Jothisey Yobin
The use of Athee (tree fern) by Yobin (Lisu) community of Arunachal Pradesh
Lisu (Yobin) Community
Gandigram village, Vijoynagar Circle, Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Mr. Yosaha Yobin is collecting his harvested Atheeh.
Mr. Tseyedi Yobin, the harvester, is smashing the tree fern pith.
The harvester is peeling the first layer of the tree fern to prepare it for transport to the harvesting bed, where the cut tree fern will be processed to extract the pith.
Mr. Yosaha Yobin preparing the Atheeh Naphu to be cooked at his residence in Hazolo Village.
How the Atheeh Naphu (fermented fern tree chapati) looks after being fried without oil or any added ingredients.
The Atheeh Naphu (fermented tree fern chapati) is elegantly arranged in a traditional Naphu-Sichey (where Naphu means roti/chapati and Sichey refers to a leaf) placed in a small, traditionally woven basket, ready to be served or eaten. Both the leaf and the basket are used during every special festival or occasion among the Lisu community.
The harvester carrying a tree fern log with the first layer peeled, heading towards the harvesting bed.
Dried Atheeh which are remnants of fermented fern after rubbing it to extract the desired Atheeh. These remnants are shaped into balls or rotis then placed on the Tajwe (a raised platform over the fire, found in every village house, used for drying various items). The villagers then take this dried Atheeh to a wooden mill to further process it into Atheeh flour. This flour can be eaten by steaming it on top of cooked rice or by frying it after sprinkling some water on the flour.