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- Permanent Link:
- http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOADI00035/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- This ritual is part of a wider complex of feasting known as Murung (Feast of Merit) (Feasts of Merit) : the event shown here subu padu, is used to determine the intention and eligibility of a man to hold a larger feast in the future, sometimes several years hence : In this preliminary event, a single mithun or cow calf is killed, as usual, with an axe at an altar erected in the sponsor’s back yard : the man swinging the axe is not a priest but one of the sponsor’s clansman, chosen by divination of chicken livers : this ritual was sponsored by Koji Taram : the Murung (Feast of Merit) festival is celebrated during the cold winter months in the Apatani valley in order to prevent illness or misfortune and to bring general prosperity : It is sponsored by individual families throughout the valley, each of whom voluntarily makes the decision to commit considerable resources to the feasting and rituals that continue for three weeks : Divinations by reading chicken livers and eggs begin months, even years, in advance, but the festival itself starts with an all-day chant by a priest : Standing on the ritual platform, to which the sacrificial animals are tied, he invites spirits and ancestors to the feast to ensure that the sponsor's family and domestic animals enjoy prosperity : During the long 12-hour chant, clan members decorate the mithuns with bamboo shavings, smear them with rice powder and pour rice beer on them : Once sacrificed, the animals' parts are given to specific people, both relatives and those with whom the sponsor has formed a ritual bond : On the following morning, hundreds and sometimes thousands of women donate rice and millet to the festival sponsor, which is then made into rice beer : a week later, in the early morning one piece of meat is distributed to every single family among the 30,000 Apatanis living in the valley : that same day a procession of men and boys, brandishing machetes, winds through the valley, visiting every neighbourhood in every village, where they are given food and drink : the procession is a time for pleasure and fun, including singing bawdy songs and waving phallic bamboo staves : today, the procession is more popular than ever; a recent Murung (Feast of Merit) sponsored by a local politician had more than 2,500 participants : Women, previously only observers, have also begun to take part. ( en )
- General Note:
- This item is protected by copyright. Please use in accord with Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC). High resolution digital master available from SOAS, University of London - the Digital Library Project Office.
- General Note:
- Dieses Bild ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Creative Commons (CC)-Lizenzen: Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 international (CC BY-NC). Dieses Bild ist als in hoher Auflösung zur Verfügung. Kontaktieren Sie den Digital Library Project Office an der SOAS, University of London.
- General Note:
- Cette image est protégée par le droit d'auteur. S'il vous plaît, utiliser en accord avec la licence Creative Commons: Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale (CC BY-NC). Fichiers numériques de haute résolution sont disponibles sur la SOAS, Université de Londres - le Bureau du projet de bibliothèque numérique.
- General Note:
- Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf (1909-1995) was born and educated in Vienna, gaining a PhD in anthropology from the University of Vienna in 1931. A grant from the Rockefeller Foundation enabled him to study at the London School of Economics, under the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski. In 1936, he went to the Naga Hills in northeast India for his first fieldwork; over the next four decades, he worked extensively in south & central India, northeast India and Nepal. In 1950 he was appointed Professor of Anthropology at SOAS, where he established the Department of Anthropology. During his career, he published seventeen books, most of them ethnographies of tribal cultures. He was President of the Royal Anthropological Institute (1975-77) and a pioneer in the field of visual anthropology.
- General Note:
- This scene was photographed on or approximate to 19440327
- General Note:
- Other designation of photograph: 156/36/blank
- General Note:
- Original Container: BW Negatives Box III
- General Note:
- For descriptive reference, see: PP MS 19, Diary, p. 11
- General Note:
- Haimendorf's reference: 156_36_blank
- General Note:
- The Feasts of Merit celebrate the power and deeds of great men: the practice of headhunting and their beliefs about death, fertility and the human skull. The ability to host a feast is a sign of a man's power. Conducted over several days, the celebration is comprised of several feasts.
- General Note:
- BW Negatives Box III
- General Note:
- Funded in the United Kingdom by JISC
- General Note:
- SOAS name authority for "Haimendorf, Christoph Von Fürer- (1909-1995); anthropologist" is GB/NNAF/P146323.
- General Note:
- VIAF (name authority) : Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von, 1909-1995 : record number 109123273
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- SOAS, University of London
- Holding Location:
- Archives and Special Collections
- Rights Management:
- © 1944, 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.
- Resource Identifier:
- PP MS 19/6/APA/0041 ( SOAS manuscript number )
156_36_blank ( Haimendorf reference )
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