Oral Traditions Associated With Mithun (Bos Frontalis) Among The Tagin Tribe Of Arunachal Pradesh

Oral Traditions, widely considered as one of the earliest mode of human communication plays an indispensable role in transmitting knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material across generations, thus strengthening and keeping cultures alive. They become pertinent particularly among the pre literate tribal communities of Northeast India where there is a paucity of written records. Similar to many tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, the Tagin community also lack a written script, however they possess rich Oral Traditions which primarily forms the basis of understanding the historical evolution and culture of the tribe. Among the plethora of Tagin myths and legends on creation, traditions associated with Mithun (Bos Frontalis) is considered one of the significant components of the oral literature of the tribe. As Mithun, the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh, since time immemorial has played an important role in the social, cultural and economic lives of the Tagin community. Deeply rooted in mythology and being an integral part of the cultural life of the Tagin, Mithun is considered as a yardstick to measure wealth, prestige, calibration and instrument of peace and settlement among the Tagin. Thus the paper endeavours to study the oral traditions on Mithun (Bos Frontalis) and explore related beliefs and practices which are still prevalent among the Tagin of Arunachal Pradesh. The study is mostly based on primary data collected through an extensive fieldwork among the Tagin of Upper Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh while for secondary data all published literature such as books, magazines, articles, journals etc. were referred.