Mishmi people

Members of the Mishmi ethnic group in northern Assam (1922)

The Mishmi or Deng people of Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh are an ethnic group comprising mainly three tribes: Idu Mishmi (Idu Lhoba); Digaro Mishmi (Taraon, Darang Deng), and Miju Mishmi (Kaman Deng). The Mishmis occupy the north-eastern tip of the central Arunachal Pradesh/South Tibet in Upper and Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit and Anjaw Districts/Medog County. The three sub-divisions of the tribe emerged due to the geographical distribution, but racially all the three groups are of the same stock. The Idu are also known as Yidu Lhoba in China and often referred as Chulikatas in Assam. The Idus are primarily concentrated in the Upper Dibang Valley district and parts of the northern part of Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Taraon, also called Digaru Mishmis, are distributed in the hill and the foothills between the Digaru and the Lohit rivers.Kamans are also known as the Miju Mishmis, they live between the Lohit and the Kambang rivers in the foothills and in the Mishmi Hills on both sides of the Lohit river right up to the frontiers to Rima.

The Idu Mishmis were the first to come from Burma. They were followed by the ancestors of the Digaru Mishmis a little over 500 years ago. The mijus were the last to migrate from the direction of Hakamti-Long on the Kachin country.

The Deng in China

The Deng (or Dengba, Chinese transcription of Taraon-Kaman languages: 代巴玫; Chinese: 僜人; Hanyu pinyin: Dèng Rén) are not officially recognised by the government of People's Republic of China. They live in nine villages in Tibet's Zayu County and virgin forest areas between the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains at an elevation of 1000 meters.

In 1985, the Chinese government tried to have an expert study the Deng, but 10th Panchen Lama said "All the people in Tibet should be Tibetans." and "To recognize any new ethic groups is to split our Tibetans." and as a result the project has been abolished^{[1][clarification needed]}

Origins

“

很久以前，世界上一片茫茫大水，德饶高创造了大地，金人阿加尼与老鹰通婚，繁衍成了僜人。

”

which in Englsh

“

Long ago, the world is a vast-flood. Deraogao created the earth, and the gold-people Ajiani married the eagle. Deng people are their offsprings.

”

This is a story among Deng people. They believe their ancestor is Ajiani.

References

1. ^ from “Chinese National Geography” magazine.

External links

• RCILTS, IIT Guwahati
• Photo of two Miju Mishmi women
• Britannica entry of the Mishmi
• Iternary reference on various localities of the Mishmi
• http://www.ethnic-china.com/Deng/dengindex.htm
• http://zt.tibet.cn/tibetzt/ssmz_en/deng/001.htm