Apatani shaman during a ritual procession

This man is Nada Bida, a shaman, wearing the distinctive costume of that specialist : He holds a ritual fan, made of hornbill feathers, with a cane-work handle, and he wears a necklace of expensive conch-shell beads, large hoop earrings and a woven headdress : From one end of the metal skewer throug...

Full description

Full title: Apatani shaman during a ritual procession [electronic resource] English.
Format: Photo           
Language: English
Published: [S.l.] : [s.n.], 1945.
Series: SOAS Digital Library.
FURER.
RSA.
PHOTOS.
Subjects:
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Summary: This man is Nada Bida, a shaman, wearing the distinctive costume of that specialist : He holds a ritual fan, made of hornbill feathers, with a cane-work handle, and he wears a necklace of expensive conch-shell beads, large hoop earrings and a woven headdress : From one end of the metal skewer through his hair knot hang thin metal chains : Under his ordinary outer shawl, he wears a jacket and not visible here, a shaman's shawl decorated in a special pattern : this photograph was taken as he was leading a procession through the paddy fields during an Apatani feast Murung (Feast of Merit), : Each year, several Apatani families celebrate this three-week long feast, involving mithun and cow sacrifice, 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 : Some of those boys are seen here.
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.