Why is it in the News?

Children of the Lisu and Singpho communities in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam are named according to the order they are born in the family, incorporating numbers into their names.

News Summary:

• In the Lisu or Yobin community of Arunachal Pradesh, names reflect the birth order of children, a tradition emphasizing familial hierarchy and cultural heritage.
• This practice underscores the community's deep-rooted connection to family and tradition.
• Recently, Birdwatchers discovered a new species of wren babblers in remote northeastern Arunachal Pradesh, aptly named the Lisu wren babbler.

Lisu and Singpho communities:

• The Lisu and Singpho communities, belonging to the Tibeto-Burman ethnic family, share a unique tradition of employing numbered names to denote birth order within their families, serving as a testament to their ethnic cohesion and rich cultural legacy.
• This naming tradition is prevalent among the Lisus, spanning regions such as Arunachal Pradesh, China, Myanmar, and Thailand, as well as the Singphos, who are prominent in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India.
  • The Singphos, an ethnic community believed to have originated from the Kachin peoples, migrated from regions including upper Myanmar, Southwestern China, and Northern Thailand to settle in the eastern areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Both communities adhere to specific naming sequences for boys and girls, supplemented by strategies to prevent confusion in cases of similar name counts within families, such as the use of prefixes or suffixes.
• Furthermore, names may incorporate clan or ancestral references, adding layers of cultural and familial significance to the naming tradition, which underscores the profound connection to tradition and the enduring importance of family and clan identities within these communities.

About Wren Babblers:

• Belonging to the babbler family Timaliidae, Wren Babblers encompass approximately 20 small Asian bird species.
• Characteristics: These birds typically measure between 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) in length, featuring short tails and straight bills.
• Natural Habitat: Primarily found in southern Asia, Wren Babblers inhabit various ecological niches.
• Grey-bellied Wren Babblers: A closely resembling species to this newly discovered one, predominantly inhabit regions of Myanmar, with smaller populations also found in China and Thailand.

Why is it in the News?

Four of the 20 relics of Lord Buddha preserved at the National Museum are being taken to Thailand for a month-long exposition beginning recently, in a rare trip abroad for the delicate antiquities recovered more than a century ago.

About the Relics of Lord Buddha:

• The relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples Arahata Sariputra and Arahata Maudgalayana are known as the ‘Kapilvastu Relics.’
• The relics date back to around the 4th or 5th Century BC.
• They were found in Bihar’s Piprahwa — a site that is believed to be the ancient city of Kapilvastu.
  • Piprahwa today is located in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district.
• The relics were discovered by a team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials in the 1970s.
  • The ASI conducted excavations at Piprahwa from 1971-77 under the supervision of the archaeology director KM Srivastava.

History:

• Lord Buddha achieved Mahaparinirvana at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.
• The Mallas of Kushinagara cremated his body with ceremonies befitting a ‘Universal King’ (‘cakravartin’).
• His holy relics, from the funeral pyre, were collected, divided and given by Brahmin priest Dhona of Kushinagar to kings and priests.
  • The eight shares were distributed among Ajatashatru of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vaishali, the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, Mallas of Kushinagar, Bullies of Allakappa, the Mallas of Pava, the Koliyas of Ramagrama and a Brahmana of Vethadipa.
  • The sacred relics were commemorated in eight different stupas.
• Two more stupas came into existence, one over the urn in which the relics had been collected and one over the embers.
• Thus, stupas erected over the bodily relics of Buddha (Saririka-stupas) are the earliest surviving Buddhist shrines.
• It is stated that Ashoka (circa 272-232 BC), being an ardent follower of Buddhism, opened up seven of these eight stupas, and collected a major portion of the relics for enshrinement within innumerable stupas built by him to popularise Buddhism and spread dharma.
• In 1898, the discovery of an inscribed casket by William Claxton Peppé, a British colonial engineer and an estate manager at a Buddhist stupa site at Piprahwa, was an epoch-making incident.
  • The inscription on the lid referred to the relics of Buddha and his community.
• The bone relics present in the stone coffer were presented to King Rama V of Thailand.
• The relics were further divided into three shares and gifted to Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
  • In Thailand, the holy relic has been enshrined in a chedi on the top of Suwanbanphot, Bangkok.
• Every year, during the Loi Krathong Festival, there is a seven-day and seven-night celebration, which has become a tradition to worship the Buddha’s relics.