AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 120 of 332 with systematic land-use practices and rich traditional ecological knowledge. Management of natural resources and conservation, acquired over the centuries through informal experimentation was their forte. The Apatanis used the most evolved form of wet Rice cultivation in Northeast India. Their tillage practices involved slash and burn techniques; they also practised terrace cultivation of vegetables, pulses, millets. Their facial features were not quite Tibetan as many had hooked noses and deep-set eyes and long faces too. The women wore distinct nose plugs that added a special charm to their naturally endowed nubile beauty of swarthy skins and fine features. Ever one for cordial relations, a pacifist at heart, it was only a matter of a few weeks that he had set up a communication link with the curious village of 'Apatanis' nearby. The Major was astonished by their simple trusting nature, though their unintelligible language fazed him. They had picked up Hindi and offered conversation! Today they speak fluent English thanks to the Missionaries who set up Churches as also schools to educate the young! There was a lot of to and fro between the Apatanis and the Workforce. The youth came over for friendly games of football and volleyball when the rains lifted! The Major was often invited as 'yemshe limeh' for their festivities of 'Yemshe' Festival or as 'Biting Zepo' (chief guest) and honoured with a huge recompense by way of pumpkins, gourds, and vegetables, that Langar in charge Sajjan Singh could exhaust all the recipes in his repertoire with! All festivities were communally preceded by a song or an anthem, followed by a band of dancers in costumes quite colourful, yet, the movements were bizarre with the swishing of Machetes and spears, thumping staffs on the ground, in a menacing way. Almost all the other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh have similar dance forms. Speaking an unintelligible language, it was a wonder to the Major that one of his sepoys had fallen head over heels for a young Apatani woman! The language of Love needs no tongue he reasoned and set about solemnising the affair with his old copy of the Gita, Distinctive Nose Plugs of Apatani Women