your arrival at New Delhi or Kolkata International airport meet & greet by our staff, later transfer to your prebooked hotel. Overnight at Delhi or Kolkata.

In the morning, we go back to the airport to fly to Dibrugarh in the distant northeast of the domestic flight. After our arrival at the airport in Dibrugarh we will be taken to the hotel. We have the rest of the day at our disposal to arrive in peace.

After just a few kilometers we reach the first foothills of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We cross the mighty Brahmaputra, one of the holiest rivers in India.

On our way to Roing we make a detour to Namsai to see the Golden Pagoda Kongmu Kham of the Thai Khamti tribe. It is much more reminiscent of Myanmar or Thailand. The Thai Khampti immigrated from there to northeast India from Myanmar and Thailand a few centuries ago.

If time permits we will visit a village of the Adi Padam tribe on the way. Roing is located on the far eastern foothills of the Himalayas and is surrounded by dense forests. The Idu Mishmi tribe lives here, who mainly inhabit the Lohit district and the Dibang valley, but can also be found across the nearby border in southwest China. As animists, they worship the sun and the moon and believe in the soulfulness of nature. Preparations for tomorrow's deer festival, the most important festival of this tribe, are probably already in full swing when we arrive and with a bit of luck we can already be silent observers here. Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

The whole day is at our disposal to attend the varied events of the deer festival. The Idus believe that they are sons and daughters of the holy mother "Nanyi Irryitaya". But none of them can receive her blessing and survive in the strong social structure of the tribe without a special puja or attending the deer festival. The festival will be well attended accordingly.

According to old custom, during the festival some sacred buffalo or mituns are traditionally sacrificed in honor of the Nanyi Irryitaya. If it is not too late, on the way back from the festival site to the hotel we will visit a village of the Adi tribe, who, like the Idus, also live here. Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

Today our route takes us over newly built bridges across the Dibang and Siang rivers before we visit a village of the Adi Padam tribe on the way to Pasighat. There should still be enough time to explore the small town of Pasighat, which is the center of the Adi and Mishmi tribes. There is a small handicraft market here, an interesting museum and at the vegetable market all kinds of well-known and (to us) unknown vegetables and fruits. We will also find the local "Naga pepper" here, one of the hottest types of pepper in the world! Overnight stay in a very simple hotel.

Depend on our luck, we will have the opportunity to experience the ritual Tapu War Dance in a village of the Adi Minyong tribe before we continue our journey to Along. The men of the village wear their traditional clothing with the impressive feather headdress on their heads. After a tour of the beautiful village, we head towards the mountains! Today, one of the most scenic stages of the journey awaits us.

On a road that is now mostly quite well developed, we first follow the Siang River, which is called Brahmaputra in another part of India. In deeply cut valleys and lined with steep slopes and a lush jungle landscape, it flows from the far north of Tibet down into the lowlands of Assam, finally flowing into the Bay of Bengal near Calcutta. The vegetation of the jungle seems impenetrable and is a habitat for many species of beautiful butterflies.

May be on the way will see elephants, which are often used for forest work here, but wild elephants are not uncommon either.

Chance to see also Mithuns, a semi-wild species of buffalo and a sacred animal for the inhabitants of Arunachal. On the way we will stop in an interesting village of the Adi Minyong tribe, who are particularly close to nature and attach great importance to keeping the environment clean. Every two weeks the villagers therefore collect all the rubbish in the village and the surrounding area in a joint campaign. A few kilometres before Along we make a detour to one of the traditional suspension bridges over the Siang River.

We have the whole day to visit Along, which is embedded in an impressive landscape, and the villages in the surrounding area. The inhabitants here belong exclusively to the Adi Gallong tribe, or Adi Galo, as they have been calling themselves for some time. It is only in the wider area that we come across various subgroups of this tribe. It is a colour-loving tribe. The women wear a lot of homemade jewelry made of colorful beads and other skillfully crafted jewelry.

Excursus: Adi tribe

The Adi tribe settled east in the area around Daporijo and Along. Here the women and men wear very colorful tunics. The men like to wear a ship-shaped, woven hat, which the locals call 'bolup'. In their villages you can find granaries on two levels. These bamboo constructions are characteristic of this tribe and were designed to prevent rats from getting to the laboriously earned harvest. The Adis are also animists and worship the sun and the moon and pray to nature spirits.

We set off very early in the morning, as we have about 180 km and a good 7 hours of driving through beautiful landscape ahead of us. We have to expect that road construction work will make driving a rather bumpy and strenuous affair. Many different subgroups of the Adi tribe live in this region, such as the Adi Minyong, Adi Padam and Galo Adi, all of whom maintain their own customs. For example, the Adi Galo have beautiful, traditionally woven fabrics that are made into equally beautiful garments.

On the way, we will definitely visit one of the villages along the way, but at the same time we will try not to arrive too late in Daporijo, because today the preparations for the Boori Boat Festival are already in full swing, which we would like to observe. Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

The Bori Boat Festival is celebrated exclusively by the Hill Miris mountain people. Young and old come together in their most beautiful festive costumes to welcome the approaching spring and ask for a good harvest. In a prayer ceremony, the Nibu (priest) summons the spirit of Bori Boot to bless everyone with prosperity and keep disease away. Various dances make the festival a truly colorful experience. If time permits, we visit a village of the Hill Miri tribe outside of Daporijo in the afternoon. Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

Unfortunately, we also have to expect road construction work on the stretch from Daporijo to Ziro. Nevertheless, the route leads through an interesting landscape with lots of greenery and almost tropical-looking vegetation. On the way we visit some villages of the Tansa and Hill Miri tribes. The latter often build their houses on bamboo stilts.

On the rest of the journey we meet the Nishi tribe, which is almost indistinguishable from the Hill Miri, but in the past was considered much more warlike. In earlier times it was customary for the men to wear a traditional headgear with a beak of the hornbill, the national bird of Arunachal. Today the large and very magnificent animals are protected and may no longer be hunted. For this reason, people have now switched to wooden carved hornbill beaks. Perhaps we will be lucky and meet an older tribesman who will proudly show us his traditional headdress.

After a strenuous but also very eventful 160 km we finally reach Ziro, the main town of the Apatani tribe. The town is located at an altitude of 1500 m with a view of the mountains towering up to 2500 m on the horizon.

Excursus: Apatani tribe

The Apatani tribe settled in the Ziro Valley and is one of the largest of the many different tribes. The striking features of this tribe are the facial tattoos and the thick nose studs of the older women made of bamboo wood. The locals call the nose studs 'yaping hurlo'. According to some traditions, it is said that these were originally intended to disfigure women in order to protect them from attacks by intruders. According to information from one of our guides, who is himself an Apatani, this is not true. Women without tattoos and without nose studs were previously considered ugly. Since the 1970s, nose studs have been banned by the government. The tribe follows the belief 'Danyi-Pollo', which means something like 'sun-moon'. The Apatani also worship the sun and the moon. When misfortune occurs, they assume that it was caused by the devil's hand. To restore balance, chickens, cattle or other domestic animals are sacrificed in a ceremony.

Today we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves more deeply in the culture of the Apatani tribe, which is strikingly different from other tribes, and to experience it up close. The approximately 60,000 Apatani live in a strict social system that was originally supposedly used to protect them from hostile neighboring tribes. In the valley of Ziro we will visit surrounding villages of the Apatani tribe.

Along the paths we can see the houses of the residents, which are mainly built from bamboo poles and usually have a beautiful terrace. We will certainly also have the opportunity to experience the hospitality of the locals at one time or another! It is not uncommon on our trips to Arunachal that we are invited into one of the houses as a welcome guest and thus come into direct contact with the culture and way of life of the people. Since our guides are generally tribal members, it is even easier to find access here. Overnight stay in the hotel.

Today we leave the low mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the tribal areas of Arunachal Pradesh behind us. On our journey we head south back to Assam from a height of 1,500 m down to 200 m above sea level. We cross the Brahmaputra once again. This time, however, on a simple local ferry with our vehicle(s). Loading the vehicle is absolutely tailor-made and quite an adventure.

We head over to the river island of Majuli, one of the largest river islands in the world, where life is much more relaxed and quiet than in the otherwise lively and hectic drive. The island exudes an almost serene calm - certainly also because there is little car traffic outside the main town of Garamur. Let's enjoy the time in this relaxed environment, because there are calculations that Majuli Island may no longer exist in 30 years. The island gets smaller every year, as the often unpredictable floods of the Brahmaputra constantly gnaw away at the land mass. Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

The island invites you to explore its cultural heritage sites in detail. Due to the large number of Satras, the traditional Assamese Vaishnavite monasteries that have existed here since the 15th century, the island is considered the cultural center of Assam. In addition to visiting one of the most important monasteries, which is idyllically located between rice fields and fish ponds, we enjoy the quiet, relaxed life.

Majuli is also known for its pottery workshops and ritual mask production. The masks are mainly made for the many monasteries and have a long tradition and a very special production, which we will be happy to take a look at. At the same time, the island is a small natural paradise that offers protection to numerous endangered bird species such as pelicans, silver cranes and marabous.

In the afternoon we visit some more remote, but still very authentic villages. The inhabitants of Majuli are mostly from the Mishing tribe. But the island has another special superlative to offer: Bhut Jolokia, which the locals also call "ghost chili" and is the absolutely hottest chili pepper in the world! Overnight stay in a simple hotel.

Today we leave Majuli Island behind us. Once again we take our vehicle(s) on a public ferry across the Brahmaputra. The crossing over the river, which is very wide here and interrupted by large sandbanks, takes between one and one and a half hours. With a bit of luck we might see some river dolphins, which like to travel here.

As soon as we have solid ground under our feet again we head towards Sibsagar. The city was the center of the Ahom dynasty from the 17th to 18th centuries. The Ahoms immigrated from Myanmar in the 13th century and ruled the Ahom kingdom here for almost 600 years, and thus almost all of Assam. Around Sibsagar there are still a number of impressive temples, fortresses and palaces from this period. We will be impressed by some of these historical monuments, such as some Shiva and Vishnu temples, the Karengarh/Talatalgarh fortress, the Karengahr palace and the sports pavilion.

Still we are travelling in the Brahmaputra lowlands of Assam. Endless tea fields stretch to the left and right of the road. Then we go back up into the mountains. We reach the area of ​​the Naga tribes of the Konyaks. Mon is the center of the tribal area of ​​the Konyak Nagas. We are sure to meet some of the former headhunters with their tattooed faces and large horns as earrings. Simple overnight stay.

We explore Mon and the surroundings and visit some of the most interesting tribal villages of the Konyak Nagas.

Excursus: The Naga tribe of the Konyaks

The Konyaks used to be quite wild and warlike "fellows". They were headhunters until the 1950s and even into the 1960s. It was customary and considered honorable to take the head of an enemy killed in battle and hand it over to the tribe as a trophy, in the belief and hope that this would ensure the prosperity and health of the village. In 1947, the Indian government banned the cutting off of heads. Most Naga tribes have now converted to Christianity and have not been headhunters for many decades. Nevertheless, they still proudly hold on to many of their old customs and still celebrate many of their traditional festivals to this day.

The Nagas originally immigrated from Myanmar across the nearby border several centuries ago. Some Naga tribes still live in Myanmar today.

As it is only a short distance from Mon to Longding, we have the opportunity to visit other nearby villages around Mon and of course also on the route between Mon and Longding. Halfway between the two places runs the border between Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, to which we are now returning. This time we are travelling in the Tirap district. The Wanchos and Noctes tribes living here are related to the Nagas. They were also headhunters in earlier times and their traditional clothing and jewellery are very similar to the Nagas. When we arrive in Longding we have the opportunity to explore a few villages in the area. Very simple overnight stay.

We have the whole day to explore Longding and the surrounding area. We also have enough time to visit one or perhaps even several villages a little further away, which are even more authentic. Very simple overnight stay

We have the whole day to visit the festival and explore the surrounding area. The festival activities usually start around ten o'clock in the morning. A highlight is the entry of the Wancho warriors into the festival grounds and the reception by the guard of honour of the ladies from the various villages in their various costumes. What a colourful and still very authentic spectacle. The Oriah Festival is probably one of the most authentic and beautiful in Arunachal Pradesh. Until the early afternoon, the various village dance groups perform traditional dances, alternating with the impressive war dances of the men. In the afternoon we make our way back to Dibrugarh. Overnight stay in the hotel.

A short transfer takes us to the airport in Dibrugarh and we fly back to Delhi or Kolkata. Transfer to the hotel for overnight stay.

And then our eventful Arunachal trip is over! With a heavy heart we drive to the airport and start our journey home.

Note:

Program and accommodation changes are expressly reserved. Due to weather conditions or political problems, excursions may be cancelled or a change in the itinerary may become necessary. Festival visits cannot be guaranteed due to possible changes in dates and may also make spontaneous changes to the itinerary necessary.