Tribal Circuit I

Posted 13th October 2008 by David McGuinness

Ok so it’s been a while since I updated the blog. The first tour had to change their plan somewhat en route due to a strike that meant certain road closures so they arrived into Itanagar a day early. As they arrived in quite late we had food delivered to the hotel from E&K’s, my favourite restaurant in the North East. It was a hit. Everyone enjoyed it, with the crispy fried pork a particular favourite. The first group consisted of Karla from Canada, Stephen from Ireland and Myrka from Slovakia.

The next morning after a lie-in I joined the group and we set off for Ziro, the homeland of the Apatani tribe. The weather was misty and the dense jungle shrouded in mist had an otherworldly quality. We stopped in a couple of tribal villages and arrived into Ziro as it got dark. We spent the evening relaxing in the hotel, having dinner and watching movies.

The following morning we got up early to do a hike around Ziro, and we hiked through the forest and the Paddy fields (where harvesting was in full flow) to Hong, the largest tribal village in Asia. Everyone enjoyed the walk and the village. We stopped off for tea on a hilltop lodge and enjoyed the views of Ziro valley. From there we walked a little more and C.K., our guide brought us to a new lodge where we were given O (also known as Apong), the local rice beer. It was very tasty, and was followed by an excellent lunch. We were apparently the first ever guests, and the lodge itself is expected to open in about a month.

A curious local dropped in and we chatted via the lodge owner (who also doubles as the museum curator!) with him. He said he had only ever seen white people on TV or in the movies and seemed to think I was a wrestler! WWF is apparently generally understood in Apatani! After watching some locals fishing we were brought to the museum that had a lot of traditional textiles, implements and jewelery including a suspiciously small penis shield! We wandered around Ziro for a little while before going back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner we were treated to a short dance recital by a group of Apatani and a group of Hill-Miri women, each in their traditional dress. Our museum curator friend also arrived with a special delivery of fresh rice beer, which we soon polished off.

The next morning we drove on to Daporijo through the jungle. We stopped in the town for lunch and drve on to our camping spot. As our tents were pitched we wandered down by the river and had a wash. C.K. left us to do the permit formalities and we relaxed. Das, our driver, lit a fire and we sat around, trading stories and telling jokes in the refreshing cool of the evening. C.K. arrived back with dinner and we set up makeshift place mats in the kitchen tent and tucked in. The obligatory rice beer washed down our meal, and soon after we went to bed.

The following morning we drove on to Dumporijo, a small mixed tribe village for breakfast and then set off for Along. The scenery was every bit as lush and the winding roads opened up stunning vistas for a few seconds, before another valley would emerge into view. When we arrived in Along we all used the Internet quickly and then saw there was something happening in the stadium next door as there were lots of women dressed up in traditional festival attire. I inquired and was told that the local football final was on and would be preceded by a dance show.

We were also invited t be VIP guests, so in we went. The stadium was jam-packed as were the balconies that had views of the pitch. The dance show was very colourful and elaborate involving around sixty or seventy dancers. The match that followed wasn’t premiership quality but it was certainly keenly contested.

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the links below to navigate through this journey.