Patsho Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Patsho(IPA: /pɑ³³.tsʰɒ⁵⁵/) is a village in North East India, in the state of Nagaland, in a low lying mountain comparing to neighbouring villages and towns having something unique and exciting for visitors.

With over 3000 people in the village, a figure that doubles if you include neighboring villages especially Patsho range is the largest village in Noklak district and seemingly the economic, political and cultural hub of the region.

To understand, the village is divided into khels with some sort of authority representing the people. These authorities: one from each khel are village council member. Every khel has a Pou(Morung) built within the community jurisdiction with huge logdrums that symbolizes village traditional society.

The nomenclature Patsho is a unknown origin that convey the meaning Congregation of people. Considering all of this, one may be forgiven for forgetting that Patsho has a long history that trace back to the initial historical place called Khiamnyunga, from where a group of people moved towards west to occupy Lümuoking and subsequently inhibited the extant Patsho village. Almost all the villages in Khiamniungan region is either directly or indirectly related to Patsho village. To substantiate, the establishment of manifold hamlets across the region began to emerge making it sustainable to live. Similarly, it is believed that post settlement of villages, linguistic variation in tones and accent began to emerge and the culture has been seemly affected.

Patsho people were once considered the most formidable in war where opponent from other villagers hesitate to attack and raid the village. They were the master of poisoned arrows being shot at the opponent and strategy of attacking a group of enemies by single man or two, fiercely outperforms them in war. Unlike those days, people now have become invariably polite and courteous, compassionately reinforcing the indigent and delivering impecunious. This is the result of modern education that began introducing in the 1960s and by the inception of Christianity that drastically overshadowed the vernacular education.

See also: Khiamniungan Naga phrasebook

In the first place, if you have no one to initially make a contact to begin with, the best way to start is to find a way to contact any church members. The Pastors or any Pastor in charge is good option. It will make you feel safe and secure in most of the circumstances you may encounter. The other options available is to contact village authorities or someone who are considered valuable asset to the village society. Mentioning your purpose of visits or just telling them you are tourist making them comfortable will suffice in most of the cases. Above all, people in Patsho are cheerful, welcoming and generous. There is nothing to be uncomfortable with, despite ancestral stories and tales that are long gone.

The nearest airport is Jorhat Airport in Assam located around 250 km from the village. There is a helipad in Noklak, the distance from Patsho to Noklak is 37 km.[29]

The nearest railway stations are Amguri railway station and Jorhat Town railway station located around 206 km and 243 km from the village respectively.

The village is connected with roads. The Patsho Road passes through the district alongside other intra-district roads. The NH 202 and NH 702B are the nearest highways to the village. Both the highways pass through Tuensang.

Patsho is filled with Pou(Morung) with huge logdrums kept inside. You can go around seeing the simplicity of arts and culture that reflects olden societal norm.

See some places like Longshen king from where numerous places are seen around, standing there on the top.

Enjoy hiking in the mountains around the village. To some extent it is accessible by public transport, with courses ranging from easy to difficult. The village is located in Low lying landscape where one can see captivating scenery around. These breathtaking mountains are Mount Khülio-king which is far from the village, Khüjai king (mountain), Lümuoking mountain, Longsheu king, etc. If you don't like mountains, you may walk along Langnyu river which is located some kilometers way from Patsho.

If You are visiting during festivals like Tsoukum, Miu and Khautsausie, Watch traditional dances, traditional games, that usually takes place at 'Shiemong', the play ground of warriors, or Other places decided to conduct by village authorities.

You can Watch or join the local soccer teams at public ground colloquially Khaushiu ground or Patsho Town Public ground located at the anterior of EAC Office.

In Patsho village, indoor sports are not practiced due to lack of infrastructure but the games like badminton are played outdoor untill late night. Anyone can join and enjoy the game with the locals.

The culinary delight of Patsho traditional food is relatively good, with many people being proud of their native dishes and regional specialities. The choice of intra-district dishes is among the best in the region. Unlike their ranges neighbours, Patsho people enjoy the traditional taste of culinary speciality way better, and the food quality is high being overshadowed by organic products.

Some local food includes Kiepa that is basically a dry curry that have minced meat and sometimes mixed with beans along with some local ingredients and spice.

One of the well known rices is millet which often has become limited source. The locals considered it as equivalent to medicament and enjoy the taste and traditional values of it. From this particular grain, the local cake is made by wrapping flour and boiling with leaves. You can enjoy those that are less well known dishes.

Drinking alcohol is prohibited in the state.

The village may not provide you for the sleep like in big towns and cities but it has some well manage accommodations. The church has a guesthouse for visitors that may not charge you on the other hand, the village council owns a guesthouse that is well maintained and provides food on request. Moreover, people are more likely to welcome and invite you to their personal homes for put-ups. There is nothing uncomfortable and feel insecure about it. Just make yourself feel home and enjoy the ride.

Greetings are important to make people happy and lively towards you. A simple verbal greeting such as "Hühei or Hello, (name)!" will suffice. People may simply reply Hühei or talk to you but you have attracted their attention either stranger or not, there is nothing impolite greeting. The Patsho people often use the words "amei hüni?" equvilant to "how are you"?as greetings, not to inquire about your mood. The usual way to respond is to just say back "Amei tei" or simply "amei".

Prior to greeting or may be accompanied by a handshake is a game changer (between both genders). For everyone either close friends or family, hugging rarely happened. So the best advice is to accept a hug if it is offered, otherwise a handshake is appropriate and recommended. In a formal situation or an initial greeting between two strangers, a handshake is the done thing; this should be of moderate firmness. The various kissing-related greetings between strangers and acquaintances is absolutely not a thing in the Patsho.

It's acceptable to address someone by their first name in every social situations but the things to be noted: the cultural names of Patsho people is simply short, for example "Khunou S". So, its quite appropriate to just call out "Khunou" excluding the letter "S" that derived from the initial letter of father's name. The single letters are usually avoided except in formal settings. The title "Miepong" that is equivalent to "Mr" is recent origin so it is better avoided or use depending on situations.