Coexistence in the Anthropocene: Tigers and Humans of the Dibang Valley

Abstract

In the Anthropocene and on the brink of the Sixth Mass Extinction, we are called upon to reflect on how humans can, do, and should live with other species on Earth. This article uses an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory, to unveil the multifaceted ways that tigers and humans have an impact on each other. The result is an interspecies ethnography of the reality of coexistence between two species recognized as dangerous to the other. The indigenous Mishmi people of the Dibang Valley provide us with a complex example, revealing that humans and tigers have equal roles to play, and the article highlights the flexibility of were-tigers and shamanism as one way to navigate this complex relationship.