Northeast India is connected to the rest of India by a narrow corridor between Bhutan and Bangladesh. It is a place of beautiful landscapes and home to over 220 indigenous groups who maintain their traditional cultures. Ziro Valley lies tucked in the lower ranges of the eastern Himalayas in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The valley presents an example of how the co-existence of man and nature has been perfected over the centuries by the Apatani people.
Apatanis are known for their combined wet rice and fish cultivation practices using traditional manual farming without the aid of animals or machines. Apatani women work as field laborers, bent in half for hours as they clean the paddies of grass, which competes with the rice for water. Locally sourced bamboo is revered and used for food, fishing, house construction, and crafts.
The Apatani's deep connection with nature dictates their cultural practices. They are animists, worshipping all the elements in nature, such as a stream, a stone, animals, plants, thunder, the sun, and the moon. They believe that every object in nature has a spirit and that these spirits can be appeased through offerings and rituals. Every March, Apatanis celebrate the Myoko festival to give thanks for friendship and to pray for prosperity. People from eight villages come together for ten days to celebrate. Dressed in traditional attire, shamans from each village bless and sacrifice pigs, chickens, and eggs. Apatani women recite prayers and mantras, asking for a good harvest as they sprinkle flour and rice beer on bamboo altars.
