A unique tribal group practicing an eco-preserving agro-technique by a women empowered society

Manisha Deb Sarkar 

Planning the visit: 

Ziro valley – Homeland of Apatani tribe

It was 2016. I was sitting unperturbed as the steady grip of Dr. Rupa holding her ‘Bolero’ steering was slowly crawling up the scary zig-zag roadways leading me to Ziro, a unique town in Arunachal Pradesh. Dr. Rupa and her family lives here. She hails from the non-nomadic Apatani ethnic tribal group and is presently working as Assistant Professor of Geography at Rajiv Gandhi National University in Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh. I expressed my desire to visit her hometown and talk with this unique tribal people. Dr. Rupa gladly took me over there and helped me in two ways. Firstly, she made me acceptable to the people and thereafter acted as an interpreter. From our conversations many unique features were unfolded to me. 

Pre-ideas: 

Nursery bed for sowing paddy saplings

Mountain-girt valley and the centrally located paddy field

Apatani women – farmers and farm land owners

Forest at the fringe of the homesteads 

Ziro is the homeland of Apatani tribe and the district headquarter of Lower Subansiri District in Arunachal Pradesh. It is a very old town with an elevation of 1688 metres (5538 feet) to 2438 metres (8000 feet).  The geological and topographical setting of the village where Apatani tribes live has given them the seclusion and privilege to invent and apply a unique system of agricultural practice where the production is varied and most eco-friendly. This uniqueness has attributed the village the recognition of UNESCO as a world heritage site. Despite the insurgence in the application of modern agricultural techniques around this tribal group is carrying on the system in a most sustainable manner for centuries. Their indigenous knowledge and technology is unparalleled in the world. 

Canals – to supply water to the paddy field and for simultaneous fish rearing

Catching fish from the canals

Apatanis are not only self-sufficient in their subsistence level of food production but are also characterized by strong women participation in the whole gamut of work. Right from seed sowing in the field up to harvesting of crops is efficiently being done by the women. Males only carry these to the local market for selling. Pisciculture is another notable feature which is being carried by them in the same field very successfully. It is a simultaneous practice with rice cultivation in the same field. The weekly fish market displays a good variety of local fish. The water management system in the paddy fields using the slope of the land is fascinating. 

My quest begins:

Apatani woman selling vegetables in the weekly market at Ziro

Fish market 

On the next day of my arrival at Ziro I set out to visit the village and the people. The village is few kilometres away from the town. As we walked down the kutcha road the picturesque village at a distance appeared to be nestling in the lap of nature amidst the vast expanse of green paddy fields. The homesteads are all huddled together on the fringe of the sustainable social forestry belt which is creating a buffer between the mountain range and the valley plains. The plain land is basically a mountain-girt basin. Numerous rain-fed streamlets flow along the slope and across the rain forest towards this central plain land which eventually is the paddy field. 

Apatani woman with the author – her age nearing hundred years (her nose plugs are noticeable)

A typical attire to carry babies

I was narrated about the judicious use of water and the slope where not a drop of water is wasted. The network of cut-out canals and the distributing the water flow to reach each plot of land based on slope and calculated time was absolutely a stunning experience to me.  The entire landscape both on flat land as well as hillocks steps are carved out and terracing farming is practised. Apatanis possess rich knowledge about the local ecosystem follow conventional methods of farming and do not use machines or animals. Nutrient loss with crop harvest is replaced by recycling crop residues and use of organic wastes of the villages so that soil fertility is sustained year after year.

Cane basket – an example of Apatani handicraft 

A place of worship just outside the house

Most impressive was to observe the extraordinary wetland paddy cultivation. The water used for rice cultivation is also used to rear fish. Common carp fish is the species that is reared. The breeding happens simultaneously once the seedlings of the paddy are transplanted. The harvest of both rice and fish happen in quick succession. This model is seen as an excellent and optimum way to utilise the available natural resources. Apatanis maintain a symbiotic and harmonious relationship with their land, making the coexistence highly beneficial for the overall ecosystem of the valley.

A peep inside the village home:

Kutcha road inside the village

The fire oven and the stack of logs (buffalo skull glorifying the past hunting culture)

All houses in the village are built with locally available raw materials. Wood and bamboos from the forests are collected. Most of the houses are single storied located by the village streets. Each house has its place for worship, a flat open space to dry grains or to make some handicrafts and household articles from cane and wood. They also domesticate small animals and birds.  

Apatanis are rice and fish eaters. Fish or corn is grilled inside the main big spacious room and the grill oven is usually placed at the centre of the room. They also store grilled fish or corn for the rest part of the year. Buffalo meat is another liked food item which they buy from the market. 

Community centre – for gathering at the time of festivals or public address

Homemade grilled fishes 

Community meeting centre is their favourite spot where festivals and cultural activities are performed and from here common people are addressed by village heads. Apatani women decorate themselves with typical nose plugs and facial tattoos. This tradition is non-existent now. It began long years back when men of other tribes around often used to steal the beautiful Apatani women. This led the Apatani men to tattoo their women and make them wear nose plugs with an idea to look them less appealing. 

 

The best time to visit the place is during the Murung rituals in January or during the Dree Festival in July where they practice animal sacrifices to honour their Gods.

Apatani notion is relevant in the present day context:

The notion of Apatani people in the context of the modern world’s relationship with nature is highly significant. Today, as we see, technology is mostly used adversely to destroy the precious resources of nature that we are endowed with. The Ziro valley presents an example of how co-existence of man and nature has been perfected over the centuries by the Apatani civilization.

*All photographs are taken by the author

*Retd. Associate Professor

Department of Geography

Women's Christian College