An Ethnoecological Study in Arunachal Pradesh
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Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 12(3), July 2013, pp. 441-453 Ecoculture and subsistence living of Monpa community in the eastern Himalayas: An ethnoecological study in Arunachal Pradesh Ranjay K Singh1,2 1College of Horticulture & Forestry, Central Agricultural University Pasighat-791 102, Arunachal Pradesh, India; 2 Present address: Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132001, Haryana E-mail: [email protected] Received 12.06.11, revised 25.04.13 This study explores the interconnectedness between ecocultural knowledge and subsistence livelihoods of Monpa tribal communities in the West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. For such indigenous and tribal peoples, local cultures, spiritual beliefs, social and ethical norms and interconnectedness with local ecosystems is the essence of their social capital. For Monpa people, ecocultural capital plays a particularly significant role in subsistence and conservation of natural resources. The Monpa have rich and diverse socio-cultural, economic and spiritual perceptions of their natural resources and landscapes. These ecocultural and spiritual values represent a challenge for resource managers seeking to integrate them in their top-to-bottom approaches to resource use and regulation. Results indicated that the ecological knowledge codified in Monpa language and culture varied according to altitude and peoples’ access to particular ecosystems. Their overall ecocultural diversity, enhanced through cultural networks across communities, allowed the Monpa a wide degree of food availability and enhanced their health and well-being. Their diverse knowledge systems and cultural network among community members significantly affect the management practices pertaining to agriculture, animal husbandry, forest and aquatic resource’s access pattern, food availability and maintaining the health of human and nature. The survival strategies intermingled with location specific ecological knowledge and indigenous management practices buffered by myths, customs, sacredness and traditional values assured sustainable and subsistence livelihood in harsh ecology; and maintaining the resilience of rainfed ecosystem. They emphasize the need for respectful land use, and described general landscape conditions consistent with such use. Keywords: Ecoculture, Sacred ecology, Conservation, Subsistence survival, Economy, Natural resources, Monpa tribe IPC Int. Cl.8: A01 The importance of ethnobiological knowledge in local practices shapes ecosystems and affects their suggesting new paths in scientific research, in constituent plant and animal populations. In the conservation monitoring, or in better understanding of context of community-based projects, global ecological processes, has received much attention in perceptions of biodiversity conservation and scientific resource management regimes1,2,3. International understanding of ecosystem dynamics are confronted agencies such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with local communities’ knowledge, practices, and UNESCO, in the context of their joint program, perceptions and values associated with the different the People and Plants initiative, have also promoted components of the ecosystem6,7. Recent studies show research on ethnobotanical knowledge, as well as that local knowledge, including practices, beliefs and integration of people’s perceptions and practices social institutions, have certain similarities to complex in resource management at the local level4. adaptive systems, having the capacity to deal with Incorporation into biological and ecological studies of uncertainty and to respond to ecosystem change6. local-use patterns and of the social, spiritual, cultural Dynamic and complex rural livelihoods usually rely and institutional background that guides the on biodiversity in all its forms and levels8, both wild relationships between people and nature, has led to a and at different stages of domestication9. greater understanding of the relationship between Conservation of biodiversity and other natural social and ecological dynamics5. The dialectical resources over a long period of time has been possible relationship between ethnobiological knowledge and because of the cultural, spiritual and other social 442 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 12, NO. 3 JULY 2013 institutions that have guided the relationships between ethnoecology and biodiversity conservation. These local communities and their resources10-12. Despite the methods have helped us to shape a consistent story of richness of ethnoecological knowledge among tribal connections between a particular culture and its communities, such knowledge is often absent from dynamics with natural resources and biodiversity10,15. research agendas, being regarded either as We applied personal interviews with open-ended insufficiently 'scientific' or not relevant to modern questions to a conventional mixed sample. This 'development.' Maintaining effective, sustainable and survey was the main source of qualitative information ethical agriculture and natural resource use for the about the ethical aspects of ecosystem and natural future benefit of all peoples will require greater resource use and management. scientific respect for, and enhanced collaboration Ten villages each from Dirang and Tawang circles with, those who possess the wisdom of generations of were selected purposively, based on ethnicity, locally-based farming and resource conservation13. types of agriculture, remoteness, forest cover and Some scholars have studied various dimensions degree of dependency of Monpa peoples on their local of ethnoecological processes and dynamics with natural resources. From each village, 12 farmers (thus regards to natural resources management regimes totalling 120) each over 50 yrs in age and holding a and subsistence survival in the harsh and diverse knowledge of farming systems and local mountain ecosystems of Arunachal Pradesh9,10,14. natural resources, were selected randomly from a list These earlier studies have concentrated more on provided by the Village Extension Worker. Focus scientific perceptions about specific ecosystems or group discussions (FGD) were organized in each practices (e.g., forest, plants or shifting croplands). village with both men and women to learn about But, the present study contributes more importantly to the dynamics of natural resource use. To show the major body of theory on ethnoecological comprehensive knowledge of natural resources and knowledge systems in which the dynamics of agricultural practices, resource flow maps were livelihood and food security of the Monpa tribe of developed in each village, based on information Arunachal Pradesh, India can be explored. resource use patterns provided by the older, most knowledgeable farmers. Transect maps made with the Research methodology local inhabitants provided the base for assessing vegetation and the physical attributes of ecological Arunachal Pradesh is one of the seven sister states 10 of Northeast region (NER) of India. The state is diversity . divided into 16 administrative districts of which Prior to leaving for the study area, the researchers West Kameng and Tawang districts are well known consulted with village chief (Gaon Burha) and few for their temperate and sub-temperate climatic selected knowledgeable persons (wise men) about ecosystems. The Bomdila subdivision of the West local resources and agreed upon the methods and Kameng district is divided into three circles: Dirang, approaches to be followed. The field research Bomdila and Thembang. Similarly the Tawang involved daily re-briefing and crosschecking to district is divided into different circles. These circles identify gaps in data collection and to identify are predominantly inhabited by members of the emerging issues for further probing. Informed consent Monpa tribe, who are followers of Buddhists religion was obtained from the community to share and and have close cultural and religious affinities with publish the study results. At each stage, the Bhutanese and Tibetans. The economy of the Monpa respondents were given opportunity to read the is basically agrarian and rural. The people practice summarized facts of research through their both permanent and shifting (jhum) types of Gaon Burha [(GB) - village head. An explanatory cultivation. The Monpa farmers living in these circles research design was adopted to draw inferences are highly experienced in traditional knowledge in from the study. ecosystems and conservation of natural resources, Results and discussion including crop biodiversity. In this study, we adopted a number of 1. Cultural and medicinal values of local biodiversity anthropological and ethnographical tools such as The Monpa, living in sub-temperate and temperate personal interviews, life histories and direct mountainous ecosystems, have a diverse cultural observations to explore relationships between Monpa heritage inextricably linked to local biodiversity SINGH: ECOCULTURE AND SUBSISTENCE LIVING OF MONPA COMMUNITY IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH 443 and overall natural resources10,11. Monpa food Recognizing its cultural and medicinal values security, health and livelihoods altogether are following an awareness programme facilitated intermingled with traditional culture and by the author, the GB of Dirang circle has mobilized ethnic attributes. For example, minangmose the entire community, with a strong cultural and (Gymnocladus assamicus P.C.Kanjilal), a religiously, social cohesive force along