Apatani Culture

The indigenous communities of north-east India are engaged in hunting-gathering or subsistence agriculture. The latter are dependent on their traditional ecological knowledge which includes forestry, medicine, as well as agricultural practices which range from shifting to sedentary agriculture (Majumder et al. 2011). Unlike most of the other tribes in north-east India who practice the destructive shifting or slash-and-burn (jhum) cultivation (Ninan 1992), the Apatanis are settled agriculturists. They depend on their traditional ecological knowledge, evolved out of centuries of collective experience and experimentation, for the judicious utilization of their limited land area, well-managed forestry, sustainable farming systems and local herbal

The eldest daughter receives her mother’s ornaments. Kinship is recognized on the side of the male line only. Monogamy is a rule and polygamy is rare (Kani 2012). The village council, priesthood and chanting of ritual text is an exclusive male reserve. Men and boys go for hunting and fishing and the women does all the household chores. They also participate actively in the paddy fish cultivation. They do the sowing, weeding, manuring and harvesting in the fields and also collect firewood, vegetables and fruits from the forest. Apatani women are known for their hard work. Among the Apatanis ecological knowledge and skills are sharply distinguished with age and gender. Older women identify the various types of paddy suited to the differing soil and condition and select the pure line seeds. As educated young women move out of the village the workload of older women is increasing. As the burden of food production is dependent entirely on the older women and the ecological knowledge of young educated men and women being frayed the sustainability of the use of resource is becoming difficult. Traditionally only men prepared the fields using spade but now the scenario is changing and many women are now working in the fields using spade. Earlier men only used to fetch firewood from the forest but now women are also seen chopping wood which is again an indication of changing conditions. Cooking, cleaning, child care still remains exclusively in the domain of the women. In addition they also have to prepare home brewed liquor for men. Increasing workload for women implies that they do not have enough time to weave the cloth for gaale (wrap around skirt) in spite of having basic weaving skills. In Arunachal Pradesh all crafts are gendered, pottery and weaving are women’s crafts which are barely surviving with government support and export orders unlike men’s