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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.
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 Idu's are not naturally initiating into shamanism causing anxiety in the community. If Igu disappears, the Idu identity and biocultural diversity will follow suit.
Igu Aahito
Taju Taye (Storytelling)
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 the people that the two are brothers and must not harm one another. They detail the moral relations people ought to have with each other and with 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.