Inhabiting a secluded valley in the Eastern Himalayas, the Apa Tanis remained virtually unknown to the outside world until 1944-45 when the author spent several months in their villages, studying their internal social structure as well as their political and economic relations with neighbouring tribes. The economy of the Apa Tanis, who knew neither the principle of animal traction nor the wheel, resembled that of certain Neolithic societies, but the methods used in the exploitation of their natural environment were far from primitive, and a developed agriculture enabled a population of some 20,000 to live in one valley of 20 square miles. Originally published in 1962.

This book is an outcome of the author's longstanding field work and researches of different parts of western, central and north eastern Himalayas.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This study of an oral tradition in northeast India is the first of its kind in this part of the eastern Himalayas. A comparative analysis reveals parallel stories in an area stretching from central Arunachal Pradesh into upland Southeast Asia and southwest China. The subject of the volume, the Apatanis, are a small population of Tibeto-Burman speakers who live in a narrow valley halfway between Tibet and Assam. Their origin myths, migration legends, oral histories, trickster tales and ritual chants, as well as performance contexts and genre system, reveal key cultural ideas and social practices, shifts in tribal identity and the reinvention of religion.

The Book Is A Maiden Effort To Textualise Various Elements Of Religious Beliefs And Practices Of The Tribes Of Arunachal Pradesh