As you drive into Dibang Valley Arunachal Pradesh, you can't help but be consumed by the scale
and depth of its greenness. It stretches
relentlessly - from its summit of rock and ice
to the glistening depths of the Dibang river beneath. The landscape is at once ominous and hopeful. This formidable greenness hides many secrets. Here, tigers, clouded leopards, and Asiatic wild dogs prowl the mountains, preying on both flesh and spirit. Semi-domesticated gaur (mithun) and Mishmi takin, furrier renditions of
the African wild beast, stand proud atop Mithun, the semi-domesticated gaur, is a precious animal for the Idu Mishmi of Dibang Valley mountain precipices, staring down the clouds. This is the traditional homeland of
the Idu Mishmi people. Here, Idu shamans
(priests) fly treacherously over sky-high peaks to journey into the land of the spirits. Dibang Valley also guards a beautiful,
complex, and fragile story. This is the story of the Idu-wildlife relationship that challenges the simple binaries and assumptions that underlie our understanding of the natural world. Notice the use of "relationship" as
opposed to "conflict" to describe human wildlife interactions? It is intentional as it encapsulates the true scope of interactions
between the Idu and wildlife. It is intentional
as it tries to course-correct decades of
misguided preconceptions.