The Apatani have been secluded from the outside world by both natural barriers and warrior neighbors. Nevertheless, their rapid material, social, and educational development over the last 40 years has been phenomenal. Their educational progress, due to the strategically located high school near their region, has led them to positions of influence in Arunchal Pradesh.

What are their lives like?
Land is the source of life for the Apatani, giving them a sense of stability, solidarity, prestige, and value as a people. All of the cultivated land is privately owned property. All of the Apatani—except for slaves and a few poor men—own their own land. Those who own little or no land earn a living by working for their more prosperous neighbors. Their primary crops are rice, millet, and maize. After harvesting their crops, the farmers plant bamboo and pine for the future generations.

Although specializing in agriculture, the Apatani are also skilled craftsmen and merchants. They frequently trade rice with the neighboring tribes in exchange for animals, cotton, and iron. Apatani blacksmiths use the iron to make knives and spears, and the women spin the cotton to make their one-piece garments.

The Apatani have always had an orderly society. Within their village government, there were never any chiefs or headmen. Rather, the council of elders acted in accordance with public opinion. Today, Indian officials administer law and order in the Apatani villages; however, their culture has remained intact under the limited authority of the elders.

Among the Apatani, there are two distinct social classes: the aristocrats, who own most of the land and hold political power; and the commoners, who are the descendants of slaves. The Apatani are allowed to marry outside their clans, and have complete freedom of choice for their partners. However, marriage between aristocrats and commoners is forbidden. Promiscuous relationships are permitted from the time a child is eight years old until he reaches his late teens or early twenties. When a couple decides to wed, there is no bride price, no engagement, and no wedding feast; the two simply move into the home of one set of parents. Although polygamy (having multiple wives) is permitted, only a few of the wealthier men can afford to have more than one wife.

The Apatani tribe prides itself in solidarity and unity. Their villages are divided into wards containing several clans. Clans range in size from 160 to 1,000 one-room houses, crowded eave to eave in long narrow lanes. The houses are situated at elevations reaching about 1,500 meters. The homes are built on wooden piles consisting mainly of bamboo. New roofs are made of thin planks rather than the traditional thatch.

What are their beliefs?
Most of the Apatani practice traditional ethnic religions. They generally believe that they are surrounded by invisible beings, which are capable of affecting their welfare. They believe that they must please the spirits of the earth and sky in order to have bountiful harvests. They also believe that after death all men will go to the "underworld" and being re-living their lives. For this reason, they try to live good lives while they are on earth.

What are their needs?
Most of the Apatani in India have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. At the present time, there is only one missions agency targeting this people group. Only portions of the Bible have been translated into Apatani, and very few other Christian resources are available in their native language. Prayer is the first step toward seeing them come to Christ.

Prayer Points

• Ask the Lord to call additional laborers to go to India and share Christ with the Apatani.
• Pray that the missionaries who are working among the Apatani will reap much fruit from their labors.
• Ask God to give the Apatani believers opportunities to share the Gospel with their own people.
• Pray that the Jesus film and other evangelistic tools will soon be made available to the Apatani.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Apatani towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
• Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Apatani bound.
• Pray that the Lord will begin revealing Himself to the Apatani through dreams and visions.
• Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Apatani by the year 2000.

THE PEOPLE

• People name: Apatani
• Country: India
• Their language: Apatani
• Population: (1990) 19,600
  (1995) 21,500
  (2000) 23,500
• Largest religion: Ethnic religionist 94.4%
• Christians: 5.1%
• Church members: 1,098
• Scriptures in their own language: Portions
• Jesus Film in their own language: None
• Christian broadcasts in their own language: None
• Mission agencies working among this people: 1
• Persons who have heard the Gospel: 5,600 (26%) Those evangelized by local Christians: 2,600 (12%)
  Those evangelized from the outside: 3,000 (14%)
• Persons who have never heard the Gospel: 15,900 (74%)

• Country: India
• Population: (1990) 850,638,100
  (1995) 935,744,300
  (2000) 1,022,021,300
• Major peoples in size order: Hindi (High Hindi) 9.5%
  Telegu 7.8%
  Maratha 7.4%
  Bengali 6.4%
  Hindi (Bazaar, Popular) 5.5%
• Major religions: Hindus 78.2%
  Muslims 12%
  Christians 4.3%
• Number of denominations: 163