By Subhasish Chakraborty
As a one-time native of India’s remote northeast, a few impressions are still very fresh in my mind, like for instance those endless stretches of tea gardens in Assam, the world-famous Kaziranga National Park, exotic tribals dressed in all their finery, ancient Buddhist monasteries/Gompas perched on hilltops, high mountain passes and what have you…, triggering in me a ripple effect in terms of immersive tourism. And why not?
How about going on a rendezvous with the last gun makers of India – the fearsome Wanchos? Live amid tribals practicing ‘Animism’, who are experts in hunting, flaunt earrings made out of Deer antler, use ‘Mithun/Bos frontalis’ skin as a bulletproof guard, embed goat hairs on hats, where facial tattooing is a norm, and worship of Mother Nature is de rigueur! Sounds incredible, ain’t it?
Nowadays, vacationing to destinations that are eco-friendly, carbon-neutral, and offer an experience that is every bit transformational in terms of culture is what drives a huge percentage of today’s contemporary travelers. There has never been a better time to cosset with ‘Indigenous Tourism’ and India’s northeast being the world’s Anthropology Capital – 150 tribes that account for 12% of the nation’s total tribal population, is the ’new Kid In Town”.
Ever heard of Longding? Probably not. It is remote and tucked away nicely in one corner of India’s northeast, literally at the edge of Myanmar to the east. No five-star hotels/resorts, roads are bumpy, wayside amenities are at best sketchy, and the population is sparse with just about 56,000 people residing in an area of approximately 1192 sq. km.
From the tea town of Dibrugarh in Assam, it is just a 3.5-hour drive to Longding. This place exudes raw energy – the bastion of the fearsome Wancho Nagas and in the days of yore, this warrior tribe fought pitched battles with the marauding British soldiers and is believed to have slaughtered close to 500 British soldiers at one go. Legend has it that to tame these ferocious Wancho fighters, the British introduced opium as an instrument to calm down their nerves; a practice which is still followed by the tribal Wanchos.
Longding is India’s very own ‘Guns & Roses’ county and both gun making and use of opium are perfectly legal. Film director Avlok Langer was so moved by the distinctive lifestyle of the Wanchos that he decided to make a film – ‘The Last Gun Maker of Longding’, which rather authoritatively depicts the fascinating lifestyle of the Wancho Nagas, their beliefs in animism, and their century’s old gun making tradition.
Although of late, the Govt. of India has been encouraging civilians and tourists to visit border regions and thereby demystify certain political myths, it isn’t all that easy to visit Longding. Both foreigners, as well as Indian visitors, need to obtain Inner Line Permit (ILP) from the Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh. The reason behind obtaining such permits is more precautionary than anything else and is aimed at eradicating the menace of terrorists seeking shelter in safe havens like Longding.
With the gradual influx of modern civilization, the Wanchos too have changed and culturally adapted to be more acceptable. There was a time when the Wancho society was engrossed in abnormal superstitious beliefs and rituals like head hunting brought more curses than anything else. However, the good thing about contemporary Wanchos is their abiding faith in the time-tested tradition of chieftainship, wherein the ‘Wangam’ or King works in close cooperation with several village elders referred to as ‘Wangsu’ and ‘Wangsa” to deliver a peaceful village life.
The stellar role of those ancient Dormitory systems referred to as ‘Murung’ in the local parlance, where young boys are educated and trained to be future citizens by upholding the community values as well as belief systems, has been an enigma for visitors!
Apart from gun-making, another characteristic feature of the Wancho tribe is their unique blend of tattooing, which has been passed on from generation to generation. A trademark feature of an adult Wancho man is tattoos on limbs. They also indulge in facial tattoos, leaving only the lips tattoo-free! Wancho women, on the other hand, are more at ease with their unique brand of jewellery designs and the necklaces, in particular, are divine.
However, it is not all “Boom Boom” in Longding as the Wanchos have a softer side too! By far, the best time to visit Longding would be in the March-April period coinciding with the festival of Oriah. For exact festival dates, one should check with the dept. of tourism – www.arunachaltourism.com.
This one-week festival brings out the very best of the Wancho Naga spirit– pork skin offerings to the village chieftain, ceremonial sowing of paddy, buffalo offerings to appease the gods (Jowan), feasting in the ‘Morungs’ accompanied by celestial tribal dancing. Visitors from outside are treated royally and the customary gesture of offering Rice Beer (Ju) in specially-crafted bamboo glasses is every bit inviting.
The village council – Ngo-Wang in local parlance, makes the first official announcement of the festival date and thereafter the division of labour, with menfolk taking charge of marketing while the women do all the decoration works at the main festival venue.
The quintessential facet of this one-of-a-kind tribal festival is the process of assembling the holiest podium – ‘Zangvaan’, which is crafted meticulously with bamboo with seven distinctive branches. This holy zone where the ‘Zangvaan’ is erected, is ceremonially sanctified by a saintly man of the community and the Wanchos have this traditional belief that all prayers for peace, prosperity, and a good harvest reaches out to the ultimate God, or ‘Juwan’, through the ‘Zangvaan’.
As a mark of respect, the wizened elderly Wanchos aren’t given any menial tasks. They find fulfillment in supervising the festival from their raised wood & bamboo makeshift pavilion. It indeed is such an empowering sight to see them engrossed in deep contemplation of the divine (Juwan) with the primary motive of securing the wellbeing of the village and a bumper harvest.
Wancho Nagas are an endangered lot and their unique tribal folklore is on the verge of extinction. It was only a few years back that the Wanchos got their official script and a native author named Losu published the first book in the Wancho language.
On my last trip to Longding a year back, I came across a small hut. Once inside the hut, I had an elaborate conversation with an elderly Wancho who looks after this one-of-a-kind Folk Art Institute, run and administered by a UK-based Folklore researcher – Tara Douglas, who through her path-breaking project – ‘Stories of Our Ancestors’ is attempting to document and conserve the rich folklore, tradition and art forms of the Wancho tribe through animation to showcase the rich tribal heritage of the Wanchos to the world.
Tara’s efforts to revive, preserve and promote the fast-vanishing indigenous tribal heritage of India’s northeast are beginning to pay rich dividends and her ambitious project is funded by North Eastern Hill University in Shillong – the capital of Meghalaya.
The vicissitudes of northeast tribal people are best summed up by Tara herself, “There are so many different tribal communities in Northeast India and they all have fascinating stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Some of these are creation, myths; others are vivid historical accounts of conflict over land and habitat. People from outside don’t know about them, and even the village’s younger generations are losing touch with their oral heritage. We are planning to work together to interpret this material into a contemporary presentation so that audiences worldwide will see the wisdom that they have in these village communities”.
It is absurd to think that the government alone can fulfil the task of tribal heritage preservation. The need of the hour is to have many more Tara Douglas’ if we are to come anywhere near to preserving the fast-disappearing tribal folklore and art from India’s northeast.
It is time for anthropologists to shed some light on the ‘Cultural Balance’ – how much of the Western lifestyle is adequate for tribals to assimilate so that they do not lose their own ancient culture and heritage.
(A World Tourism Organization consultant and a Kolkata-based travel journalist for decades, the writer has been associated with various in-flight magazines)
