Apatani - All about beauty & uglification !

The Indian state of Arunachal is known for its unique cultural diversity and varied customary practices.The tattoo culture is prevalent in tribal communities in Northeast .Among 26 tribes residing here,apatanis follow tattoo and nose plug insertion.A unique practice related to body art and nose plug though painful is not merely decorative but deeply rooted in tradition, spirituality, and social status.Let us decipher the truth behind it...?

Vishwanath Radhakrishna Vishwanath Radhakrishna
Jul 11, 2025 - 20:48 Updated: Jul 14, 2025 - 12:07
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Apatani - All about beauty & uglification !
Apatani women

               Name a state in the whole of the country which is beautiful, rich in its resources & natural beauty......!

Culture diversity
Bio diversity
Spiritual practices
Apart from this, the state is also well known for its rich tribal culture and tradition.
Here is something exciting that you need to know about the tribes and traditions of Arunachal Pradesh.
A glance into how a tribal community came up with their own culture.

A sneak peek into the tribes and traditions of Arunachal Pradesh

                        There are around 26 tribes in Arunachal Pradesh with more than 100 sub-tribes. Out of which, the principal tribes are Adis, Apatanis, Buguns, Hrussos, Singphos, Mishmis, Monpas, Nyishis, Sherdukpens, Tagins, Khamtis, Wanchos, Noctes, Yobin, Khambas and Membas. However, the best way to get to know more about each tribe is by taking a tour where the guide will be explaining to you about the origin and culture of each tribe. What is so unique about these tribal people?

Apart from just excelling in their culture, these people also excel in any of the skills like making baskets, weaving, smithy work, pottery, wood carving, painting and more.

Among them , Apatani tribe are unique, because of their practice !

 An Apatani woman with traditional tiipe face tattoos and nose plugs (yaping hurlo)

Who are Apatani People?

Apatanis is a tribe known as Taniis, initially they used to be a migratory tribe with Mongoloid features residing in the Apatani plateau.But with time they have made Ziro Valley as their home. Arunachal is the least explored and Ziro valley, it’s a must visit for all the travellers, nature lovers photographers and people who want to seek cultural experiences.

                     

Though i knew about Apatani Tribe, Ziro Valley, Tale Valley and Popular Ziro Music Festival !. Little did I know about Apatani women and their practices until i visited the Hong village in Ziro valley.

Home for Apatani tribe !

I had seen tattoos sported by city breds as an inginia of fashion and similar in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Apocalypto !  
Why Tattoos and nose plugs is the question that lurked in my mind ?
                   Though hearsay stories revolve about women and practices.I was inquisitive to know about the painful practices.It becomes difficult for an Apatani to answer this question.
Absence of any written record makes it more tough  to cite the actual reason for the practice of tattooing (by both men and women in past) and nose-plugs( or nose plates by women) . Mythological beliefs in connection to facial arts practiced by Apatani people goes like this.
From a verse of Ami Niido from YORDA  AYU –which is specially held during MURUNG festival reveals TIIPE -  Tattoo  was in practice snice time immemorial !
                  Facial tattoos were a marker of identity,social status, rites of passage and protection againts evil spirits of the Apatani community of Arunachal Pradesh. While both men and women of the community had and have tattoos.
The tradition of facial modification was more strongly associated with the women, who had more prominent facial tattoos and wore large wooden nostril plugs. 
The facial tattoos, called tiipe in the Apatani language, and nose plugs, called yapin hulo, are associated with the concepts of beauty and uglification, and the traditions have gendered origins.
 
One of the stories goes like this..
According to one legend, these physical modifications were introduced to protect Apatani women from being abducted by neighbouring communities. According to another legend, men of the community who died in skirmishes with other communities returned as spirits looking for the wives they had left behind. Unable to find them, the spirits would cause trouble. A village priest, shaman advised the women to get facial tattoos as a way of rendering them unrecognisable to the invisible spirits, so that the spirits would leave the villages alone. However, members of the community declare that such tales are mythical, and the tattoos and nose plugs are likely to have served to distinguish the Apatani from other communities. 
 
It is said that Individuals of the community received tattoos when they reached puberty, with women receiving them at the time of their first period. However, some accounts narrate that a newly born girl child would receive a smaller time, called a panyo on the forehead, believed to mark their gender. 
Men had a single vertical line tattooed along the centre of the chin, from the lower lip to the tip of the chin. Among women, the tattoo consisted of a line drawn from the top of the forehead to the tip of the nose, along with five vertical lines between the lower lip and the tip of the chin. Amongst women who have tattoos, a number of them recall the process as being extremely painful; however, in cases where the tattoos faded,there are instances few of them would darken them by getting re-tattooed. 
 
Tattoos - Nose Plugs & more...
 

The ink for the tattoo, called chinyu, was derived from soot mixed with pig animal fat. The needle was made by tying together several three-headed thorns, known as tipe-tere or iimo-tre, typically derived from the gum of arabica tree, or Vachellia nilotica.

The designs of the tattoos have been copied from Pine tree. Pine Tree are plenty in the Tanii Land – Ziro. It is insignia of apatanis. Indeed, there are designs to be found in a pine tree both externally as well as internally. Moreover, in Festivals related to fertility and prosperity like Murung, Subu and Myoko, Pine wood alone is used in ritual even to-day.

A small stick hammer, called empiia yakho, was used to tap the needle and make an impression in the skin. The process was carried out in the winter to allow the tattoo to dry quickly. 

In 1970's , the government, with support from the Apatani Youth Association, declared to put an end to the practices of facial tattooing and the wearing of nose plugs. These decisions were taken to avoid stigmas and the stereotyping faced by members of the community when they travelled outside the valley. 

During the community gathering DREE festival, and across paddy fileds  i noticed only few elderly women sporting them.

Our guide Koj Srang Mama hailing from Hapoli mentioned that the practice is however discontinued today.!
In short, the Apatani used tattoos, ear and nose plugs and Ruting Yarang to buttress their psychological needs to face the inhospitable environments surrounding them in early days. And indeed, it has done well in overcoming adverse environment and survives till date.
                      I finally felt how the human body plays a key role in human culture. It brings together social, cultural, and symbolic parts that show how our physical selves connect to how we express our culture.

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