Social distancing is aided by age-old rituals in Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh has no reported case of covid-19 death yet, but the north-eastern state bordering China is still following the 21-day nationwide lockdown. The challenge for the state’s administration is to get the public to maintain social distancing. However, in smaller towns and rural areas of the state, the lockdown appears to have been better accepted. All thanks to age-old social distancing rituals.

In the Adi tribal areas, for instance, local residents began implementing the traditional lockdown system called “Pator/Motor” a day before the national curfew. In areas where the Galo people live, villagers implemented Ali-Ternam—this prohibits the entry and exit of people into and from the villages two days after it begins.

In both cases, the lockdown begins with the “reading of the liver of chickens”—a ritual called “haruspicy” in Latin that was also practised in ancient Rome and Greece—by a shaman. These traditional lockdowns involve barricading villages with bamboo gates and sacrificing certain animals.

Ayem Modi, a local youth leader in Lower Dibang Valley district’s Dambuk town, and his friends have been taking turns at sentry duty since 23 March. “We have two teams of five people on roster guarding the gates,” he said.

The ancient “pator” ritual also involves animal sacrifice—in this case, a dog—which is then hung at the gates. The fact that a dead dog was left to hang and rot in public space did not go down well with the district administration and the deputy commissioner had to issue an official order prohibiting it. That has done little to deter villagers though. “We don’t do this for celebrations. This ritual is done in times of calamities including epidemics that inflict animals,” Modi explained.

Bomdo Kamki had to cancel his plans to visit Itanagar when the Ali-Ternam was implemented. He is with 300 of his clansmen and women currently under the lockdown. Both Modi and he said these are not new to their tribes and that these traditions have been in place for generations. The belief is that the ritual keeps bad spirits away and stops. The “bad spirit” in this case is the novel coronavirus.

As for their ration needs, the villages are better equipped, considering that most families grow their own grains and vegetables. Many even keep chicken, pigs, and the bovine mithun. “We only need to make sure that the supply of salt does not stop,” Kamki said.

Meanwhile, in urban areas, with shop timings regulated, there is a scramble for groceries. While the administration has been strict with the implementation of the curfew, online delivery services are fulfilling the shopping needs of residents in the state capital, Itanagar, which has a population of around 100,000.

In the absence of big companies, young entrepreneurs have stepped in. Doni Riba launched the Dukandada shopping app on 10 March, nearly a fortnight before the lockdown. Since then, he and his team have been busy. The overwhelming response from the people meant that Riba had to close daily orders on the app by 2pm. “We were getting around 300 orders at first but had to limit the number to ensure we are able to meet the demand,” said Riba.

Similarly, U Tell Us, an online utility services provider, has seen a surge in orders. “Earlier, we used to get around 50 calls a day but now, there are around 500 calls coming in daily,” CEO Dhananjay Morang said.

Ranju Dodum is a freelance journalist based out of Itanagar.