Traditional Hunting Practices of the Bugun Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

The paper emphasises on the traditional hunting practices of the Bugun tribe residing in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. Various traditional knowledge, beliefs and rituals associated with hunting and trapping methods practised by the tribe have been discussed here. Nearly all the tribe of the state still continues to have their own traditional methods of hunting and its practices. However their numbers have continually declined, partly as a result of change from growing towards agricultural and pastoral communities in the state.

Hunting with limited technological equipment hints us to postulate parallels for hunting strategies for early people. The indigenous hunting implements used by the Buguns were bow Rag or Rakht, an arrow Met or Mat, Spears Jheong, dagger Sharong, and dao Mudhua. Hunting implements were regarded very sacred as it was accustomed with various rituals and sacrifices which were meant for acquiring food for the family and community. Traditionally hunting was enormously done through trapping known as Mudhuang. Capturing, snaring and poisoning were also practised along with it. Numerous rituals had also been associated with hunting practices by the tribe. People here believed that certain deities who resided in the forests also contributed in the protection of forest and its creatures. The paper is a preliminary study which gives information on early hunting practices of the Buguns and highlights the cultural belief system integrated with it.