The Institution of Slavery among the Tawra Mishmis: A Socio Anthropological Analysis.

This study interrogates the indigenous institution of slavery, known as the Po system, among the Tawrä Mishmis of Arunachal Pradesh, analyzing its structural function in the regulation of labour, the consolidation of domestic authority, and the reproduction of social hierarchy within a decentralized political formation. Methodologically grounded in a qualitative approach that synthesizes primary semi-structured interviews with secondary historical analysis, the research delineates the aetiology of bondage as being rooted in debt, penal servitude, and hereditary transmission, supplemented by regional exchange networks. The article argues that while the Po system aligned with the theoretical model of "paternal slavery"—evidenced by the spatial integration of the enslaved into the master’s household and the semantic utilization of fictive kinship terms—it nonetheless functioned as a rigid regime of domination. The study demonstrates that despite the veneer of familial intimacy, structural asymmetry was sustained through economic barriers to marriage (specifically bride price obligations), the intergenerational transmission of servile status, and enduring social stigma. Furthermore, the possession of Po is identified as a critical determinant of prestige and economic stability within the household economy. Finally, the inquiry addresses the historical trajectory of the institution following the Indian Slavery Act of 1843, revealing a disjunction between statutory abolition and local practice, characterized by a gradual decline and the eventual spatial reorganization of the servile population.