***Apatani shaman during a ritual procession.***
This man is a shaman, wearing the distinctive costume of that specialist. He holds a ritual fan, made of hornbill feathers, and he wears a necklace of expensive conch-shell beads. The strap for his machete is decorated with cowrie shells, while several metal chains hang from the skewer in this hair... knot. He wears large hoop earrings, a woven headdress, a special jacket and (not seen here) a shaman's shawl underneath an ordinary shawl. He also wears a metal bracelet on one arm and a wrist guard with an Indian rupee coin on the other. Standing up from his typical hairknot is a small piece of split bamboo, which he will later take home and keep as a memento of the fact that he conducted this important feast. This photograph was taken as he was leading a procession through the paddy fields during an Apatani feast (Murung). Each year, several Apatani families celebrate this three-week long feast, involving mithun and cow sacrifice, public chanting by the shaman and complex gift-giving between the feast sponsor and various kin and ceremonial friends. During the procession, which takes place more than a week after the large animal sacrifice on the first day, the shaman leads a long line of young boys and men belonging to the sponsor's clan. Dressed in ceremonial finery and brandishing their machetes, they walk through the entire Apatani valley (only 8 kilometres long and 4 across), visiting all nine villages and each ritual platform in each village.
Courtesy: digital.info.soas.ac.uk
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