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Fumi Osada's Features Illustrated vol.2


OK, now let's trace the southeast route, south side of the Himalayas, from Iran. This route is more dramatic. The south part of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, it's the route that Iran highland originated Aryan came through to India in BC.
On the other hand, India had ethnic group who had lived there since further back. The people, called Dravidian, has dark skin and come from the east coast of Africa across the ocean. (Their direct descendant is the people of Tamil who lives in south part of India and Sri Lanka now) Mixture of the groups comprise current Indian people.
However it's not need to quote the complicated doctrine, once you look up a world atlas easily understand the fact that India is the great T-junction of the people from west(Iran), south (Africa) and east(south east Asia).


Thinking from that, features of the people in the west end of India must resembles to the Iranian. On the hypothesis, I actually visit Jaisalmer, Rajastan state of India. Bingo. There are the features I expected to. They have light skins, long ridged nose even though the wings tone down, and clear-cut almond shaped eyes. Same elements to the Iranian.


At the capital city Delhi, the people's features are various. However rounded big eyes may come from the south. The skins are darken compare to the Jaisalmer. The hairs are more black and thick. It can includes stronger essence of Dravidian in south. After all, the people's features varies from west to east, north to south in India.


But here let's move on toward the east. In the east end of India, like Kolkata or Bengal region, the elements of the south east Asian coming into the face. The face become more flat and nose is getting smaller and shorter. The skin become lighter. And finally the place where the Indian features change to the east Asian, Mongoloid, is Bangladesh, I believe.


From Myanmar to the east, it become the Mongoloid's. However the Mongoloid's features on this south route is different from the one in the north route. They have high forehead and round eyes. The nose is short and flat, although smoothly rises at the end. From my experience, the characteristic was shown in Vietnamese face.
This south route reached to Japan, the east edge of Asia, as the north route. There is no high mountain range there. So the features from both north route and the south are mixed together.


As studying people's features, I got habit to watch people's faces in the train. And I noticed how Japanese features are various. We sometime joke to say "You have typical Mongoloid face" "Oh, Your feature has a southern taste" I think that's true, not a joke. Then I profile my features. "I think this guy's from the northern route"
Let's say the features of the west end of Asia is the Iranian then the east end of Asia is Japanese, how comes this big difference? What big event has been happen on the way? That's the reason it attracts me so much.


Nov. 2013



Today's piece
" Portrait " Tehran, Iran 2013




fumikatz osada photographie