Kasuang, Dangma

Scope and Contents From the Collection: The collection features interviews with Puroik elders and cultivators from five villages in East Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh: Byale, Surung Kasuang, Mechidu, Mecha and Byaluom. These five villages are situated in two water basins, formed by rivers Kamyang and Katchiye, both tributaries of the Katoie river (or Kameng river) in western Arunachal Pradesh. These recordings document the ethnobotanical knowledge and life histories of elders, and the oral history of the tribe. The oral history of the...

Summary Prior to this short recording, many people had gathered in the house upon the request of the interviewer. Upon request, Dangma Kasuang sings multiple songs about the life of Puroik people in the past. She also recites Mabey, which is a lyrical narration of the oral history of the Puroik people. Time-stamped section headings (00:00:04) Song by Dangma Kasuang in a group setting, followed by a discussion and suggestions by other people. (00:00:51) Another song by Dangma Kasuang, followed by...

Summary In this recording, Dangma Kasuang sings a song about Metchi (the Palm) in Puroik language. She sings about the process of extraction of sago, taking us through each step till cooking the sago. She sings another song about how the Puroik people leave early in the morning to make sago and after processing, they keep eating sago. Time-stamped section headings (00:00:38) Dangma Kasuang sings a song about how the Palm sago is processed. (00:01:40) Translation of the song by Padue...

Summary Dangma Kasuang hails from Hanche village, only a few metres away from Byale village, where she has lived since her marriage. She had previously named a variety, Matchichuik, which is one of the rarer varieties and so, in this interview Mansi and Chintan are asking her about Matchichuik. She also describes another variety called Nilau. These two varieties were uncommon among the cultivators in Byale village. Dangma Kasuang shares that Matchichuik was sought because it has a good amount of...

Summary

In this recording, Dangma Kasuang says the Puroik name of Job’s tears grain she grows in her jhum field. It is called Sabaai in Puroik. Time-stamped section headings (00:00:00) Pronunciation of Puroik name for Job’s tears grain, Sabaai.

Summary Dangma Kasuang sings a song in Puroik language. The song is about the process of felling the Palm, chipping the bark, cutting it into logs or pieces, carrying it to the Kaiko (processing station) to first shred it, beat it, dissolve it in water, filter the fibres and sediment the starch. The song was sung in a gathering of a dozen people and translated by one of the people in the same group, recorded in file OH-008-2-5b right after the song. Time-stamped section...

Scope and Contents The collection features interviews with Puroik elders and cultivators from five villages in East Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh: Byale, Surung Kasuang, Mechidu, Mecha and Byaluom. These five villages are situated in two water basins, formed by rivers Kamyang and Katchiye, both tributaries of the Katoie river (or Kameng river) in western Arunachal Pradesh. These recordings document the ethnobotanical knowledge and life histories of elders, and the oral history of the tribe. The oral history of the...