Jack Tayeng

The period from November to February is one of the busiest months for the villagefolks of Arunachal Pradesh as these months are for paddy harvesting.  Moreover it is also a time for heightened vigil as fire incidents mostly occur during this dry winter period.
To keep the village safe from any untoward incident during this period, the villagers of Balek, in East Siang district are practicing the age-old tradition of  ‘Lam-Kang’ (in Adi language ) which translates to ‘Village Guard'.
“We are continuing this practice for the last many decades to protect and save our village from any untoward incidents," said  Oyar Dai, who is one of the members of Lam-Kang. Basically Lam-Kang means Village Guard or Home Guard who keeps vigil and alerts the villagers to avoid any untoward incident in their absence, he added while informing that all Adi villages practice the system.
Narrating the history of Lam-Kang, Dai stated that earlier to avert any attacks from enemies on the village, Lam-Kang were deployed so that they can alert the village about the attacks, or to keep a vigil on theives who trespass during the absence of villagers. During any such incident, a team of Lam-Kang alerts villagers or forwards the message to folks who are busy in their respective paddy fields situated away from the village.
With the passage of time, the duty of Lam-Kang remains the same but now these teams keep a vigil on fire incidents and other incidents in the absence of villagers specially during November to February as these months are for harvesting and most of the villagers are busy in their fields.
 “Decided by the ‘Kebang’ at least six people voluntarily join the team and move around the village, shouting and alerting about fire and other untoward incidents," Dai says.
In old times, young people were appointed as  Lam-Kang but now there is no age bar, anyone who wants to volunteer can join the team. Every day, especially from the month of November to February  Lam-Kang discharge their duties until sundown  and villagers return home. If any untoward incident happens or a villager falls sick, Lam-Kang members work as the first responder.
“This is one of the oldest practices in Adi tribe to keep villages safe in the absence of villagers," said General Secretary-All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union, Tobom Dai. Being the first responder a ‘Lam-Kang’ gives their best to protect the village, they put effort to douse a fire, help the sick people, and avert any untoward incident, he added.
Situated more than 6km away from District Headquarters Pasighat, Balek village has at least 40 households with more than 300 population (as per 2011census). Recently Balek village has selected as the second cleanest village of East Siang district.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List