IMPACTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE NYISHIS: A CASE STUDY ON HIYA VILLAGE: KURUNG KUMEY DISTRICT, ARUNACHAL PRADESH 0
IMPACTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE NYISHIS:
A CASE STUDY ON HIYA VILLAGE: KURUNG KUMEY DISTRICT, ARUNACHAL PRADESH
INTRODUCTION
Rapid religious change is gradually occurring in the Hiya village in the recent years. Three Christian prayer Churches— a Baptist, a Catholic, and a more recently constructed a Revivalist —already exist in Hiya village, a largest village of Kurung Kumey District. Despite small population size of Christianity in Hiya village in mid 1980s, when Christianity was first introduced into the village, conversion has increased. This has also led in the present day to doubts amongst people living in Hiya village about the moral desirability of ritually interacting with Uyub (termed ‘devils’ by Christian missionaries and converts). In the village, oral historical forms of knowledge, of which shaman-priests and accomplished storytellers are the main custodians, remain robust. However, many people oscillate between Christian forms of worship and ritual engagement with Uyub. Whilst many people in village have a strong faith in the efficacy of modern medicines, incidents of human misfortune, illness, and a wide range of other phenomena are still commonly referred back to the activity of Uyub. In the event of serious or prolonged illnesses, people often take the long journey, sometimes of days, to the nearest medical facilities in Ziro and Itanagar. If medical interventions fail, people usually turn to the shaman-priests for diagnosis through divination, and ritual forms of healing.
Many who convert to Christianity develop syncretistic forms of understanding. Whilst many preachers request members of their congregations to discontinue all ritual practices, and in many cases seek to dissuade people of the power and influence of Uyub, concerns about the influence of malign and benign Uyub persist. Thus Nyishi Christians
