Hill Miri people

Hill Miri (exonym/sub-tribe) are a native tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India.[1] They are spread in Upper Subansiri and Kamle districts.

Portrait of a Nyishi girl.

The term “Hill Miri” was given by the British Administration to distinguish between the “Plain Miri” of Assam and the “Hill Miri” of Arunachal Pradesh.[2] They speak a Tibeto-Burman language, but the exact origin of their language is disputed.

The festival celebrated with enormous pomp and gaiety is BooriBoot-yullo, on 6 February. The rituals of these festivals are carried out by the community priests (Nyub/Nyubu) which include chanting of hymns and sacrificing animals viz. mithun (Sobe/sebe), goat, chicken (pork), pig (Irri) etc., and serving of local brew (Opo) to attendees.

The traditional attires of gents include Lenin cloth wrapped over the body covering the upper portion of the body up to the knees, headgear includes a cap (bopar/bopa/bopia) made of cane which has a strap of bearskin attached anteriorly (sometimes surmounted with hornbill beak at the top). The male carries a machete (orok/oriok) and a knife (rwchik/rwuchuk) shoved inside a bamboo sheath wrapped with animal furs. The ladies wear includes a blouse and a long cloth (gale) wrapped around the waist with a beautiful piece of art knitted on it. The tribe are agriculturalist and primarily grow crops such as Dagam (rice), Temi (millet), Mekung (cucumber), Takie (ginger) and a host of green leafy vegetables. Jhum cultivation was dominant among the tribe but over the course of time have started adopting WRC gradually. They grow millets especially to prepare local brew (Opo), also made from the rice, which is very popular among members of the community and other tribes as well. The brew is served in plenty on occasions like festival, marriage, parties etc.

The Hill Miri tribe was adopted by the Nyishi community in early 21st Century after a lot of pre-longed successful meeting among community leader, technocrats, officers, students leader and general public, due to their similarities in language and culture. This produced the end of the era of separate Hill Miri Identity and the people's are therefore today known as Nyishi.

The term Hill Miri is now abolished by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, hence claiming the word to be inappropriate and unacceptable by any means.

References
  1. Pandey, B. B. (1974). The Hill Miri. Director of Information and Public Relations, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh. p. 1. OCLC 4591820.
  2. Moseley, Christopher (2007). Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. Routledge. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-7007-1197-0. Retrieved 1 April 2012.


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