A documentation of Hrusso Aka language: "Seasons of life: Birds, plants and people through the year"

Brief description

Hrusso Aka (ISO 639-3: hru, Glottocode: hrus1242) is a Trans-Himalayan language spoken by approximately 4,000 people in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. The language is variably referred to in the literature as Hrus(s)o Aka, Hrus(s)o, or Aka. The addition of “Aka” both links to and distinguishes Hrusso from Koro Aka, a neighboring group which is culturally affiliated but linguistically distinct. Notably, Aka appears to be an exonym, as native speakers typically refer to their language as Hrusso [ʁuso]. Hrusso Aka is primarily spoken in and around the localities of Thrizino, Jamiri, Buragaon, and Bhalukpong, as well as in a few villages across the Bichom River. --- This documentation project was carried out by Anu Jebisow, a member of the Hrusso Aka community, with support from a 2022 FLICR Fellowship awarded by the Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya). The program is co-directed by Mark W. Post and Yankee Modi, with Kellen Parker Van Dam and Zilpha Modi serving as Associate Directors. Financial support for the 2022 Fellowships was generously provided by the Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, through a grant administered by the University of Sydney. The project was mentored by Yankee Modi. Anu Jebisow’s project, titled “Seasons of Life: Birds, Plants, and People Through the Year,” explores the interwoven cycles of nature and human activity in Hrusso Aka society. The collection includes several hours of audio and video recordings documenting various aspects of village life and the local subsistence economy. A selected number of these recordings, focused on the Hrusso agricultural calendar, and including references to significant birds, insects, and plants, have been annotated with time-aligned transcriptions and translations into English and Arunachali Hindi. Of particular note is the documentation of a highly endangered component of the Hrusso ritual language, known today to only a few surviving ritual specialists. Please also note that a small number of files in this collection are under restricted access. For assistance with access or further information, kindly contact the archive administrator.