Banana stories from the Mishmi Hills

Banana (Aaumbo in Idu; general term) is ever-present in the hills of Dibang Valley, even at high elevations. The fruits or flowers from many wild banana plants aren't consumed by humans, although they make for a great feast for birds and mammals, or a favoured spot for spiderhunters to find spiders and insects in the flower.

Banana is also ever-present in Idu imagination - in stories shared and told since generations ago. In these stories, the behaviour and literal existence of snakes, insects, mammals, and human beings are intertwined with each other. Here are some snippets of these banana stories I've come across through work and friends:

Long ago, the snakes, bees, and other creatures had gathered to collect mra (venom). These included etambo (mountain pit viper), atatimbo (Himalayan pit viper), biyimbo (Russell's viper), angombra (Himalayan giant honey bee), aweya (yellow-jacket wasp), imibra (potter wasp), and more. The last to receive mra was bosombo (Himalayan trinket snake). All the creatures were asked to practice ena or restrictions for five days before they could start using their mra. Bosombo, however, was the most impatient one. Too excited to use its venom, it bit the stem of a banana plant. Alas, for failing to follow ena or restrictions, bosombo lost all its mra - it's non-venomous! In turn, the mra from bosombo entered the banana plant and since then, banana sap and other parts of the plant have a cooling effect.

In Idu stories, this cooling effect of banana is also the reason human beings exist today!

In a long chain of apocalyptic events tha happened in the past called Ini la phi, everyone was killed - burned, drowned, or starved to death. However, in a handful of villages where banana (ibimbu) plants were abundant, people managed to stay alive from the cooling effect that banana provided.

Some of you may remember the man and tiger-brother story of the Idu Mishmi people that had become quite famous recently. Well, the parents of the man and tiger from the story were also saved from the fires by taking shelter under the cool banana trees.

Fire is not the only thing the cool banana has saved us from. They say that the civet wakes up each day brimming with anger and a desire to war against the world, but as soon as it takes a bite of banana and calms down!

Banana plants are super cool - and if their ecology, abundance, cultural significance, and sustainable uses weren't cool enough for you, I'm sure these Idu stories are more than enough to change your mind.

A gorgeous Aaumbo in the forest behind my house in Roing, Dibang Valley.

Special thanks to my colleagues and friends from Dibang Valley for sharing these stories with me. :)