Murung as a Ritual of Healing

Author

S. SIMON JOHN

Abstract

Rituals are symbolic in nature and it is related to tradition, supernatural spirits, belief systems, life cycle ceremonies, festivals, narratives, agriculture and healing. Many healing practices are performed in the form of ritual celebrations among the traditional societies and the shaman plays a signifi cant role in it. He acts as a ritual master, diagnoser, councilor and healer. Murung is one of the major ritual celebrations among the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and the primary function of this ritual celebration is to appease the supernatural spirits in order to get good health, wealth and prosperity. This paper documents the various components of Murung ritual celebration and tries to understand how it serves as a medium of healing, brings social status to the performer and it’s inter relation with other narratives and rituals.

Intro

The traditional knowledge of health care and healing practices is remarkable in India. It is vernacular and culture specifi c. In traditional societies, health and healing is mostly related with supernatural spirits, belief systems, food, rituals, customs and practices etc. The knowledge of illness, diagnosis and treatment are preserved in the form of traditional lores, rituals and practices in every society which determines the health culture of the society. The World Health Organization (2010) define traditional medicine as the “sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention , diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness”. As stated by Murdock (1980), there are natural and supernatural causes of illness. Natural causation refers to any theory, scientifi c or popular, which accounts for the impairment of health as a physiological consequence of some experience of the victims in a manner that would appear reasonable to modern science. The supernatural causation deals with mystical situations and the reasons for illness are related to supernatural spirits, sorcery, exorcism, witchcraft etc. Further, Michael Winkleman (2009) stated that the concept of culture is fundamental to understanding health and medicine because personal health behaviour and professional practices of medicine are deeply influenced by culture. Culture involves the learned patterns of shared group behaviour which includes health behaviours, particularly intergroup differences in health behaviour and beliefs. Culture is a principal determinant of health conditions, particularly in exposing to or protecting us from diseases through structuring our interactions with the physical and social environments. Many healing practices are performed in the form of ritual celebrations among traditional societies. Ritual celebrations in the form of festivals play a vital role in the socio cultural life of indigenous communities, particularly among the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. These celebrations are special moments and directly associated with supernatural spirits, rituals, healing, beliefs, social status, offerings, sacrifices, vows, performances, feasts and community participation. They also serve as a medium of constructing social identity, sharing of collective oral history and common ancestry, and promotion of the feeling of oneness among members of the tribe. With this brief background, this paper attempts to study the socio-cultural significance of Murung – a ritual celebration of the Apatani tribe domiciled in Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The primary data for this paper were collected through extensive fi eldwork in Reru village in Ziro valley during the natural context of the Murung celebration during the month of January, 2014. Apatani is one of the indigenous tribal communities domiciled in Ziro valley in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh at an altitude of 5,754 feet and surrounded by hill ranges in all directions. They are settled in seven different villages namely Hong, Hija, Dutta, Mudang Tage, Hari, Bulla and Bamin-Michi. The total population of the Apatani is 42,352 as per 2011 census record. Apatani tribe is popularly known for their indigenous knowledge system of paddy cum fi sh cultivation. A traditional belief among Apatanis tells that their ancestors came from a country to the North or north east situated near two rivers known as Supupad-Pudpumi (Furer-Haimendorf, 1962). However, the Apatanis or anyone else is likely to identify this legendary country of origin. All Apatanis agree that at one stage in their migration they crossed the Subansiri River from north to south and reached to the present place. Apatanis regard Tibet as their place of origin (Blackburn, 2008). The oral history of Apatanis refl ects that their ancestors assimilated Tibetan culture by wearing local necklaces – an important source of wealth and a marker of identity. The origin of many objects acquired by indirect trade is often imbued with prestige. The Tibetan beads, swords, metal bells and plates obtained by Apatanis were not locally; these were Tibetan in origin. The religion of Apatani is animistic and they perform various rituals to heal and protect themselves from the evil spirits and diseases. Every year, they celebrate three major festivals namely Murung, Myoko and Dree. Among these, Murung and Myoko are more religion-based, Murung celebration is initiated by individuals for various reasons and participated by the whole community and Myoko is performed by a cluster of village(s), while Dree is an agricultural festival.

MURUNG AS A RITUAL CELEBRATION

Murung, celebrated in the month of January, is the greatest rite performed by an individual and it is expected that every Apatani man should perform Murung at least once in his life time. There are two types of Murung i.e. Rontii and Ronser. This classifi cation is primarily based on the size of the celebration. Ronser is smaller in scale and an individual can perform this ritual with a sacrifi ce of one cow or mithun (Bos frontalis) and therefore the expenditure is comparatively less. Rontii is larger in scale and involves huge expenditure; it involves sacrifi ce of several mithuns, cows and pigs. Murung is a month long celebration and the pre-preparations like collection of f i rewood, bamboo and cane for basket making and ritual altars, pounding of rice, preparation of tasser (ropes to tie mithuns) and rice beer begin at least a month prior to the core rituals performed during the last seven days. Celebration of Murung involves the whole Apatani community and it requires much manpower to execute. The division of work and labour is well managed among them, and all components of the Murung celebration are worked out well before it is performed. The main reason for celebrating Murung is to appease supernatural sprits in order to get good health, wealth and prosperity. It is strongly believed that chronic diseases will be healed if Murung is performed. Certain occurrences, such as sudden sprout of mushrooms all around the house, are considered inauspicious and a bad sign. When a family member suffers from chronic illness or has inauspicious signs crop up, one decides to consult the nyibu (shaman) and seek remedies. Nyibu is considered the most knowledgeable person in the society and respected by all the community members. He is invited to the house and offered rice beer and a meal of cooked rice and meat, along with other elders. Thereafter, the shaman chants and reads omen with the help of chicken liver and / or eggs. This is known as Murung Pahiin konii. It is believed that after due consultation with the supernatural spirits, the shaman suggests the type of Murung to be performed. Generally those who are wealthy perform Rontii, and those who are not able to afford the expenditure perform Ronser. Usually, omen reading is performed in the month of November.

Collection of Firewood

Since Murung is celebrated as a month-long event during extreme winter season, huge quantity of fi rewood is required to fulfi ll various needs. Therefore the host family collects fi rewood at least a month prior; this collection of fi rewood is locally known as Yasang Panii. Generally it is collected from their own garden or from the community jungle. Traditionally, pine wood is preferred, but in cases of unavailability, wood from other trees are also collected. As a custom, at least one pine tree is felled from the host’s garden; this event is called Piichii Nanii. The Apatani people believe that the spirit called Puno-Sirro Uyi is associated with bamboo groves, forests, trees, leaves, cane, ferns and other plants. Therefore, before any tree is felled, they seek permission from this spirit; they seek forgiveness, and inform that the tree is needed to various deities, and not for any personal reasons. Men belonging to the family and / or clan go together for firewood collection. Apart from firewood, they also collect cane and wild leaves. After completion of the task, the men drink rice beer and partake a cooked meal before departing to their respective houses.

Construction of Ritual Altar

The altar known as subu siikha plays a significant role in Murung. The shaman selects an appropriate place outside the host’s house to erect the altar and gives all necessary instructions to a group of men for its preparation. The altar is made up of bamboo; bamboo shaves occupy the central portion, while small decorative bamboo ornaments are used to decorate the altar. It usually takes more than a day to construct the altar. At the front (of the altar), thick bamboo pegs are erected to which later mithuns will be tied and sacrifi ced. All the core rituals like chanting, offerings and sacrificing of mithuns, dogs, eggs, hens etc. are performed by the shaman at this altar. The sacrifi ced blood is applied on the altar and the sacrifi ced hens and eggs are hung up on the altar. All these rituals at the altar are conducted by men. Once the event is over, the altar continues to remain till it gets destroyed naturally.