Apatani shaman conducting a ritual prior to war
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Material Information

Title:
Apatani shaman conducting a ritual prior to war
Creator:
Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von, 1909-1995 ( Photographer )
Furer-Haimendorf, Christoph von, 1909-1995 ( contributor )
Haimendorf, Christoph Von Fürer- (1909-1995); anthropologist ( contributor )
Place of Publication:
[S.l.]
Publisher:
[s.n.]
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Materials:
Photographic film: 35mm B&W negative, Eastman Kodak : Super XX ( medium )

Notes

Abstract:
This is Chige Nyime, an Apatani shaman, conducting a ritual in preparation for a punitive expedition of Apatani warriors and Assam Rifles : Following this ritual in the Apatani valley, the expedition, led by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Capt : Davy, marched against the Nyishis of Licha, in the Kiyi River valley : Here, Chige Nyime holds a ritual fan with hornbill feathers and wears a war helmet and shoulder armour of the blackened fibres of the sago palm : the bamboo altars have been built to summon the dangerous spirit Karun, whose support is sought in war and hunting : to the right of the altar is a pile of shoulder armour : to the left is a dog, which was later sacrificed : Fürer-Haimendorf described the ceremony in his diary: 'Later Chige Nime in full war dress, with black fibre hat and rain cloak, leading a small black dog on a string and carrying a bamboo in leaf, came to perform the rite which precedes a raid : In the part of our camp lying nearest to Licha...he began the preparations for the rite : a small tree was erected and others set around it : Nime put his spear into the ground and tied the dog to a peg : then, looking in the direction of Licha, he and his assistant squatted down and started the peculiar diaphonal chant typical of most Apa Tani rites....Chige Nime invoked the spirits of heaven, forest, water and earth as witness that the fault of the quarrel between Apa Tanis and Daflas Nyishis : lay with the Daflas of Licha and not Apa Tanis : Licha itself was responsible for this war: so that no evil may befall the Apa Tani warriors participating in the expedition against Licha, may their daos machetes : and spears be sharp, but may the arrows and daos of Licha be blunt and incapable of harming Apa Tanis.' The chant continued most of the night, and in the morning the dog was sacrificed, the warriors danced and the expedition set out from the Apatani valley toward Licha. ( en )
General Note:
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General Note:
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General Note:
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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 19441212
General Note:
Other designation of photograph: 175/7/Apa Tanis DutaBage Llich
General Note:
Original Container: BW Negatives Box III
General Note:
For descriptive reference, see: PP MS 19, Diary, p. 60
General Note:
Haimendorf's reference: 175_7_Apa Tanis, Duta-Bage Llich
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/0528 ( SOAS manuscript number )
175_7_Apa Tanis, Duta-Bage Llich ( Haimendorf reference )