Abstract:

This ethnographic study examines how community is formed among the people living in the Dulong Valley of the southern Himalayas. It explores how valley residents developed survival strategies in response to their ecological environment and shifting political landscapes, which transformed their daily lives and organizational structures. These changes ultimately shaped the Dulong community as it exists today. Using a historical perspective, the study employs participant observation, interviews, and archival research to trace the transformation of the valley’s social fabric. It aims to investigate the organizational structures of society and the underlying causes within a specific ecological environment by analyzing the formation process of this valley community.

The study demonstrates that a unified valley society did not emerge spontaneously from shared geography, despite early external classifications based on physical boundaries. Historically, the valley’s severe ecological environment constrained people’s daily activities and interactions, resulting in a population dispersed across isolated hamlets. A fundamental transformation in livelihoods and social organization was only catalyzed by successive intervention of external political forces. The current state apparatus has thoroughly altered the valley’s ecological conditions, established a distinct political hierarchy, and created cultural symbols representing the collective identity of those living within its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, residents have engaged with and adapted to state discourse on ethnicity to advance their own practical interests. This study argues that the present-day Dulong valley society is not a natural ecological by-product, but rather the complex result of environmental constraints synthesized with active political intervention.