Abstract: The use of plants and animals in the ritual is an essential part of tribal religious practices. Tribal people make sacrifices to appease or to maintain favor with a deity. Sacrifices are also made to ward off sickness, sufferings, and afflictions. The Karbis are one of the significant tribe of Northeast India with a major concentration in the hills of Karbi Anglong districts of Assam (India). The Karbis made many sacrifices to the unseen and territorial deities and animal sacrifices are an inseparable part of Karbi ritual practice. Fowl is mainly preferred for sacrifice, and other animals include hen, pig, duck, and goat. Apart from animals, egg, rice, rice powder, leaves of Ocimum tenuiflorum (holy basil), Areca nut and leaf etc. are the essential elements of Karbi rituals. The present paper is an attempt to study the significance of the ritual of “Chinthong Arnam” performed by the Karbis. “Chinthong Arnam” is the protective deities of the Chinthong region/province and the ritual is popularly known as “Vo’lok ase” (lit. Ritual of the white fowl). The paper also attempts to find out the importance of plants and animals in the ritual performances of “Chinthong Arnam”. For the present study, the data were collected during the ritual performances of “Chinthong Arnam” at Rongsamphri, Longkiri Enghi village, under Lumbajong Development Block of Karbi Anglong district of Assam (India). The fieldwork was conducted during the 1st week of January 2017. Observation and case-study methods were used for collecting the necessary information.
Keywords: Chinthong Arnam, Vo’lok Ase, Karbi, White Fowl, Sacrifice, Ritual.
Title: Cultural Implication of “Chinthong Arnam” Ritual Practice and the Significance of Plants and Animals: A Case Study Among the Karbis of Assam, India
Author: Longkiri Timung, Kh.Narendra Singh
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations
ISSN 2348-1218 (print), ISSN 2348-1226 (online)
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