Singphos: An Aboriginal tribe nearing Extinction

Margherita, Upper Asom, June 10 (UNI) Forgotten by history, scattered over three countries, united by a common bond of belief and religion, Singphos of Asom or Jingphows of China or Kachins of Myanmar, the same ethnic people are slowly facing extinction.

There are four settlements in a 50 km radius that are part of three sovereign states and four different world regions: Gohaling in Yunnan is part of 'East Asia', Sakongdan in Myanmar falls under 'Southeast Asia', Dong in Arunachal Pradesh is part of 'South Asia' and Zayu in Tibet in 'Central Asia'.

''Despite being citizens of three different nations, Singphos are united through a tight unique kinship lineage network of various spatial trajectories and social bonds, a commonly recognised lingua franca and a variety of tangible ethnic features,'' Rajeev Ningkhi, a scholar who has been working on Singphos for many years now, said.

Every year, in the mountains of eastern India, near Margherita, they assemble to celebrate the Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi - a festival that honours their ancestors, but is also increasingly becoming a rallying point for their own cultural identity, drawing participants from three neigbouring countries.

The Singphos of India, at least 15,000 in number and concentrated in the northeastern state of Asom and neighboring Arunachal Pradesh, are just one small outpost of far larger Kachin communities in Myanmar and China.

Buddhists by religion, they are apprehensive of their future in India, because of other larger ethnic groups, particularly the Assamese, who dominate the area, Mr Ningkhi said, who has documented several papers on this fascinating aboriginal tribe.

They speak the Kachin in a region where Assamese is commonly spoken language. They are Buddhists among larger populations of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Even their clothing - men and women often wear pants formed by cloth they wrap around their waist-- differs from the Western garb typically seen everywhere.

While India's North East is often riven by violent ethnic clashes, the Singphos, who sometimes refer to themselves as Kachin, are proud of their citizenship. The issue of cultural protection is largely focussed now on language and marriage.

Community leaders are requesting the state government to switch to the Kachin language for Singpho primary schools, and are also encouraging Singphos to marry within the tribe. While the task is daunting, they have not lost hope.

The Singphos, who are believed to have crossed into Asom in the 18th century, think of themselves as an international community.

They did not have any ruler till they were annexed by the British through a series of critical negotiations.

It was also the Singhpos who taught the British tea cultivation and of the first 95 boxes of tea that were exported to England, 35 came from Nirungla, a powerful chieftain of Singphos. Yet today, this community faces the reality of extinction.

UNI