National Museum Volunteers (NMV) Bangkok, Thailand
Graphik: NMV Logo & Buddha Images
You are here: National Museum Volunteers > Monthly lecture
Activities
Special projects
NMV essentials
Open to the public
In our quest for knowledge a monthly lecture is presented at the National Museum Auditorium.
This is open to NMV members and the general public.

Thursday 25 March 2010
India’s northeastern frontier – Arunachal Pradesh
By Peter Sayle, Ann Helen and Walter Unger


Apatani woman with nose plugs When the Raj, the British colonial administration in India, governed the subcontinent from the 18th to the 20th century, they took pains to stay away from the peoples in the far Northeast. They considered the tribes living at the foothills of the Himalayas (the states that are called today ’The Seven Sisters’) as savage headhunters, hostile and uncontrollable. And even today, more than 60 years into Indian self-rule, the inhabitants of this mountainous region are considered fiercely independent.

This monthly lecture will take us to the most northern of the Seven Sisters, to Arunachal Pradesh which was declared the 27th state of the Indian Union in 1987. It borders Bhutan to the West, Tibet in the North and Burma to the East. The Sanskrit name means „mountains located at dawn“, and in Hindu mythology Aruna was the name of the charoteer of the sun god Surya. Most of the tribes living in the center and the eastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh are animists, worshipping gods and spirits from the natural realm. Only the western part is populated by Buddhists.

In this morning’s talk by Peter Sayle and through video clips and photograps by Ann Helen and Walter Unger we’ll enter a fascinating and exotic region, rich in its ethnic and cultural diversity. The highlight will be a visit with the Apatani whose clans celebrate at this time of the year, at the beginning of the planting season, their most important Myoko festival. Its aim is to pacify the spirits and stimulate the reproductive energies of nature by offering a multitude of animal sacrifices.

Peter Sayle holds a PhD in Indology. He spent 12 years in India, studying the country’s history and religion. Several research trips took him to Arunachal Pradesh. Living now in Bangkok, Sayle owns of the travel agency Infinitasia and organises cultural expeditions throughout Asia.

Ann Helen and Walter Unger have been NMV members since the mid-80s and are well known for their books and lectures on Southeast Asian topics. The latest of their trips to India’s Northeastern frontier led them to Arunachal Pradesh.

  • All lectures are held in the auditorium of the National Museum Bangkok,
    Na Phrathat Rd,
    Phra Nakorn District, Bangkok 10200
    Located between Thammasat University and The National Theatre, opposite Sanam Luang

  • Lectures begin at 10:00am.

  • Information about up and coming lectures appear in the NMV Newsletter as well as the Bangkok press.

  • Donation: Members 100 baht, guests 200 baht. No booking necessary, just turn up at the door!

  • For further information, please contact Anette Pollner: pollneranette@yahoo.co.uk
© 2010 NMV National Museum Volunteers Bangkok Thailand