Mithun in an Apatani landscape
This photograph of a mithun in an Apatani landscape was taken near Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf's camp site in the Apatani valley : a mithun bos frontalis, for Apatanis, as for many tribes in central Arunachal Pradesh, was a form of currency and ceremonial gift, to humans and the spirits, as...
| Full title: |
Mithun in an Apatani landscape [electronic resource] English. |
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| Format: | Photo |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1944.
|
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
This photograph of a mithun in an Apatani landscape was taken near Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf's camp site in the Apatani valley : a mithun bos frontalis, for Apatanis, as for many tribes in central Arunachal Pradesh, was a form of currency and ceremonial gift, to humans and the spirits, as well as a source of meat : today, although cash is used for currency and increasingly also for ceremonial gifts, mithuns are still sacrificed at large festivals : However, Apatanis own far fewer mithuns than in the past : Fürer-Haimendorf reported that before 1970, when an epidemic of foot and mouth disease killed nearly all these animals in the Apatani valley, wealthy men owned as many as 100 or 200 mithuns, and that ten years later, those same men had only thirty or forty : today, wealthy men own about ten mithuns, and many people have only two or three : In 1980, Fürer-Haimendorf also observed that ‘i : :f an Apatani is faced with a decision of sacrificing five mithan…or buying a second-hand jeep, he may well decide on the purchase of such a vehicle.’ As he predicted, Apatanis are now less likely to spend cash on mithuns than on other status symbols such as cars and modern houses. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1944.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Access: |
© 1944, The Estate of Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf. The Estate is currently (2015) represented by Nicholas Haimendorf, son of Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf. ----- Creative Commons (by-nc-nd). -- This image may be used in accord with Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs. |
| Place of Publication: |
India -- Arunachal Pradesh -- Lower Subansiri District -- Apatani River valley. |