The Apatanis believe that human beings everywhere are considered to have originated from one place though they have settled down all over the world. While migrating from the place of origin, the Halyañs, the non-tribal people went ahead and the Taniis were following them closely behind. At one place, somebody saw a cut end of a banana tree. He noticed that a good one hand's length had grown up from the cut portion.
"They have gone too far ahead," he told his friends. "We won't be able to reach them."
"In that case," they discussed among themselves. "Let us settle down here itself."
And that was how, the tribal people, the Taniis, settled down in the hills while the Halyañs went ahead to the plains.
So, banana trees have played significant role in the lives of our people. It is interesting, especially because these trees do not grow at Ziro. For optimal growth, they need an average temperature of 27°C, and that at Ziro is much lower.
The exception is the famous Dora Kulu in Hija village. A grove of banana trees has been surviving amidst granaries and kitchen gardens, behind narrow lanes for centuries now. And the growth is robust by any standard.
The grove is said to have been planted by a person belonging to Dora clan of Hija village. As the banana groves started growing, the people of Dora clan started dying one by one. Few remaining migrated to other villages. Today, Dora clan is considered extinct, though few are still surviving in Hong village.
Whatever the truth behind such stories, the banana grove in Hija village is unique given the climatic conditions of the area.
