Kasuang, Aping

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 In this interview, Aping Kasuang shares the oral history of the Puroik people and the difficulty of life in the past. He narrates the sequence of events and places along the migration route of the Puroik ancestors. Beginning from Chamchu Nive, he traces the villages where Puroik ancestors travelled and also where the Palm was received and how it was replanted to its present abundance. He traces the path through Venia, and Sawa up to his present-day settlement, Byale village. Aping Kasuang...

Summary

Aping Kasuang teaches Puroik words for maize, corn kernels and words associated with cooking them. Padue Kasuang is also present for some time at the beginning of the discussion. Time-stamped section headings (00:00:00) Words for maize in Puroik.

Summary OH-008-7-3a Water was not available. It was drying up. One person called a meeting and brought it to the attention of all that something had to be done. They discussed cutting the thread between the land and the sky to save everyone. Abotani decided no one would be able to survive as things were and that the thread should be cut. In that meeting, all were present – the spirits, the animals, all creatures. The heat was boiling the water on Earth like it evaporates in a pot. All the plants...

Summary In this recording, Aping Kasuang along with his wife, Sempa Mecha, shows the herb Khryag, with which cloth was made by the Puroik people in the past. He also demonstrates how fibres were extracted from the plant. He says that it needs to be planted to retrieve enough fibres for making cloth. The fiber is very strong. The plant and its fruits cause irritation upon touch. Time-stamped section headings (00:00:00) Showing a stem of Khryag, a herb found in the forest, which can cause itching and...

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...