Indigenous Religious Traditions of The Monpas of Dirang: An Anthropological Study

Yeshi Gyesen

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.83656

Indigenous Religious Traditions of The Monpas of Dirang: An Anthropological Study

Author(s)	Dr. Yeshi Gyesen
Country	India
Abstract	The Monpas of Dirang in West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh are among the oldest Buddhist communities inhabiting the Eastern Himalayas. Despite the widespread acceptance of Tibetan Buddhism, numerous indigenous religious beliefs and ritual practices rooted in the pre-Buddhist Bon tradition continue to influence their socio-cultural and religious life. The present study examines the indigenous animistic faith of the Dirang Monpas, focusing on their cosmology, sacred geography, local deities, ritual practices, and the institution of village priests. Employing a qualitative ethnographic approach, the study is based on extensive fieldwork conducted in Dirang, Sangti, Lish, and Namshu-Thembang villages through participant observation, scheduled and unstructured interviews with village elders, Bonpu, Yumin, Buddhist monks, and community leaders. The findings reveal that the indigenous Bon faith is centered on the worship of mountains, rivers, forests, rocks, and other natural elements believed to be inhabited by benevolent and malevolent supernatural beings. Ritual specialists perform ceremonies to maintain harmony between the human and supernatural worlds, ensuring the protection, prosperity, and well-being of the community. The study further demonstrates that the spread of Tibetan Buddhism did not replace the indigenous Bon faith but facilitated a process of religious accommodation and syncretism, whereby local deities and ritual practices were incorporated into the Buddhist religious system. This interaction has produced a distinctive composite religious tradition unique to the Monpas of Dirang. The paper contributes to the growing scholarship on indigenous Himalayan religions by documenting an important but relatively underexplored aspect of Monpa culture and highlights the significance of preserving indigenous religious knowledge in the context of rapid socio-cultural transformation.
Keywords	Bon Religion, Monpas, Dirang, Indigenous Religion, Animism, Rituals, Religious Syncretism, Arunachal Pradesh.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 4, July-August 2026
Published On	2026-07-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.83656

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Indigenous Religious Traditions of The Monpas of Dirang: An Anthropological Study

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