Distributing rice powder during an Apatani ritual
This Apatani woman in the centre is giving a handful of rice powder to a crowd of children and women : She wears a ceremonial white jacket and expensive set of necklaces, including one of chunks of conch-shells : Distribution of rice powder, which is eaten, is part of a complex network of exchange p...
| Full title: |
Distributing rice powder during an Apatani ritual [electronic resource] English. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Photo |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1978.
|
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
This Apatani woman in the centre is giving a handful of rice powder to a crowd of children and women : She wears a ceremonial white jacket and expensive set of necklaces, including one of chunks of conch-shells : Distribution of rice powder, which is eaten, is part of a complex network of exchange practices followed during major Apatani feasts : this occasion is a subu padu, a day-long animal sacrifice used to confirm the eligibility of a man to sponsor a large feast Murung (Feast of Merit), in the future : this woman also has the traditional facial tattoos and nose plugs : at about age five or six, tattoo lines were made by pricking the skin with thorns and then rubbing in a mixture of coal black and cooking oil : One line was drawn from forehead to the tip of the nose, and another five on the chin : about the same age, a young girl's nostrils were pierced and wooden pins inserted : a few years later, when the hole was large enough, wooden plugs, also blackened with soot and oil, were inserted : In 1974, a few years before this photograph was taken, the Apatani Youth Association demanded that these practices be abandoned, and today nose plugs and facial tattoos are only seen on women above 35-40 years of age : Her hairstyle and earrings series of small rings, have been replaced by other fashions : Her thick tangle of necklaces has also been reduced. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1978.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
FURER. RSA. PHOTOS. |
| Access: |
© 1978, 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. |