Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being " indigenous ". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the " world religions " and " new religious movements ". The term is commonly applied to a range of different belief systems across the Americas, Australasia, Asia, Africa, and Northern Europe, particularly to those practiced by communities living under the impact of colonialism .
43-525: Donyi Polo is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Sino-Tibetan peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India . The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Sun-Moon", and was chosen for the religion in the process of its revitalisation and institutionalisation started in the 1970s in response to inroads made by Christianity and
86-676: A distinct branch in Sino-Tibetan. Their closest relatives may be their eastern neighbors the Digaro languages , Taraon and Idu; this was first suggested by Sun (1993), but a relationship has not yet been systematically demonstrated. Blench (2014) suggests that Tani has a Greater Siangic substratum , with the Greater Siangic languages being a non-Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of Idu - Taraon and Siangic languages. Mark Post (2015) observes that Tani typologically fits into
129-472: A meeting of Adi intellectuals was held in Along , West Siang , to discuss countermeasures to be taken against the gradual erosion of indigenous identity and traditions attributed to India 's policy of integration of Arunachal Pradesh , and particularly the spread of Christianity in the area since the 1950s which has caused an enduring crisis in the cultural mosaic of the north-eastern state. The meeting's aim
172-430: A preparation for conversion to Christianity . Graham Harvey states that indigenous religions constitute the majority of the world's religions. At the same time, he noted that "indigenous religionists" do not numerically make up the majority of religious people. Some religions considered "indigenous religions" have gained as much global visibility as some of the "world religions". For instance, musicians influenced by
215-716: A substratum belonging to an extinct Tibeto-Burman branch or language phylum, or linguistic variation in Proto-Tani. Sun (1993: 254-255) lists the following 25 lexical isoglosses between Western Tani and Eastern Tani. A new alphabetical writing system for Tani languages was invented by Tony Koyu, a social scientist from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. It was first presented at a seminar at the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology at Nirjuli , Arunachal Pradesh in November 2001. It
258-495: A year—and trained groups of youth to send back with books and icons to their home village, to encourage people to construct temples and conduct prayers. During the last two decades the spiritual revival has spread all over Arunachal Pradesh. Supporters of the revival have coined the slogan « Loss of culture is loss of identity » which has become very popular. The indirect implication is that those who convert to Christianity lose their culture and hence their identity. A gangging
301-516: Is a deus otiosus but continues to observe creation through his eyes, his double aspect veiling-unveiling-revealing himself. In Galo beliefs, Jimi manifests as Melo (Sky) and Sidi (Earth), out of the interaction of which all things and beings are born, including Donyi and Polo . There are other myths explaining the meaning of the duality Donyi and Polo . According to Talom Rukbo 's theology, all celestial bodies including Earth, all things, originate from one source, Keyum (nothingness or
344-741: Is a general name for a prayer place of the Donyi-Poloist faith, and especially in the Adi areas. The gangging as a sacred enclosure is a concept popularised by the Donyi-Polo Yelam Kebang since 1996. According to Talom Rukbo, the word gangging is derived from Gangging Siring , the concept of land or holy tree that mediates between the spiritual and the natural worlds, and from which any thing, living or non-living, comes into existence. Gangging congregants have to follow certain rules: for example, male members must sit on
387-523: Is believed that they take care of the earth and humanity. The main deities in Donyi-Polo are Donyi and Polo , Kine Nane , Doying Bote , Pedong Nane and Guumin Soyin . Tani-speaking peoples ( Lhoba , Tagin , Galo , Nyishi , Nah , Apatani , Mishing , Adi ) share a myth telling of their descendance from the progenitor Abotani . Other Tibeto-Burman peoples of Arunachal Pradesh who share
430-461: Is called "Danyi-Piilo" and prayer place are called meder nello ("purified place"), the first of which was built in 2004, songs and prayers are collected in a prayer book called Lyambope . Donyi-Poloist prayer place in Nishi areas are called nyedar namlo ("pure place"), and also among them the movement has been started only in the early 2000s. More recently, the success of Donyi-Polo has crossed
473-402: Is distressed he invokes " Donyi - Polo ". If a man is falsely accused of lying he invokes " Donyi-e! ", "oh Sun!". All these are expressions of faith in Donyi-Polo upholding providently the world, rewarding the righteous and punishing wrong-doers. The divine pair is revered as the highest holy figure governing fate. "Donyi-Polo" is also used in the sense of "truth" in sacral speech. "Donyi-Polo"
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#1732779529752516-405: Is given through right action, and right action is that which follows the order of nature (Donyi-Polo). Oshang Ering, a philosopher of the religion, has written that as the two objects in the sky ( Bomong and Boo ) focus light to enable us to see what is what, Donyi-Polo makes us aware of what is wrong and right. Right conscience naturally prevails, and when a person does wrong things (acts against
559-526: Is not related to any other writing system, but some of the letters are similar to Bengali or Latin letters. This script however has also received significant criticism. One major point of contention is the claim that it is not truly indigenous but rather heavily derived from the Devanagari script. Critics argue that its very name, "Lipi," is a Hindi term, which casts doubt on its authenticity as an original script. Additionally, Tani Lipi does not account for
602-540: Is the epitome of wisdom, enlightenment, right conscience, truthfulness, and selflessness. Aware people are called " Donyi - Polo Ome ", which means "children of truth". Elders are regarded as " Donyi - Polo Abu ", "representatives of the truth". The followers of Donyi-Poloism worship a variety of gods and goddesses that enliven nature. These gods are believed to partake in the universal balance of Donyi and Polo , and to be multiple manifestations or identities of Sedi — Donyi - Polo , each with specific functions and roles. It
645-565: The Adi , Apatani , Galo , Mising , Nyishi , Tagin , and of the East Kameng , West Kameng , Papumpare , Lower Subansiri , Upper Subansiri , West Siang , East Siang , Upper Siang , Lower Dibang Valley and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Dhemaji , North Lakhimpur , Sonitpur , Majuli etc. districts of Assam. In Arunachal Pradesh alone the Tani-speaking area covers some 40,000 square kilometers, or roughly half
688-685: The Kiranti languages (Post 2006). Post (2012) suggests that Apatani and Milang have non-Tani substrata, and that as early Tani languages had expanded deeper into Arunachal Pradesh, mixing with non-Tani languages occurred. Mark Post (2013) proposes the following revised classification for the Tani languages. The undocumented Ashing language presumably belongs here. However, Macario (2015) notes that many Apatani words are closer to reconstructions of Proto-Tibeto-Burman (Matisoff 2003) than to Proto-Tani (Sun 1993). Possible explanations include Apatani having
731-747: The Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area , which typically has creoloid morphosyntactic patterns, rather than with the languages of the Tibetosphere. Post (2015) also notes that Tani culture is similar to those of Mainland Southeast Asian hill tribe cultures, and is not particularly adapted to cold montane environments. A provisional classification in Sun (1993), who argued that Tani is a primary branch of Tibeto-Burman (within Sino-Tibetan), is: To Eastern Tani, van Driem (2008) adds
774-420: The "world religions" because they are orally transmitted, intertwined with traditional lifestyles, and pluralist . Numerically, the majority of the world's religions could be classed as "indigenous", although the number of "indigenous religionists" is significantly smaller than the number of individuals who practice one of the "world religions". Within the study of religion there has been much debate as to what
817-440: The "world religions" category because they "are typically this-wordly, orally transmitted, non-proselytizing, folk-oriented, expressed in myths and traditional law, and pluralist." In the nineteenth century, the dominant ways to refer to these religions were "primitive religion" or "non-literate religion", as they were seen as offering insight into how religion was practiced by the earliest humans. Another term, "primal religion",
860-642: The Americas and elsewhere. Thus casting doubt on their claims of “indigeneity”. Tani languages The Tani language , often referred to as Tani languages, encompasses a group of closely related languages spoken by the Tani people in the northeastern region of India, primarily in the state of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam . These languages belong to the Sino-Tibetan family and include several major dialects such as Nyishi , Galo , Apatani , Adi , Tagin , and Mising . The Tani languages are spoken by about 2,170,500 people of Arunachal Pradesh , including
903-702: The Donyi-Polo belief, the fountain god that begets the universe ( God or the Godhead) is referred to as Sedi by the Minyong and Padam , Jimi by the Galo . All things and beings are parts of the body of Sedi : in creation, the hair of Sedi becomes the plants of the earth, his tears become rain and water, his bones become rocks and stones, and his two eyes become Donyi (the Sun) and Polo (the Moon). Sedi , after creation,
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#1732779529752946-410: The Donyi-Polo faith don't subscribe to the descendance from Abotani. Abotani is thought to represent the evolution of the human being from the source Donyi , Sedi , the eye of the universe as important to man as the eye of the body. The Divinity has projected man showing him the right way to go. Donyi-Poloists describe the "Donyi-Polo" nature of the universe as the eyes of human conscience. Happiness
989-569: The Gods and Goddesses have been introduced. Nyedar namlo is a place of worship of the Nyishis following the faith. Many of them were built after the late twentieth century CE during the faith's revivalist movement in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. The material and non-material culture of the place borrows elements from Christianity and Hinduism. Sociologist Bhaswati Borgohain and Indigenous scholar Mekory Dodum suggest that these places 'exists in
1032-752: The Tani cultural borders inspiring the rise of Rangfraism among the Tangsa , and of Intayaism among the Mishmi , respectively in Changlang and Dibang Valley . Indigenous religion The term "indigenous religions" is usually applied to the localised belief systems of small-scale societies. These belief systems do not typically engage in proselytization, thus distinguishing them from movements like Christianity , Islam , and Buddhism that all seek converts and which are typically classified as "world religions". They are also often characterised as being distinct from
1075-434: The Tani people. The 31 December, the day of establishment of the Donyi-Polo Yelam Kebang in 1986, has been made the "Donyi-Polo Day" celebrated each year. Since then, templar areas ( gangging ) have been consecrated, religious literature and prayer hymns have been collected and published. To meet the growing number of adherents in the revival, the Donyi-Polo Yelam Kebang established orientation courses—which take place twice
1118-534: The Tibeto-Burman tradition; called Ane Donyi ("Mother Sun") and Abu Polo ("Father Moon")—constitute a notion similar to the yin and yang of Chinese culture . It is the analogy through which the Divinity ( Sedi ) can be described, representing the way in which the divine principle manifests itself, that is: eternally veiling, unveiling and then revealing himself in nature; providing harmony and balance to
1161-625: The United States—attempt to frame themselves as the successors to the pre-Christian belief systems of linguistic Germanic communities in Northern Europe and thus victims of Medieval Christian colonialism and imperialism . The scholars Jenifer Snook, Thad Horrell, and Kirsten Horton argued that in doing so, these Heathens ignore the fact that most of them are considered " white ", and have thus perpetrated and benefited from colonial and imperial policies against indigenous communities in
1204-532: The ancestors of the Japanese arrived in the islands that now make up Japan and that there were other communities, such as the Ainu , who lived on some of these islands before them. Many followers of Heathenry , a modern Pagan religion that scholars recognise as a new religious movement, like to regard their belief system as an "indigenous religion". In claiming a sense of indigeneity, some Heathens—particularly in
1247-501: The belief systems of the Maori , Indigenous Australian, and Canadian First Nations peoples have had their work exposed to an international audience. The Japanese religion Shinto is often described as an "indigenous religion", although some scholars, like Asian studies scholar John K. Nelson notes that it is often "unclear" what is meant by the term "indigenous" in this context. He noted, for example, that there remain debates as to when
1290-569: The endangered rituals, prayers, and hymns, within 1986 three major cultural organisations were founded: the Tani Jagriti Foundation, the Donyi-Polo Youth Federation, and the Donyi-Polo Yelam Kebang. Rikbo expressed the need for institutionalization of the traditional faith in these terms: Many Adi and Tani intellectuals reflected Rukbo's ideas, and these gradually spread across the tribes and even beyond
1333-562: The following possible languages: Milang has traditionally been classified as a divergent Tani language, but in 2011 was tentatively reclassified as Siangic (Post & Blench 2011). Proto-Tani was partially reconstructed by Sun (1993). A large number of reconstructed roots have cognates in other Sino-Tibetan languages. However, a great deal of Proto-Tani vocabulary have no cognates within Sino-Tibetan (Post 2011), and most Tani grammar seems to be secondary, without cognates in grammatically conservative Sino-Tibetan languages such as Jingpho or
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1376-506: The left in rows, and female members on the right, cross-legged. Within the prayer place, there should not be any noise during prayer except the sound of the hymns. Prayers are organized in the prayer place on Sundays, and all of the gangging branches established in each of the villages under the Siang district are centrally regulated by the Donyi-Polo Yelam Kebang. Through the prayer place, codified rituals and practices, and iconographies of
1419-499: The liminal space between tradition and modernity where the notions of the sacred and spiritual blend with the social and cultural identity of the indigenous tribes, all of which are in transition.' In Galo areas, the prayer place and community halls ( dere ) have come up under the patronage of the Donyi-Polo Welfare Association and they are being built since the 2000s. Priests ( nyibu ) conduct prayers in
1462-475: The natural order) and tries to hide it, or masks it as good, then the force of conscience (Donyi-Polo) imposes a psychological pression, and the wrongdoer loses happiness. Right conscience naturally guides man. According to the traditional belief, love, compassion, equality and selflessness are naturally ordained by Donyi-Polo; they are inscribed in nature. The ethical dimension of Donyi-Polo also means purity, beauty, simplicity, and frankness. On 28 August 1968,
1505-625: The possibility of absorption into Hinduism . The religion has developed a congregational system; hymns to be sung, composed in the Tani ritual language of shamans; a formalised philosophy - theology ; and an iconography of the gods and temples. The pioneer of the revival was Talom Rukbo . Donyi-Polo is related to the Hemphu-Mukrang religion of the Karbi and the Nyezi-No of the Hruso . In
1548-454: The prayer place on Sundays.The prayer place for Galo people is known as Gamgi which is similar to the Adi people's Gangging. Just like Adi people,the congregants have to follow certain rules in the prayer place for example, male members must sit on the left in rows, and female members on the right, cross-legged. The prayers are organized in the prayer place on Sundays. In Apatani areas, the religion
1591-881: The scope of the category should be, largely arising from debates over what the term "indigenous" should best encompass. For instance, the Japanese religion of Shinto is often referred to as an "indigenous religion" although, because the Japanese are not a colonised society but have colonised neighbouring societies like that of the Ainu , there is debate as to whether they meet the definition of "indigenous". In some cases, practitioners of new religions like Heathenry have sought to present theirs as "indigenous religions" although have faced scepticism from scholars of religion. The academic study of religions has used three concepts through which to categorise different religious groups: " world religions ", " new religious movements ", and "indigenous religions". The scholar of religion Carole M. Cusack noted that "indigenous religions" were rejected from
1634-524: The size of the state. Scattered Tani communities spill over the Sino-Indian border into adjacent areas in Mêdog ( Miguba people), Mainling ( Bokar and Tagin peoples), and Lhünzê ( Bangni , Na , Bayi , Dazu, and Mara peoples) counties of Tibet. The name Tani was originally suggested by Jackson Tianshin Sun in his 1993 doctoral dissertation. The Tani languages are conservatively classified as
1677-454: The tonal nature of the Tani languages, which is a critical feature for accurate representation and pronunciation. Furthermore, Tani Lipi is often criticized for its limited applicability, as it primarily suits the Galo language, that too only in limited settings and does not adequately serve the diverse Tani linguistic group. This limitation hinders its broader acceptance and usefulness across
1720-405: The universe, for example in the alternation of light and darkness, heat and cool, or unity (analogically, the Sun of the daily sky) and multiplicity (analogically, the stars of the night sky). The practical expression of the faith in Donyi-Polo can be found in the daily life and actions of people: they call themselves " Donyi O, Polo Ome ", meaning "children of the sun and the moon". When a believer
1763-519: The vacuum). Donyi - Polo is the polar force that generates all stars; the physical Sun and Moon (respectively, Bomong and Boo ) near the Earth and humanity, are bodily manifestations of the universal unseen power Donyi - Polo , with Bomong carrying out the centralising power of Donyi , and Boo the Polo power of life-giving. Donyi (Sun) and Polo (Moon)—which are, respectively, female and male in
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1806-402: Was also that of uniting the Tibeto-Burman folks under a collective identity and values for a good life. Talom Rukbo emerged as the father of Donyi-Poloism, a term that was coined for the institutionalisation of the Tibeto-Burman folk religion. According to Rukbo, the main reason for the easy erosion of the traditional culture was that it lacked written literature. So, with the aim of recovering
1849-628: Was coined by Andrew Walls in the University of Aberdeen in the 1970s to provide a focus on non-Western forms of religion as found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. However, according to the scholar of religion Graham Harvey , such approaches preference Western industrialized people and the course of Protestant Enlightenment culture. Likewise, James Cox, Walls's student, argues that terms such as "primal religion", "primitive religion", and "tribal religion" suggest an undeveloped religion which can be seen as
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