Today, Naga culture has become less rigid due to globalization and civilization . Nagas, today, are mingled with people having various cultures which make them adopt certain practices from other cultures. when we see, today the understanding, thoughts, way of living, dressing etc. of the Nagas is completely different. Nagas do not pursue with some of the practices which our forefathers had been practicing since time immemorial. Nagas were naked at one point of time, linguafranca to communicate with the people outside was not fully developed. But today we dress and speak like western people, we can play western music, as well . No doubt, many Nagas even made ties with people having different cultures through marriage. Today Naga culture has become a mixture of various cultures like Indian Culture, western culture, cyber culture, Hip Hop culture etc.
It is true that human being live in societies and follow certain cultural values and practices. We cannot live without culture. If man avoids certain practices , he opts for a new one. Today we live in our culture, but practice a lot from other cultures as well. With the development of other cultures, we should also develop our culture by avoiding certain bad practices which our forefathers were practicing during their time of animistic culture, and should adopt the good ones from other cultures.
It is a practice of Nagas that whenever a person dies, instead of consoling the aggrieved family members, people start killing animals, most preferably pigs for feast. It is believed that if animals are not killed in the name of the departed soul, the soul does not rest in peace. It is absolutely superstitious and meaningless. If we see others cultures, for instance, Hindu Cultures, when someone dies, all the family members and the neighbours in white attire gather together in silence and pay homage to the departed soul. Killing of animals and arrangement for feast in the name of the one who died, on the same day, is a taboo .
Once I attended a funeral of an old woman, who was a mother of a widow. As the deceased’s daughter was a widow, her economic condition was very poor. What I experienced on that day was, the neighbours gathers in groups as soon as the news of the death of the old woman reached their ears, killed a huge pig of some other person, worth some twenty to twenty-five thousand Rupees without the consent of the widow and start preparing it. After all, onus will be upon the widow at last. The coffin of the old woman was still laying on one side, but most of the people were busy with the meat and only few were nearby the coffin. I felt very sorry for the widow who had spent all her money in providing medical treatment to her ailing mother and left nothing for her future. In such situation, instead of helping her morally and financially, people only created debts for her.
If we consider ourselves civilized, then we should stop practicing such things which are not acceptable in the civilized society , and should try to adopt something new from other cultures. If we can stop being naked, and dress in western ways, why can’t we stop being superstitious and embrace the good practices from others? As far as my mind goes, such a practice is also not seen in the Holy Bible . it is only a convention which our ancestors were practicing during their times. As a Christian, since we are avoiding certain traditional practices, can’t we avoid killing on funeral day ?
S.Mar 3Rd Nap High School, Tuensang
