Counting Apatani warriors as they march by
These men are using bamboo pieces to count the number of Apatani men marching to war : as each man passes, the man on the left, wearing a helmet made of the blackened fibres of the sago palm, places another small piece on the ground : the man on the right, with shoulder armour of the same material,...
| Full title: |
Counting Apatani warriors as they march by [electronic resource] English. |
|---|---|
| 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: |
These men are using bamboo pieces to count the number of Apatani men marching to war : as each man passes, the man on the left, wearing a helmet made of the blackened fibres of the sago palm, places another small piece on the ground : the man on the right, with shoulder armour of the same material, keeps him supplied with the bamboo pieces : Each group of nine pieces is crossed with a tenth : the passing warriors were part of an expedition, including Assam Rifles, led by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Capt : Davy against a group of Nyishis in the Kiyi River valley : these Nyishis, of the Licha clan, had for years waged war against Apatanis and other nearby Nyishis, taking hostages, stealing mithuns and occasionally murdering someone : the British colonial government was determined to break the stranglehold that this Nyishi clan held over the area, in order to promote civil administration and enable further exploration north, toward the McMahon Line : When the punitive party arrived in the area of Licha, Fürer-Haimendorf and Davy ordered the release of two recently captured Apatanis, a demand that ensured the support of the Apatanis in the party : Negotiations were held, villages evacuated, promises made, ultimatums issued and then ignored : In the end, houses and granaries thought to belong to those most responsible for the Nyishis' intractability, were burned in the settlements of Tabia, Bagi and Kirum in the Kiyi River valley : Several weeks later, this generations-old conflict was settled, temporarily, by the traditional method of dispute resolution, involving long speeches and the bamboo pieces as counters, just as they had been used to count the men marching to war. |
|---|---|
| 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. |