Nyishi Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in North East of India. 2019.

145 Tribal groups and 220 languages in North East of India. 2019. I shot the only portraiture of one Nyishi tribe group in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, North East of India. The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in North East of India. In Nishi, their traditional language, Nyi refers to "a man" and the word shi denotes "a being", which combined together refers to a human being. The Nyishi language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family, however, the origin is disputed. Polygamy is prevalent among the Nyishi. The Nyishi are agriculturalists who practice jhum, known as rët rung-o in Nishi, which is a form of shifting cultivation. Traditionally, Nyishi plaited their hair and tie it neatly at the forehead with locally made thread. A brass skewer passes horizontally through the tied hair. Cane rings were worn around the waist, arms, and legs. Men wore a cane helmet surmounted with the beak of the Great Indian Hornbill. The usage of actual hornbill beaks is discouraged these days due to tough wildlife protection laws. The clothing of the men consists of sleeveless shirts made from thick cotton cloth, striped gaily with blue and red together with a mantle of cotton or wool fastened around the throat. The Nyishi women generally wear a sleeveless mantle of striped or plain cloth, its upper part tucked tightly over the breast and enveloping the body from the armpits to the center of the calves. A ribbon is tied at the waist.