Adi People

The Adi people speak language also called Adi, which is distantly related to Chinese and Tibetan languages. The word “Airudo” (thank you) is the connector between the tribe and Western world as English is very little spoken.

Adi people life

The Adi live in a wild and beautiful area. There are more than 500 species of orchid here; elephants, tigers and leopards live in the abundant forest, along with the white-browed gibbon, civets, the sloth bear, the Himalayan black bear, the red panda and many species of deer. The 100,000-strong Adi are one of 25 major tribes who live in the state, along with a number of sub-tribes.

Village people would curiously look at me, not many tourists make it out here to East Siang region. Even dogs and other domestic animals act anxiously smelling unknown “species”.

The Adi constructs their houses with locally available materials such as bamboos, woods, canes or leaves without use of nails. Their houses are raised well above the ground with the help of stilts, on which are tied wooden beams making the level floor. The roof is made from dry paddy straws, leaves or thatch grass.

The houses have no windows making the living space dark or with limited sunlight getting through the spaces between wooden walls. Inside the house, is a big room, which serves the purpose of sleeping, living, cooking and dining. Some houses have divided into few chambers for married couples and young girls to have separate rooms. The centre of the main room is fire place, where the family gathers for cooking and resting.

The Adi are self-sufficient thanks to the cultivation of rice, growing crops in the thin mountain soil. Rice serves as the staple food for them. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 Trapping and hunting, increasingly with firearms, supplements the diet. Adi eats most birds and animals and even some insects, only rejecting snakes and pets such as cats and dogs. The favourite prey is the abundant field rat, prepared in various ways.