Jhum cultivation practices of the Galo of Arunachal Pradesh

Jhum cultivation, which is also known as shifting cultivation, is the primitive form of soil utilization. The main characteristics are rotation of fields rather than crops, clearing by means of fire, absence of manure, use of human labour only and employment of dibble sticks or hoe. After two or three years the fields are abandoned, the cultivators shift to another clearing, leaving the old one for natural recuperation. This explains the use of the term ‘shifting cultivation’. The intervening period for which a Jhum land is abandoned is known as the Jhum-cycle. Jhum cultivation is a kind of subsistence cultivation. It is an age old system of agriculture among the different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The Galo tribe progress to full use of the ecological and environmental conditions to their advantage. The integral nature of their socio-cultural life is thus woven around Jhum which is not merely an agricultural activity, but a way of life. This paper is an attempt to understand the Jhum cultivation practice followed by the Galo people of Arunachal Pradesh. An attempt has made to discuss the various activities that are involved in the Jhum cultivation. The present paper has also thrown light on the traditional calendar including months and all the Jhum activities that is done in all the months.