Thekrunguno Audrey
Nagas are proud inheritors of rich folklores but how often do we sit back, recollect and pass it on to another? It might have been, 10 years ago perhaps. It has become a rare practice that families actually sit down to share and discuss their folklore. So, where have all the tradition gone? From families, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, elders to young peer group gatherings, narrating stories, recounting histories, and teaching morals and values to the young minds. Much of ours have been destroyed and taken after colonization slowly took over the hills, the introduction of a new lifestyle changed a lot of what the Nagas used to be and what was now becoming of them.
Present years are progressing, as people now take cultural preservation on a serious note, Material culture, for instance, have been and are still being taught to the younger generation on the importance of its existence on the lives of the people. These tangible cultures are evidence to showcase and teach the existence of different identities of different Naga tribal communities.
However, culture does not only confine to material culture, the flip side of the coin is always least discussed, the Oral culture or popularly known as Folklore. It is the expressive body of knowledge shared by a particular group of people, which is passed on orally. Folklore can be described as the unwritten literature of a culture; the term refers to ancestral understanding of cultural transmission of knowledge of the people. Before the term was coined by William John Toms, the idea of Folklore was generally referred to ‘Popular Literature’ and ‘Popular Antiquities’ the latter being referred to material culture. William Toms was first influenced by the works of the Grimm Brothers, Jacob and Wilhem Grimm, who together collected and published folktales and fairytales of German origin, popularly known as ‘Kinder-Und-Hausmarchen’ or ‘Children Household Tales’.
The concept of Folklore is universal; it holds history, the essence of ethnicity and most importantly the identity of any community. The expressive body of Folklore includes narratives such as; language, folktales, fairytales, myths, legends, poetry, folk epics, proverbs, jokes, folk speech, anecdotes, etc. Folksongs like those of work songs, war songs, war cries, lullabies, ballads, etc. and to the category of folk customs and beliefs, like those of religious beliefs, superstitions, festivals, blessings, ceremonies and rituals, chants, charms and curses, etc. and the inclusion of material culture, although tangible in nature, the idea and knowledge of the craftmanship is passed on and taught orally.
The Nagas are Ethnic group of tribal communities, who qualifies in every aspect of a folk group, the existence of these ethnic communities is the result of the long standing cultural and traditional practices. The need for the preservation of Naga folklore has become important due to the fast development and influence of modernisation taking over the society, which in turn slowly leads to the disappearance of the knowledge of the Naga folklore. The outcome of choosing an alien culture over one’s own culture has become more prevalent among the younger generation; this continued progress will only lead to the disappearance of the folklore of the Nagas.
Some important reasons for the need of preserving Naga Folklore are:
To preserve the Cultural identity of the Nagas: Identity serve as an important role in the lives of the tribal communities, it is characteristic of both the individual and the community as a whole.
To provide historical insights to better understanding of the Naga community: Offering glimpse of the origin and history of the community, the lifestyle, traditional practices and belief systems of the people. The history of the origin of the Nagas are imprinted on its folklores, we were taught the roots of our migration and settlements, the values of our customs, traditions and cultural practices through oral narratives.
To learn about the diversity of the Naga community, of all its different tribal communities, its customs and practices, tradition and lifestyle. This is to also understand the similarities and differences of all the tribal communities of the Nagas.
To make aware the need for the continual flow of the oral transmission of knowledge of the Nagas to the younger generation: Like how Folklore was originally passed down through the art of imitation, teaching and learning process, we need to consider the importance of transmission of this oral knowledge from one generation to the next, to prevent its disappearance.
To foster a sense of unity: Though the community consist of various tribal groups, folklore helps in uniting diversity and most importantly creating a sense of understanding and peaceful co-existence among these diverse tribal community, as Margaret Lyngdoh, a Khasi Folklorist comments on how folklore distinguishes different communities from one another but also shows the common bond shared by these different communities and how it brings them all together as one
To be of educational value: The need for the preservation of Naga folklore is important for the sustenance of the future generation. Similar to how we gain insight and knowledge of our history, our culture, tradition and lifestyles of our ancestors, the same experience must be sustained for the benefits of the future generation.
The study of Folklore spread far and wide as the aspects of the term broaden widely, the need for the preservation of these folklore arises not for the revival of the old traditional customs of our ancestors but the need to know and understand how communities like our own came about, what are the things that make us an ethnic group and why such culture and tradition exist. The influx influence of Christianity played a major role is taming the minds of the tribals in the ability of choosing a more sustainable and moral life. Though the act and efforts of reviving our past and history is argued in the present, as the two conflicts, it should also be understood that such efforts are taken only to preserve and study history, identity and ethnicity of our rich tribal heritage.
With every moment we choose to keep aside a part of folklore, only leads it further to the disappearance of our past, the world our ancestors once lived in. Though the Nagas have no written record to preserve the existence of certain tradition, culture and lifestyle of the past, we inherit the richest forms of record that is the folklore of our ancestors, passed down orally from generation to generation. Folklore must be considered important not simply for the act of cultural preservation but every individual must feel the need to hold on to these cultures as these were rightfully inherited and not simply passed on.
The writer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, St Joseph College, Jakhama.
