Hill Miri are a native tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. They are spread in Upper Subansiri Kamle and adjoining districts. They speak a

Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people speak ...

language, but the exact origin of their language is disputed. The tribe are agriculturalist and primarily grow crops such as ''echin'' (rice), ''temi'' (millet), ''muku'' (cucumber), ''tekk'' (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 millet especially to prepare a 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 festivals, marriages, and parties.

Etymology

The term "Hill Miri" was given by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Administration to distinguish between the “Plain Miri” of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

and the “Nyishi” of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

Festivals

The festival celebrated with enormous pomp and gaiety is Boori-Boot, on 6 February. The rituals of these festivals are carried out by the community priests (''nyib'') which include chanting of hymns and sacrificing animals viz. mithun (''sob''), goat, chicken (porok), pig (''erek'') etc., and serving of local brew (''opo'') to attendees. The traditional attire of men includes ''lenin'', cloth wrapped over the body covering the upper portion of the body up to the knees, and headgear includes a cap (''bopar''/''bopa'') made of cane which has a strap of bearskin attached anteriorly (sometimes with a hornbill beak at the top). The man carries a machete (''orok'') and a knife (''rwchik'') shoved inside a bamboo sheath wrapped with animal furs. The women's clothing includes a blouse and a long cloth (''gale'') wrapped around the waist with a beautiful piece of art knitted on it.

References

Upper Subansiri district Lower Subansiri district Ethnic groups in India Ethnic groups in Northeast India {{ArunachalPradesh-stub