In the mythology of the Donyi-Polo faith, as practiced by the Adi people of Arunachal Pradesh, Banji-Banmang is the first-born son of the primordial couple Pedong Nane and Yidum Bote, who are also the ancestors of humans. He is an evil and bloodthirsty spirit.

The term Banji-Banmang is also used to describe this first-born son’s progeny — a whole clan of destructive, malevolent supernatural beings. The Banji-Banmang reside in their own land or plane of existence, separate from our own.

Occasionally they visit us. A Banji-Banmang comes in the shape of an eagle, flying high over the land in search of smaller birds and mammals to prey upon. Sometimes they take human babies.

They can also take a humanoid shape when they need to walk on the ground. In this form, they are seen to always be carrying a gourd full of human blood.

It is believed that the spirits of soldiers who have died in wars travel to the plane of the Banji-Banmang to spend the afterlife.

The Banji-Banmang once tried to take control of our world as well. They were thwarted by a goddess named Misum-Miyang, who cut off her own fingers one by one and planted them in the earth. Her severed fingers then grew into the sacred ginger roots that bind the worlds together. This legend is recounted during the Adi marriage ceremony, in which several varieties of ginger (galangal, cassumunar ginger, etc.) have ritual significance.

When a woman cannot conceive, the Banji-Banmang are thought to be responsible.

One of Banji-Banmang’s daughters is Banji Medeng Sene, the spirit of lies, treachery, and vanity. She remains active in the human realm today as the force that inspires con-men and scam artists.