Arunachal Pradesh — Culture,
Heritage & Language

English is the official language; Hindi, Assamese and dozens of tribal languages — Nyishi, Adi, Apatani, Galo, Monpa, Mishmi — are spoken.

Tribal dress varies widely. Monpa men wear Shingka and chuba; women wear gown-like dresses with silver jewelry. Nyishi men wear cane caps with hornbill feathers; Apatani women historically wore nose plugs (yaping hullo).

Losar (Monpa New Year), Solung (Adi), Mopin (Galo), Dree (Apatani), Nyokum (Nyishi), Reh (Idu Mishmi) and Pongtu (Tutsa).

Thukpa, Momos, Bamboo-shoot pickles, Apong (rice beer), Pika Pila, Lukter, Marua flour roti and smoked meats.

Oral tradition is rich; modern Arunachali literature in English and tribal languages — Mamang Dai, Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi and Tongam Rina are notable.

Thangka painting in Tawang, Monpa mask dances, Aji Lhamu dance, bamboo-cane craft, carpet weaving and Sherdukpen wood carving.

The McMahon Line traces the colonial frontier; the area became a Union Territory in 1972 and a full state in 1987; Tawang Monastery (1681) is the second-largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery.