By Akangjungla
The quest to reclaim ancestral remains from distant museums is often viewed through a purely political or historical lens. However for the Naga people, as the Morung Lecture XXII series on the topic “Healing and wholeness through repatriation: A Naga perspective” enlightened, it is something far deeper: a reflective spiritual and psychological journey home. This repatriation process is not merely about the physical return of objects and bones; it is about stitching back together the torn fabric of a cultural soul, and in doing so, finding a path to collective healing.
For too long, the legacy of conflict and colonisation has cast a long shadow, cultivation a trauma that has trickled down through generations. This unresolved pain manifests in the social ailments that plague the community, from division and anxiety to a fractured sense of self. To simply advice “forgetting and moving on” is not a solution. True healing cannot begin until the truth is acknowledged and the stolen pieces of identity are returned. This is why the repatriation movement is so essential. It is leading a necessary and unifying conversation. It is compelling a people to look beyond internal divisions and recognise a shared loss and a common hope. By confronting the past together, without romanticizing or wholly rejecting it, there is an opportunity to build new narratives for the future. This act of reclamation is, in essence, the first step in decolonising the mind and the spirit.
However, the physical return of ‘what was taken away’ is just the beginning. The fire of repatriation must be fueled by a broader movement to decolonise the Naga spaces and thinking. The journey ahead is complex, but its direction is clear. It is a path from being a studied object to becoming the author of one’s own story. It is a movement from fragmentation to wholeness. The collective task is to ensure that this homecoming is not an end, but a beginning, the foundation upon which a healed, unified and self-determined future can be built. Perhaps, this is how the Naga people can mend the fractures of history: by courageously reclaiming the truth and, finally, coming home to ourselves.
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