Negotiating a dispute in Arunachal Pradesh
These men are gathered in the Nyishi settlement of Talo to resolve a long-standing dispute between Nyishis and Apatanis. The man in the centre, sitting in front of the long piece of wood, is a Nyishi. In his right hand he holds small pieces of bamboo, with which he is enumerating his grievances agai...
| Full title: |
Negotiating a dispute in Arunachal Pradesh [electronic resource]. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Photo |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1945.
|
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
ASC. REGIONS. FORMATS. PHOTOS. RSEA. FURER. ILOA. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
These men are gathered in the Nyishi settlement of Talo to resolve a long-standing dispute between Nyishis and Apatanis. The man in the centre, sitting in front of the long piece of wood, is a Nyishi. In his right hand he holds small pieces of bamboo, with which he is enumerating his grievances against Apatanis by placing those small pieces on the long piece. To the left of this man, and behind him, sits an Apatani man wrapped in a shawl. He is Padi Lalyang, a rich and influential man of Reru village, who came to Talo, only a four-hour walk from the Apatani valley, to participate in the negotiations. Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf, who came here from the Apatani valley to oversee the negotiations, was only able to witness long speeches: 'The Daflas [Nyishis] seem to love arguing, and with men of so many villages assembled, there are everywhere mel [negotiations] and councils, with larger and smaller groups gathered around a claimant placing stick after stick on the ground and explaining in an endless flow of words exactly how many mithan, maje [bell], cloths and dao [machete] his opponent owes him. Usually the defendant waits quietly and when the accuser has at last finished, takes up tally sticks himself and proves not less eloquently that all the claims put forward are more than outweighed by outstanding claims from his father's or grandfather's time against the family of the claimant.' These negotiations between Nyishis and Apatanis seemed close to resolution when the Apatanis reduced their demands by three quarters, asking for the return only of bells and brass plates recently paid as ransom, as well as 36 mithuns. The Nyishis agreed but offered only 17 mithuns, and the ten days of talk ended in stalemate. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
[s.n.],
1945.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
ASC. REGIONS. FORMATS. PHOTOS. RSEA. FURER. ILOA. |
| 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. |