Between Tibet and Assam: cultural diversity in the eastern
Himalayas
Until 13 April 2009 / Room
91 / Admission free
The cultures of two tribes from the remote Indian state of
Arunachal Pradesh – the Apatani and the Monpa – are displayed in
this exhibition.
Museum objects are shown alongside archival and contemporary
photographs. The exhibition features recent research by a team
from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the
British Museum, funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council.
The Apatani live in the hills in the centre of the state and are
animists. Their economy depends on growing rice in a unique way
that has maximised yield in their enclosed upland valley. The Monpa
live on the Bhutan-Tibet-India border at high altitude. They are
ethnically different from the Apatani and are Buddhists, in the
past more closely linked to Lhasa in Tibet, than India to the
south.
The exhibition features rarely-seen objects from the Museum’s
collection, as well as contemporary materials, the textiles
are especially note-worthy. Other items include painting and clay
offerings from the Monpa, and objects connect to the Murung
Festival including an audio recording of a ritual text from the
Apatani. Photographs by mid-twentieth century scholars and
contemporary photographer Michael Aram Tarr feature throughout.
An Apatani shaman’s chant
These are the first two verses of a 12-hour
chant known as ‘Subu Heniin’ (Mithun Chant). It is performed by
Apatani shamans during the Murung festival. Standing on a platform,
the shaman invites spirits to the animal sacrifice and, in return,
asks for favours.
These lines were recited in 2006 by a shaman
called Mudan Pai, not during a live performance but in his
home.
Download
the audio file of the shaman's chant
A book to accompany the exhibition, Through the Eye of Time:
Photographs of Arunachal Pradesh, 1859–2006 by Michael Aram
Tarr and Stuart Blackburn, is available in the Museum’s shop.
Image caption: Two young Monpa boys,
Dirang Dzong, May 1956.
Photograph by Verrier Elwin, from the archive at the British
Museum
© Elwin family