Co-existence of Indigenous Faith and Christianity among the Wancho People of Arunachal Pradesh: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

                The Wancho community of Arunachal Pradesh is one such case among many in the conversion processes which had been a part and parcel of the religious dynamics in Northeast India. The Wanchos Traditionally practiced an animistic belief system, which was based on reverence of nature, ancestor and headhunting, their supreme gods was Rang and Baurang. These cosmological beliefs underlay not only the religious life of the gods, but social order, agricultural methods, medicinal practices and morality. However, since the late twentieth century, Wancho society has rapidly converted, en masse, to Christianity, chiefly through Baptist and Catholic missions, as well as greater access to higher education and cultural contact with the neighboring Naga tribes (Hazarika et al., 2021; Chaudhuri et al., 2022). This is reflected in census data, showing the proportion of Christians among the Wanchos to have more than tripled in the past thirty years, from less than one third in 1991 to over 95% in 2011 (Census of India, 2011). No records are available after 2011 census, however sociological studies and church statistics have concluded that the Christian population continues to dominate through 2023-24, with a negligible presence of indigenous religious practitioners. The article examines the relationship between the indigenous Wancho religion and Christianity with a focus on their co-existence, interaction and conflict. Drawing on anthropological literature, census data, historical data, and ethnographic evidence, it explores the decline, adaptation and survival of indigenous religion as part of a majority Christian society. Other issues discussed are religious syncretism, cultural identity, inter-generational relations, the role of religious festivals, oral traditions and customary institutions in preserving indigenous culture, and the socio-economic and political factors of religious change. The latter includes health, education, and governance, which are all seen as factors promoting or weakening indigenous culture and its preservation. This article synthesizes various studies focusing on the Wancho conversion, and thus provides deeper understanding of the phenomenon of religious conversion among indigenous groups, while also calling for more ethnographic studies of Wancho religiosity, identity and persistence of culture.