Tom Gibson
India's North East Frontier Area is bordered by Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh and is connected to the rest of India only by a narrow 20km wide corridor. Arunachal Pradesh is North East India's largest and most remote state. It has a great diversity of tribal people who speak over 60 dialects. In 1999, I was fortunate enough to be part of the second group of Americans to ever visit some of its more remote regions.
Typical Apatani village. Apatani towns are made up of neighborhoods that each surround a square. The squares have a platform for ceremonies. There is so little flat land in Nishi territory that they have to build their houses on stilts to keep the floor level on the hillside.
Mother and daughter
Apatani man
School children posing outside of their classroom with their teachers who are from mainstream (or non tribal) India.
The
Apatani women pierce their noses and wear huge nose plugs.
Some say that this was an attempt to make them undesirable to the Nishi
men who used to raid their villages and kidnap the women. Others say
that it was just a tribal custom.
Whatever the truth is, young Apatani girls are no longer following this
tradition.
Apatani village with forested mountains in the background.
The Apatani live on fertile land and are relatively prosperous compared to some other parts of India. They will sometimes hire people from mainstream India to help out with farm labor and other chores.
Photos © Tom Gibson
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