Human life in those early days particularly in the Nyishi community was at the mercy of the Malevolent spirit (UI). Malevolent spirit (Ui) creates havoc and unpleasant situations in human life like natural calamities, famine, flood, drought, earthquake, epidemic, warfare, sickness and unnatural death, etc. When malevolent spirits (UI) wanted some animal sacrifice from humankind, they create havoc and an unpleasant situation on a human being or its surroundings posing a great danger. Anticipating the misfortune, there is no alternative, but to have succumbed to their tactics, Nyishi priest (Nyub / Nyubu) invites malevolent spirit(UI) and appeases them by offering animal sacrifice instead of human life. This processor system being practiced by the Nyishi community is called “UI PANAM” or “YULLO PANAM” in Nyishi.

There was also another nishi myth that the agricultural production and the prosperity of the human being were disturbed by the malevolent spirits (Uis). They are responsible for influencing poor germination of crops, poor yielding of field crops, damages of crops through pests, crops diseases, crops destroys through birds and animals, etc.

Nyishi in the olden days believes that such disturbances created by the malevolent spirits could be overpowered by the Benevolent Spirits (Good spirit) which is superior to the malevolent spirit. Therefore, Nyishi Priests appeased and propitiated the Benevolent Spirits to ward off malevolent spirit (U is) from creating unpleasant agro-climatic environments in the beginning session of the crop cultivation.

This process of propitiation was called “NYOKUM KUMNAM OR NYOYIN YINNAM” in Nyishi. This nyokum kumnam/nyoyin yinnam was a very small-scale propitiation where only one white-colored Chicken used to be offered as appeasement offering. This practice was performed at an individual family level at their respective field away from the village as and when requires.

Due to the changes made in the modernization process and acceptance of Christianity or other religions by the Nyishi community at large, this type of propitiation by animals sacrifice in the field ceased to exist in most nyishi families.

A need was felt by the elders of the community particularly Dr. Joram Begi and his comrades to have a common festival of nyishi Community and accordingly a concept of COMMUNITY NYOKUM was conceived in the year 1967. From this year onwards Community level Nyokum is being celebrated in all Nyishi inhabitant areas by involving all cross-sections of society irrespective of any caste, creed, and race. Subsequently, Nyokum Festival has been declared by the government of Arunachal Pradesh as an NYISHI FESTIVAL. The mythology and way of celebration of the community Nyokum were put to puzzled by different nyokum celebration committees in their own understanding due to the absence of concrete written guidelines. Many of the nyishi Christians, Nyishi Hindus, Nyishi Muslims, etc. keep themselves away from participating in the nyokum celebration reason being the practice of the ritualistic way of celebration. However, in the year 2021, for the first time in the history of the Nyokum celebration, large masses from the different Churches of Capital Complex joined the Nyokum and declared that year’s Nyokum as REFERENDUM NYOKUM for the Christian community. Accordingly, Nyokum will be celebrated by the Christians in the spirit of nyishi in the days to come and also participate in the nyokum where no ritual sacrifice is practiced.