User:The Boh Aos of Adi

The Boh Aos of Adi. (Ao means son)

HISTORICAL ROUTE OF MIGRATION

Fifth descent from Binni(Abotani) was Dobo. He had five sons Bogum, Boh, Bokang, Bomi, Bojen. All five sons used to live with their parents in a place near Tuting called Doboge Taka-Rakla. In due course the family multiplied considerably and he found the land insufficient to provide the members of his family with food. They migrated to the places known as Konkar, Komar,Dongyang and Domang in the vicinity of Tuting. They continued to multiply and once again they were faced with the problem of land. It was decided among them, Bojen should stay in Tuting and Bomi and Bokang should stay at Rottung (Near Pasighat) and Bogum and Boh should go to other places where land is available. It was winter when the two brothers Bogum and Boh arrived at Pangin(near Siyom-Siang confluence). It was dark & foggy and taking this phenomenon as inauspicious, they moved further down the right bank of Siang River. Later they changed their direction and proceeding upstream along the right bank of Siyom came to Jini. They found that Jini too was not  suitable after a  chicken–liver divination and   moving further up they came to Aalo (Along). Even at Aalo there was not enough suitable land to accommodate their big families. (see the Figure.1) From Aalo the two brothers decided to part ways and go in  two directions. Bogum went southwards along the river Sipu towards Basar and Boh continued to move up the Siyom past   Kamba and Kaying. Boh left Kaying and settled in Tumbin  for two years.. the Tumbin water point still bears the name BOH-GE ( Boh’s waterpoint). Boh again left Tumbin along with his family members. At Hityo Boh encountered Tagins who had been living there. He drove them away  and occupied their land. Abo Boh died in Hityo of dysentery which he contracted after eating a squirrel intestine(now Hityo in Payum circle is in Bori area). After the death of Boh, his son Horu moved to Boh-ge Togo-gili (the present name of the village is Ruo). Horu had five sons Ruso, Ruyen, Rumo, Ruyum and Ruit, who found that they needed more land for their growing families. Consequently, three of them Rumo, Ruyum and Ruit went farther west to Nago-Lore, the present Paum village of the Pailibos. Ruso and Ruyen continued to live at Ruo and their descendants known as Yapi and Yamir are still living in Ruo and Dupu villages under Payum circle of Bori area. Another tribe known as Papum-Gao had been living at Paum when the three brother Rumo, Ruit and Ruyum reached there .The brothers befriended them and they started living together peacefully. On account of further increase of the population, when there was a land dispute Ruit left the place and reached Yira-Pake of present Yapik. Paum and Pamos the descendants of Ruyum and Rumo respectively continued to live at Paum but after sometime the Pamo descendants of Rumo crossed the Siyom and settled in the villages of Irgo on the right bank. Meanwhile when Ruit reached Yapik, two tribes, Lura and Nere were already living there, but finding the family of Ruit not so big, they allowed him to settle there. At that time period four other tribes known as Kono, Komo, Kiri and Padu inhabited the entire area from west of Yapik upto Tato. According to the ancestors of the Boh Aos, seven other tribes had been living in the region of the present Boh Ao area namely Papum-Gao, Lura, Nere, Kono, Komo, Kiri and Padu. As time went on, the population of Abo Ruit descendents increased and they occupied the entire land from Yapik to Tato. It was made possible by various historical reasons. The original settlers and other unidentified tribes fought against one another on one pretext or other. Continual fighting and deep rooted enmity amongst them reduced their number and strength and they grew weaker and weaker. Hitherto, peaceful neutrals, the Abo Ruit took advantage of this upheaval and succeeded in turning original inhabitants out of the entire area. In this way, the descendant of Abo Ruit became  the absolute masters of the land,rivers and forest. Abo Ruit was a legendary figure in the history of Boh Ao groups and a sturdy man with great personality. He was a great warrior.

To assess the ongoing processes of social change and modernization among the Boh Ao of fourteen villages of Tato & Payum circles it would be worthwhile to recapitulate findings in the preceding chapters. A wave of modernization and change intruded into the territory of the Boh Ao Country in the last five decades following the Chinese incursion in 1962; the Chinese People’s Liberation Army crossed the Indian border and via Tato  reached Tadogitu, interacted  with local people and assured them not to worry or be afraid of them since they (the Chinese) were also from the same mongoloid racial stock as the Pailibos were.

It is interesting to note that the Chinese hardly harmed the local people while they entered and captured Mechukha. Indian Armies were badly defeated and hundreds of them were killed or captured. One group of retreating army men lost their way in the Tato jungles and starved to death while individual soldiers running from the battlefield were fed and clothed by the local populace and saved. It is also learnt from some elderly people of Tadogitu village that a youngman of Galo origin Mr. Kugi, and Jini Momar who spoke fluent Galo dialect including others viz., Chakjen Gasi(Bokar), Tunya Talong (Pasi), Machuk Samyor(Bokar) and Bodu Samyor(Bokar) had accompanied with Chinese Army as their Political Interpreters who diligently went around converting the local people to Chinas cause. Now they all are believed to have settled somewhere in Tibet. In China they are called Tani Ethnic Lhoba, the Lhoba name includes a numbers of people with a small presence in China whose languages belong to Abo-Tani cluster. Lhoba (Chinese) is a term of obscure (though probably Tibetan) origin which has come to apply to a diverse amalgamation of Tibeto-Burman tribes people living in and around "Pemako" (a region in Southeastern Tibet), including Mainling, Medog, Zayü counties of Nyingchi Prefecture and Lhünze County of Shannan Prefecture. The term is largely promulgated by the Chinese government, which officially recognises Lhoba as one of  the 56 ethnic  groups in China. Most people designated as "Lhoba" within modern-day Tibet Autonomous Region in China actually refer to themselves via a diverse set of autonyms (names recognized by a community itself), and do not traditionally self-identify as a single entity. The two main tribal groups which fall under the designation "Lhoba" in Tibet are the Yidu (Idu Mishmi) and the Bo'gaer (Bokar (Adi), who are found in far greater numbers in Manigong, a state of modern-day India (claimed by China). Other groups identified by Chinese authorities as "Lhoba" include the Na (Bangni).

One point which is very remarkable and worth mentioning here is that one day I happened to download a video from the internet “Tani Ethnic Lhoba”. Then I was surprised to find that the way the people had dressed in the video were quite similar to those worn by the Pailibo, Bokar and Ramo tradition. Now my curiosity to know the real existence and facts of these people grew rapidly. So, I had made a trip to the Bokar belts for fact finding. There I showed the same video to numerous Bokar people. Finally, at a place called Pidi ,one of the circle areas of Mechukha sub-division, a woman named Hinpi Budang ( daughter of Mayin samyor and   the wife of Singtung Budang of Pidi)after keenly going through the video was able to identify the persons seen in the video as  “ Machuk samyor” and “Chuksen samyor” (The Father-Son who had already settled in China). Actually Mayin is the immediate younger brother of Machuk and Hinpi daughter of Mayin. Hinpi’s happiness knew no bound as she was shocked to make an unexpected sudden discovery that her family relatives were still alive. Hinpi’s emotion burst into tears and she sobbed a lot seeing the video. She was badly missing them as she told me  that they were separated during Chinese aggression in 1962.There are many such tragic instances of the Indo-China border separating families on both sides.

The wave of modernization and change does not spare even the most interior areas of the world and present study on the Boh Ao is a live example. The process of transformation from traditional to the modern is influenced by various factors but the effects thereof are never uniform. The multiple factors in the modern times like transport and communication, electricity, electronic appliances and other modern timesaving devices have effects that are not the same everywhere. Such transformations might take place spontaneously in different times under the influence of various acculturating factors in these days of large-scale urbanization and industrialization.

‘Change’ as is understood in the present is a shift from the traditional mode of subsistence, religion and other socio-cultural aspects of life. In the illiterate society the process of transformation begins in the ideas to make the people conscious of their rights and motivate them to work for a genuine human existence. The process of social change and modernization in a given community is to be understood in the given cultural and ecological background. Transformations from one type of socio cultural life to another is often involuntary as a result of the modification of natural environment such as drought, flood or other natural calamities and the people adjust themselves to these resultant situations   through constant interaction. Change in the rural or interior areas occurs slowly but steadily when the group of those people acquiring Westernized mode of life come into the first hand protracted contact with those in the rural areas. One of the major factors of westernization and modernization is the spread of education, which is vital factor for an overall understanding of people vis-à-vis the world.

The development of the mode of transport and communication is another important factor of westernization and modernization, as it connects the country’s interior with the mainland. The development of modern trade and commerce also takes places as a follow-up action of the expansion of the facilities of communication and transport. In this regard, it may be mentioned that the Boh Ao country has got the facilities of   transport and communication   mainly via the BRTF Road connected with all the major parts of Arunachal Pradesh from Tato to Mechukha, Monigong, Aalo, Itanagar, Taliha, Tuting, Gelling and McMahon Line. With the improvement of communication system people in different parts of the far-flung country come in closer bonds.

First hand information about Boh Ao can be traced back to 1949 from the account left by PLS James locally called “NYIPU DEBE” which means Whiteman King. He undertook a courageous as well as an adventurous journey in 1949 from Pasighat via Along and Bille under  Payum circle to Boh Ao land   alongwith a large contingent of porters, Assam Rifles jawans, KT Khuma, surveyors and Political Interpreters like Late Gidam Yonggam,  Kutik Moyong and Chokjar Gamlin. The visit was probably in the year 1949 as told by my father Shri Take Pinggam. Mr. PLS James was one of the last British administrators who had served in India even after India attained her independence from the British government. PLS James went up to the region of Boge Yorbe and Dinyi-pum mountain and tried to setup Tato as an administrative centre. He also visited  Boh Ao area at Yirapake camp at Yapik village. His main motive was to explore  the hitherto unexplored land and  to assess the law and order situation of the Boh Ao  concentrated areas and to bring those areas under his administrative control from Pasighat, the headquarter of  the then Abor Hills district. During those days there was no administrative unit in the entire area. The Boh Ao area was more or less a “Hidden land”—unknown and unsubjugated. Hence PLS James appointed seven Gams( government-appointed headmen)   of  the area namely Lt. Yorso Ragyor of Tagur, Lt. Chasam Tangu of Irgo, Lt. Yorpu Diru of Tato, Lt. Situ Talar of Tadogitu, Lt. Chikdu Yorme of Lipo, Lt. Tochit Yuto of Paum, Lt. Kambi Pinggam of Yapik and Lt. Limi Yorgo of Lipo. Of all this Limi was  a great hunter but as his red GB coat scared away all the animals he resigned from Gam Bura post! The Gam Buras were  conferred  Red Coats locally called Lubli Zebi, bathing soaps, tea-leaves, sugar, bidis, milk powders and even   shotguns and  cartridges etc. It is learnt that some of the Gams had thrown away all the tea leaves and sugars   as they had never ever seen those commodities  and did not know their use;   others ate the soap bars thinking of it as some food item and vomited! The atta flours were eaten raw mixed with water and loose-motion followed while ghee was attempted to be roasted in kokam leaves which caught fire! These incidents led to bad blood between the Boh Ao and the government for sometime as the government was perceived to be intent on harming them via these dangerous gifts! PLS James advised people to maintain peace instead of frequently waging internecine wars among themselves.

There are many instances which proved that the  Indian Government was very much interested to establish their supremacy over Boh Ao area. PLS James then suggested for the appointment of Mr. PN Bhuyan (Locally called Nyika Debe (‘Blackman King ‘) to be in charge of Boh Aos administration and other measures. This suggestion, however, could not be implemented due to non-cooperation by the locals. Later Mr. D. Roy in the year 1955 was posted as Area Superintendent of Yapik village for four years and another four years at Tato.  Mr. Roy fled the posting place during the Chinese invasion in 1962.  After a gap of Chinese aggression   Mr. Barpatro Gohain was posted as Circle Officer for the first time for Tato circle in the year 1968. Now it is only after a long period of sixty-five years of Indian independences that the CO Circle Tato got upgraded to the post of Extra Assistant Commissioner. Lt. Dorjee Khandu the then Hon’ble Chief Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the EAC Office Tato. Subsequently, Shri Tachuk Rinya, (APCS) became the first person to assume the office in Tato as Extra Assistant Commissioner.

Boh Ao dialect belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family of the great Sino-Tibetan group; it is agglutinative. Tonal complexity is termed slightly present because the tone in which a particular word is uttered conveys a different meaning. It is for this reason that different tribes or sub-tribes of Adis have compactness, the common speech being a unifying factor. The dialect spoken by the Boh Ao is a sort of admixture of dialects spoken by the Boris to their East and the Galos to their South. Notwithstanding the fact that the different tribes and sub-tribes of the Adi group claim descent from a common ancestor, there were clashes over the possession of a particular territory or area. These gave rise to enmity and a chain of attacks and reprisals. The present distribution of tribes in respective areas has however been established   after long years of struggle and strife within and outside the tribe. The Boh Aos occupied the territory when the Tagins after a hard fight moved to the western region in Subansiri basin area. They also had to liquidate by absorption and/or  other means some of the other original inhabitants. Before the rule of law prevailed and peace was secured they had to stick to measures which were essential for the security of their community as a whole. Once establish, they planned the community life for future security and sustenance. Between these factors the structure of their economy and society was  shaped. Their neighbors too must have adopted similar measures for protection against further expansions by the Boh Aos. This situation must have made them to depend upon their own resources. In this way, they gradually settle down as jhum cultivators primarily. Secondarily they explored the jungles for game and fruits/roots/tubers and rivers and stream for fish to supplement their requirements of food. To procure commodities their lands and forest did not provide and also to dispose off the surplus they had with them, they assumed the role of barter trade as well. As their history of origin, migration and entry into the present area of their occupation shows that the Boh Ao had first stayed with the Tagins and other unidentified tribes, they continued to live in the Tagin villages either after driving away or subjugating them and absorbing the remnants of other tribes. It is difficult to know whether they established any new village or village other than the old ones. Some were named after the names of their own ancestors; in this way the village of Yapik, Tagur, Tato, Lipo and Paum were established. Once the area had come under their complete control and there was no danger to their security, a family or two might have put up a house some distance away from the main village, drawing later in its kith and kins to its vicinity and thus giving birth to new village. Yapu village is an instance of such a village.

INDICATIVE ADDRESSES OF BOH AO VILLAGES: A village is established with the settlement of a group of migrating clans belonging to same or different stock and these villages in addition to their primary names, which are usually of the founder or a prominent landmark, has a secondary ritualistic name indicative of a prominent landmark, mythology, history or event associated with its location. An individual usually tells the indicative address of their village in the recitation of Boh Ao folks songs by which people may know him of his origins rather than a direct declaration of his village. The following are indicative addresses of Boh Ao Villages: 	Yapik:       Boteh ge yira pake. 	Lipo:         Boteh ge giryi sibi 	Paum:       Boteh ge Nago Pake 	Irgo:          Boteh ge siko kosi 	Yapu:        Boteh ge kopu gida 	Tagur:       Boteh ge Rima kosi 	Tadogitu: Boteh get amen pake 	Tato:         Boteh ge nyumra pake 	Ruo:          Boteh ge togu gillie

NOTABLE RESTING PLACES OF BOH AO AREA.

In the past when people use to travel by foot, these resting places had enormous significances. Each traveler used to take rest for few moments and resume the journey further. In Boh Ao dialect these are known as Noti. They were usually chosen at a place where it was safe and comfortable and at a distance from the previous halt wherein fatigue, hunger or thirst starts to set in.

	Herbo noti 	Bibo lipik 	Jirjo Noti 	Doi Kamen Noti 	Tachi Pabo Noti 	Paru Noti 	Raje noti 	Kopu gitu Noti 	Miyo litak 	Quyi Noti 	Seme lipik 	Mitra noti

Boh Ao Traditional dress.

The Boh Ao use separate dress for daily wear and for festive occasions. Besides, they have special pieces of dress for winter, rains and for hunting and formerly for war. The male dresses include Kedu- a sleeveless, button less coat for daily wear. Sichak Kedu- a white sleeveless and button less coat for daily use. Sab-Ki- lion cloth made of cotton. Nara- a fiber piece hanging from the shoulders covering the back for protection from rain. Namu- a woollen sleeveless and button less coat with cutting to put the neck through. It is used during the winters and during hunts. Jepu-Sube- a winter woollen coat. The female dresses include Jepo- a skirt of cotton, woven by them in mixed colours or stripes. Jeli-Jebor- a woollen blouse for use during winter. Eje-Cherak- a belt made of yarn with artistic patterns used on festive occasions. The others are Tayen- Choba and Tari-Lichup. A male child goes out without any clothes until he enters boyhood. He is then given a lion cloth and after some time a loose coat. A female child wears a small cloth round the waist as soon as she is able to attend to some petty errands. The Boh Ao have certain ceremonial dresses like Jeli-Sube- a red woollen coat for festive occasions or during visits to other villages or during winter. Jemu-Sube- a woollen coat of maroon colour also used on the above occasions. The others include Tayen-Cherak, Sopin-Dumlop (cap made of Mithun skin). Sotum-Dumloop, (cap made of Bear skin) Dumlop, Atak, Lakbu, Lub-Bin, Tal-Gor etc.

A person without an identity has no soul in the modern society. Because human considers identity as a proof of being a person, a proof of belongingness to a particular country, state, village, community etc. In Modern societies, Identity cards are issued by states to its citizens so as to identity them at the hour of needs. Today people claims for their rights and belongings based on the identity they could produce. For the tribal society, their culture is their identity.

Like most tribal people in the world, the Boh Ao too do not have a written history, but they possess a rich oral history in the form of legends and folk-tales which have been transmitted to them from generation to generation. Subsequently all these material has been made as a source material to reconstruct the early history of the Boh Ao tribe.

All the religious doctrines believe that man has been created by God. In bible, Genesis Chapter-II verses 7 “then the lord god took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it.”According to Adi mythology man was evolved out the primeval formless amoeba-like life-material called Jimi-Jama. In the Darwinian Theory life evolves only from life and simpler life forms give rise to complex ones with time. Thus the lowly amoeba evolved in time to monkey like beings from which the humans descended. Here one can see as comparison that according to Christian theory man is created from soil of the ground. The Boh Ao believes that everything was born of earth and will go back to it in due course.

The ancestors of Boh: The Siching (the mother earth) the father of Chiri, Chiri the father of Ribuk, Ribuk the father of Buktu, Buktu the father of Turi, Turi the father of Rini, Rini the father of Nibin, Nibin father of Binni (Abo Tani), Binni the father of Nijum, Nijum the father of Jumsi,  Jumsi the father of Sido,  Sido the father of Dobo, Dobo the father of  BOH, (see the Figure.2)    Boh the father of Horu,Horu the father of Ruyit, Ruyit the father of Hittu, Hittu the father of Tulo, Tulo the father of Lonyo, Lonyo the father of Nyoli,Nyogi& Nyogur, Nyoli the father of LIBO (Pailibo) and Nyogur (The present Tagur people)  the father of Gurpak. Practically Nyogur (Tagur), Nyoli-Lipo and Horu-Rum (Paum) are not Pailibo (Libo) as generally assumed but al are descendents of Abo Boh.

The Boh Ao’s are generally called as Bori-Bokar by other tribes of the State which is incorrect. The Boh Ao’s are neither Bori nor Bokar. The Libo’s were called as Pailibo by the Boris who in the remote past took refuge amongst them for some period of time and addressed them as Pai Libo. Pai in Bori language denotes younger paternal uncle. This nomenclature has gained popularity with passages of time so much that today not only the Libos but all Boh Aos are also called Pai Libos generally today.

The whole of the Boh Ao tribe traditionally spread over fourteen villages under Tato Circle of West Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh viz. Tato, Quing, Tagur, Tadogitu, Goyi(new Village), Lipo, Yapu, Irgo, Yapik, Gei, Hone, Pene, Paum and Ruo under Payum Circle.

Aling Pinggam (Author)