By Akangjungla
The idea and expression of culture is to celebrate the past and imagine the future. In a time when the individual identity has multiple descriptions and the sense of community is spitted, encouraging a better understanding of culture could perhaps settle some tension. Knowing and understanding culture, which embodies shared beliefs and ways of life becomes even more important for the Indigenous communities. Recognised as ‘keepers of knowledge,’ the United Nations attest to the principle that ‘Cultural practices, traditions and values of Indigenous Peoples – as long as they are in line with human rights principles – can play a critical and positive role in advancing and promoting gender equality and human rights.’
In the recent years, there are noticeable ventures to assemble culture, education and religion by ways of introducing curriculum in the formal education set up, churches organising workshops on teaching life-skills, organisations creatively imparting knowledge and custom unique to their own way of life. The need to incorporate traditional practices as a way of preserving the Naga identity and heritage has also resulted in most of the schools, especially government run schools, introducing a day dedicated towards cultural promotion. For instance, with an aim to instill cultural awareness and appreciation among the students, GMS Sungkomen under Mokokchung District came up with Teaching Learning Material (TLM) based on the traditional attire of Ao men and women; GMS NAP Sector, Shamator District organised a hands-on training on traditional weaving for the girl students; as part of the ancestral knowledge sharing session girl students of GMS New Risethsi in Kiphire District were taught loin loom weaving, while the boys were taught basket making; Students at GMS Humtso in Wokha District learning folk song during the Cultural Day.
Similarly, there are several organisations working towards the same goal. Tucked away in a quiet locality of Nagaland Capital (Kohima), Lidi Kro-u Society, a group of likeminded women from different khels (sectors) of Kohima village have been endeavouring to teach the young generation about the ancestral ways of life even while observing that our rich traditions are fast fading in the present context.
Established in 2012, Lidi Kro-u Society aims to pass on the rich traditional knowledge through different activities including storytelling, bamboo crafts, weaving, rice pounding, folk songs and dance. Some churches also initiate programmes targeting the Sunday school students where the elders teach them life-skills such as using the dao, the process of cleaning and preparing meat, gardening, making traditional jewellery and other such activities.
The Naga society is deeply rooted in the cultural spectrum. Our individuality is in the rich tradition that we have inherited and of which we are the custodians. To survive and thrive in a condition where lost of culture and identity is considered as a threat, it is not less than a choice for any society to support the education of its young and to assume the responsibility of passing to the next generation the cultural substance and language, as well as the moral and ethical impressions, that set us individually to be the people we can be. More than the idea and discourse of going back to the ‘roots,’ a greater sense of purpose needs to be connected to culture. Culture requires being relevant to the evolving times and not necessarily the force to take back individuals or community back to the past.
Comments can be sent to akangjungla@gmail.com
