Apatani shaman leading a ritual procession
This man is Nada Bida, a shaman, leading a procession through the paddy fields during an Apatani feast Murung (Feast of Merit), : He carries a ritual fan, made of hornbill feathers, and he wears a woven headdress, woven jacket, large hoop earrings, a cowrie-decorated strap for his machete and a neck...
| Full title: |
Apatani shaman leading a ritual procession [electronic resource] English. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Photo |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1945.
|
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
This man is Nada Bida, a shaman, leading a procession through the paddy fields during an Apatani feast Murung (Feast of Merit), : He carries a ritual fan, made of hornbill feathers, and he wears a woven headdress, woven jacket, large hoop earrings, a cowrie-decorated strap for his machete and a necklace of expensive conch-shell beads : Underneath his common cotton outer shawl is a special wool and cotton shaman's shawl : Each year, several Apatani families celebrate this three-week long feast, involving mithun and cow sacrifice, public chanting by the shaman and complex gift-giving between the feast sponsor and various kin and ceremonial friends : During the procession, which takes place more than a week after the large animal sacrifice on the first day, the shaman leads a long line of young boys and men belonging to the sponsor's clan : Dressed in ceremonial finery and brandishing their machetes, they walk through the entire Apatani valley only 8 kilometres long and 4 across, visiting all nine villages and each ritual platform in each village : at every platform, they perform a simple dance and are given food and drink. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1945.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Access: |
© 1945, 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. |