Apatani woman weaving

This photograph shows the traditional and still practised method of weaving among Apatanis : this backstrap style limits the width of any single woven piece, so that wide garments, such as shawls and skirts, required two or three pieces sewn together : traditionally, Apatanis obtained raw cotton by...

Full description

Full title: Apatani woman weaving [electronic resource] English.
Format: Photo           
Language: English
Published: [S.l.] : [s.n.], 1962.
Series: SOAS Digital Library.
FURER.
RSA.
PHOTOS.
Subjects:
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Summary: This photograph shows the traditional and still practised method of weaving among Apatanis : this backstrap style limits the width of any single woven piece, so that wide garments, such as shawls and skirts, required two or three pieces sewn together : traditionally, Apatanis obtained raw cotton by trading rice with Nyishis, who grew cotton on dry fields outside the Apatani valley : Wool arrived in the valley in the form of traded Tibetan blankets and jackets, which Apatanis unravelled and wove again : Cotton was rolled smooth by wooden rods, boiled and dried : then the fibres were dyed blue, orange, black and red, using tree bark and cane and by submerging in a paddy field : the bamboo pole in the foreground is used to straighten the threads on the loom : this young woman has the facial tattoos and nose plugs that were traditional at the time : 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 decade after 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tattoos are only seen on women above 35-40 years of age : Similarly, her hairstyle, heavy bracelets and earrings have been replaced by other fashions : Her thick tangle of necklaces, however, has changed only slightly : and today women continue to wear house keys on a chain around the neck.
Language: English
Published: [S.l.] : [s.n.], 1962.
Subjects:
Series: SOAS Digital Library.
FURER.
RSA.
PHOTOS.
Access: © 1962, 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.