Y Kikheto Sema , Commissioner & Secretary H&FW welcomed by youths of Sumi Baptist Church Kohima in traditional attires on July 22.
DIMAPUR, JULY 23 (MExN): Youth department of Sumi Baptist Church Kohima observed annual cultural day on July 22 at Sumi Baptist Church Kohima, Daklane with the objective of inculcating cultural values in the minds of the youths.
In the event, Y Kikheto Sema, Commissioner & Secretary H&FW, who also holds the position of deacon chairman at SBCK was the theme speaker.
Speaking on the theme, “sustaining our cultural values and social identity,” Sema said, culture is a way of life involving the behaviors, ideas, customs, and social fabrics of a society and even encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music etc.
He pointed out that tracing our social identity and cultural values and preserving them should continue and stressed the need to distinguish some detrimental practices like head hunting, unhygienic life, hedonism etc and avoid them in the present Christian era. He urged the upcoming generation to pick up the threads of dignity of labor, honoring elders, and to be law abiding citizens.
Sema mentioned a new cultural dawn brought to the Naga society by the American missionaries in the area of education and health sector while the British administration brought administrative reform and citing those examples he encouraged the youths to engage in cultural creativity and take society forward.
He highly discouraged the pursuit of violence and said that the recent aggressive incident in Manipur should be condemned and such evil practices should not find its way in any society.
On a lighter note, Sema said, Axone, a cuisine of the Sema Naga tribe, is loved by other tribes but not the tribe itself and likewise we must be like Axone. He cautioned the youths that though popular cultures like westernization and BTS add colors in the modern world, those cultures should not result in ethnocide of our beautiful culture.
During the event, youths participated in the traditional method of fire making, war-cries, winnowing rice, indigenous games, and chicken coop by bamboo. AG Youth fellowship presented a folk song, High School youth fellowship presented a war dance, Lerie NST Youth fellowship presented a drama on our forefathers lives and Ministers Hill women folk presented a traditional song while making a thread out of cotton. The cultural event was attended by ten colony youth fellowship under SBCK Youth Department.
