Concept
The Adi people are one of the most populous groups of indigenous peoples in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. A few thousand are also found in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are called the Lhoba together with some of the Nishi people, Na people, Mishmi people and Tagin people. They live in a region of the Southern Himalayas which falls within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Mainling, Lhunze, Zayu, Medog, and Nyingchi counties in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The present habitat of the Adi people is heavily influenced by the historic location of the ancient Lhoyu. They are found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions within the districts of Siang, East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, Shi Yomi and Namsai within Arunachal Pradesh. The term "Adi" however, is not to be confused with the Lhoba people, since the Lhoba also includes the Mishmi along with the Adi people. All the ethnic groups recognizing themselves as "Adi" are believed to be descendants of the Abutani/Abotani. The older term Abor is an exonym from Assamese and its literal meaning is "independent". The literal meaning of adi is "hill" or "mountain top". The Adi live in hill villages, each traditionally keeping to itself, under a selected chief styled Gam or Gao Burra who moderates the village council, which acts even as the traditional court, referred to as a Kebang. The olden day councils consisted of all the village elders and decisions were decided in a Musup/Dere (village community house). The various languages and dialects of the Adi people fall into two groups: Abor (Abor-Minyong, Bor-abor (Padam), Abor-Miri, etc.) and Lhoba (Lho-Pa, Luoba). Adi literature has been developed by Christian missionaries since 1900. The missionaries J. H. Lorrain and F. W. Savidge published an Abor-Miri Dictionary in 1906 with the help of Mupak Mili and Atsong Pertin, considered the fathers of the Adi language or Adi script. Adi is taught as a third language in schools of communities dominated by the Adi.
