Tribal Lockdown Rituals

News:Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh have revived indigenous lockdown rituals to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Facts:

Galos Tribe:

• It is one of the 26 major Scheduled tribes of Arunachal Pradesh that dominate West Siang district.
• It practices the Arr-Rinam ritual which imposes lockdown for 48 hours whenever an epidemic strikes.

Adi Tribe:

• The Adi tribe is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century.They are the Tibeto-Burman language speaking population.
• They performed a ritual called the motor or pator system where the locals lock down villages by erecting barricades to prevent the entry of outsiders.

Nyishi Tribe:

• Nyishi is a single largest Scheduled Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.They speak Tibeto-Burman language.
• They observe rituals such as Arrue(Self Quarantine) among others for preventing the entry of an epidemic to a village.