Arunachal: The culture of Granary in Galo Tribe, read all about it
Simply we can say a storehouse for grain, especially after it has been threshed or husked, is called Granary. Locally, the granary is called Nasu in Galo.
( By Jummo Potom ) The above photograph looks like a dwelling house, but actually it is Granary meant the place where farmer or villagers stocking crops like rice, maize, millet, Pumpkin etc. Simply we can say a storehouse for grain, especially after it has been threshed or husked, is called Granary. Locally, the granary is called Nasu in Galo.
You can easily spot these Granaries at POTOM village in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh , where people of Galo Tribes being practices for granaries.
Architectly , the granaries are of two storey to prevent the entry of mouse for which large wooden log preferably of root portion of big trees are carved into round shape to overlap the wooden pillars locally called Teper(Tvpvr) & the pattern is almost uniformity in all Galo villages.
Now a days, some villagers adopting Alummunium plate (To make sleepery & evade mouse climbing) for overlapping the wooden pillars. You can see the photographs of both the models of Granaries has given below.
The average durability of these granaries are 25 years but it is to be noted that the durability years of actual dwelling houses/traditional house of Galo is much longer than the granaries. The maintenance & replacement; especially of Toko Patta/Thatches & allied cane ropes of granaries are done at every 6-7 years interval but the wooden structure last for average 25 years upon the replacement with new Toko Patta/Thatches.
It is pertinent to add that the wooden pillars post of these granaries has been erected on stone of optimum size & the wooden pillars are never inserted inside the earth/soil which is the basic scientific reason of its long lasting as it avoid decaying of log pillars being non-contact with the soil.
The farmers of West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh with their years of wisdom have been using an indigenous method of rat proof granary called Nasu in Galo language. The research reveals three scientific features of this structure used as rat proof grain storage. Use of stone pad at the bottom, wooden plate at the middle and airtight compartment at the top makes it a unique and innovative storage structure.
– From Arunachal24 Research Team
Usually, the granaries are built at the outskirt of village as consciously granaries thief/loot case is very rare in Galo community & seldom seen any granary inside the village amids dwelling houses to keep the granaries at Fire safety zone in case of fire accident occurs in the village.
( Writer is Presently, Social Dev. Expert, Govt. of AP )
