The Apatani population of 40,000 is centered in the Papumpare and the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, although they can also be found in parts of Northern Assam, and to a lower extent, Nagaland. As they are descended from people of Tibetan origin, their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.

Most of the Apatani are loyal followers of the Animist Donyi-Polo faith, who pray to an array of spirits and souls for blessing. Abo Teni, the primal man who came from Tibet, is considered to be the sole ancestor of all Apaatani and other Animist tribes in the surrounding regions. When there is some misfortunes that daawned upon them, they claimed that it is the cause of certain spirits, and thus they made appeasement sacrifices of chickens and goats. Myoko, the main agricultural festival of the Apa Tani, is celebrated.

However, all is not good to come for the Apatani. There are currently slightly more than 1,000 "spiritually weak" Apatani who have converted to Christianity, all caused by the missionary work done by the Mizo.

The Apatani trace their descent patrilineally, and the status of menfolk is considered higher than the womenfolk, though both sexes may share an equal amount of responsibilities in the house and the family. The Apatani women carry out the household chores of gathering of both wild and kitchen garden vegetables, cooking, fetching of water, pounding of rice, cleaning of houses, washing of clothes and utensils, nursing and looking after infants and children, preparation of th Tsampa, ginning and spinning of cotton and other jobs associated with the house hold. In the field, the Apatani woman carries out the tasks that include gardening, seedling, transplanting of paddy and millet, padding, weeding of fields and or the activities. In a home, the internal family income is controlled by a woman.

The Apatani also have a preference to own slaves, mainly children, which could come either from their own tribe or from the other neighbouring tribes. However, unlike other slaves, who were treated ruthlessly and unfairly, the Apatani slaves are treated in a comparatively much gentler manner.

Like most tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, the Apa Tani are agriculturalists. They plant staple crops like maize, wheat, etc. in orchards.

External links

• Webindia 123 (http://www.webindia123.com/arunachal/people/apatani.htm)