Sashi Molier
Naga’s aren’t so much modern as they’re westoxicated. The uniqueness about Naga habits, tribes and attitudes is blurring. In this age of globalization with young Men and Women coming to town or from the towns is fast leading to the development of a new society in which those old snobberies of linguistic, cultural and ethnic origin aren’t so important.
This is visible in the small things:- Oba Tambu (Ao), Oja Tantsü (Ao), Afo (Sema) and so on is responded by Uncle, Aunty. Megala make way for figure- hugging Jeans, Nagamese get up-staged in family instead of own dialect (Mother Tongue), Gadgets, Fast-cars, Parties becomes discussing instead of folklore.
A man who is from Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung…. In Nagaland becomes Naga to the rest of Nagas but he in the other part of state recognize him as a foreigner. Most Indian doesn’t know where Nagaland evolves. There’s a whisper of new romance Nagas are seeking, that clashes with basic Naga-ness. We’re losing our distinct Naga identity due to aggressive globalization and victims are usually the last to know. We’re trying our best to imitate life style and culture of the west, who has time for practicing our culture when popular culture is all about practicing trendy western habits, look around you and you’ll see that the face of the Nagas is changing.
Nowadays how skinny Jeans are replacing the Naga Megala. Will the Megala go the Kimono way? It’s almost extinct. Fashion always apes the west, you’re just so influenced by what international trends are. “Every country which progresses loses its traditional identity.”
The Naga-ness is not something ethereal unhabiting the rarefied atmosphere of tribes, aesthetics and philosophy, but is captured, for instance, the Naga Heritage Village in Kohima, Neshili the folk-tale of Sema’s, Chena and Etiben tales and their dwelling place in Mongchen Village has been acknowledge by the people.
For long, we have our century old culture, our heritage, our awe-inspiring traditions and our breath-taking landscapes to offer to the world. We may be a small state, which is still a mess of antiquated procedures with a slothful small-scale industry and bureaucrat, but it doesn’t deflate our egos or make us bury our heads ostrich-style. We are not trying to shrug off our Naga-ness in our rush to embrace global standards. We are becoming modern but not westernized. Infact, few eras back Nagas were more conscious of their identity as there’s a new confidence to accept Naga-ness. Take our folk songs, dances, festival, dresses- they are essentially Naga, showcasing Naga with a pride never seen before.
Identities should be a healthy mix of both Naga value and western culture. Adding values is not bad as long as we don’t lose our identity. But we also need not latch on our values unnecessarily just because we are treading the path of a global power. The respect should come from within. The feeling which comes from within should gives us strength and makes you feel deep rooted, like one must love to flaunt our own Naga roots when competing with others.
To go global we need to address our roots. To regrets being part of the heritage means losing out in a crowd. It makes us wannabes. The whole nation is looking at Nagaland. Those who shrug off their Naga roots lack self-confidence and beliefs. Why shy? Nagaland never looked this charismatic and energetic before.
Sashi Molier is an Engineering Student from Mumbai
