Politics of Cultural Representation: Practices of Tattooing among the Apatani Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh
Author: Tania Sen, taniasen1234@gmail.com
Department: Humanities and Social Sciences
University: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India
Supervisor: Sambit Mallick
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
Tribal studies
, Tattoo
, Cultural change
, Modernity
Areas of Research:
Communication, Knowledge and Culture
, Body in the Social Sciences
, Environment and Society
Abstract
This study focuses on the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh located in Northeast India. The primary aim of the study is to provide a critical understanding of the events surrounding the tradition of facial tattooing and nose and ear piercing within this tribal group. Such practice had been banned by a youth association (Apatani Youth Association) of the tribe since 1971. The Apatanis are unique in their approach to modernization and that is why they have been chosen for the study. The changes in the newly formed state of Arunachal Pradesh had, invariably, evoked several changes in the life and culture of its resident tribes. To grasp the reasons as well as consequences of such changes by comprehending them in a historical context is the focus of the study. The study shows how the economic and political transformation of the society has also brought along transformations in the traditions and culture of the society. It provides an understanding of the impact of, and consequent changes brought in by, modernity and Eurocentric knowledge system on the socio-cultural aspects of a society. This study provides an analytical framework to look into these changes.
Body modification has been an important part of many tribal as well as non-tribal societies, but by putting a ban on its own tradition, the Apatanis have opened the questions about the extent of the influence of modernity on traditional and cultural aspects of a society. At the same time, the indigenous knowledge system has also been put under threat by these changes. Such intersectionality of body as a space, modernity and knowledge systems is central to this study.
The research is an ethnographic study on the tribe, which is achieved through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Use of interpretive methods to get an in-depth understanding of the field has been used. Oral history and narratives are important to place the study historically. Secondary sources of data like books, colonial reports, articles as well as photographs and videos have also played an important part in data collection. The purpose of the study was documentation and analysis of the cultural system of the tribe and it has aimed to do so through a critical exploration of all aspects of the society.
