Valley Rose Horam Hungyo
“Oh Pukreilas! The right time has come for you to honour your status and exercise your power. Come out, open your mouth and say, enough is enough. “Who knows God place you where you are for a time like this” Esther 4:14.
Nagas are people who have very beautiful customs and cultural practices is our daily life. As a Naga woman, there are many customary practices which we want to uphold and be proud of it. One such thing is the status/title of “Pukreila” of the Tangkhul Naga community. This word signifies a special status of those women who are married to another locality, village or community. These women used to play very important roles in the olden days in peace building. Other Naga communities also have women broking peace at the time of war which are depicted in folk dances and folk songs.
Among the Tangkhuls, when our forefathers were waging war against each other, a village against another village or a community against another or a group against the other group, the role of the Pukreila was very important, She was the only one who could stop the fighting. When the fighting among the men folk become so bad that many people were getting injured, blood flowing and many precious lives were getting lost, one proclaiming hero over the other by beheading his so called enemy and taking the head as a trophy, it was the women, the Pukreila whose heart pained the most. Because for her it was her father and brothers on one side and her husband and his brothers on the other side. If her father or brothers get killed, it is she who suffer and if her husband gets killed, it is she who will be widowed and her children orphaned.
In order to protect her own future and the lives of her husband, brothers and father, she pull up all her courage and run to the battle field. She stretches her arms high up in the sky and shout at the top of her voice “Stop! Stop!! enough is enough!. I can’t see the blood of my brothers streaming down the hill anymore, I can’t see the wounds on the bodies of my husband’s brothers anymore. Stop! Stop!!”
Once the Pukreila have intervened, on one from either side can raise their hands anymore against anyone, nor can anyone harm the Pukreila. If anyone raises their hands against anyone despising the call of the Pukreila, he would face the anger of all the other warriors from both sides. He can even be killed for despising the call of the Pukreila for PEACE. Thus she, the Pukreila can stop the worst kind of bloodshed in our tradition. I belief similar values exist among all the Naga communities may be in different from and name or title.
Today, our Naga society is witnessing the worst kind of relationship among the brothers of our Naga family. The hatred created among communities for various reasons best known to few peoples the suspicion that cropped up between communities and groups, the revengeful actions against each other, the ugly bloodshed of our own brothers, sons and husbands becoming almost everyday affair, tens and hundreds and thousands of women and children becoming widows and orphans, their heart renting cries filling the air of the beautiful Naga country, helpless children roaming around with hearts full of grief and looking for revenge, the heart broken mothers and widows cursing the killers of their beloved, oh ! Where are we heading to? when is it going to end? Who benefits from all these chaos? Who has ever become a hero by killing his own brother?
Never in the history of mankind, right from the time God created us, killing his own brother has been always a sin and God had always hated and punished the killers Oh ! beloved brothers, whoever you may be, whatever you are and wherever you stand, wherever may be your justification, however you may argue, remember, that is not acceptable in the sight of God as long as your hearts are full of hatred and looking for revenge against your own brother. Instead, team up all brothers and fight against our common animals. I belief God will give us, the Nagas victory once we are united.
Why should our own brothers spend all your might and money, wisdom and worth to increase the number of widows and orphans? It is time, our beloved brothers realize and come to your senses that your heroic actions in eliminating a brother of another camp whom you look upon as your enemy is nothing but to make your sisters and mothers cry. If you are competing to make your mothers, sisters and wives cry, do you belief that God will be pleased and give you victory the Naga sovereignty? Please, for God’s sake, if we are truly fighting for “Nagas Land for Christ” look to God and do what he wants us to do.
Today, we have so many Pukreilas among various communities of our Naga family. So many Tangkhul daughters are Pukreilas to Ao, Angami, Konyak, Chakhesang, Mao, Maram, Pounai, Zeliangrong, Yimchunger and all other Naga tribes. Similarly, there are tens and hundreds of Pukreilas from various communities in the Tangkhul family and among all Naga communities. Oh! my dear sister Pukreilas! Don’t you feel it is time that you speak out for peace? You are the ones who have the status and the power to go directly to the warring brothers and stop them from their madness for revenge against one another for no any good reason.
You are the Ambassadors of Peace between your fathers’ tribe and your husband’s tribe. Aren’t you grieved enough to see so many precious lives going down the drain? How long can you think you can tolerate to see the number of widows and orphans being added everyday not by enemies but by our own brothers? Can we still ignore the pains of our fellow Pukreilas whose most precious and beloved husbands and sons are snatched away and killed as if they were animals? Isn’t it more than enough ? How much more should we live under fear and suspicion? How long should we allow our rights and freedom to be suppressed by the mad-mad war among our own brothers? Enough is enough. Come out from your dark cells of fear, take courage, team up with fellow Pukreilas and speak to your husbands side, speak to your brothers too plead for your peace and for your children’s future. The future of our children is the future of our Naga country/Naga Nation. Don’t you think that God have placed you where you are to be an instrument to broker peace for the sake of Naga Nation?
Remember what Queen Esther did for her people Israel when she was reminded by her cousin brother Nehemiah (Esther 4:14) Queen Esther was the Pukreila between the Jews and the Persian King Ahasuerus and his kingdom.
Oh ! Pukreilas, won’t you like to play the role like Queen Esther and deliver our Naga Nation from self inflicted devastation? It is high time you speak out. We pray for you to have the courage to start with your action towards stopping the killing among our own family and free the Naga from self imprisonment. It is your time, Pukreilas, Your fathers’ house and your husband’s house wait upon you.
God will empower you. Amen.
