Arunachal Pradesh Tribes Revive Indigenous Lockdown Rituals

A priest said it was the first time in four decades that the ceremony was done

- Rahul Karmakar

A tribal lockdown ritual has staged a comeback in Arunachal Pradesh, the State geographically closest to China’s Hubei province where the COVID-19 outbreak began.

The border State’s West Siang district ceremonially entered the Arr-Rinam phase at the stroke of 5 p.m. on Thursday. Arr-Rinam is the Galo equivalent of lockdown imposed by consensus for 48 hours whenever an epidemic strikes. The Galos, one of the 26 major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, dominate West Siang district.