Colonial contact in the 'hidden land': Oral history among the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

Drawing on field recordings and recent scholarship on social memory, this article analyses colonial contacts and oral histories in Arunachal Pradesh, in northeast India. It argues that, despite its geographic and cultural isolation, Arunachal did not escape the armed conflict that dominated relations between tribes and external authorities during the colonial period. Two events and their causes are examined: the first visit by a British official to a tribe in 1897; and the raid on a military outpost by tribesmen in 1948. Comparing written histories and documents with local stories about these events, the author demonstrates the need for oral histories.