Abraham Lotha
The tourist season in Nagaland is from November to March. But tourists, especially foreign (even if not permitted to visit all of Nagaland) are happy at the prospect of getting a birds eye view of Naga people, so they take pains to plan a visit to Nagaland during the Hornbill Festival. However, there is fear that the Hornbill Festival is an occasion where Nagas are being exhibited as exotic species, some see it as a commodification and prostitution (metaphorically and literally) of Naga culture. Others argue that by singing and dancing in loincloths or half-naked attire we are only exhibiting our backwardness. Some question: “Why do you want to invite important dignitaries just to show them that we are backward people?”
Entertainment is part of life. Everyone wants to be entertained and why deny Naga entertainment to tourists. If the pseudo modern and moralist Nagas can spend money on cars, TVs, CDs, DVDs and other forms of entertainment, what’s the issue in entertaining a few tourists? Actually more Nagas are being entertained at the Hornbill festival than the few tourists who come.
There are those who feel that every time Nagas put on a cultural performance they are being projected as exotic species to foreigners. Some tourists, domestic and foreign, do come in search of the exotic Naga, particularly a naked Naga, but if Nagas are the owners of their own culture, there should be no fear of being exocticized. An ‘other’ is always exotic to some extent for people who are open to life. At the Hornbill Festival we are not projected as exotic species by the Indian state or other external dominating force. If at all, as owners of our culture, we set the trends and agenda for our cultural destiny. We project the exotics of our culture.
Going back to one’s roots is a dominant discourse in contemporary culture. However, it doesn’t mean becoming backward. Among other things, it’s a way of solidifying the foundations of one’s identity as it makes claims for the present. By singing songs and dancing in traditional Naga attire we are not perpetuating the primitive Naga or a frozen Naga culture. If anything, Nagas are very aware that culture is not static but dynamic (Christianity was not part of our traditional culture but now it is part and parcel of our identity). Actually, to a keen observer, the dynamics of cultural change in Naga society is very conspicuous at the Hornbill Festival.
To those who think dancing in lengta (loin cloth) is a sign of backwardness and sin, it is important to understand where such attitudes come from. Our ancestors wore loincloth, some of them totally naked (we still see some elder Nagas in the villages wearing only loincloths), but the villagers don’t consider them as sex objects. At one time the Konyaks were one of the least dressed among the Nagas but now a days, during cultural performances some of them are dressed in western attire, robbing their performance of originality and ingenuity. If wearing clothes is a sign of good morals, are the performers of ice-skating competitions or people vacationing at the beaches, people with bad morals? I am sure modern Nagas will feel proud if their children won an Olympic gold medal in gymnastic or swimming and diving, where performers wear fewer clothes. So where is the consistency in the moral standards of half-nakedness? Those who associate loincloths as backward have their minds still colonized by the moral standards of 19th century American Puritanism and colonial notions of modernity.
In fact, Nagas should be ashamed of the high level of corruption in the Naga society where, as they say, one has to get a recommendation from the Ministers even to go to the bathroom. There is a lot of inconsistency between Nagaland as a Christian state and as the third most corrupt state in the country. Even some churches are built with money stolen from the people’s money through false bills and in the name of discretionary funds. Many so called modern and civilized Nagas are also beneficiaries of the rampant corruption in the Naga society. And, be sure, there is corruption even at the Hornbill Festival. These are the major issues that Nagas need to be concerned about.
To those who are into moral policing, i.e., Nagaland should not be turned into Bangkok, the reality is that there is more sex going on at Kisama during the rest of the year than during the Hornbill Festival. Drive up to Kisama on any Sunday and you’ll see what I mean. So, why moralize only the Hornbill Festival? If it is prostitution, there is a lot of it going on in Dimapur and along National Highway 39 within Nagaland even without the Hornbill Festival. Why should Nagas’ sexuality be threatened by the presence of a few tourists? If Naga sexual morality is so shaken by the presence of a few tourists, domestic and foreign, how strong is the foundation of that morality? Before long it will be uprooted by for forces of the changing times and left to whither. And why moralize Bangkok? Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city, certainly at least a hundred years ahead of Nagaland and the people there are much more modern than the pseudo modern Nagas. The people of Bangkok have learned to make use of their culture to boost their economy. Nagas have a lot to learn from Bangkok for matters concerning tourism and hospitality industry.
The Hornbill Festival is not only about cultural performances. It is also about boosting the local economy. Since Naga economy is very dependent on free handouts from Delhi, the Hornbill Festival is one time when Naga artisans, merchants, tour guides and entrepreneurs can do some business to better their income so that everybody need not depend on the State government. I know of some unemployed youth who make a good earning from the tourist season. Is it an exhibition of our backwardness if some of the women self-help groups sell their handloom products to tourists in order to supplement their income so that their children can go to school? Is it backward if a youth group from a far-flung village gets invited to come to Kohima (for some of them their first ever visit to a city) so they can exhibit their dance or song or traditional sport so other Nagas can also appreciate it?
The Hornbill Festival is not organized by the dominant Indian state. It is not the former colonials or the Indian army or Indian media trying to mastermind a representation of the Nagas. The Nagaland state government funds it, and the people responsible for planning the festivities are Naga people. Nobody has a leash on us (like a dog) telling us what to do and not to do or where we can go and not go. We are owners of our own culture and the Hornbill Festival is a self-representation of our culture. We are showcasing our own culture and we are charting the course of our own destiny. Naga society is ridden with tribalism and factionalism. At least the Hornbill Festival is one venue where we can promote our unity in diversity, and also reinforce in each other our traditional values of hospitality, friendship treaties, sharing, comradeship, and also the hardships.
There are also some historical antecedents to the Hornbill Festival. The first experience was the Naga Week in December 1993 where 26 Naga communities came together as one people to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Naga people on the occasion of the International Year of Indigenous Peoples. It gave a boost to Nagas’ self-esteem and sense of peoplehood. In the late nineties, some Nagas who saw the value of the individual tribal feasts wondered about the possibility of a platform where all Nagas could come together and celebrate a common festival. They discussed and disseminated that idea with government officials and interested people. Such experiences and envisioning informed the beginnings of the Hornbill Festival when it started in 2000. The present government realized the potentials of the Hornbill Festival and has taken pains to make it a positive experience for the Nagas. As a result, the Hornbill Festival has created an alternate image about the Nagas in the Indian mainstream media; now, when people in mainland India and the rest of the world read about the Nagas, it is no more only about the headhunters, undergrounds and factional killings, but also of Nagas as peace-loving people who possess a rich cultural heritage and enjoy celebrating life through festivals. Additionally, in the world of tourism, Nagaland is becoming a safe place to visit.
The Hornbill Festival is one of the sites where we Nagas construct contemporary Naga society and identity. The Hornbill Festival is more than commodification and objectification of Naga culture, it is more than just putting on a performance for tourists. It is one of the mediums through which we Nagas say we are united as one people in spite of different communities and factions. It is a medium for a self-representation of our identity, to appropriate the opportunity and make it work to our own benefit. We can promote our own cultural values that are spontaneous, natural, colorful and at times sensual. We can even use the cultural representations at the Hornbill Festival to justify our struggle for self-determination and say, “This is how we are different from mainland/dominant Indian culture.” This can be another nation building discursive (instead of perpetuating tribalism and factionalism) for Nagas.
