This (illustrated) lecture presents recent research concerning oral traditions and rituals in the eastern Himalayas, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The topic of the talk is an extended (12-hour) oral chant and the two-week festival in which it is performed. Both the narrative themes of the chant and the ritual patterns of the festival express the value of exchange and alliance between humans, spirits and ancestors in the Apatani valley. Comparative data suggests that the ritual is a local variation of a 'feast of merit', which is widespread in the far eastern Himalayas. The oral chant, however, appears to be a distinct cultural form among the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh. Historical documentation from the 1940s onward allows us to see that this oral–ritual complex has remained largely unchanged, in spite of (or because of) recent and fundamental changes in the region, including christianisation and hinduisation.
