A documentary on cultural heritage of the Adi people of Arunachal Pradesh was released on January 11.
The documentary, prepared by Riwatch, was released by Arunachal Pradesh health minister Alo Libang in presence of Dambuk MLA Gum Tayeng, officials, and representatives of Adi Bane Kebang.
The 31-minute documentary is a part of the project sanctioned by department of indigenous affairs to document the cultural heritage of the Adis. It depicts the rich cultural values, ways of worship, different dance forms, rituals, ornaments, knowledge of herbal medicines and the folk songs that speaks about the history and migration of the Adi tribe.
It also includes the important messages by renowned personalities to preserve and nurture the age-old cultural heritage.
“There is an urgent need of documenting various facets of our cultural life before it gets extinct. Each aspect needs to be documented and elaborated separately. Our language, dance forms, agricultural system, art of weaving etc. should be recorded audio-visually and published for the benefit of younger generation,” said minister Alo Libang while releasing the documentary.
“Covering different aspects of 14 sub-groups of Adis in one documentary is really a challenge. It becomes very lengthy, hence it should be in small segments, may be on each group separately,” said Vijay Swami, executive director Riwatch.
Deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and minister for indigenous affairs Taba Tedir conveyed their best wishes on this occasion and assured government’s commitment to preserve and document rich cultural heritage of tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.
Earlier, an MoU was signed between the department of indigenous affairs and Riwatch for grant assistance by the state government to strengthen various activities of Riwatch.
