Abstract
The Misings, belonging to Tibeto-Burman ethnic group, which constitute the second largest scheduled tribe (Plains) group with a population of around 0.7 million in the state of Assam, India (as per 2011 Census), have been playing a significant role in the culture and economy of the greater Assamese society in general and tribal society in particular. Being mainly riverine inhabitant, the Misings of Assam are largely concentrated in the upper Brahmaputra valley area with highest concentration in the districts of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur (together constitute 60% of the state’s total Mising population). Mostly settled in the rural areas (1.8% in urban areas), as high as 86% of the Mising main workers are engaged as cultivators, which is the highest among all the tribes of Assam. The majority of the Mising people are still living in the flood affected and isolated areas with age-old traditions, and modern civilization has practically left them almost untouched in many aspects. In fact, this colourful ethnic group living amidst the fellow non-tribal Assamese people for many centuries has been able to maintain its traditional socio-cultural traits un-impaired in spite of the changes that have taken place in the socio-politico-religious life of Assam. However, a very small section of the Misings is undergoing the process of modernization and acculturation in recent time through urbanisation, religious transformation, education and inter-mixing, and the impact of these factors has resulted in erosion of their traditional life and folk culture. With this background, an attempt is made in this paper to understand the changing pattern of socio-economic character and traditional practices among the Mising tribe and, emerging socio-economic well-being in Assam in general and the selected rural and urban areas in particular based on secondary data for the period 1971–2011 and primary data recently collected from the field.
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Notes
- 1.
Porag: It is five-day long post-harvest festival observed by the Misings.
- 2.
Donyi-Polo: Literally means Sun-Moon. It is an animist religion of the Tani and other Tibeto-Burman people.
- 3.
Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY): Now renamed as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) is a social welfare programme created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India.
- 4.
AT Kutcha: The typical Assam type house prevalent in rural areas, built in local design with bamboo as well as mud, thatch, etc.
- 5.
AT Pucca: Assam type house made with high quality materials throughout such as stone, brick, cement, concrete, etc. including the floor, roof and exterior walls.
- 6.
Past generation: the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring, roughly 30 years.
- 7.
Drawing room: a room in a house used for relaxing and entertaining guests.
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Doley, P., Kar, B.K. (2022). The Misings of Assam in the Midst of Tradition and Modernity: A Comparative Study of Selected Rural and Urban Areas. In: Singh, R.S., Dahiya, B., Singh, A.K., Poudel, P.C. (eds) Practising Cultural Geographies. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6415-1_15
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