The Miji, (or Sajolang) are a social group of Arunachal Pradesh, India. They are located in various districts 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 ...

including the

West Kameng West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the distric ...

East Kameng East Kameng district is one of districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern, India. It shares an international border with China in the north and district borders with West Kameng district to the west, Pakke-Kessang district to the south ...

and

Kurung Kumey Kurung Kumey district (Pron:/kʊˈɹʌŋ kʊˈmi/) is one of the 26 Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, districts of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with its district headquarters in Koloriang. Origin of name The name of this dis ...

.Their population of 37,000 are found near the lower parts of the sub-Himalayan hills bordering

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 ...

; they speak the

Sajalong language Miji, also given the dialect names Sajolang and Dhammai, is a dialect cluster traditionally counted as one of the Sino-Tibetan languages that is spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. The varieties are not particularly close, with only ...

Etymology

The two separate terms ''Mai'', which means fire, and Ji, which signifies giver, are combined to form the word ''Miji''. The word/name came into being after the Hrusso community regarded the ''Sajolang/Dammai'' people for their gracious help during the past (pre-historic period).

Dress

The traditional costume of Miji women consists of an ankle-length white garment with a beautifully decorated red jacket. Unlike the majority of other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, India; the Miji people wear silver ornaments, and glass/brass based necklaces. Indigenous cosmetics are made from

pine resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

and coal ( specially during marriage ceremonies). The traditional dress of Miji community constitute of (1)_Grii za (cotton cloth), (2)_ornamental beads, (3)_silver/Bamboo crown, (4)_Gichin thay ( long cotton cloth, red in colour, which serves as a belt), (5)_waichin ( sword ), (6)_Lai lo (cotton cloth to cover lower portion of legs), (7)_Lai Drangk (ornamental beads to keep Lai lo intact), and other ornaments including necklaces, bangles and ear tops.

Religion

Most Miji are adherents of

Animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

, although a few have adopted Christianity. The Mijis practise a distinct religion which rely entirely on nature and god ( nature- being the replica of god. The supreme deity worshipped is Zhanglhang-Miungzhin; Mijis believe that god prevail in every aspects of nature, such as trees, water tributaries and even stones. Chindang, marked every 15 October, is considered the main festival of the Mijis, inhabiting the Lada circle of the East Kameng district, Sarli region of the Kurung Kumey district and Nafra and Bomdila Sub-Division of the West Kameng district with a few of them also found in the Assam-Arunachal border towns of Sessa and Bhalukpong who settled down there some time ago because of better access to facilities. Culturally and linguistically, the Miji and Hrusso Akas form a cognate group. Their ancestors are called Bor(Robo), or the brother of Tanis, like the Nyishis, Apatanis, Tagins, Galos and the Adis which share common features but are also distinct in themselves. Robo being the elder brother and Nyibo (tani) being younger are actual brothers, who belonged to same father. There is some Buddhist influence as a result of long-standing cultural contacts with Buddhist tribes to the west, and the celebration of

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various da ...

as well as the usage of

prayer flags A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated with ...

are some indicators of this.

Classification

The Mijis or the Sajolangs are classified under three categories :

Western Miji

The Mijis inhabiting the

Bomdila Bomdila is the headquarters of West Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Bomdila is one of the 60 constituencies of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Geography and climate Bomdila is located at . It has an average elevat ...

-Nafra division in West Kameng district are recognized as the Western Miji.

Eastern Miji

Occupying the Lada-Bana tract in the East Kameng district, one can find a sizeable amount of the group well adjusted with the Akas, their very brethren tribe and the comparatively larger tribe Nyishi. The eastern Mijis shares little contrast in terms of language vocabulary with their western counterparts and together they institute the broader Sajolang group.

Northern Miji

The third is the most debilitated and ambiguous group known as Bangru, also known as Bengru in China. Not very much studies have been done on this group and the tribe lives in acute isolation. These groups are mainly found in Sarli circle and the numerous adjacent villages in

district. Researchers have also claimed that this same people are also found in Longzi County,

Shannan Prefecture ShannanThe official spelling according to ( zh, c=山南, p=Shānnán, l=south of the mountains), also known as Lhoka (; zh, c=洛卡, p=Luò kǎ), is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes ...

in China where they are categorised under the wider

Lhoba Lhoba (English translation: ; ; ) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nyingchi and Lhünzê Count ...

ethnicity.

References

External links

Old photos of the Miji tribe

Ethnologue profile
{{authority control Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh Donyi-Polo communities Indigenous peoples of Nepal