Introduction:
Aka is a small ethnic community of Arunachal Pradesh inhabitating the Southern area of Kameng district. The Akas call themselves as Hrusso. Aka,the name given to them by the plains people. The word 'Aka' denotes 'painted' and it may have been used for them by the people of Assam largely because of their custom of painting their faces profusely,which might have served as a distinctive mark.
The Aka area is bounded on the North by the Miji territory, on the south by the Darang ditrict of Assam,on the west by land where the Sherdukpens live and on the east by the Bangni Territory.
History of Origin and Development:
The Akas can claim tohave played an important role in the history of Arunachal Pradesh. According to a myth,Buslo Aou was their ancestor and they originated from the earth and the sky. They believe that they migrated to present habitant from a place known as Ziga(Lankapur) which might be somewhere in upper Assam.
The Akas, like the other hillmen who had privilege to Posa since the time of Ahom rulers, used to come down every year to collect their petty dues from each houses.
The Akas were a warlike people. The Sherdukpens and the Khowas used to pay taxes to them in recognition of their supremacy. After a peace treaty with Govt. in 1884, the Akas have given no further trouble. They have given up their warlike traits of feuds. The Akas have now become good agriculturalists, keen traders and industrious people.
Language:
The Language of Akas is Hrusso. It is quite different from their neighbouring tribes like the Daflas,the Mijis, the Monpas and the Sherdukpens. The Hrusso dialect even differs basically from the dialect of Miri-Akas. With others, they speak Miji,Assamese and Hindi. They don't have any script of their own,they use the Assamese,Devanagari or Roman scripts.
Social Life:
The Social Machinery of the Akas thus functions with the co-ordination of the members of the village community,who by their regard for the values of their society have not only helped the tribe to maintain the tribal solidarity but have also in a way helped the tribe to retain its distinctive existence.
The social and economic life of the Akas is largely determined by the conditions of their habitat. The hilly tracts do not leave any other alternative to Jhumming. The abundance of jungle further provides ample resource to practice the indigenous system. The over all result is that the Akas are still one of the main Jhum cultivators among the tribes of India.
The isolation of these people from their neighbouring tribes has helped them to evolve an independent culture. The domestic life of the Akas starts from the individual household and extends to the community as a whole.
Kinship:
The Akas are subdivided into two clans- the Hazarikhowas or eaters at a thousand hearths and Kapaschors or thieves who lurk amid the cotton plants.The Akas are divided according to the earlier records,into two main clans,the Hazarikhowas or Kutsun and Kapaschor or Kovatsun,each organised under a Raja or Chief. The Hazarikhowas had a right to Posa, conceded by the Assamese,while the Kapachors enjoyed no such privilege but managed somehow to extort the contributions from the cultivators.
Apart of these two clans of the Akas,threre is another sub-divison of the tribe commonly known by the name Miri-Akas. Miri-Akas share the common customs,beliefs and practices with the Akas or Hrussos,profess the same religion and in physical features too they are much alike. The only difference is in their language.
Marriage and Family:
Marriage in Aka society is a turning point in the life history of an individual from where he branches off from the parental roof and finds a new unit.A girl on her marriage abandons her parent's house and goes to live with her husband.
Marriage in Aka society can take shape either by way of negotiation or by the romantic way of capture.
The Marriage by negotiation is generally initiated from the boy's side with the help of Mugou,the village priest .
These days inter-community marriages take place with the Monpas,the Sherdukpens,the Bangnis,the Assamese and Nepalis.
Polygamy is quite common in Aka society.A man can marry more than one woman at a time.But polyandry is wholly unknown among the Akas. Levirate is popular in Aka society. A man usually inherits the widow of his elder brother.
Another form of marrying one's sister-in-law,known as sororate, is also prevalent among the people. A man may marry his wife's sister, either in the former's life time or after that.
The Aka Family comprises the husband,the wife and their children. The sons stay with their till they attain maturity and are married in their turn,after which they separate from the parental roof to found their individual families.The daughters on marriage go to live with their husbands and become hence the members of their families.
Status of Women:
Women in Aka society enjoy a better status than many women in sophisticated societies.An Aka woman is not merely a wife who bears children to her husband and does the domestic tasks laid down for her.On the other hand,She is an equal partner to her husband throughout of his life.She keeps pace with him in most of his economic pursuits.She with him in the fields,to clear the forest for cultivation,sows the seed and harvest the crop.She also shares with her husband many socio-religious observances.The invitation of polygamy also doesn't affect her position in any way.Whenever a man decides to bring home a second woman,he has to take counsel of his wife and find out if she is willing to accept. An her opinion remains final.
Dress and Ornaments:
The dress of both Aka men and women is simple,they have to depend upon the plains for their wearing apparel.Men invariably wear small garment,hanging below the shoulders and covering the upper half of the body.It is known as Shoshin-ge.They also wear a kind of long coat known as Pol.
Women wear a long garment over the body which hangs from the shoulders upto the ankles.It is usually coloured Red. This is called Pol.Both men and women cover the legs with a piece of cloth called gudu.
Men generally do not wear any head dress.Only in some festive occasions they may put a kind of ring-cap of bamboo,called Musarga,over the head.They wear dao with a silver case across waist.
There is no particular ceremonial dress.The same dress may be worn on common as well as ceremonial occasion.The different is that women adorn themselves profusely with ornaments around the neck and the forehead.
Food and Drink:
The staple food of the Aka consists mainly maize,which may often be substituted or supplemented by millets.These cereals are taken in boiled form along with some vegetables which may be locally grown or gathered in the form of plants and tubes from the forests.Vegetables like sweet potatoes and kochu are also taken.Rice is not grown much.
On many occasions the main diet is substantiated by meat pork or beef.The Akas are fond of smoking.It is a common sight to see both men and women with a tobacco-pipe.
The meal is supposed to be complete only with the addition of a drink.The staple drink of the Akas is Lao-pani.The second alchoholic drink,Mingri,is more intoxicating than Lao-pani but it is more expensive.
Rites and Rituals:
An individual in Aka society follows more or less the same traditional pattern of life which has come down from his ancestors.
1.Birth related:
During the pregnancy,rites are performed to appease the deity so that the sufferings and pains in child-birth may reduced.The most important ceremony associated with birth of a child is the binding of the ancestral thread- fokki around the right hand of the child by the Mugou.
The ear-initiation ceremony for the child,both for boys and girls takes place at an early age.
2.Death related:
The Akas practice burial.The body is carried to the grave and the Mugou performs the mortuary rites on the first as well as the last day of mourning.The ceremonial mourning lasts for ten days. All socio-religious observances remain at a standstill for the family during the period of mourning.
Administration:
The unit of Political organisation in the Aka society is the village council or Melley,more commonly known by the Assamese word 'Raiz' among the Akas,consists of the Gaon Burah,his two junior, the Borah and the Gibba.
The village council or the Raiz is the supreme administration agency of their village.It's jurisdiction extends from ordinary house to house disputes to inter-village conflicts. The cases of theft(which are rare),quarrel or fight,elopement and adultery,murder and vengeance as well as sorcery or witchcraft all fall within its province.
The laws followed by the village council are largely based on customs and conventions.
Economic activities:
The Akas are essentially an agricultural people.They use the Jhum or shifting type of cultivation.The Akas are very hard working people.They utilize their leisure time by engaging themselves in various small industries.Weaving and basketry are the important household industries.Baskets of different shape and sizes are made by menfolk.
References:
1.Encyclopedic Ethnography of Himalayan Tribes
The Akas were a warlike people. The Sherdukpens and the Khowas used to pay taxes to them in recognition of their supremacy. After a peace treaty with Govt. in 1884, the Akas have given no further trouble. They have given up their warlike traits of feuds. The Akas have now become good agriculturalists, keen traders and industrious people.
Language:
The Language of Akas is Hrusso. It is quite different from their neighbouring tribes like the Daflas,the Mijis, the Monpas and the Sherdukpens. The Hrusso dialect even differs basically from the dialect of Miri-Akas. With others, they speak Miji,Assamese and Hindi. They don't have any script of their own,they use the Assamese,Devanagari or Roman scripts.
Social Life:
The Social Machinery of the Akas thus functions with the co-ordination of the members of the village community,who by their regard for the values of their society have not only helped the tribe to maintain the tribal solidarity but have also in a way helped the tribe to retain its distinctive existence.
The social and economic life of the Akas is largely determined by the conditions of their habitat. The hilly tracts do not leave any other alternative to Jhumming. The abundance of jungle further provides ample resource to practice the indigenous system. The over all result is that the Akas are still one of the main Jhum cultivators among the tribes of India.
The isolation of these people from their neighbouring tribes has helped them to evolve an independent culture. The domestic life of the Akas starts from the individual household and extends to the community as a whole.
Kinship:
The Akas are subdivided into two clans- the Hazarikhowas or eaters at a thousand hearths and Kapaschors or thieves who lurk amid the cotton plants.The Akas are divided according to the earlier records,into two main clans,the Hazarikhowas or Kutsun and Kapaschor or Kovatsun,each organised under a Raja or Chief. The Hazarikhowas had a right to Posa, conceded by the Assamese,while the Kapachors enjoyed no such privilege but managed somehow to extort the contributions from the cultivators.
Apart of these two clans of the Akas,threre is another sub-divison of the tribe commonly known by the name Miri-Akas. Miri-Akas share the common customs,beliefs and practices with the Akas or Hrussos,profess the same religion and in physical features too they are much alike. The only difference is in their language.
Marriage and Family:
Marriage in Aka society is a turning point in the life history of an individual from where he branches off from the parental roof and finds a new unit.A girl on her marriage abandons her parent's house and goes to live with her husband.
Marriage in Aka society can take shape either by way of negotiation or by the romantic way of capture.
The Marriage by negotiation is generally initiated from the boy's side with the help of Mugou,the village priest .
These days inter-community marriages take place with the Monpas,the Sherdukpens,the Bangnis,the Assamese and Nepalis.
Polygamy is quite common in Aka society.A man can marry more than one woman at a time.But polyandry is wholly unknown among the Akas. Levirate is popular in Aka society. A man usually inherits the widow of his elder brother.
Another form of marrying one's sister-in-law,known as sororate, is also prevalent among the people. A man may marry his wife's sister, either in the former's life time or after that.
The Aka Family comprises the husband,the wife and their children. The sons stay with their till they attain maturity and are married in their turn,after which they separate from the parental roof to found their individual families.The daughters on marriage go to live with their husbands and become hence the members of their families.
Status of Women:
Women in Aka society enjoy a better status than many women in sophisticated societies.An Aka woman is not merely a wife who bears children to her husband and does the domestic tasks laid down for her.On the other hand,She is an equal partner to her husband throughout of his life.She keeps pace with him in most of his economic pursuits.She with him in the fields,to clear the forest for cultivation,sows the seed and harvest the crop.She also shares with her husband many socio-religious observances.The invitation of polygamy also doesn't affect her position in any way.Whenever a man decides to bring home a second woman,he has to take counsel of his wife and find out if she is willing to accept. An her opinion remains final.
Dress and Ornaments:
The dress of both Aka men and women is simple,they have to depend upon the plains for their wearing apparel.Men invariably wear small garment,hanging below the shoulders and covering the upper half of the body.It is known as Shoshin-ge.They also wear a kind of long coat known as Pol.
Women wear a long garment over the body which hangs from the shoulders upto the ankles.It is usually coloured Red. This is called Pol.Both men and women cover the legs with a piece of cloth called gudu.
Men generally do not wear any head dress.Only in some festive occasions they may put a kind of ring-cap of bamboo,called Musarga,over the head.They wear dao with a silver case across waist.
There is no particular ceremonial dress.The same dress may be worn on common as well as ceremonial occasion.The different is that women adorn themselves profusely with ornaments around the neck and the forehead.
Food and Drink:
The staple food of the Aka consists mainly maize,which may often be substituted or supplemented by millets.These cereals are taken in boiled form along with some vegetables which may be locally grown or gathered in the form of plants and tubes from the forests.Vegetables like sweet potatoes and kochu are also taken.Rice is not grown much.
On many occasions the main diet is substantiated by meat pork or beef.The Akas are fond of smoking.It is a common sight to see both men and women with a tobacco-pipe.
The meal is supposed to be complete only with the addition of a drink.The staple drink of the Akas is Lao-pani.The second alchoholic drink,Mingri,is more intoxicating than Lao-pani but it is more expensive.
Rites and Rituals:
An individual in Aka society follows more or less the same traditional pattern of life which has come down from his ancestors.
1.Birth related:
During the pregnancy,rites are performed to appease the deity so that the sufferings and pains in child-birth may reduced.The most important ceremony associated with birth of a child is the binding of the ancestral thread- fokki around the right hand of the child by the Mugou.
The ear-initiation ceremony for the child,both for boys and girls takes place at an early age.
2.Death related:
The Akas practice burial.The body is carried to the grave and the Mugou performs the mortuary rites on the first as well as the last day of mourning.The ceremonial mourning lasts for ten days. All socio-religious observances remain at a standstill for the family during the period of mourning.
Administration:
The unit of Political organisation in the Aka society is the village council or Melley,more commonly known by the Assamese word 'Raiz' among the Akas,consists of the Gaon Burah,his two junior, the Borah and the Gibba.
The village council or the Raiz is the supreme administration agency of their village.It's jurisdiction extends from ordinary house to house disputes to inter-village conflicts. The cases of theft(which are rare),quarrel or fight,elopement and adultery,murder and vengeance as well as sorcery or witchcraft all fall within its province.
The laws followed by the village council are largely based on customs and conventions.
Economic activities:
The Akas are essentially an agricultural people.They use the Jhum or shifting type of cultivation.The Akas are very hard working people.They utilize their leisure time by engaging themselves in various small industries.Weaving and basketry are the important household industries.Baskets of different shape and sizes are made by menfolk.
References:
1.Encyclopedic Ethnography of Himalayan Tribes
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