Change is here

Change is here

The range of ecological dynamics the Apatani manage could make a professional ecologist tizzy. But even more mind-boggling is the range of socio-political dynamics that the people of the valley deal with and yet remain distinct. Till a few decades back, the Apatani valley was cut off from the rest of the world. They did deal with tribes uphill and the people downhill but their world was restricted. Austrian anthropologist Christoph von Furer Haimendorf, a frequent visitor to the valley, writes: "In early 1944, the influence of government reached no further than a few miles beyond the inner line (the official line beyond which outsiders have to take permits to enter the Apatani valley). The Apatani... had no contact with government officials. By May 1945, the picture had completely changed... . The government...trade depot had... brought Indian goods into the heart of the Apatani country".

Today, many aspects of Apatani life have transformed completely. Inside the valley, the youth talk optimistically of their fellow tribals who are thriving in other parts of the country. They wax eloquent about the select few who have made their fortunes abroad. It is easy for me to spout anthropologically and describe the Apatanis as enterprising. Let's avoid that. But one cannot avoid noticing the tin roofs all over the Apatani valley. All representations talk of bamboo hay roofs. None exist. Any time a village burns down (village fires are quite frequent), more tin roofs come up. The government provides subsidised corrugated tin sheets. It also builds cement-walled canals along the banks of the rivulet that flows through the valley. "It has, after all, decided to help us," Bukur says, a little exasperated.

He is exasperated because I don't understand his sentiments. "If the government builds a canal for the people, is that not perfect?" I ask Bukur. He puts my aspersions to rest, immediately: "Yes, the government does build canals. In a couple of years, the cement begins to crack leaving chunks of hard stone and mortar structures. We cannot rebuild the canal with our hands and bamboo after that. The canal simply dies." His village has suffered this ignominy before. So he knows. Other villages, he fears, will learn their lesson the hard way.

Other experiments have also gone awry. The government, in right earnest, introduced the grass carp two years back. The fish replaced the common carp bred in the wet-rice ponds. The grass carp, once it ate up all the nutrients in the water, ate up the paddy roots as well. So, the people reverted to the common carp, next year.

Government schemes are actually a mixed bag the Apatani have to live with and adapt to. Health facilities in the valley have improved, relatively. Education is a serious pursuit for everyone. As their world connects with the rest, the younger generation is trying out new things, looking for new opportunities. Some of them have taken to horticulture. A few others have started growing kiwi fruit. But there is no market, today, for the new Apatani products. This hasn't deterred the Apatani youth: they continue with their experiments in the hope of cash, and the attendant mobility.

Some Apatani youngsters have received education and migrated out to Itanagar, even further. They usually get government jobs. The fields and groves are left untended. Bukur believes that this is the biggest challenge before Apatani society. Tage Hormi, the head gaonbura of Lempia, says, "Many of us have gone out. So, we get labour or let others tend our lands. If this trend continues our system shall be under stress. We used to hold the Myoko when the seed germinated. But this year, we had to change the schedule to enable our people outside the valley to take leave and attend the festival".

Dollo believes the system can take the strain of migration for many years to come. He is more wary of people taking too easily to horticulture. "People do not realise that if they clear forests for horticulture the run off from the mountains will decrease, erosion will increase and the nutrient flow to the fields will reduce. Our agriculture shall suffer."

Bukur, who works at preserving existing traditions, is worried about the loss of knowledge. "Earlier, we extracted colours from plants for our woven clothes. Today we have forgotten the designs as well as our plants. Taxus bacatta used to grow in our traditional hunting grounds. Then the area was declared a sanctuary without our permission. Today the Talle Valley sanctuary stands there. Nothing is left of the plant, because it has been extracted for use for cancer treatment abroad. We did steal some saplings to try and grow them in our fields. Some day we might be able to regenerate them."

After watching markets toy with many other societies, one might resign the Apatani to fate and economics. But I see Dollo and Bukur also trying hard to keep the structure and strengths of their culture intact. And that makes me wonder: Does this valley need to be declared a unesco heritage site? Or should we sit back and watch it take the world on, on its own terms? I come back to Itanagar thinking this is one battle that just might be won. But when I go back to the Apatani valley, I hope to see the blue pine still standing and the canals still gushing. That, I acknowledge, is a visitor's perspective, not Bukur's or Dollo's. 12jav.net12jav.net