The Adi people (also historically known as the Abor) are an indigenous Tibeto-Burman ethnic group primarily inhabiting the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with smaller communities in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The word Adi means "hill" or "mountain top" in their language, and replaced the older exonym Abor, an Assamese term meaning "independent" or "unsubdued," which the community came to regard as derogatory. All ethnic groups identifying as Adi trace their descent from the mythical progenitor Abotani (also Abutani), and share common origin narratives, festivals, and religious traditions. Smaller Adi communities are also found in Lohit, Changlang, and Namsai districts. In China, the Adi along with the Tagin, Galo, Nyishi, Na, and Mishmi peoples are collectively known as the Lhoba and are officially recognised as one of China's 56 ethnic groups.

thumb|right|Location of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

Etymology

The Adi were historically referred to as Abor by Assamese neighbours and by the British colonial administration, a term derived from Assamese meaning "unruly" or "independent." The word reflected the community's fierce resistance to outside authority rather than any self-identification. After Indian independence, the community formally adopted Adi, a term from their own language meaning "hillman" or "mountain dweller," to replace an exonym they considered dismissive.

Sub-tribes and distribution

thumb|left|Adi men performing the Tapu war dance, Rungmong village, Upper Siang district.

The Adi are not a single homogeneous group but an aggregation of multiple subtribes who share common ancestry, language roots, and cultural practices. The principal subtribes are the Padam, Minyong, Milang, Pasi, Komkar, Shimong, Ashing, Bokar, Karko, Panggi, Pailibo, Ramo, and Tangam, with some sources recognising up to fourteen such groupings. The Adis have two broad divisions, the Bomis and the Bogums, under each of which sit a number of subtribes. These subtribes are differentiated by dialect, territory, and minor cultural variations, but maintain an overarching Adi identity and do not observe any rigid hierarchical separation among themselves.

As per the 2011 Census of India, the Adi and their enumerated subtribes had a combined population of approximately 162,000 in Arunachal Pradesh, with the Adi (67,869), Adi Minyong (25,112), and Adi Gallong (18,604) forming the three largest enumerated groups within the broader collective. The Adi constitute a major group inhabiting the lower part of the Lower Dibang Valley district, especially Roing and Dambuk areas, and are found throughout the temperate and subtropical zones of the Siang valley.

Colonial period

The Adi's first recorded contact with British administration came through a series of expeditions into the Siang frontier during the nineteenth century. Initial expeditions in 1858 and 1859 met fierce resistance. The Adi had established arrangements with the Ahom rulers of Assam that the British declined to honour, and the imposition of the 1873 Inner Line Regulation cut the hill communities off from the foothills on which they depended for labour and trade, generating sustained tension.

Tensions reached a peak in what became known as the Abor Massacre of 1911. Captain Noel Williamson, then serving as Assistant Political Officer at Sadiya and Lakhimpur, led an expedition into the Adi hills in March 1911 accompanied by Dr. Gregorson and a large party of porters and escorts. Accounts note that a personal altercation between Williamson and the Adi leader Matmur Jamoh at Leedum village, in which Williamson allegedly struck Jamoh, became a decisive trigger for the violence that followed.

The British response was the Abor Expedition of 1911-12, a punitive operation commanded by Major-General Sir H. Bower, lasting from October 1911 to April 1912. The Adi resistance at Kekar Monying is remembered in Arunachal Pradesh as the Poju Mimak, the fourth and last of the Anglo-Abor Wars, fought from 6 October 1911 to 11 January 1912. Matmur Jamoh eventually surrendered after British forces attacked his family, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands. Other recognised Adi fighters of the period included Tajong Tamuk, Lomlo Darang, and Lotiyang Taloh, whose names have since been added to an official state list of unsung freedom fighters.

thumb|right|A senior Adi Gaon Bura (headman) in official coat and badge, Simong, Upper Siang district.

Following Indian independence, the former North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) was reorganised. The first school in the region was established at Pasighat in 1918; the second at Dambuk in 1922; the first college offering undergraduate courses opened at Pasighat in 1964. Arunachal Pradesh attained full statehood in 1987, and the Adi and other tribes transitioned from a position of external administration to full political participation within the Indian democratic system.

Social organisation

thumb|left|Traditional bamboo house of the Adi tribe, Gete village, Upper Siang district.

The most striking feature of Adi society is the Kebang, the traditional village council that serves simultaneously as a deliberative assembly, a governing body, and a customary court. Every Adi village has a Kebang composed of elected headmen (the Gam or Gao Burra) and respected village elders. Decisions are reached collectively and announced in the village community hall, called the Musup or Dere, which stands at the centre of the settlement. The council adjudicates disputes over land, marriage, and community violations; any Adi summoned to appear before a Kebang is obliged to attend, and non-compliance can result in fines or referral to higher-tier councils such as the Banggo Kebang and Bogum Bokkang.

Adi villages are sited on the spurs of hills. Houses are built in rows with clear passages between them, reflecting a sense of communal planning and provision for emergency access. The principal Adi dialects are Minyong, Padam, Shimong, Ashing, Bori, Pasi, Bokar, Ramo, and Karko, forming a dialect continuum with partial mutual intelligibility between neighbouring varieties, though comprehension diminishes significantly across greater distances. Minyong and Padam are among the most widely spoken varieties.

Historically the Adi were without a written script. The first texts in the language were produced by American and British missionaries in the early twentieth century, including an Abor-Miri dictionary published in 1906 by J. H. Lorraine and F. W. Savage, compiled with the assistance of Mupak Mili and Etsong Pertin, who are credited as pioneers of Adi literacy. To the Adi, Donyi-Polo is not understood as the physical sun and moon but as an unseen, omnipresent supreme power, simultaneously the planner, creator, and preserver of all beings. The creator deity Sedi-Melo stands above the faith but is neither worshipped nor invoked directly. The Adi also recognise a wide range of spirits, both malevolent and benevolent, inhabiting the natural world, and these are managed through ritual. The main named deities are Kine Nane (goddess of crops and earth), Doying Bote (associated with wisdom and administration), Pedong Nane (ancestral mother of the Tani), and Gumin Soyin (guardian of households). On 28 August 1968, a landmark meeting of Adi and Galo intellectuals was held in Aalo (then Along), the district headquarters of West Siang, where participants resolved to build a Donyi Polo Dere (community hall) and begin preserving their traditional faith. The DPYK was formally constituted on 31 December 1986, a date now observed annually as Donyi-Polo Day, after Kaling Borang advised Rukbo that a written script of the Adi spoken language must be developed for the faith to be formally recognised as a religion. His core conviction was that the main reason for the easy erosion of traditional culture was that it lacked written literature, and prayers and hymns were accordingly composed to recover and revitalise endangered rituals.

The revival has been described as one of the most successful indigenous faith preservation movements in northeast India. Its slogan, "Loss of culture is loss of identity," became widely adopted across Arunachal Pradesh. The movement has since spread beyond the Tani peoples, inspiring parallel revivals among the Tangsa (Rangfraism), the Idu Mishmi (Intayaism), and other communities of Arunachal Pradesh. Buddhism is followed by small numbers of Adi, particularly those in areas bordering the Tibetan cultural sphere.

Culture and traditions

Festivals

thumb|left|Solung-Etor festival celebrations.

Solung is the most important festival of the Adi and is celebrated in the first week of September, marking the beginning of the harvest season. The origin of the Solung festival is connected to a legend about the origin of paddy: the paddy plant is said to have sprung from the life-juice of Yidum-Bote (son of the god of knowledge) and was reared by Kine Nane (goddess of the underworld), who agreed to supply paddy to humankind if they sacrificed mithuns and pigs every year. The date of Solung is fixed by the Kebang or, with the consent of community leaders, by the village headman, based on the convenience of the village people.

The festival lasts for five days and is divided into distinct phases. The opening day, Solung-Gidi Dogin, involves the preparation and communal distribution of Apong (rice beer) and traditional foods, including the rice cake Poka made from fermented rice flour. The second day, Doreph-Long, is marked by the sacrifice of mithuns (a domesticated bovine, Bos frontalis) and pigs in propitiation of the deities. The third day, Binnýat, features prayers and offerings to Kine Nane, Doying Bote, and Gumin Soyin. On the final days, Ponung dances are performed and the community exchanges meat and gifts. On the last day, bows, arrows, and traditional weapons are placed along the passages of houses in a ritual called Taktor, intended to drive away evil spirits.

The Unying Aran (also simply Aran) is celebrated on 7 March to herald the season of shifting cultivation. Male members of each family undertake a week-long hunting expedition into the jungle, and children perform Yakjong, going from house to house in traditional attire to bless households. The Aran also serves a practical purpose: its rituals are observed to coordinate and reduce crop damage from rodent pests, particularly during the planting season. The Tapu is a war dance performed by men, re-enacting combat through vigorous movement with swords and shields; in the Tapu, dancers emphatically repeat the actions of battle, its descriptions, and the victorious cries of warriors.

Contemporary issues

Cultural change among the Adi community has accelerated since the mid-twentieth century. Migration from rural to urban areas in search of education and employment has brought shifts in tradition and custom. Surveys among Adi youth indicate that a significant proportion, particularly those aged 15-25, are no longer well versed with indigenous tradition and culture, and the majority use English rather than Roman-script Adi on social network platforms. The traditional Kebang institution has also faced pressure from urbanisation, though its importance has been reaffirmed by the state government.

Efforts are ongoing to preserve Adi cultural heritage, promote education, and improve socio-economic conditions within the community. The Donyi-Polo revival movement has been a major vehicle of cultural preservation. The Adi Cultural and Literary Society and connected organisations continue to promote literacy in the Adi language, documentation of oral literature, and the perpetuation of traditional weaving, craft, and festival practices.

Notable people

  • Daying Ering, politician
  • Gegong Apang, politician
  • Jomin Tayeng, IAS officer
  • Mamang Dai, poet and novelist
  • Ninong Ering, politician
  • Oken Tayeng, politician
  • Omak Apang, politician
  • Tapir Gao, politician
  • Tati Lego, Administrator and Soldier
  • Tamo Mibang, academic
  • Talom Rukbo, Spiritualist
  • Tarung Pabin, politician

See also

  • Donyi-Polo
  • Tani people
  • Solung
  • List of people of Tani descent
  • Arunachal Pradesh

References

Further reading

  • Lalrempuii, C. (2011). "Morphology of the Adi Language of Arunachal Pradesh" (Doctoral dissertation).
  • Nyori, T. (1988). Origin of the name 'Abor'/'Adi'. In Proceedings of North East India History Association (Vol. 9, p. 95).
  • Post, Mark W. (fieldwork documentation). Research Centre for Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University.
  • BBC: Adi Tribe
  • Research Centre for Linguistic Typology: Mark Post (fieldworker)
  • Adi Audio Sample at the Endangered Languages Project
  • Adi Tribe, Government of Arunachal Pradesh