ABSTRACT
Animism is arguably the most ancient and universal religion of humans. This religion makes no distinction between humans and ‘other-than-humans’ comprising animals, birds, mountains, rivers, lakes, spirits, etc. Before the tribes of Northeast India embraced Christianity, they have been invariably mentioned as animists. Many tribes of the region are still following Animism, but they are reforming their Animisms to bring their religions on par with the organized religions. In spite of reforms, this religion has not received the recognition it deserves from the organized religions or the nation-states of the world. Even academically, this entry shows that scholars avoided using the word ‘Animism’ until the ‘New Animism’ movement started with the influential writings by Irving Hallowell, Philippe Descola, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Tim Ingold, and Nurit Bird-David.
