Morung Express News Kohima | January 30 A book ‘Folklore of Eastern Nagaland’ published by the Department of Under Developed Areas was released on January 30 by Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar. A project undertaken by the DUDA and commissioned to Anungla Longkumer, the research for the book began in December 2016. The sketch and artworks for the book were created by Vineizotuo Tase and Vithuse Temi. A brief account of the research on the book was delivered by Anungla Longkumer who expressed the challenges in collecting stories from over 60 villages in Eastern Nagaland. While it took five months to gather the data, transcript and translating the stories from Nagamese posed to be another huge challenge. Narrating the events of collecting data, Longkumer also noted that documenting the stories also made one realise how far Nagas have come from headhunting to a technologically driven modern age. While attributing the special distinction of Nagaland to its varied tribes, Pankaj Kumar also pointed out the challenge in this diversity which ranges from dialects to customs and from art forms to folklores. Kumar viewed that folklore is an important part of a culture and it reflects on various meanings of how generations have progressed. The Chief Secretary who served his early years of administration in Eastern Nagaland stated that the Eastern Nagaland is an educationally backward region and therefore in such a situation, to be able to document and research on folklores becomes a challenge. “To be able to reflect on one’s custom and culture; and to be able to document it for posterity, of understanding from where the people have come; to be in touch in a richer detail with the meaning of history, all these become a matter of challenge. Because if a society has many educated people there is no dearth of resources to document. But most of the time it’s not the case,” said Kumar, who commended the effort of the DUDA and the people involved in the project. The book provides an insight into the poetry, human story, life, love, heartache and beliefs of the six tribes of Eastern Nagaland that is Konyak, Phom, Chang, Sangtam, Yimchunger and Khiamniungan.
