Published Paper Details:

Land has historically constituted the foundation of social organisation, economic life, and political authority among the different communities in the world and Monpa of Arunachal Pradesh are no exception. Embedded within a complex system of customary law, Monpa land categories structured access to resources, defined social hierarchy, regulated inheritance, and mediated relations between households, monasteries, and governing institutions. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Dakpa-Pangchen region of Tawang district, this paper documents and analyses indigenous land categories such as Mang Sa, Khral, Ma Khral, Zhurpa, Gan Sa, and Parmong. This study argues that these categories function not merely as economic units but as socio-political institutions that ensured social balance, ecological sustainability, and inter-generational continuity. In the contemporary context, however, these traditional systems are undergoing transformation due to state administration, market integration, and changing aspirations. This paper further examines how these traditional categories translate into economic outcomes in the present day, particularly in the context of government land acquisition, compensation distribution, and shifting livelihood patterns. By recording these practices at the village level, the paper contributes to the preservation of indigenous knowledge systems and provides an empirical basis for culturally sensitive land governance in the eastern Himalayas.