The Mysterious Mikir Hills

First published in Sanctuary Asia, Vol. 44 No. 12, December 2024

By Dr. Shreya Sethi

As I watched  a Racket-tailed Drongo, the ‘King of Birds’, flit through the trees, I was reminded of the reverence locals have for wildlife. The drongo’s long tail feathers are often used in rituals, and each sighting is met with respectful nods from residents. As I moved deeper into Karbi lands, I encountered tales of ‘Invisible Villages’, or Rongbin, villages believed to be concealed from the outside world by ancestral magic.

Villagers shared stories of sacred rituals where young women encircled their homes with thread, causing the entire village to disappear, and appearing as dense forest. In these hidden realms, life carries on quietly, with villagers practicing traditional cultivation and livestock rearing. There are over 40 sacred groves in Karbi Anglong, with the Ronghang grove in Hamren considered the spiritual heart of the region.

A striking feature of Karbi Anglong’s conservation landscape is that nearly half of this forested area – 46 per cent, or 3,628 sq. km. – is under the stewardship of Indigenous communities, including the Karbi, Bodo, Kuki, Dimasa, Hmar, Garo, Rengma, and Naga peoples. Photo: Samsul Huda Patgiri.

Traveling into Assam’s Karbi Anglong feels like stepping into a world rich with ancient lore and biodiversity, where the Mikir hills and groves tell stories of days bygone. The journey often begins with an introduction to the Jambili Athon, a revered symbol woven into Karbi culture. This crafted wooden piece stands proudly in homes and institutions and is adopted as a coat of arms and logos, representing the Karbi philosophy of life and death.

At Chapong village, I learned of a mystical connection between the people and the land. The first settlers here faced strange challenges: after clearing land for farming, the forest would mysteriously reclaim the land overnight, as if to remind them of the grove’s sacredness. Today, these sacred groves remain untouched, protected by the community.

As I walked through the forest with local guides, they pointed out the signs of the sacred grove’s domestic animals, which incarnate as leopards and red serows. The red serow, a goat-like creature, is believed to be domesticated within the hidden village; hunting it is considered taboo, with transgressions said to bring dire warnings through dreams, and worse, curses that could affect entire families. These beliefs serve to protect both animals and forests, reinforcing a strong ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy that maintains balance between people and nature.

Tradition In Action

A striking feature of Karbi Anglong’s conservation landscape is that nearly half of this forested area – 46 per cent, or 3,628 sq. km. – is under the stewardship of Indigenous communities, including the Karbi, Bodo, Kuki, Dimasa, Hmar, Garo, Rengma, and Naga peoples. The remaining forests are managed by the Assam State Forest Department as Reserved Forests. Under this framework are ongoing efforts to protect biodiversity. Traditional ecological knowledge is deeply embedded in the region’s conservation practices, with Indigenous customs shaping sustainable resource use. The district has even dedicated April 6 as Karbi Okpru, or Fishing Day, to celebrate sustainable fishing practices.

A unique aspect of Karbi Anglong’s conservation lies in the influence of local cultural practices and traditions, as evident from the stories recounted by the residents. Recognising this, the district has been granted special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which led to the establishment of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in 1952, giving local communities a substantial role in governance. More recently, the Karbi Agreement of 2021 further strengthened the KAAC’s autonomy, promising greater administrative and financial resources to empower local governance.

A Karbi woman expertly weaves on her traditional loom. The Indigenous communities of Karbi Anglong exhibit a dual approach to forest resources, blending conservation with sustainable usage for traditional practices. Photo: Samsul Huda Patgiri.

The Indigenous communities of Karbi Anglong exhibit a dual approach to forest resources, blending conservation with sustainable usage for traditional practices. Through conversations with locals, I understood the duality of their relationship with nature – a balance of reverence and dependence on forest resource for traditional practices. Sacred groves are particularly emblematic of this connection. Visiting one of these groves, I saw how they also serve as sanctuaries for rare species such as the red serow and Malayan sun bear. Yet, the tradition of hunting still endures, creating a conservation challenge.

One example recounted frequently in local conversations was the plight of pangolins, whose scales are highly valued in traditional medicine. Pangolins are among the most trafficked animals globally, and this demand has made them increasingly vulnerable, even in Karbi Anglong. However, I was heartened to learn of community-driven efforts aimed at wildlife protection, particularly by the youth. Local conservation initiatives such as the ‘Save Karpu’ campaign, led by the Longri Chingthur Initiative Foundation and Youth for Nature  are educating people about pangolin endangerment. These initiatives signal a growing awareness within the community about the importance of conservation, yet there’s still a greater need for broader and more sustained efforts to protect Karbi Anglong’s diverse wildlife.

Contours Of Change

On a recent visit to Karbi Anglong, I had the chance to dive deep into the cultural and environmental transformations reshaping this remarkable region. Our journey began with a 70-km. drive along the Diphu-Nagaon Highway, and then a rugged 18-km. detour on a dusty kutcha road to reach Longhu, a hamlet in Chapong village. The air was thick with construction dust and smoke from burning garbage – visible signs of the infrastructural push that is altering the landscape. The government’s focus on infrastructure development is backed by major projects, such as the H3,994 crore Asian Development Bank initiative to improve road connectivity, and the recent Myntriang Small Hydro Electric Project, completed with an investment of Rs. 35.91 crore, which promises reliable power access – a step that excites local industries and agriculture. 

As we drove, the signs of jhum cultivation were evident, but one can see these replaced by rows of young rubber plants – a clear signal of the shift toward rubber cultivation encouraged by government efforts to phase out traditional jhum farming. Intrigued by this transformation, I spent time speaking with local farmers to understand how this change has impacted their lives. Rubber cultivation has brought some stability, with the area under rubber cultivation doubling from 51.72 sq. km. in 2011-2012 to 108.05 sq. km. in 2022-23. Yet, traditional tapping methods still prevail; farmers use simple knives, which can lead to irregular latex flow and even damage the tree. Without access to fertilisers, nutrient depletion is another challenge, which impacts soil health over time. The ecological cost of rubber expansion is a rising concern, too, with studies from other regions suggesting potential threats to biodiversity and soil quality.

Community-driven efforts aimed at wildlife protection are heartening, particularly by the youth. Local conservation initiatives such as the ‘Save Karpu’ campaign, led by the Longri Chingthur Initiative Foundation and Youth for Nature, are educating people about their natural surroundings. Photo: Shreya Sethi.

Passing through villages, I was struck by the abundance of bamboo; numerous bamboo thatch shops dot the roadside. Karbi Anglong’s Indigenous communities have long relied on this evergreen plant of the grass family, particularly Bambusa tulda and B. balcooa in the plains, and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii in the hills, for everything from construction to crafts. Bamboo is an economic asset here, especially since it was reclassified in 2017, allowing for more cultivation outside forest reserves. Ecologically, bamboo plays a vital role in stabilising soil and supporting reforestation. Despite the district’s abundant bamboo resources, recent years have seen increasing resource degradation owing to unsustainable harvesting and land-use changes.

Alongside these growing economic aspirations of residents, a recent study by the Forest Survey of India revealed concerning trends regarding the region’s forest cover. Between 2015 and 2019, Karbi Anglong lost 0.81 per cent (65 sq. km. ) of its total forest cover. The study further highlighted an annual deforestation rate of 0.63 per cent from 1988 to 2016, with a predicted rate of 0.21 per cent from 2016 to 2025.

In Safe Hands

With these transformations in progress, one can see the intertwined relationship of Karbi communities with nature. Thus, leveraging the same ethos, Karbi Anglong has embraced Community Conservation Areas (CCAs), which are natural or modified ecosystems preserved by Indigenous communities through customary laws and sustainable practices to protect biodiversity and support ecological health. Since the early 1800s, local communities have designated lands as CCAs to counter forest degradation and conserve wildlife.

Alongside growing economic aspirations of residents, a recent study by the Forest Survey of India revealed concerning trends regarding the region’s forest cover. Between 2015 and 2019, Karbi Anglong lost 0.81 per cent (65 sq. km. ) of its total forest cover. The study further highlighted an annual deforestation rate of 0.63 per cent from 1988 to 2016, with a predicted rate of 0.21 per cent from 2016 to 2025. Photo: Shreya Sethi.

Based on learnings from delineation of CCAs in Arunachal Pradesh, WWF-India is playing a significant role in formalising CCAs in Karbi Anglong, working collaboratively to empower local communities in sustainable resource management. Under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in collaboration with WWF-India is also developing a legal framework to institutionalise CCAs and enhance their role in environmental stewardship. Through initiatives such as the CCA Management Committee, villagers are given authority to oversee conservation efforts, embedding sustainable practices into daily community life.

Karbi Anglong stands at a crucial crossroad, where rapid economic growth intersects with rich cultural and ecological traditions. This is a story of hope for conservation, laying down a model for harnessing local knowledge and community engagement. Through the demarcation of CCAs, Karbi Anglong has the potential to pioneer sustainable development, demonstrating that economic prosperity and conservation efforts are not mutually exclusive.

And that sounds like hope to me.

Dr. Shreya Sethi Coordinator – Conservation Social Science, Wildlife and Habitat Programme, WWF-India, she focuses on developing innovative solutions, building synergies to mitigate negative human-wildlife interfaces around Protected Areas and in wildlife corridors and comprehending socio-economic drivers of wildlife hunting, conflict and coexistence.


 

join the conversation