Tribal Religion and the Institution of Igu - the Shaman
Among the Idu Mishmi, the Igu is a person and also an institution. As noted by Joseph (2012), tribal religious system consist of three essential elements. Firstly, they believe in the existence of a supernatural world.
Secondly, they form a divine relationship with the supernatural world which reflects their value system. Thirdly, they practise various rites and rituals for establishing the relationship that apply to their action system and ritual language. This is true to tribal religions of Arunachal Pradesh. Tribal religions do not emerge as an independent phenomenon; rather it is deeply associated with various aspects of social structure and everyday life activities of the tribal people. Tribal societies are comparatively smaller and they possess morality, values, customs, and unique social settings, including the institution of religion which is often based on the institution of shamanism of the concerned society. The institution of shamanism is important socio-religious institution and plays a significant role and has influenced upon and conditioned every aspect of human life such as economic endeavours, political and social movements, property dealings, educational tasks, ideological fervours, scientific inventions, and artistic developments, etc. It may be considered that the institutions of shamanism are the structures on which all the other superstructures survive and have been adding new dimensions to tribal life and their development.In the case of Arunachal Pradesh, this sacred specialist or shaman is known by different names. Among the tribes like the Nyishi, the Apatani, the Tagin, and the Galo, both the institution of shamanism and the person are called Nyibu; among the Adi tribe Miri, among the Miji tribe Kawee; the Taroan Mishmi call them Goak, and the Kaman Mishmi Kambreng. They play a significant role in the religious life of the people and their advice is sought on almost every important occasion.
It is generally believed that only the shamans have knowledge of divination, and, therefore, they are summoned in case of sickness, temporal distress, death of a person, marriage; for divination before building houses, before undertaking a long journey, hunting expedition, selection of sites for settlement or cultivation, sowing in the field, and so on. They are representatives of the people to communicate their sufferings and grievances to the supernatural forces and to seek redress. In other words, they are the intermediary between the supernatural and the mortal world. They are considered a medicine specialist, healer, traditional philosopher, oral historian; and the methods employed are unique to them. They specialise in the trance state and go out of their body to the sky or the land of the netherworld. It is believed that they control the tutorial spirits, thereby making them their instrument to meet the desired purpose and help them to identify the truant forces responsible for human distress. They hold a privileged status in society. A shaman is also a custodian of belief systems and customs. He does this without the help of scriptures; and under such circumstances the responsibility to keep the tradition going is vested on them.In the Idu Mishmi society, a shaman is called Igu. The literal meaning of Igu is ‘shield’ - the one which protects from the rain, heat, calamities, diseases, etc. In a strict sense, they are full-time religious practitioners, though in free time they may engage themselves in other day-to-day activities such as agricultural work. In this society, none can become a shaman despite one’s intelligence unless one is destined to be one. A prospective shaman would have an inherent inclination towards the profession and he would act as attendant to a shaman and would take part in all the shamanic activities. It is believed that a mother comes to know whether her child would become an Igu or not. If a child is born with an umbilical cord around the neck, then it is a positive sign.
The birth of a child in this fashion resembles the Igu wearing an Amrala (Igu’s costume) for dance. If a pregnant woman sees in dreams the cactus tree in which the child is hung in a basket, then her child is bound to become an Igu. So does a woman, who dreams of the bird praerru making its nest on the roof of the house (Barua 1960:74). Dreams in most cases encourage a person to opt for Igu2. Having all these signs and thus acting for a few years as an apprentice of the senior shaman, one graduates himself to a full-fledged shaman. For their work, they collect fees, the nature and amount of which depends on the type of sacrifice made. They are the mouthpiece of the people to communicate their grievances and sufferings to the supernatural forces and to request them for redress - Igu is a sort of intermediary between the human and supernatural world. They can identify which unseen forces are responsible and the rituals to be performed. They do it by a form of divination.As stated earlier, the Idu Mishmi worldview and their day-to-day activities are often influenced and marked by the presence of a number of unseen forces. These forces inflict illness on human beings and to appease them they sacrifice animals and birds (pigs, bovine, fowl) on the advice of the Igu, the shaman. The wrath of the spirits can only be removed with the help of the Igus. The Igu prescribes taboo to restrain movement and food habit of an ill person for days together. He utters hymns which are not understood by the common man. The more capable and distinguished Igu are known over wide areas and people summon them quite often. In the festivals, animals and birds are sacrificed under the supervision and direction of an Igu. He alone determines the powers that are to be represented in the altar and the mode of sacrifice that has to be performed. Therefore, in the religious realm of the Idu Mishmis, the Igu holds the highest authority. They have a distinctive and dignified position as caretakers of the physical, spiritual, and ecological well-being of the tribe.
They enter a trance state and being possessed, they communicate with the spiritual beings. They wear shamanic costumes while performing rituals for treatments or healing. These costumes are the same for the male and female Igus. The dress and ornaments items are Aweto, a headgear made of leather, around which small sea shells are woven and a yak tail (keya kembo kimi) is attached at the back; ripung, a small drum; Amrala is worn around the shoulder. It is a chain tied with tiger teeth, bones, and a jaw and some medium-sized brass bells (khondo) and gongs are tied on the bottom, giving a musical sound while making ritual dance; eto-ti is a jacket with many linear designs; athu-mabra is a skirt with many loops worn around the waist; aa-ambo is a bigger drum than ripung and is cylindrical in shape; ajuru is a bugle made of buffalo horn; ahu-Kochi is a long sling bag made of bearskin; ambrepa and iruta are two types of knives; and to-thobra, bamboo twigs. Shamanic chanting along with music and sometimes shamanic dance3 and animal sacrifices are part of these rituals. They are divinely ordained with indicating signs as they grow. Every shaman has a guiding spirit (dron) as well as ancestral spirits who act as source of knowledge, power, and skills.The role of the shaman is eminent and spans from the birth of a child to death with innumerable rituals. Their chants and narratives deal in interactions with supernatural powers; origin myths of the universe, of the earth, nature and human; evolution of animals, manspirit relations; souls and their abodes (mabra); survival stories; beginnings of agriculture; migration; history; etc. Their role and advices are sought in almost every aspect of community life, across the institutional boundaries. Thus, an Igu represents the centrality of religious beliefs and practices in the Idu Mishmi society. Almost every aspect of life revolves around the Igu and its importance is reflected even beyond the sacred boundary since they are involved in profane activities4.
For them, the key concept of unseen forces (khinyu) rules the world of the unknown, which may be benevolent or malevolent, while nourishing the concept of a Supreme Creator, known as Inni (Chaudhuri 2008:85).No doubt that the functional aspects of the Idu Mishmi religious world is based upon the Igu, the shaman, but beyond this religious aspect, an Igu has a stronghold over the healing and curing of diseases, economic activities, and socio-political roles as well. Any kind of sickness befallen on one is attributed to khinyu, the spirits, as a causative factor, and as a curative measure, spirits are propitiated with offerings by conducting rituals, magico- religious acts, and performances involving an Igu dance. Any misconduct may evoke these spirits which in turn cause serious illness upon the person; and his illness could be cured only after engaging an Igu as a mediator or negotiator between the patient and spirits. This [P]atient-[S]haman-[S]pirit relationship is so strong that it is hard to find one independent of the other two on almost all occasions. This PSS relationship may be looked at as one of the most important functional aspects of the Idu Mishmi religion. As stated earlier, Idu Mishmis are essentially believers of spirits that any ailment befallen on them is attributed to spirits and this human-spirit relation is mediated only by the shaman. Of course, there are herbs and varieties of animal products known to Idu Mishmis for curing diseases, but such knowledge is not profound and as such, the concept of the medicine specialist is not popular among them. In any case, an Igu is immediately consulted and called upon as a healer to negotiate between human and spirits.
The role of Igu as a mediator between the Idu Mishmis and their world of the unknown does not last only during one's life span. Their importance and involvement are felt even before birth and after the death of a person. From the very moment of conception of a child both mother and father may undergo various rituals such as kali-wu, arey-bi, etc.
as precautionary measures; whereas, ah tayeh, yu arwu rituals are performed after the childbirth as a protective measure from the spirits. During the lifetime of a person, one may observe various rituals for different purposes, such as amra-sey, aren-bi, kali-wu, machi-wu etc. related to ailments and protection against evils. At death, yah is performed (within which various rituals such as anja, amra-sey, andomo-rowtoh, ashanjih, aluthru, etc. are performed) for the wellbeing of the departed soul, and living family members, and for those participants of the funeral. It is followed by a memorial service or a death anniversary ritual (bro-phri) generally conducted at an interval of a year. All these rituals are possible only by involving a shaman and these rituals are not only meant for the departed souls and well-being of the living members but also for the prosperity, good harvest, good luck for hunting and fishing, and well-being of the clansmen, and of the whole village. These rituals may last for a few hours to one to five days and its related taboos, applicable to concerned people including the Igu, restrict them from various activities such as agricultural activities, hunting, fishing, attending funeral ceremonies, inter-village movement, eating of wild animal meat, ginger, chili, garlic, etc. These taboos may last for two to three days to months or even a year depending upon the occasion and type of ritual conducted.In the sphere of socio-political aspects, no doubt that their social status is highly respectable, however, they are not different in their daily life from the roles played by a common Idu Mishmi individual. Their everyday routine is around agriculture, fishing, hunting, etc., and even some are involved in business, Government jobs. He/she may be a member of a collective effort such as in the construction of the house, cleaning of the forest for agriculture, collective fishing, and hunting, etc. but their need is immediately felt when any religious activity has to be performed concerning death, illness and diseases, epidemics, family issues, festivities, etc.
In the political arena, their involvement is extremely prerequisite when a situation arises where two disputing parties fail to reach a common consensus. In such a situation, an Igu is employed to conduct various oaths and ordeals for final justification and verdict. These oaths and ordeals include aseye, ikuta, ata, etc., which are conducted concerning cases of theft, quarrel, disputes, infringement of a taboo, adultery, etc. Though there exists a mechanism of mediation called Abbelah5 which is arbitration in nature but the intervention of Igu is felt necessary to conduct various oaths and ordeals when people fail to arrive at a consensus6. In terms of economic privileges, Chaudhuri (2008) remarked,
An Igu does not enjoy any special privilege in terms of economic activities, as he or she has to struggle like rest of the Idus. They need to cultivate their own land, jhum (shifting hill cultivation) or plain, and also join in some other related economic activities, viz., hunting, gathering, trapping, etc., just like any other Idus. So they are basically agriculturist having land of their own. This has been reflected in to their (Igus) day to day life styles as well as forms of their traditional house structure. However, with the penetration of modernity and exposure to wider economic opportunities, a few Igus (numbering four only) under Dibang Valley (undivided district) are working as peons in government jobs. Rests of the Igus are involved in traditional mode of economic activities only.
Thus, it may be said that the role and responsibility of an Igu is not only confined to religious activity but binding to all other socio-political and economic institutions of society and thereby help building a collective life of the Idu Mishmi.
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