A locally led, Rights-based, Biocultural Conservation Program
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The Story of Vailu
Our team works to protect, restore and strengthen Idu Mishmi culture, ancestral land, and the bird and animal life that lives in our lands.
The Dibang Team is a group of Idu Mishmi Indigenous People from the Dibang river basin (Chithu huluni) of Arunachal Pradesh, India. We hold four interconnected programs that combine Idu traditional culture with ethical Western science and modern technology to strengthen our community to address the rising threats to our culture, land, and non-human life.
Our Works
What we do
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1. Community-Led Research and Conservation
Though we have been documenting wildlife in the Dibang Valley since 2013, most of Dibang’s community-owned forests are still scientifically unstudied. Many of these forests are now being earmarked for various state-run developmental and conservation projects. This initiative brings outside scientists together with local people to co-produce socio-ecological knowledge.
2. Igu Aahito
Idu Mishmi shamans, called Igu, hold a key position in the Idu culture. They are repositories of ancestral knowledge and spirituality, which are used to protect people and which eventually ensure that the vital balance with the natural world is maintained. Igu's are also believed to be shape-shifting tigers. Currently, Dibang has fewer than 70 Igu's. Younger Idus are not naturally initiating into shamanism, causing anxiety in the community. If Igu disappears, the Idu identity and biocultural diversity will follow suit.
3. Taju Taye
Idu Mishmi's ancestral stories and tales are oral repositories of rich traditional knowledge. They tell the tales of the origin of the Idu people and all living beings. The story of the man and the tiger reminds people that the two are brothers and must not harm one another. They detail the moral relations people should have with each other and the natural world. Ancestral stories inform a sense of identity for the Idu and contribute to maintaining sustainable relations between humans and non-humans. Sadly, a majority of younger Idu's no longer know these stories.