Body as Space, Politics of Body Modification and Representation: A Study of the Apatanis in Arunachal Pradesh

Sociology of the body as an area of study has been concerned with many social aspects of the body. Foucault’s body-politic led us to understand the relation between the individual body and the many political aspects of the society. This paper similarly deals with the relationship between power and the body in an indigenous community. Taking the case of facial tattoos among the Apatanis, we have looked at the body as a socio-political space where power is contested and colonial relations of domination are prominently played out. The study is based on ethnographic methods of data collection, including in-depth personal interviews, participant observation, and focused group discussion. The paper found that several factors like what constitute “modernity,” and how the youth want to represent themselves, played an essential role in how the community’s identity and body is shaped.