Tribe: Apatani

The Apatani (sometimes known as Tanii), are a small tribal group of people from the Arunachal Pradesh district in India. They live in the Ziro Valley, although some members have moved outside of the small colony, making the total population around 26,000 across the whole state. 

The reason why the Apatani tribespeople piqued my interest is because there are many unique ways in which they are identifiable; Examples of these are they way in which the build their permanent settlements and housing structures, the shape of the traditional carriage baskets they weave, and most importantly, their facial modification and tattooing. The Apatani's practised their traditional facial tattooing and modification until the 1970's, when the tradition died out. The older females of the tribe can still be seen with two specific tattoos - a thick black-green line running from the forehead to the tip of the nose, and a set of lines on the chin. The male members of the tribe have a much more discreet T-shaped tattoo on their chins, and the females were the only members to be decorated with large, facial-modifying nose plugs, called Yaping Hurlo. What is most interesting about the facial branding of the women of the Apatani, is the reasoning behind it. Whereas with many tribes the reason for tribal markings and tattoos is either for recognition, beauty or fear, the Apatani women's faces were modified in order to make them look ugly, so that intruding men from other tribes would be put off and warned away. 

So far in my research, this is the first tribe that I have come across that has marked their members for that reason, and I find that incredibly interesting. The design and colours of the tattoos and nose plugs are simple and graphic, but the effect that they have on changing the face and robbing the women of their individuality and beauty is very strong.