Tiipe - the Body Art

Tiirii tiipe pa pa
Yapiñ tiipe pa pa
Nyachu piñpu pa pa
Goñpii tiipe pa pa
Pakii giilyu, giilyu, giilyu

The Apatani children used to grow up with the playful voices of their mothers singing this rhyme while mockingly putting tattoo (tiipe) on the face of the child, starting from the forehead (tiirii), nose (yapiñ) and the chin (goñpii) with her finger. Finally, she would tickle the child's chest making her laugh gleefully.

Apart from yapiñ and yaru hullo, tiipe is another form of body arts, practiced by the Apatanis. It was a painful and bloody process as the soot had to be stuck into the skin with thorns. Some children have said to have looked forward to the occasion when their face will be tattooed, but most understandably dreaded it.

Pine and Rhododendron

Dreams and shadows. Mirror images.


While climbing the gentle slopes of North Mountain in Pendleton County (West Virginia) today, I felt like I am still trekking in the Talle Valley photographing sugar pines and rhododendrons as I was doing last month. It is yellow pine here, though.

And pink rhododendrons!

In any corner of the world, Ziro never cease to haunt me.

Got the Message?

A concrete tablet I found somewhere at Ziro.

It is the message that matters more!

Floriculture

Flowers like Neha apu and sanji apu have always played major roles in the lives of the Apatani people. Love for beauty, and so for flower, seems to be growing. Floriculture has made an entrance at Ziro.

The one shown in the picture is located in the Bamiñ Rañtii between Hapoli and Old Ziro. Good collection of various ornamental flowers - almost all pot flowers. I could not see any cut flower, cut foliage, seed bulb, rooted cuttings, and so on which are parts of floriculture. Good collection for a beginning, though.

Stop by and visit the Diilyang Diibyu Welfare Society, running the establishment.

Tarin

The Apatanis have always practiced multicropping in their paddy fields. Bulyu, tasiñ, ngiiyi amii and chunyi have always been harvested. These can be said to be the harbinger of the present day paddy-cum-pisciculture.

The practice got a major boost with the establishment of the Regional High Altitude Fish Seed Farm at Tarin near Ziro.

Till recently this picturesque site was the most popular picnic spot every new year. This trend, happily, has been checked to a large extent now. And other better sites are replacing it. Yet, it retains its freshness and continues to attract visitors from far and near even today.

This farm is said to be one of the very few of its kind anywhere in the world. Fish seeds are cultivated here and sold to the farmers at subsidized rates. At the same time, it is a demonstration site where bigger fishes too are raised.

The farm staff are now getting ready to prepare enough seeds for the farmers this season. Welcome to Tarin.

Bamboos of Talle

Hiibiñ: Largest of the species in the area, but smaller than the Apatani bamboos at Ziro. Size of bije binyi. Larger ones can be flattened into yamyo, but not strong enough as poles.

Yana: Smallest one. Most abundant. Makes trekking very difficult as it 'creeps' on the ground.


Tader: Strongest. Its shoots are sprouting up now. As tasty as those of the Apatani bamboos at Ziro.

These are the bamboo species found in Talle Valley.

The Valley of Talle

Its green all around now. There are splashes of red and white on the green canvas. Rhododendrons. It is too early for the yellow ones and blue ones. They will bloom by next month, may be. This is Talle Valley again.

It is a pleasure to see and taste the talle after which the place is named. The leaves are broader than the talle found at Ziro. Taste is similar but milder. The plant is said to grow as tall as two feet.

The valley was once said to be full of these fresh plants. Not so now, sadly. No longer a valley of talle. I could find only some patches covered with talle. I advised the wildlife staffs to plant them in more places. Looking ahead with hope!!