Apatani shaman conducting a ritual prior to war
This is Chige Nyime, an Apatani shaman, conducting a ritual in preparation for a punitive expedition of Apatani warriors and Assam Rifles : Following this ritual in the Apatani valley, the expedition, led by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Capt : Davy, marched against the Nyishis of Licha, in th...
| Full title: |
Apatani shaman conducting a ritual prior to war [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 is Chige Nyime, an Apatani shaman, conducting a ritual in preparation for a punitive expedition of Apatani warriors and Assam Rifles : Following this ritual in the Apatani valley, the expedition, led by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Capt : Davy, marched against the Nyishis of Licha, in the Kiyi River valley : Here, Chige Nyime holds a ritual fan with hornbill feathers and wears a war helmet and shoulder armour of the blackened fibres of the sago palm : the bamboo altars have been built to summon the dangerous spirit Karun, whose support is sought in war and hunting : to the right of the altar is a pile of shoulder armour : to the left is a dog, which was later sacrificed : Fürer-Haimendorf described the ceremony in his diary: 'Later Chige Nime in full war dress, with black fibre hat and rain cloak, leading a small black dog on a string and carrying a bamboo in leaf, came to perform the rite which precedes a raid : In the part of our camp lying nearest to Licha...he began the preparations for the rite : a small tree was erected and others set around it : Nime put his spear into the ground and tied the dog to a peg : then, looking in the direction of Licha, he and his assistant squatted down and started the peculiar diaphonal chant typical of most Apa Tani rites....Chige Nime invoked the spirits of heaven, forest, water and earth as witness that the fault of the quarrel between Apa Tanis and Daflas Nyishis : lay with the Daflas of Licha and not Apa Tanis : Licha itself was responsible for this war: so that no evil may befall the Apa Tani warriors participating in the expedition against Licha, may their daos machetes : and spears be sharp, but may the arrows and daos of Licha be blunt and incapable of harming Apa Tanis.' The chant continued most of the night, and in the morning the dog was sacrificed, the warriors danced and the expedition set out from the Apatani valley toward Licha. |
|---|---|
| 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. |