Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes when she went to see His Holiness Dalai Lama in the 1980s. The says that, during that visit, she, her husband, and fellow villagers spent around one month waiting for His Holiness Dalai Lama. They were hosted by a relative of her husband. She also went into the field to help her host with farming, collecting firewood, making alcohol, and constructing the house. She explains that, that this time, it was common for relatives in these two countries to host each other for these visits.

Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes the Thragom Tshokhang which no longer exists today. She says it was built by three grandsons of Abi Lhaden. She explains that it was demolished to build Thragom Primary School.

Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes an annual pilgrimage to Tawang, saying this was most celebrated among the older generation of Dakpa in Thragom, Bamchang, Rinzentangpang, Dukti, and Namdhi villages. The event was seen as a way to connect back with relatives across the India-Bhutan border. They usually went to witness Tawang Torgya, a three days mask dance festival. It took around three days by foot to reach Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India when road links were not yet there across the border.

Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes the lineage of Sero which originated in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India. She says Mr. Damba Tashi is first among the holders of the golden lineage of Sero. As a mark of respect to him, his descendants keep a long ponytail, even if they shave. She says the lineage started when Damba Tashi married the princess of the serpent world. Mrs. Humchung says she came to know about these stories through marriage to Damba Tashi’s descendants.

Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes the process of millet plantation, saying there are two ways to plant millet. One is planted before the magpie departs, and another is planted when the magnolia flower blossoms. The latter one is not transplanted. In the past, when people forgot to plant seedlings before the arrival of the magpie, they would make the sound of the magpie and plant the millet when the magpie leaves instead.

Mrs. Humchung is one of the oldest people living in Thragom village. She describes the process of millet plantation. Firstly, they planted seedlings of millet, and after a few weeks, they made the soil loose. She says they practiced the labor exchange program, where they didn’t make cash payments to workers. During the break, they are offered fermented wine in an ox horn. Before millet plantation, they would get goats from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India, and use the manure as fertilizer. She says that millet was planted before the arrival of the magpie, and that planting millet after the arrival of the magpie was considered late and generally wouldn’t have a good yield.

Traditional musical performances and chanting recorded in Taipei.

Traditional musical performances recorded in Taipei in 1971.

Sadhan Barman describes his experience during the 2022 Assam floods. The speaker is a worker who speaks Bengali, Hindi, Manipuri, English, and Assamese in addition to Dimasa. He is 51 years old at the time of recording.

This is an elicitation of a word list consisting of numerals (mainly cardinal and some ordinal) and a few body parts in the Central (Zhung) variety of the Zangskari language. Recorded in Youlang village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

This is a retelling of the story of three friends by Naik Muhammad (a 42-year old male) with Muhammad Awaiz (a 32-year old male) as the listener. In this story, the three friends once found some money and decided to divide it among themselves. However, each one of them was trying to cheat the others. Finally, no one gets the money and all three end up dead.

This is a traditional story which involves a descriptive riddle about a witty man who needs to take a lion, a goat and a load of leaves across a river. The caveat is that the man cannot take all three in one go. (Note: the narrator inadvertently refers to the goat as a jackal in the beginning). In this recording, the speaker Naik Muhammad (a 42-year old male speaker who works as a driver) is addressing Muhammad Awaiz (a 31-year old male government servant).

This is a retelling of the story of three friends by Naik Muhammad (a 42-year old male) with Muhammad Awaiz (a 32-year old male) as the listener. In this story, the three friends once found some money and decided to divide it among themselves. However, each one of them was trying to cheat the others. Finally, no one gets the money and all three end up dead.

Handwritten notes and transcriptions of word lists and short narratives about body parts, child birth, agriculture, names, adjectives, weather, ancestors, and making yeast.

Handwritten notes and transcriptions of traditional narratives and death rituals.

Handwritten notes and transcriptions of traditional narratives.

Handwritten notes and transcriptions of Akha songs.

The speaker narrates about the traditional practice of community fishing in Tharon village called makukha zuanbo. Tharon people do this from time to time during March-April.

The speaker describes the process of beating the katu, an herb used in community fishing. Bundles of katu are beaten with a wooden rod to produce juice and bubbles.

The speaker identifies the different varieties of fish caught in the community fishing expedition.

The speaker narrates about the preparation for community fishing. In order to go fishing, some twenty or thirty people go to identify the spot. Based on everyone’s opinion, they decided on a place to do the fishing. A day before fishing, some members also go deep to the forest to collect katu, the herb used for fishing. Each member contributes their labor even before the real fishing begins.

Sanjib Laobangdisa describes his experience during the 2022 Assam floods. The speaker is a worker who speaks Bengali, Hindi, Nagamese, and Assamese in addition to Dimasa. He is 46 years old at the time of recording.

Sanjib Laobangdisa describes his experience during the 2022 Assam floods. The speaker is a worker who speaks Bengali, Hindi, Nagamese, and Assamese in addition to Dimasa. He is 46 years old at the time of recording.

Sadhan Barman describes his experience during the 2022 Assam floods. The speaker is a worker who speaks Bengali, Hindi, Manipuri, English, and Assamese in addition to Dimasa. He is 51 years old at the time of recording.