Arunachal's Wancho folktale to become first animated film from Patkai Hills

A traditional folktale of the Wancho community from Arunachal Pradesh's Longding district is being transformed into an animated short film, marking the first-ever animation project based on an indigenous story from the remote Patkai Hills along the India-Myanmar border.

The film is currently being developed during a two-month workshop at an animation institute in Bengaluru in collaboration with the UK-based Adivasi Arts Trust and the Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust, bringing together four undergraduate design students and two young Wancho artists under the guidance of animation faculty member Vijay Punia.

The project traces its roots to Kamhua Noknu, one of the largest traditional Wancho villages in Longding district, where UK-based filmmaker and cultural researcher Jonathan Hope documented oral narratives narrated by village elders during his postdoctoral research in 2019.

As part of the documentation, 32 traditional stories from Kamhua Noknu and neighbouring villages were recorded, translated into English by local school teacher Jatwang Wangsa and later published as a book in 2024.

The animation project focuses on "The Story of the Gourd", a culturally significant Wancho folktale narrated by the late Ngamchai Wangsa. The story recounts the mythical origins of Wangham, believed to be the first village chief, while exploring themes of traditional governance, agriculture, community life, territorial disputes and the relationship between people and nature.

The initiative entered its second phase in 2020 with an animation workshop in Kamhua Noknu aimed at introducing local youth to filmmaking and animation. A pre-production workshop held in 2021 brought together students, researchers, media professionals and Wancho participants to develop the screenplay, storyboard, character designs and test animation sequences.

Although the project faced delays due to administrative issues, fresh funding from the Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust enabled work to resume. The Bengaluru team has since developed handcrafted animation models and is using a stop-motion animation studio to produce the film.

Once completed, the animated short will be released in Wancho, Hindi and English as part of the "Stories of Our Ancestors" series, with the aim of preserving and introducing Arunachal Pradesh's indigenous oral traditions to younger audiences through animation.