Culture of Arunachal Pradesh

The Tawang Monastery (400 years old) in the extreme north-west of the state, provides some historical evidence of the Buddhist tribal peoples. Historically, the area had a close relationship with Tibetan people and Tibetan culture, for example the sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso was born in Tawang. Another notable heritage site, Bhismaknagar, has led to suggestions that the Idu (Mishmi) had an advanced culture and administration in pre-historical times. Again, however, no evidence directly associates Bhismaknagar with this or any other known culture.

Karnataka also has a special place in the world of Indian classical music with both Karnataka (Carnatic) and Hindustani styles finding place in the state and Karnataka has produced a number of stalwarts in both styles. While referring to music the word ‘Karnataka’, the original name given to the South Indian classical music does not mean the state of Karnataka. The Haridasa movement of the sixteenth century contributed seminally to the development of Karnataka (Carnatic) music as a performing art form. Purandara Dasa, one of the most revered Haridasas, is known as the Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha (‘Father of Karnataka a.k.a.Carnatic music’) Celebrated Hindustani musicians like Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Basavaraja Rajaguru, Sawai Gandharva and several others hail from Karnataka and some of them have been recipients of the Kalidas Samman, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards. Kannada Bhavageete is a genre of popular music that draws inspiration from the expressionist poetry of modern poets. The Mysore school of painting has produced painters like Sundarayya, Tanjavur Kondayya, B. Venkatappa and Keshavayya.

Languages

Arunachal Pradesh is one of the linguistically richest and most diverse regions in all of Asia, being home to at least thirty and possibly as many as fifty distinct languages.

The vast majority of languages indigenous to modern-day Arunachal Pradesh belong to the Tibeto-Burman language family. The majority of these in turn belong to a single branch of Tibeto-Burman, namely Tani. Almost all Tani languages are indigenous to central Arunachal Pradesh, including (moving from west to east) Nyishi/Nishi, Apatani, Bangni, Tagin, Hills Miri, Galo, Bokar, Lower Adi (Padam, Pasi, Minyong, and Komkar), Upper Adi (Aashing, Shimong, Karko and Bori), and Milang; only Mising, among Tani languages, is primarily spoken outside Arunachal Pradesh in modern-day Assam, while a handful of northern Tani languages including Bangni and Bokar are also spoken in small numbers in Tibet. Tani languages are noticeably characterized by an overall relative uniformity, suggesting relatively recent origin and dispersal within their present-day area of concentration.

Finally, there is an unknown number of Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal-area origin spoken in modern-day Arunachal Pradesh, including Gurung and Tamang; not classified as “tribal” in the Arunachali context, such languages generally go unrecognized, while their speakers are largely viewed as itinerant “Nepalis”. The Indo-European languages Assamese, Bengali, English, Nepali and especially Hindi are making strong inroads into Arunachal Pradesh.

Source: Wikipedia