Mecha, Nidak

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 OH-008-26-1a Nidak Mecha narrates the oral history of the Puroik people. As per the origin story, the Puroik people have come from above (the sky) from Narba village to Chamchu Nive. Tuang and Nuang were the ancestors of the Puroik people. Their sons, Do and Sulo married Vyeh-amui, a woman from Vyeh village. Their children were named Kuyu, Jaango, Paley, Yamtua, Kanhiye and Kadak. The descendants of these 6 lineages comprise all the Puroik people at present. The Nyishi and Puroik people have...

Summary OH-008-26-2a In this recording, Nidak Mecha names all the varieties and suggests that he will describe their identification features in the grove, when the features can be discerned on the Palms. The varieties he names include Makung, Matchisik, Misa, Beyryong, Majya, Machyong and Matchikhyaik. OH-008-26-2b Nidak Mecha explains that the differences among the varieties are best understood by looking at them. The identifying features are visible in the leaves, outer covering and the pith of...

Summary OH-008-26-3a This recording was made next to a cluster of Misa variety of the Palm. Nidak Mecha explains the identifying characters of this variety. He shows all nearby clusters of the same variety. This variety opens the leaf sheaths by itself as the stem ages, he shares. He describes how the petiole is thicker in this variety. OH-008-26-3b Nidak Mecha shows a cluster of Matchisik, the most common variety. He explains how to identify this variety. He says that the petiole of the leaf is...

Summary Nidak Mecha explains how the variety Matchikhyaik can be identified by appearance. He says that the stem is wide and the leaf sheaths don’t open by themselves. This variety doesn’t bear many suckers, he says. He explains the differences visible in the leaves, through the colour of the underside of the leaf. This variety yields more sago and has less fibre in the pith. He emphasises how cultivators can tell the variety by one look at the leaf, following a combination of characters as he...

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...