Focus: GS I: History
Why in News?
Recently, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush attended the colourful Siang Unying Festival in Arunachal Pradesh.
About Unying Festival:
- Unying Festival is celebrated to mark the beginning of the Adi community’s New Year and the season of cultivation, as well as to strengthen the bonds within the community.
- The Adi people are believed to have migrated from southern China in the 16th century and they are a major group residing in the lower part of the Lower Dibang Valley district, particularly in the Roing and Dambuk areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
- They have a reputation for being skilled in crafting items from cane and bamboo.
- The Adis rely on both wet rice and shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, and they celebrate two major festivals:
- Solung, a harvest festival that involves animal sacrifices and rituals, and Aran, a hunting festival where all male members of the family go hunting.
