The Mishing Community

Dwelling in the districts of Dhemaji , Lakhimpur , Sonitpur , Tinsukia , Dibrugarh, Sibsagar , Jorhat and Golaghat of the Assam state in India, the Mishing or Misíng also known as Miri tribe is one of the most colourful tribes of Assam with their unique style of living and culture. The total population is more than 1 million in Assam but there are also more than 50,000 Mishing, divided among three districts: East Siang district, Lower Dibang Valley, and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Mishing derives from the two word Mi and Toshing/Anshing.
"Mi" means man while Anshing/Toshing means worthiness or cool. So Mishing means man of worthiness. To depict non-tribal outsiders (most probably the general assamese people) the word Mipak is used extensively which means man of unworthiness. So Mipak is the opposite meaning of Mishing.
The Mishing Community have their own distinct social behaviour, living pattern, dwellings, socio-religious functions, agriculture, dresses and language. They are simple as well as straight forward.

Tribal Culture and Tradition
The Mishing people have their own unique folk music, dances and musical instruments. Most of these are used or performed on their social and religious festivals.

Folk Music
Mishings are very fond of music and songs. There are a number of different types of folk songs like Ahbang, Kaban, Tebo Tekang, Siuhlung Nitom, Bin and Midang Nitom.
One of the most popular folk songs of the Mishings is Oi Nitom. It is sung by the  Mishing youths when they are working or moving about the fields, woods, etc. Oi Nitoms are sung during Mishing Sohman (dance). It has a variety of themes ranging from romance, humour, tragedy, and socio-cultural motifs. Each line in an Oi-Nitom is of seven syllables.
"Adi jili jiliko, miksi jili jiliko, Adi jili pinyepe miksi jili pinpemang"

Musical Instruments
Mishings have rich folk music. Apart from dumdum, lupi, lehnong, marbang, bali, etc. used in Gumrak dance and which are common to other locals, the following are the typical type of traditional instruments played in Mishing folk music: ezuk tapung, derki tapung, tumbo, tapung tutok tapung, ketpong tapung, gekre tapung, dendun, dumpak koreg, gunggang, tulung etc. These are mostly wind instruments made of bamboo. Yoksa (sword) is used as a musical instrument by the priest during religious dance.

Dances

There are many types of Mishing dances, and each has their particular rules. Gumrag is performed five times in circles. Drums and cymbols are the usual musical instruments for the dances. Mibu Dagnam is a priestly dance performed mostly during Porag, the harvesting festival, observed in the Murong, the community hall of the Mishings. The priest sings the Ahbang while performing this ritual dance. Selloi is a kind of merry-making song and dance often performed for fun, by young boys and girls with the accompaniment of drums or cymbols. It marks the beginning of influx of the Mishing people from hills to plains of Assam. Also Lereli, Ejug Tapung Sohman , Lotta Sohman are different dances that are performed during different occasions and festivals. The dance performed during Ali-Aye-Lrigang is called Gumrak Sohman.

Marriages
Weddings are festive affairs for the Mishing community. Everyone, the young and old ones, take part and enjoy to their fullest. This community has 3 typical types of marriage - Da:ro Midang, Kumsu-jo:su and Dugla la:nam,which have their own features and interesting rituals. The Mishings follow the custom of `Magbo-dugnam, where the would-be bridegroom renders service in the house of his would-be bride.

Ali Aye Lrigang
Ali means roots and shoots, Aye means Fruit and Lrigang means beginning. Thus the words means the beginning of sowing of seeds. Ali-Aye-Lrigang, is celebrated in the first Wednesday of fagun month (Assamese Calendar), this date falls in the February month of the English calendar. The festival marks the beginning of the sowing season. Ali-Aye-Lrigang is a five-day festival. The celebrations start on a Wednesday, which is considered an auspicious day by the Mishings.

Young men and women celebrate the occasion by wearing brightly coloured traditional costumes, singing and dancing at night in the courtyard of every household in the village to the accompaniment of drums, cymbals and a gong. The troupe accepts from each household offers of rice beer, fowls, and/or cash. After the singing and dancing is over, the youths hold feast and food items like "Poro Apong", "Nogin Apong", pork and dry fish are enjoyed. A kind of sticky rice, packed in leaves of wild cardamom and boiled, is a special item of food on such festive occasions known as Purang.

Religion
Mishings are one of the most colourful tribal groups. Mishing has its own religion named Mishing faith. Donyi (Sun) is the god of Mishings. Mishing people believe that they are descendants of the Sun and the Moon. They worship 'Donyi Polo'. Donyi is the sun and Polo is the moon. However, now, Mishing people follow Hinduism as well as worship Donyi Polo. Also, some of them have converted to Christianity. 90% of the Mishing people follow Donyi Polo while 6% and 4% Mishings follow Christianity and Hinduism respectively.

Weaving and Textiles

 

The Mishing women are experts in weaving a variety of clothes having bright and vibrant colours. Bright colors (usually black and red) are prevalent in the rich traditional dresses of the Mishings. Attires named ege, gaseng, rhibi, gero, seleng gasor, riya, nisek, segrek, etc. are woven. The attires are mainly woven from endi, paat and muga silk.

Mishing People are United

Generally, the villagers lead a very peaceful, simple, and hygienic life. But, the Mishing community stands out for its love of peaceful living. You won't find any barriers among their houses in villages. They are fun loving people and are always ready to welcome guests. It is a common practice to join hands and greet the guests and offer them a bowl of rice beer in villages. Visit a Mishing village and feel the warmth of their hospitality. “Long Live the Mishing Community.”

                Mishing rengam irroi!