Decorating an Apatani ritual structure

Obscured by cane leaves is a small hut used by Apatanis for rituals, especially during the month-long Myoko festival : It is built of hardwood and bamboo : Each of the nine Apatani villages has one or two huts, which are owned by a cluster of clans in that village : On the third day of the Myoko fes...

Full description

Full title: Decorating an Apatani ritual structure [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: Obscured by cane leaves is a small hut used by Apatanis for rituals, especially during the month-long Myoko festival : It is built of hardwood and bamboo : Each of the nine Apatani villages has one or two huts, which are owned by a cluster of clans in that village : On the third day of the Myoko festival, a procession of men and boys bring clusters of cane leaves and wait outside the hut : Inside, two shamans chant and wait for another leaf, placed in a monkey's skull, to move mysteriously in the airless space : When it does move, the shamans shout, and everyone outside joins in, thrusting their leaves into the roof of the hut : that is what we see here : the enclosure with stones, in front, prevents dangerous spirits from entering the hut : On the house porches in the background we see stacks of newly cut firewood, also to be used in the festival.
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 -- Reru -- Apatani River valley.