Nishy or Nyishi man - The Nishing are the largest groups of people inhabiting the major part of Lower Subansiri district. Their manfolk wear their hair long and tie it in a knot just above the forhead. A Nishi can be easily distinguished by his dress peculiar to his tribe.
A neatly woven cane cap which they call Bopia on his head, a knot at the forhead called Padum with a cane basket looks like haversackcall Nara, a smoking pipe in his mouth and a long Dao (long bladed knife) he looks like a proud man, proud of his race and tradition.They wear cane bands around the waist.They believe that after death the spirit of a dead travels to the 'village of the ancestors'. The Nishings belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group of people and their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.
The Nishi villages are rarely found in clusters. The tribe as a whole is fond of hunting and fishing in which they perhaps excel any other neighbouring tribes. Because of the lack of sufficient suitable land for wet rice cultivation, the Nishis are almost entierly dependent on slash and burn cultivation which is popularly called as Jhoom Cultivation. They cultivate dry rice in the slopes of the hills. Opo which is popularly called "Apong" is the only and popular drink amongst the Nishis.
Their life is full of rituals and festivals. Like menfolk, a Nishi lady usually carries a neatly woven cane basket for multipurpose use on her back called egin. The Nyukum festival which is celebrated every year with pomp and gaiety during the month of February is one of the important festivals of the Nishis.