Himalayan Nature and Tibetan Buddhist Culture in Arunachal Pradesh, India

The 24th Indian state, Arunachal Pradesh, has been part of the country since 1914, when the McMahon Line agreement between Tibet and the British Indian government at Simla was signed. Arunachal Pradesh means “Land of the Rising Sun.” However, the McMahon Line is not accepted as a boundary by the Chinese government. Foreigners were prohibited from entering this area until the 1990s, and Indian military units are permanently stationed at key points in this mountainous state. Until recently, this area was veiled in mystery. Within Arunachal Pradesh, the region traditionally known as Monyul is currently divided into the Tawang and West Kameng districts. A range of mountains runs between the Dirang region (West Kameng district) and the Tawang region (Tawang district). This poses an obstacle for transport and is the major reason for differences in language, culture, and society between the two regions. The focus of this chapter is on the ethnicity of the Monpa [mon pa] people who have developed their own societies and cultures in this Monyul region, where the Arunachal Himalaya Mountains are the most prominent physical feature.

The Tibetan government set up fortresses, locally called dzong [rdzong], at several locations in Monyul as administrative offices for the purpose of collecting taxes. The dzong also functioned as administrative centers for local communities. In addition, the Tibetan government constructed Tawang Monastery, which exerted an influence on many aspects of the lives of the local inhabitants. Taxes collected from local residents were used by the monastery, and a portion of the taxes was transported to Lhasa. In the early eighteenth century, two administrators dzongpon, one at Dirang and another at Taklung, were appointed for collection of tax as contribution towards the monastery etc. Since 1944, especially in 1946 just before the independence, British-ruled India tried to abolish taxation by dzongpon in the Dirang and Kalaktang areas. However, since the taxation contributed to Tawang Monastery or to locally resettled former officials, the local people themselves continued this practice until 1951. This chapter examines the types of items that were collected as taxes and how the taxes were conveyed to Tawang Monastery and Lhasa. The main focus of this chapter is on the history of the interrelationships among the local people in the Monpa area, Tawang Monastery, and the Tibetan government.

People in the Monpa area have followed the Bon religion for many centuries. The Nyingma [rnying ma] sect of Tibetan Buddhism has existed in that area since the eighth century; the Gelug [dge lugs] sect arose in the fifteenth century. Tawang Monastery has long been the central institution of Tibetan Buddhism in the Monpa area. Elements of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon were combined to create a synthesized faith, which has exerted a strong impact on the cultures and societies of that region. In Bon religion, spirits and deities of the mountains have been worshipped as mountain gods for ages. Mountain gods are particular to each area and local people pray and give ritual offerings to their mountain gods in ceremonies. In the Monpa area, Tantric (Esoteric) Buddhism has also been a major influence. The focus of this chapter is on the current relationship between the inhabitants in the Monpa area and their faith. This chapter also examines the daily lives of people engaged in various religious practices.

Forests are important resources for the local people in mountainous Arunachal Pradesh. Inhabitants of the Dirang area in West Kameng categorize forests into three types: soeba shing [gso pa shing], those used for collecting fallen leaves; borong [bo rong], those used for gathering fuel wood; and moon [mun], those used for gathering timber and hunting. Shing means “tree”. Fallen oak leaves are collected from soeba shing around the villages and spread over agricultural fields as fertilizer for barley and buckwheat, which are produced as subsidiary crops of maize, or as a mulch to inhibit weeds or prevent soil erosion during the rainy season. Each type of forest is managed according to its uses. However, this forest culture has undergone changes since the 1980s. Illegal logging has become common, and the price of timber has continued to rise. Local residents in these areas have only recently begun to practice forest conservation. The focus of this chapter is on the distribution of forests, their uses, and their management by the local inhabitants and the related changes that have occurred in the Monpa area.

Agriculture in the Monpa area can be classified into three zones in terms of altitude. The appropriate form of agriculture is practiced in each zone, and this results in their characteristic agricultural products. Fallen leaves from oak trees are traditionally applied to most cultivated land as fertilizer in the Monpa area. Most parts of the rangeland in this area belong to agricultural people practicing cultivation, and they receive land rent from pastoralists. A long relationship has existed between these two types of people. A clan system is dominant in the agricultural communities of the Dirang Monpa in the Dirang area. The structure of the dwellings and lifestyle of the agricultural people in the Dirang area differ from those in the Tawang area. Rapid developments are taking place in the Monpa area. These have led to the disappearance of many traditional aspects of life and the introduction of modern lifestyles in its agricultural communities. The main focus of this chapter is on these changes to the agricultural communities in the Monpa area.